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Chapter 1 T" The Slav e Wh o Woul d B e Equal : The Significanc e o f Lian g Qichao' s Australian Writing s John Fitzgerald Introduction1 The year 194 9 is officially remembere d i n China a s the year o f Liberation (jiefang). I n English, at least, the term Liberation generall y implies freedo m — freedom o f speech, freedom o f movement, freedom o f assembly, freedo m of organization, freedom t o elect and to remove governments, the freedo m to hav e a s many childre n a s people wan t o r ca n afford . Give n th e histor y of freedom i n China sinc e 1949 , the term Liberation ofte n carrie s a heavy burden o f irony when applie d t o th e People's Republi c o f China . There is nevertheless a clear and palpable sense in which a great man y Chinese peopl e fel t liberate d i n 194 9 — th e sens e i n whic h th e bonde d servant feel s free whe n sh e escape s from he r masters, the sense in which a slave feel s fre e whe n h e break s hi s chains , th e sens e o f relie f w e al l fee l when we have had enoug h o f bullying and humiliation an d declare to ou r families, ou r neighbours , o r t o th e world , tha t we hav e had enough . Th e indigenous symbol of China's Liberation i n 194 9 was not, afte r all , a torch of liberty welcoming refugees fro m tyranny . The abiding image is that of a people who 'hav e stood up' in Mao Zedong's famous conceit. 'Our nation, ' Mao declared in Beijing in 1949, 'will never again be humiliated by others. We hav e stoo d up.' 2 I n th e resoundin g metapho r o f th e day , China' s Liberation promised recognition for th e beast or the slave who wa s despise d by other s — no t liberatio n fo r th e religiou s hereti c o r sanctuar y fo r th e political refugee. 3 354 John Fitzgerald Slavery — eve n metaphorica l slaver y — entail s two genera l conditions . One i s th e absenc e o f freedom . Slave s crav e libert y becaus e the y canno t take u p thei r chain s an d wal k jus t a s the y please . Th e othe r conditio n i s unequal statu s relations , implyin g subjectio n an d humiliation . Slave s ar e expected t o bo w befor e thei r masters , t o conve y i n th e ritual s o f everyda y life thei r absolut e subservienc e an d unswervin g loyalt y t o thos e wh o mus t be obeyed . Th e historica l struggl e tha t culminate d i n China' s Liberatio n i n 1949 wa s widel y imagine d a s a struggle agains t slaver y i n thi s secon d sense : a struggl e agains t loca l an d foreig n mastery , a struggl e fo r equality , fo r dignity, for nationa l recognition. Onl y i n recen t years has the torc h o f liberty been raise d hig h i n Beijing. 4 To fee l liberated , i n th e secon d sense , peopl e firs t ha d t o imagin e tha t they wer e enslaved , an d secondl y tha t the y wer e humiliate d b y thei r enslavement. Wher e di d thi s trope o f the downtrodde n beas t o r slav e com e from? An d wher e di d th e notio n tha t liberatio n mean t equalit y com e from ? Certainly th e imag e o f slaver y wa s widel y evoke d i n th e Ma y Fourt h paradigm o f the captiv e figur e — o f women encumbere d wit h boun d feet , youths hel d i n thral l t o thei r elders , worker s chaine d t o thei r lathes...

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