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In China's heartland, a Red revival

Tributes being paid to Mao Zedong in Yan'an, China's "holy land" of the revolution.

YAN'AN: As the trumpets sound, the Red Army surges across the dusty earth, streaming forward with a roar as guns rattle and explosions leave behind plumes of smoke.

As the Nationalist enemy beats a retreat, the red flag is raised, and celebrations begin. Villagers bring forward a portrait of Mao Zedong, before bursting into revolutionary songs praising the Chairman.

Here in the heartland of central China, which once served as the base for Mao's Communists to launch their revolution, the controversial leader's legacy is as strong as ever.

As the Communist Party of China (CPC) prepares to mark its 90th anniversary this year, an attempt to revive and recast Maoist ideas and values is under way as the party searches for new ways to strengthen its ideological appeal.

Yan'an, a city in Shaanxi that is regarded as the “holy land” of the Communist revolution having served as the Communist base from the end of the Long March in 1936 to 1948, is now at the centre of attempts to renew interest in Mao's life, with party officials and scholars calling for a revival of “Red culture” to fill the seemingly growing cultural void in today's China.

“For three decades, the nation's focus has been on economic growth, but we have lost our moral values,” said Zhang Jianru, the secretary of the Party committee and curator of the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum.

“What young Chinese today can learn from Red values, and the Yan'an spirit of the revolution, is the right political direction, honest values and to serve the people,” he told The Hindu in an interview in the city's sprawling revolutionary museum, which chronicles the lives of Mao and other leaders during their Yan'an sojourn.

At Yan'an, Mao is remembered as a revolutionary — his gross mistakes, from the catastrophic Great Leap Forward in 1958, which led to an estimated 30 million deaths, to the disastrous Cultural Revolution (1966-76), are given no mention.

The city's “Red tour” only showcases the hardships faced by Mao, Zhou Enlai and other leaders during the Long March, which ended near here, as well as how they revived the Communist Party and reaffirmed its principles as they launched their revolution to establish the People's Republic in 1949.

Mr. Zhang is not alone in his support for reviving Red culture. Importantly, many of the next generation of China's leaders, slated to take over in 2012, are backing the campaign.

Leading the revival is Bo Xilai, the party chief in the western municipality of Chongqing, who has seen his popularity soar after launching a campaign to revive the singing of revolutionary songs.

Mr. Bo also initiated a “Red text” programme, sending messages carrying Mao's sayings to the mobile phones of every Chongqing resident, and encouraged colleges to send students to work in the countryside.

The Chongqing government has launched “Red training” programmes, sending government employees and students to Yan'an to imbibe Mao's values.

“Today's youth have no idea about life in the countryside, or even about serving society, so what Bo Xilai is doing is very good,” said Zhang Ji Jun, a Chongqing government employee who was, on a recent afternoon, paying respects to Mao at his old residence in Yangjialing, which served as his base in Yan'an.

Chongqing has even set up a “Red Tourism Revolutionary Traditions Education Activity Leading Team”, which organises trips for college students to learn the “Yan'an spirit”.

“We should remember that we would not have won independence [in 1949] without this spirit,” Zheng Jian, its director, told The Hindu. “This spirit means hard work and sacrifice.”

Mr. Bo's Red campaign has gone beyond a cultural revival. His crackdown on corruption — seen by some as driven by political interests and giving short shrift to legal processes — and welfare policies have been regarded as a new experiment in China's politics, harking back to the populism of the 1950s and 1960s.

He has won the backing of Xi Jinping, China's Vice-President who is set to succeed President Hu Jintao in 2012. In a recent visit to Chongqing, Mr. Xi said Chongqing's Red activities had gone “deeply into the hearts of the people”, hinting that other cities would follow suit.

Mr. Zhang of the museum said China's leaders could learn from “the Yan'an spirit”, as the Party looks to tackle its two biggest challenges — rising corruption and increasing social inequality — as it turns 90.

“The party spent its most important 13 years in Yan'an,” he said. “At that time, party members' ideas, lifestyle and behaviour was very good. Today, we need to learn from this example.”

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