Material Contradictions in Mao's China

The growth of markets and consumerism in China's post-Mao era of political and economic reform is well-documented. However, the Mao period (1949-1976) was initially seen as a time of scarcity, leading to people attributing great meaning to materials and objects that were rare and difficult to obtain. This first volume in a series on the material history of the period explores the paradox of material culture under Chinese Communist Party rule and demonstrates how central materiality was to individual and collective desire, social and economic construction, and projections of an imminent socialist utopia. The contributors, scholars of Chinese art, cinema, culture, performance, and more, share groundbreaking research on the objects and practices of everyday life in Mao's China, contributing to the history of global material culture and the study of socialist modernity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 08 December 2022
Publisher: University of Washington Press

The expansion of markets and consumerism in China's post-Mao era of political and economic reform is a well-known tale. On the other hand, the Mao era (1949–1976), which is rightly characterized as a period of scarcity, initially appears to have had little material culture to speak of. Yet, people often attributed great meaning to materials and objects precisely because they were rare and difficult to obtain. This first volume dedicated to the material history of the period explores the paradox of material culture under Chinese Communist Party rule and illustrates how central materiality was to individual and collective desire, social and economic construction of the country, and projections of an imminent socialist utopia within reach of every man and woman, if only they worked hard enough.

Bringing together scholars of Chinese art, cinema, culture, performance, and more, this volume shares groundbreaking research on the objects and practices of everyday life in Mao's China, from bamboo and bricks to dance and film. With engaging narratives and probing analysis, the contributors make a place for China's experience in the history of global material culture and the study of socialist modernity.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295750842