A Continuous Revolution: Making Sense of Cultural Revolution Culture

512 Pages·2013·250.932 MB·English

by  Barbara Mittler

A Continuous Revolution
Harvard East Asian Monographs 343
© 2012 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Printed in the United States of America
Th e Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in coordination with the Fairbank
Center for Chinese Studies, the Korea Institute, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and other
faculties and institutes, administers research projects designed to further scholarly understanding of China,
Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. Th e Center also sponsors projects addressing
multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mittler, Barbara, 1968-
A continuous revolution : making sense of Cultural Revolution culture
/ Barbara Mittler.
p.cm. -- (Harvard East Asian monographs ; 343)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-06581-9
1.China--History--Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976--Infl uence. 2.
China--Civilization--1976-2012 3. China--Civilization--2012- 4. Arts,
Chinese--20th century. 5. Arts, Chinese--21st century. 6. Arts--
Political aspects--China. 7. Arts--Social aspects--China. I. Title.
DS778.7.M59 2012
951.05’6--dc23
2012009697
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Cover & Ill. 0.5 Poster from the Ann Tompkins (Tang Fandi) and Lincoln Cushing Chinese Poster
Collection, Courtesy: C. V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley; digital image,
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Ills. 4.2; 4.4; 5.38; 5.73 Courtesy: University of Westminster Chinese Poster Collection. Ill. 5.4. Courtesy:
Maria Galikowski. Ills. 4.8; III.1; 5.5; 5.6; 5.17; 5.19; 5.22; 5.23; 5.34; 6.32; 6.33 Courtesy: University of
California Press, Berkeley. Ills. 4.12; 5.1; 5.3; 5.7; 5.8 Courtesy: IISH Stefan R. Landsberger Collection.
Ill. III.2 Courtesy: Michael Wolf. Ills. 5.25; 5.43; 5.44; 5.75a Courtesy: Zhang Hongtu. Ill. 5.26 Courtesy:
Zhu Wei. Ills. 5.27; 5.28 Courtesy: Wang Xingwei, Galerie UrsMeile, Beijing-Lucerne. Ill. 5.31 Courtesy:
Gerhard Richter, 2012. Ill. 5.41 Courtesy: Martina Köppel-Yang. Ill. 5.47 Courtesy: Geremie Barmé. Ill.
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Ill. 6.43b Courtesy: Andreas Seifert.
Index by the author
Printed on acid-free paper
Last fi gure below indicates year of this printing
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A Continuous Revolution
Making Sense of Cultural Revolution Culture
Barbara Mittler
Published by the Harvard University Asia Center
Distributed by Harvard University Press
Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London 2012

I was
Born with dreams
and I
Died of dreams.
生于梦想
死于梦想
—Wang Jingyao 王晶垚 (1920s)
epigraph Bian Zhongyun’s 卞仲耘 (1916–66) husband Wang Jingyao said this about his wife’s death at the beginning of
the Cultural Revolution (and expressed a wish to have these words written on his urn). Bian had been vice
principal of the Girls’ Middle School attached to Beijing University and was one of the fi rst victims of the
Cultural Revolution. Taken from the 2006 documentary Th ough I Am Gone (我虽死去) (DACHS 2009 Hu Jie,
Part 9, at 5:10 mins).

CONTENTS
Preface xi
Illustrations and Online Resources xiii
INTRODUCTION: NOSE—SMELLS 1
POPULAR CULTURE AND CULTURAL REVOLUTION CULTURE:
THEORY, PRACTICE, AND EXPERIENCE 3
Art as Propaganda 7
(Subjective) Receptions of Propaganda 11
(Objective) Forms of Propaganda 17
Variety and Availability: Art as Education 18
Propaganda and Pop: Art for Entertainment 21
Continuity and Repetition: Art in History 25
Propaganda as Art 27
PART I: EARS—SOUNDS 33
Prologue 35
1. FROM MOZART TO MAO TO MOZART: MUSICAL REVOLUTIONS IN CHINA 39
Prelude: Chinese Music and New Chinese Music 39
Exposition: China and Mozart 41
Development: Mao 46
Excursion 1. Chinese Opera as a Genre of Change: A View from History 50
“To Wield through the Old to Create the New” ((cid:2018)(cid:982)(cid:1074)(cid:8356)): Musical
Traditions in the Model Works 53
“To Wield through the Foreign to Create a Chinese National Art”
((cid:6794)(cid:982)(cid:972)(cid:8356)): Approaches to Foreign Music in the Model Works 64
Serving the People ((cid:982)(cid:1061)(cid:6590)(cid:5652)(cid:1802)): Th e Politics of Model Music
and Performance 78
Excursion 2. Chinese Opera Reform: A View from History 87
Th e Artistic Success of the Model Works 89
Recapitulation: Mozart and China 92
Coda: Foreign Music and Foreign-Style Chinese Music 96
viii contents
2. THE SOUNDS AMIDST THE FURY: CULTURAL REVOLUTION SONGS FROM
XIAN XINGHAI TO CUI JIAN 97
“Red Is the East” (cid:959)(cid:5412)(cid:10104)(cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) 100
Th e “Internationale” (cid:2616)(cid:14863)(cid:6437)(cid:1) 112
Medley: Mixing Sounds from amidst the Fury 117
Coda 125
PART II: MOUTH—WORDS 129
Prologue 131
3. DESTROYING THE OLD AND LEARNING FROM BLACK MATERIAL:
THE POLITICAL FATE OF A FAMOUS SCHOOL PRIMER 139
Old and New: Th e Th ree Character Classic before and aft er the
Cultural Revolution 141
Black Material: Th e Th ree Character Classic and the Cultural Revolution 156
Rethinking Confucius before the Cultural Revolution 165
Rethinking Confucius during the Cultural Revolution 173
Memories: Reconfi guring Confucius aft er the Cultural Revolution 185
4. THE FOOLISH OLD MAN WHO MOVED THE MOUNTAINS:
SUPERSCRIBING A FOUNDATIONAL MYTH 189
Prelude: Depicting the Power of Words 189
Th e Story 196
Th e (Hi)Story behind the Story 199
Quoting the Story during the Cultural Revolution 208
(Hi)Story and Quotation beyond the Cultural Revolution 230
Coda: Rethinking the Power of Words 249
PART III: EYES—IMAGES 257
Prologue 259
5. MAO WHEREVER YOU GO: THE ART OF REPETITION IN REVOLUTIONARY CHINA 267
Repeating Mao: MaoArt and Its Implied Audience 269
Repetition? 270
Not to Be Repeated! Part 1: Modernisms? 280
Not to Be Repeated! Part 2: Traditionalisms? 290
Repetition Squared: Repeating the Repeated 295
Repetition Reconsidered 303
Receiving Mao: Th e Actual Audience of MaoArt 304
Ubiquity! 304
Ubiquity? 307
contents ix
Deity! 313
Deity? 317
Revisiting Mao: MaoArt Th en and Now 324
6. CHAIN(ED) PICTURES AND CHAINED BY PICTURES:
COMICS AND CULTURAL REVOLUTIONS IN CHINA 331
Heroes, Villains, and Sexuality 335
Readers, Readings, and Popularity 353
Monkeys, Demons, and Continuity 365
CONCLUSION: HANDS—TOUCH 371
CULTURAL REVOLUTION CULTURE AND POPULAR CULTURE:
THEORIZING PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE 373
Propaganda’s Grammar 373
Propaganda’s Space 377
Propaganda’s Time 380
Turning the Pages of History? 384
APPENDIXES
1: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES 389
2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 391
3: CHRONOLOGY OF THE MODEL WORKS 394
REFERENCE MATTER
WORKS CITED 395
INDEX OF NAMES, TITLES, AND SLOGANS 437
SUBJECT INDEX 469