While often perceived to be a modern concept, propaganda has played a key role in history dating back to the 5th century. While the term itself did not come into common use until World War I, the battle for men’s minds is as old as human history. Today, propaganda manifests itself in various forms, such as advertisements, art, literature, and cinema. It grew in influence and acquired a negative connotation during the 20th century, when it was used by Nazi Germany during World War II, the USSR in the Cold War, and the Communist Party during the Mao era. One of the most common forms of propaganda during the Communist revolution in China was visual artwork in the form of posters or advertisements, which allow the person or group in power to institutionalize a viewpoint visually. The particular genre of propaganda in Maoist China aimed essentially to portray the future in the present, creating idealistic views of the country by highlighting the positives and glossing over the negatives.
This poster was published in October 1970, directly following the Cultural Revolution in China. It depicts a crowd of people, both men and women, waving Little Red Books. It is reasonable to assume that the people are Chinese, given that the poster was published by a Shanghai company, the text below it is in Chinese characters, and it depicts the political hub of Beijing in the background. The books they are waving contained statements from the speeches and writings of Mao Zedong and were widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution. It can be logically assumed that the crowd is looking towards the balcony where Mao appears a few times every year for the commemoration of the proclamation of the People’s Republic on October 1st or Labor Day on May 1st. This poster would most likely be displayed in public spaces such as streets, railway stations, and factories, as well as in magazines and newspapers. It would likely have been effective in persuading workers, soldiers, and peasants to support Mao due to the light, color, physical aspects of the people, and other visual aspects that instill admiration of Mao and hope for a bright future under his leadership.
First of all, the physical appearances of the various people depicted in the poster suggest the power and health of the working population and encourage ardent support of Mao among them. There are five people in the foreground, two of which are women. They appear fairly young, almost ageless, and the men in particular are depicted as large, strong, and visibly muscular. Their hands are abnormally large in proportion to the rest of their bodies, and they appear very healthy, with extremely white teeth. It makes sense that the Communist Party would want to portray its people as strong and fit in order to lead the reader to believe that the working classes in China were flourishing. The reality of the situation in China was far less optimistic than the poster suggests- the Cultural Revolution had caused total chaos across the nation, disrupting farming, lowering industrial output, and leaving an entire generation uneducated. Yet the artist depicts the Chinese people as clearly physically healthy and painted in dynamic poses, yelling, cheering, and smiling likely in the presence of Mao. The general expression upon their faces is one of joy, admiration, and passion. The artist likely chose to portray such an adoring and impassioned crowd in an effort to impart that same revolutionary fervor and support of Mao on the viewer. Despite the harsh reality, propaganda was in many cases able to convince the population of a bright future.
One significant aspect of any poster is the artist choice’s in background. The setting of a piece of artwork can invoke powerful feelings in the viewer, especially when it features a well-known landmark. This particular poster appears to be set in Tiananmen Square, a famous landmark in Beijing. Mao Zedong ordered it expanded in 1958 to make it the largest and most spectacular square in the world, with a capacity of 500,000 people. In the upper right corner of the poster lies The Great Hall of the People, an important venue for the Party built in 1959 that commanded respect, admiration, and yearning of the Chinese people. (The Great Hall of the People) One would assume that the artist included these powerful symbols of the People’s Republic in order to incite patriotism in the viewer and to suggest that to love Mao is to be truly Chinese and Communist.
Moreover, the size of the figures in the poster is an important feature that contributes to its effectiveness. The people in the foreground are very big, taking up almost the entire frame, while the people behind them quickly blend together, appearing to be a sea of red. This artistic decision emphasizes the huge size of the crowd of Mao’s supporters, possibly suggesting that Mao was widely and deeply loved by the public. Five years before this poster was published, Mao, facing harsh criticism for the Great Leap Forward, lost his position as Head of State to Liu Shaoqi. The government was taken over by the moderates, with whom Mao vehemently disagreed. Therefore, it makes sense that the artist would want to portray Mao’s supporters as abundant in order to compensate for his lack of political power.
Furthermore, light and color are used deliberately in the poster to invoke emotions of pride, hope, and love for Mao in the viewer. The poster has a warm, vibrant tone and is saturated with the color red, from the Little Red Books that fill the frame to the red balloons in the sky above. Even the faces of the people are painted in reddish tones, with few wrinkles marring their smooth and vibrant complexions. Red is an auspicious color in Chinese culture that symbolizes luck, happiness, and joy, as well as the international communist revolution. During Mao’s rule, it symbolized everything revolutionary, good, and moral. It is likely that the artist used this powerful color to evoke pride, hope, and revolutionary fervor in the viewer. Similarly, the artist’s use of light contributes significantly to the effectiveness of the poster. The sky in the background is light blue with few clouds. It is logical to assume that a clear blue sky would be used to convince the viewer of a joyful and prosperous reality and convey hope for a bright future. The foreground of the poster is flooded with light from a hidden source, likely the sun. It highlights the faces of the people, so strong that two men are visibly squinting as they gaze ahead. Given the assumption that the people are looking towards Mao standing on the balcony, this visual element was likely included in order to encourage worship and admiration of Mao, as his supporters appear to be nearly blinded in awe of his presence.
Additionally, the attire of the people featured in the poster is a detail that contributes significantly to its message. Two of main figures in the poster, a man and a woman, are clothed in the traditional olive green army-style uniform of the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards were groups of militant university and high school students who were sanctioned by Mao and his supporters to “rebel against the system” all over China. They began with a “Four Olds” campaign against old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits, using so much violence as to cause the country to erupt into civil war. The artist may have been aiming to portray a happy, passionate image of the Red Guards, who in reality were nearly manic and extremely violent. Several of the other people in the foreground are shown wearing the zhifu, an all-purpose, loose-fitting military-style suit that became the sartorial symbol of Communist China. It was worn by both men and women of all ages and classes, usually in colors of cadre gray or navy blue. This attire is consistent with the norms in place in the time of the Cultural Revolution, which masculinized female clothing and offered few severe hairstyles, mostly short-cropped cuts for the men a
nd chopped-off pigtails or short bobs for women, as depicted in the poster. During the Cultural Revolution, women Red Guards cut off their long braids and adopted a short cut known as the “movement hairdo” to show their revolutionary spirit. By outfitting the main subjects of the poster in the typical garb of peasants, workers, and soldiers, the artist made the poster more relatable.
Additionally, the people in the crowd are depicted holding Little Red Books, actually titled Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, which contained snippets of speeches and writings of the Communist leader. 740 million copies were printed between 1966 and 1969, and it quickly became the most visible icon in mainland China. During the Cultural Revolution, it was virtually mandatory to own and carry one, and the Red Guards would frequently check whether those suspected of bourgeois tendencies were carrying it or could quote from it. It is logical to assume that a crowd holding Little Red Books symbolizes Mao’s far-reaching support, suggesting that countless people worshipped his ideology. The public’s support of Mao
In addition, one of the defining features of any propaganda poster is its caption. This particular poster is titled, “Long live Chairman Mao! Long, long live!” The literal translation of the Chinese lettering is “may Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!” “Ten thousand years” is a popular phrase that originated in ancient China as an expression used to wish long life to an emperor. In post-dynastic China, the saying became a tribute to a man who had been elevated to imperial status. During the Cultural Revolution, it was a common chant during rallies and celebrations in favor of Mao. Given the popularity of this phrase, it is reasonable to assume that it was used to caption the poster in an effort to evoke the powerful love for and worship of Mao in the reader.