Performing the Nation: China's Children as Little Red Pioneers

The Little Red Pioneers, the Chinese Communist Party's organization for children aged 7–12, seem anachronistic in China today. This article argues that the Pioneer organization, rather than being an outdated relic of the nation's Maoist past, provides insight into contemporary Chinese nationalism, particularly the theoretical question of how children are produced as national subjects. Based in Butler's concept of performativity, this article argues that children's nationalism in China is performed through daily activities and practices structured by the Little Red Pioneers.