Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
Wow. I know, this is my response to a lot of events on this trip. But, seriously? Wow. I can easily say this is strangest thing I have ever seen in my life thus far.
Let's go back in time a little bit and review Chinese history. Chairman Mao of course came to power through the Communist Party in 1949, and led until his death in 1976. The Dear Chairman (as he is often referred to in China) is responsible not only for a very unique cult of personality, but also for some significantly devastating events in the nation's history. Two such events stand out: First, The Great Leap Forward, a campaign in which Mao basically thought more steel production was needed to get the country out of the dire straits it was in. The production quotas set around the country led to farmers being forced to melt down their tools in their backyard, home-made, government required blast furnaces. As you can imagine, many problems arose from this idea: without tools to farm, farming became quite difficult, and the steel that was produced in the home-made blast furnaces was not very marketable, to say the least. In addition, farmers were forced into agricultural collectives that uprooted everyone and removed the incentive for production (the communism vs. capitalism debate thrives). As a result of all this, it is estimated that 30 million people died in what has been characterized as the largest scale famine in human history.
Well, if that wasn't enough for you, how about the Cultural Revolution? In the mid-60s, Mao's popularity was slipping a bit so he did what any good tyrant would do and he set about to brainwash the people he was leading. In this segment of history, we have the famed Little Red Book, which depicts Mao's take on just about everything, and was carried by a subset of particularly fanatic, young Mao diehards. These young men and women went all over the country looking for "reactionaries" (anyone who didn't seem to buy into the whole Red Book thing), and forced them to undergo public humiliation, sent them to prison labor camps for years on end, or, the worst fate, execution. I am not certain as to the numbers lost during this Revolution, but it is certainly noteworthy in its utter cruelty.
At least that is what I learned about Mao's leadership, in high school, as a democracy-loving American citizen. It is hard to know what the Chinese learn about Mao, and hard to know what those who lived through Mao's time think about all of it now. The assumption, from my frame of reference, would be that they would be incredibly angered at the very least.
Now flashback to just a few days ago, when Matt and I visited Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in the middle of Tienanmen Square. There was a massive line, almost entirely made up of Chinese citizens. No cameras or bags were allowed in, but you were able to purchase a bouquet of white flowers to place on the alter (how else can I describe it?) at the base of Mao's statue in the front room of the hall. The statue was a huge, white stone depiction of Mao sitting on a chair- reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial. As we entered, I saw many people placing flowers in the designated place, and- this is what really got me- many stopped to bow and pray to the statue of Mao. This was not at all uncommon- I would say at least 70% of the people going through put flowers down and bowed to the statue. The people doing this ranged in age- from our age (i.e. had not lived through Mao), to men and women that looked to be in their 80s (i.e., definitely lived through all of Mao's rule). I was utterly fascinated by this display.
After the statue, we were ushered into the next room, where Mao himself was on display. He was laid out beneath a glass case, with a red hammer & sickle flag draped over most his body. Multiple guards sped us along, so we only got a very quick look at the man himself. I gasped when I first saw him- Matt was worried, thinking I had the giggles. I had the opposite of giggles, really- it was mostly a feeling of horror and disbelief.
To make things even more bizarre (which didn't really seem possible at that point), the third and final room was a souvenir stand selling all varieties of Mao kitsch. There were keychains, necklaces, bracelets, lighters, and commemorative plates with Mao's image, as well as his book of poetry and Mao quotations. We passed right on by those tempting deals and back into the sunlight, where I tried to keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself. Those who know me know that didn't last long- but at least I waited until we were a respectable distance from the Memorial Hall. Or at least I think we were?
I am still not sure what to make of it all. Having learned what I learned about his leadership, and what appear to be the facts about the events in history I mentioned above, how can this man be so revered? Obviously there are things I do not understand, and I can appreciate that. Matt and I both were wishing we understood the language so that we could meet and talk to people about the rule of Mao. We did meet an American lady in the airport who told us her son was attending the University of Peking. She attended a lecture with him, and during it an objective historical film was shown about Mao- one that was produced in the U.S. After the film was over, the professor proceeded to comment that Chairman Mao was a "romantic, misunderstood leader". Apparently, the official party line is that in assessing Mao's reign, when all is said and done, he was "70% right and 30% wrong". Hmm.
I do not mean any of this as an offense to the Chinese people. Again, as an American my views are just as skewed as the next person, and I fully realize that. To me, this story is more of an interesting view into the human psyche. People want to believe the best, they want to believe they are being led in the right direction. We do this (on a much smaller scale) in the U.S. all the time, and there are hundreds of examples of this phenomenon in human history. It is just the extreme aspect of this particular segment of history and the lingering sentiment in China today that, to me, is fascinating.
So, now you can see why I didn't want to write all this while on the internet in China!
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