The Chinese Introduction of Soviet Culture
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IN SEARCH OF A SOCIALIST MODERNITY: THE CHINESE INTRODUCTION OF SOVIET CULTURE A dissertation presented by Yan Li to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts July, 2012 1 IN SEARCH OF A SOCIALIST MODERNITY: THE CHINESE INTRODUCTION OF SOVIET CULTURE by Yan Li ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate School of Northeastern University July, 2012 2 Abstract The first decade of communist rule in China featured the widespread introduction of Soviet culture that transformed the lives of ordinary Chinese citizens. The Chinese Communist Party familiarized the populace with a spectrum of Soviet cultural forms, such as architecture, fashion, film, and literature, through every possible channel with the intention of cementing their hold on power and pushing a program of international socialist modernization. However, while in general the popularization of Soviet culture generally achieved anticipated results, at times mass interpretation of Soviet cultural products differed considerably from the intentions of the new regime. The results of this decade-long transnational cultural engagement with the Chinese public’s mentality, behavior patterns, and belief systems remain far-reaching to the present day. Two questions are relevant to understanding this transformation: 1) How did the Chinese government exploit the Soviet culture to mold “socialist new citizens?” and 2) How did the Chinese people utilize the language and imagery from Soviet cultural products to express their own vision and understanding of socialist modernity? Using methodologies in mass communication, cultural studies, literary criticism, and film studies, this dissertation will answer these questions and explain the process by which the values of the PRC party-state and the Chinese masses contested, negotiated, and colluded. In so doing, this study will not only shed new light on early PRC history and Sino-Soviet relations, but it will also contribute to understanding the transnational cultural dynamics shaping the evolution of the communist world. 3 Acknowledgement This dissertation is dedicated to my dear adviser Professor Christina Gilmartin and her family – Peter, Beth, Benjamin, Denise, and little Lexi. Just a week ago, I was on email exchange with Chris discussing the Introduction and defense date. But now we are in two different worlds. Rest in peace and power, Chris. Your humanity and scholarship will endure. Chris was the most influential person in my personal and academic life over the past seven years. In spring 2005 Professor Laura Frader, former Chair of the History Department, and Chris “rescued” my application from the Admission Office (I was unable to pay the application fee; therefore, my application was not considered). The History Department generously paid the fee for me. Chris reviewed my application and kindly arranged a phone interview with me. A few weeks later, I was admitted to the World History program at Northeastern. This changed my life forever. Over the past seven years, I have received sustained help from the Gilmartin family, who have given me more than I could ever ask. I still remember on August 18, 2005, my first day landing in Boston, Peter greeted me right outside the airplane gate. Chris and Peter kindly offered me their son’s room so that I didn’t have to worry about Boston’s expensive housing in the first year. I miss every meal we ate together in their nice kitchen, every ride they gave me, and every party they had from which I made a lot of friends. I miss Chris’ sweet smiles, Peter’s hearty laughs, and Beth’s silly giggles. Since I moved out, whenever I go back to visit their house, I feel it is my second home and they are my family in Boston. Over the past seven years, I have also received enormous intellectual and professional 4 support from Chris. She advised me on everything I encountered in the academic world of this country. For numerous times, we sat down to discuss the courses I could take, the academic plans I should pursue, and the type of scholar I can make of myself. On multiple junctures of my dissertation writing, she inspired me, encouraged me, and dragged me back to the right track. For my job search, she wrote recommendations for me, helped me revise the cover letter and the C.V., and offered me critical advice for the job talk and interviews. She walked me all the way through the past seven years of my doctoral study. Chris was a paragon of generosity, kindness, and virtue. Her professionalism and her dedication to us graduate students will shine forever. When I heard the news about her passing, I regretted that I was not able to return her all the favors I owed her, but then I realized that she did not expect anything in return when she offered everything – her generosity was entirely selfless. She would, simply, be pleased to see the final version of this dissertation, be proud of my future accomplishment, and be happy to see her influence reflected in all of us. Thus, simply, I dedicate this dissertation to her and her family. The initial inspiration for this dissertation project came from a cultural history seminar in the theme of Soviet Film that I took with Professor Harlow Robinson at Northeastern University in 2007. Professor Robinson kindled my interest in comparative studies between Russian and Chinese cultures, though I regret the Russian part reflected in this dissertation is lacking because of my inadequate Russian-language proficiency. I thank Professors Harlow Robinson, Tom Havens, and Laura Frader, who have read and discussed with me every part of this project. Their probing comments and suggestions were most helpful in guiding my revisions. Professor Havens painstakingly line-edited each chapter to 5 streamline my prose. I am sure this has significantly shortened the distance between this dissertation and the future book manuscript. Naturally, I alone am responsible for the errors that remain. Over the course of research and writing, I received sustained support from the History Department. I thank the department again for offering me years of financial support. I am grateful for Professor Uta Poiger, Chair of the Department, for her sympathy and timely support to my defense after Chris’ passing. On this note, I also thank Professor Havens for chairing my defense in Chris’ place. I thank our wonderful secretary Nancy Borromey for her assistance and her cheerfulness. I truly enjoyed every chat with her. Since September 2011, I have benefited immensely from a dissertation writing group that Chris initiated among my fellow students in the History Department. I am grateful to Zach Scarlett, Sam Christiansen, James Bradford, Colin Sargent, Ethan Hawkley, and Burleigh Hendrickson, who laboriously read and commented on the chapters piece by piece. Without their encouragement, good humor, and push, it would have taken me longer to finish the writing. I wish them best of luck in completing their projects and all other future endeavors. I want to extend my gratitude to my friends in Boston and China. Many thanks to Lihua Wang, Hua Dong, James Ross, and Jenny Sartori, for their advice and help in the past seven years. I am grateful for the friendship of Guo Hongyan, Lu Yueping, He Mei, Lu Yan, Wang Runzhuo, Tong Yanlan, and Wei Shuyan. I acknowledge with love and gratitude how my parents have tolerated my years of being half a world away from home. Even though they do not completely agree that a PhD degree is essential for the fulfillment of life, they are proud of and share delight in what their daughter has 6 been doing. I am grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for their care of my parents. I am happy that my niece is growing happily and always curious about her auntie’s long hours of working on the computer. Finally, to Steve, there is nothing I can say that could properly convey my appreciation for all the love, care, encouragement, and support he has given me. 7 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Acknowledgement 4 Table of Contents 8 Introduction 9 Part I. Forging International Brotherhood: The Strategy of “Friendship” 31 Chapter 1. Constructing and Propagating the Friendship Rhetoric 34 Chapter 2. The Vogue for Russian and the Reform of Chinese Education 67 Part II. The Manifestation of “Friendship” in Cityscape: China’s Quest for a Socialist Identity and Modernity 90 Chapter 3. Urban Landscapes Transformed: The Architecture of Identity and Modernity 94 Chapter 4. Dressing up Maoist China: Sartorial Change and Socialist Fashion 138 Part III. Hot Movies and Hot Books in the Cold War: the Contest for Hearts and Minds 167 Chapter 5. Envisioning Liberty and Equality: Soviet Films, Socialist Ideals, and Gender Construct in the 1950s 169 Chapter 6. Role Models and Petty-Bourgeois Sentiments: Soviet Literature and Mass Reading in Maoist China 194 Afterword 230 Appendix A 235 Bibliography 239 8 Introduction To me, youth is about revolution, about love, about literature, and about the Soviet Union… The Soviet Union is my nineteenth year, my first love, and the beginning of my literary career.1 There is no other foreign country like the Soviet Union, which I have already known so well before I have the chance to see it with my own eyes. She feels so familiar. I so much miss her cities, towns, lakes…2 Wang Meng (A Chinese writer) When the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded in 1949, the young communist state allied with the Soviet Union in the Cold War polarization and initiated a plan of socialist modernization based on the Soviet model.