MCLC: new edition of little red book

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: pjmooney <pjmooney at me.com>
Subject: new edition of little red book
***********************************************************

Source: The Guardian (9/27/13):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/27/mao-little-red-book-revamp

Mao's Little Red Book to get revamp
By Tania Branigan

It will not be especially little, and the cover will be only partly red.
But a new version of the world's second most published book is due to
appear on Chinese shelves, decades after it fell from favour with the end
of Maoism.

The re-emergence of Quotations from Chairman Mao – better known as the
Little Red Book – comes amid an official revival of the era's rhetoric.
China's leader, Xi Jinping, has embraced Maoist terminology and concepts,
launching a "mass line rectification campaign
<http://thediplomat.com/china-power/chinas-mass-line-campaign/>" and this
week even presiding over a televised self-criticism session
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-09/25/c_132750332.htm>.

Only the Bible has been printed more often than the Quotations, which was
a keystone of Mao's personality cult. A billion copies circulated in the
Cultural Revolution – the population pored over it in daily study
sessions; illiterate farmers memorised chunks by heart. In the west,
translations were brandished by radicals.

But the political frenzy ebbed, and production of the Little Red Book had
mostly stopped long before Mao's death; afterwards, as China embarked on
reform and opening up, officials began to pulp copies. Later, in a more
relaxed age, commercial reprints and introductions to his thought
appeared, but no new editions of his works: "This has been a very
sensitive topic," said Daniel Leese, author of Mao Cult and an expert on
the era at the University of Freiburg.

The new version is due for release in November, just before the 120th
anniversary of Mao's birth. Its chief editor, Chen Yu – a senior colonel
at the Academy of Military Science – describes it as a voluntary
initiative. "We just want to edit the book, as other scholars work on the
Analects of Confucius… We don't have a complicated political purpose,"
said Chen.

But Leese suggested it was a "trial balloon" from Maoist sympathisers: "If
they hadn't seen how the general tone towards the Maoist heritage had
changed, I don't think they would have dared. This is party internal
politics popping up in the public sphere."

Chen said his team of 20 had worked for two years on the project, under
pressure from left and right. The title may not include the word
"quotations", he said, and will be attributed to Mao Zedong instead of
Chairman Mao because the former is more neutral.
The best-known editions are the military versions covered in red plastic
and shrunk to fit the pocket of an army uniform – hence the book's
nickname in the west.

Many knew the text well enough to cite quotes by page number; they became
ideological weapons to be wielded in any political struggle. Under siege
by Red Guards, the then foreign minister reportedly retorted: "On page [X]
it says Comrade Chen Yi is a good  cadre …"
But they also coloured even commonplace exchanges, as described by one
historian: "Serve the people. Comrade, could I have two pounds of pork,
please?"

This time the cover will be at most partially red, said Chen. The new book
will draw on other compilations of Mao's sayings and writings, remove
quotes wrongly attributed to Mao and correct those which have become
distorted.

An "internal reference" version with limited distribution will run to
double the length – 240,000 characters – and include "thoughts about the
Cultural Revolution and other special events confirmed as wrong by the
government", Chen said, so that people could study Mao comprehensively.
Leese noted that unlike other collections of Mao's thought, the Little Red
Book covered his later years in power – which saw the purges of the
Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Famine and Cultural Revolution.

Mao still occupies a place of honour in modern China. His body lies in
state in Tiananmen Square; his portrait hangs from its gate; and his face
gazes from banknotes. Others have appropriated his heritage in unexpected
ways: "There is a whole industry of Mao's thought as managerial wisdom,
much as became of Sun Tzu's Art of War," said Jeremy Paltiel, a Carleton
University expert on the Communist party.

But the party has drawn a veil over the later years of Mao's rule since
its 1981 resolution proclaimed that he was 70% right, 30% incorrect. The
return to that period's terminology has confused and in some cases
concerned observers.

"[Xi] might not be the initiator, but he certainly endorses it," said
Joseph Cheng, a political scientist at the City University of Hong Kong.
Some perceive a tactical manoeuvre, designed to appeal to leftwingers
estranged by the trial of Bo Xilai and concerned that financial and
economic reforms will be unveiled at a key party meeting in November.

Others see genuine conviction: "Xi believes in Maoism. He wants to
completely revive Mao's policy and he has already started it," said
political scientist Zhang Ming.

That does not mean a return to class struggle or abandonment of the
market. Rather, it is about the Great Helmsman as a guide for party
leadership.

"It is not the same era any more," said Beijing-based historian Zhang
Lifan. "He will not actually do exactly what Mao did. He just makes a
gesture as if he will."