Control:
The Country Sides
- Moa establishes communist basses around rural area and conducted social experiments like social order and collectivization.
Collectivization has brought more for every body and there is great smile.
- The CCP gets control of rural areas. This was very important because Chinese population was 80% rural and 20% urban.
Hinterlands:
Mass Campaigns:
The people support the PLA Fighters in their task of building up new national defence, early 1950s
An almost continuous stream of mass movements that addressed national, international, political, moral and social topics arked the first decade of the PRC. This 'flow of campaigns', organized both at the national and the local levels, and in the rural and urban areas, was intended to strengthen the support for the CCP and eliminate various types of enemies, to deepen the understanding of the new ideology that guided China, and to promote economic production. The goals for most of these initial mass movements were comparatively easy to understand.
I'm a battlefield hero as well as a labor hero!, ca. 1950
They included drives to spread Land Reform policies and to publicize new rules and regulations, such as the Marriage Law; rectification movements of intellectuals; campaigns to weed out corruption, bureaucratism and petty crime; and movements to boost popular support for the new regime, in particular in the cities. All the people were mobilized to help reconstruct the country in whatever manner possible, including (recently) demobilized soldiers.
The poster below was designed to accompany a drive to persuade people to purchase bonds during the "Economic Construction Period" which started in December 1953. Ostensibly well-to-do urbanites and private businessmen were urged to subscribe from January to March 1954, and to hand over their ample savings to the government in order to contribute to national reconstruction. The sign on the left identifies the receiving party as the "National Economic Reconstruction Bonds Subscription Office".
It is striking to see how many of these early to mid-1950s posters use the same pictorial style that was employed in the so-called "Shanghai" or yuefenpai 月份牌 style that had been so popular in advertisements for cigarettes, medicines and beer in the pre-war and pre-Liberation periods.
Marriage Law:On 1 May 1950 the marriage law gave women legal equality with men. So people could marry any one they wanted to. This law led many to believe that its notion of 'free love', marriages that were not coerced or arranged, actually meant that people could have sex with whomever one wanted. On the other hand, the introduction of the law also led to large numbers of marriage-dispute cases, divorces, murders and suicides. Until 1955, yearly propaganda campaigns were organized to publicize the law all over the land. By then, more than 90% of all marriages had been officially registered and these were considered to have been concluded in free will.
Freedom of marriage, happiness and good luck, 1953
Foreign Policy:
Cult of Personality:
Since the establishment of the People's Republic, an ever increasing number of countries and peoples have basked in the warm friendship of China. In the 1950s, however, when China still was wedded closely to the international socialist movement, only the Soviet Union and the socialist countries in Eastern Europe were considered close comrades.
Long live the unity of the peaceful, democratic, socialist camp! 1958As the years progressed, China increasingly felt stifled by the need to follow the Soviet Union's foreign policy intitiatives. Peking felt proud of its revolutionary successes and wanted to play an international role more commensurate with its perceived status. In 1954, while on a visit to India, Zhou Enlai, accompanied by Chen Yi, unveiled the so-called 'Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence' (mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty; mutual non-aggression; non-interference in each other's internal affairs; equality and mutual benefit; and peaceful coexistence) with which China defined its international position.
Premier Zhou on a visit to India, 1958The non-aligned countries (former colonies and newly independent states) joined the ranks of China's friends and allies after the Bandung Conference which took place in Indonesia in 1955. There, the 'Five Principles' were reaffirmed and incorporated in the 'Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference'. After the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s, China sought relations with a larger number of countries than ever before. This trend was stemmed when the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
Friends from afar are coming to visit, 1961During the Cultural Revolution, foreign relations clearly were not the main concern of the Chinese leadership. This could be seen from the Red Guard attack on the British embassy and the siege of the Soviet embassy. Initially, all Chinese ambassadors were recalled, with the exception of Huang Hua, who was allowed to remain in Cairo, Egypt. While (American) imperialism and (Soviet) revisionism were criticised, solidarity withIndochina and Vietnam was promoted; close relations with Albania and Romania, countries that were openly critical of the Soviet Union, were lauded. Only representatives of friendly nations and political/revolutionary parties in Asia, Africa and Latin America - as well as ideological sympathisers from elsewhere - visited Peking during those heady days of continuous revolution.
Despite the large numbers of visitors arriving in China, expressing their support for what seemed like a relevant revolutionary model, China's support usually remained confined to rethoric. Aside from some spectacular projects in support of the actual needs of developing nations - the famous TanZam Raiway springs to mind - most of China's assistance consisted of copies of Mao Thought, military training, or shipments of weapons.
Azaleas and crabapples welcome the honored guests, 1978Once the relations with the United States improved (after President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972), the number of countries maintaining relations with the PRC increased significantly. This trend continued when Hua Guofeng started the Open Door policy in 1977, which was incorporated in the developmental "Four Modernizations" blueprint ofDeng Xiaoping in 1978. Nowadays, only the ever decreasing number of countries that recognize (the Republic of China on) Taiwan does not maintain relations with China.
Although in the 00s talk about China's "Peaceful Rise" or - less threatening - "Peaceful Development", colors most of the discussions on China's position in the world, the 'Five Principles' basically remain in force as the doctrine undergirding China's foreign policy. Many Chinese foreign policy experts are convinced that these Principles will attain international recognition and application once China has succeeded in changing the current unipolar world order into a multipolar, or even more preferably, bipolar one.
Oppose hegemonism, uphold world peace - maintain a foreign policy of independence and own initiative, 1983
Comrade Mao Zedong is the greatest Marxist-Leninist of the present age, 1969
In 1962, Mao advocated the Socialist Education Movement (SEM), in an attempt to 'inoculate' the peasantry against the temptations of feudalism and the sprouts of capitalism that he saw re-emerging in the countryside. Large doses of didactic politicized art, whether figurative or literary, were produced as serum for this inoculation process. The Party organization saw the initiatives proposed by Mao and his even more radical followers as interfering with its successful program of economic rehabilitation that had started after the Great Leap Forward.
Given the scope of the problems, the Party preferred more technocratic solutions and was averse to Mao's millennial visions. There are no indications that open opposition to Mao actually existed, although the Chairman believed there was. He was truly convinced that the more moderate leaders were trying to steal his place in history by subverting the nature of the revolution he had fought for. In order to reclaim his rightful place at the apex of power and to oust those he perceived as revisionists, Mao turned towards thePeople's Liberation Army, the only organization he still deemed ideologically correct.
Given the scope of the problems, the Party preferred more technocratic solutions and was averse to Mao's millennial visions. There are no indications that open opposition to Mao actually existed, although the Chairman believed there was. He was truly convinced that the more moderate leaders were trying to steal his place in history by subverting the nature of the revolution he had fought for. In order to reclaim his rightful place at the apex of power and to oust those he perceived as revisionists, Mao turned towards thePeople's Liberation Army, the only organization he still deemed ideologically correct.
Chairman Mao gives us a happy life, 1954
Mao already had appeared prominently on propaganda posters as far back as the 1940s, despite his ambiguous warnings against a personality cult. The intensity of his portrayal in the second half of the 1960s, however, was unparalleled. Under Lin Biao, the PLA increasingly was employed to bolster the personality cult around Mao, and thus to produce art that would contribute to the construction of Mao's god-like image. All this took place with Mao's consent. Already before the compilation of the Quotations from Chairman Mao (Mao zhuxi yulu 毛主席语录, the 'Little Red Book', published in May 1964) for use by the armed forces, the PLA had been turned into "a great school of Mao Zedong Thought". The army became the driving force behind the campaign to study Mao'sQuotations.
Great Leap Forward (1958-1961)
In 1950s under the First Five Year Plan Chinas economy was successful therefore to show off China to the USSR
As a result of the successful economic reconstruction in 1950s under the First Five Year Plan, the Party leadership headed by Mao Zedong considered the conditions ripe for a Great Leap Forward in early 1958. The Great Leap was not merely a bold economic project. It was also intended to show the Soviet Union that the Chinese approach to economic development was more vibrant, and ultimately would be more successful, than the Soviet model that had been followed studiously until then.
The commune is like a gigantic dragon, production is visibly awe-inspiring, 1959
The Chinese people were to go all out in a concerted effort to surpass England in 15 (or even less) years and to make the transition from socialism to communism at the same time, thereby leaving the Soviet Union far behind. That, at least, was the plan, which brought to an abrupt stop the earlier, more cautious attempts to sustain the speed of China's recovery and further development by Five Year Plans. The more radical members of the leadership tried to outdo each other with more and more unrealistic calls for "greater, faster, better, [and] cheaper" production. The characters for this call are emblazoned on the sails of the ship in the poster below. The poster also tries to impress on the population how all this will improve their welfare, as opposed to that of the Taiwanese, who are shown in the right-hand corner as suffering under the GMD-regime and the presence of Americans.
Go all out and aim high. The East leaps forward, the West is worried, 1958
On the basis of an exaggerated belief in the power of ideology on human consciousness, the radicals were convinced that by putting "politcs in command", the objective difficulties created by lagging industrialisation and mechanisation could be overcome in a relatively short time. By relying on willpower, and by giving supremacy to the human, subjective dimensions of history, the people would be able to bring about a quick transformation of the concrete obstacles they encountered in the physical world. To mobilize this willpower, the Great Leap Forward, obviously, was accompanied by a concerted propaganda effort, the depth and breadth of which had hitherto not been seen.
Put organizations on a military footing, put actions on a war footing, put life on a collective footing, 1958
The Great Leap Forward took two forms: a mass steel campaign, and the formation of the people's communes. On the one hand, all the people in the country were organized to help produce the amount of steel that was needed to attain the goal of surpassing England. Life was militarized for this battle for steel.
Everywhere, small backyard furnaces were built, where everybody pitched in in around-the-clock shifts. Quota for the collection of used iron had to be met, cooking pots were smashed, door handles were melted down in order to meet the production demands. Only later it became clear that the quality of this mass-produced people's steel was so poor that no use could be found for it. The effects of this production battle proved to be disastrous for the environment. On the poster below, rows of such small backyard furnaces can be seen.
Everybody is fully occupied in production, the trade sector is also fully occupied for everybody, 1958
In the countryside, the various forms of rural cooperatives were merged into huge people's communes. Rural life was completely collectivized, including mess halls where free food was supplied. Due to the excessive zeal of local officials, who were whipped up in the general atmosphere of enthusiasm while at the same time afraid to be branded as laggards, production figures that were unrealistic to begin with, were fixed higher and higher. Moreover, because everybody was involved in the battle to produce steel, labor power was lacking to bring in the harvests. If these amounts of food really could have been harvested, as the enthusiastic reports had promised, "communism was just around the corner", as the general belief in the autumn of 1958 seemed to be.
Strike the battle drum of the Great Leap Forward ever louder, 1959
By early 1959, it became clear that things were running out of hand. As a result of the massive production drives in steel and agriculture, both the production and transport sectors had become severely dislocated. The reality of the Great Leap Forward corresponded less and less with the picture painted in the reports to the leadership. Some leaders, including Chen Yun, started to express cautious warnings about the results of this "fever in the brain" which held China in its sway, while the more radical officials continued to proclaim imaginary victories in production.
Crossing the Yellow River while sitting in a peanut, 1958
Dissatisfaction climaxed at the Lushan Plenum in July 1959. Originally, the meeting was intended to reign in the "leftism" of the movement, but it turned into a showdown between proponents of the movement (headed by Mao) and opponents. In a personal letter to Mao, Peng had criticized the extreme elements of the movement. Mao interpreted the letter as a personal attack and had it distributed for study and criticism by the other leaders present at Lushan. As a result of the Plenum, Peng was dismissed from his posts and replaced by Lin Biao. Instead of trying to find answers to the problems of the Great Leap, an anti-Rightist struggle was started.
Transform the Hai River, temper yourself, 1958
Despite the indications that the Great Leap had failed to reach its objectives, the movement continued to be upheld. During the celebrations of the Tenth Anniversary of the People's Republic in October 1959, the "General Line of the Great Leap Forward, the people's communes and the steel campaign" were reaffirmed. The movement turned into a disaster when in the period 1959-1961 China was struck by natural disasters. More than an estimated 30 to 40 million people died in the ensuing famine.
Long live the General Line!, 1961
100 Flowers Campaign:
Hundred Flowers campaign (1956–7) A campaign whose title was taken from the ancient phrase ‘Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend’, in an attempt to encourage intellectual criticism of party and state. Trusting that most intellectuals had been successfully converted toCommunism, the ruling Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai ostensibly wanted to strengthen the state through constructive criticism. After a timid start, a barrage of criticism was unleashed in May 1957, as not only intellectuals, but also students and other groups criticized the party hierarchy and the state. This triggered a quick government clamp-down on its critics, many of whom were sent to gaol. The campaign thus anticipated an effective party purge by inducing those who were critical to the party to disclose themselves.
Borderlands:
During the Vietnam War, anti-American propaganda became as violent as it had been during the Korean War. This boardgame, probably published between 1965 and 1970, is an example. It is a game for two to four players, that is won by the player who "destroys the American imperialists first" by reaching number 41. The motto of the game, below, is "Bury the American imperialists in the boundless ocean of the people's war". Above is a quotation from Mao: "People of the whole world get united, defeat the American invaders and their bunch of lackeys! The people of the whole world will have courage, they dare to fight, they don't fear difficulties, no sooner has one fallen than another steps into the breach, that way the whole world will definitely belong to the people. All the demons will be perished completely."
soviet Relations:
China and the Soviet Union concluded a 30-year Treaty of Peace, Security and Friendship on 14 February 1950. The PRC, lacking an economic base and administrative-technical skills, was willing to play the role of 'little brother' in the fields of ideology and foreign policy, in return for extensive support from Moscow. Econonomc cooperation was an important component of the Treaty and enable China to achieve impressive industrial development and growth. It also helped supply Soviet weapons and equipment to modernize the Chinese armed forces from a primitive mass-based army into a semi-modern fighting force. In the early 1950s, in short, the Soviet Union, the first country that alleged to have "realized communism", in many if not most respects provided a shining example for Peking.
The Soviet Union is our example, 1953
The CCP also sought inspiration in the Soviet Union for the development of its visual propaganda. Mao and other leaders were convinced that Socialist Realism, as it had been practised in the Soviet Union since the 1930s, was the best tool to develop new forms of art. It provided a realistic view of life, represented in the rosy colors of optimism, although largely seen through an urban lens. Socialist Realism focussed on industrial plants, blast furnaces, power stations, construction sites and people at work. In the period 1949-1957, many Chinese painters studied Socialist Realism in Soviet art academies; others were educated by Soviet professors who came to teach in Chinese institutions.
With the great support of the Soviet Union, and our own greatest strength, we will realize the industrialization of our nation step by step!, 1953
Cultural Revelation 1966-1976:
Criticize the old world and build a new world with Mao Zedong Thought as a weapon, 1966
The Cultural Revolution (文化大革命, Wenhua Dageming, 1966-1976) was a mass campaign of enormous dimensions. Aside from the general revolutionary high-tide that swept China, the period was marked by a large number of sub-campaigns. Indeed, whenever the situation called for a shift in orientation within the larger framework of the Cultural Revolution, this was engineered by setting in motion a new campaign. Factional struggles within the leadership also functioned as catalysts for campaigns.
Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong Thought to wage the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the end--Revolution is no crime, to rebel is justified, ca. 1966
Often, these sub-campaigns came so hard and fast that propaganda posters had to serve as the main source of information for the people. With the country in complete chaos, these images which contained clear and unambiguous indications of what behavior and slogans were acceptable at that particular moment, were seen as more dependable than the media. This was in particular the case in those localities where the "excellent revolutionary" situation that prevailed - according to the media, that is - had become completely unintelligible to the innocent bystander.
Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong Thought--thoroughly smash the rotting counterrevolutionary revisionist line in literature and art, 1967
Sources:
http://chineseposters.net/themes/index.php
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-HundredFlowerscampaign.html
