The Road of Rejuvenation: a lesson in Chinese history, according to the CPC

As I mentioned in my previous post about my visit to the Chinese National Museum, the one of the main exhibits, entitled "The Road to Rejuvenation," chronicles Chinese modern history from 1840 onwards. However, to call it it an historically accurate exhibit would be quite a stretch, a point highlighted in a New York Times article entitled, "At China's Grand New Museum, History Toes the Party Line."

Now of course, in general, national history museums of any country, not just China, are not the best places to go when searching for the most accurate historical accounts of a nation's history. However, the exhibit on modern Chinese history seems to take historical revisionism and blatant pro-Chinese Communist Party propaganda to a new level.

Inside the exhibit, which is aptly named, "The Road of Rejuvenation," you can find plenty of flaunting of what the CPC (the Communist Party of China) considers it's greatest achievements, including mementos from China's first voyage into space in 2008. But you'd be hard pressed to find any actual mention of any of their failures, such as The Great Leap Forward and the resulting famine, Tian'anmen Square Massacre or the Cultural Revolution.

Perhaps the best part about this very biased exhibit however, is the very bombastic language used in their explanations. Many of the statements in the summaries and captions seem straight out of a bad Communist Party propaganda novel. Needless to say, I found many of them highly amusing and almost made my two hour wait in line worth it.

Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead so I have no (good) pictures to share with you, but I had my cell phone camera to help me record some of crazy things written in the exhibit.

Below are some quotes from the exhibit. I think there are some real gems in there and you'll find them as amusing as I did. Enjoy!

• "The Chinese nation is a great nation whose people are industrious, courageous, intelligent and peace-loving and have made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization."

• "'The Road of Rejuvenation' is a permanent exhibition showcasing the explorations made by the Chinese people form all walks of life who, after being reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society..., rose in resistance against humiliation and misery, and tried in every way possible to rejuveniate the nation"

• "Today, the Chinese nation is standing firm in the east, facing a brilliant future of great rejuvenation. The long-cherished dream and aspiration of the Chinese people will surely come to reality."

• "...the imperial powers descended on China like a swarm of bees, looting our treasures and killing our people."

• "In order to safeguard the country's sovereignty and defend the nation's dignity, the Chinese people unflinchingly attacked the foreign invaders, foiling the imperialist powers' plot to subjugate China"

• "The founding of the CPC was an earth-shattering event that brought new vitality to the Chinese revolution"

• "Chiang Kai-shek and other KMT Rightists betrayed the revolution, and the mighty Great Revolution ended in failure."

• "With the nation in dire peril, the CPC proposed the formation of an anti-Japanese national united front based on cooperation between the CPC and the KMT, and the CPC became the nation's tower of strength in the war of resistance." [In reference to KMT and the CPC joining forces to fight the Japanese during WWII]

• "The KMT faction...adhered to its reactionary policy of autocratic rule and civil war, and the CPC carried out a postive struggle for peace and democracy." [In reference to the Chinese revolution after WWII]

• "After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the three big mountains of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism, which had long oppressed the Chinese people, were overthrown and national independence, liberation of the people and the great unity of China's ethnic groups were achieved, opening a new era in the history of the Chinese nation."

• "Building socialism in china is the inevitable outcome of the course of modern Chinese history."

• "The CPC led the people of all of China's ethnic groups to painstakingly explore the laws of socialist development, and clearly set forth the great goal of achieving the four modernizations."

• [In reference to "New China's" international standing and policies] "New China adhered to an independent foreign policy of peace, broke the imperialist blockade, opposed hegemonism, and power politics, strengthened its unity and...strove to preserve world peace and crated a favorable external environment for domestic development."

• "The CPC central collective leadership with Comrade Deng Xiaopeng as its core thoroughly reviewed its lessons from its experiences in socialist construction, emancipated their media, sought truth from facts...and blazed the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics."

• "Standing at a new historical starting point, the CPC central collective leadership...It strives to keep up with new developments...grasp strategic opportunities in this important period, stay realistic and pragmatic, and make pioneering efforts..It is working hard to promote scientific development and social harmony, improving the socialist market economy, and resolutely carrying forward the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics while building a moderately prosperous society in all respects."

• "Over the past one hundred years and more, the Chinese people have written a magnificent epic of solidarity, struggle, self-improvement and resilience."

•  "Since the founding of the Communist Part of China ninety years ago, under the strong leadership of the CPC, our great nation has successfully achieved many historic changes: from a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society to a brand new society of national independence and rule of the people..."

• "Socialism the only way to save China, and reform and opening-up is the only way to develop China, develop socialism and develop Marxism"

• "Standing on this new historic point and facing the future, one cannot but feel the weight of mission on our shoulders. We shall closely unite around the CPC central leadership...[and build] a moderately prosperous society"

Overall, very amusing, no?