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Creating “Masters of the Country” in Shanghai and Beijing: Discourse and the 1953–54 Local People's Congress Elections*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2014

Jishun Zhang
Jishun Zhang*
Affiliation:
East China Normal University, Shanghai. Email: jish1949@gmail.com.
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Abstract

The first round of elections for local people's congresses was an important moment in the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to create an image of the common people as the “masters of the country.” Lower-class people were portrayed in official propaganda as “masters” who were also supporters of the Party. Yet, those “masters” nevertheless displayed diverse political attitudes that were influenced by different local political cultures, particularly in Beijing and Shanghai. The official propaganda promoting the “masters” was a Communist strategy to gain political legitimacy that ironically created the foundation for heterodox mass movements.

摘要

中华人民共和国的第一次普选是中共建构 “国家主人翁”形象的一个重要时刻。在中共的宣传媒体所制作的 “当家作主”的历史场景中, 来自底层的普通百姓和人民代表被塑造成党所需要的 “国家主人翁”。而在上海与北京不同的政治文化背景下, “国家主人翁”展现出各种不同的面相, 勾勒出这幅国家政治图谱的地方性。 “国家主人翁”的宣传鼓动, 既是毛泽东时代建构政权合法性的策略, 也是群众运动一呼百应的动因。

Keywords

masters of the countrylocal people's congressgrassroots communityShanghaiBeijing国家主人翁普选底层社会上海北京
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 220 , December 2014 , pp. 1071 - 1091
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Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2014 

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Footnotes

*

The author would like to thank Joshua Hill for his translation of this article, Elizabeth Perry for her support throughout the writing and editing process, and Jiang Jin for her help with the revision process.

References

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