China: Understanding Its Past

2. Winning Hearts and Minds

Winning Hearts and Minds 2 Section C ommunists used forms of propaganda to win the trust and support of poor peasants throughout China. Propaganda taught peasants about Communist programs and helped convince them that their lives would improve under Communist rule. As a result, millions of poor peasants joined the Communist ranks and played a pivotal role in defeating the Guomindang. Since 1949, Communist leaders have ordered a number of mass mobilizations in which the government tried to engage all citizens in carrying out its directives designed to radically change Chinese society. Large-scale propaganda campaigns, aimed at reaching every man, woman, and child in the People’s Republic of China, played an important part in these mobilizations. This section looks at how Communists have used a popular form of entertainment—drama —for propaganda purposes. Activity: Enacting the Play During the civil war with the Guomindang, theater troupes served as the most powerful Communist propaganda weapon in the countryside . Along with every Communist army, they traveled from town to town staging melodramas or “living newspapers,” in which performers acted out the Communist version of the latest news events. In rural areas these popular productions drew crowds starved for information and entertainment. Propaganda theater proved an effective way for Communists to indoctrinate their largely illiterate peasant audiences with Communist ideology, to explain their reforms, and to portray themselves as strong nationalists. Even after defeating the Guomindang, Chinese Communists relied on theatrical performances to propagandize. This section includes an excerpt from a well-known Chinese revolutionary opera, The Red Lantern. This opera, which takes place during the War of Resistance, was written in 1964. As you read the excerpt, think about what values and behavior the opera condemns and what values and behaviors it promotes . 1. The teacher will assign you to a group with three other students. Take turns reading aloud the excerpt from The Red Lantern, which follows these directions. Do not take roles yet. The China Peking Opera Troupe gives a performance of The Red Lantern for poor peasants in the countryside. Courtesy of China Pictorial, February 1969. Section 2: Winning Hearts and Minds 191 2. After your group has read the excerpt, answer the following questions. You should work together, with each person recording the group’s responses. a. What does the opera say about class loyalty and the poor? b. Give four adjectives that could describe the heroes and heroines in this opera. Why are they unafraid of death? c. What do you think the red lantern in the story symbolizes? d. What does The Red Lantern say about women’s role in fighting for their country and the Communist cause? e. What is the propaganda message of the opera; in other words, what does it try to teach its audience? 3. Share your group’s responses with the class. As you listen to what the other groups say, take notes to improve your own responses. 4. Your group is now a propaganda theater troupe that will perform Scene 8 of the revolutionary opera The Red Lantern. Although it is an opera, you will present this excerpt as a radio play. Actors need not memorize their lines but should be familiar enough with them to give a dramatic reading. To prepare for the performance, do the following. a. Decide who will take the following roles or role combinations. 1. Reader 1. Because you will perform The Red Lantern as a radio drama, the Readers will read scene introductions and stage directions to help the audience visualize the scenes. Sergeant, aide to Hatoyama. Sound-effects person, responsible for creating sound effects that will help your performance come alive for the listening audience. 2. Hatoyama, chief of the Japanese police. Hou, Hatoyama’s Chinese assistant. Reader 2. 3. Li Yu-ho, railroad switchman, member of the CCP and son of Granny. Aunt Liu, Tieh-mei’s neighbor. 4. Li Tieh-mei, daughter of Li Yu-ho. Granny, Tieh-mei’s grandmother. b. Choose a director who will help the members perform better. c. Rehearse by reading your lines. Those playing more than one role should use different voices to denote different characters . The director should pay special attention to the stage directions to get a feel for the dramatic mood of the opera. The sound-effects person should decide which scenes need what type of sound effects. The director should coach the actors and sound effects person to perform effectively. The director may stop the reading at any point...