Read Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader Online

Authors: Geremie Barme

Tags: #History, #Asia, #China, #Literary Criticism, #Asian, #Chinese, #Political Science, #Political Ideologies, #Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism, #World, #General, #test

Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader (85 page)

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Page 259
The Last Ten-Thousand Words
Jiang Zemin
Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin, or the Core Leader as he is also known,
1
delivered the official eulogy at the mass meeting to commemorate Mao's centenary held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 26 December 1993.
In the numbingly long-winded fashion common on such occasions (the speech takes up over a page in the
People's Daily
), Jiang reiterated the Party line on Mao and praised the genius of his own benefactor, Deng Xiaoping, as well as the significance of the "socialist market economy."
In death Mao continued to serve the cause by legitimating every shift in the Party line. A few tantalizing excerpts from the speech must suffice here.
As Comrade Deng Xiaoping has pointed out, Comrade Mao's achievements are of primary importance; the errors he made in his latter years are secondary. His errors came about because he ignored his own correct principles. His were the errors of a Great Revolutionary and Great Marxist. Comrade Deng has resolutely criticized all tendencies to negate entirely Comrade Mao and Mao Thought on the basis of the mistakes he made in his old age. He has said that only by following Mao Thought did the Chinese revolution achieve success. We cannot abandon the banner of Mao Thought. If we do not pursue Mao Thought we will be guilty of a grave historical error. Our central aim is to confirm Comrade Mao's historical position, as well as to maintain and develop Mao Thought. We will continue to hold high the banner of Mao Zedong Thought, not only today but in the future as well. . . .
Mao Zedong Thought is a science that changes with the times. Comrade Deng's theory concerning socialism with Chinese characteristics is an enrichment of Mao Thought and has allowed it to attain even greater heights. By following this path in the future and through the struggle of a number of generations [of Chinese] we will surely build a rich, democratic, and civilized modern, socialist country. No matter what difficulties we face we must pursue

 

Page 260
the basic Party line, and do so without wavering for a century. We must earnestly study Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought in reference to the tasks raised by Reform and by the ever-changing objective situation. The central theme of our study must be the application of Comrade Deng's theory concerning socialism with Chinese characteristics and use it to arm the thinking of all comrades in the Party and all the peoples of China. . . .
Notes
1. Head, that is, of the "Third Core of Leadership" in the history of the Party. According to 1990s Party dogma, Mao was the First Core Leader and Deng the Second.

 

Page 261
Galluping Mao:
A 1993 Opinion Poll
Tang Can, Zhu Rui, Li Chunling and Shen Jie
In late 1993, the
Beijing Youth News
published a survey conducted by scholars at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. They interviewed one hundred people about what they thought of Mao Zedong
Beijing Youth News
is a popular daily produced under the aegis of the Party Youth League. Most of its editors and writers were under 40 and the paper was widely read among Beijing youth. It was in the vanguard of commercialized Party propaganda.
The tone of the report is factual and detailed. It frankly admits what everyone knows from their own experience: that official ideology had little impact on young people, especially those in their early 20s and under. Unfortunately, although it indicates that some of those questioned were highly critical of Mao, no details are given.
The poll was published with a lengthy commentary by Yang Ping, one of the paper's leading journalists who was also an active conservative involved with the journal
Strategy and Management (Zhanlüe yu guanli).
Daresay because of the alarming ignorance about Mao and official ideology among the young that the survey reveals, Yang, a young man himself, wrote an editorial comment entitled "Confronting Mao Zedong":
Young people today who have experienced the twists and turns of the 17 years since Mao's death understand all too well the negative influence of romantic and extremist approaches to China's Reform. We appreciate that the transformation of Chinese society cannot happen overnight. We need to develop a tireless spirit of long-term commitment. We are also painfully aware that nihilism, cynicism, and petit-bourgeois attitudes are corrupting the souls of our youth at this crucial juncture in our history. It is in this context that Mao Zedong's boldness of vision, his indomitable will, his approach that combined revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism allowing him to determine the way forward and then not stray off

 

Page 262
course, as well as his lofty desire to change both China and the world, offer our young people a shining example and a model for emulation.
Interviewees:
37 people under the age of 25
19 people between the ages of 26-35
24 people between the ages of 36-50
20 people over the age of 50
What does the average Chinese think of Mao Zedong today? How is the historical giant who determined the fate of modern China regarded now and how much influence does he still have? And what do today's young people know about him? These are the types of questions which interest us, as well as many others, as Mao Zedong's centenary approaches. To find some answers we carried out an opinion poll among 100 average Chinese.
Our investigation started 17 years after Mao's death. In that period his prestige has fallen and risen once more. Today, the majority of those questioned (61 people) still hold him in very high esteem, and over two thirds expressed their basic admiration, love, and worship of Mao.
Of the various groups interviewed those over 50 years old were the most enthusiastic and emotional about Mao. Of them, 80 percent said they definitely felt that Mao's achievements outweighed his errors.
When some older intellectuals spoke of Mao their admiration was evident: "Mao Zedong was a historical giant who initiated a new age. One can say without doubt that in terms of both his abilities and achievements he was, and remains, unique." "Mao was the man who really helped the Chinese to stand up."
Older workers and peasants put it more simply: "Chairman Mao put us in charge." "Without the Communist Party there would be no new China; without Chairman Mao there would be no Communist Party." One worker compared the achievements of Mao and Deng and summed it up as follows: "Chairman Mao founded the nation; Deng Xiaoping has let us enjoy a better life.''
All the older cadres we interviewed expressed support for our poll because they felt it had "an educative value" for the society as a whole. One old man grabbed us by the hand as he said tearfully: "Usually we have no way of expressing our feelings about the Chairman!" Similar things were said to us many times. We got a very strong impression that although a lot of time has passed, Mao still occupies an unassailable position in the hearts of many Chinese.
When talking about the errors of Mao's later years most older people were forgiving and understanding. Despite the fact that many of them had
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