The condemnation of the film 'The pioneers' by the Gang of Four, contrary to its approval by Chairman Mao. Colour lithograph, 1977.

[China] : [?], 1977.

1 print : lithograph, printed in colours ; sheet approximately 76.5 x 105.5 cm

0. Chairman Mao's spoken message: "This film doesn't have any grave errors and should be distributed. To say it has ten errors is a great exaggeration and not beneficial for the party's policy on literature and the arts"

1. "The pioneers" was released nationwide to raucous support. People felt it an accurate representation of their struggles in the oil field, and a film made for the people, a film that educates people about the mighty struggle

2. It greatly boosted the mission of the Daqing oil fields and became a central theme of encouragment for Mao's campaign

3. Yet in the midst of it, garnering and rousing support, Jiang Qing, who shamelessly referred to herself as the leader of the revolution of culture and the arts, disapproved vehemently of the film

4. Jiang Qing proclaimed that there were severe faults with the aesthetic and political aspects of the film. Another member of the Gang of Four, Tao WenYuan, also personally wrote an essay against the film, which was to appear in a publication

5. On the second day of its screening, the Gang of Four issued rules banning duplication, television broadcast, and export of the film, and reviews of it. This was met with much chaos and confusion in the cultural sector everyone was puzzled as to where the flaws of the film were

6. After a round of secret meetings, the Gang of Four rounded up the production team of 'The pioneers', telling them the ten faults of the film, which could be summarized in the words 'buttoned hats' and 'wooden beating sticks'

7. Following this meeting Jiang Qing asked for feedback from members of the film industry, hoping to get members of the production staff to write self-criticizing essays. There were also efforts to pinpoint who had allowed the film to be made

8. Employees of the film company compared their product with the Little Red Book, and found no discrepancies. Comparing the countrywide embrace of the film and the Gang of Four's irrational disapproval of it, they suspected that the Gang of Four was distorting the truth

9. The production crew reminisce about working alongside the Daqing oil field workers, and how this experience enlightened them about working together as one. The fighting spirit of the oil field workers was infectious

10. 'The pioneers' was shot in February 1974. After thousands of takes and three outdoor scenes, the film was finished within nine months of team work and hard work

11. The film is a crystallization of the leader of the oil fields and Chairman Mao's thoughts about art and culture. The film epitomizes the Chinese revolutionary worker-hero, strengthening brotherhood and extinguishing the power of hierarchy

12. The people reacted strongly against the censorship of 'The pioneers'. In outright defiance towards the Gang of Four, workers and peasants alike screened the film through their own means The evil schemes that the Gang of Four employed were unable to sever the strong empathetic bond between the Daqing miners depicted and their audience. The people exclaimed, "We disregard the Gang of Four: we listen to Chairman Mao!"

13. As the Gang of Four's threats reached fever pitch, Mao's letter of approval of 'The pioneers' was released, triggering a countrywide rebellion against the cultural strategies of the Gang of Four

14. The Gang of Four reacted with fear and loathing to Mao's statement. Their first counter-strategy involved deliberately delaying circulation of his words and the addition of belittling comments claiming that his statement had merely been inspiring and broadened their perspective

15. The Gang of Four tried fruitlessly to control the impact of Mao's revolutionary statement. As a second strategy, they proclaimed it a time of true struggle for the party to weather. But this ultimately resulted in their dissolution. In a moment of panic, Tao Wenyuan even personally told the editor of one of their publications to remove an article disparaging the film

16. They continuted to nitpick the film despite the stamp of approval given by Chairman Mao, hiding behind the quest for perfection as a third strategy

17. As a last resort, Jiang Qing rounded up the writers of the production and reprimanded them for disobeying her, equating defying her with defying Chairman Mao. She demanded they write to the Chairman, criticizing themselves, recommending a restriction on export of the film, and requesting permission to reshoot 'The pioneers'. These actions fully revealed her plots to undermine Chairman Mao's message

18. The Gang of Four detested 'The pioneers'. Their dislike was apparent in their dismay at Chairman Mao's personal raising of a large and conspicuous red flag which said 'Daqing'. Coincidentally it was the name of the main location of 'The pioneers'. The film celebrated the people's heroic struggle for independence and development of the oil industry. They rejected this struggle and saw it as an eyesore

19. They trembled at the main lead's mention of evil-doers hidden behind the guise of revolutionaries, because they themselves were guilty of such identities

20. Zhou Enlai has always encouraged the reading of Chairman Mao's 'On practice' and 'On contradiction', a call which the people of Daqing heartily responded to. Nevertheless the Gang of Four demanded to know the specific tropes of these two treatises that the films advocated. In doing so they destroyed their own alliance with Mao and revealed themselves to be rebels against Mao's vision

21. A key moment of the nation's Revolution occurred when the Gang of Four was removed from power, saving the Revolution and the party. This grand victory cleared the way for Chinese society and culture to progress and proliferate. People were delighted, and celebrated this success

22. We must condemn the wretched actions of the Gang of Four, and clearly observe their crimes, in order to allow Chairman Mao's direction to shine through, to allow the Hundred Flowers campaign to proceed smoothly, and to enable us and those in the cultural industries to walk proudly along the pathway of progress made possible by the Chairman

Wellcome Collection 767258i

Lettering in Chinese language and script