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.