Random Thoughts of a History Major

Hey everyone -

Here’s a link to an English translation of the Chinese constitution. I’ve been scanning through it to see where it apparently allows free speech (no such luck yet, and I’ve scanned quite a bit) but I’ve found some articles in the constitution that might help some of you with your topics.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/constitution/constitution.html

Chapter I: General Principles
For a basic jumping off point, here’s Article 1:
Article 1. The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The socialist system is the basic system of the People’s Republic of China. Sabotage of the socialist system by any organization or individual is prohibited.

Could anyone tell me what a “democratic dictatorship” is?

Environmental issues and preservation policy:

Article 9. Mineral resources, waters, forests, mountains, grassland, unreclaimed land, beaches and other natural resources are owned by the state, that is, by the whole people, with the exception of the forests, mountains, grassland, unreclaimed land and beaches that are owned by collectives in accordance with the law. The state ensures the rational use of natural resources and protects rare animals and plants. The appropriation or damage of natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.

Article 10. Land in the cities is owned by the state. Land in the rural and suburban areas is owned by collectives except for those portions which belong to the state in accordance with the law; house sites and private plots of cropland and hilly land are also owned by collectives. The state may in the public interest take over land for its use in accordance with the law. No organization or individual may appropriate, buy, sell or lease land, or unlawfully transfer land in other ways. All organizations and individuals who use land must make rational use of the land.

Article 12. Socialist public property is sacred and inviolable. The state protects socialist public property. Appropriation or damage of state or collective property by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.

Article 24. The state strengthens the building of socialist spiritual civilization through spreading education in high ideals and morality, general education and education in discipline and the legal system, and through promoting the formulation and observance of rules of conduct and common pledges by different sections of the people in urban and rural areas. The state advocates the civic virtues of love for the motherland, for the people, for labour, for science and for socialism; it educates the people in patriotism, collectivism, internationalism and communism and in dialectical and historical materialism; it combats the decadent ideas of capitalism and feudalism and other decadent ideas.

Particularly notice the second to last line (for preservation) where it mentions “historical materialism” – not sure how to interpret that, but it said “historical,” and “materialism,” so that could be a comment on capitalism or preservation … I don’t know.

Article 26. The state protects and improves the living environment and the ecological environment, and prevents and controls pollution and other public hazards. The state organizes and encourages afforestation and the protection of forests.

Censorship and related topics:

Article 22. The state promotes the development of literature and art, the press, broadcasting and television undertakings, publishing and distribution services, libraries, museums, cultural centres and other cultural undertakings, that serve the people and socialism, and sponsors mass cultural activities. The state protects places of scenic and historical interest,valuable cultural monuments and relics and other important items of China’s historical and cultural heritage.

Article 28. The state maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter- revolutionary activities; it penalizes actions that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy and other criminal activities, and punishes and reforms criminals.

One-Child Policy:

Article 25. The state promotes family planning so that population growth may fit the plans for economic and social development.

Article 49. Marriage, the family, and mother and child are protected by the state. Both husband and wife have the duty to practise family planning. Parents have the duty to rear and educate their minor children, and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents. Violation of the freedom of marriage is prohibited. Maltreatment of old people, women and children is prohibited.

Military:

Article 29. The armed forces of the People’s Republic of China belong to the people. Their tasks are to strengthen national defence, resist aggression, defend the motherland, safeguard the people’s peaceful labour, participate in national reconstruction, and work hard to serve the people. The state strengthens the revolutionization, modernization and regularization of the armed forces in order to increase the national defence capability.

See also Chapter III, Section 4, Articles 93 and 94

Local Elections:

Chapter III, Section 5 contains articles on local people’s governments.

Personal Freedoms:

Article 32. The People’s Republic of China protects the lawful rights and interests of foreigners within Chinese territory, and while on Chinese territory foreigners must abide by the law of the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic of China may grant asylum to foreigners who request it for political reasons.

Article 35. Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration. **FOUND IT**

Wow … Foreigners’ rights to be protected by Chinese law is stated before Chinese citizens’ rights are. Very interesting.

Article 37. The freedom of person of citizens of the People’s Republic of China is inviolable. No citizen may be arrested except with the approval or by decision of a people’s procuratorate or by decision of a people’s court, and arrests must be made by a public security organ. Unlawful deprivation or restriction of citizens’ freedom of person by detention or other means is prohibited; and unlawful search of the person of citizens is prohibited. Article 38. The personal dignity of citizens of the People’s Republic of China is inviolable. Insult, libel, false charge or frame-up directed against citizens by any means is prohibited.

Article 39. The home of citizens of the People’s Republic of China is inviolable. Unlawful search of, or intrusion into, a citizen’s home is prohibited.

Article 40. The freedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are protected by law. No organization or individual may, on any ground, infringe upon the freedom and privacy of citizens’ correspondence except in cases where, to meet the needs of state security or of investigation into criminal offences, public security or procuratorial organs are permitted to censor correspondence in accordance with procedures prescribed by law.

Article 41. Citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state organ or functionary. Citizens have the right to make to relevant state organs complaints and charges against, or exposures of, violation of the law or dereliction of duty by any state organ or functionary; but fabrication or distortion of facts with the intention of libel or frame-up is prohibited. In case of complaints, charges or exposures made by citizens, the state organ concerned must deal with them in a responsible manner after ascertaining the facts. No one may suppress such complaints, charges and exposures, or retaliate against the citizens making them. Citizens who have suffered losses through infringement of their civil rights by any state organ or functionary have the right to compensation in accordance with the law. **MY FAVORITE!!!!**

Article 51. The exercise by citizens of the People’s Republic of China of their freedoms and rights may not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society and of the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens.

Article 52. It is the duty of citizens of the People’s Republic of China to safeguard the unity of the country and the unity of all its nationalities.

Article 53. Citizens of the People’s Republic of China must abide by the constitution and the law, keep state secrets, protect public property and observe labour discipline and public order and respect social ethics.

Article 54. It is the duty of citizens of the People’s Republic of China to safeguard the security, honour and interests of the motherland; they must not commit acts detrimental to the security, honour and interests of the motherland.

The Fourth Amendment adds:

8 Article 33 has a third paragraph added: “The State respects and preserves human rights.”

I hope that helps some of you (or even just one of you) with your research paper!

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While doing my research on particular activists and dissidents, I found a page with all the key characters and those interviewed in one of the documentaries we watched in class, The Gate of Heavenly Peace. It’s a little out-dated since the documentary is a few years old, so after posting the link I’ll try my best to update the status of some of the people, especially Liu Xiaobo, one of the authors of the recent Charter 08, a call for governmental reform in China.

http://tsquare.tv/film/charac.01.html

Chai Ling – the Commander in Chief of the democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989
According to Wikipedia (the resource of lazy scholar’s everywhere), Chai Ling, like many other activists from the democracy movement of 1989, fled China as soon as it was safe. Chai Ling was helped and kept hidden by many common Chinese citizens for 10 months after the crackdown, and fled to Paris with her husband, whom she proceeded to divorce (according to Wiki). She is now living in exile in the United States. She started her own company, Jenzabar, which provides internet services to universities across the United States. Also, according to the website, she reportedly made a trip to China in 2005 seeking business opportunities. Of course, the downside of Wikipedia is there aren’t always citations available to validate this information. Here’s the link to the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai_Ling

Dai Qing – important Chinese journalist and activist.
The Wikipedia page on Dai Qing is not up-to-date. She signed Charter 08, and I have not been able to find her recent status. A list providing over 100 signatories of Charter 08 who have been “subjected to detention, interrogation, and/or detention” by police did not include Dai Qing, but that does not mean that she has not been questioned, etc., since the list was posted online, January 8, 2009. http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class98/200901/20090108141140_12945.html List provided by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

Ding Zilin – Professor and mother of 17-year-old victim Jiang Jielian who was killed on the night of June 3, 1989 on Chang’an Avenue during the crackdown on the student democracy movement.
Although her name is listed as “Ding Ziling” on the list of Charter 08 signatories, I compared the characters on the list to the characters provided on the website of “Key Characters” for the documentary, and they seemed to match to me; also, after her name on the list, her status as “Professor, Beijing” was included next to it, so I’m assuming Ding Zilin and Ding Ziling are one and the same; I’m wondering if there is more than one way to spell the name through translation, or if one of the pages has a typo. Perhaps I should write to the people who posted the list and let them know I saw the name spelled Ding Zilin at another source.
Ding’s name is not included in the list of harassed signatories, but again, this does not mean she has not been contacted by police or Chinese security personnel since the list was posted.

Liu Xiaobo – literary critic and long-time political activist in China and abroad.
Most recently, Liu co-authored Charter 08 and has been under house arrest since January 2nd of this year. There has been an open letter sent to the President of China to release Liu Xiaobo, signed intellectuals from around the world, including author Geremie Barme, we’ve read a some of his articles in class. I’ll continue to post updates on Liu Xiaobo’s case as long as I’m able to find information online. There are so many groups trying to keep track of Liu, there’s barely any mention of this in the mainstream American news. If you’re interested, check out the websites for Human Rights in China http://hrichina.org/public/, Chinese Human Rights Defenders http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Index.html, and Amnesty International www.amnesty.org.

Here’s a list provided by Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres) of cyber-dissidents in jail, http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=119 49 imprisoned are from China alone.

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Hey guys,

I was doing a bit of research, trying to find stuff on Charter08 through the Index on Censorship website (y’all should check it out, maybe you can find something useful!) and this popped up. China has recently blocked YouTube (owned by Google), and while the official news agency Xinhua has reported that “supporters of the Dalai Lama had fabricated a video that appeared to show Chinese police officers brutally beating Tibetans after riots last year in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital,” I don’t believe the Chinese government has come forward with a reason. According to the article, Xinhua didn’t specify/identify which video caused the government to block YouTube (Hong Kong and Beijing don’t seem to be experiencing the blocks), the article says the descriptions match a video released by the Tibetan government. Check out the article, it’s short so won’t take long to read – enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/technology/internet/25youtube.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=china%20youtube&st=cse

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This is the picture that started it all for me. The video footage of it is even more impressive; here’s a link to a clip of this brave man: The Tank Man.

Who is this man? I don’t think we’ll ever find out the truth, but to be honest, maybe knowing this man’s identity only diminishes the legend. Not knowing who he is gives him almost a “superhero” image. However, this image has been lost to today’s generation in China. Many people do not even know what happened at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 in Beijing. This was a critical moment in modern Chinese history, yet links websites with pictures, videos, and information on the “Tiananmen Square Incident,” as it’s referred to by Chinese officials, are blocked by the Chinese government.

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http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/rc.html

This image was very striking to me, especially seeing Mao’s portrait above all three men. Mao’s image seems to be portrayed as the sun, shining brightly all around and down onto these young men; it reminded me of the phrase “the sun never sets on China.” This sun/Mao portrait is not rising, rather it’s already fully visible (but not centered, so not appearing to be at its peak in which only setting is possible).

The three men below Mao’s portrait are all holding the Little Red Book, looking in the same direction with similar expressions, and are all colored the same red with bold black outlines; all have very large hands that are disproportionate to their bodies, depicting an image of strength and vitality. The men represent Mao’s Revolutionary Committees constructed of a “three-way alliance” of the Red Guard, cadres, and soldiers. These committees were to take over the exisiting political structure in China in an attempt to “bring the factional struggle to an end that crippled the nation.” The translation of the text on this poster reads, “Resolutely protect the policy of the revolutionary three-in-one combination!”

Mao is smiling triumphantly and looking ahead to something we cannot see or envision. The man on the far left is resolute and brave. The man in the middle is throwing his fist in the air, showing his well-built muscles and strength, with an expression of determination. Finally, the man on the far right seems to be older than the other two men (evidenced by the slight wrinkles by his eyes and mouth); he isn’t wearing a hat, so you can see his well-groomed, slicked-back hair. He’s wearing a neatly pressed uniform, and has a very broad chest and shoulders, which are up and back in a dignified posture, almost like a soldier standing at attention. This man seems to draw the most attention, being closer to the text, and slightly larger than the other too. We must remember that this man represents the government.

The artist was very successful with this poster because all these little details are conveyed to and interpreted by the viewer in a matter of seconds.

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I just wanted to share this documentary I watched on YouTube – it’s great! It’s based on the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened in 1989, its effects, and the effects of that single man that stood in front of the tanks in Beijing on June 5. It also talks about China’s development over the last twenty years. It’s only in ten minute segments on YouTube, but all of them can be found in order pretty much under Related Links to the right. It’s fascinating to me that in an interview with four students from the university in Beijing, when shown the picture of the Tank Man, they were baffled. The young man even asked if it was a piece of artwork, or made up. Two of the girls asked if it was a military ceremony or parade. Later the documentary goes into internet censorship and the self-censorship of American companies that do business with the Chinese government, such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems. Here’s the link to the first segment:

I still need to find the citation for this documentary, if anyone else finds it, please let me know! I’d love to use it as a source for my project.

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For this project there are a couple topics I am considering pursuing; one possible topic is the changing role of women in rural China since the Communist Party came into power. I already have several books, including a memoir that I can consult and use for research. I would mainly like to find out exactly how women’s roles have changed in rural China, as well as the motivation behind the change. To be more specific, I would like to research the traditional practices women were subjected to and participated in, such as foot binding, before 1949, and how the next generations adapted to the changes brought on by Maoist China.
One other topic I would like to pursue is the legacy of Tiananmen Square. I learned from a professor that many youth in China today have never even heard of Beijing Spring, the massacre that occurred there, and how important the event was to the world outside China. Because of the government’s censorship of the internet it is difficult for these young adults, or anyone for that matter, to access information on these events, such as videos or pictures of the anonymous man who bravely stepped in front of a tank and is now known simply referred to as “Tank Man.” I would like to search for primary sources, such as personal accounts from people who were at Tiananmen Square on the day of the massacre and who were involved in the protests. Also, I would like to see how politically active youths have changed over the years since the Cultural Revolution that took place in the 1960s, and how young adults today view the Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao, and their government. I am predicting that many of my sources will be online for this topic, and I may have difficulty finding translated primary sources in regards to finding young adults’ views today on contemporary matters.

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Hello! My name is Katie Adams, I’m a senior and will be (hopefully!) graduating this coming Fall semester.  I’m looking forward to this class because typically my area of interest is colonial America and Tudor England, so late 20th-century China will definitely be something different for me. I’m also taking HIST462, Women in Latin America, so I guess you can say I’m really broadening my horizons this semester!
I have no idea what topic I’d like to research for this course, but the thought of traditional Chinese dancing and/or other traditional practices and the roles they play in China today seems interesting, especially since the grandmother of one of my best friends is the owner of a traditional Japanese dance company in northern Virginia (Onoe Ryu style). I’ve loved going to her performances and seeing how the dancing is still influential in Japanese culture; it makes me wonder if it is the same way in China.
I’m really looking forward to this course, it seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun!

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How is it that while I’m checking my sources for the correct citations, or reading through them to try and glean a bit more information, I suddenly find a wealth of promising secondary sources?! Out of all the searches I did for “Puritan children” I never once thought to use “Colonial” in the search box instead of “Puritan.” While I may not have gotten sources that were spot-on, they most likely would have contained useful information. This will be a short post, mainly because I feel that I needed to vent. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar problem the DAY before their research paper is due.

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DAMN YOU MICROCARDS!!! Has anyone ever tried using these blasted contraptions? It was hard enough trying to look at a slide on a microscope in my high school science classes, but to actually read a miniature photo of a 17th-century document … nearly impossible.
For starters, the letters look different than the alphabet I’m used to reading and writing with 99.99% of the time. I learned years ago that for some reason they decided to make some of their “S”s look like incomplete “F”s, especially once I realized that the word “perfuasion” didn’t sound right. After reading it for awhile, I got used to seeing those funny little squiggles and telling myself that it was just an “S,” then they decided to change it up on me and throw in a regular “S” every now and again! At this point I was just starting to get annoyed.
Next, the screen started to get fuzzy and out of focus. I thought maybe something was wrong with the actual microcard at first, but I discovered that when I scrolled over to a corner of the card it was in perfect focus. What was happening was that the glass pane holding the microcard down was tighter on the edges than in the middle and was making the picture out of focus. I tried everything I could to fix it, and finally gave up.
Finally… the headache and blurry vision. I thought at first the blurry vision was just the machine acting up again, but when I looked down at my notes I was taking, they were blurry too. The machine had maimed me! I had been so intent on trying to read what Cotton Mather had published that I had forgotten to take breaks and look up every once in awhile (like what’s prescribed for carsickness). I had to give up. I turned off the machine, placed the cards neatly on the table for the librarian to reshelve, and dejectedly walked away. I haven’t been back since.
I have one positive thing to say about the microcards – at least they were all in English!

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