Curating Revolution: Politics on Display in Mao's China

ISBN-13: 9781108406147 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 322 str.

Denise Ho

Opis

How did China's Communist revolution transform the nation's political culture? In this rich and vivid history of the Mao period (1949-1976), Denise Y. Ho examines the relationship between its exhibitions and its political movements. Case studies from Shanghai show how revolution was curated: museum workers collected cultural and revolutionary relics; neighborhoods, schools, and work units mounted and narrated local displays; and exhibits provided ritual space for ideological lessons and political campaigns. Using archival sources, ephemera, interviews, and other materials, Ho traces the process by which exhibitions were developed, presented, and received. Examples under analysis range from the First Party Congress Site and the Shanghai Museum to the 'class education' and Red Guard exhibits that accompanied the Socialist Education Movement and the Cultural Revolution. Operating in two modes - that of a state in power and that of a state in revolution - Mao era exhibitionary culture remains part of China's revolutionary legacy.

Recenzje

'The richness of detail and analytical rigour make this book an excellent contribution to our knowledge about Mao's China and thereby our understanding of contemporary China … Scholars and students interested in modern Chinese history, propaganda and social movements would find this book particularly helpful.' Chi Zhang, Europe-Asia Studies

Spis treści

Illustrations; Abbreviations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Making a revolutionary monument: the first party congress site; 2. Exhibiting new China: 'Fangua lane past and present'; 3. Curating belief: superstition versus science for young pioneers; 4. Cultivating consciousness: the class education exhibition; 5. The cultural revolution's object lessons: the exhibition of red guard achievements; 6. Antiquity in revolution: the Shanghai museum; Conclusion; Bibliography; Chinese character list; Index.