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Exhibitions
Exhibitions at every level, national, provincial and local, were a key feature of Chinese life before and during the Cultural Revolution. Aside from displaying artworks, exhibitions either trumpeted the achievements of the modern socialist state or supported a particular political campaign such as "Anti-Superstition", "Class Struggle" and "Criticise Confucius and Lin Biao".
Above: Shanghai Industrial Exhibition
Left: National Agricultural Exhibition
These badges probably date from the early 1960s
h. 16mm w. 22mm 1.1g
h. 20mm w. 20mm 1.7g
Suggested floorplans and display boards for a local exhibion from Applied Art in the Countryside handbook, published by Shanghai People's Press, June 1975
Folder and three entirely representative double-sided postcards from a set of sixteen issued for the National Arts and Handicrafts Exhibition, Beijing 1972
46mm 9.5g
Overseas trade fairs and exhibitions provided an excellent opportunity to distribute (supposedly much sought after) Mao badges.
Left: Chinese Machinery and Equipment Exhibition, Hong Kong, September 1968
Right :Chinese Medicine and Medical Equipment Exhibition, Hong Kong, January 1969
Text from Lesson 22, Senior High School English Book 1, People's Education Press, Henan 1961
For a fascinating and well-researched account of exhibitions in China 1949-76, see Curating Revolution: Politics on Display in Mao's China, by Denise Y. Ho, Cambridge University Press 2018.
