| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 社會與文化研究所 === 107 === In today’ s studies of China’ s Cultural Revolution, there are continuous and controversial arguments on the mass movements at that time. Quite a few researchers take the concept of totalitarianism as a theoretical model to explain the Cultural Revolution and even socialist China. While some scholars may straightly equate China after 1949 with a state under totalitarian rule, Hannah Arendt keeps a cautious eye on China issues in her prestigious discourses on totalitarianism, thus leaving much room for further investigations. Besides, it can be seen in Arendt’ s discussions on revolution, which is extended from her discourses on totalitarianism, that she has a strong interest in the socialist system and potential revolutions within. For these two reasons, it is possible for us to start with Arendt’ s thoughts to discuss the mass movements in the Cultural Revolution. This thesis, then, takes Shanghai workers’ rebellion in the Cultural Revolution as the research object, trying to explore both the logic of mobilization and the political significance of the Cultural Revolution when it is considered in Arendt’ s sense.
There are two essential questions asked here: 1. What lives did Shanghai workers live as individuals and groups before and during the Cultural Revolution? What factors worked on the organization of these people? Did the mobilization reflect the core concept of “ socially atomized” in Arendt’ s discourses on totalitarianism? 2. Did the nature of revolution achieve itself in Shanghai workers’ rebellion since the movement was developed in the so-called name of Cultural Revolution? Did any new form of government that Arendt advocates passionately for its reflection of humans’ spontaneity and creativity emerge in the rebellion? To answer these questions, the thesis is structured into three parts, namely the introduction, three main body chapters, and the conclusion. Following the Introduction, Chapter Two firstly uses Shanghai workers’ strikes in 1957 as an example to represent Shanghai workers’ lives characterized by inner stratification in Danwei systems and trade unions, which opens the door to the subsequent Cultural Revolution. This chapter also briefly introduces five decisive events related to the rebellion in chronological order. Using The Origins of Totalitarianism as a source of thought, Chapter Three discusses such factors as propaganda, leader cult, ideology on their effective roles in the mobilization of Shanghai workers. It is illustrated in this chapter that Shanghai in the Cultural Revolution has not been overwhelmed by a total control in Arendt’ s sense. Most of all, it is inadequate to use the concept of “ socially atomized” as a complete reference to Shanghai workers’ interrelations in those years. In the theoretical framework of Arendt’ s discussions on revolution, Chapter Four takes the establishment and renaming of Shanghai Commune as a clue to see if Shanghai workers have built any new government in the rebellion, through which we can learn whether the Cultural Revolution as a whole has embodied the nature of revolution. Furthermore, the discussions in this chapter reveal the entanglements of political and social structures in the Cultural Revolution and the years before. The last chapter summarizes the thesis with a statement that Shanghai workers’ rebellion in the Cultural Revolution and even the Revolution itself were launched and promoted by both structural factors and initiative actions of the Subject. And therefore, we shall not blame the Cultural Revolution on any single element. As for the questions of how to have further dialogues with Arendt’ s thoughts and to conduct more meaningful researches on the Cultural Revolution, it remains an uphill journey in the foreseeable future.
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