The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia as an example of a ... more The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia as an example of a socialist globalization, i.e. an attempt of the PRC to propagate in the socialist bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned.
The paper analyses depiction of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl, a Czech archaeologist an... more The paper analyses depiction of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl, a Czech archaeologist and art historian, who visited it in late 1957 and early 1958; in comparison with the official portrayal of the ‘Middle Kingdom’ in published books (e.g., Mináč, Hoffmeiser). The contribution focuses on the contrast between the stereotyped and schematic state sanctioned portrayal of socialist China and the more personal perspective of texts not intended for publication.
The paper analyses the image of Taiwan in Czechoslovakia during the 1950s in travelogues and news... more The paper analyses the image of Taiwan in Czechoslovakia during the 1950s in travelogues and newspapers of the period. The shared ideology of the Czechoslovak Republic and the People’s Republic of China, and close relations within the socialist camp quickly resulted in a wide-scale political, economic and cultural cooperation. These ties included official visits of a number of prominent Czech and Slovak pro-regime Communist writers and journalists in mainland China during the 1950s. Although none of these authors ever visited the Republic of China, Taiwan is repeatedly mentioned in these texts as a typical narrative strategy of these officially sanctioned travelogues was the construction of dichotomy in a spatial sense (here/China versus there/Taiwan). The paper focuses on typical negative images associated with Taiwan in these writings as well as other sources (poetry, newspapers Rudé právo and Pravda).
The article analyses the perception of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl (who visited China... more The article analyses the perception of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl (who visited China in September 1957 - February 1958) in the context of official travelogues published by various Czech and Slovak writers during the 1950s. The introductory part deals with Czechoslovak-Chinese political, economic and cultural relations in the early period after the establishment of diplomatic relations in October 1949. The focus of the article is on the central themes of these travel accounts; namely, the sense of comradeship and brotherhood, and the construction of both temporal (past versus present) and spatial (here/China versus there/Taiwan) dichotomies. The author highlights Jisl’s critical approach in his uncensored private diary and he illustrates the gap between the official perspective (for instance of the National Day October 1 celebrations in Beijing or the bridge across Yangtze River in Wuhan) as recorded in the published travelogues and Jisl’s sober and often sarcastic descriptions. The detailed analysis of the image of Chinese society in the diary of Lumír Jisl proves that it is a valuable primary source for the modern Chinese history as well as for the modus operandi of numerous official visits from friendly socialist countries before the Sino-Soviet split. In: Čínský deník [Chinese Diary], ed. by Luboš Bělka and Pavel Šindelář. Brno, MuniPress 2016.
The Myth of Princess Wencheng in Sino-Tibetan Relations
The paper discusses the role of the Chine... more The Myth of Princess Wencheng in Sino-Tibetan Relations The paper discusses the role of the Chinese princess Wencheng in the history of Sino-Tibetan Relations. Wencheng got married to the Tibetan ruler Songtsen Gampo in 641 A.D. and her marriage represents a typical example of the so called policy of matrimonial alliances (Chin. heqin). However, the Chinese sources of the periodc (e.g., Jiu Tang shu, Xin Tang shu), which reflect the Sinocentric perception of their authors, described this marriage within the rhetoric of the “civilizing mission”. In contrast, later (13th to 14th cent.) Tibetan sources presented Wencheng as the zealous propagator of Buddhism in Central Tibet. Princess Wencheng was “reincarnated” by Chinese propaganda in the 2nd half of the 20th century, when the Chinese government faced the task to produce a new narrative of Sino-Tibetan relations which would strengthen their “historical claim” for rule of Tibet. In this process, princess Wencheng has played a crucial role as she has been portrayed as the pioneer of close and harmonious relations between China and Tibet.
The East Wind Prevails? Chinese Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia
The paper discusses the prom... more The East Wind Prevails? Chinese Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward as an example of a socialist (or red) globalization, i.e. an attempt of the People’s Republic of China to propagate in the Socialist Bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative (and high speed) path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works (internal report, research papers, his newspaper articles, book) written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958 as an official guest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned. With the Sino-Soviet split after summer 1960 the perception of the Great Leap Forward underwent a dramatic U-turn and China became an ideological enemy.
The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions in a number of travelogues written by Czec... more The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Chinese or religious studies) who visited the People’s Republic of China as official guests of the Beijing government during the 1950s (e. g. V. Mináč, A. Hoffmeiser, V. Ferko, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha, R. Moric, M. Pujmanová). The description of monasteries and temples in these writings is usually marginal, but it reflects various stereotyped images of the Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, religion as a product of an oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as a tool which should have persuaded the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia in 1950 were correct and represented a component in a large and rightful historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Hungarian authors (namely Tibor ... more This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Hungarian authors (namely Tibor Toncz, Lajos Vincze, Pál Gombó, Ferenc Lóvaszi, László Salgó and József Lengyel) during the 1950s, the period of the closest cultural and political cooperation between these two socialist countries. These authors, pro-regime writers and journalists, visited China as official guests and in their travelogues they provide a very idealistic and positive picture of China repeatedly laying stress on the propagation of proletarian internationalism and the shared ideological underpinnings of both regimes. The goal of these works was to familiarize their readers with the situation in China and mobilize solidarity with this distant country at home in Hungary. As noted in the concluding part, many of the features characteristic for these travelogues can be found in similar works written about China in the 1950s by Czechoslovak authors.
The paper discusses the depiction of Tibetan Buddhism in a number of travelogues written by Czech... more The paper discusses the depiction of Tibetan Buddhism in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Tibetan or religious studies) who visited China and Mongolia as official guests in the 1950s. The descriptions of monasteries and temples in these writings (authored by A. Hoffmeiser, R. Moric, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha, K. Beba, V. Sís and J. Vaniš) reflect various stereotyped images of the Marxist critical approaches towards religion as well as some Western negative prejudices about “Lamaism”. The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in 1950s in these travelogues served also as an instrument which should have persuaded the Czechoslovak readership that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia since 1950 were correct. In the concluding part, the author notes that the Czechoslovak (as well as Soviet) criticism of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional Tibet in general preceded even the Chinese negative portrayals of pre-1950 Tibet.
This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Slovak and Czech authors during ... more This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Slovak and Czech authors during the 1950s, the period of the closest cultural and political cooperation between these two socialist countries. Its focus is on the central themes of these travel accounts; namely, the sense of comradeship and brotherhood, and the construction of both temporal (past versus present) and spatial (here/China versus there/Taiwan) dichotomies. These narrative strategies were regularly employed by the authors who were pro-regime writers and journalists in order to familiarize their readers with the situation in China and mobilize solidarity with this distant country at home in Czechoslovakia. The image of China in these writings epitomizes a deliberate effort to eliminate traditional Orientalist clichés and it suppresses the exoticising perspective in favour of the propagation of proletarian internationalism and the shared ideological underpinnings of both regimes.
The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions (including Tibetan Buddhism) in a number o... more The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions (including Tibetan Buddhism) in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Chinese or religious studies) who visited the People’s Republic of China as official guests of the government in 1950s. These authors (e.g. V. Mináč, A. hoffmeiser, V. Ferko, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha and M. Pujmanová) published travelogues about their stay in China. The description of monasteries and temples in these writings is usually marginal, but it reflects various stereotyped images of Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, a product of oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as an instrument which was supposed to persuade the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia from 1950 were correct and represented a part of a large and just historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
»Like a Fish in a Fishbowl«—Unpublished Typescript of Milan Ferko About his Journey to China in D... more »Like a Fish in a Fishbowl«—Unpublished Typescript of Milan Ferko About his Journey to China in December 1964 The article discusses the presentation of China in the unpublished typescript written by the Slovak writer and journalist Milan Ferko who visited China in December 1964 as an official guest. The authors deal with the positive idealized image of China in socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, then focus on the changes after the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s. Finally, an edited version of the Ferko typescript (June 1966) is provided.
In: Talking Literature: Essays on Chinese and Biblical Writings and their Interaction, ed. by Rao... more In: Talking Literature: Essays on Chinese and Biblical Writings and their Interaction, ed. by Raoul David Findeisen and Martin Slobodník. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2013, pp. 101–121.
The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia as an example of a ... more The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia as an example of a socialist globalization, i.e. an attempt of the PRC to propagate in the socialist bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned.
The paper analyses depiction of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl, a Czech archaeologist an... more The paper analyses depiction of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl, a Czech archaeologist and art historian, who visited it in late 1957 and early 1958; in comparison with the official portrayal of the ‘Middle Kingdom’ in published books (e.g., Mináč, Hoffmeiser). The contribution focuses on the contrast between the stereotyped and schematic state sanctioned portrayal of socialist China and the more personal perspective of texts not intended for publication.
The paper analyses the image of Taiwan in Czechoslovakia during the 1950s in travelogues and news... more The paper analyses the image of Taiwan in Czechoslovakia during the 1950s in travelogues and newspapers of the period. The shared ideology of the Czechoslovak Republic and the People’s Republic of China, and close relations within the socialist camp quickly resulted in a wide-scale political, economic and cultural cooperation. These ties included official visits of a number of prominent Czech and Slovak pro-regime Communist writers and journalists in mainland China during the 1950s. Although none of these authors ever visited the Republic of China, Taiwan is repeatedly mentioned in these texts as a typical narrative strategy of these officially sanctioned travelogues was the construction of dichotomy in a spatial sense (here/China versus there/Taiwan). The paper focuses on typical negative images associated with Taiwan in these writings as well as other sources (poetry, newspapers Rudé právo and Pravda).
The article analyses the perception of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl (who visited China... more The article analyses the perception of China in the travel diary of Lumír Jisl (who visited China in September 1957 - February 1958) in the context of official travelogues published by various Czech and Slovak writers during the 1950s. The introductory part deals with Czechoslovak-Chinese political, economic and cultural relations in the early period after the establishment of diplomatic relations in October 1949. The focus of the article is on the central themes of these travel accounts; namely, the sense of comradeship and brotherhood, and the construction of both temporal (past versus present) and spatial (here/China versus there/Taiwan) dichotomies. The author highlights Jisl’s critical approach in his uncensored private diary and he illustrates the gap between the official perspective (for instance of the National Day October 1 celebrations in Beijing or the bridge across Yangtze River in Wuhan) as recorded in the published travelogues and Jisl’s sober and often sarcastic descriptions. The detailed analysis of the image of Chinese society in the diary of Lumír Jisl proves that it is a valuable primary source for the modern Chinese history as well as for the modus operandi of numerous official visits from friendly socialist countries before the Sino-Soviet split. In: Čínský deník [Chinese Diary], ed. by Luboš Bělka and Pavel Šindelář. Brno, MuniPress 2016.
The Myth of Princess Wencheng in Sino-Tibetan Relations
The paper discusses the role of the Chine... more The Myth of Princess Wencheng in Sino-Tibetan Relations The paper discusses the role of the Chinese princess Wencheng in the history of Sino-Tibetan Relations. Wencheng got married to the Tibetan ruler Songtsen Gampo in 641 A.D. and her marriage represents a typical example of the so called policy of matrimonial alliances (Chin. heqin). However, the Chinese sources of the periodc (e.g., Jiu Tang shu, Xin Tang shu), which reflect the Sinocentric perception of their authors, described this marriage within the rhetoric of the “civilizing mission”. In contrast, later (13th to 14th cent.) Tibetan sources presented Wencheng as the zealous propagator of Buddhism in Central Tibet. Princess Wencheng was “reincarnated” by Chinese propaganda in the 2nd half of the 20th century, when the Chinese government faced the task to produce a new narrative of Sino-Tibetan relations which would strengthen their “historical claim” for rule of Tibet. In this process, princess Wencheng has played a crucial role as she has been portrayed as the pioneer of close and harmonious relations between China and Tibet.
The East Wind Prevails? Chinese Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia
The paper discusses the prom... more The East Wind Prevails? Chinese Great Leap Forward in Czechoslovakia The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward as an example of a socialist (or red) globalization, i.e. an attempt of the People’s Republic of China to propagate in the Socialist Bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative (and high speed) path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works (internal report, research papers, his newspaper articles, book) written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958 as an official guest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned. With the Sino-Soviet split after summer 1960 the perception of the Great Leap Forward underwent a dramatic U-turn and China became an ideological enemy.
The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions in a number of travelogues written by Czec... more The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Chinese or religious studies) who visited the People’s Republic of China as official guests of the Beijing government during the 1950s (e. g. V. Mináč, A. Hoffmeiser, V. Ferko, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha, R. Moric, M. Pujmanová). The description of monasteries and temples in these writings is usually marginal, but it reflects various stereotyped images of the Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, religion as a product of an oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as a tool which should have persuaded the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia in 1950 were correct and represented a component in a large and rightful historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Hungarian authors (namely Tibor ... more This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Hungarian authors (namely Tibor Toncz, Lajos Vincze, Pál Gombó, Ferenc Lóvaszi, László Salgó and József Lengyel) during the 1950s, the period of the closest cultural and political cooperation between these two socialist countries. These authors, pro-regime writers and journalists, visited China as official guests and in their travelogues they provide a very idealistic and positive picture of China repeatedly laying stress on the propagation of proletarian internationalism and the shared ideological underpinnings of both regimes. The goal of these works was to familiarize their readers with the situation in China and mobilize solidarity with this distant country at home in Hungary. As noted in the concluding part, many of the features characteristic for these travelogues can be found in similar works written about China in the 1950s by Czechoslovak authors.
The paper discusses the depiction of Tibetan Buddhism in a number of travelogues written by Czech... more The paper discusses the depiction of Tibetan Buddhism in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Tibetan or religious studies) who visited China and Mongolia as official guests in the 1950s. The descriptions of monasteries and temples in these writings (authored by A. Hoffmeiser, R. Moric, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha, K. Beba, V. Sís and J. Vaniš) reflect various stereotyped images of the Marxist critical approaches towards religion as well as some Western negative prejudices about “Lamaism”. The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in 1950s in these travelogues served also as an instrument which should have persuaded the Czechoslovak readership that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia since 1950 were correct. In the concluding part, the author notes that the Czechoslovak (as well as Soviet) criticism of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional Tibet in general preceded even the Chinese negative portrayals of pre-1950 Tibet.
This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Slovak and Czech authors during ... more This paper analyses the image of China in travelogues written by Slovak and Czech authors during the 1950s, the period of the closest cultural and political cooperation between these two socialist countries. Its focus is on the central themes of these travel accounts; namely, the sense of comradeship and brotherhood, and the construction of both temporal (past versus present) and spatial (here/China versus there/Taiwan) dichotomies. These narrative strategies were regularly employed by the authors who were pro-regime writers and journalists in order to familiarize their readers with the situation in China and mobilize solidarity with this distant country at home in Czechoslovakia. The image of China in these writings epitomizes a deliberate effort to eliminate traditional Orientalist clichés and it suppresses the exoticising perspective in favour of the propagation of proletarian internationalism and the shared ideological underpinnings of both regimes.
The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions (including Tibetan Buddhism) in a number o... more The paper discusses the depiction of Chinese religions (including Tibetan Buddhism) in a number of travelogues written by Czech and Slovak authors (usually writers and journalists who had no academic background in either Chinese or religious studies) who visited the People’s Republic of China as official guests of the government in 1950s. These authors (e.g. V. Mináč, A. hoffmeiser, V. Ferko, L. Mňačko, P. Poucha and M. Pujmanová) published travelogues about their stay in China. The description of monasteries and temples in these writings is usually marginal, but it reflects various stereotyped images of Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, a product of oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as an instrument which was supposed to persuade the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia from 1950 were correct and represented a part of a large and just historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
»Like a Fish in a Fishbowl«—Unpublished Typescript of Milan Ferko About his Journey to China in D... more »Like a Fish in a Fishbowl«—Unpublished Typescript of Milan Ferko About his Journey to China in December 1964 The article discusses the presentation of China in the unpublished typescript written by the Slovak writer and journalist Milan Ferko who visited China in December 1964 as an official guest. The authors deal with the positive idealized image of China in socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, then focus on the changes after the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s. Finally, an edited version of the Ferko typescript (June 1966) is provided.
In: Talking Literature: Essays on Chinese and Biblical Writings and their Interaction, ed. by Rao... more In: Talking Literature: Essays on Chinese and Biblical Writings and their Interaction, ed. by Raoul David Findeisen and Martin Slobodník. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2013, pp. 101–121.
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none of these authors ever visited the Republic of China, Taiwan is repeatedly mentioned in these texts as a typical narrative strategy of these officially sanctioned travelogues was the construction of
dichotomy in a spatial sense (here/China versus there/Taiwan). The paper focuses on typical negative images associated with Taiwan in these writings as well as other sources (poetry, newspapers Rudé
právo and Pravda).
In: Čínský deník [Chinese Diary], ed. by Luboš Bělka and Pavel Šindelář. Brno, MuniPress 2016.
The paper discusses the role of the Chinese princess Wencheng in the history of Sino-Tibetan Relations. Wencheng
got married to the Tibetan ruler Songtsen Gampo in 641 A.D.
and her marriage represents a typical example of the so called
policy of matrimonial alliances (Chin. heqin). However,
the Chinese sources of the periodc (e.g., Jiu Tang shu, Xin Tang
shu), which reflect the Sinocentric perception of their authors,
described this marriage within the rhetoric of the “civilizing
mission”. In contrast, later (13th to 14th cent.) Tibetan sources
presented Wencheng as the zealous propagator of Buddhism in
Central Tibet. Princess Wencheng was “reincarnated” by Chinese propaganda in the 2nd half of the 20th century, when the Chinese government faced the task to produce a new narrative of Sino-Tibetan relations which would strengthen their “historical claim” for rule of Tibet. In this process,
princess Wencheng has played a crucial role as she has been portrayed as the pioneer of close and harmonious relations between China and Tibet.
The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward as an example of a socialist (or red) globalization, i.e. an attempt of the People’s Republic of China to propagate in the Socialist Bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative (and high speed) path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works (internal report, research papers, his newspaper articles, book) written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958 as an official guest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned. With the Sino-Soviet split after summer 1960 the perception of the Great Leap Forward underwent a dramatic U-turn and China became an ideological enemy.
criticism of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional Tibet in general preceded even the Chinese negative portrayals of pre-1950 Tibet.
of Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, a product of oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as an instrument which was supposed to persuade the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia from 1950 were correct and represented a part of a large and just historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
The article discusses the presentation of China in the unpublished typescript written by the Slovak writer and journalist Milan Ferko who visited China in December 1964 as an official guest. The authors deal with the positive idealized image of China in socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, then focus on the changes after the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s. Finally, an edited version of the Ferko typescript (June 1966) is provided.
none of these authors ever visited the Republic of China, Taiwan is repeatedly mentioned in these texts as a typical narrative strategy of these officially sanctioned travelogues was the construction of
dichotomy in a spatial sense (here/China versus there/Taiwan). The paper focuses on typical negative images associated with Taiwan in these writings as well as other sources (poetry, newspapers Rudé
právo and Pravda).
In: Čínský deník [Chinese Diary], ed. by Luboš Bělka and Pavel Šindelář. Brno, MuniPress 2016.
The paper discusses the role of the Chinese princess Wencheng in the history of Sino-Tibetan Relations. Wencheng
got married to the Tibetan ruler Songtsen Gampo in 641 A.D.
and her marriage represents a typical example of the so called
policy of matrimonial alliances (Chin. heqin). However,
the Chinese sources of the periodc (e.g., Jiu Tang shu, Xin Tang
shu), which reflect the Sinocentric perception of their authors,
described this marriage within the rhetoric of the “civilizing
mission”. In contrast, later (13th to 14th cent.) Tibetan sources
presented Wencheng as the zealous propagator of Buddhism in
Central Tibet. Princess Wencheng was “reincarnated” by Chinese propaganda in the 2nd half of the 20th century, when the Chinese government faced the task to produce a new narrative of Sino-Tibetan relations which would strengthen their “historical claim” for rule of Tibet. In this process,
princess Wencheng has played a crucial role as she has been portrayed as the pioneer of close and harmonious relations between China and Tibet.
The paper discusses the promotion of the Great Leap Forward as an example of a socialist (or red) globalization, i.e. an attempt of the People’s Republic of China to propagate in the Socialist Bloc the economic policy of the Great Leap Forward as an alternative (and high speed) path towards communism as opposed to the strategy of the Soviet five-year plans. The author deals with the presentation of the Great Leap Forwards in various works (internal report, research papers, his newspaper articles, book) written in 1958 and 1959 by Michal Falťan, Slovak politician and economist, who visited the PRC in autumn 1958 as an official guest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Other means of promotion of the Great Leap Forward (e.g. Chinese exhibitions in Prague, newspaper articles about people’s communes, special issue of the journal Světová literatúra with the translations of the Chinese folk poetry of this period) are also mentioned. With the Sino-Soviet split after summer 1960 the perception of the Great Leap Forward underwent a dramatic U-turn and China became an ideological enemy.
criticism of Tibetan Buddhism and traditional Tibet in general preceded even the Chinese negative portrayals of pre-1950 Tibet.
of Marxist critical approaches towards religion (religion as a relic of the past, a product of oppressive class society, etc.). The author argues that the praiseful assessment of the anti-religious campaign of the communist Chinese government in the 1950s in these travelogues also served as an instrument which was supposed to persuade the Czechoslovak readership, that the anti-religious measures unleashed in socialist Czechoslovakia from 1950 were correct and represented a part of a large and just historical process enacted in all socialist countries.
The article discusses the presentation of China in the unpublished typescript written by the Slovak writer and journalist Milan Ferko who visited China in December 1964 as an official guest. The authors deal with the positive idealized image of China in socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, then focus on the changes after the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s. Finally, an edited version of the Ferko typescript (June 1966) is provided.