为人民服务) is a 2005 novel by Yan Lianke. The English version,translated by Julia Lovell,was published in 2010 by Black Cat/Grove.
Set during the Cultural Revolution,at the peak of the cult of personality of Chairman Mao,the novel tells the story of an affair between the Liu Lian,the wife of a powerful military commander,and a young peasant soldier,Wu Dawang. Liu Lian tells Wu Dawang that whenever she removes the household's wooden 'Serve the People!' sign from its usual place on the dinner table,he must attend to her needs in the bedroom. Liu Lian discovers that destroying her absent husband's sacred Mao icons - such as the Little Red Book and statues of the Chairman - turns her on. [1]
The title is a reference to a phrase originally coined by Mao in a 1944 article of the same name that commemorated the death of the red army soldier Zhang Side. During the Cultural Revolution,this article was required reading for millions of Chinese,and the slogan was widely used.
Due to the sex scenes and sensitive political content,the story attracted controversy in China when it was featured the literary magazine Huacheng in 2005. The Chinese government ordered the publisher to recall all 40,000 copies of the magazine,which in turn created huge demand for the novel. [1] The novel was banned by the Chinese government. [2] It has been translated into French,Danish,Norwegian,German,Dutch,Italian,Czech and English.
The screenwriter and director Jang Cheol-soo adapted the story to set the erotic South Korean film,Serve the People,in a fictional socialist country with similarity to North Korea in the 1970s. Filming of the movie began in 2020 [3] and it was released theatrically on February 23,2022. [4]
Mao Zedong,also known as Chairman Mao,was a Chinese politician,revolutionary,and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) and led the country from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mao also served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1943 until his death,and as the party's de facto leader from 1935. His theories,which he advocated as a Chinese adaptation of Marxism–Leninism,are known as Maoism.
The Cultural Revolution,formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese socialism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. Though it failed to achieve its main objectives,the Cultural Revolution marked the effective return of Mao to the center of power in China after his political sidelining,in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Chinese Famine.
Shen Dehong,best known by the pen name of Mao Dun,was a Chinese novelist,essayist,journalist,playwright,literary and cultural critic. He was highly celebrated for his realist novels,including Midnight,which depicts life in cosmopolitan Shanghai. Mao was one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party and participated in a number of left-wing cultural movements during the 1920s and 1930s. He was the editor-in-chief of Fiction Monthly and helped lead the League of Left-Wing Writers. He formed a strong friendship with fellow left-wing Chinese author Lu Xun. From 1949 to 1965,Mao served as the first Minister of Culture in the People's Republic of China.
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Yan Lianke is a Chinese writer of novels and short stories based in Beijing. His work is highly satirical,which has resulted in some of his most renowned works being banned in China. He has admitted to self-censorship while writing his stories in order to avoid censorship.
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People's Literature is the oldest continuously published literary magazine in China,and the first literary magazine published in Communist China. Established in 1949,the magazine is published by the People's Literature Publishing House and issued by the Chinese Writers Association. Its head office is located at 166 Chaonei Ave,Beijing. Its current director is Pan Kaixiong (潘凯雄) and its current editor-in-chief is Guan Shiguang (管士光).
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Hualing Nieh Engle,née Nieh Hua-ling,was a Chinese novelist,fiction writer,and poet. She was a professor emerita at the University of Iowa.
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Mao Zedong's cult of personality was a prominent part of Chairman Mao Zedong's rule over the People's Republic of China from the state's founding in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mass media,propaganda and a series of other techniques were used by the state to elevate Mao Zedong's status to that of an infallible heroic leader,who could stand up against the West,and guide China to become a beacon of communism.
Li Er is a Chinese novelist. He is best known for his novel Brother Ying Wu which won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize (2019),one of the most prestigious literature prizes in China. He is deputy editor-in-chief of Mangyuan magazine and director of the Research Department of the Chinese Modern Literature Museum. His works have been translated into English and German.
Qu Wu was a Chinese military officer and politician,who most notably served as chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang,Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference,deputy secretary-general of the National People's Congress,deputy secretary-general of the Central People's Government and vice chairman of the Committee of Foreign Cultural Relations.