Politics and Profits

Thirty-five years after his death, Mao Zedong still enjoys respect or even reverence from many quarters in China. For example, in April 2010, Telegraph reported that Chinese protestor throws ink at portrait of Chairman Mao:

An angry Chinese protestor has attempted to throw ink over the famed giant portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong that hangs in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, police in China have confirmed.

Police wrestled the man to the ground last weekend after he threw a bottle of ink at the portrait, a potent symbol of Communist Party power which hangs on the Tiananmen gate tower where Chairman Mao declared a new republic 60 years ago.

"At around 13:35pm, April 5 2010, a man was put under control after he threw a plastic bottle of ink towards the Tiananmen gate tower," the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau confirmed in a statement faxed to The Telegraph.

The audacious attack echoes the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest when three young men threw ink-filled eggs at the portrait in a gesture of defiance against China' Communist ruling party that resonated around the world.

The three men, Lu Decheng, Yu Zhijian, and Yu Dongyue, received some of the harshest sentences in the crackdown that followed the violent crushing of the protests, being jailed for 16 years, 20 years and life respectively.

That kind of disrespect to the Mao could not be tolerated by Chinese government, if it was out of political motivation.

However, if it was done in the name of development, the story could have a different ending.

Technews reported that 

A real estate company wrecked the statue of the 'Great Helmsman' -- China's most powerful figure between 1949 and 1976 -- while re-developing a district in Longlou town in Wenchang region, reported Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

Erected in 2008, the 9.9m white marble statue had attracted many visitors, China News Service (CNS) reported.

"Developers now wield the greatest power of destruction in China, tearing down houses and flattening martyrs' mausoleums in the name of development," another (Internet) post remarked on China.com."

Indeed, in the name of development, developers, often combined with power of unchecked government and ruthless mafia, wrecked homes for profit at well.




海南省、文昌市 Wenchang, Hainan Province

The demolition of Mao's statue earned some condemnation from China's leftist corners but it is doubtful any developers involved would suffer the fate of those angry protesters who "defaced" Mao's giant portrait.

Profits tramps politics.  Call it progress.

Mao's Statue in Shenyang

Alleged Han Han's Article: "Goodbye! Ai Weiwei" Goes Viral - 网传韩寒被和谐的文章：再见！艾未未

中國最著名的藝術家艾未未的消失引起了國際社會的強烈抗議，但在在中國的反應，主要是沉默和冷漠。然而，有一篇关于這個敏感的話題的文章，據称由中国最有影響力的博客韓寒撰写，已在网上疯传。韓寒的博客上無法找到此文，這可能意味著这篇有明显韓寒風格文章的作者是其他人，借用韓寒響亮的名字，以吸引注意力; 或他的文章已經被政府的網路控制器 "和谐"（消音）。

The disappearance of the most famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has caused a great outcry in the international community but the response in China was largely muted and indifferent. However, there was an article, allegedly written by the most influential Chinese blogger, Han Han, on this sensitive topic, has gone viral.  This article cannot be found in Mr. Han's blog, which can mean either the article was written by somebody, clearly in his style, else and used his famous name to attract attention; or his article has been "harmonized" (censored) by the government's internet controller.

對於那些誰不熟悉韓先生，請閱讀我以前的博客：韓寒-极有影響的中國博客 Han Han - Influential Blogger in China。

For those who are not familiar with Mr. Han, please read my previous blog: 韓寒-极有影響的中國博客 Han Han - Influential Blogger in China.

这篇文章可以在很多地方找到，比如Literary City“文學城“。下面是原文字，及我的英語翻譯：

The article can be found in many places, such as "Literary City".  Below is the full text, followed by my English translation:

韩寒：再见！艾未未

现在艾未未不能说话了，我们谁来为艾未未说话呢？

昨天听说艾未未被捕了。作为一个普通人，我十分揪心。我很难想象一个像艾未未这样的人也会被逮捕。但是想一下自己是在中国，再想一下被囚禁在家中的陈光诚和即将面临起诉的冉云飞，也就想通了。这里是一个连法律都不能做挡箭牌的国家。

艾未未，胖子，有大胡子。和我们一样爱捣鼓一些稀奇古怪的玩意，也爱翻墙出去看新闻。从不计较送朋友东西，也爱拍真实的故事。追求真实，反对虚假。遵从邓小平爷爷“求真务实”的号召。也为国家奥运会工作做出了极大的贡献。

他先前被限制出行过，被警察殴打过。但是被拘留超过24小时这还是第一次。以我有限的社会常识也可以猜到这次与以往不一样。或许，再过几天张思之大律师就会多出一个客户。从此，再也看不到绝伦的艺术品，再也看不到推特上狂野的回复。我抽屉里的几颗陶瓷葵瓜子也许会寂寞，但是我身上印着板砖的文化衫依旧会坚挺出现在街上。

我已经不想呼吁什么，我也无力号召什么。从一九四九年本朝开国算起：反右、文革、严打、学潮、维稳，每一个时期都有无数揣着自己良心走进监狱的人，也有无数揣着自己良心被割下头颅的人。五星红旗为什么是红的？是无数还有良知的人鲜血染红的。

艾未未曾经为上访者说话，为三聚氰胺奶粉受害者说话，为汶川地震遇难的小学生说话。现在艾未未不能说话了，我们谁来为艾未未说话呢？如果连凭着良知说一句真话的勇气都没有了，那么我真相信历朝历代“吾皇万万岁”的口号都实现了。最后，我想用李志的一首歌来作为结尾：“人民不需要自由，这是最好的年代”。

译文 Translation:

Han Han: Goodbye! Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei is now unable to speak, who amongst us will speak for Ai Weiwei?

Yesterday, we heard that Ai Weiwei was arrested. As an ordinary person, I am very worried. I can not imagine that someone like Ai Weiwei would also have been arrested. But remembering that I am in China, and remembering Chen Guangchen, who was under house-arrest, and Ran Yunfei, who was facing prosecution, it all made sense. Here is a country that laws cannot be used to shield us.

Ai Weiwei, fat, big beard. Like us, he loved to fiddle with some strange stuff, and love to climbe over the [internet] wall to look for news. Never hesitated to give things away to friends, and loved to shoot true true stories. Pursuing truth, against falsity. Followed Grandpa Deng Xiaoping's call of "pragmatism". Made great contribution for the State's Olympic Games.

He had previously been restricted from traveling, and beaten by the police. But being detained for more than 24 hours, this is the first time. With my limited social knowledge, I can guess that this time it would not be the same as the past. Perhaps, in a few days, the famed barrister Zhang Sizhi will have one more client. From now on, we can no longer see superb works of art, or read uninhibited replies on Twitter. The few ceramic sunflower seeds in my drawer might be feel lonely, but the culture T-shirt on my body, with the print of brick would again appear in the street, stubbornly.

I do not want to appeal for anything; I have no power to call for anything. Counting from the founding of current dynasty in 1949: the anti-rightist, the Cultural Revolution, Severe Punishment of Crimes, student unrest, stability maintenance - each period, there were countless people walked into prisons with their consciences, and there were also countless people had their heads cut off for their consciences. Why is the five-star [national] flag red? It was dyed by the blood of those countless people who still had consciences.

Ai Weiwei had spoken for petitioners, for the victims of the melamine milk powder, for the primary school victims in Wenchuan, Sichuan earthquake. Ai Weiwei is now unable to speak, who amongst us will speak for Ai Weiwei? If we no longer have the courage to tell the truth with conscience, then, I truly believe that the slogan every dynasties had been striving to achieve "Ten-Thousand Years, Our Emperors!" have finally realized. Finally, I would like to use the lyrics from a song by Li Zhi to end this article: "People do not need freedom, this is the best of the epoch."

这篇文章是否出自韩寒之手已不重要，重要的是它的存在及广大反响。

If this article written by Han Han or not is not very important now; it is very important that it exists and its great impact.


艾未未行为艺术——腾飞不忘挡中央 -- 在他手中, 一个叫草泥马(操你妈)的玩具, 因此, 此图可以被读成 [草泥马(操你妈), 挡中央(党中央)].  几年前, 一个叫草泥马(操你妈)的YouTube视频, 造成YouTube在中國被屏蔽.
Ai Weiwei Performance Art - Taking-Off Did Not Forget to Block the Center (挡中央 (Blocking the Center), homonym 党中央 (Party Center)) -- in his hand, a toy named Cao-Ni-Ma (Grass-Mud-Horse, a homonym with a most insulting Chinese cursing phrase, Fuck Your Mother, therefore, the whole images can be read as Fuck Your Mother, Party Center.  Several Years ago, a YouTube segment of Cao-Ni-Ma (Grass-Mud-Horse) caused the blocking of YouTube in China.

Imperial Mausoleums of Mao Zedong and his Successor Hua Guofeng - 毛澤東和他的繼任者華國鋒的皇陵

Chinese emperors love to build impressive mausoleums.  The First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi built vast underground terracotta soldiers to guard his still hidden mausoleum, and earned his world renown.  Other emperors were not far behind.  Below is the tomb of a Han Dynasty's Emperor Liu Qi:

中國帝王愛建令人印象深刻的陵墓。秦始皇建了巨大的地下兵馬俑守衛他的仍然隱藏着的陵墓，並獲得了世界聲譽。其他皇帝也不甘落後。下面是一個漢代皇帝劉启 (? 音译)的墓：



Han Dynasty Emperor Liu Qi's Mausoleum

However, mausoleum building didn't end with the empire.  The provisional president of Republic of China Sun Yat-sen had his mausoleum built in Nanjing (Nanking):

然而，陵墓建築並沒有随帝國而結束。中华民國臨時大總統中國孫中山有他建在南京的陵墓：


Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum, Nanjing (Nanking)

The de facto emperor Mao Zedong got his, courtesy of his hand-pick care-taking successor, Hua Guofeng (1921-2008), in the heart of Tian'anmen Square:

事實上的皇帝毛澤東得到了他，由他親自挑選護的看守接班人，華國鋒（1921-2008）修建，在天安門廣場的中心：


Mao Zedong's Mausoleum Under Construction - Portraits in Center: Mao Zedong and his hand-pick successor Hua Guofeng


Mao Zedong's Mausoleum Inauguration Ceremony (September 9, 1977)

Not long after the completion of Mao's Mausoleum, Hua was pushed out of political posts by Deng Xiaoping et al. and largely forgotten.  However, after his death in 2008, there is a movement to re-evaluate his achievement and to crown this effort, his home province Shanxi, built a gigantic mausoleum for him (See pictures below).  The mausoleum occupies an area of 100,000 square meters (over 14 soccer fields), with total investment: about 100 million yuan (US Dollar 15.3 million).


完成毛澤東紀念堂後不久，華被鄧小平等人从政治職位上推下去, 幾乎被人遺忘。然而，在他去世於2008年之后，兴起了重新評估他的成就的運動，包括他的故鄉山西省，為他建立了一個巨大的陵墓（見下列圖）。陵墓佔地面積10萬平方米（超過 14個足球場），總投資約 100億元人民幣（1530萬美元）。

His mausoleum story came in a very interesting time - recently there were many reporting in China on people's inability to pay for tomb lots.

他的陵墓故事是在一個非常有意味的時間嚗光- 最近有許多報導说在中國人们無力支付的墳墓费用。