Literary Views And Reviews THE POLITICAL SCENE IN CHINA

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31862, 14 December 1968, Page 4

Literary Views And Reviews THE POLITICAL SCENE IN CHINA

'Reviewed by A.R.) The Peking Papers. By Jacques Marcuse. Arthur Barker. 351 pp. The dust jacket of this book by Jacques Marcuse claims that it is “the most up-to-date perceptive and informative account of the political scene in China today and “is not only the most authentic and informative account yet published about what life in China is really like: it is one of the most entertaining portraits of a country and a way of life to have appeared in many years.” With certain reservations, this reviewer could accept these claims. “The Peking Papers” of a China correspondent whose experience of China dates back to 1932. to the pre-war and pre-Communist China, are certainly based on intimate knowledge. Marcuse worked with a Chinese l guerilla unit against the Japanese in 1942 and was in Shanghai when the Communists took over. He returned as the correspondent of a French paper in 1962. His credentials, apart from the fact that he never learned to speak Chinese properly, are impeccable. Students of Chinese life and culture may find much in his book that will not be available elsewhere. But in view of his own treatment and experiences, he is a very frank outspoken critic of the regime.

Something of Marcuse’s approach to his subject may be discovered in the dedication of his book: “To the memory of Dr Pavlov’s dog this book is humbly dedicated by the Pekinese who wrote it” His concluding sentence likewise contains an explanation of his purpose: “If I have attempted to de-mystify China, it is not because I do not like China, but because I dislike a certain type of mystification and abominate a social system that founds its strength on the deliberate and forcible vilification of the dignity of the human person and which it is now fashionable to over-glamor-ise, over-fear and generally over-rate.” Marcuse, therefore,. is anxious to debunk or cut' down to size the efforts of I those he describes as V.I.P.P.S (Very Important Potential Propagandists), whose visits to China rarely last more than two months, during which time they are carefully shepherded around all the show places. New Zealand readers may feel that Marcuse is less than fair to Rewi Alley, who “was already known in Chungking in 1940 as ‘Screwy’ Alley” but this limited reference serves to indicate the side taken by Marcuse in his discussion of the China he found on his return for a four-year stint as a “permanent” correspondent. He left not “with

a full belly but rather with a bellyfull.” Witty, entertaining, well informed, he has written a book which should be read by all interested in the subject, even by those who will disagree with many of his findings. Felix Greene, who visited New Zealand earlier this year for the P.P.P. conference in Wellington and whose book “The Wall has Two Sides” is well known, was apparently told to his face by Marcuse that much he had written was “balderdash” and that the Chinese who are “masters at stage management” had successfully displayed what they wanted Greene to see. Because of what he terms Greene’s (“advertising zeal” for the Communist regime and the profit this brings him. Marcuse describes him not as a V.I.P.P. but simply as a V.l.P.—“a Vested Interest i Propagandist,” whose income has been considerably augmented by what he has written or shown on television about China. Greene's gullibility is illustrated by reference to the Peking railway station nursery which in Marcuse’s experience over some years was always locked, accumulating dust, but which was in full and delightful use when Greene went on his prearranged tour of inspection. Even those visitors with only a superficial knowledge of modern China will recall experiences which tally with Marcuse’s stories. They will appreciate the truth of such a statement as, “Class distinctions are very sharp in China's classless society,” and the difficulties the Chinese encounter when they seek to meet foreigners alone. "What gets me down is this perpetual spying,” are words attributed to one of the older generation, but they could just as easily have come from one of the younger. The stereotyped nature of explanations and answers to questions is well brought out. “Thought and speech alike appear to wear a uniform." Marcuse is also very conscious of the complete impossibility of arguing against the "correct line” as laid down by the Politbureau and accepted in all sincerity by the Party member. “Truth has nothing to do with the facts, it consists rather in what the Party calls their correct interpretation, which often means distortion. If the facts don’t fit the truth, then the facts are wrong.” Indoctrination, or letting Mao do one’s thinking, is another subject on which Marcuse iwaxes critically eloquent i Marcuse’s stories of poverty and distress in both; Shanghai and Peking ring true, but the scale of destitution would nevertheless appear to be limited in view of the size of China and her immense population. Marcuse makes fun of the Party teach-

ing on sex, the way in which so many have to sleep in dormitories, and the discouragement offered to early marriages. Even in the entitling of his chapters, he gives rein to his particular sense of humour which, although sometimes mirthprovoking, is more frequently sardonic and the product of some embittering experience. Thus, “On Sleeping Together” is the title for the chapter on dormitories and the keeping down of the birth rate; “Operating on the Opera" deals with the methods used to make the opera and other cultural forms serve the purposes of the Party: “To the Pure All is Pure” deals with the nightmen whose job is glorified in certain Chinese newspapers as part of the great revolutionary theme of exalting in name, at least those who contribute most to production. In a footnote, not a beading, will be found the gem, “The wages of chastity were cotton,” a reference to the extra cotton-ration coupons handed out to those who postpone marriage till they are over the age of thirty. Marcuse thinks that Mao is very much over-rated as a poet as a thinker' and as a political leader. He believes that the Red Guards will become their own victims and that these victims will include Mao. Holding that Lin Piao, Mao’s most likely successor, is also a sick man,

even sicker than the old Leader, he suggests Lin’s life expectancy is short and that China must face not merely the eventual death of Mao but the disappearance of the whole generation that made the Communist Revolution. Mao’s death will see the men at the top change quickly and at increasing speed. “No sooner will someone technically succeed Mao than the problem of succession will again arise. China’s ruling body will get more and more stricken by advancing years, with replacement waxing increasingly problematical. The end will come, either through simple wear and tear and the insufficiency of available human spare parts or as a result of another series of major international blunders or even eventual defeat in war, when chaos would follow.” This may seem a strange conclusion to reach im view of China’s millions and its huge Communist Party. Marcuse professes to lovej China and its people but, as) he says. “I do not like to see the Chinese people humiliated. And I do not like the regime which humiliates them.” He fears that confidence in the regime has gone and that resignation has taken over, “the frighteningly deceptive resignation of the Chinese” which may some day lead to another violent attempt to secure a better future.