Centre for Contemporary China Studies (CCCS), The University of Melbourne
Date: Wednesday 23 September 2020
Time: 5.30 pm- 6.30 pm AEST
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In the late 1970s, just after the death of paramount leader, Chairman Mao, major Chinese cities exploded with a rash of populist movements. Ordinary people thronged the streets demanding redress for concrete grievances that were the outcome of thirty years of Maoist socialism. Some people boldly condemned Mao Zedong as a feudal autocrat who had brought disaster to his countrymen. Others called for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to form societies, and to hold free elections. The populist movements of Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities helped to pave the way for the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping in the CCP leadership and the socalled reform era that began in late 1978. This paper will focus on the little-known populist movement that took place in Shanghai from November 1978 to March 1979. The aims and activities of the various participant groups will be discussed together with how this movement shaped the early decades of the reform era. In this case, populism was crushed in order to “save socialism”, a cycle that has been repeated continuously in subsequent decades. In many ways, the state’s response to the 1970s movement served as a template for subsequent handling of later democracy movements, which were regarded as subversive of the entire socialist project.
About the Speaker
Anne E. McLaren is Professor of Chinese Studies at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne. She trained as a sinologist at the Australian National University. Her primary research field is Chinese popular culture of the late imperial era, including novels, theatre, storytelling and performance arts. Published monographs include Performing Grief: Bridal Laments in Rural China (2008); Chinese Popular Culture & Ming Chantefables (1998); Environmental Preservation and Cultural Heritage in China (2013 co-authored); Chinese Women: Living and Working (edited, 2004). Her most recent work is a memoir, Slow Train to Democracy: Memoirs of Life in Shanghai, 1978 to 1979 (2020). She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities.
Contact china-centre@unimelb.edu.au or 03 8344 3758 for enquiries.