PureInsight | January 10, 2005
On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture
III. The Party Culture
While the CCP was destroying the traditional semi-divine culture, it quietly established its own culture through continuous political movements. The Party culture has transformed the older generation, poisoned the younger generation and also had an impact on children. Its influence has been deep and broad. Even when many people tried to expose the evilness of the CCP, they couldn't help but adopt the ways of judging good and bad, the ways of analyzing, and the vocabulary developed by the CCP, which inevitably carry the imprint of the Party culture.
The Party culture not only inherited and deepened the wickedness of the foreign-born Marxist-Leninist culture, but also skillfully combined all the negative elements from thousands of years of Chinese culture with the violent revolution and philosophy of struggle from the party's propaganda. Those negative components include internal strife, forming cliques to pursue selfish interests, employing political trickery to torture people mentally, and appropriating the semblance of culture while replacing the contents. During the CCP's struggle for survival in the past decades, its characteristic of "deceit, wickedness and violence" has been enriched, nurtured, and carried forward.
Despotism and dictatorship are the true natures of the Party culture. Its purpose is to serve its own ends in political and class struggles. The following four aspects constitute the environment of the people's culture under the dictatorship dominates with terror.
The Aspect of Domination and Control
A. The Culture of Isolation
The culture of communism is an isolated monopoly with no freedom of thought, speech, association, or belief. The mechanism of the CCP's domination is very similar to a hydraulic system, relying on high pressure and isolation to maintain its state of control. Even one tiny leak could cause the system to collapse. For example, the Party refused talks with the students during the June 4th incident [53], fearing that if this leak spouted, the workers, peasants, intellectuals and the military would also request dialogue. Consequently, China would have eventually moved towards democracy and the one-party dictatorship would have been challenged. Therefore, they chose to commit murder rather than grant the students' request. The current Internet blockade is the same tactic employed by the CCP to prevent people from accessing information prohibited under its rule.
B. The Culture of Terror
For the past 55 years, the CCP has been using terror to suppress the minds of its people. They have wielded their whips and butcher's knives – people never know when unforeseen disasters will befall them—to standardize the behavior of the people. The people, living in fear, became obedient. Advocates of democracy, independent thinkers, skeptics in society and members of various spiritual groups have become targets for killing to warn the public. The party needs to nip any opposition in the bud.
C. The Culture of Network Control
There are governmental organizations and administration systems for household registration, neighborhood residents' committees, and various levels of party committees. Here are some examples from Party slogans. "Party branches are established at the level of the company." "Each and every single village has its own branch," while Party and Communist Youth League members have regular activities. "Guard your own door and watch your own people." "Stop your people from appealing." "It is essential for the system to impose and guarantee the fulfillment of responsibilities and duties and ascertain where the responsibility lies. Guard and control strictly. Be serious about discipline and regulations and guarantee 24-hour preventive and maintenance control measures." "The 610 Office [54] will form a surveillance committee to inspect and monitor activities in each region and work unit at irregular intervals." There is also the Family Planning Committee to enforce birth control.
D. The Culture of Implication
For relatives of those who were labeled "landlords," "rich," "reactionaries," "bad elements," and "rightists," and for those of their children whom the government considered amenable to being educated and transformed, the Party required "placing righteousness above family loyalty." A system for personal and organizational archives was established to monitor and record each person's political activities throughout life. There is also a relocation system to temporarily transfer cadres elsewhere. The people are encouraged to expose others, and those who achieve the goals of the Party are rewarded.
To curb the public appeals of Falun Gong practitioners, the Party states that it will "investigate and affix the responsibility of the primary leaders who have failed in their leadership roles, who haven't taken adequate measures, and who have caused Falun Gong practitioners to go to Beijing and stir up trouble. A public reprimand will be held. If the situation is serious, disciplinary action will be taken."
Aspects of Propaganda
A. The Culture of One Hall, One Voice
During the Cultural Revolution, China was filled with slogans such as "Supreme instructions," "One sentence (of Mao) carries the weight of ten thousand sentences, each one is the truth." All media were roused to sing the praises and collectively speak in support of the Party. When needed, leaders from every level of the party, government, military, workers, youth league and women's organizations would be brought out to express their support. Everyone had to go through the ordeal.
B. Promoting the Culture of Violence
Promoting violence is another characteristic of the Party culture. Mao Zedong once said, "With 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?" In the persecution of Falun Gong, Jiang Zemin encouraged the police by saying that "There will be no punishment for beating Falun Gong practitioners to death." The CCP vowed "to fight beyond the limits," "the atomic bomb is simply a tiger on paper… even if half of the population died, the remaining half would still reconstruct our homeland from the ruins."
C. Inciting the Culture of Hatred
The CCP asked that people "do not forget the suffering of the poor classes, and firmly remember the enmity in tears of blood." Cruelty towards class enemies was praised by the CCP as a virtue. Such hatred was vividly shown in a popular modern opera, "Biting into your hatred, chew it and swallow it down. The hatred that enters your heart will sprout." [55]
D. The Culture of Deception and Lies
From the announcement that "the yield per mu [56] is over ten thousand jin [57]" during the Great Leap Forward (1958), "No one was killed on Tiananmen Square" during the June 4th massacre in 1989, and "We have controlled the SARS virus" in 2003, all the way to the current claims that "It is currently the best time for human rights in China," and "the three represents"—every one of the claims has been a lie.
E. The Culture of Brainwashing
The CCP made up many slogans to brainwash the people: "There would be no new China without the Communist Party;" "The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party and the theoretical basis guiding our thinking is Marxism-Leninism;" [58] "Maintain high consistency with the Central Committee of the Party;" and "Carry out the party's command if you understand it. Even if you do not understand, carry it out anyway and your understanding should deepen while carrying out the orders."
F. The Culture of Adulation and Sweet Talk
The CCP encourages expressions that put itself on the highest pedestal: "Heaven and the earth are great but greater still is the kindness of the Party;" "We owe all our achievements to the Party;" "I take the Party as my mother;" "I use my own life to safeguard the Central Committee of the Party." The CCP claims to have proven itself to be "a great, glorious and correct party," "the undefeatable party," and so on.
G. The Culture of Pretentiousness
Establishing models and setting up examples one after another, the Party launched the "socialist ideological and spiritual construction" and "ideological education" campaigns. In the end, people continued to do what they did before each campaign. All of the conferences, study sessions, and experience sharing meetings have become an "earnest showcase," and society's moral standard has continued to take great leaps backward.
The Aspect of Interpersonal Relations
A. The Culture of Jealousy
The party promoted "absolute equalitarianism" so that "anyone who stands out will be the target of attack." People have easily become jealous of those who have greater ability and those who are wealthier—the so-called "red-eye syndrome." [59]
B. The Culture of People Stepping Over Each Other
The CCP has conducted "face-to-face fight and back-to-back report" sessions, asking people to struggle against others and report on them behind their backs. Squealing on one's associates, creating written materials to frame them, fabricating facts and exaggerating their mistakes—these devious behaviors have been used to measure closeness to the party and the desire to advance.
Subtle Influences on People's Psyche and Behavior
A. The Culture That Transforms Human Beings into Machines
The Party wants the people to be the "never rusting bolts on the revolution machine," to be the "tamed tool for the Party," or to "march in whatever directions the Party directs us." "Chairman Mao's soldiers listen to the Party the most; they go wherever they are needed and settle down wherever there are hardships."
B. The Culture That Confounds Good and Bad
During the Cultural Revolution, the CCP would "rather have the socialist weeds but not the capitalist crops;" two decades later, the order to the army to shoot and kill is "in exchange for 20 years of stability." "Do unto others what one does not want to be done unto oneself" — this characterizes the CCP's moral stance.
C. The Culture of Self-Imposed Brainwashing and Unconditional Obedience
"Lower ranks obey the orders of the higher ranks and the whole party obeys the Party Central Committee." "Fight ruthlessly to eradicate any selfish thoughts that flash through your mind." "Erupt a revolution in the depths of your soul." "Align maximally with the Party Central Committee." "China would be in chaos without the Communist Party." "Unify the minds, the footsteps, the orders, and the commands."
D. The Culture of Turning People into Willing Slaves
"China would be in chaos without the Communist Party;" "China is so vast. Who else can lead it but the CCP?" "If China collapses, it will be a worldwide disaster, so we should help the CCP sustain its leadership." Out of fear and self-protection, the groups constantly suppressed by the CCP oftentimes appear even more lefty and radical than the CCP.
These are some of the slogans the CCP has used. There are many more. People who experienced the Cultural Revolution might still remember vividly the Modern Operas, the Songs with Mao's words as lyrics, and the Loyalty Dance. Many still recall the words from the dialogues in "The White Haired Girl," "Tunnel Warfare" [60], and "War of Mines" [61]. Through these literary works, the CCP has brainwashed people, filling their minds with messages such as "how brilliant and great the Party is," how "arduously" the party has struggled against the enemy, what "utter devotion" the soldiers of the Party have that they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the Party, and how stupid and vicious the enemies are. Day after day, the CCP's propaganda machine forcibly injects into every individual the beliefs needed by the Communist Party. Today, if one went back to watch the musical dance "The Epic Poem – The East is Red," one would realize that the entire theme and style of the show is about "killing, killing, and more killing."
At the same time, the CCP has created its own system of speech and discourse, such as the abusive language in mass criticisms, the flattering words to sing the praises of the Party, and the banal official formalities similar to the "eight-part essay" [62]. People are made to speak unconsciously with the thinking patterns that promote the concept of "class struggle" and to "extol the Party." Calm and rational reasoning was replaced with a hegemonic language. The CCP also abuses the religious vocabulary and distorts the content of those terms.
One step too far from the truth is fallacy. The CCP party culture also abuses traditional morality. For instance, traditional culture values "faith," so does the Communist Party in its promotion of "faithfulness and honesty to the Party." The traditional culture emphasizes "filial piety." The CCP may put people in jail if they do not provide for their parents, but the real reason is that these parents would otherwise become a "burden" to the government. When it fits the Party's needs, the CCP asks children to draw clear boundaries from their parents. The traditional culture also stresses "loyalty" and that the people are of supreme importance compared to the ruler and the state. The "loyalty" preferred by the CCP, however, is "blind devotion"—so completely blind that people are required to believe in the CCP unconditionally and obey it unquestioningly.
The words commonly used by the CCP are very misleading. For example, it called the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communists the "Liberation War," as if the people were being "liberated" from oppression. The CCP called the post-1949 period "after the founding of the nation," when, in reality, China existed long before that and the CCP simply established a new political regime. The three-year Great Famine [63] was called "three years of natural disaster," when, in fact, it was not at all a natural disaster but, rather, a complete man-made calamity. Upon hearing these words used in everyday life, however, people unconsciously accept them and the ideologies carried in them, just as the CCP intends.
In traditional culture, music is taken as a way to constrain human desires. In Volume 24 of the Records of the Historian (Shi Ji) [64], in discussing the Book of Songs (Yue Shu), Sima Qian (145-85 BC) said that the nature of man is peaceful, and that one's emotions are affected by external influences. If the sentiments of hate and love are stirred up but not constrained, one will be seduced by endless external temptations and commit many bad deeds. Thus, said Sima Qian, the emperors of the past used rituals and music to constrain people. The songs should be "cheerful but not obscene, sad but not overly distressing." They should express feelings and desires, yet have control over these sentiments. Confucius said in Analects, "The three hundred verses of The Odes (one of the six classics compiled and edited by Confucius) may be summed up in a single sentence, 'Think no evil.'"
Such a beautiful thing as music, however, was used by the CCP as a method to brainwash the people. Songs like "Socialism is Great," "There would be no new China without the Communist Party," and many others, have been sung from kindergarten to the university. In singing these songs, people have gradually accepted the meanings of the lyrics. Further, the CCP stole the tunes of the most popular folk songs and replaced them with lyrics that praise the Party. This has served both to destroy the traditional culture and to promote the Party.
As one of the CCP's classic documents, Mao's "Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Arts" [65] placed cultural endeavors and the military as "the two battle fronts." It stated that it was not enough to have just the armed military; an "army of literary arts" was also needed. It stipulated that "the literary arts should serve politics" and "the literary arts of the proletariat class… are the 'gears and screws' of the revolution machine." From this system of thinking came "atheism" and "class struggle" as the core of "the Party culture." This goes completely against traditional culture.
The "Party culture" has indeed rendered distinguished service in helping the CCP win power and control over society. Like its army, prisons, and police force, the Party culture belongs to the same brutal political machine, even though it provides a different kind of brutality—"cultural brutality." This cultural brutality, by destroying 5000 years of traditional culture, is sapping the morale of society, diminishing the will of the people, and undermining the cohesiveness of the Chinese nationality.
Today, many Chinese have very little knowledge of traditional culture. Some even equate the 50 years of "Party culture" to the 5000 years of Chinese traditional culture. This is indeed a sorrowful thing for the Chinese people. Many do not realize that when they oppose the so-called traditional culture they are in fact against the "Party culture" of the CCP and not the real traditional culture of China.
Many people hope to replace the current Chinese system with the Western democratic system. In reality, Western democracy has also been established on a cultural basis, notably that of Christianity, which holds that "everyone is equal in the eyes of God" and thus respects human nature and human choices. How could the despotic, inhuman CCP's "Party culture" of the CCP be used as the foundation for a western-style democratic system?
Conclusion
The traditional culture has experienced attacks since the Song Dynasty and started then to deviate from tradition. After the May 4th Movement of 1919, eager intellectuals were quick to turn against traditional culture. They were trying to find a path for China by turning away from the traditional culture toward Western civilization. Still, conflicts and changes in the cultural domain remained a focus of academic contention without the involvement of state forces. When the CCP came into existence, however, it elevated cultural conflicts to a matter of life-and-death struggle for the Party. So the CCP began to exercise a direct assault on traditional culture, using destructive means as well as indirect abuse in the form of "adopting the dross and rejecting the essence."
The destruction of the national culture was also the process of establishing "the Party culture." The CCP subverted human conscience and moral judgment, thus driving people to turn their backs on traditional culture. If the national culture is completely destroyed, the essence of the nation will disappear with it, leaving only an empty name for the nation. This is not an exaggerated warning.
At the same time, the destruction of the traditional culture has brought unthinkable physical damage to society.
Traditional culture values the unity of heaven and humans and harmonious co-existence between humans and nature. The CCP has declared endless joy from "fighting with heaven and earth." This culture of the CCP has led directly to the serious degradation of the natural environment that plagues China to today. Take water resources for example. The Chinese people, having abandoned the traditional value that "Noblemen love fortune but take it with restraint," have robbed the environment and ravaged the river system. Currently, 75 percent of the 50,000 kilometers of China's rivers are unsuitable for fish habitat; 33 percent of groundwater has been polluted compared with even ten years ago, and the situation continues to worsen. A "spectacle" of a strange kind occurred at the Huaihe River: A little child playing in the oil-filled river created a spark that, upon striking the surface of the river, lit a flame five meters high. As the fire surged into the air, more than ten willow trees in the vicinity were burnt to a crisp. One can easily see that it is impossible for those who drink the water not to develop cancer or other diseases. Other environmental problems, such as desertification and salinization in Northwest China and industrial pollution in developed regions, all are related to the society's loss of respect for nature.
Traditional culture respects life. The CCP proclaims that "revolt is justifiable," and "struggling against human beings is full of joy." In the name of revolution, the Party could murder and starve to death tens of millions of people. This has led people to devalue life, which then encourages the proliferation of fake and poisonous products in the market. In Fuyang city of Anhui Province, for example, many healthy babies developed short limbs, weak bodies, and enlarged heads. Eight babies died because of this strange disease. After investigation, it was discovered that the disease was caused by poisonous milk powder made by a black-hearted and greedy manufacturer. Some people feed crabs, snakes and turtles with hormones and antibiotics, mix industrial alcohol with drinking wine, process rice using industrial oils, and whiten bread with industrial brightening agents. For eight years, a manufacturer in Henan Province used recycled oil, oils from crude oil as well as other carcinogens to produce thousands of tons of poisonous "cooking oil" every month. Producing poisonous foods is not a local or limited phenomenon, but is common all over China. The destruction of the culture and moral decay has contributed to this single-minded pursuit of material gain.
Unlike the absolute monopoly and exclusiveness of the Party culture, the traditional culture has a tremendous integrative capacity. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Buddhist teachings, Christianity, and other Western religions co-existed harmoniously with Taoist and Confucian thought. Chinese traditional culture would have kept an open attitude toward modern Western civilization and cultures. The four "tigers" of Asia (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong) have created a "New Confucian" cultural identity, integrating Confucian morality with modern economic rationality. Their progress has proved that traditional culture is not a hindrance to science and development.
At the same time, authentic traditional culture measures the quality of human life on the basis of happiness from within rather than material comfort from without. Tao Yuanming (365-427 AD) [66] lived in poverty, but he kept a joyful spirit and enjoyed a pastime "picking asters beneath the eastern fence, gazing upon the Southern Mountain in the distance."
Culture offers no answers for questions such as how to expand industrial production or what social systems to adopt. Rather, it plays an important role in providing moral guidance and restraint. The restoration of traditional culture is the recovery of humility toward heaven, the earth, and nature, respect for life, and fear of God. It will allow humanity to live harmoniously with heaven and earth and to enjoy a heaven-given old age.
Notes:
[1] Shennong (literally, "The Heavenly Farmer") is a legendary emperor and cultural hero from Chinese mythology who is believed to have lived some 5,000 years ago and who taught the ancient peoples the practices of agriculture. He is also credited with effortlessly identifying hundreds of medicinal (and poisonous) herbs and various plants of that nature, which were crucial to the development of traditional Chinese medicine.
[2] In Chinese mythology, Pangu was the first living being and the creator of all.
[3] In Chinese mythology, Nüwa is the mother goddess who created humankind, although other traditions would attribute this feat to Pangu. She and her husband Fu Xi are the first of the Three Sovereigns and are often called the "parents of humankind," since in one myth they were said to be the ancestors of humankind. With Fu Xi she is often depicted with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a snake or dragon, since it was in the form of dragons that she and her husband carved out the rivers of the world and drained the floods. She is charged with the upkeep and maintenance of the Wall of Heaven, whose collapse would obliterate everything.
[4] Cangjie or Cang Jie is a fabled and legendary figure from ancient China, claimed to be the Yellow Emperor's official historian, and the inventor of the Chinese characters. The Cangjie method of Chinese character computer input is named after him.
[5] Tao-te Ching or Dao De Jing: One of the most important Taoist texts, written by Lao Zi or Lao Tze. Lao Zi lived during the 6th century B.C. in the state of Chu during the Zhou Dynasty. It is believed that Lao Zi's original name was Li Er or Lao Tan. He was a keeper of the archives in the Zhou court and was consulted once by Confucius on matters of ceremonies and rites. The legend says that, in old age, Lao Zi was leaving the state of Chu heading west. The guardian at China's westernmost outpost stopped him, asking him to write down his wisdom. At this point Lao Tze wrote the essay of about 5,000 characters known as the Dao De Jing. Upon finishing his essay, Lao Tze continued westward and was never heard from again.
[6] From Confucius' Analects.
[7] Dong Zhongshu (ca. 179-104 B.C.), a Confucian thinker during the Han Dynasty, said in a treatise Three Ways to Harmonize Humans with Heaven (Tian Ren San Ce), "if heaven remains, the Tao does not change."
[8] This quote comes from The Abstract of Collected Taoist Scriptures (Dao Cang Ji Yao) compiled in the Qing Dynasty.
[9] From Mao's speech at the Eighth Session of the Tenth CCP Plenary Meeting.
[10] Mao's original words in Chinese used a pun: I am like a monk holding an umbrella—no Tao (or Fa, pun for "hair") nor heaven (pun for "sky").
[11] Jie is the name of the last ruler of the Xia Dynasty (c. 21-16 B.C.), and Zhou is the name of the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty (c. 16 -11 B.C.). Both are known as tyrants.
[12] From Mencius.
[13] From the Communist Internationale anthem. The Chinese translation literally means: "There has never been a savior, and we do not rely on God either; to create human happiness, we rely entirely on ourselves."
[14] Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei, alias Tuo Tao (r. 424-452 AD)
[15] Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, alias Li Yan, (r. 840-846 AD)
[16] Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, alias Yu Yong, (r. 561-579 AD)
[17] Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, alias Chairong, (r. 954-959 AD)
[18] A slogan used in the mid 1960's during the Cultural Revolution in China.
[19] The White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist monastery in China, was built in A.D. 68, the eleventh year of Yong Ping in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
[20] In the Dai language, the Beiye Scripture is pronounced Tanlan. Beiye is a subtropical plant belonging to the palm family. It is a tall kind of tree with thick leaves, which are mothproof and very slow to dry out. In ancient times when paper was not yet invented, the Dai's ancestors imprinted letters or articles on the leaf. The letters carved on the leaf are called the Beiye correspondence, and the scripture on it, Tanlan (Beiye scripture).
[21] Xiangshan Park, also called Fragrant Hills Park, is located 28 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of downtown Beijing. Initially built in 1186 in the Jin Dynasty, it became a summer resort for imperial families during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
[22] How Many Cultural Relics Were Committed To Flames by Ding Shu.
[23] Red Guards refers to civilians who were the frontline implementers of the Great Cultural Revolution. Most were youngsters in their mid-teens.
[24] Located 15 kilometers from Beijing, the Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. The Summer Palace has a history of over 800 years.
[25] Louguan Temple is a famous Taoist shrine in China, and it is revered as "the first land of the blessed under heaven." The temple is situated on the hillside north of the Zhongnan Mountains, 15 kilometers southeast of Zhouzhi country and 70 kilometers from Xi'an City.
[26] Li is a Chinese unit of length (1 li = 1/2 kilometer or 0.3 miles).
[27] Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, alias Li Yuan, (r. 618-626 AD).
[28] People's communes (Renmin Gongshe), in the People's Republic of China, were formerly the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas in the period from 1958 to around 1982, when they were replaced by townships. Communes, the largest collective units, were divided in turn into production brigades and production teams. The communes had governmental, political, and economic functions.
[29] The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra purports to be the Buddha's final Mahayana sutra, delivered on the last day of his earthly life. It claims to constitute the quintessence of all Mahayana sutras.
[30] Not an official translation. Most likely from Taisho Tripitaka Vol. T01, No. 7, Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
[31] "The Theory and Practice of the Chinese Communist Party's Suppression of Religions" by Bai Zhi. Chinese text: http://www.dajiyuan.com/gb/3/4/15/n300731.htm.
[32] Mukti means Fist Dharma or Law teaching or transmission. Mukti can also be translated as "loosing, release, deliverance, liberation, setting free, ... emancipation; escape from bonds and the obtaining of freedom, freedom from transmigration, from karma, from illusion, from suffering; it denotes Nirvāna and also the freedom obtained in Dhyāna (meditation). It is to escape from Samsara (reincarnation).
[33] Nirvana, in Buddhism or Hinduism, is a state of blissful peace and harmony beyond the sufferings and passions of individual existence; a state of oneness with the eternal spirit.
[34] A Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries campaign dealt violently with many former leaders of secret societies, religious associations, and the Kuomintang (KMT) in early 1951.
[35] The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, as the CCP calls it, broke out in 1950. It was the first war the CCP fought immediately following the founding of the People's Republic of China.
[36] Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, alias Zhao Ji (r. 1100-1126 AD).
[37] Su Dongpo, (1036-1101) famous Chinese poet of the Song Dynasty.
[38] Wen Zhengming, (1470-1559) Chinese painter.
[39] Tang Bohu, (1470-1523) Chinese scholar, painter, and poet of the Ming Dynasty.
[40] Meng Haoran, (689 - 740) poet of the Tang Dynasty.
[41] Wang Xi Zhi (321-379), the most famous calligrapher in history, from the Tang Dynasty.
[42] The original Lan Ting Prologue, allegedly written by Wang Xi Zhi at the prime of his calligraphy career (51 years old, 353 AD), is universally recognized as the most important piece in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
[43] Wu Chen'en (1506?-1582), Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty
[44] Wu Jingzi (1698-1779), an elegant writer of the Qing Dynasty.
[45] Alternative name for the Red Guards.
[46] The Yongle Encyclopedia or Yongle Dadian was commissioned by the Chinese Ming Dynasty Emperor Yongle in 1403. It's the world's earliest and greatest encyclopedia.
[47] "Liang Xiao" represents a group of assigned writers, among whom Zhou Yiliang, whose involvement in the writing group earned him an anonymous letter from an old friend that referred to "the extreme of shamelessness."
[48] Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), alias Ying Zheng, fascinates people when they talk about the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses - his two greatest achievements to China. As the first emperor of China, he indeed has had a profound influence on Chinese history and culture.
[49] From Mao's "Rectify the party's style of work" (1942).
[50] From Mao's "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" (1942).
[51] Wu Xun (1838 - 1896), originally Wu Qi, was born in Shandong's Tangyi. Having lost his father at an early age, his family was impoverished. He had to beg for food to feed his mother and became known as the filial piety beggar. After his mother passed away, begging became his only means of making a living. He ran free schools with the money he had accrued from begging.
[52] This refers to the movement to suppress counter-revolutionaries during 1950-1952 and the further cleansing of counter-revolutionaries during 1955-1957.
[53] The June 4th incident resulted from a set of national protests in China, which occurred between April 15, 1989, and June 4, 1989, centered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The focus of the protests was the occupation of the Square by college and university students advocating democratic reforms. The People's Liberation Army intervened to clear the Square of demonstrators during the night on June 4 and many protesters were killed or injured by automatic weapons fire. Estimates of civilian deaths vary between 400-800 (New York Times & Hammond sources) and 2600 (Chinese Red Cross). Injuries are generally held to have numbered from 7,000 to 10,000.
[54] An agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
[55] From the song of the Modern Peking opera "Legend of the Red Lantern," one of the famous Eight Big Model Plays which were officially developed and reached a golden age during the "Great Cultural Revolution" (1966-76).
[56] Mu is a unit of area used in China. One mu is 0.165 acres.
[57] Jin is a unit of weight used in China. One jin weighs about 1.1 lb.
[58] Opening address at the First Session of the First National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (September 15, 1954).
[59] "Red-eye syndrome", equivalent to "green-eyed" in the Western expression, is used here to describe a person, who, when seeing other people doing better than he is, feels unequal and uncomfortable, and thinks that he should be the one who is doing better.
[60] Tunnel Warfare (Didao Zhan, B&W, 1965), set in the anti-Japanese war, this film portrays the brave struggle of Chinese people in Central China who fought Japanese soldiers through various underground tunnels.
[61] War of Mines (Dilei Zhan, B&W, 1962), set in 1940s, the film demonstrates how the guerrillas in Hebei Province fought against the Japanese invasion troops with homemade mines.
[62] A literary composition prescribed for the imperial civil service examinations, known for its rigidity of form and poverty of ideas.
[63] The Great Famine of 1959-1961 in China is the largest famine in human history. Estimated numbers of "abnormal deaths" in the famine range from 18 to 43 million.
[64] Sima Qian (145-85 BC) was the first major Chinese historian. His Shiji, or Records of the Historian, documents the history of China and its neighboring countries from the ancient past to his own time.
[65] By Mao Zedong.
[66] Tao Yuanming (365-427 AD), also known as Tao Qian, is one of the greatest poets in Chinese literature.
Reprinted from: http://english.epochtimes.com/news/4-12-20/25087.html
