Read Online Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader by Geremie Barme - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Geremie Barme
Tags: General, Asia, History, Literary Criticism, Political Science, Political Ideologies, china, Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism, World, Asian, Chinese, test
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Great Wall you're not a real man)to sell tours to the Great Wall. But the exploitation of Mao's image in advertising was officially banned with the promulgation of China's advertising law in October 1994. 158
Mao's poetry, also the subject of controversy, inspired such imitators as Chen Mingyuan, a man jailed after 4 June as a dissident. In the 1960s Chen authored numerous poems in the classical style, and in the early years of the Cultural Revolution a collection of these were produced in book form in the belief that they were actually by Mao. Chen's attempts to clear up this misunderstanding in both the 1960s and 1980s led to seemingly endless political persecution. 159
Reprisals and marketing of Mao have been particularly successful in the free port of Hong Kong. David Tang, founder of the China Club, an up-market retreat for the well heeled, has played with Cultural Revolution fashion and Mao kitsch in the décor of the club and the uniforms of its workers. In early 1995 he opened Shanghai Tang, a department store on Pedder Street in Central District that specialized in stylish and pricey nostalgia goods inspired by Old Shanghai and the formerly revolutionary China. 160
From the mid 1960s, local authorities made many attempts to evoke the cachet of Mao. But, as we have noted, by the early 1980s Mao had become both a political and an economic burden. Internal documents and circulars similar to those referred to in "Pulping Mao" above were also issued to organizations outside the publishing industry that were still promoting the defunct Mao Cult.
In 1979 an internal Guangming Daily report published in the limited-circulation publication Propaganda Trends commented on attempts to commemorate an inspection tour Mao had made of Wuhu in Anhui Province in 1958. During the tour Mao had spent the night in Building No. 2 of the Tieshan Guesthouse. In the Cultural Revolution, Mao's rooms in the guesthouse were closed to the public and converted into a museum. By the time
Page 36
this tardy consecration took place, however, none of the original bedding, books, or other everyday trivia that Mao had used during his visit could be found, so simulacra were provided.
Being withdrawn from public use at a time of increased local and international tourism, and hardly a site worthy of revolutionary adulation, in 1979 the two hotel rooms represented nothing more than lost revenue: More than 5,000 yuan were forfeited annually to maintain the suite's cult status. As the report observed: "Comrade Mao Zedong was always in favor of frugality. Since there is a Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Beijing and museums in places where Chairman Mao spent considerable periods of time like Shaoshan, Jinggangshan, Zunyi, and Yan'an, surely such minor commemorative rooms are not really necessary." 161
The first boom in "Mao tourism" during the 1960s had seen the conversion of numerous other places Mao had been, the rooms in which he had worked or slept, and even the paths on which he had walked, turned into commemorative spots with plaques or cenotaphs recording details of the historic visitation. 162 Although revolutionary fervor was dying down in the late 1970s and official attempts were being made to bring an end to Mao worship, organizations throughout the country were gradually realizing the commercial potential of the revolutionary sites that came under their jurisdiction. Some places were already charging foreign travelers exorbitant rates for rooms they claimed had been built for or lived in by Mao. A Department of Propaganda notice was circulated in 1979 warning that the exploitation of Mao's name was not only improper but it also gave foreigners entirely the wrong impression. 163 Despite such official interdictions, however, the "Chairman Mao slept here" ploy was often used to attract visitors and became an excuse to charge high prices. From the late 1980s, the largest Mao tourist trap in China was his hometown in Hunan.
Shaoshanchong (now Shaoshan
Mao's poetry, also the subject of controversy, inspired such imitators as Chen Mingyuan, a man jailed after 4 June as a dissident. In the 1960s Chen authored numerous poems in the classical style, and in the early years of the Cultural Revolution a collection of these were produced in book form in the belief that they were actually by Mao. Chen's attempts to clear up this misunderstanding in both the 1960s and 1980s led to seemingly endless political persecution. 159
Reprisals and marketing of Mao have been particularly successful in the free port of Hong Kong. David Tang, founder of the China Club, an up-market retreat for the well heeled, has played with Cultural Revolution fashion and Mao kitsch in the décor of the club and the uniforms of its workers. In early 1995 he opened Shanghai Tang, a department store on Pedder Street in Central District that specialized in stylish and pricey nostalgia goods inspired by Old Shanghai and the formerly revolutionary China. 160
From the mid 1960s, local authorities made many attempts to evoke the cachet of Mao. But, as we have noted, by the early 1980s Mao had become both a political and an economic burden. Internal documents and circulars similar to those referred to in "Pulping Mao" above were also issued to organizations outside the publishing industry that were still promoting the defunct Mao Cult.
In 1979 an internal Guangming Daily report published in the limited-circulation publication Propaganda Trends commented on attempts to commemorate an inspection tour Mao had made of Wuhu in Anhui Province in 1958. During the tour Mao had spent the night in Building No. 2 of the Tieshan Guesthouse. In the Cultural Revolution, Mao's rooms in the guesthouse were closed to the public and converted into a museum. By the time
Page 36
this tardy consecration took place, however, none of the original bedding, books, or other everyday trivia that Mao had used during his visit could be found, so simulacra were provided.
Being withdrawn from public use at a time of increased local and international tourism, and hardly a site worthy of revolutionary adulation, in 1979 the two hotel rooms represented nothing more than lost revenue: More than 5,000 yuan were forfeited annually to maintain the suite's cult status. As the report observed: "Comrade Mao Zedong was always in favor of frugality. Since there is a Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Beijing and museums in places where Chairman Mao spent considerable periods of time like Shaoshan, Jinggangshan, Zunyi, and Yan'an, surely such minor commemorative rooms are not really necessary." 161
The first boom in "Mao tourism" during the 1960s had seen the conversion of numerous other places Mao had been, the rooms in which he had worked or slept, and even the paths on which he had walked, turned into commemorative spots with plaques or cenotaphs recording details of the historic visitation. 162 Although revolutionary fervor was dying down in the late 1970s and official attempts were being made to bring an end to Mao worship, organizations throughout the country were gradually realizing the commercial potential of the revolutionary sites that came under their jurisdiction. Some places were already charging foreign travelers exorbitant rates for rooms they claimed had been built for or lived in by Mao. A Department of Propaganda notice was circulated in 1979 warning that the exploitation of Mao's name was not only improper but it also gave foreigners entirely the wrong impression. 163 Despite such official interdictions, however, the "Chairman Mao slept here" ploy was often used to attract visitors and became an excuse to charge high prices. From the late 1980s, the largest Mao tourist trap in China was his hometown in Hunan.
Shaoshanchong (now Shaoshan
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