FarewellFire
IMG_6007
At the very site of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party now lies a museum. It harbours memorabilia (such as ragged clothign from old founders and a brief history of the life of workers prior to the revolution) and is well worth the trip if you are interested in events that have formed the modern world. And yeah, you should be.
Naturally a huge part of the spotlight is aimed at Mao Zedong - the leader of the CPC from its establishment back in 1949 until he died in 1976. Although still considered a great hero by many it is widely recognized that his policies and political purges killed up to as many as 70 million people. His early involvement in the party have also been questioned by historians - but at the museum a huge scenery built using wax dolls puts Mao in the center of it´s inauguration.
Of course figures like the ones mentioned above can´t be found at the museum but interestingly enough a few sentences here and there do mention troublesome facts. Such as disastrous strategies like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Since Deng Xiaoping came to power and initiated market-economy reforms in 1978 the party also do acknowledge the fact the Mao Zedong was responsible for some "errors" in his later years.
In a way it is quite ironic - if you ask me, the most fitting place for a "test-tube-ideology" such as communism is a museum. Even if you should admire its beatiful aspects and goals - the class free society - history have proven it to be cruel, ineffective and most importantly - not even remotely close to play out well in practice.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the dude standing next to me in this shot is Johan Callin - renowned musician, bass player on the tour and one of my best friends. He´s not a communist either.
Photo credit: Lisa Jensen lisa nikolina
IMG_6007
At the very site of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party now lies a museum. It harbours memorabilia (such as ragged clothign from old founders and a brief history of the life of workers prior to the revolution) and is well worth the trip if you are interested in events that have formed the modern world. And yeah, you should be.
Naturally a huge part of the spotlight is aimed at Mao Zedong - the leader of the CPC from its establishment back in 1949 until he died in 1976. Although still considered a great hero by many it is widely recognized that his policies and political purges killed up to as many as 70 million people. His early involvement in the party have also been questioned by historians - but at the museum a huge scenery built using wax dolls puts Mao in the center of it´s inauguration.
Of course figures like the ones mentioned above can´t be found at the museum but interestingly enough a few sentences here and there do mention troublesome facts. Such as disastrous strategies like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Since Deng Xiaoping came to power and initiated market-economy reforms in 1978 the party also do acknowledge the fact the Mao Zedong was responsible for some "errors" in his later years.
In a way it is quite ironic - if you ask me, the most fitting place for a "test-tube-ideology" such as communism is a museum. Even if you should admire its beatiful aspects and goals - the class free society - history have proven it to be cruel, ineffective and most importantly - not even remotely close to play out well in practice.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the dude standing next to me in this shot is Johan Callin - renowned musician, bass player on the tour and one of my best friends. He´s not a communist either.
Photo credit: Lisa Jensen lisa nikolina