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Is our lasting image of Zhou Enlai to be the smooth, urbane diplomat showing up for talks in Geneva in a tailored-suit, silk tie, and a fedora, exchanging quips about the French Revolution? Or will it be the Zhou Enlai standing on top of Tiananmen with a red armband and a little red book, screeching in a high-pitched hysterical frenzy, “Long Live Chairman Mao!” as hordes of fanatical teenagers chant in the square and the Chairman looks on in approval? I’m not a huge fan of the RFA and I rarely, if ever, link to it but this piece written by Bao Tong is an interesting take on the events of the pivotal 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Party Congress. Bao Tong’s account departs from the triumphalist narrative of Deng Xiaoping kicking open the doors of reform and launching the country on a trajectory of modernization and development. According to Bao Tong’s version, reform was not on Deng’s original agenda, rather what made this moment truly special was the way in which the rank-and-file members of the Central Committee, following the lead of Hu Yaobang and Chen Yun, upset the apple cart. We were looking ahead to modernization. But after Chen Yun and Hu Yaobang caused trouble, the members of the Party Central Committee kicked up a fuss en masse, overturning Hua and Deng’s planned framework. Pretty soon, everyone had turned their attention to talking about the past, and then the debates came thick and fast. What were they talking about? They were talking about the Cultural Revolution, the Lushan meeting, the unresolved “political cases,” and Mao Zedong. From the point of view of Chairman Hua and vice-chairman Deng, As many, if not both my readers know, each October we commemorate Hua Guofeng Day, the anniversary of Hua Guofeng’s elevation as Mao’s chosen successor, the Wise Leader of the Chinese people. HGFD 2008, of course, is tinged with autumnal sadness, poetically apropos for the time of year, as it is the first Hua Guofeng day since the former Chairman left us to meet Marx this past August. Thus, we mourn a passing and celebrate a life: Hua Guofeng, 1921-2008. Next week: Why Boston’s Dom Dimaggio was every bit the player as brother Joe. I wanted to write this last week, but never found the time. I actually wanted to write it two weeks ago, but Xinhua waited before making Hua’s death ‘official’ to release the news. There were, after all, medal counts to consider. And in the end, isn’t that fitting? Hua gets a couple of lines and photo on the bottom of the page while the national media prints multi-page full-color spreads mourning the Achilles tendon of a certain hurdler. I’ve compiled a brief survey over at The China Beat of the various homages, obituaries, and ‘who died?’ pieces published this past week. Most of them make note of Hua’s passing while dismissing him as a transitional figure forced to make way for Deng Xiaoping after being in power only a few short years. In essence, Hua was political road kill on the superhighway of China’s economic miracle. It’s not entirely fair. Now, granted not everybody gets my fascination with Hua, but as I’ve mentioned before, I’m the guy who puts Frank Stallone CDs on at parties. Hua’s rise to “power” was not quite as sudden as most believe, neither is it likely that Hua was Mao’s son as is sometimes rumored. After a decade I had heard a sad rumor last week regarding Granite Studio fave Chairman Hua Guofeng, and sent a message out through my new favorite procrastination device “Twitter”: Hearing a rumor that former Chairman (and Granite Studio fave) Hua Guofeng has passed away in a Beijing hospital. Tracking… 10:56 AM August 15, 2008 from web I couldn’t confirm it and my source said that the CCP was probably sitting on the news to get their political ducks in a row and to not upset the happy-happy clappy-clappy atmosphere of the Olympics. Well, the Chinese media is declaring that China has already “won” the Games (how somebody ‘wins’ a celebration of sport and culture is a whole other topic…) and with Liu Xiang limping off the Olympic stage, Xinhua probably figured now is as good at time as any. Via AP: Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong’s successor but was pushed aside by Deng Xiaoping as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom, died Wednesday, state-run media reported. Sad day indeed here at the Studio. I’ll write a more fitting tribute later, until then, see below for previous articles on Hua Guofeng: “Come Back |
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