Battle for China's Past : Mao and the Cultural Revolution

In this chapter I will not talk about the first and third categories, that
is, memoirs, autobiographies and biographies in English, and e-media
challenges to the mainstream historical narratives; these are discussed
elsewhere in this study. Instead I will focus on the second category, that
is, memoirs, autobiographies and biographies in Chinese.
Memoirs, autobiographies and biographies in Chinese:
a literature survey
Since the late 1980s memoirs, biographies or autobiographies of some
sort or another have become a publication phenomenon in China.
Volumes and volumes turn out every year and almost every known
public figure of the older generations, be it in the field of military, politics,
or literature and art, has been written about. 1 After going through
more than a couple of hundred of them I find that many writers of this
group are cautious and tend to write impersonally without naming
names when sensitive personalities are involved. Being sanctioned and
encouraged by the Chinese authorities, they tend to fervidly denounce
the fallen Gang of Four and Lin Biao while praising other rehabilitated
CCP leaders. Their narratives are very often shrouded in the standard
official rhetoric, full of statements and propositions but short of
supporting evidence. When referring to sensitive political events or
figures they usually toe the official line.
Two of the most influential biography writers are Quan Yanchi and
Ye Yonglie. 2 Quan’s biography of Mao, based on interviews with Mao’s
bodyguard of 15 years, Li Yinqiao, was a runaway success, so much so
that some Hong Kong publishers published a couple of his later books
(Quan 1991, 1992). Ye Yonglie (1988, 1990, 1991, 1992a, 1992b, 1993a,
1993b, 1993c, 1993d, 1993e, 1994a, 1994b, 1995 and 2002), a professional
writer from Shanghai, has published biographies of Mao Zedong,
Zhou Enlai, Jiang Qing, Chen Boda, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang
Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan and many other well-known figures such as
Ma Sicong and Fu Lei. Ye has managed to tread very cautiously
between what is allowed by the Chinese authorities and what can
attract a readership. Because he never steps out of the official line politically,
he was also allowed to interview and write about sensitive
personalities such as Wang Li and Guan Feng, the famous radical
leaders during the Cultural Revolution. Sometimes, Ye would simply
admit that there are things that cannot be revealed.
Biographical series
CONSTRUCTING HISTORY
Apart from individual efforts there are a number of coordinated efforts
in writing about a group of personalities as series. These include
Dangdai Zhongguo renwu zhuanji (Biographies of Contemporary
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