Mao Zedong remains one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century.
While his leadership unified China under Communist rule with the defeat of the Nationalist armies of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, Mao is also remembered in the West as a man whose harsh rule killed millions upon millions of people.
Mao Zedong remains one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century.
While his leadership unified China under Communist rule with the defeat of the Nationalist armies of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, Mao is also remembered in the West as a man whose harsh rule killed millions upon millions of people.
Portland State students will have a chance to witness a dramatized version of his early political career Friday, May 25, when the Institute for Asian Studies and the Confucius Institute screens The Founding of a Republic (2009), a film by Sanping Han and Jianxin Huang that depicts Chairman Mao’s rise to power. The event will take place at the university’s School of Business Administration.
The film opens with a negotiation between Chiang (Guoli Zhang) and Mao (Guoqiang Tang), a meeting that suggests a coming peace for the Chinese people after a period of war with Japan.
Despite tensions between the two political factions, there is hope for a coalition government to be shared between the major parties—the Nationalists, the Communists and the China Democratic League. The factions had long been involved in skirmishes with one another, and the Chinese people hungered for an end to hostilities.
The meeting does not bring peace, however. As the members of the ruling Nationalist party declare they would turn none of their seats in the Peoples’ Congress over to the other parties, Chiang orders the next round of battles against the Communist troops. Civil war grips China once again.
As Chiang declares he will bring peace to China through the eradication of the Communist forces, the Nationalist army pushes into Yan’an. Mao withdraws his troops from the city, proclaiming that he would gladly lose the land to keep the people. The leaders of the Democratic League meet with him, declare their alliance with the Communist cause and, soon after, launch a new offensive against the ruling Nationalists.
Setbacks and all, the Communist Party continues to build popular support, gaining the alliance of the parties of the country, which results in the isolation of the Nationalist regime. Chiang fights to maintain control, ordering the murder of would-be defectors in his party and sending his own son to Shanghai in an effort to stabilize the city’s withering markets.
Chiang’s son, Ching-kuo (Kun Chen), learns in Shanghai the extent of the Nationalist corruption when he discovers that major families in the party are involved in the black markets. Despite his efforts, his father is unable to fight the corruption infecting the controlling party, even as the regime begins to crumble.
The Founding of a Republic is, at its heart, a sweeping drama, complete with an epic score and a deep focus on the characters involved in the Chinese Revolution. The film addresses the war in primarily abstract terms, with only brief panoramic shots depicting soldiers charging into battle or planes hurling bombs across the countryside.
Released for the 60th anniversary of the communist People’s Republic of China, Republic depicts Mao and his contemporaries in a decidedly sympathetic light. The film devotes no attention to Mao’s leadership following the civil war, a time of controversial policies and land reform practices involving the widespread deaths of Chinese landlords. Though it clearly portrays Chiang’s Nationalist party as an antagonist, Chiang and his son are depicted with depth and dimension.
The film will be hosted as part of the Confucius Institute’s weekly events focusing on Chinese culture.
“We host events every Friday to teach people about Chinese language and culture,” said Surong Chen, a volunteer language teacher from Beijing working for the institute. “This film is about politics, but we host everything from films to lectures about things like traditional Chinese medicine.”
Filmed for a Chinese audience, Republic concentrates on the details of China’s political history. It is an informative telling of the factional struggles in the wake of the Qing dynasty’s collapse and an intriguing look at the figures that gave birth to one of the world’s most powerful modern nations.
It’s not a casual viewing experience for the uninformed. But if you’re interested in a little history from another perspective or enjoy political drama from abroad, this might make your Friday.
