This article was downloaded by: [UNSW Library]On: 07 October 2012, At: 18:56Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office:Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and MediaStudiesPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscriptioninformation:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcrc20

Looking for Cadeer: critiquing a prolongedsearch for a model used for mass persuasionin ChinaYong Zhong

Version of record first published: 04 Oct 2012.

To cite this article: Yong Zhong (2012): Looking for Cadeer: critiquing a prolonged search for a model usedfor mass persuasion in China, Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies, 26:4, 606-620

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02560046.2012.723851

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantialor systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, ordistribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that thecontents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae,and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall notbe liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of thismaterial.

606

ISSN 0256-0046/Online 1992-6049 pp. 606–62026 (4) 2012 © Critical Arts Projects & Unisa PressDOI: 10.1080/02560046.2012.723851

Stories that need to be told Looking for Cadeer: critiquing a prolonged search for a model used for mass persuasion in China1

Yong Zhong

Abstract

This article presents findings of a narrative analysis of the lateral use of models by Chinese

public opinion generators to shape the behaviours of the people. It begins with lexical,

sociological and narratological explanations of the meaning of a Chinese model, before

presenting a general introduction of Chinese models as a phenomenon, including the hype

usually involved in their making and propagating. It then proceeds to a narrative analysis of

the singular good-sounding story usually told by Chinese models. The focus of the article,

though, is a narrative case study based on a prolonged search for a model named Cadeer,

an ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang Autonomous Region and on his deferred final discovery.

From this, the author presents several arguments. First, Cadeer does not tell a typical good-

sounding story. Second, not retelling the good-sounding story deferred his final discovery.

Third, his deferred but eventual rise to modeldom is an indication of the continued obsession

with the use of models for mass persuasion in China, a sign of changing times and of the

changing media environment in the country, as well as a reflection of its ever-intensifying

interethnic tension.

Keywords: Chinese media, ethnic tension, mass persuasion, model, role model

Yong Zhong is a Senior Lecturer at the School of International Studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Y.Zhong@unsw.edu.au

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

607

Looking for Cadeer

What is a Chinese 榜样 (model)?

This question may evoke many responses. If a linguist were approached to define the Chinese word 榜样 (bang-yang), s/he might assert that it is equivalent to ‘model’ in English, and appears to have the same meaning as a ‘role model’. If given the chance to delve further into the morphology and seminology of the Chinese word, they might say that the first character (榜) signifies ‘an open notice’, and the second (样) signifies a shape or mode. In combination, the two characters signify a publicised example to learn from or a known form/shape to replicate. This linguistic explanation for the word in question is provided as a gateway into the subject matter of the present article.

If a sociologist – especially one from outside Mainland China – were approached for answer, s/he might immediately recall the now popular jargon ‘role model’, first coined by Robert King Merton when developing his theory of ‘reference group’. According to Merton (1946), role models are a reference group to which individuals compare themselves, which is not necessarily a group to which those individuals belong. In other words, role models are voluntarily identified and chosen by individuals for inspiration and guidance. This sociological insight is included here to facilitate a better appreciation of the subject matter of this article, and to caution against the danger of equating propaganda-oriented Chinese models to sociological ‘role models’.

A narratologist would probably say that whatever it is, a model is just another myth or story told by someone to represent, structure and articulate his/her world. A model represents and articulates the values of modern Mainland China, just as many of the myths critically examined by Barthes (1970) represent and articulate the bourgeois values of French society. Fisher (1984, 1987) and Stone (1979) would also describe a model as a narrative that articulates reality and that, given the inherent relationship between narrative and reality, one can analyse the former in order to understand the latter. This narrative perspective is adopted to deal with the subject matter of this article, i.e., the use of role models, including, especially, the construction of Cadeer as a model in China. Before proceeding further, though, a consideration of the dominant/official Chinese perspectives on models is necessary.

Chinese models have ‘unlimited power’

To begin, three observations can be made as regards the Chinese perspective. The first involves the reach and scope of models. Merton (1946) distinguishes two types of role models, one with cosmopolitan influence and the other with local influence. Cosmopolitan role models are those that inspire masses of individuals across countries, cultures and walks of life, such as Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Nelson

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

608

Mandela and Barack Obama. Local role models are those with limited reach, which are relevant only to special interest groups. Examples here would be Bill Gates (inspiring to aspirant entrepreneurs), Warren Buffet (who matters to investors), Yao Min (relevant to basketball players and fans) and Sun Yue (applicable only to a limited number of basketball players and fans in China). Chinese models are typically local in the sense that they rarely have significant influences beyond national or cultural boundaries. They are only known by and relevant to the Chinese (‘Chinese’ here refers specifically to those living within Mainland China). This is not meant to understate their power or impact. In fact, within a limited locality, they are able to exert great intensity, which is the next observation to make.

Second, thus, a Chinese model is meant to have much greater intensity and impact than Merton’s ‘reference group’, as the former is intended to mark boundaries of behaviour for individuals living in China. This formative power is most forcibly articulated in communist propaganda classics. Mao constructed three models in the famous The three classical articles (老三篇). He defined one of them, Dr Norman Bethune, a Canadian volunteer dedicated to the Chinese communist cause, as ‘a noble man, a pure man, a moral man and a man of zero low pleasures’. ‘To be a person, you must be such a person’ (做人要做这样的人) – quoted from Story of the red lanterns, one of the ‘Eight Model Operas’ – was the message delivered to Mao’s subjects who were required to recite the book and copy the models.

A third observation is of the knowingly conscious utilisation of models for mass persuasion. Chinese leaders and public opinion generators are fond of saying that models have unlimited power (榜样的力量是无穷的), a popular Chinese cliché allegedly attributable to Lenin. What they mean to say is that models are useful for, and influential in, shaping the lives and behaviours of the people. They are indeed widely used for precisely that purpose in China, as in the case of ‘The 200 official models of China’, publicised as recently as 2009. It is in reference to these models that the head of the Central Communist Party Propaganda Department remarked:

They are the spine of the nation, pioneer of the epoch, pride of the country and the most dynamic, most direct textbook for teaching patriotism and the spiritual power for mobilizing the whole of the people to unite and strive. Models have unlimited power. Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the new China provides a perfect opportunity for intensely propagating and learning from the heroes and models and for launching a patriotic campaign. (in Huang 2009, emphasis added)

Chinese mass media mean and practise what they say. At the time of drafting this article, i.e., 2009, the author was in China doing fieldwork and collecting data. During this time, many frequent uses of models (榜样) – for the purpose of educating audiences on television networks with national influence – were witnessed. These included a serial dedicated to ‘models of high morals’ on Channel 12 of China Central

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

609

Looking for Cadeer

Television (CCTV), another serial about ‘models of selfless workers’ on Beijing Satellite TV and still another serial entitled ‘Models of the epoch’ on Shanghai-based Oriental Satellite TV. Content portraying models of various kinds is also plentiful on other regional networks – too plentiful, in fact, to be cited here.

It appears that the most lavish campaign to create, promote and use models involved the 200 models and culminated with a poetry recital spectacle on Channel 1 of CCTV on the evening of 29 September, i.e., two days before the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the show, artists read aloud poems commemorating and praising each of ‘the 200 official models of China’, including ‘100 heroes who sacrificed their lives for the founding of the new China and 100 personalities who have inspired the new China after its founding’.2 To select the 200 models, 11 central departments of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the Propaganda Department, Organisation Department, United Front Department and the People’s Liberation Army Chief Political Department, had formulated a list of candidates as early as May 2009. (The timing of the listing was important because, as will be shown below, it may have played a role in not including Cadeer – the subject matter of this article – in the list.) The list was then circulated to the various media organs and government departments for voting by their staff. On the basis of such a seemingly elaborate process, the 200 models were finalised, including several ethnic Chinese: an Uyghur (Dawuti Ashimu), three Mongolians (Tin Bateer, Longmei and Yurong) as well a former American (George Hatem).

Apparently, models are used universally for educational and formative purposes. A recent example of this was delivered by United States President, Barack Obama, on 8 September 2009 when he used past students ‘who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other’ to inspire current students on their first day back at school (see Obama 2009). However, since its communist founding in 1949, modern China has stood out as a resourceful supplier of models for its own citizens. Nationally publicised and famous models include ‘Mao’s good soldier’ (i.e., Lei Feng), ‘the Party’s good cadre and people’s good son’ (i.e., Jiao Yulu) and ‘two little heroic sisters of the grassland’ (i.e., Longmei and Yurong), all of whom can be found in ‘The 200 official models of China’. Another more recent example was Cadeer, a role model found in China and the subject matter of upcoming discussions in this article. Cadeer did not make the 200 official models list and his absence prompted the present search.

Chinese models all telling the same good-sounding story

Lists of Chinese models are lengthy and are continuously updated and expanded. This author would like to think that the updating, together with any new addition, is cosmetic and is usually necessitated for making the lists appear more up-to-date and

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

610

more relevant to the changing time and changing demography. Delisting as a result of a fall from political grace is possible but rare; the few examples include Lin Biao, the former right-hand man of Chairman Mao, who had once been labelled a ‘model of learning from Mao’s works’.

In spite of their huge numbers, Chinese models are apparently of the same singular kind when analysed in terms of narrative. The epitome of them is Lei Feng, arguably the No. 1 all-time heavyweight of Chinese models who ‘read Mao’s works, listen to Mao’s words and are Mao’s good soldier’ (an iconic description of Lei Feng supposedly known to all Mainland Chinese), who are ‘pioneers of the revolution’ (an iconic description of what CCP members are supposed to be), who ‘serve the people heart and soul’ (one of Mao’s best-known maxims) and who ‘do only good deeds and nothing bad in the whole of their lives’ (which is what Mao prescribed models to be). They have different names, are sourced from either sex and from different age groups, origins and walks of life, and new additions, especially, bring a sense of freshness to the ranks. But they all fit into the same narrative structure, i.e., telling strikingly similar good-sounding stories.

The stories invariably follow a structurally familiar and cyclic narrative. There is a calamity (or crisis or difficulty) invariably caused by nature or by the enemy. The masses are disoriented and suffering. A hero or heroine, usually a CCP member or member-to-be, emerges and answers the call of the Party and the time. S/he remembers the Party’s teaching, immerses him/herself in the masses in order to understand their suffering and aspirations, to appraise the calamities and to formulate strategies (or solutions). Always guided and supported by the Party, s/he struggles against seemingly insurmountable odds and never gives up the good fight. S/he eventually leads the masses to one success after another, sometimes sacrificing him/herself and his/her own family in the process. Because of this, s/he proves to be a worthy model for the masses.

The following are three exemplary stories of how heroes/heroines become models. There are variations and twists in the details, but the narrative structure is largely generic. They appear to be typical of Chinese model stories. Cadeer is apparently a single exception which warrants an in-depth analysis, but first the typical narrative will be discussed.

First there is the story of Jiao Yulu, a long-standing model famous for being the ‘Party’s good cadre and People’s good son’. The story describes a famine caused by natural disasters in 1960–19623 and how the people of Lankao County were starving to death en masse. Called upon by the CCP, Jiao Yulu arrived, bringing with him Mao’s selected works, which inspired him whenever he encountered huge difficulties. He fought day and night ahead of and together with the people, not eating or sleeping much and not worrying about his worsening liver cancer until his last breath. His spirit motivated the people to eventually overcome the great famine

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

611

Looking for Cadeer

and build a better and happier homeland. He was awarded, posthumously, the title of ‘the model county Party head’ (see Wang 2009a).

Then there is the story of Longmei and Yurong, nicknamed ‘two little heroic sisters of the grassland’. The Mongolian family of Longmei and Yurong had been leading a better life since the CCP came and organised the farmers into a commune. But their newly improved life was threatened when a snowstorm struck suddenly and swept away a flock of sheep. Having been taught that the sheep belonged to the commune, the two little sisters went chasing after them, and were soon lost together, with the sheep, in the storm. The Party’s teachings encouraged them to fight on and overcome frostbite, bad falls, broken legs and the like, until they eventually prevailed over the storm, saving the sheep. After this, they went back to school and acquired more knowledge and worked even harder for the people. They became CCP members and, eventually, members of the 10th CCP Plenary Congress. From here, ‘they led the ethnic Mongolian people from one victory to another’ (Wang 2009b).

If the hero/heroines in the first two stories seem a bit dated, there is the story of Dawuti Ashimu, an Uyghur, the Party secretary of a Xinjiang village. The inclusion of yet another ethnic personality here is strategic, as it allows one to contrast this with Cadeer – also an Uyghur – the subject matter of this article. The story started on 24 February 2003, when an earthquake struck and inflicted huge casualties, including five dead and four wounded in Ashimu’s own family. He endured this painful loss and mobilised Party members in the village to work hard, collectively, to save other villagers and to start the rebuilding process. His leadership and hard work produced great outcomes, including new homes, expanded arable land, improved production and a better life for the villagers. For one thing, the net income of the village cooperative jumped from ¥21,000 before the quake to ¥350,000 after the quake. Because of his exceptional performance, he was elected to the membership of the 17th CCP Plenary Congress and was made a ‘model of workers nationwide’ (see Wang 2009c).

Against this common narrative, the story of Cadeer is a completely different one to tell. Yet he has become the new model and the hot currency of mainstream Chinese media. How different the story is will be discussed shortly, but first a short biography of the model will be presented.

Cadeer, a new model,4 an opportunity for a narrative variation

Bak Cadeer (not the other Cadeer, Rebiya, who makes a bad model by having been all over the world criticising the Chinese government in the wake of the Xinjiang ethnic riot), is a 75-year-old Uyghur peasant living in Langancun, a remote impoverished village in Kuqa County, 500 kilometres to the west of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In July 1967, a company from People’s Liberation

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

612

Army (PLA) Xinjiang Division was deployed on the edge of the desert bordering his village. As the only Uyghur understanding Mandarin, Cadeer offered his services as a translator between the army men and villagers, and witnessed the many good deeds (e.g., providing food supplies and medical services to the villagers) done by the PLA army men. Ever since then Cadeer has kept a diary, consisting of 1 170 entries, of the good services done by the PLA men for the benefit of the local villagers. The diary was first discovered in April 1993 and 13 years later, after repeated but deferred discoveries, Cadeer was eventually elevated to national modeldom.

Cadeer’s diary had been written in mostly plain Uyghur and recorded mainly the kind (type), quantity, time and venue of the PLA services. There was little emotional description, especially before the diary was discovered and brought into the public vision. Extract No 1 provides an example.

Extract No 1 (entered on 11 October 1967)

The wind is blowing, The army bordering on the village pulled three cartfuls of coal for the poor villagers, Which warmed up their clay-beds, So the villagers will not suffer the cold of the winter. The clay-beds are heated up and they are warm, And we are not cold anymore in the winter.

Largely because of his diary, Cadeer has become a model of national influence. In 2005, he appeared twice on CCTV – once as a feature story in an 83-episode serial documentary known as Meeting at Northwest Frontiers; and then as a news story in the influential 7pm National News. In December 2006, his diary was collected by the China Military Museum for exhibition. He is the theme of a five-act musical known as Uncle Cadeer’s Diary, which has been performed around the country, including a special performance staged by PLA General Political Department at the China Grand Theatre in Beijing on 23 January 2006. He is also the subject matter of Uncle Cadeer’s Diary, a film made and screened in 2009, and is a best-selling name in print media. Xinjiang People’s Publishing House published Cadeer and the legend of a village in two languages – a Chinese edition (Wang & Lu 2006) and an Uyghur edition (2008). The PLA Literature and Art Publishing House published a paperback edition of Cadeer’s diary (Chinese language edition 2007).

Since his more recent nationwide re-discovery, Cadeer’s diary has evolved in terms of length, content and style. As well as PLA services, which are recorded in ever more concise language (as exemplified in Extract Nos. 2 and 3), Cadeer now also records his own activities, socio-political engagements, emotions and changed life, written in much more elaborate and sophisticated language. The outcomes of

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

613

Looking for Cadeer

this evolution are obvious in Extract No. 4, and the elaboration and sophistication are especially plentiful in Extract No. 5.

Extract No 2 (entered on 12 July 2009)

PLA medical staff came to Langancun to treat villagers and handed out free medications.

Extract No 3 (entered on 29 July 2009)

PLA Brigade No 69071 came and gave regards and gifts to the village security guards.

Extract No 4 (entered on 23 August 2009)

Chairman Hu and Vice-Chairman Guo met me kindly today at 2.30pm local time, 4.30pm Beijing time.

Extract No 5 (entered on 23 January 2006)

…

It was my most exciting and unforgettable moment tonight. Secretary General Hu kindly met me on the ‘Army and People Loving Each Other Show’. He grasped my hand and said kindly: ‘We were all deeply touched by Uncle Cadeer’s diary, which is modelled on you. You have written over 1,000 entries of diary, truthfully recording the people-loving behaviour of PLA and reflecting the true love of the people for the Party, the Motherland and the People’s Army. You have made enormous contributions to the solidarity of the people and the army and to the unity of different nationalities. We thank you and must learn from you.’

At the time, I was so excited that I felt as if I was dreaming. I did not know what to say and I ended up saying repeatedly: ‘I thank Secretary General Hu! I thank the Party Leadership!’

While the influence of this new model on the public is unknown, within the supreme leadership this is apparently not so. Cadeer was granted three intimate audiences with Chairman Hu Jintao, the Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party. The first of these took place in 2006, when he was flown to Beijing to attend the musical premiere at the Grand Theatre performance. Also present was Chairman Hu, who walked up to him and had a friendly chat. Then on 10 September 2006, Cadeer was again chauffeured to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang to meet Chairman Hu. The most recent audience occurred on 23 August 2009, when Chairman Hu inspected

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

614

Xinjiang in the wake of the July 5th ethnic riots. On this last occasion, Chairman Hu said: ‘I have read your diary, which amounted to over 1 000 entries. I am deeply touched and hope you will write more’ (in Lu 2009a).

Cadeer found, then lost, and found again

But before his recent rise to national fame in 2005, Cadeer had been found, not once, but at least twice. The first discovery had taken place in 1993, when Kuqa sought to be named as a so-called ‘Double-Loves’ model county of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. ‘Double-Loves’ was an abbreviation of ‘army loving people and people loving army’, a political campaign that has been recurrent in modern China over its 60-year history. One of the projects designed for improving Kuqa’s chance was the making of a three-episode television serial entitled Hot Spring, which was intended to document the model activities of ‘Double Loves’ found within the jurisdiction of the county. Zhang Guoling and Mo Zhengming became involved, the former being director of Kuqa County Television and the latter being a television propagandist of the local PLA division. In the process of making the serial, they heard about Cadeer and his diary and eventually found him in the seemingly forsaken village of Langancun. They also sighted what was to be edited and published as Cadeer’s diary: scribbles made on a collection of scrap paper, including newspaper margins, envelopes, cigarette cartons, candy wraps, school handouts and leaflets. Zhang Guoling actually gifted a notebook to Cadeer, into which the latter was asked to re-enter all the scribbles in a chronological order. This was the diary China Military Museum collected in 2006.

This first discovery led to a number of works produced by Zhang and Mo, including a news story and the three-episode television serial Hot Spring. The former was read on Kuqa Radio and then published in Aksu Newspaper. The latter, which featured Cadeer and his diary in the third episode, was screened on Kuqa Television. But as it turned out, Kuqa failed in its bid for a ‘Double-Loves’ award in 1993, Hot Spring failed to reach beyond the county and Cadeer was soon lost from public view.

Cadeer, however, was found yet again in 1997. Mo was now working for the Television Centre of the Political Department of the Xinjiang PLA Division. His colleague, Qin Hong, was busy directing a three-episode television documentary entitled Soul of the Army in the Western Frontier. Mo told him about Cadeer and aroused his interest. As a result, the third episode (True Love All Over Xinjiang) delved into Cadeer’s diary. In the meantime, a special office was set up in Kuqa, dedicated to attaining for the county the honour of a regional model of ‘Double Loves’, and that office was placed under Zhang’s leadership. With the newly acquired power, Zhang continuously did what he could to promote Cadeer as a model of ‘Double Loves’.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

615

Looking for Cadeer

Thanks to the joint efforts of the PLA and Kuqa local government, the second discovery had a wider and greater impact beyond the jurisdiction of the county. Soul of the Army in the Western Frontier was screened on the national broadcaster CCTV in 1997. The documentary inspired CCTV to produce and screen its own story about Cadeer (Story of Langancun Village) later that same year. Then, in 1998, Kuqa was finally accredited as a ‘Double-Loves’ model county of Xinjiang Autonomous Region and Cadeer’s nomination as an ‘individual model’ of ‘Double Loves’ was also successful. However, after the momentous hype, Cadeer again faded from public view.

Cadeer was to be found a third time around 2003, when Kuqa re-intensified its pursuit of further honours. This time, it campaigned to be a ‘Double-Loves’ model county for the whole nation. As the campaign leader, Zhang again pushed Xinjiang PLA Division to be directly involved, having learned from the experiences of the second discovery of Cadeer that the latter had much easier access to national mass media, including CCTV. Specially trained propagandists commissioned by Xinjiang PLA Division authored a feature story entitled ‘Love of fish to water compressed into diaries of 36 years – how Cadeer, an old Uyghur, educates offspring to remember the kindness of the Party forever’ (Liang & Lv 2003), which was published in PLA Daily (i.e., the army’s national paper) on 9 January 2003. On the 20th of the same month, PLA Daily published another story about Cadeer (‘Flowers of double loves blossom together’) on its front page (see Li, Wang & Liang 2003: 1).

This time, the discovery of Cadeer as a model of national fame, however shallow it was, appeared more fruitful, and created a bigger bang. It led to the many massive media events mentioned earlier, including especially Cadeer’s many appearances on CCTV, the theatrical and cinematographic dramatisation of his story, and the publication of his diary in different editions. It culminated with the privilege and honour of three meetings with the supreme national leader. Yet a discerning observer may be prompted to wonder why this final discovery was so difficult and what may have deferred it.

What may have deferred his final discovery?

Timing and luck were perhaps not on Cadeer’s side, firstly. The list of nominees for ‘The 200 official models of China’ had been finalised in May 2009, well before the internationally known Xinjiang ethnic riot took place on 5 July of the same year. But, more importantly, Cadeer’s is a different story to tell. Perhaps it was not seen as a good or manageable story to tell in the eyes of Chinese media content composers. Nevertheless, as this author will go on to speculate, his fortune may eventually be improved to the point where he finally becomes a heavyweight model, just like Lei Feng, Jiao Yulun, Longmei/Rurong and Ashimu. But for that to happen, some

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

616

narrative reconstruction and restructuring must first be done about his personality, personal history and circumstances, which may have contributed to his deferred discovery and will continue to play against his chances – this, of course, is the author’s own assessment based on critical readings of available public information sourced from Chinese media.

For one thing, Cadeer has a meek, placid personality and has surrendered too much and too often in the face of natural disasters and man-made adversity. He lost his first love, a Russian expatriate, who was deported after relations between China and the former Soviet Union broke up in the 1960s. Because of the romance, he was to lose his political honour and many of his citizen’s rights during the Great Cultural Revolution, when he was labelled a ‘traitor’ and a ‘bad element’ and became the target of public humiliation and physical beatings in the village of Langancun. He lost his government job and all the privileges granted to a Chinese city resident in the 1970s, just because, incredibly, he did not have the money to pay for a bus ticket back to town after a visit to his mother’s sickbed, and because his staff card and educational qualifications had been burned during the Great Cultural Revolution. He again suffered a huge loss when two of his sons drowned during a flood. Last but not least, he almost lost the shelter above him and the bed under him. These serial and significant losses saddened him and motivated him to migrate to another village, where he was to be discriminated against, and as a result, he eventually returned to Langancun Village. He is a victim, a loser and as such it would be hard to imagine him possessing the kind of narrative qualities (a strong will, courage, perseverance and leadership qualities) required of a typical Chinese model.

For another thing, receiving goods and services (and the more recent political honours), as recorded in Cadeer’s diary, makes him and his fellow villagers look like hungry, perennial recipients of welfare and charity. Langancun is a small village of about 265 inhabitants situated approximately 21km north of Kuqa town, which is an outback county about 500km southwest of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, in northwest China. The village is out of the way and impoverished, with a per capita annual income of ¥2,318 in 2010 (Aksu Government 2010), which is equivalent to less than US$400 (comparable to the extreme poverty level of US$1/day, as defined by the United Nations). If the villagers had to depend on coal gifted by the PLA for cooking and heating in 1967, and continued having to be grateful for medication and other free gifts in 2009, it does not create a pretty picture for the country or the regime. It might well prompt both outsiders and insiders to think that minority nationalities continue to lead an impoverished life and that they continue to be disempowered as they look up gratefully to their charitable saviours and providers.

Furthermore, Cadeer’s personality may have appeared suspicious. Born an Uyghur, he was one of the few privileged to be educated in a Chinese school, and was the only literate person in the village. He was given a salaried job in the government but

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

617

Looking for Cadeer

then abandoned it for seemingly inexplicable reasons and settled as an impoverished peasant. He had a forbidden romance with a Russian girl and was classified a traitor. In other words, he has a history which is too complicated, colourful and controversial for him to be totally, unproblematically, trustworthy to the communists (and also to the Han Chinese).

Cadeer is on record a victim, a loser, a deserter, a recipient of charitable favours and a person who was ‘served’ (as opposed to serving the people). As such, his is not an ideal, good story to tell, compared to those more established national models who have, firstly, durable, undivided and unquestionable loyalty – ‘loyalty to the revolution and loyal to the Party’, as a popular slogan goes. Lei Feng (i.e., the epitome of Chinese role models), for example, was famed for ‘listening to Mao’s words and being Mao’s good soldier’. They all have a flawless history of dedicating, and sometimes even sacrificing, their whole lives to the cause of the Party. Lei Feng was well known for ‘serving people heart and soul’ and Jiao Yulu famously worked till his last breath for the Party’s cause of saving and serving the people. They are all unyielding fighters when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Longmei and Yurong (i.e., the ‘two little heroic sisters of the grassland’) legendarily fought with their lives against snowstorms to save state property without showing a single sign of weakness.

Compared to typical Chinese models enshrined for giving their heart, soul, health and life to the Party’s cause, Cadeer’s rise thus far to modeldom has already been a miracle. It can be explained only through a political motive, namely, mobilising him to make interethnic relations look more harmonious than they are (or in other words, to alleviate interethnic tension) in China. As to whether his rise can continue, ultimately, to join the company of Lei Feng, Jiao Yulu, Longmei and Yurong, it seems difficult but not impossible, as it will depend on how the interethnic tension plays out between Han Chinese, the national political/military apparatus on the one hand, and especially Uyghurs and Tibetans on the other. Perhaps Cadeer will be needed even more in the future if interethnic relations take a turn for the worse. His extraordinary value is evident in the following evaluation given by Major General Li Jinai, Director of the National Political Department of the PLA, in regard to his naming as a model of ‘Double-Loves’:

The good deeds of PLA were recorded in such detail that the diary looks like an inventory placed in front of your eyes. Most important of all, the diary reflects the love of PLA and the Party by the people of all nationalities. It condenses the deep water-to-fish love between PLA and the people, the equality and harmony between people of different nationalities and the close solidarity between the Party and the masses. A small diary radiates enormous significance, gathers massive power and exudes the spirits of the time.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

618

Conclusion: What do the prolonged search and deferred

discovery tell us?

It is 13 years of continuous effort that has escalated Cadeer to where he is now and it is about 19 years since he was first discovered. What does such an extended search or, more precisely, a prolonged discovery tell us? It tells us interesting things about ever-changing China, especially with regard to the use of models for mass persuasion, the construction of models, media operation and the handling of ethnic relations in the country today.

First of all, the discovery and rediscovery of Cadeer reflects the importance of the use of models for the purpose of mass persuasion in China. Though models are always plentiful, the honours lists must be constantly expanded and updated following a search for new blood. This search involves unyielding determination and several smart strategies. But the outcome eventually proves fruitful, thanks to tireless efforts, on all levels, to discover new candidates from all corners of the country. Furthermore, the approval of the supreme leader may be the ticket for anyone wishing to rise to national modeldom. This, together with the fact that Cadeer has been selected as a model even though he tells an atypical story, reinforces the idea that modelling in China is a political process with political consequences.

In relation to the construction of models, Cadeer serves as a modern-day test case of official Chinese national models. The test provides side-evidence reconfirming the homogeneity of the models as far as their story is concerned. Only people who completely fit into the single narrative can be admitted into official modeldom. Exception is possible only where there is absolutely necessary political justification, as in the case of Cadeer in the wake of a nation-rocking riot.

With regard to the Chinese media, as well as reflecting a hunger for and obsession with models, the deferred discovery of Cadeer is a sign of changing times and a changing media environment in China. In the past, the mass media would simply have been told to concoct lies and would be organised to make a perfect model out of Cadeer. These days, anyone wishing to do this would have to be very careful. If they actually endeavoured to do so, it would be extremely difficult.5 A sizable population of media practitioners now even sees it as their duty to crack open lies and expose fake models in print as well as in online outlets. Not to mention the fact that media consumers have become too smart to be taken for a ride. In the case of Cadeer, initial coverage of him via the mass media was barely minimal, which must have been responsible for his quick disappearance from the public view after his initial discovery. At least until the supreme leadership got involved and intervened, that is.

As to ethnic relations in current China, Cadeer’s final rise to modeldom serves at least as a piece of circumstantial evidence suggesting that there is tension between different nationalities in the country, and that the tension is becoming increasingly

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

619

Looking for Cadeer

strained. There is no other rational explanation for enshrining Cadeer as a model for the whole of the Chinese population to replicate. It may even be possible to conceive an argument that portraying Cadeer as a model for everyone to imitate is politically risky and morally corrupt. Politically, it is a telling sign that some Chinese minority nationalities continue to live on free handouts. Morally, it teaches people to be served rather than to serve others. Worse, modelling Cadeer may contribute to ethnic peoples in China becoming a disempowered ‘welfare’ community, just as aboriginals in Australia have become.

Last but not least, Chinese public opinion generators and communicators may yet have to discover and develop new and more credible narratives to articulate changing realities. For example, now that homogeneous good-sounding stories have begun to appear more and more outdated and irrelevant, and alternative stories based on the grateful but passive receipt of welfare appear unconvincing, new and credible narratives are needed to facilitate the search for and construction of models which will be useful for inspiring the people of the country.

Notes

1. This paper was authored during a special studies programme funded by the University of New South Wales and hosted by Kazmie Wielke University and Wyzsza Szkol Gospodarki University. The author would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor John Kearns, Professor Carl Wood and Professor Ewa Fryska for their kind hospitality and for organising seminars and lectures, one of which was based on this article.

2. More information about the 200 models can be found at the Xinhua News web page. See http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/sbpx/cover.htm (accessed 29 September 2009).

3. It is well known internationally that Mao’s Great Leap Forward of 1959 was at least partially responsible for the famine, but natural disasters have always been officially cited as the cause.

4. The biographical information about Cadeer presented in this article is sourced from published Chinese print and electronic media, including especially Lu (2009a and b).

5. In this article on Cadeer, the author does not intend to discuss how hard it has become to tell blatant lies and how some Chinese media professionals are dedicated to exposing lies. An example will suffice for now. When a local government tried to concoct a story about live tigers found in the wilderness in Shaanxi Province, media professionals from all over the country were mobilised to expose the lie and they eventually succeeded in forcing the authorities concerned to issue an apology and to bring the culprits to a judicial trial.

References

Aksu Government. 2010. 库车县栏杆村 (Langancun, Kuqa County). Aksu Government official web page. http://zt.aks.gov.cn/mhjy/page.asp?id=960 (accessed 3 May 2012).

Barthes, R. 1970. Mythologies. Paris: Seuil.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2

Yong Zhong

620

Cadeer, B. 2007. Cadeer’s diary. Beijing: PLA Literature and Art Publishing House.Fisher, W.R. 1984. Narration as a human communication paradigm: the case of public moral

argument. Communication Monographs 52: 347–367.Fisher, W.R. 1987. Human communication as a narration: toward a philosophy of reason,

value, and action. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.Huang, S., ed. 2009. 中宣部负责同志就“双百”评选活动答记者问 (Central Communist

Party Propaganda Department Head Addresses Press Conference regarding ‘The 200 official models of China’). Xinhua News. from:http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-06/01/content_11562309.htm (accessed 29 September 2009).

Li, F.M., Y.X. Wang and Y.L. Liang. 2003. 边疆盛开双拥花 (Flowers of double loves blossom together), People’s Liberation Army Daily, 20 January: 1. http://www.pladaily.com.cn/big5/pladaily/2003/01/20/20030120001003.html

Liang, Y.L and Z.Q. Lv. 2003. 三十六载日记浓缩鱼水深情———维吾尔族老人卡德尔教育后代永记党恩 (Love of fish to water compressed into diaries of 36 years – how Cadeer, an old Uyghur, educates offspring to remember the kindness of the Party forever). People’s Liberation Army Daily, 9 January: 1.

Lu, Y.P. 2009a. A Xinjiang model thirteen years in the making: how Cadeer achieved fame. South Weekend Weekly, 2 September: D21–D27.

Lu, Y.P. 2009b. True Cadeer. South Weekend Weekly, 2 September: D27.Merton, R.K. 1946. Mass persuasion. New York: Harper and Brothers. Obama, B. 2009. Prepared remarks of President Barack Obama: back to school event.

White House media release. http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/ (accessed 20 September 2009).

Stone, L. 1979. The revival of narrative: reflections on a new old history. Past and Present 85: 3–24.

Wang, Y.C and Y.P. Lu. 2006. Cadeer and legend of a village. Xinjing: Xinjiang People’s Publishing House.

Wang, Z.J., ed. 2009a. 新中国成立以来感动中国人物：焦裕禄 (Jiao Yulu: one of those who moved the country since the founding of new China). Xinhua News. http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/11/content_12034135.htm (accessed 29 September 2009).

Wang, Z.J., ed. 2009b. 新中国成立以来感动中国人物：草原英雄小姐妹 (Heroic sisters of the grassland: two of those who moved the country since the founding of new China). Xinhua News. http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/11/content_12034030.htm (accessed 29 September 2009).

Wang, Z.J., ed. 2009c. 新中国成立以来感动中国人物：阿西木 (Ashimu: one of those who moved the country since the founding of new China). Xinhua News. http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/11/content_12033551.htm (accessed 29 September 2009).

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

UN

SW L

ibra

ry]

at 1

8:56

07

Oct

ober

201

2