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Exhibition
Picturing Power:
Art and Propaganda in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
31.1.-28.2.2001 Universitätsmuseum Heidelberg
Peel off the Mask of the “Sage Confucius”
Baokai “Kong shengren” de
huapi
Unknow artist
1974, Beijing
A cartoon unmasks Confucius and his
teachings as feudal and outmoded. Early in
1974, a surge of anti-Confucius essays
criticized his life, teachings, and philosophy.
Confucius was said to advocate fatalism and
predestination, claiming that humans could not
change what was willed by heaven.
Confucius’ categorizing of people into
superior (intellectuals and officials) and
inferior (workers and peasants) was also in
direct contradiction to Mao’s faith in the
power of the masses. Children’s books and
cartoons were common vehicles for political
propaganda in the CR period. Here, a poster
incorporates a series of cartoon book-like
images.
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