When Heroes Pass Away [Hardcover]

Dachang Cong (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761808094 | ISBN-13: 978-0761808091 | Publication Date: August 28, 1997

This book studies the treatment of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and other Communist leaders from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. It also unravels the complex political culture in the last phase of Deng's China. The author explores why and how a Chinese Communist pantheon has risen at a time when Communist ideology is fading and the current Chinese leaders are coming to grips with a wide array of moral, social, and economic maladies. The Party has been marred by corruption and the whole society poisoned by greed. Thus, the invention of the pantheon is an important part of the official plan to preserve Communist rule.By highlighting patriotism, riding economic successes, manipulating public sentiment, and re-creating symbols, the state and power elite have skillfully promoted the pantheon to mitigate a legitimacy crisis and to relieve succession pangs. Jiang Zemin and his colleagues, who do not have the charisma of the Communist leaders of the older generation, need to link themselves to the top pantheon with the trinity of Mao, Zhou, and Deng at the top. Yet the pantheon is not merely an official product. Behind the facade of the great worship lies a multitude of intentions, purposes, and meanings, the work of a confluence of different interest groups.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A valuable resource for anyone interested in modern mythmaking, this volume will be highly instructive in the classroom.>>>> (Frank J. Korom )

A valuable resource for anyone interested in modern mythmaking, this volume will be highly instructive in the classroom. (Frank J. Korom )

About the Author

Dachang Cong is Assistant Professor in the School of General Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (August 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761808094
• ISBN-13: 978-0761808091
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,386,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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