Model Workers in China, 1949-1965

Constructing A New Citizen

James Farley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781138299825
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351578363
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

Seismic changes in ideology and economic policy in China followed the death of Mao Zedong but one aspect of culture has remained constant: the use of 'Model Workers' for the purposes of propaganda and more recent public relations campaigns. In both a political and commercial context, the use of these individuals continues to thrive, and although the messages they promote have largely changed, their continued use indicates the extent to which they are believed to be an effective form of persuasion. Model Workers were deployed at key points in China's recent history and served to embody the Party's vision of the ideal Chinese citizen as they attempted to reshape the nation following a 'Century of Humiliation,' a ruinous war with Japan and a divisive civil war.

This volume utilises the detailed analysis of posters, cinema and translations of related propaganda material to explore the extent of the influence of the Model Worker as a concept, on both propaganda and national policy.

1 The Model Worker

Origins

Making use of heroes and models to guide society through example hardly has its origin in the Communist Party’s various propaganda campaigns. Heroes abound in literature across the cultures of the world, providing individuals with inspiration for emulation. These stories and their heroes provide not simply the opportunity to cultivate self-improvement, but they also say something about the culture within which their story has been constructed. China is no different, and from the time of Zhuge Liang¹ to Yue Fei,² the people have never been short of models for inspiration. The origin of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Model Worker has its own roots, born not only from the accumulated experience of its native predecessors but also from specific circumstances that the nation faced in the mid to late 1800s. It was these circumstances that would shape the development of the Model Worker as the CCP sought to utilise the propaganda value of ‘the hero’ to rebuild the nation and counter the problems that had riven the country in the past century. These circumstances, beginning with the first Opium War in 1839, shaped the development of the Model Worker concept in the post-1949 era.

The first Opium War in 1839 culminated with the signing of the first ‘unequal treaty.’ The Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 compelled China to allow Britain to establish trade ports in Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai in addition to paying war reparations and ceding the island of Hong Kong ‘in perpetuity’ to the United Kingdom. The link between the development of propaganda during the post-Revolutionary period and the national experience during the pre-Revolutionary era can be traced to this time. This link comes with the publication of Liang Qichao’s New Historiography in 1902.³ Following the persistent and perceived humiliation of China by foreign powers, scholars such as Liang saw the study of history as a way in which the nation could be united to resist the influence of their imperialist overlords. During the late 1800s, intellectuals such as Liang Qichao, Liu Shipei, Deng Shi and Ma Xulun debated about how history should be constructed.⁴ Liang argued, at least initially (he was to change his mind in the early 1900s), that China’s tradition of historical writing was flawed because it failed to take into consideration the wider society since it focussed primarily on ruling dynasties. He stated that essentially, China had no real historical written sources and that modern historians needed to create a new history in order that the nation could be more soundly constructed. The concept of a ‘People’s History’ conceivably grew from this development.⁵

Liu Shipei, Deng Shi and Ma Xulun disagreed with Liang and argued for a ‘new history’ built on the old; a less iconoclastic approach. Although opinions differed, all scholars believed in a strengthening of patriotism in the country in order to more successfully confront the problem of imperialism. This was to be achieved by creating greater national unity. Significantly, it meant that there was a shift from what Luo Zhitian described as being ‘mastering the classics for practical ends’ to ‘mastering history for practical ends.’⁶ As Liang stated, ‘without a revolution in the study of history, our country cannot be saved.’⁷ Depictions of Model Workers, both in the cinematic and poster form, frequently detail historical events and illustrate the ascendency of the people and, by extension, the nation. The problem of what the CCP describes as being ‘historical nihilism,’ that is, having an ‘incorrect’ appraisal of history, was as pressing following the Revolution of 1949 as during the leadership of Xi Jinping. Propagandists did, and indeed still do, employ the method of ‘mastering history for practical ends.’

There was already a strong precedent for using heroes to promote cultural unity through the study of history. Indeed, by 1902 a state school system was introduced by Zhang Zhidong that emphasised the importance of patriotism but also loyalty to the Emperor.⁸ The concept of a hero that the people should follow and aspire to for the benefit of the nation was clearly an important component of this new focus and was disseminated by the Ministry of Education. It was made clear that ‘knowledge of history would foster loyalty to the Emperor, while knowledge of the great deeds of heroes and the blessings of the cosmos would inoculate students against revolutionary heresies.’⁹ After the fall of the Qing dynasty, all references to the Emperor were removed, but the more nationalist sentiments remained. Traditionally, the study of the Confucian classics had been used to provide ‘political and moral lessons to rulers’ through an explanation of the values of Chinese society.¹⁰ The propagandists of the Revolution followed this tradition. However, they replaced the use of the Confucian classics with political and moral lessons for the whole population. In theory, these were the new ‘rulers’ of the country. The people would study an idealised ‘People’s History’ that would provide the bedrock for greater unity in China’s new era.

The extent to which Mao, in particular, was influenced by Liang Qichao’s work can be seen in his earlier ideological writing. Prior to joining the Communist Party, Mao had begun a ‘study society’ in Hunan that he named ‘New People’s Study Society.’¹¹ This was named after Liang Qichao’s essay collection, entitled Renewing the People.¹² This detailed why social reform was an essential component of any process to rebuild the nation. Whilst Liang’s ‘new citizen’ would take the best of existing Chinese culture and augment it with new ideas from foreign countries, Mao’s ‘new citizen’ would be far more radical. This ‘New Citizen’ would not build upon the past, it would redefine it, in order that something new, but still distinctly Chinese, be constructed.

The obsession with creating a ‘New Citizen’ did not begin with Liang Qichao and end with Mao Zedong. Throughout the period that led to the revolution, others also attempted to define and promote concepts of the ideal citizen. Sun Zhongshan’s ‘Three Principles of the People’ were intended to define the nature of citizenship in post-Imperial Republican China. The Three Principles were based, first, on nationalism, explained by Sun as being the ‘emancipation of the Chinese nation’ and the equality of all those within it. The second principle was ‘popular sovereignty,’ to be achieved by national involvement in politics. The third principle, the ‘people’s livelihood,’ focussed on the regulation of land and capital. There are clear similarities with some aspects of the Three Principles and what was later to inform the values of the Model Worker. Both concepts focus on the need for education so that the people can be more actively engaged in efforts to improve the nation. However, there are a number of fundamental differences, specifically related to the way in which ‘popular sovereignty’ would find expression within the country under Mao and the development of the ‘Mass Line.’¹³ Sun’s principles, although now considered to be central to the founding of the Chinese Republic, are not without their critics, largely because they are rather poorly defined and do not provide a coherent plan of action.¹⁴

In response to Sun Zhongshan, the ‘New Culture Movement’ (1911–1937) attempted to offer a rather different approach to revitalising society. This movement was essentially an effort to understand how the West and Japan had developed, which would result in the creation of a new social and cultural system that would benefit China.¹⁵ Those who promoted the ideas of ‘New Culture,’ such as the writer Lu Xun, rejected the idea of repurposing the old Confucian system, arguing that it was anachronistic and ill-suited for the development of a modern country.¹⁶ As with the ‘Three Principles of the People,’ there existed in the New Culture Movement a number of common elements, particularly focussing on the need for education and thought reform to improve the nation.¹⁷ However, the overall goals, although influential, did not entirely mesh with Mao’s own vision and fell into decline by 1937.¹⁸ He was critical of the campaign, believing that overall, the intellectuals at its heart did not speak for the vast majority of the citizenry, particularly the vast peasantry.

Mao’s rival in his struggle for the country, Jiang Jieshi, leader of the Guomindang, also recognised the need for social reform in order that the Republic be rejuvenated. This was to be achieved through his ‘New Life Movement.’ The Movement was launched on the 19th of February 1934 and was designed primarily to reform Chinese society by encouraging individuals to act in a more socially responsible way. However, by contrast to CCP efforts regarding social reform, ‘New Life’ was based principally on promoting the virtues of ancient China. To reinforce this, the movement attempted to recycle Confucian language mixed with aspects of social Darwinism.¹⁹ The virtues promoted focussed primarily on issues related to personal behaviour, justice for all, integrity in personal and business life and respect for others.²⁰ Furthermore, Madame Jiang Jieshi²¹ argued that the reason that China had found itself in such a difficult position was because of ‘hundreds of years of Manchu misrule.’²² She argued that this caused the people to become apathetic and disengaged with the political system. Throughout the period that the New Life Movement was promoted, China was facing threats on numerous fronts. The issues upon which the movement focussed were thus considered to be trivial, given the threats to security that the country was facing.²³ The method by which the ideals of the movement were communicated to the people was also largely coercive, adding to its unpopularity.²⁴

Although the vague principles of the ‘Three Principles of the People’ and the cobbled together concepts of the ‘New Life Movement’ offered some hope for change, they lacked a clear plan for action. Prior to gaining power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party, through the theoretical work of Mao Zedong, had already developed a blueprint for how the nation could be rebuilt following a successful revolution. To avoid the problem of misunderstanding and unfocussed implementation, propaganda aimed at national rejuvenation would be based on three core concepts: nationalism, social reform and the development of socialism. The Model Worker concept would be employed to promote these core ideas. The CCP would provide the people not simply with educators but also, in most cases, real citizens of whom the population could be proud. Mao’s theoretical work prior to gaining power reveals the extent to which these three core concepts were to dominate not only the development of Model Worker propaganda throughout the period but also policy documents throughout the Maoist era.

The values of the Model Worker: Nationalism, social reform and the development of socialism

Sun Zhongshan argued that a commitment to the ideology of nationalism was essential for the people of China to be emancipated. However, the CCP’s commitment to the use of nationalism for the purpose of nation-building goes rather deeper than simply emancipation of the people from foreign rule. John Hutchinson and Anthony Smith in their work ‘Nationalism’ offer insight into the highly complex and subjective n...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 The Model Worker: Origins
• 2 The Model Worker in action: Propaganda campaigns, 1949-1957
• 3 The Model Worker in crisis: Propaganda campaigns, 1957-1964
• 4 Constructing the Model Worker in post-1949 Chinese cinema
• 5 A multimedia campaign, post-1949 poster propaganda and the Model Worker
• 6 The power of role models is infinite
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index