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Propaganda in China

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File:Mao book.jpg
Chinese poster saying: "Chariman Mao is the Red sun in our hearts.", 1966.

Political propaganda has pervaded many aspects of daily life in the People's Republic of China (PRC) since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. The history of communist propaganda in China predates the establishment of the PRC, and it has since manifested itself in various forms, such as songs, paintings, posters, and films. Propaganda produced by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been disseminated through state-controlled print and electronic media, and the CCP has made prolific use of the Internet as a means of distributing propaganda to both Chinese citizens and foreigners in the modern age. China Central Television has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the People's Daily newspaper has served as a medium for print propaganda.

A poster during the Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius campaign. It reads, "The criticism of Lin (Biao) and Confucius is a matter of prime importance for the whole party, the whole army and the people of the whole country".

Political scientists believe that propaganda in the PRC is being utilized by the CCP to nurture the development of Chinese nationalism and of loyalty to the PRC, the CCP, and the Beijing regime in general. Many also believe that the PRC government, having embarked on a program of capitalist-style economic reform and modernization in the late 1970s, is keen to use propaganda to portray the CCP as a nationalistic and patriotic party, rather than simply as a party that builds socialism or implements Marxism-Leninism in China, since these have largely been abandoned in practice and thus can no longer serve as effective bases for loyalty to the regime. Common themes in the new nationalistic propaganda of the PRC include the lionizing of the CCP's People's Liberation Army and its individual soldiers for their exploits and sacrifices during the 1937-1945 Second Sino-Japanese War and the allegedly seamless unity of the nation's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups.

In previous decades, PRC propaganda was crucial to the formation and promotion of the cult of personality centered around Chairman Mao Zedong. It also served as a useful tool for mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns such as the 1958 Great Leap Forward and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. Following the death of Mao in 1976, propaganda was used to blacken the character of the notorious Gang of Four, which was seen as responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate selfless model workers and soldiers such as the famous Comrade Lei Feng, suicidal Chinese Civil War hero Dong Cunrui, self-sacrificing Korean War hero Yang Gensi, and Dr. Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor who assisted the Communist Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It also praised Third World revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as Albania and North Korea while vilifying both the United States "imperialists" and the Soviet "revisionists" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism-Leninism). During the era of economic reform and modernization that was initiated by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, propaganda promoting "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was distributed. The later reign of President Jiang Zemin saw the creation of propaganda demonizing the Falun Gong cult and promoting his "Three Represents" theory.

See also: Propaganda of the Republic of China

Definition of Propaganda

While in the Western world the word propaganda bears negative connotations, the Chinese word 宣传, which is liberally translated as propaganda in such instances, actually means broadcast or spread (information), with no negative connotations that would imply biasness or untruthfulness. This explains what many English speakers would consider outright acknowledgment of the nature of their propaganda, is actually not. For example, Chinese "propaganda" has also served to raise public awareness about the law, the need for common courtesy, the importance of embracing science and technology, and the prevention of SARS and the dangers of the AIDS disease.

For example:

宣传安全知识

would nominally, by dictionary definition of "宣传", be translated as propagating public safety awareness. However, there is absolutely no political connotation in the use of this word, as might be present in

宣传毛泽东思想

ie., propagating the Mao Zedong Thought. This can be likened to the use of Agitprop specifically as political propaganda, and the Spanish word propaganda which simply means advertising.

Ideological background

File:Cultrev.jpg
A poster during the Cultural Revolution. The message reads, "The Chinese People's Liberation Army is the great school of Mao Zedong Thought."

In the realm of the arts, the theory of socialist realism that was adopted by the USSR and the PRC of Mao Zedong explicitly states as its goal the education of the people in the objectives and the meaning of the ideology of communism. One of the official goals of the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution in the PRC was "to transform literature and art."

File:Nanjingcapitolpropaganda.jpg
A 1976 propaganda painting depicting the fall of the ROC Nanjing Presidential Palace; incorporates elements of Impressionism and Realism

The Central Propaganda Department [中共中央宣传部] of the CCP, together with state censorship organizations General Administration of Press and Publication [新闻出版总署], State Administration of Radio, Film and Television [广播电影电视总局] and State Council Information Office [国务院信息办公室], oversee all printing for consistency with the official political doctrine under detailed regulations, such as "Regulations Regarding Strengthening the Administration of Publications Describing Major Party and National Leaders" (1990), which says in part:

The publication and distribution of these types of books and essays must be solemn and discreet. The description of historical facts must be accurate, and the point of view must conform with the spirit of the Party's "Decision Regarding Certain Historical Problems," "Decision Regarding Certain Historical Problems Since the Establishment of the Party" and related Party documents. All responsible agencies and publishing units must strictly guard against violations, and anything that does not conform to the above mentioned requirements may not be published and distributed.

Censorship

Main article: Internet censorship in mainland China.

Taiwan terminology

Because the Republic of China on Taiwan previously claimed to be the legal government of all of China and the PRC accepts neither that the ROC government is legitimate nor that Taiwan is a separate country, the PRC uses a special set of terminology when describing Taiwan. For example, as a result of the former position of both the ROC and the PRC of one China, the PRC is commonly referred to in both Taiwan and the PRC as "da4 lu4" (大陸）meaning the mainland, or the continent; sometimes it is also referred to as "nei4 di4" (內地）meaning the interior territory. In both cases, the idea is to avoid describing the PRC as China and the ROC as Taiwan, as is commonly done in English. When Taiwan joins international organizations, China also forces Taiwan to take on names other than Republic of China or Taiwan, such as Chinese Taipei or the Separate customs territory of Taiwan, Kinmen and Matsu, in order to avoid describing Taiwan as a country.

See also:

PRC propaganda films

See also: Cinema of China

Famous propaganda songs

Propaganda songs and music have a long and storied history in the PRC, and they figured prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including "Red Rock'N'Roll" and "Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley". The latter sold 6-10 million copies in China (see the external link on "Rethinking Cultural Revolution Culture"). Most of the songs praise Mao, the CCP, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the People's Liberation Army, the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CCP.

The titles of some of the more well-known propaganda songs are as follows:

  • "Nanniwan" (a 1943 revolutionary song)
  • "The East is Red" (the de facto national anthem of the PRC during the Cultural Revolution)
  • "Socialism is Good" (pinyin: Shehuizhuyi Hao), which had recently been redone as a modern rock song by Red Rock (红色摇滚).
  • "Song of the People's Liberation Army" (pinyin: Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Junge)
  • "Battle Hymn of the Chinese People's Volunteers" (pinyin: Zhongguo Renmin Zhiyuanjun Zhange"; a well-known song from the Korean War period)
  • "Red Sun Shining Over the Border" (pinyin: Hong Taiyang Zhao Bianjiang; a song from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province)
  • "A Wa People Sing New Songs" (pinyin: A Wa Chang Xin Ge; a song attributed to the Wa ethnic minority of Yunnan Province)
  • "Laundry Song" (pinyin: Xiyige; a song celebrating the "liberation" of Tibet)
  • "Liuyang River" (pinyin: Liuyang He; a song about a river near Mao Zedong's hometown of Shaoshan in Hunan Province)
  • "Saliha Most Listens to Chairman Mao's Words" (pinyin: Saliha Zui Ting Mao Zhuxi De Hua; a song attributed to the Kazakh minority of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region)
  • "The Never-Setting Sun Rises Over the Grassland" (pinyin: Caoyuan Shang Sheng Qi Bu Luo De Taiyang; likely from Inner Mongolia)
  • "Xinjiang is Good" (pinyin: Xinjiang Hao; attributed to the ethnic Uighurs of Xinjiang)
  • "I Love Beijing Tiananmen" (pinyin: Wo Ai Beijing Tiananmen; claimed to have been translated into over 50 languages, a song frequently taught to schoolchildren in the PRC)
  • "Zhuang Brocade Dedicated to Chairman Mao" (pinyin: Zhuang Jin Xiangei Mao Zhuxi; a song attributed to the Zhuang ethnic minority of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)
  • "Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Blooms With the Arrival of Happiness" (attributed to the Miao, or Chinese Hmong, ethnic minority group)
  • "Generations Remember Chairman Mao's Kindness" (a song celebrating the "liberation" of the ethnic Xibe people)
  • "Salaam Chairman Mao" (Ethnic song praising Mao, new version done by Dao Lang)
  • "Song of Mount Erlangshan" (pinyin: Gechang Erlangshan; a song celebrating the development of Tibet, which made Mount Erlangshan in western Sichuan Province famous)
  • "Story of the Spring" (春天的故事; Sang by Dong Yuanhua, dedicated to Deng Xiaoping)
  • "The Cultural Revolution is Just Great" (文化大革命好, a song praising the Cultural Revolution)
  • "On the Golden Mountains of Beijing" (北京的金山上, ethnic-sounding song praising Mao as the shining sun)

Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CPC, but are exhibited in the Mainland as a method of bringing memories back from the "old times" and statements of nationalism/patriotism.

References

  • Min, Anchee, Duo, Duo, Landsberger, Stefan R., Chinese Propaganda Posters, 245 x 370 mm, 320 pp., ISBN 3-8228-2619-7 (softcover)
  • Wolf, Michael Chinese Propaganda Posters: From the Collection of Michael Wolf, 2003, ISBN 3822826197
  • Harriet Evans, Stephanie Donald (eds.), Picturing Power in the People's Republic of China, ISBN 0847695115
  • Hunter, Edward. Brain-washing in Red China: the calculated destruction of men's minds. New York, N.Y., USA.: Vanguard Press, 1951, 1953,
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