Everyday Life in Mao's China

February 4, 2015 8:56 AM

A doctoral candidate in Chinese History at the University of Chicago collects and posts photos of everyday life in China during the Mao era. "I try to cover as many different aspects of life during this time period as possible. Where I can, I note the time and location."
posted by gemmy (7 comments total)

Now I want to know how they got that copy of Playboy into Beijing at the height of the Cultural Revolution
posted by just another scurvy brother at 8:58 AM on February 4, 2015

Now I want to know how they got that copy of Playboy into Beijing at the height of the Cultural Revolution


It was given to him by Ambassador Duke in lieu of a tip?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:00 AM on February 4, 2015 [5 favorites]

I would really like to see this stage production.
posted by twoporedomain at 9:52 AM on February 4, 2015

Thanks for posting this! Fascinating.
posted by zarq at 11:10 AM on February 4, 2015

What a fascinating, chilling gallery. One can almost be convinced by all those smiling faces, if one forgets that those people were doubtless aware of what would happen if you didn't smile enough in the official photos. Every so often, there's a hint of what's happening, as with the "sent-down youth", but mostly it's a perfect facade. I always find it disconcerting to see pictures of ordinary life in brutally totalitarian regimes; it's a potent reminder that even when 40 millions people are being killed, lots of other people are just getting by.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 12:21 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

It seems the adjective of choice here is "fascinating", and I agree. I spent half an hour this morning, mesmerised, scrolling down one picture at a time.

The parade of backyard furnaces was awesome, and the picture of the Bushes on bicycles was the cutest I've ever seen of that pair.
posted by Autumn Leaf at 4:03 PM on February 4, 2015

One can almost be convinced by all those smiling faces

I think you might find that in even the most oppressive regimes, people find plenty to smile about in their daily life. Are you constantly glum because there are police killings in the USA or people held without charge in Guantanamo?
posted by bystander at 2:31 AM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]