"Building a nation's fate on the reputation of one or two people is very unhealthy and very dangerous."
--a comment by Deng Xiaoping,
former leader of Red China,
a comment that has been excised from Chinese books
Some may think that Americans are rewriting history. When it comes to these matters, nobody does that like a real leftist government.
Remember the days when Soviet movie directors would remove those out of favor by carefully editing their documentary reels? And their books would be "improved" as well. These days, it's the Red Chinese who are carefully improving their history. And not just by removing statues. This has a much more modern feel.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that President-for-Life Xi Jinping has ordered new history this year to coincide with the Party's 100th anniversary. They want to "harness" history, according to the report. It's the largest propaganda campaign in that country since Chairman Mao.
"History researchers shouldn't be cold-eyed observers of times and trends," says Gao Xiang, a historian turned top propaganda official. "Historical research must stand atop the commanding heights of our times" to "guide governance and nurture people."
His boss, President Xi, has a different way to word this. He wants a "correct outlook on history" in his country. So that history must be changed to make it correct for today's eyes and minds. The Journal reports that the new history "aims to tamp down introspection about the party's past mistakes and portray it as an unstoppable force that has endured war and chaos to steer China's rise."
What a departure from the historical revisionism in this country. Here, people take to the streets to emphasize the bad this country has done and the sins of certain founders, without mitigating any of that with the good that was done. In Red China, the government erases any embarrassments.
Several weeks ago, China's "cyberspace regulator" (something else the United States doesn't have) announced an effort to denounce "historical nihilism," such as criticizing public leaders or denying how good socialism can be. The book "A Short History of the Chinese Communist Party" used to have passages in it about the problems associated with Mao's Great Leap Forward. The book no longer has such criticisms. Also dropped: any of the negative impacts that (former) historians noted about the Cultural Revolution. Why mention millions of deaths when industrial output increased during that era?
Instead, the updated version of the short history book has added many pages dedicated to Mr. Xi and his exploits, including this bit of a humble bouquet: "Amid 10,000 majestic mountains, there must be a main peak."
Even the Long March--a military retreat--has been turned into a victory. After all, didn't it strengthen the Party, and the hold its political leaders had on the country? Eventually.
Will this effort work? Will rewriting the past make the people of mainland China think differently of the past? Maybe for a while. Then, in a few years perhaps, another strongman will take over in Beijing. And we can all start this over again.
"correct" - Google News
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The correct outlook - Arkansas Online
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