Stages of History

State-orchestrated history unfolds through dramatic events. Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing is the epicenter of revolution and ordained mass expression. The backstage history of the party, however, is created in the secret conclaves of the Communist Party and its rulers.

Sacred Sites: Tiananmen Square

People: Mao Zedong - see The Reddest Red Sun section | Liu Shaoqi | Jiang Qing | Lin Biao

Parades and Celebrations, Rallies and Demonstrations

Movies and Stage shows:
The East is Red | Revolutionary Cultural Productions
While Chinese and western works — literature, films, art, songs and music — were withdrawn from public circulation beginning in 1964, amidst increasingly vicious denunciations (see a list of films denounced by Jiang Qing, Mao's wife), the art and letters of revolutionary China achieved a greater prominence than ever. The heroes of these works, the language of heroism and past rebellion, the art work of workers, soldiers and peasants, as well as a plethora of Mao quotes set to music and revolutionary theater pieces (in particular the Revolutionary Model Beijing Operas whose creation was overseen by Jiang Qing), formed the particular cultural landscape of the new era.

Icons and official imagery to be explored will include symbols such as the red star, the red sun, and the hammer and sickle.

Readings:
History for the Masses, by Geremie Barmé
Human Rights in China, by Simon Leys