Red Studies. 1954

Author: Sun Yuming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features:
Editor's Recommendation: Truly recreates the 1954 Red Studies Movement. The study of Red Studies has a long history, but none have been as significant as the 1954 "Criticism Campaign on the Research of Dream of the Red Chamber," which transcended the academic level and expanded into various fields, becoming a major event that influenced China's political and cultural life. Originally, when the "two little figures" published the articles "On A Brief Discussion of Dream of the Red Chamber and Others" and "Commentary on Research on Dream of the Red Chamber" to debate with Yu Pingbo, the nature of the argument remained at the academic level. However, under the personal guidance and leadership of the founding leader Mao Zedong, the nature of this academic debate was completely changed, and the criticism then turned toward the "Hu Shi Thought" that had dominated Chinese academia for thirty years. This book provides a comprehensive and objective review and reflection on this period of history. The author spent several years, using convincing and detailed historical materials and a relatively scientific writing approach, to objectively and comprehensively introduce the causes and consequences of the "Criticism Campaign on the Research of Dream of the Red Chamber" in the autumn of 1954. By reviewing and analyzing the typical figures, events, and statements of the intellectual community during this movement, the book points out that the expansion of the movement's scale, its renewed forms, and the active participation of the intellectual class are closely related. Facing the questions of history and the responsibilities of the present, intellectuals themselves should engage in profound reflection. The book has a positive and progressive stance, with an objective and fair narrative, calling for and responsibility while providing valuable materials for the study of the history of academic thought in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially the development history of "Red Studies."