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5 - The Mandarin Revolution

Fangyan in Maoist China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2020

Gina Anne Tam
Affiliation:
Trinity University, Texas
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Summary

Chapter 5 begins in 1958 when Chairman Mao Zedong called upon citizens of the People’s Republic to take a “Great Leap” forward in national development, requiring that citizens constantly partake in revolutionary behavior. The policy affected all aspects of life - as grain production quadrupled, so, too, should literacy rates; as steel mills expanded, so, too, should school buildings; and as technology was perfected, so, too, should children’s pronunciation of Putonghua. In an environment where all nonrevolutionary behavior was considered counterrevolutionary or subversive, there was no space for thinking in any language but the national one. Fangyan were exiled with other so-called feudalistic behaviors of the past, destined to fade away, and dangerous to revive. Yet this chapter does not end on a somber note. Rather, the final section draws upon oral histories and strategic readings of official sources to uncover a secret life of fangyan. It shows that the CCP was unsuccessful in ending the dialectical process. Instead, the Party reinforced it, ensuring that the battles over language and identity continue to this day.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • The Mandarin Revolution
  • Gina Anne Tam, Trinity University, Texas
  • Book: Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860–1960
  • Online publication: 28 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108776400.006
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  • The Mandarin Revolution
  • Gina Anne Tam, Trinity University, Texas
  • Book: Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860–1960
  • Online publication: 28 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108776400.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Mandarin Revolution
  • Gina Anne Tam, Trinity University, Texas
  • Book: Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860–1960
  • Online publication: 28 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108776400.006
Available formats
×