Unruly Voices

In Unruly Voices, Zhao Ma traces the origins of contemporary China's propaganda apparatus to the Korean War. Often dubbed the Forgotten War by US historians, the Korean War in fact represented a critical turning point in Chinese foreign policy. Not only was the newborn revolutionary state waging war for a new ally, North Korea, but it was also doing so as a new member of the Soviet-led Communist coalition against a new adversary, the United States. For the nascent Chinese government, a critical task was mobilizing the support of its people for the war: curbing historical anti-Korean sentiment, encouraging pro-Soviet collaboration, stoking anti-Americanism.

Going beyond a "history of the headquarters," Ma shifts attention to the efforts of lesser-known officials and activists working at municipal, district, and neighborhood levels. He shows how they built a nationwide propaganda network that, ultimately, collided with a resilient oral culture where rumors, skepticism, and dissent were communicated horizontally. In delving into the history of the Communist Party's attempts to integrate the public into a new, top-down political communication model, Ma uncovers the foundations of an information regime that endures today.