Activating Images The Ideological Use of Metapictures and Visualized Metatexts in the Iconography of...

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Modern Chinese Literature and Culture

Activating Images: The Ideological Use of Metapictures and Visualized Metatexts in theIconography of the Cultural RevolutionAuthor(s): Francesca Dal LagoSource: Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, Vol. 21, No. 2 (FALL, 2009), pp. 167-197Published by: Foreign Language PublicationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41491012 .Accessed: 30/05/2013 05:55

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Activating Images: The IdeologicalUse of Metapictures and Visualized

Metatexts in the Iconography of

the Cultural Revolution

FrancescaDalLago

Textual and VisualMetalanguageIn PictureTheory Essayson Verbal and VisualRepresentation,W. J.Mitchell1994: 35)definesmetapicturess "picturesbout pictures thatis# ictures hat refer o themselves r to other pictures, ictures hatare used to show what a picture s." He refers o a particular ype ofrepresentation hosegoalis to turn he viewer's ttention back to theprocess f image making"36).Thisdefinitions usefulwithrespect o a

specificconographicaleaturen ertain osters f he Cultural evolution(1966-76):referencesoother mages o create form f metalanguage.Suchvisual uotations f other magesorvisualizedmetatexts)hat aredistinctrom hat call he "surface mage" xtend nd amplifyheposter'soveralldeologicalunction.1use the term surface mage"to describethe overallrepresentation nd compositionf an imagethat includeswithin ts rame reference o other mages,which call"internalmages."Internalmagesmight lso nclude extsin his pecificase, exts nscribedon clearlyeparateand self-standingbjects, uch as sloganson a wall,

hisrticles reworkedersionfpaperresentednMarch002 t heconferenceulturalroductionnd heCulturalevolution,milyarrnstitutofArtnd esign,ancouver.1Mitchell1994:)discusseshedifferenceetweenhe urfacemageand he nternalmages "thetructurof insidend utside/irst-nd econdorderepresentation,nwhichhewholeonceptf meta-'sbased.nimagefnested,oncentricpacesndlevelssrequiredo tabilizemeta-pi tu e, r ny econd-orderiscourseto eparatet leanlyromhe irst-orobject-languagest escribes."llenJohnstonaing1988: 2)mentionshow,n ovietortraiture,secondarvignetteotifserentroducedn hebackground,unctionings commenon hendividualortrayed."orn

ModernChinese Literature nd Culture 167

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banners, nd dazibao).These textual nternal magesvisualmetatextsdiffer romlogansnd nscriptionssed o comment n the urface mage,

which re clearly lacedoutside f ts frame, ither t the bottom r thesideof he mage.A commonype f nternalmage,which do notdiscushere, s herepresentationf he portrait f ChairmanMaoZedongwithinan image.Theserepresentationsre normallytatic uotations hat donot demand or elicit ny active reenactment ythe viewer, part fromtheworship f ChairmanMao andhis hought.2nstead, focus n imageswhere he quotingof another mageor text s employeds a strategy ostimulate certain ctive behavior n the part f the viewer.

The use of mageswithin magess not new trategyn he historyfChinese isualepresentation.nhisbook TheDouble Screen:Medium nd

Representationn Chinese ainting,WuHung 1996)discussesformallysimilar, ut conceptuallyifferent, ractice ound ntraditional hinesepainting: he representation f screenswithinChinesepaintings. heprimary urpose f uchrepresentationsas to create nternalpatial ndnarrative artitions, hile t the same timeprovidingmoral ommentaryon the main figure n the painting.A famousexampleof the internalreinforcementrovided y uchdoublerepresentations the portrait fEmperor ianlong ttributed o Yao Wenhan nd datableto 1745, itledOne orTwo?,nwhich he"emperorhus mployedhe old double creenformula o intensify is elf-mystification."3

Studies of the visual culture of the Cultural Revolutionnormallyanalyze he nstitutionaltructure ehind tsproductionnd the politica

and economic onditions hat inform tsvisual anguage.4Thetype ofvisual nalysishatVictoria onnell1997:19)defines n The conographyofPower: ovietPoliticalostersUnder enin nd Stalin s "the relationsofdomination s theywerevisuallynscribed n the hearts nd minds fthe SovietRussian eople"has,for he mostpart,yet o be undertakeninthe Chinese ase.5nspired yBonnell,my nalysis lsostems rom hecentralityuring heCultural evolutionf he deologicalffort oactivate

examplef similarnstancennon-Chineseosters,ee he ostereninandGandhi1927)y nunknown

artist.ee chnapp005:09;r afont2007:13, 82,96.n he xamplenp.182,iguresn he ortraitsn hewalllapn pprovalo heealousstudentisplayedelowhem;heposters itledrawingMusicndSingingessons illefinitelyncreasePupils'ulturaltandards1959).n heexamplenp.196,ortraitsf eninand talineaturen lags.2 Static"nstancesf ortraitsithinimagesre obefound,orxample,nGuowuyuanenhuazueishuuopinzhengjiiaozu ian974:,5; nd

Landsberger997: 2.

3Wu 996: 35. hemagesreproducedinWu 996:18,llustration8.

4Textsn nglishn heubjectincludendrews994;aing988;Evans/Donald999;andsberger1996;andsberger/Min/Duo003;ndLandsberger005.

5 Visualropagandallows s ocomprehendhe fficialiscourse

168 Metapictures nd VisualizedMetatexts



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new social dentitieshrough oliticalommunication.he function ndmassive istributionf images t the time reflected Mao's faith n mass

communication'sundamentalole n nitiatingocialhange.Mao believedthat re-creatingcondition f ongoing truggle imilaro the processhathadoriginallyontributedo the politicaluccess f heChineseommunistParty asnecessaryorhis action, hichwas threatened y he iberalizingeconomiceformsf the pragmatic action,edbyLiuShaoqiand DengXiaoping,nthe early1960s,o regainpower.By timulating motionaltensions nd creating continuoustate f ocialmobilization,ewpoliticaland social ransformationsould be implemented.6

The visual rhetoric f imagesand the notion of their massivedisseminationorpropagandapurposes amefrom xperience cquired

by he Communisteadershipwhilemobilizingeasantsn he 1920s.Thepolitical mpetus f the Cultural Revolution temmed romMao'slong-held convictionhat, s expressed yFrederick.C.Yu(1964: 27)"givena proper echniqueof socialmanipulation, lmostanything ouldbeaccomplished."isform f popularndoctrination ade use of a forcefuloral and emotional pproach nd was first eployed n an experimentalbasiswith lliterate easants n his nativeHunan.This pproachbecameone of he basesof he propagandan he truggle gainstJapan 1937-45)and ater gainst heNationalists1945-49),when hesupport f he ruralpopulation roved rucial o the Communists'ventual ictory.7ao'santi-

intellectualismnd hisfaith nthe powerof direct ropagandanspiredhimto choose visual forms f indoctrination nd politicaleducationdiametricallypposedto the tradition f Chinese lite cultural ractices,whichhe considerednadequateto reach he illiteratemasses.Given heimportance f the ideological strategy uring he CulturalRevolutionto inculcatenew behaviors,ommunicationad to be ubiquitous ndpowerfullyxpressive:raditional orms f popularvisualculturewereadoptedfor he newpolitical trategy.8

Oneof the main goalsof the Cultural Revolutionwasthe radical

onpowern oviet ussiand tstransformationver ime"Bonnell1997:9).Anxceptiono he eneraltreatmententionedbovesprovideby ome f he ssaysn vansndDonald1999),speciallynHarrietEvans,'Comradeisters':enderedBodiesnd paces"63-78),nwhichthe uthor rovidescloseeadingfimagesfwomenn heconographfthe ulturalevolutionosters.ariaGalikowksi1998:64-169)lso iscusaspectsf he odifiedse f magesduringhiseriod.6Liu 971: 0.A imilaronceptsalso iscussedy rederick..Yu(1964:1):Chineseommunisms

class evolutionnd he ey ordnCommunistdeologys ouhengrstruggle... In histruggle,ersuasiservesdual unction.t cts s kindof uelhat rovideshe rivingowerof he truggle.t lso cts s kindof ubricanthat elpso moothheoperation.t sused o nflameswellasto oothe assmotionsn hestruggle."

7On he se f isualropagandaurinthe nti-Japanesear,eeFrancescaaLago005.

8 Theopularediare husmployby he artys an nstrumento id heprocessf orrectecognition,o hathChineseill now hatsdesirableorthemoknownd eewhatsdesirabfor hemo ee"Chu978:).

ModernChineseLiterature nd Culture 169



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transformationfChineseoliticalulture nd the realization f "the amesort f revolutionaryreakthrough'n heculturalphere hathadalready

been achieved n hemilitary-politicalnd socio-economicealms"Dittme1977:67).Because hegoalofpropagandawas to relay pecificmessagesvisualtrategiesor onveyingpecific oliticalmeaningsad to becarefullselected.n"ThoughtReformnd Cultural evolution: nAnalysisf theSymbolismf ChinesePolemics,"Lowell Dittmer1977:67-85)adoptsa linguistic aradigm o analyzethe functions f mass communicatioduring he Cultural evolution. e discusses hepoliticalanguageof theperiod s a "'semiological ystem'ossessingts wn syntactics'"a formthat llowsfor he "organizationf variousinguisticymbols ithin hemessage"69). n his ystem,ymbolserved o mediatebetweenpolitica

culture nd collectivesychology,husfacilitatingnteractions etweenthe leadershipnd the masses.9

ActivatingTextsand InspiringFigures:The Role of Models andDazibao inthe AgitationalStrategies of the Cultural Revolution

During he Cultural evolution,raditionaltrategies f valueformationwere invoked hrough n unconsciouseference o Confucianthicsbyredirectinghevalue ofloyaltyosuperiorsnd elders oward hePartyand its eaders.The moraluse of visual anguage,painting n particularand the pedagogicalfunction f visualizingmodelsfor orrect ehavior

had been a recurrent eature n Chinese rt and critical rt texts s farback sthe secondcenturyCahill 960:117).nthe ninth entury, hangYanyuan,n hisLidaiminghuai (Recordf famouspainters f successivdynasties),ommentedn the moral unctionf he magesf arlier ulers"from hiswemayknow hatpaintingsre the meansbywhich vents represervedna state n which hey erve s models for hevirtuous]ndwarningstothe evil]"inAcker 954:75).

The role of Confucianismnd the overlapcreated through theimplementationf he ystem f behavioralmodels s n accepted eading

9Bonnell1997: 0)lsomentionsheapplicabilityf he inguisticaradigmto he isualnalysisf he ovietposters:[M]yveralltrategys ouse n nalyticrameworkasednlinguisticnalogy,reatingmagesspart f visualanguagewithlexiconandyntax)nwhichll lementsreinterdependent."




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of the Party's isualpropaganda strategiesLandsberger995:26).Thesimilarity etween the social and moral subordinationprescribed y

traditional onfucian ociety nd the social surveillanceracticed y heCommunistegime uggests ontinuity etween hepersuasive racticesfthese woapparently pposedsystems.he use of models nboth ystemsderives rom heir otential oembody ositive r negative alues nd toprovide graphic epresentationn howone isexpected o "activate"a sanctioned ext.By activate," mean bothto understand na passivewayand to be stirred y that understanding oward some action.Inthisway, ocial andpolitical alues become ess abstract nd more asilyinternalizedy predominatelylliterate opulationLandsberger995:26).StefanLandsberger1995: 26)coins heterm Confucianeninism,"

which "combinesthe controlling lement of both Confucianism ndLeninismnd makeseveryoneconstantly ware of what constitutesbehaviornaccordancewith he definition f one's role."The creation fnew models o visualize he future s also related o Sovietpropagandapractice, heremodelswereemployedo activate heformation f newsocial dentities.10

Another orm f politicalgitation uring hefrenzy f he early earsof the Cultural evolution asthe dazibao,a kind f handwritten osterhung npublicplaces,whose visualpresencewasubiquitousn the dailylife f he period.Dazibao,the most adical orm f publicommunicationand direct

oliticalenunciation,ecame

powerfuloolof mass rousal.

Thismedium asattractedmuch ttention nWestern cholarshipn thecultural nd political hangesof the period.11avidPoon(1978: 2001),for nstance, iscussesow the Maoistfaction,with he helpof the RedGuards, had skillfullyonverted he writing, eading nd studying fdazibaointo political bligation."Adoptedto reawaken revolutionthat Maoperceiveds "dormant" fter he moderate oliticalhift f theearly 960s, azibaowere usedto activelyncite he masses oparticipatein a revived evolution.Morepractically,iven hecontrolmaintained y

10n he se fmodelsn he ovietUnion,ictoriaonnell1997: 4)write"the urposef oliticalrt eginninnthe 930s,as oprovidevisualcripan ncantationesignedo onjurepnewmodesf hinkingnd onduct,ndtopersuadeeoplehathe resentndthe uture erendistinguishable

11or discussionf he nfluencefdazibaoisualityn ontemporaryChinesert, eeDalago001.




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the opposing action ver fficialmedia,ncludingadio ndnewspapersthe dazibao offeredMaoand his upporters direct hannel f nteraction

with he masses Poon1978:193;Kraus 991:98).During he earliestphaseof the Cultural Revolution,Mao himsellaunched ne of his most radical ttacks hrough dazibao,"Bombardthe HeadquartersMyBigCharacter oster" August ,1966),nwhich epromotedheuseof hismedium, hich adfirst ppearednMayt BeijingUniversityPoon1 78: 1 4-1 5).Mao's validation as the tarting oint fa huge campaignhat becameone of the most graphicallyevolutionarprocessesn history. et, the Communists id not invent azibao themediumhad been used since mperialimes o disseminateublic dicts.However,t xperiencedmajor ebirths a form f ommunication uring

the 1942 Rectificationampaignn Yan'anand was then used on a muchlarger caleduring he Hundred lowers eriod Poon1978:189).Amidthe continual oliticalhifts f the Cultural evolution,azibao becamethe most ffectivemedium f political issemination,ne that ent tselfto last-minute pdates ftennecessitatedypoliticalluctuationsnd thatwas oftenusedto sparkpolitical nrest.

A visitorfrom Yugoslaviarecorded his visual impression f theubiquitous resencef dazibaoat the NationalUniversitynBeijing uringthe ate 1950s:

Allthe walls of the numerous uildingsf the university,nsideandout,werehungwithposters s high s a mancould reach nfront f the buildings,herewereracks n whichposters ung.Everyorridor as decoratedwith osters. trings ere tretchedacrossthe corridors rom ne wall to the other,with postershanging rom hem ike aundry ung o dry. ou had to stoopinorder o passunder hem s youwalkedalongthe corridors,(inYu 1964:138).

Assuggestedbythisquotation nd visualdocuments f the earlyyearsof the CulturalRevolutionfig. 1),dazibao' presencewas ubiquitous

172 Metapictures nd Visualized Metatexts



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words, ften nspiring iolence,wereplastered n allavailableurfacesgraphically emindinghe beholderof the obsessive reverberation f

political uthority.GodwinChu 1972: 20)has remarked ow in the confused oliticalsituation f the time, dazibao served n important ognitive unctionbyclarifyinghe norms, y pelling ut the do's and don'ts."While heuse and the legitimizationf thisform f communication as initiatedfrom he top down,eventuallyi came to perpetuate tself hroughcontinuous xchangeof criticismnd countercriticismt the grassrootslevel.AsChu observes1977: 236),"Dazibao have been usedas a meansofexposingonflict ecause oftheir nowballingffect. nce a dazibao isposted, thers end ofollow, einforcingndsupportingachother, ntil

a publicmood screated."To ustify he stateof continuousmass trugglethat had become the Cultural evolution's aisond'tre,dazibao wouldgenerate heprerogativesor enewedriticismrom eaders, ho wouldbe inspired y the texts o take upthe brush nd write more.12azibaowould connecthe massesnd the eadershipn circular orm nd wouldoffer possibleenuefor he releaseofpent-up motions y reating heillusion f an outletfor grievances.t was a medium hat postulated tscontinuouseplication ithin he symbolictructure t its ore.

PicturesWithin Pictures,Texts Above Texts

The HuxianpaintingThe OldParty ecretary Laoshuji) bythe peasantpainter iuZhideexemplifiesowduring he Cultural evolutionmageswere used as modelsfor correct ehavior nd how the visualizationfcertain ctions ould becomea template or thers fig. ).Thispaintingsubsequentlyeproduceds a poster, elongs o the subgenre f peasantpaintings roducedn the Hu Country ommune nd that was famouslyextolled y hepropagandaystemf he Cultural evolution13asubgenrethat was thesubject f a large xhibition eld nBeijingn October 973that eventuallyouredmanyWestern ountries.14t depicts n old and

12Theres noughvidenceo uggestthatn n rganizedatzepaoampaign,practicallyverybody,xcepthe eryyoungnd he eryld,s skedo akepart"Chu977:32).13hreef he magesiscussednthisrticleelongo he ategoryof easantaintingsroducednHu ountyndwidelyelebratedsmodelsyMao'sife, ianging.heiconographicaleaturehats he ocusofmy iscussion,owever,s oundnmanyulturalevolutionosters.eeLandsberger003:9, 25,23, 38,275;andsberger009:3, 8, 14.

On eadingndwritingazibao,eealsoHanei:006,ots 95, 15, 19,429,90. t snonethelessruehatheiconographicaltrategydiscussn hisessayppearsohave een sedmorefrequentlyn he ast ew earsf heCulturalevolution.14he xhibitionncluded79 aintings.On heHu ountryaintingxhibition,seeHsin en1973).n easantpaintings,eeLaing984 nd 988:83-84;ndGalikowski998: 55-158.




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Figure:Liuhide,he ld artyecretary1973),ouachenpaper,uowuyuanwenhuazueishuzuopinhengjiiaozu ian 974:4.

Modern Chinese Literature nd Culture 175



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dedicateci ural fficialtudyingndannotating olitical extswhile akinga breakfromhard physicalwork.A contemporaryrticle escribes he

value of this painting s an ideologicalmodel,both as a representationand as an artistic reation:

During break nfieldwork, heoldParty ecretary lunges eepintohis eadingfAnti-DhringS5isunlit ipe ndtheforgottenmatch ox held none hand howthe deepinterest f this adreat the grass-rootevel n hestudy f Marxist heory. apturingfleetingmoment rom he life f the typical haracter,he artistdelineateshisfigurewith trokes hat are terse yet brings utfully oth the Party ecretary's iligent oining with communemembersn labour and the politicalwarenesswhichpromptshim o make useof every reemoment or tudy. iuChih-tehs

acquaintedwith he life nd thinking f many arty ecretariesand hasspent ndlesshours ketching rom heir ife; his s thereasonhe couldproduce uch picture.Hsin1973:96).

Ina posterbyChengGuoyingitledModelBangyang) fig. ),exhibitedinBeijings part f he1 74 NationalArt xhibition,hichwasorganizedon the wenty-fifthnniversaryf hefounding f he People'sRepublicfChina, groupof viewers s animatedlydmiring heOldParty ecretary.Model visualizes he correctolitical ehavior hat deal viewers houldreenact:n heposter, heOldParty ecretary ecomes model or groupof peasants, ne of whom eems o be a party fficial,udging rom hebooks heholds nd from hisclothes,whichresemble hose wornby hecadre, t whom he stareswith smile, epresentednthe painting tselfThisgroup eeks nspiration y ooking t the representedrchetype ndthen discusses tsmeaning.

Given hetimeframethe HuCounty ainting xhibition penedin1973,while heTwenty-fifthnniversaryxhibitionpenedin1974),TheOldParty ecretary ouldhavebeendisplayedn he ame xhibitionpacewhereModel nqs later hown. ndeed, he architecturaletailsvisiblenModel resemble he nteriorecorationf heChinaArtGalleryZhonggu

15 errugenhring'sevolutionnScience,lso nownsAnti-Dhring,originallyublishednGermanyn 878,was riedrichngels'sostopularcontributiono he evelopmentfMarxistheory.




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Figure:Cheng uoying,odel.n 974uanquoeishuuopinhanlanhui,hongguoua,youhuaulu.ianjin:enmineishu,2.

meishuguan),ow the NationalArtMuseumof China NAMOC),whereboth xhibitionsookplace.Thus, isitorsothe Twenty-fifthnniversary




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Exhibition ho saw Modelwould have beenlooking t this poster romthe samephysicalpace represented ithin he picture tself. uch patial

association,n ddition o the representationf he ct of viewing,urtherreinforcesheprocess f dentificationhat he poster ctivates.Asecond magethat makes reference o The OldParty ecretary sa

painting y hestudents u XiangfeindWu Jin n thecover f an albumof artworks roducedbymiddle-schoolhanghai tudents nd publishedin 1976.The album's itle s the same as painting's: oStudy ainting neFirst as to Study he PersonnthePaintingXuehuaxianxuehuazhongren) fig. ).Thismageportrays student akingnotes fter avingmadea watercoloropy f LiuZhide's riginal. he title nd the representationreiterate heprocessf modelformation,his ime ctivated y he act of

copying. s he itle uggests,his rocessantakeplacen correctmanneronly f hestudent s aware of the ideologicalposition f the subjecthe

Figure:XuXiangfeindWu in,o tudyaintingne irst as o tudyhe ersonn hePainting.nXue ua ianue uazhongen:hanghaihongxueshenguaxuan.hanghaiShanghaienmin,976,over.




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18therlogansnclude,Womenre hedecisiveowerf evolutionaryictoryand Lin iao nd ld onfuciusre hemortalnemiesfworkingomen."Thelogann he ack ostertates,"Relentlesslyriticizehe onfuciantheoryf Abideo he iteso he oinof elf-abnegation'"/ce//uli.

is ketching.nthis ase,producing picture ecomes politicallyorrectactsignifyingllegianceo the deological ystemmbodiedby he mage

copied.Whendisplayedo an audience,he act of painting r sketchingthus becomes n additional ndorsement f the necessityf emulatingpoliticallycceptablemodels.

The recurrencef his isual rope uggestshe existence f narrativestrategy, hose visual and communicativemplicationsre the focusof the following iscussion.16he visual deviceust described ouldbetermed double representation" the insertion nto the surface mageofan internal magethat hasbeenobserved r respondedoby groupof people.The resonance stablished etween he surface mage nd theinternal mage snormally ediatedby groupof ndividualsinkinghe

two mages ormallyndconceptually.s uch, hefinalmessage eliveredbythe poster surface mage)is the product f the combinationf theinternal mageand the effect f the imageon the groupof peoplewhoare observingt. By howing he correct, xpectedeffect f one image(the nternal ne)on an audience,he surface magedelivers completemessageboutthe correct ctualization f a certain ehavior.

AnotherHuCounty ainting, ubsequently eproduceds a poster,titledWomenHoldUpHalfof the SkyFunneng ding banbian ian)byChengMinshengfig.5),exemplifieshis trategy. nthis mage, groupof women tandsbefore commune azibaowall,reading nd heatedly

commentingn the texts plastered round a posterdepicting womandelivering publicpeech.17he arger loganon the topof hewallreads,"Smash thousand ears' hackles, omen an holdhalf f he ky." therslogans proclaim,The doctrine f Mencius nd Confuciuss a doctrineof exploitation f women" and "Thoroughlyriticize onfucius'salsetheory f women'subjugation."18xemplifyinghegamut f professionsopened upto them y he new ocial onditions nder ocialism,group femancipatedwomen s hown eadingnddiscussinghese logans. hesewomen nclude tractor river, postwoman elivering eatly rranged

16or ther isualxamples,leaseeethe eferencesnnote 3.

17 ll f heHu ountymagesiscussare ublishednGuowuyuanenhuazmeishuuopinhengjiiaozu ian 974

Modern Chinese Literature nd Culture 179



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Figure:Chenginsheng,omenoldpHalff he ky nGuowuyuanenhuazumeishuuopinhengjiiaozu ian 974: 7.




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bunches f Criticize onfuciusnd Lin Biaotexts, barefootdoctor, nelectrician,student oldingomepapers, nd a peasantcarrying pick.

The wo men tanding y heposterwall re ntently, utpassively,eadingthe texts n the walls and not interacting ith he empoweredfemalefigures, uggesting gender-related ivision f labor hat highlightsheactiverolesof women nsocialistociety. he focusof the crowd ntheforegroundsthe older woman,who isharanguinghegroupwithwhatisprobably n accountof her harsh xperiencess a female n the oldsociety. er tancecreates direct isual omparisonnd an ideologicaljuxtapositionwiththe figure f the empoweredyoungwomanin theposter n the wall, strategy hathighlightshe difference etweenpastexploitationnd present mancipation.

With ts se ofbright olors, ark ines,ndapparentack f natomicalaccuracyn the representation f the humanfigures, his "peasant"posterdisplays sophisticatedompositionhat generates he illusionof telescopicecessionnto he pictorialpace.Theviewer's ye is drawnback nto his pace by zigzaggingwall that connects he imageof thetractor n heforegroundo thegroup f men n hebackground, ho arereading notherwall of dazibao.This ype f composition,hich softenseen nCultural evolutionmagery,llowsfor hecrammingogether fmultiplelementsnd narrativesn format eminiscent f hangingcroll(Liu1971:114).Thestrategy f organizing denselypopulatednatural

or human andscapeinto an orderly ystem where every lementfits

logically, ost ften n a vertical ompositioneminiscentf the hangingscroll ormat,soften sed to symbolizen Utopianocialorderwhere he"people"live n harmony nd prosperity.19n the case of this particularposter, hecompositionreates visual nd conceptualink etween heforegroundnd the background,hile hewheels f he ractor,eeminglystraddlinghepictorialpaceandthe real pacethat he viewer nhabits,facilitatehe viewer's ccess nto hespaceofthe picture.

Thisposter reates he illusion f three oexistingpaces,reinforcing

19or therxamples,eeLandsberg2009:44, 76,87.hisompositiosoftenmployedn he easantaintingenre.eeGuowuyuanenhuazumeishuuopinhengjiiaozuian9741, 1,18-19.




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the fficacyf hefirst tatement n the opof hewall. Smash thousandyears' hackles, omen an hold half f the sky."As nthe case of Model

these re 1 the pace occupiedy hewomanrepresentedn heposter nthewall,which sviewedby ndcommented n by 2)thefigures tandingbefore he wall,who in turn re observed by 3)the viewer utside ofthe pictorial rame.20he function f the figures eadinghe texts n thewall is to endorsevisuallyhemessages xpressedythesetexts nd toembody he newopportunitiespenedupto women n the new societyTheposter hus ncludeswithin ts rame oth heory nd the applicationof theory: notherwords, t presents political olicywhose results redirectly isualized.Moreover,t suggests circularffect f viewing:heviewer f the painting eenacts hemodelofviewing epresentednside

the pictorial rame. n a sense,we couldgosofar s to say hat heposterrequires rom heviewer replicationf he ct representedn hepicturehe or he sexpectedo takeupthe ame deologicalosition f he groupof peoplerepresented ithin.

Another xample f this trategy s a thirdHuxian ainting, y YangZhixian,itledAnExhibitionoCriticizeinBiaoand ConfuciusPiLinpiKong hanlanhui)fig. ).21n hispainting, lsosubsequentlyeproduceasa poster, he act of reading azibao ispresentednmultiple ariationwithin he frameworkf he ame mage. everalayersf exts nd figuresare uxtaposedn traditional ird's-eyeiew f communelaza,nwhich

partitionsre

inventivelyrrangedo

givethe viewer he

opportunityo

observe hefaces nd expressionsf the peoplereading he texts n thebanners f the curtains n the lower half f the composition.heimagethus represents reading xtravaganza,with exts ntently evoured nevery ection f the composition:he bannerhanging bove thegate, hecurtains f dazibaohung round heperimeter f the quare, hedazibaopastedonthe front nd backofthewallat the entrance o the exhibitionandthe texts nthe central rea of the theater tage.

Thisobsessive reiterationof the act of reading is intimately

20n oliticalropagandaampaignsdirectlyonceivedor omen,eeYu1964: 7-29.

21 uxianongminguaxuani1974: 1.A imilarmages obefoundnpage16, utn hisasewe ee he eadersfromhe ackeadingflat azibaowall.




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associateciwith he power ssigned o words n the formation f a massmovement:

Anyone ho hasnot ived hrough massmovementnCommunistChina anhardly eel hepower f wordswhen backedupby hepowerofthe party-state. or t s words hat ncite he peopletoaction; t s logansuttered y he menontop and echoedby hepropagandamachine hat start what is often describedn theCommunistress s the "tidal waves" or the "conflagrationhatreaches hesky." Hsia1963:3)

Instead f taking he roleof a mere ommentaryrinted s a sloganon itsexternalmargin, he texts ncludedwithin heposter's ictorial paceareimbuedwith morepotent idacticunction, ith n auraof uthenticityby beingfeaturedwithin heframe f the image:not only an we readthe texts n the walls,but we can also observe hepowerofsuchwordson the focused xpressionsf the readers' aces.

Picturing he Act of WritingAnother conographicalnstanceof the double reference stablishedbetweenmagesnd textswithin he paceof pictures herepresentationof he ct ofwriting. hehighest alidation f uchpractices hatprovidedpersonally y MaoZedong,often represented s a figurewho inscribepoliticalexts r poemswith brush r as an author f a dazibao,as inthe poster ollowCloselyMao'sGreat trategic lans Jin'genMao zhuxweida zhanluebuzhi; 1968)fig. ). 2Butduring he Cultural evolutionthe representationf the practice f writing as often ssociatedwithindividuals ho weretraditionallyxcluded romiteracy,uch swomenand peasants,who are transformednto conic ymbolsf emancipationthrough his orrelation.n heposterRoughHandsWant oTransmitheTruthCushouyaoba zhenli huan)by ommunemember ongEnmin,orexample,n olderman, eemingly blacksmith,rites n a blackboardn

22have eennableofindnformationabouthe riginalublicationf hisposter.he ostersreproducedn aing1988:ig.1;ndGalibrowski998:ig.14. heamemagefMaooldingbrushas lso eeneproducednderthe itle ombardinghe eadquarters(Paodailingbu).




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Figure:Followloselyao's reattrategiclanAnonymous1968),nGalikowski998:n.p.fig.4.

a simple alligraphictyle, Only ocialism an save China"fig. ).23Another evealing xamplef he representationf he act of writing

dazibao is theposterWarDrums peed Upthe Coming f SpringZhangucuichun;1977)by ommunememberHan Baokufig. ).24hisposterportraysommuneworkersnd mechanicsusily omposing, riting, ndpasting azibao on the wallsof a factory'sourtyard. logansonthe wallinclude, One cannot reverse he verdict f the publicwill" and "Bringthe counterattack truggle gainst Right-deviationistevisionism'o the

end." Similar o the obsessive epresentationf the act of reading nAnExhibitiono CriticizeinBiaoandConfucius,heperformancef he ct ofwritingsrepresentedhrough isual epetition. eseepeople composingwhilekneeling n the ground, itting n or leaning gainst ractors,ndstanding. haractersre beingwritten n vertical crolls,mallpiecesofpaper, nd large heets f paper pastedon a wall.Almostvery haracterisholding r touching aperof some sort. he mature man nthe centralgroup whoseolderage is indicated yhis beard and glasses has ustremoved isglassesoevaluate hisfreshlyccomplishedeat, ignified y

23ublishedn 977 ianhuauoyang,dier i, hismagesreproducednacataloguef osterspparentlyintendedoprovideamplesopossibldistributorsposterere ormallyoldin ookshops).heatalogueearsthe ongyihuhaounifiedublicationumber)090-887.thernstancesfthe epresentationf he ct f writingcan efoundn andsberger009:27,154,190,04,211.24

977ianhuauoyangdier l.

ModernChinese Literature nd Culture 185



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Figure:Songnmin,oughandsWantoTransmithe ruth1977),rom977 ianhuasuoyang,ier l.




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or her main esponsibility.he most nterestingact s hat hey ll observethese written extswith he admiration nd attention hat we normally

associatewith he observation f n image.ndeed, hedetailed enderingof this groupof four,with he main "author" aking short reakfromhiswork, eeking he advice f his enior emale olleaguewhose tatus sanexpert s ndicated y he roll f paper he holdsunderher rm nd thebucket f nk heholds nherhand, xemplifieslevel f crutiny ormallyassociatednWestern isual ulturewith he act of ooking t a painting.Moreover,n hisposter, he nclusionn he ower eft f thecompositionof a canvas-likeoard eenonly rom heback recalls device ften sedinWestern rt o visualize hepractice f painting:herepresentationfa picturewithin picture. n this nstance, owever, hisdevice s used

to represent he act of writing text.Thatthe board nthe foregroundis to be used for writing haractersnd not a painting sprovedbytheincongruousetailoftheyoungerwomanwhosquatson the ground ndcomposes text out of single haracters ritten n individualiecesofpaper.Even hepresence f the wet brush nd the board s not nough oattest o the fact hat he olderman swriting,hecharacterscattered nthe ground ffer urther roof, s well as a clue asto the content f thetext.Whydoes the poster mphasizehe act of writing dazibaolWhydoes the actofcreating dazibaoandlookingt a poster eed to becomethe theme ofanother oster?

In"Allegory

ndIconography

nSocialistealistainting,"WolfgangHolz1993)introducesheconcept f "dream heater" a semioticevice

found nSovietrt hat resonateswith he trategies iscussedn his ssaywithrespect o Chinese rt.Accordingo Holz, his trategy s related othe literary eviceof the mise-en-abyme

the effect f "mirroring"he viewer nside he picture oth norder omanipulatehe viewer's rocessesf perceptionnd torepresentheviewer s a fictional actor" nside particularcene.This estheticmethod enlargingheviewer's syche y nducing




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ModemChinese Literature nd Culture 189

him ntodifferent ealities f consciousness hileimultaneouslyturning he act of viewingtself nto visual "ritual" is foundinalmost ll SocialistRealist ictures.25

InWestern rt, hemise-en-abymes n omecasesignaled y he nclusionof the imageof a mirror nthe picture,where the mirror llows for nenlargement f the field f visionpresented o the viewerby revealingdetails hat ie outside he pictorial rame.nshort, he mirror llowstheviewer o see what s takingplaceon our side of the picture, s well asto include he deal viewer nd/ormaker f the workwithin he spaceofthe picture. n using hisformal trategy, he artist has the potential ointegrate heviewer nto he ritualistic ignificancef the composition.famous xample s the celebratedpainting as Meninas1656)byDiegoVelzquez,nwhichKingPhilipVand QueenMariana reportrayednthe mirror isible ehind he shoulders f the painter, ho is lookingnthe direction f the viewer nd toward he subjects f his painting theking nd queen.26

Asprovocatives the juxtaposition f Las Meninas and a CulturalRevolutionoster uch s WarDrumspeed UptheComingf Springmaysound, nd conscious f the massive ultural ifferences etween thesetwopictures,would ike o draw omeformal omparisons.othpicturesfocus n the processf he productionf visual rtifact: paintingn hecase ofVelzquezand a political azibao in the case of Han Baoku.Thecreator epresentedn each respective icture sportrayed s pausing nthe act of creation, eholding isworkwhileholding brush nhishand.WhereasVelzquezstands o the side of the compositionnd is partiallyobscuredbydim ight, hebespectacleduthor f the dazibao stands nthecenter, protagonisturrounded y econdary haracters,nharmonywith he compositional rinciplef san tuchu threeprominences).27hetwo pictureshare telescopicepresentationf space,the mainformaldifference eingthat the scene represented n the painting ies at theviewer'sye evel,whereas he cenerepresentedn heposter sportrayed

25 olz1993:7),dding,Artndercentralizedommunismot nlyctedas set f seudo-religiousllegoriesbut lso ulfilleditualunctionsyintegratinghe iewerandhemasstowhiche r he elonged)ntohepainting."

26Thepticalllusionoughtn ll hesepictures,iesn ringingntohe aintiitemshatfictively)re utsidef t"(Dllenbach989:2).

27he rinciplef antuchuthreeprominences)as narrativendcompositionaltructureppliedomodoperashathenameo nfluenceosculturalroductionf he ime.t sbased ndifferentevelsf contrastsor prominence":etweenositivepeoplend eroes,nd he eroesndthemainrotagonist.eeGalikowsk1998: 65.



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from bird's-eyeiew ooking ver he figures.In his rticle Las Meninasnd the Mirror f the Prince," oel nyder

(1985:543)remarks owby ooking t Las Meninas"we,as viewers reforced o position urselvesmaginativelynrelation o the scene showninthe painting."n both pictures, senseof ntimate roximity ith hesubject ssuggestedbydetails uch as the inclusion f the back of thecanvas,nthe case of the painting, nd of the back of the board, nthecase of heposter. hrough his evice,hetwopictureshare he trategyof ncludinghe viewerwithin he act of artistic reation y ssigning imor her he role of witness o thisprocess.Moreover,n both pictures, ebehold he act of creating visual rtifact hatwe donot ee.

With especto Han Baoku'smageof dazibaowriting, wouldpush

Snyder's rgument urther y suggesting hat by being drawn nto theact of creationn hismanner, he viewer ecomes he artist'sccompliceTheboard divides hosewhoperform he act of writing rom hosewhoobserve his ct, but at the same time he viewer s alerted o hisor herposition nd is nvited o participate. rom hisperspective,he viewer sthus ransformednto n active lementof the narrative: protagonistwhois n the act of watching dazibaobeingwritten, ntimately rawninto he processnd forced nto familiarity,erhaps ven ntimacy, iththe representedct of writing. his maginaryarticipationacilitatesheviewer'self-identification,osteringhe llusionhathe or she s tanding

rightesidethe

creator, eadyo handhim brush r a bucket f ink r

to take upthe brush o participatenthe writing renzy.

ConclusionInall of the imagesdiscussednthis ssay, circularmovementscreatedbetween the objectof the representationnd the viewer hrough hedepictionnthe surface mageof the anticipated ffects f the textualand visualmessagesn the work. n WomenHoldUpHalfof the Sky, nanalogys reated etween hewomenookingt the wall nd the woman




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representedn heposter n the wall: his rocesshen nowballs o includetheviewer f the urface mage. imilarly,nModel and ToStudy ainting,

the replication either yviewing r copying ofthe modelprovided yThe OldParty ecretarynitiates he process f drawing heviewer ntothe deological paceof the picture.

In The Mirror n the Text, ucienDllenbach mentions ow in LasMeninas,

by showing he peoplethe painter s looking t, and also,thepeoplewho are looking t him,Velasquez's paintingchievesreciprocityf contemplationhat reates nd oscillation etweenthe nterior nd the exterior, akinghe mage"come out of theframe"whilenvitinghevisitorso enter he picture.Dllenbach1989:11,my mphasis)

While here s no mirror nHan Baoku'sposter, would like oarguethatthe reciprocityf contemplationreated between the groupof peoplelooking t the unfinished azibao and the viewer ooking t the surfaceimageachieves he effect f "inviting he visitors o enter he picture."Consciousf her r his tatus oth s beholder nd collaborator,heviewerisbrought o a threshold n which he boundariesbetweenreality ndrepresentationlur. ultural evolution ostersncorporatinghis trategywould im t drawing iewers nto he Utopianimension f hese mages,verymuch s inthe episodeof the filmMary oppinswhenMary umpswith he children nto he painting reatedbyBert n the pavement tthe entrance f a park nd begins nother dventure n the other ide ofthe painting urface.

StefanLandsbergerescribes he useof models nthe propagandastrategies f the Chinese Communist arty s promoting processofbehavioralperfecting hat recalls the spiralingmovement of thesemessages.n both Confuciannd Marxistheory, modelhas thefunctionof stimulating he viewer oward emulationby uxtaposinghis or her




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his rgument n the slippery elationship etween exts nd images anapplyto all cultures. y presenting he immediate isualizationf the

perfected ffects f the slogansdepicted n walls or on banners,magessuch as WomenHoldUpHalf of the Sky nd War Drums peed UptheComing f Springmayeventually ignalthe impossibilityf their dealimplementationnthe everydayife f the viewer xactly ecause oftheapparently erfect omparison etween he "interior" nd "exterior" fthe mageondisplay.

This eads backto the questionabout the expectedaudienceforthese posters:while the immediate ecipientsnd evaluatorswould beParty fficialsnchargeof propaganda, hefinalproductwas aimed atan urban udience,who from he perspectivef the city ould then be

convinced oparticipaten he piralingmovementctivated yposters.nregard o Sovietpropagandaposters, ictoria onnellhas remarked hat"however owerfulndpersuasivehese magesmayhavebeen,howevershrewdlyhey ncorporated opularmythologies,iewer's esponsesereunpredictableecause visualrepresentationsre inherently olyvalent"(Bonnell997:14).Itwouldbe revealing, houghdifficult,o reconstructat least ome viewers' esponseso theseposters. hiswouldprovide nextremelynteresting erspectiven the powerof mages oshapemindsin hisparticularlyntense istorical oment.What proposen his ssayis ust possibility,ne of the many ascinatingssumptionshat ould bedrawn bout this till

argely ntappedisualmaterial.More research nd

fewerprejudicesre direly eededinthisrespect.




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GlossaryBangyang ChengMinshengChengGuoying iHCushouyaoba zhenli huandazibaoFundneng dingban biantianHan BaokuJingenMao zhuxiweidade zhanlebuzhikejifuli jBJtlLaoshuji HiiLiuZhide Paodasilingbu wj'vPiLinpi Kong hanlanhui #san tuchuSongEnmin 5RIRWu Jin XuXiangfei hua xianxuehuazhongrenYangZhixianZhancui chun .

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