The New York Times recently ran an op-ed piece titled, Confessions of the Cultural Revolution which ties in greatly with my Master's research on the subject of the social memory of the Cultural Revolution in present-day China.
Within the piece, writer Xiao Han reflects that due to the country's strict censorship of Cultural Revolution material and research and reflection into the subject matter, the period's memory is gradually receding from public memory, creating nostalgia by those who contrast the decade with China's rapid, capitalist rise.
The article mentions one woman who recently came forward and apologized for witnessing an attack on her vice principal during the height of violence, and not doing anything to stop it. After her apology spread through the internet, netizens were quick to target her as "grandstanding" and called her apology "insincere." Xiao Han comments on this and wonders how any other former violent individuals will be encouraged to come forward and apologize for past actions when facing the backlash and criticism of the internet, and calls for the younger netizens to reflect on the apologizes of their elders (see the third excerpt below).
Some excerpts:
Attempts by intellectuals to publicly address the Cultural Revolution have been suppressed; only a smattering of research by state-funded scholars has seen the light of day. The result has been a gradual receding of memory. The economic surge of the past 30 years has even led some deluded souls to look back on the period with nostalgia. But given the authoritarian nature of today’s leadership, many people fear the prospect of a return of the terror that marked the Cultural Revolution.
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Can China continue the momentum and create a framework for wider public acknowledgement? Are the Chinese people ready for such a mass reckoning?
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We Chinese need to build an appropriate environment for the wrongdoers to come forward. First and foremost, this requires that people who were fortunate enough not to experience the Cultural Revolution put themselves in the place of the perpetrators. While they have a right to criticize perpetrators of past crimes, they should repress the impulse to harshly condemn those who come forward. We should not be making excessive demands on this process. Chinese people should try to consider what they themselves might have done under similar circumstances.
Showing posts with label thesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thesis. Show all posts
Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, July 1, 2013
Master's Thesis Online
My Master's Thesis, titled Generations Apart: Cultural Revolution Memory and China's Post-80's Generation on the Chinese Internet is now online at UMass Boston's Scholarworks database. Check it out!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Master's Thesis
I've begun setting aside large blocks of my time to finally begin putting a dent into my Master's Thesis writing. I am aiming to complete this project by the end of this spring semester so let's hope that I continue to stay on track and get some solid writing down as often as I can.
After four decades, memory of the Cultural Revolution is used on the Chinese internet to describe violent behaviors being shared online as a context for highlighting China’s social instability. Netizens are making comparisons between current violent acts of protest and extreme Red Guard behaviors, which evoke heavy emotions from the Cultural Revolution generation. This research argues that these tensions and reprisals among netizen groups arose from the disconnect between current uses of Cultural Revolution revivalism on the Chinese internet and the impact this has for individuals of the Cultural Revolution generation.
Specifically, this research engages with the implications and purposes of invoking memories of the Cultural Revolution on the Chinese Internet.
Analyzing recent trends of how the internet is changing communication, this study proves that the post-1980s generation, in drawing from the Cultural Revolution, is not aware of the implications that making such connections on the internet has. Lack of education and public historiography of this decade of Chinese history is due to the government’s efforts to sweep it into the dustbin of history, having labeled the Cultural Revolution a “dark chapter” in Chinese modern history. Netizens making these comparisons are merely calling out current events as being the same as the Cultural Revolution without delving into the larger context of what that period of history means for the generations who lived through it. As such, this Cultural Revolution revivalism and re-characterization of its social memory as seen through Chinese social media has complex meanings for how China’s post-1980’s generation defines that decade of events.
The topic for my Master's thesis is building upon my undergraduate work, again focusing on the growth of the Chinese Internet and how netizens are working to reshape the memory of the Cultural Revolution.
Below is a short abstract for my work in progress:
Reshaping the Social Memory of the Cultural Revolution in the Digital Age
The growth of
the internet in China has granted Chinese citizens a new outlet for having
their voices heard, allowing Chinese to log onto the web and speak out against
corruption, build movements, and rally against social injustices. Netizens, or internet users,
are able to take advantage of internet anonymity to raise issues that could
never been raised offline, such as environmental concerns, issues of
local-level corruption, and anger at the rigorously competitive college
entrance exam. With over 500 million users accessing the Chinese
internet, it has become a place of political participation where social memory
is discussed and transformed. This has become evident in online discussions of
the Cultural Revolution, a social and political movement which took place in
China between 1966 and 1976.
After four decades, memory of the Cultural Revolution is used on the Chinese internet to describe violent behaviors being shared online as a context for highlighting China’s social instability. Netizens are making comparisons between current violent acts of protest and extreme Red Guard behaviors, which evoke heavy emotions from the Cultural Revolution generation. This research argues that these tensions and reprisals among netizen groups arose from the disconnect between current uses of Cultural Revolution revivalism on the Chinese internet and the impact this has for individuals of the Cultural Revolution generation.
Specifically, this research engages with the implications and purposes of invoking memories of the Cultural Revolution on the Chinese Internet.
Analyzing recent trends of how the internet is changing communication, this study proves that the post-1980s generation, in drawing from the Cultural Revolution, is not aware of the implications that making such connections on the internet has. Lack of education and public historiography of this decade of Chinese history is due to the government’s efforts to sweep it into the dustbin of history, having labeled the Cultural Revolution a “dark chapter” in Chinese modern history. Netizens making these comparisons are merely calling out current events as being the same as the Cultural Revolution without delving into the larger context of what that period of history means for the generations who lived through it. As such, this Cultural Revolution revivalism and re-characterization of its social memory as seen through Chinese social media has complex meanings for how China’s post-1980’s generation defines that decade of events.
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