On Yan Lianke's "On China's State-Sponsored Amnesia"
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/opinion/on-chinas-state-sponsored-amnesia.html
“The mind of the state is keeping a watchful eye on the windows and what people are writing, but no one is allowed to keep a watchful eye on the mind of the state.”
Are there not those who are trying to understand what the Chinese regime is thinking? Are there not those trying to “keep a watchful eye on the mind of the state?” Certainly there are. There is a question to what extent we are able to peer into that opaque dark place but do not doubt that there are many for many disparate reasons who are trying to understand what is going on inside of that black box.
First, I acknowledge that this is a compelling and brave statement by a Chinese writer to make. If the following cannot excite and enrage to the point of action, then I fear that little can:
“The state prefers the intelligence of its people to remain at the level of children in a kindergarten. It hopes people will follow instructions, just as children follow their teacher’s instructions — they eat when they are told to eat, they sleep when they are told to sleep. When they are asked to perform, these innocent children enthusiastically recite the script prepared by adults.”
Yet, despite this, I have serious qualms about the diagnosis and prescription offered here. I believe that Yan errs in his depiction of the nature of the dystopia in which he resides. His vision is one of complete state control, with actions taking place for reasons of perpetuating that rule, where the main action is deletion. The Ministry of Truth deletes inconvenient facts. While this side of the regime is certainly present, and for a writer is likely a compelling one, in many ways the Orwellian 1984 dystopia is an ill fit for contemporary China. Closer, I would argue, is Huxley’s Brave New World. Deletion is a powerful political tool of the regime, but distraction is an even more significant one. The quote above is certainly accurate, but would it not be improved if the subject were expanded from the state to the entirety of the elite class? Does Wahaha really want individuals to think about why they are paying for water rather than being able to drink from the tap? While instructions are given, certainly on political topics, most communication is about depicting the good life as a consumer. Instructions make way for examples of people enjoying lives of luxury. Hard work yields economic success which translates into respect, love, comfort, and fulfillment.
Even this discussion assumes that humans are mainly political animals, constantly deciding whether to rebel or comply with states, rather than only occasionally and often reluctantly so. Subjects stare and pay attention to an Orwellian omnipresent state that forces all to observe its omnipotence, whereas most people would happily go about living their lives, choosing what restaurants to eat at, what movies to watch, what smartphones to buy, what beauty exists in a sunset, and what love is found in one's family and friends. Most people at most times to not need to be distracted to ignore the high politics of a country's leaders and laws.
“I used to assume history and memory would always triumph over temporary aberrations and return to their rightful place. It now appears the opposite is true. In today’s China, amnesia trumps memory. Lies are surpassing the truth. Fabrications have become the logical link to fill historical gaps. Even memories of events that have only just taken place are being discarded at a dazzling pace, with barely intelligible fragments all that remain for people to hold on to.”
What an optimistic assumption! At some level, the entire metaphor of amnesia is misguided. The Chinese people are a collection of a vast sea of individuals. Each has their own memories. Future generations will only know snippets of the past, and to assume that they will have as complete a knowledge of the past as their forebears who lived through these events is an impossible standard. Of course the regime is attempting to mold memories of those who lived and patrol what is said so that certain moments are forgotten rather than remembered.
