Anthropology of Power and Maoism by Andrew

Anthropology of Power and Maoism by Andrew Kipnis

China in the 20th century had been under the reformist political system of Communism, where Mao Zedong, its first leader, led to country towards Cultural Revolution. Under Mao's leadership, Chinese society has been transformed into a Socialist society, which became possible through the peasant revolution, since Socialism decrees that social changes include the rise of peasant leadership (the proletariat class) over the elite (bourgeoisie class).

Indeed, Mao's influence as the great Communist leader of one of the biggest and most powerful Communist countries in the world had permeated the lives of every Chinese of the 20th century. That is why anthropologists, seeking to understand the anthropology of power under Mao's leadership, conducted research that looked into power relations and dynamics during and after Mao's reign as leader of China. In Kipnis' study on the anthropology of power and Maoism in China, he analyzes five primary research conducted by U.S. anthropologists prior to the leader's death. Using meta-analysis as his tool for analysis and interpretation, Kipnis uncovered the different facets of power in the context of Maoism. The following are the units of analysis of Kipnis' study: Helen Siu, Mayfair Mei-Hui Yang, Robert Weller, Ann Anagnost, and Judith Farquhar.

In Helen Siu's study of the anthropology of power under Maoism, the center of discussion is the dynamics of power relation within the civil society during and after Mao's leadership in China. Siu looked into the "multifaceted relationship between the central state and local society under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)." The author illustrates how power has not dissolved, but instead, transferred from Mao to the elites, who remained in power even during Mao's leadership. Her study also discovered the development of the culture of loyalty to authority as the society's reaction to Mao's control of China for almost 30 years. This culture of loyalty to authority impeded social development of the Chinese society, especially society, since it further made Communist leaders and "[p]owerful patrons like Mao ... elevated to superhuman stature." While Siu focused on the effects of power under Maoism, Anagnost and Farquhar centered their analysis on the cultural perspective of power, as reflected in the narratives of Chinese people, particularly the peasants. One popular finding of the study showed how social realities of people are developed through "suku" or speaking bitterness, where people are "taught t publicly describe their sufferings in terms of revolutionary categories of class and exploitation." This technique cultivated once more the culture of loyalty to Communism, especially to its leaders.