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The Thought Remolding Campaign of the Chinese Communist Party-State Publications Series The Thought Remolding Campaign of The Thought Remolding Campaign the Chinese Communist Party-state the Chinese Communist The Thought Publications Series Monographs 7 Remolding Campaign The Thought Theof the ThoughtChinese Communist RemoldingHu Ping is a distinguished public intellectual and chief Remolding editor of the New York-based journal Beijing Spring. Party-state Hu Ping This is the definitive study of the theory, implementation, and legacy of the Chinese Communist Party’s thought remolding campaign – a massive regimen of “re- education.” Hu Ping With a rare combination of psychological insight and philosophical Translated by rigor, Hu Ping takes us on an empathetic and sometimes wry journey Philip F. Williams and Yenna Wu along the twisting pathways of compliance and resistance. His astute analysis culminates in a clarion call to resist the overwhelming power of the state. Andrew Nathan, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University An incisive critique of the intellectual chicanery, psychological manipulation, and physical coercion that form the core of Chinese communism. Hu Ping makes a significant contribution to the literature on totalitarianism in the tradition of Vaclav Havel. Professor Steven Levine, University of North Carolina This book provides us with Hu Ping’s mature and panoramic analysis of the relation between words and thought in both the totalitarian and post-totalitarian phases of China’s recent history. Perry Link, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University 9 789089 644107 www.aup.nl ISBN 978 90 8964 410 7 The Thought Remolding Campaign of the Chinese Communist Party-state Publications Series General Editor Paul van der Velde Publications Officer Martina van den Haak Editorial Board Wim Boot (Leiden University); Jennifer Holdaway (Social Science Research Council); Christopher A. Reed (The Ohio State University); Anand A. Yang (Director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and Chair of International Studies at the University of Washington); Guobin Yang (Barnard College, Columbia University). The ICAS Publications Series consists of Monographs and Edited Volumes. The Series takes a multidisciplinary approach to issues of inter-regional and multilat- eral importance for Asia in a global context. The Series aims to stimulate dialogue amongst scholars and civil society groups at the local, regional and international levels. The International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) was founded in 1997. Its main goals are to transcend the boundaries between disciplines, between nations studied, and between the geographic origins of the Asia scholars involved. ICAS has grown into the largest biennial Asia studies event covering all subjects of Asia studies. So far seven editions of ICAS have been held respectively in Leiden (1998), Berlin (2001), Singapore (2003), Shanghai (2005), Kuala Lumpur (2007), Daejeon, South Korea (2009) and Honolulu, Hawai‘i (2011). In 2001 the ICAS secretariat was founded which guarantees the continuity of the ICAS process. In 2004 the ICAS Book Prize (IBP) was established in order to create by way of a global competition both an international focus for publications on Asia while at the same time increasing their visibility worldwide. Also in 2005 the ICAS Publications Series were established. For more information: www.icassecretariat.org The Thought Remolding Campaign of the Chinese Communist Party-state Hu Ping Translated by Philip F. Williams and Yenna Wu Publications Series Monographs 7 Cover design: JB&A raster grafisch ontwerp, Westland Layout: The DocWorkers, Almere ISBN 978 90 8964 410 7 e-ISBN 978 90 4851 591 2 (pdf) e-ISBN 978 90 4851 592 9 (ePub) NUR 741 © ICAS / Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2012 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright re- served above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or in- troduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of Contents Preface 9 1 What is Thought Remolding? 13 1.1 Thought Remolding and “Brainwashing” 13 1.2 Restrictions upon the Scope of the Problem 14 1.3 Did Marxism Ever Discuss Thought Remolding? 15 1.4 Thought Remolding: Totalitarianism with Decidedly “Chinese Characteristics” 18 1.5 Does Thought Remolding Have Any Theoretical Foundation? 18 1.6 Absurdity Beneath the Seriousness and Seriousness Behind the Absurdity 21 1.7 Thought Remolding Differs from the Development of Thought 22 1.8 Thought Remolding and Moral Self-cultivation are Superficially Similar but Different in Spirit 23 1.9 Thought Remolding as the Negation of Thought 26 1.10 Thought Remolding is a Logical Paradox 27 1.11 The Actual Political Function of Thought Remolding 28 1.12 From “Establishing a Proletarian Weltanschauung” to “Maintaining Unity with Party Central” 30 2 How Was Thought Remolding Possible? 31 2.1 The 1949 Revolution Was Not the Victory of a Political Idea 31 2.2 On “Following a Doctrine without Understanding it” 33 2.3 Is it True that They Were “Completely Convinced”? 34 2.4 Intangible Pressure 36 2.5 From “Killing a Chicken to Frighten the Monkeys” to “Killing a Monkey to Frighten the Other Monkeys” 37 2.6 A Monistic System of Value Standards: Concepts and Structure 39 2.7 Why Was Remolding Aimed at the Intelligentsia? 40 2.8 The Bifurcated Essence of Thought Remolding 42 2.9 The Coercion of Truth 43 2.10 The Utility of Truth 44 2.11 The Class Nature of Truth and the Problem of Standpoint 45 6 THE THOUGHT REMOLDING CAMPAIGN OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY-STATE 2.12 Beware of “Begging the Question” 46 2.13 The Ambiguity of Facts 47 2.14 The Ambiguity of Values 50 2.15 Conformity 53 2.16 Consistency 56 2.17 The Belief that the World is Just 57 2.18 Pursuing Meaning in Life 59 3 How Has Thought Remolding Been Implemented? 61 3.1 “With Machine Guns Pinning You Down on Three Sides, You’re Allowed to Head off in Only One Direction” 61 3.2 Mobilizing Others to Receive Instruction 63 3.3 “First Impressions are the Strongest” and “Once You Form a Habit, Following it Comes Naturally” 65 3.4 The Power of Oversimplification 68 3.5 “Giving an Injection of a Preventive Inoculation” 72 3.6 The Hierarchical System of “Study” [xuexi] 75 3.7 An Affective Style of Propaganda 77 3.8 The Controlling Function of Collective Rituals 79 3.9 Criticism and Self-Criticism 81 3.10 From Prohibition to Renunciation 84 3.11 The Transition from Compelled Conduct to Voluntary Conduct 86 3.12 The Strategy of Violating Dignity 88 3.13 The Chastity of Those Who Have Lost Their Chastity 92 3.14 The Psychology of a Shortage of Rewards 94 3.15 Thought Remolding and the Chinese Cultural Tradition 96 3.16 Getting Enmeshed in a Cocoon of One’s Own Weaving 97 3.17 Some “Doctor” Indeed 99 3.18 Various Methods of Punishment 101 3.19 A Remarkable Effect of the “Downward Transfer to the Countryside for Manual Labor” 103 3.20 The First Strategy of Criticism: A Ferocious Clap (1) 104 3.21 A Ferocious Clap (2) 106 3.22 The Second Strategy of Criticism: Isolation within the Crowd (1) 108 3.23 Isolation within the Crowd (2) 110 3.24 Spiritual Homelessness, Isolation and the Lack of Support 112 3.25 From Confusion to Submission 114 3.26 The Emotional Need to Identify with One’s Oppressors 117 3.27 Self-conscious Sacrifice 119 3.28 The Trap of Toughening and Putting to the Test 122 3.29 The Language Demon 125 3.30 Why Must Self-criticism Be Carried out in Public? 126 TABLE OF CONTENTS 7 3.31 The Destruction of Self-discipline 128 3.32 The Destruction of External Discipline 130 3.33 Utilizing the Sense of Shame to Shatter the Sense of Shame 132 3.34 A Myth about Laborers 135 3.35 A Reflection – or an Image “in Reverse”? 138 3.36 Filial Devotion and Loyalty to the Rulers 140 3.37 Begin in Obedience and End in Obedience 142 3.38 Getting “Well-Remolded” Amounts to Getting Intimidated 143 3.39 Remolding is Nothing Other than Taming 147 3.40 In Evading Freedom, One Evades Responsibility 148 4 On Evasion 153 4.1 Evasion by Foot-dragging 153 4.2 The Rejected and the Weary 155 4.3 Idealists Who Went Astray 157 4.4 Rebellion among Evaders 159 4.5 Between Taming and Rebellion 162 4.6 The Legitimization of Evasion 164 4.7 Evasion as Being Tamed 167 4.8 Evading the Persecuted 169 4.9 Indifference and Forgetfulness 171 4.10 The Rationalization of Evasion 172 5 On Rebellion 179 5.1 What is Rebellion? 179 5.2 The Meaning of Writing a Letter to Chairman Mao 181 5.3 Format is More Important Than Content 184 5.4 Regarding Subconscious Rebellion 186 5.5 Opposing Thought Remolding and Opposing Totalitarian Rule 188 5.6 Earthquakes from within the System 189 5.7 The Bankruptcy of Phony Politics 192 5.8 The Rebellion of Liberalism 194 5.9 The Current Condition of Liberalism 196 5.10 Gaining the Privilege of Rebellion 197 6 The Bane of Cynicism 199 6.1 Authoritarianism and Cynics 199 6.2 The Communist Party and Cynicism 200 6.3 What Does “the Transition from a Revolutionary Party to a Ruling Party” Mean? 203 6.4 Why is It “No to Reform and Wait for Death; Yes to Reform and Court Death”? 207 8 THE THOUGHT REMOLDING CAMPAIGN OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY-STATE 6.5 Cynicism and Fear – and the Notion that You Are “Better-Off Muddleheaded” 210 6.6 The Idea of Liberal Democracy – Only with Faith in it is it Efficacious 214 6.7 Hip Cynicism 217 6.8 Doctrinal Cynicism 219 6.9 The Political Game of Pretending to Obey 222 6.10 The Cynic’s Self-deception and Deceiving of Others 225
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