Josambro in Tienanmen, 2004
Beijing is where China’s “Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution” burned the hottest, so its only fitting that Beijing is the place to stock up on paraphernalia from that tortured but fascinating period in modern Chinese history. During the cultural revolution, most of china’s industry switched gears from producing useful things to churning out little red “Quotations of Chairman Mao” books and Mao buttons by the ton, as well as endless posters with revolutionary slogans like “Destroy the four olds,” “Bombard the headquarters” and possibly (towards the end at least) “The glorious people’s revolution is really out of control now!”
These items are of great cultural interest to Sinophiles, so naturally, a cottage industry has sprung up among former “red guards” (whose only occupation for many years consisted of running around shouting anti-capitalist slogans and destroying anything that seemed foreign), who now make a living selling their now-useless revolutionary paraphernalia to foreigners.
The most popular piece of political history in the world might well be the once ever-present little red book, or “Quotations of Chairman Mao.” These were brandished proudly by millions during the Cultural Revolution. While Chinese copies are a dime-a-dozen, versions in other languages, such as English, are less common, and thus, more expensive.
This would be a cheap one
Also popular with the political history tourist are the once-ubiquitous Mao Tse-tung badges, which can be found in a variety of different styles. Some feature the Great Helmsman from the neck up, while others show a full-body shot of him exhorting the masses to great deeds. There seemed to be a great deal of significance in the bearing portrayed on different badges. The most common Mao badge found might be the one in which the Chairman is portrayed as looking leftward. These, apparently, were interpreted by the masses as follows:
“Mao is looking leftward, the masses too, must all look to the left, and persecute anyone to the right of than Leon Trotsky.”
You should be able to get the left-looking Mao badges fairly cheaply. A less common button might feature the great helmsman looking to the right. The masses might have interpreted this pose to mean
“Move to the right and destroy the ultra-leftist factions!”
Most unique among the badges are those showing Mao Tse-tung looking straight ahead. These might well have been interpreted as the great Helmsman telling the people
“Look in front of you, there’s absolutely nothing left. You’ve destroyed everything!”
After Mao died, the badges and books got stuffed in the dressers of the great proletariat masses, behind the underwear, or where the underwear would have been if the underwear factory hadn’t been burned down in 1972. Since those unfortunate times, the Chinese economy has gone from strict state control to a near free market free for all, and the bits and pieces left over from the Great Helmsman’s dream of permanent revolution have become a popular commodity among tourists.
Would the Great Helmsman approve of the way in which the products of his great socialist purge has been turned into a free market commodity? Probably not, but to these former vanguards of the permanent revolution, selling off the icons of their past revolutionary zeal to their former enemies makes perfect sense (or dollars and cents).
