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Introduction
China is one of the Asian states with a rich historical background that entails a continuum of social, economic, and political growth and development stories articulated for a number of decades. The entire development story of the Republic of China entails a great connection between political ideologies and significant transformations witnessed in its modernity.
The Chinese political history carries the story of the mainland China that earmarked significant political changes after the Communist Party of China (CPC) clinched political victory (Deng and Brien 537).
During the Chinese Civil War in the 1949, Mao Zedong declared sovereignty in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) after rescuing it from the Tiananmen. Although China has undergone enormous political evolution through several imperial dynasties, the Maoist legacy has remarkably dominated the Chinese culture for a long time.
Even though it is synonymous to many Chinese, some are still unaware of the Maoist legacy. This paper seeks to investigate how the Maoist legacy is received in the contemporary China.
Mao Zedong and the legacy of Maoism
Prehistorically, the Chinese nationalism rested upon the traditional ideology of capitalism that embodied itself through ethicized political and social institutions (Deng and Brien 543). Immediately after clinching power during the Chinese Civil War through the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mao Zedong started restoring the socio-cultural identify of China through instigating social revolution.
These social reforms developed by the Communist Party in the 1949 principally “aimed at transforming the traditional China from very unequal petty capitalist society into a centrally planned socialist economy modeled after the Soviet Union” (Whyte 229).
The era of transition from totalitarian and unequal nationalism ended in 1956 when China became a unified nation marked by cooperation and organized people’s communes in the 1958.
Although the majority of the Chinese peasant families owned small private farms that were important for growing and keeping animals for home consumption, they engaged in the collective farms. These families dedicated most of their time in labor energy and work time in the collective farms as strategized by the Mao government.
Nationalism for the Chinese people grew from racial divide characterized by capitalism during the pre-colonial period into a mixture of Western and Chinese philosophies that rest upon the idea of National Socialism. Rather than urban working class, the Maoism ideology considered agrarian peasantry as an essential force of converting from capitalism to socialism.
The convictions and perceptions of the Maoism ideology rested upon the notion that agriculture can provoke a suitable foundation towards National Socialism. Fueled by the Maoist political regime, Maoism used the guerrilla warfare that mobilized a large population of rural civilians to rebel against urbanely established institutions provoked national ethnical split according to Mao.
Maoist ideology and the Mao government considered the industrial urban modernism as the driving force towards national split, with individuals divided into social classes. Consisting approximately 80% of the national population, the Chinese rural revolution that comprised empowerment of locals through peasantry and collective agricultural development, contributed significantly to certain Chinese modern aspects.
Mao Zedong influenced the Chinese lives from political perception to cultural elements, especially through his participation in the artistic works of the Chinese communities. While embarking on the restoration of social equality among the Chinese communities, Mao went ahead and established means of spreading his revolutionary aim through artistic works.
Through the efforts of his cohorts, family, and other followers, Mao embraced the use of arts in communication with masses in order to achieve his sociopolitical movement agendas. Apart from having a strong commercial impact on the Chinese people, the revolutionary theatrical techniques developed by Mao and his regime where model operas emerged, have been crucial to date.
The revolutionary art that Mao developed aimed at ridiculing enemies of social and cultural changes that were important in the development of a socially equal China. According to Taylor, the theatrical expressions used in the revolutionary theatres represented significant satirical and graphical condemnation of the enemies of social equality (35).
Maoist legacy as viewed contemporary China
Over the subsequent years, after the demise of Mao as a social legend, questions have prevailed whether the idea of social equality is practicable in the contemporary China, with evidence pointing out the reemergence of inequality in China.
Despite having significantly transformed the Chinese sociopolitical development for the few decades that the Chinese considered it imperative, Maoism might not have managed to change the Chinese capitalism behavior (Whyte 230).
While a majority view Maoism political philosophy as a failed legacy in the context of the contemporary Chinese leadership, the iconic leadership of Mao still lingers in the minds of many Chinese people.
Modern Chinese have however shown considerable interest towards the traditional Maoism ideology and celebrated Mao’s socialist icons through Art and filmmaking, social mobilization, and even through modern commercial operations.
Although it remains controversially debated between modern Chinese reformers and Maoism conformists, the abovementioned social and commercial paradigms have continuously celebrated Maoist egalitarianism legacy through a continuum of contemporary Chinese activities.
Maoist legacy in art and filmmaking
One of the areas that Maoist political ideology influenced the Chinese community is through cultural transformations that Mao personally initiated. Mao and his social equality reforms targeted leveling and instilling fairness through reduced gaps in incomes, moderated individual’s lifestyles, and even equalized consumption.
Whyte postulates, “The Cultural Revolution launched by Mao in 1966 added new radical elements to China’s Soviet-inspired organizational template” (230). During this moment, Mao eliminated all production bonuses, prizes, material incentives, and cleared all displays that denoted disparities in clothing or adornment.
Mao and his regime ensured social equality even through removing signs of rank in the military uniforms, which brought about moderately unvarying and unisex dressing style that influenced the Chinese significantly (Whyte 230).
At this point, the Chinese art started taking shape and the contemporary China has demonstrated this form of legacy through different forms of modern art and filmmaking. Modern performance, theatrical, painting, music, literature, and animations arts have followed Maoist socialism.
Maoist socialist legacy is contemporarily dominating the Chinese acting and filmmaking realm with theatrical actors integrating the cultural revolutionary aspects demonstrated by Mao into their arts.
As Taylor notes, artists are currently using Maoist legacy in theatrical acting, including the model operas that currently represents the officially sanctioned theatre that Mao officiated during the era of Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) (27).
The principle theatre of Mao is becoming regularly practicable in the acting and performance arts of the modern Chinese film industry. In the post-Mao era, and especially years of the 20th century, there has been an influx of Chinese stage or theatrical arts directed in the traditional Chinese Mao practice.
Movies and theatrical plays have taken the practice of revolutionary opera or the model operas that emerged during the reign of Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao, who shaped the performance art. Maoist revolutionary films, artistic works, and other theatrical arts have currently turned to developing and reshaping the Maoist revolutionary arts.
The innovative revolutionary theatrical forms currently practiced by actors have their roots to the Maoist socialism with Jiang Qing behind these transformations. These revolutions also influenced the development of the Soviet agitprop theatres, which are currently useful in the Chinese acting practices (Taylor 30).
The revolutionary opera developed by Mao and his wife entailed the incorporation of regional peasant musical tactics, dance styles, and performances, which enabled communication with masses in the most understood manner. Post-Mao theatrical arts that emerged from the impact of revolutionary operas (yangbanxi) used cultural values of the local Chinese communities in their acting practices.
Huobaoju is one of the old, but the post-Mao era theoretical or performance art that followed the revolutionary theatre of Mao and his socialist leadership (Taylor 39).
Taking the form of cartoons, human representations, and other forms of acting, huobaoju has developed consistently by welcoming the incorporation of local performance traditions and using several artistic expressions that reflect the philosophies developed during the era of revolutionary media.
Maoist legacy in social mobilization
As one of the reforms targeted by the Maoist regime, Maoism involved the practice of social mobilization in campaigns towards opponents of the reforms. The social mobilization process involved the Maoist ideology that used mass demonstrations or the notion of mass populism in fighting his enemies politically.
Mao used mass population of the unfortunate to mobilize political demonstrations that aimed at transforming China from consumerism, capitalism, and colonialism to National Socialism (Taylor 20). Contemporarily, although the present Chinese leadership considers Maoist traditions in the most ambivalent manner, there is still substantial evidence that links the modern Chinese to the Maoist nationalism.
Presenting unique leadership techniques through social equality, the Maoist ideologies have been in consistent application throughout the post-Mao regime.
Social mobilization, as used in the Maoist regime has recently become one of the foremost philosophies employed in echoing people’s sentiments about political oppressions. Mass gatherings have continually helped the local Chinese and other lower-class individuals to air their reservations.
The Mao regime had given considerable attention to the empowerment of women as a strategy of enhancing social equality among the Chinese population. Akin to the local communities and populations that resided in the rural lands, Mao thought it was ideal to empower the Chinese women in the new social revolution platform.
One of the aspects that have made China develop firmly even in the local suburbs to date is the use of social mobilization as a strategy of echoing people’s sentiments. In a bid to claim social democracy over any form of discrimination, socialists, local politicians, local leaders, and other social groups have persistently used social mobilization in garnering mass support.
Women, unemployed youth, and immigrants are among the marginalized social groups that have adopted social mobilization in protesting against discriminatory practices in China. Mass mobilization is still a modern practice in the Chinese political philosophies and the local authorities that Mao wanted to empower are currently protesting using populism.
Being relatively important to both the leadership, local leaders have recently shown interest in demobilizing masses against certain repressions. After noticing that forceful repression and other forms of stopping contention are failing, local authorities in China identified relational repression as an effective approach to curb protests.
The strategy of mass mobilization is working perfectly in China and regularly employed by the local officials in demobilizing rising mass protestations. Popularly described as relational repression, Chinese officials liaise with individuals willing to stop protesters.
As Deng and Brien notice, “In China, it amounts to relying on relatives, friends, and native-place connections to defuse popular action as relational repression rests on persuasion, pressure, and the impact of influential people” (533).
During mass protests and unrest, the local officials identify potential work team members willing to stop the protests and order them to use personal influence to persuade relatives and friends to stop protests. Any member failure to convince his or her family is subject to punishment that includes salary suspension, prosecution, and termination.
Maoist legacy in commercial operations
Although considered as a traditional approach in organizations, a number of Chinese-based business and corporate organizations have embraced the principles instigated by the Maoist regime (Taylor 35). Demolishing of the urban economy in 1956 by Mao during the socialist transformation meant that all the privately owned businesses and even other productive commercial assets had to adopt government policies.
They became a state-controlled and state-owned organization that remained subject to bureaucratic regulations rather than market forced policies (Whyte 230). History reveals that Mao ensured that upon school completion, urban students bureaucratically received government employment into state-owned firms.
Whyte states that the Mao government offered certain wage grades, package of benefits, assigned subsidized housing, childcare, received recreational opportunities, and enjoyed other facilities while on their employment (230).
Still in the contemporary China, some postmodern Mao era organizations have embraced techniques that the state-owned enterprises (SOE) used during the Mao regime. These state-owned firms were less profitable and the government continuously reformed its policies.
Trends in the Chinese contemporary business practices have a great indication that some modern corporate organizations seem to be reforming while still reviving the Maoism ideology in their regular practices (Whyte 231). The reaffirmation of the Maoism ideology has emerged so recently in some organizations with the state council engaged in this form of modernity within the organizations.
Recent events in the government undertakings reveal that China and its corporate organizations are embarking to the traditional Maoism philosophy as the government announced its intentions of restructuring and promoting reforms through law-based firm governance.
The Chinese Communist Party has revealed its intentions to develop law-based firm governance where market players are capable of competing fairly.
China’s economic liberalization through liberation of the interest rates and deregulation of state-owned firms has become publicly eminent as the government is slowly alienating itself from the new Free Trade Zone, which has been emblematic in Chinese current transformations (Whyte 229). CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has actively been reviving Maoist mass live concept.
Conclusion
The majority of the modern drastic transformations witnessed in China may not depict the traditional philosophy of the Maoist regime that intended to develop nationalism based on socialism and social equity. Indisputably, China has continuously remained modernized in the urbanized manner and it is currently gaining high international recognition for its current developments.
Although considered as a traditional conformist nature, Mao and his regime came up with ideologies that seem to have a great influence even in the modern China.
The Maoist socialist behavior has become evident in the theatrical performances and filmmaking, in the social mobilization strategies where local officials use relational repression, and even in corporate organizations. There is growing evidence that even the government reforms are reflecting Maoism.
Works Cited
Deng, Yanhua, and Kevin Brien. “Relational Repression in China: Using Social Ties to Demobilize Protesters.” The China Quarterly 215.5 (2013): 533-552. Print.
Taylor, Jeremy. “The Sinification of Soviet Agitational Theatre: ‘Living Newspapers’ inn Mao’s China.” British Association for Chinese Studies 2.1 (2013): 28-50. Print.
Whyte, Martin. “China’s Post-Socialist Inequality.” Current History 33.4 (2012): 229-234. Print.
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