Yes. I know that National Day is up and coming in a month’s time but I am not talking about the Singapore flags which are being hung outside HDB flags. Neither is it about something which I am angry over about…

The “red” that I am talking about over here refers to the culture of red during China’s Cultural Revolution. I am sure almost all of you who are reading this post right now would know about the Cultural Revolution epoch, which still holds a strong impact on today’s Chinese people.

Over last weekend, I brought my friend to the Asian Civilisations Museum to edify her more about this nation-wide political campaign that took place between 1966 and 1976. In case you didn’t know, there is this new exhibition at the ACM- “Seeing Red: Propaganda and Material Culture in China”, which has just started and will stretch till Oct 12.

À propos, the most striking icon during this period is most probably the book-“Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, 毛主席语录”, also more commonly known as the The Little Red Book. As the title implies, the book is a collection of quotations excerpted from Mao Zedong’s past speeches as well as publications. The onus for the books was to transform the Chinese citizens, spreading Mao Zedong’s ideology and thoughts. It was estimated that around 5-6 billion copies were printed at that time- which easily qualify it as the most printed book in history I guess.




Take a peek at the contents over here…Quotes from Chairman Mao were either bold-faced or underlined in red to make sure that they stand out from the rest of the writings.



For those who doesn’t read Mandarin or that the prints are too small, here’s my translation for the above underlined in red: “Many things can’t be learnt solely from textbooks, you need to learn from production workers, employees, farmers, as well as students.”

Please pardon me if my translation does sound odd. But in essence, it implies that to have a real grasp of Marxism, one should not learn only from books, but also through class struggle, through practical work as well as close contact with the masses of workers and peasants. Makes real sense, doesn’t it?

Apart from these iconic little red books, there are also other artefacts, which are also donated by Mr. Xu Cheng Bin. The objects are mainly Mao-inspired badges, books and porcelain items, all of which were circulated during the Cultural Revolution-primarily for education and propaganda of course.

Over here, this color ceramics features a Chinese female red guard, holding a red book and wearing the red-guard uniform.




Now, this color ceramics depicts a very well known Female People’s Village Communist Leader named “Jiang Shui Ying” during Cultural Revolution. It represents Jiang Shui Ying leading the peasants in the People’s Village and making the sacrifice of allowing a flood to go through the farmlands in order to avoid hitting the factories.




A Chinese poster saying, “Never to forget about class struggle” This markedly illustrates Mao Zedong’s ideology where he believed that revolution and class struggle, are essential for peasants and the Chinese people to overcome both domestic and foreign enemy elements.

If you have thought that the ceramic figurines, posters and little red books were all that were used to sustain the revolutionary spirits during the period, then you might want to change that thought because even the porcelain tea pot and cups at that time were also imprinted with revolutionary messages.





During the Cultural Revolution period, one other notable name whom you ought to know would be Jiang Qing, aka Madame Mao, wife of Chairman Mao Zedong. At that time, Madame Mao redefined pop culture by re-devising Peking Opera and Ballet stories to incorporate class struggle themes- very much consistent with Mao’s teachings. Over here, this rare ballet play publication shows a scene from the Revolutionary Ballet, The Red Army Detachments.




Badges and pins of different designs from the Cultural Revolution further spice up the unique Mao Zedong Collectibles. These authentic items are extremely difficult to locate now so do remember to check out the Mao Zedong porcelain pins which are shown in the middle of this photo.




Last but not least, there is this moderately large-sized portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over the exhibition area. The “warm” red background added a feeling of power and pioneering spirit, especially so when the man in the portrait is regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history. In fact, Chairman Mao remains to be a prominent figure today, over thirty years after his death.

Having seen and heard about my trip down to Seeing Red: Propaganda and Material Culture in China Exhibition at the ACM, it is time for you to move out of your seat and check out these precious items yourself.

Seeing Red: Propaganda and Material Culture in China (1966 – 1976) Asian Civilisations Museum
7 July 2008 – 12 Oct 2008
@ Level 2- Shaw Foundation Foyer, ACM Empress Place
1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555
Monday: 1pm – 7pm
Tuesday to Sunday: 9am – 7pm (to 9pm on Friday)

For more information, please refer to: http://www.acm.org.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventID=389

Tags: Asian Civilisations Museum, Seeing Red: Propaganda and Material Culture in China (1966 – 1976)