February 3, 2011

Politics as Unusual: China Trips the Light Fantastic

The following seeded clouds, lion-tamers, good soldiers, disike dancers, and mounted storks depicted in Communist China's brilliantly exaggerated propaganda posters span from just before Chairman Mao signaled the Cultural Revolution by swimming in the Yangtze River to the Socialist Spiritual Civilization that spawned the Strawberry generation in the 1980s. Rather than merely expect obedience, propaganda posters also gave their blessing, so to speak, to sanctioned ways of having fun as a Communist citizen. Through equal times of desperation and tremendous growth, propaganda remained an important means for China to convey optimism about the Communist future. 

Check out the first edition -- Politics As Unusual: Space Is the Chinese Place.
  
 
Youthful Dance Steps (1986)///Ge Xing (1989)

Twilight first shines on the military drilling ground (1974)

Face the enemy courageously (1979)///Work the clouds and sow rain to seize a bumper harvest (1976) 

White Rabbit Theater Play (1950s)

Xun hu yan yuan (1963)///The lion trainer (1987)

Practice hard to master the ability to kill the enemy, and be ready to combat at any instant (1970)

A ginseng child and sika deer (1987)///Joys of longevity (1983)

SOURCES

Stefan Landsberger has a great collection of Chinese propaganda posters
Additional Chinese propaganda posters reside here by the gobs.

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