HANDBILLS
FROM THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION (1966-76)
The following excerpt is from the homepage of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. It reflects Beijing's official interpretation of the turmoil that swept China during this period:
"The `cultural revolution,' which lasted for ten years from May 1966 to October 1976, brought great calamity to the country and the people, causing the most serious setbacks and most damaging losses to both since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Drawing on the support of the broad masses of the Chinese people, the Communist Party of China smashed the Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary clique in October 1976. The end of the disastrous "cultural revolution" marked the beginning of a new era in Chinese history. Since the Third Plenary Session of the CPC Eleventh Central Committee at the end of 1978, China has instituted a policy of reform and opening to the outside world. The errors of the "cultural revolution" and the earlier "Leftist" deviations were rectified. The focus was shifted to modernization centred around the economy; a socialist modernization road with Chinese characteristics was defined".
The handbills below are from that unfortunate period in the PRC's history. Some are part of a collection of handbills that was presented to Dr. Dennis Hickey as a gift when he was teaching in Nanjing, China during 1989-90. Others were acquired when Dr. Hickey was a Fulbright Exchange Professor in Beijing during 2008. It is interesting to note that, while some handbills were also printed as posters, many handbills were not. Some of the most striking images below were never printed as posters.
The Collector at a Chinese Dirt Market in 2008
(Hanging out with these guys is a lot more fun than meeting with Political
Science
Professors at some conference--no offense intended)
In some instances, handbills were sold. In other cases, they were provided free of charge. They were colorful and inexpensive and a source of entertainment in an otherwise dreary and frightening period in China's history. It was not uncommon for people to paste handbills into a scrapbook or album of sorts. As one survivor of the Cultural Revolution explained, "there was no television as we were too poor and there was not much to do. So, we liked to look at the colorful little handbills in an album in the evening...it certain was more fun than memorizing quotations from the Little Red Book."
Under Construction: More Images Arriving Soon!
"Make art and propaganda one integrated part of the
revolutionary mechanism.
Use it as a powerful weapon to organize people, educate people, strike the enemy
and eliminate the enemy!!!"
"Go to the farms! To the country's borders!
To the place where the country needs people most!!!"
Support the Anti-Imperialist War of the World's
People!
"It is Man's Social Being that Determines His
Thinking.
Once the Correct Ideas Characteristic of the
Advanced Class are Grasped by the Masses, these Ideas turn into
a Material Force that Changes Society and Changes the World"--Chairman Mao
Longevity! Chairman Mao!
"Organize the world's people! Kick those American
capitalists' butts! Also the capitalist followers!"
"To the people who have made mistakes in the
past, the CCP will
educate them to give up the wrong opinions. We welcome those
who want to correct mistakes. Welcome comrades to the
revolt!"
Study in the Struggle! Practice in the
Struggle!
Long Live the Victory Of Maoism!
Our Country Has Successfully Launched Our First Man-Made
Earth Satellite which is Highly Acclaimed!
Totally Smash Capitalism!
"In Class Struggle, some Classes Triumph and Others
are Eliminated!
Such is the History of Civilization for Thousands of Years!
Cast Away Any Illusions and Prepare for Struggle!" Chairman Mao
"Every Reactionary is The Same. If You don't
Attack it, It will Not Fall!
This is like Sweeping the Floor. As a rule, Where the Broom Does
Not Reach, The Dust Will Not Vanish by Itself"--Chairman Mao
All Ethnic Groups in China Keep Chairman Mao in
Their Hearts!
Speed up the Pace of Revolutionary Criticism!
Carry Out the Revolution to the End and
in the Front Lines of Thinking and Culture!
The Young People Are the Most Active and Vital
Force In Society.
They are the most Eager to Learn and the Least Reactionary in Their Thinking.
This is Especially True in the Era of Socialism!
Study Well the Socialist Cultural Lessons!
Study Well and Make Progress Everyday!
Make Harbors Very Red Schools for Maoism
Long Live the Permanent and Militant
Friendship
Between the Chinese and Albanian People!
(During discussions with Chinese antique dealers in 2008, they expressed
disgust with the fact that China provided Albania with Food and Aid
while the Chinese people suffered in the 1960s).
The People and the Army are United Like One
Person!
Let's See Who Can Be our Enemy!
We Are Fighting in an Open and Broad Space!
"The Chinese Red Army is an Armed Body for
Carrying Out
The Political Tastes of the Revolution. Especially at the present,
the Red Army Should Certainly Not Confine itself to Fighting, Besides Fighting
to Destroy the Enemy's Military Strength, It should Shoulder Such Important
Tasks as Doing Propaganda Among the Masses, Organizing the Masses,
Arming Them and Helping Them to Establish Revolutionary Political Power
and Setting Up Party Organizations."--Chairman Mao (1929)
"Make Some Preparations from Now On"
Study and Practice to The Extreme Glorious
Chairman Mao's
Philosophical Thoughts
Industry Learn from Daqing! Agriculature
Learn from Dazhai!
All the Country Learn from the People's Liberation Army!
"Put the Emphasis on Medical Care in the
Countryside"--Chairman Mao
Serve Your Whole Life for Poor and Lower-Middle Peasants!
Usher in the 1970s with New Victories in
Revolution and Production!
Prepare for War, Prepare for Famine, Serve the
People!"--Chairman Mao
Resolutely Respond to Chairman Mao's Call. Support the Revolution Inland!
The Important Issue Lies in Being Good at
Study!
(My Students ought to pay attention to this one!)
Never Forget that the Chinese Communist Party
Emancipated Us! All Happiness Comes
From Chairman Mao!
Learn and Practice Making Use of Any Free Time!
Swear to Make Production Higher in Grains!
Strongly Smash Imperialists, Revisionists and Reactionaries!
I Listen to Chairman Mao's Words
Guns Listen to Mine!
People's Liberation Army Uncle Teaches
Me How to Shoot Targets
No Matter When the Enemies Arrive, Whether
in the Daytime
Or Nighttime, we must Make Them Go Back Dead.
Always be Prepared to Fight!
"We Hail From All Corners of the Country and Have
Joined Together For a Common
Revolutionary Objective...Our Cadres Must Show Concern for Every Solider, and
All
People in the Revolutionary Ranks Must Care for Each Other, Must Love and
Help Each Other. Serve the People"--Chairman Mao (September 8, 1944)
SINGING AND ENTERTAINMENT
DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION
Singing and Dancing did play a role in the Cultural Revolution. But all such activities had to be "Revolutionary." Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao's psychopathic wife, went to great lengths ensure that all music, theater, film and art met her standards and was "politically correct." Today, one may find phonograph records of cultural revolution music in China's antique and dirt markets. Some have colorful and interesting covers.
Song of the Red Army. Three Main Rules of
Discipline, Eight Points
for Attention. Each and Every Revolutionary Soldier Should Keep in Mind.
Advance Triumphantly Along Chairman Mao's
Revolutionary Path!
Where Singing is Heard, A Team of PLA Soldiers Are
Coming Valiantly. At the Head of the Time, A Flaming War Banner
Is Fluttering in the Wind!
March Forward To Victory Singing Aloud
The Revolutionary War Songs!
CULTURAL REVOLUTION HANDBILLS
FOCUSING ON TAIWAN
After forces loyal to the Republic of China and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek retreated to the island of Taiwan in 1949, PRC leaders called for the "liberation" of Taiwan. To a certain extent, this militant rhetoric was shelved in the mid-1950s. As Premier Zhou Enlai explained in 1955, "there are two possible approaches for the Chinese people to liberate Taiwan: the approach of war and the approach of peace." In the Cultural Revolution, however, "peaceful" liberation was abandoned and "liberating Taiwan" again became a popular slogan.
We Must Liberate Taiwan!
Liberate Taiwan! (These are the characters on the
Banner
the Woman is Holding)
CHINESE
CULTURAL REVOLUTION HANDBILLS FEATURING
REVOLUTIONARY HEROES
Neither Hardship Nor Death!
Learn from the Holy Spirit of Comrade Wang Jie for
Whole-hearted Concentration on Revolution!
Learn from Uncle Wang Jie!
Be a Successor to the Revolution!
Learn from Uncle Wang Jie!
Be a Good Successor to the Revolution!
Chairman Mao's Works Are Like the Sun!
Every Word and Sentence Sparkles Like the Golden Sunshine!
Study, Execute, Promulgate and Defend the Highest
Instructions from Chairman Mao!
Learn from Comrade Liu Yingjun--a Good Soldier of Chairman Mao!
Countless Revolutionary Martyrs Sacrificed Their
Lives In The Interests
Of the People, Which Makes Each of Us Alive Feel Sad While Thinking of Them.
Shall We have Personal Interests We Cannot Sacrifice, And Any Wrongdoing
We Cannot Dump?--Chairman Mao
CHINESE
CULTURAL REVOLUTION HANDBILLS
AND THE CHAIRMAN MAO "CULT OF PERSONALITY"
During the Eighth Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress in 1956, the party's constitution was revised to provide for a collective leadership and prevent the development of a "cult of personality." This did not please Chairman Mao. During the Ninth CCP Congress in 1969, Mao Zedong thought was reinserted into the party constitution as the guiding principle of the party and those who had engineered the provisions in the previous document (Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, etc) were labeled as "traitors, scabs and renegades." The Cult of Personality accelerated.
All Party Members, All People in the Country! Do
Not Think Everything Will
Be Peaceful After One, Two , Three or Four Times of Cultural Revolution! Be on
Your Full Alert and Never Lose Vigilance (Quotation from Chairman Mao)
Long Live the Proletariat Cultural Revolution!
Chairman Mao Is the Red Sun in the Hearts of the
World's People!
Long Live! Long, Long Live Chairman Mao,
the Reddest and Reddest Sun in Our Hearts!
The CCP Is the Core Power Leading Our Cause!
Marxism-Leninism is the Theoretical Foundation Guarding Our Thoughts!
Closely Follow Great Hero Chairman Mao to Bravely
Move Forward without Fear!
Be United and Fight for Great Victory!
Great Success for Chairman Mao's Proletariat
Revolutionary Line:
The Successful Construction of the Nanjing Yangtze Bridge
(Ironically, a large portion of the famous bridge was accidentally
set on fire in 2008 by merchants selling their goods under the bridge. One
cannot help but wonder what Chairman Mao would have thought of that!)
The PLA is a Big School of Maoism!
All People Unite! Down with American
Imperialists, Soviet Revisionists
and the Reactionaries in All Countries!
Longevity! Longevity! Chairman Mao!
Long Live the Great, Honorable and Correct Chinese
Communist Party!
"Chairman Mao is the brightest sun in the heart of all
the world's people!"
Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman!
Long Live Chairman Mao's Proletariat Revolutionary
Line!
"The World is Yours, and Ours As Well, But Finally
is Yours.
You Young People are energized and in prime time and like the sun at
8 or 9 in the morning. You are entrusted with hopes"--Chairman Mao
Seize Bigger Success on the Way of Successive
Revolution!
Always think of, follow, submit to, and work for
Chairman Mao.
Learn from Comrade Men He who gives his Wholehearted Allegiance
to Chairman Mao's Revolutionary Line!
Mao Zedong! The Soviet People Miss You!!!
The Reddest and Reddest Sun in Our Hearts
Are Together with Us!
[Note that Lin Biao is featured in this handbill. I have seen
some where he is crossed and defaced out by the original owner]
Chairman Mao Zedong Greets President Richard M.
Nixon in
Beijing during the Cultural Revolution (1972).
Chairman Mao Appeared to have Genuinely Liked
President Nixon and Offered Him Political Asylum
in China during the Watergate Fiasco.
CHINESE HANDBILLS SUPPORTING NORTH VIETNAM AND
THE
VIET CONG IN THE 1960S
The People's Republic of China supported North Vietnam and the Viet Cong during America's involvement in the Southeast Asian conflict during the 1960s. In addition to material aid, hundreds of thousands of Chinese "volunteers" were deployed to North Vietnam beginning in 1964 to man anti-aircraft batteries and assist the North Vietnamese military. Within the Chinese mainland, an enormous propaganda campaign sought to whip up support for this initiative. Below are some handbills from this campaign. Many of these were printed during the Cultural Revolution.
Vietnamese Soliders and People Fight Well,
Fight Skillfully and Fight Hard!
South Vietnamese People Get Stronger & Stronger in
Fighting,
Continue to Destroy the American Invaders Until Success is Achieved!
Defeat the American Imperialists
Develop the Revolutionary Tradition and March
Ahead!
All Reactionaries are Paper Tigers!
The Anti-American Fighting of the Vietnamese
People is a Great
Contribution to the World People's Revolutionary Movement!
Vietnamese Soldiers and People Fight Bravely
with Common Action Toward American Enemies.
The Number of American Bandits Who Come is How
Many will be Annihilated!
Stick to Fighting! Liberate South Vietnam! Defend
North Vietnam!
Oppose the Invasion of American Imperialists!
Crush the "Basic Treaty" between South Korea and Japan!
American Pilot Bandits Surrender Under
The Foot of Heroes
The Anti-Imperialist Fighting People of the World
Must Win!
Put Hatred into the Bullets and Get Rid of the
American Invaders!
Fight Hard, Fight Skillfully and Fight Well!
All the World's People Must Take Action Together!
Get the American Invaders Out of Vietnam!
Mobilize the People of the World!
Totally Annihilate the American Invaders!
Press Hard!
Fight Hard! Get the American Invaders out of
Vietnam!
The American Aggressors Must be Driven Out of
South Vietnam!
The Combined Defense of the Soldiers and People
Will Act as a Bastion of Iron!
The Vietnamese People Will Become Stronger in
Combat!
The Vietnamese People Will Win!
The All Reactionaries are Paper Tigers!
All the World's People Must Unite and Bring Down The
American Invaders and their Running Dogs!
The People of the Countries of Indo-China
Strengthen their Unity and Support,
Stick to People's Warfare and they are sure to Overcome All
Difficulties and Make the Final Victory (this is a quotation from
Chairman Mao). The people do not Fear the American Imperialists.
The American Imperialists Fear the People!
A Wave of Anger!
Put Hatred in the Guns!
The Image Here Shows an American Officer on the
radio to Headquarters saying
"General, I am going to close in on the guerrillas...they have been besieged."
Its a joke (of sorts)
Annihilate the American Invaders Where They Enter!
The People of the Three Countries of Indo-China Must Win!
The American Imperialists Must Lose!
Keep Fully Alert! Be Prepared at any time to Smash
an American Invasion!
Vietnam Must Win! American Imperialists Must Lose!
Strongly Support the Vietnamese People's Movement of Anti-Americanism
and Saving Their Nation!
The Vietnamese People Will Win!
Vietnam Must Win! The American Imperialists
Must Lose!
All the World's People Must Unite. Down with the
American Invaders
and All their Running Dogs!
The Four Seas are Rising,
Clouds and Water are Raging:
The Five Continents are Rocking,
Wind and Thunder are Roaring!
(This is a Quotation from one of Chairman Mao's Poems)
The Year 1968 Was A Great Year for the Cultural Revolution!
Chairman Mao and Lin Biao in Happier Times
RETURN TO DR. DENNIS HICKEY'S HOME PAGE
Translation of posters provide courtsey of Mr. Emil Wu and Mr. Yiran Zhao