I woke up this morning to a frosty breeze making its way through the cracks in my dormitory window. I live on the first floor so by the time I open my eyes at around 7:30 the bustle of the street below me rings throughout my room. The street cars make their way through the crowds. A young boy plays with a paper plane as his mother purchases their daily staples. Men pull rickshaws carrying those with the means to afford such a luxury during these times. A few people are chatting, and some chuckle here and there. Most have a determined look on their faces as they run their daily errands here in the city.
I don’t have any classes today so I figure that this will be a great day to grab my notebook and head down to the street. I decided to go out and look for people who might be willing to share a few words regarding the current situation in China. I happened to meet a woman by the name of Qui Hui-ying, she was visiting family here in Beijing but had spent time as a silk factory worker in recent years. We spoke on the steps of the National Library. Qui Hui-ying told me, “I came to Shanghai when I was 12, we were so miserable. You had to work 17 hours a day. Later, a progressive worker in the factory told us that people were not born to be poor. One was poor because of the exploitation by others. There is exploitation by the capitalist on one hand and exploitation by the labor contractor on the other. You do the work and he takes the money. I had no idea what revolution meant, all I thought was that the worker made sense and that he cared about us, poor people.” (China: A Century of Revolution – China in Revolution 24:32) I quickly started to draw some connections between my readings of Mao Zedong’s quotes on the Communist Manifesto. It made sense to me that Qui Hui-ying would have overheard these ideas from a progressive coworker. It would be nearly impossible for her to have learned these elsewhere. It also reinforced my understanding of the fact that power lay in the hands of the masses, according to Mao. (Marley and Neher 15) Qui Hui-ying’s understanding of power to the workers came through word of mouth, not through education which she certainly did not have access to. I couldn’t help but think that Mao was very clever in understanding this. All it would take is one factory worker with the knowledge and strength to speak out for word to spread quickly that exploitation and abuse of the working class were not how things were elsewhere, especially around the world.
Though most of my interactions with people here in Beijing were often more biased towards the urban dweller, like my conversation with Qui Hui-ying, I had learned from speaking with some of my classmates that there were rumblings of the core of the revolution lying in the Jiangxi province countryside. (China: A Century of Revolution – China In Revolution 26:00) I knew little about these rumors but I was certainly curious to find those who had witnessed some of what was happening in Jiangxi. I met a woman who had traveled from Jiangxi to Beijing to visit family for a month. The woman went by the name of Xie Pei-lan and donned a knit hat and navy jacket. She told me that she had recently joined the communist party in the countryside along with other peasants. I asked her why she had decided to join. She said, “people told me that if I joined the revolution, I would have my freedom.” Xie Pei-lan added, “If I didn’t join, I would have to marry this man who was over 30. So I thought if revolution could save me from this, I would join.” (China: A Century of Revolution – China In Revolution 28:48) I could understand her sentiment on the situation. Back where I come from in the country, it was standard for women to be sold off at a very young age as wives. Xie Pei-lan’s sentiment was similarly echoed by some of the other people to whom I spoke.
I thanked Xie Pei-lan for her time and made my way back to my dormitory. Though I am only sharing a few of the stories I heard today, I felt that these were the most valuable ones to share with you, the reader. I am excited and scared for our future at the moment but I feel lucky to get to share my findings with all of you.
Until next time,
Gao An Zhi
Gao An Zhi,
I found that the connection that you drew between Qui Hui-ying’s lived experiences and Mao Zedong’s theories really enlightening. Qui Hui-ying’s testimony that she learned of Communism through a progressive coworker at a factory really helpfully illustrates Mao Zedong’s claims that power lay in the hands of the masses and is best spread through word of mouth and the forging of connections between people, as opposed to any formalized educational system. I agree with your analysis that Marx was very clever and insightful to have formulated these ideas. I look forward to reading your future work!
Sincerely, Lei Ju
It is very interesting to see how Mao’s plan of communism spreading through the masses actually worked. If one worker hears it they can spread that message to other workers in the same situation. Additionally, those workers that heard that message will learn the other messages and spread those to other members of other groups that they are a part of.