Interior view2009, the year of the great anniversaries, offered a whole series of memorable events in China. On the one hand, there were anniversaries which were commemorated officially, such as the 60th anniversary of the Peoples Republic and the 4th of May movement, and on the other hand, historic events that are intentionally neglected and even suppressed, such as the 20th anniversary of the massacre on Tiananmen Square and the 1959 uprising in Tibet.
Although the Chinese language does not yet have a word for "coming to terms with the past", one senses a strong desire in literature and in films to reflect on certain historical aspects. A growing number of Chinese artists deal with topics, such as the "cultural revolution" and the hunger-years preceding it, in a very personal way. These themes are officially recognised by the government as being cleared and therefore open to criticism. However, they do raise personal impressions and memories, which are not in accordance with the official historiography, such as Tiananmen Square. How can personal experience be made recognisable?
The official historiography, "The Grand Narratives", serves as the legitimisation of the modern state; it compiled motives and elements of history from local archives with the purpose of supporting nationalism and socialism and creating heroic stories. In contrast to this official line, individual artists increasingly occupy themselves with elaborating history from the viewpoint of average people. In the 1980s a first attempt of reflecting on the "cultural revolution" happened in films of the 5th generation, for example the film "In the Heat of the Sun" or "The Blue Kite". In literature, authors of the "scar-literature" attempted to come to terms with their traumatic experiences. These texts deal with individual experiences, unrolling the historical events at the same time, thus interweaving individual memories with the collective experience. Wu Wenguang's plays, which are produced within the framework of CULTURESCAPES, also deal intensively with the excessive experiences of traumatic childhood memories and the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976) led a class struggle against the supposed inner enemies (capitalists and feudalists). The enemy was the Chinese culture itself carried by the educated class and the scholars, as well as the cultural values and lifestyle of the nation. Instigated by the encouraging words of Mao Zedong, the "Red Guards" (a movement of young people and students) charged through cities destroying cultural monuments, attacking, humiliating and abusing the cultural classes and intellectuals. With China's opening towards economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, western oriented intellectuals began to dream and to hope, which is reflected in a poetic wave. After the violent crushing of the student revolt in 1989, these idealists turned their backs on politics and started occupying themselves with rather pragmatic questions concerning the economic rise and success. This disillusionment can be seen in films, such as Lou Ye and Emily Tang, and in the literary works of Duo Duo and Bei Dao. In the course of modernisation and the beginning globalisation as well as the resulting changes in everyday Chinese life, many people felt overstrained. The oncoming wealth resulting from rapid economic growth and the concentration on material values led to a wish for a "purer" life. Instead of taking part in such a superficial world, they turned towards the past and indulged in nostalgia. Chinese intellectuals nowadays occupy themselves with the amnesia and the reduction of the historical memory as a product of commercialisation. The illusions of economic wealth and consumerism eliminate a sense for history. Empirical research and a new understanding of history should serve as a countermovement. Simple, glorifying interpretations of historical figures are being challenged. However, what do these offspring of the 1980s know, who have not noticed anything of the changes of recent history? Those having attended school in the early 1990s know very little, because after TAM the authorities took the same path keeping the youngsters busy day and night and neglecting historical issues. In art and film, the 80hou, those born in the 1980s, seem to have found a rather playful, naïve handling of history. | |||||
