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ImaginingtheNewSocialistChild:TheCulturalAfterlifeoftheChildMartyrWangErxiao AndrewKauffman,IndianaUniversity

Kauffman,Andrew.2020.“ImaginingtheNewSocialistChild:TheCulturalAfterlifeoftheChildMartyrWangErxiao.”Cross-Currents:EastAsianHistoryandCultureReview(e-journal)34:1–23.https://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/e-journal/issue-34/kauffman. Abstract

Recent scholarship in modern Chinese studies has established the centrality of thefigureof the child inmodernconfigurationsofnationhood.Yet very fewstudieshavefocusedonthemotifofchildmartyrdomanditsplacewithinChinesesocialistculture.ByexploringtheculturalafterlifeofthesocialistmartyrWangErxiaoinmid-twentieth-century China, this article shows how the heroic sacrificial death of the boy bothpowered and imperiled theCommunist-led revolution and the constructionof a new,socialistsociety.Theauthorarguesthat,ontheonehand,thefigureofthesocialistchildmartyrembodiedthedesire forthechildtoplayamoreactiverole intheCommunistrevolutionand inthecreationofasocialistutopia.Ontheotherhand, in lionizingtheheroic death of the child—the so-called revolutionary successor—stories like WangErxiao’salsoposedanexistentialthreattothesocialistcommunityandbroughttotheforetensionsintrinsictopoliticizingandaestheticizingthedeathofachild.Byexaminingtherelationshipbetweenchildren,violence,andsacrificialdeath,thisarticlehighlightsthedesiresandanxietiesembeddedwithin the socialistproject to createan imageofthe“newchild.”

Keywords:childmartyrdom,WangErxiao,WarofResistanceagainstJapan,socialistliterature,BoyScouts,AlainBadiou

In 2015, a children’s play called Red Tassel (Hongying 紅纓 ) was performed tocommemoratetheseventiethanniversaryof theendof theWarofResistanceagainstJapan(1937–1945).RedTasselretellsthefamousand,inalllikelihood,apocryphalstoryof the youngmartyrWangErxiao王二小, a thirteen-year-old cowherdwho sacrificedhis life in 1942 to protect his fellow villagers and Communist troops frommaraudingJapanese soldiers (figure 1).1The adaptationof this “red classic” tale into a children’s

1Inrecentyears,scholars,journalists,andbloggershavequestionedwhetherWangErxiaowasanhistoricalfigure.Indeed,thelyricistforthefamous1942folksong“SingoftheCowherdBoy—Erxiao,”FangBing方冰,claimedasearlyas1995thatthesongwasinspirednotbytheactionsof

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playwas aimedat using thememoryof persecution andheroism to instill a senseofpatrioticduty in theyoungergenerationwhohavegrownup in thepostrevolutionarypresent.Inthewordsoftheplay’sdirector,LiaoXiaohong:

Watching Red Tassel is a means to traverse time. We will take thechildrenback to seventy years ago,whichwas aperiodof terror, andwitness how the children of that era used their weak shoulders,youthfulblood,andyounglivestoshoulderthegreatcauseoftheWarofResistance,encouragingthepresentgenerationofchildrentocherishtheir happy lives and to reflect onhow they, too, can contribute to arich,strong,andprosperousnation.(WangandHuang2015)

Liao’s statement foregrounds themanydifferent rolesadultshaveenvisioned for

the child inmodern China.Whether an active participant in revolution andwar or apassiveobjectinneedofinstruction,thefigureofthechildhasbeeninexorablylinkedtothefateofthenationandthusinvestedwithpoliticalandideologicalsignificancebyintellectuals,artists,andpoliticians.Furthermore,as thepopularstoryofWangErxiaodemonstrates, thememoryofpersecutionandsacrificialdeathhas—andcontinues tohave—aprofoundimpactonpopularconceptionsofchildrenandchildhoodinmodernChina. This article explores the creation and development of an ideal image of theChinese socialist child by focusing on the cultural afterlife of the boy martyr WangErxiao,2a figure who has yet to receive critical scholarly attention in the People’sRepublicofChina(PRC)andisunderstudiedintheWest.3

Themakingofaculturalheroandrolemodelforchildrenoutofthefigureofachildmartyr isadistinctive featureofwhatChinese literaryscholarWangHuicalls“China’srevolutionary century” (H.Wang2009,3).4Outside theChinesecultural context, I canthinkofonlytwoothercasesinwhichchildmartyrsbecameculturalicons,servingasasource of reverence for the nation’s citizens: Iran’s Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh

asingleindividual,butratherbytheheroicandselflessactionsofanentiregenerationofrevolutionaryyouth.SeeFang(1995)andSunZ(2011,2016).2Myfocushereonthefigureoftheboymartyrisentirelyduetoaseemingabsenceofgirlmartyrsinculturalproductions.TheonenotableexceptionisLiuHulan劉胡蘭(1932–1947),whowasexecutedbytheNationalistswhensherefusedtodisclosethenamesofvillagepartymembers.Whatisofparticularinterestaboutvisual(and,tosomedegree,literary)representationsofLiuHulanistheirtendencytoeraseherstatusasanot-yet-adult,somethingthatIhaveyettoencounterinmystudyofsocialist-eraboyheroesandmartyrs. 3OnenotableexceptionisChinascholarStevenL.Riep’sarticle,whichbrieflyexaminestheWangErxiaostoryanditsinfluence(2008,159–161).4ForWangHui,“China’srevolutionarycentury”refersto“theerastretchingfromtheXinhaiRevolutionof1911…toaround1976”(H.Wang2009,3).

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(1967–1980),whosacrificedhimselfintheIran-Iraqwar,5andtheSovietUnion’sPavlikMorozov(1918–1932),whowaskilledbyhisrelativesafterdenouncinghisfathertotheauthorities.6What,then,arewetomakeoftheWangErxiaostoryandthephenomenonofchildmartyrdominmid-twentieth-centuryChina?Morespecifically,forthepurposesof this article and its focus on Chinese socialist culture, how were stories of childheroism and martyrdom like Wang Erxiao’s inserted into narratives of socialistrevolution?Andhowdotheauthorsofthesetextsaddresstheinherenttensioninusingthedeathofachild,atragicandlamentableevent,forpoliticalandideologicalpurposes?

Figure1.Posterof“TheLittleHerooftheWarofResistance—WangErxiao.”Dateunknown.Source:“KangrixiaoyingxiongWangErxiaojianbihua”抗日小英雄王二小簡筆畫 (SketchofthelittleherooftheWarofResistance—WangErxiao),http://j.17qq.com/article/cckdglv.html.

5FormoreonFahmideh,seeDavis(2003,45–66)andMitchell(2012,47–73).ForastudyontheconstructionofmartyrdominPersianchildren’sliteratureduringtheeight-yearwarbetweenIranandIraq,seeRezaeeetal.(2016).6FormoreonthecreationofthePavlikMorozovlegend,seeKelly(2005).

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Recent scholarship in the field of modern Chinese studies has established thecentralityofthefigureofthechildinmodernconfigurationsofnationhood.ScholarsofmodernChineseliteratureandculturehaveinvestigatedthedevelopmentofchildren’sliterature and its import to the construction of amodern Chinese citizenry and state(Hung 1985, 107–134; Pease 1995; Farquhar 1999; Volland 2017), demonstrated howsocial Darwinist discourses positioned the child as “the emblemof the nation and itsdevelopmentalhopes”(Jones2011,23),andexaminedtheroleofchildhoodeducation(Culp 2007; Tillman 2018) and textbooks (Zarrow 2015; Kubler 2018) in transformingchildren into national subjects. Very little scholarship, however, has focused on thetropeof childmartyrdomand itsembeddednesswithinChinese socialist culture.7Thisarticle thereforeaddsanewdimensiontochildhoodstudiesbyexploring themotifofchildmartyrdomanditsplacewithinsocialistarticulationsofidentityandcommunityinmid-twentieth-centuryChina.Througha case studyanalysisof the cultural afterlifeofthechildmartyrWangErxiao,Iarguethat,ontheonehand,thefigureofthesocialistchildmartyrembodiedthedesireforthechildtoplayanactivepartintheCommunist-ledrevolutionandtheconstructionofanew,socialistsociety,but,ontheotherhand,inlionizing the heroic death of the new child, the so-called revolutionary successor(geming de jiebanren 革命的接班人), narratives of child martyrdom also posed anexistentialthreattothesocialistcommunityandbroughttotheforetensionsintrinsictopoliticizingandaestheticizing thedeathofachild.Theanxiety thatnarrativesof childmartyrdomprovokeguidesmycriticalanalysisoftheWangErxiaomythandtheutopianprojecttomoldthenewsocialistchild.8

Myinvestigationoftheculturalphenomenonofchildmartyrdominpre-andpost-1949ChinadrawsonFrenchphilosopherAlainBadiou’stheoryofthe“passionforthereal.” In his inquiry into the revolutionary spirit of the “Soviet century” (1914–1991),Badiouarguesthatkeyplayersintherealmsofart,politics,andscienceweredrivenbya“passionforthereal”—that is,an impatientyearningto“make[thenew]man,hereand now” (Badiou 2007, 32). As the philosophy scholar Steven Corcoran aptlysummarizedBadiou’swork,“KeytothispassionwasthethemeofNewMan—iftheideaof the nineteenth century was to entrust oneself to themovement of history in thebringingaboutofanewhumanity,thenthetwentiethsoughttoconfrontit,‘tomasteritpolitically’” (2015,51).Andperhapsnosegmentof thepopulationwasmore ideallysuited to theprojectof forginganewcitizenry thanchildren,who,afterall, “haveno

7TwoChina-focusedstudiesthattouchuponthetropeofchildwartimeheroisminchildren’sliteratureareFarquhar(1999,166–189)andVolland(2017,124–152).ForscholarshiponthesubjectofchildheroismandsacrificeoutsideoftheChineseculturalcontext,seeKamenetsky(1984,178–184,187–192),Zur(2010);Knuth(2012,31–70);andDar(2018,91–102).8Myuseofthephrase“newchild”isborrowedfromNicolaiVolland,whousedittodescribe“anideologicallyinformedidealtype”thatwasintroducedtoChinaviaSovietchildren’sliterature(2017,127).WhereasVollandfocusesonthetranslationanddisseminationof“thephenotypeoftheSoviet‘idealchild’”intheearlyPRC(2017,125),thisarticlehighlightstheformativeroleChineseauthorsplayedincreatinganimageoftheidealChinesesocialistchild.

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previous cultural habits” (Dar 2018, 1), thus representing a tabula rasa onwhich thevalues and ideology of the “newman”might be easily inscribed. Indeed, the crucialimportanceofchildrentotheChineseCommunistParty’s(CCP)wareffortandnationalaspirations is saliently illustrated in an oft-cited headline Mao Zedong wrote in achildren’s journal during theWar of Resistance: “RISEUP, CHILDREN, and learn to befree, independentcitizensofChina, learnhowtowrestthis freedomfromtheyokeofJapaneseimperialismandtransformyourselvesintothemastersofanewera”(quotedinFarquhar1999,175).InBadiou’sanalysis,however,thetwentiethcentury’s“passionfor the real”—its erstwhile desire to create the “newman”—was also “the source ofboth horror and enthusiasm, simultaneously lethal and creative…characterized by asteadfastindifferencetoitscost;thisindifferencelegitim[ized]themostviolentmeans”(Badiou2007,32–33).Socialistchildmartyrnarrativesweredrivenbya“passionforthereal”;theywerebothacelebrationoftheheroicachievementsofthenewsocialistchildand a revelation of the precarious position of the childwithin the utopian project toforgeanewhumanity.Storiesofchildheroismandmartyrdom,likeWangErxiao’s,thusoffer new insights into Chinese socialist political culture and what its fascination for“destructionand foundation”meant to thenation’syoungestmembers (Badiou2007,39).TobetterunderstandtheculturalrootsoftheWangErxiaostory,itisnecessarytolookathowmilitarismbecameanintegralpartofchildren’scultureintheearlytomid-1930s.

MilitarizingChildhoodduringtheWarofResistanceTheelevationofthechildinthepopularimaginationtothestatusofheroicmartyrwasabyproductofthenationalcataclysmoftheWarofResistance.Theexigenciesofwarcoupledwithaforebodingsenseofnationaldemisemobilizedtheentirepopulationtoresist the Japanese invasionandoccupation. In thisparticularhistorical context,whatGerman historian Stig Förster might refer to as “total war” (2000, 2), 9 popularconceptions of the child’s role in violent struggle transformed. Politicians, educators,andartistsacross thepolitical spectrumpinnedtheirhopeson the figureof thechild,seeingthechildasmuchmorethanjustthe“futuremasterofthenation”;inshort,thechildbecameakeyagentofnationalsalvation.Nolongerregardedasmerelyapassiveobject of pedagogical attention or an indispensable consumer of Shanghai’sbourgeoning culture industry (Jones 2011, 104), the childwas calleduponduring thistimeofnationalcrisistoplayanactivepart inthenation’sdefense.Thisrolenaturallyentailedthepotentiallossoflife.

At the forefront in sanctioning the militarization of childhood were the BoyScouts,10whichby theearly1930shadbecome“adisciplinary toolof the [Nationalist]

9Theideaof“totalwar”suggestsacompletebreakdownof“thebordersbetweensoldiersandciviliansindefenseaswellasinattack”duetothe“mobilizationofallformsofpublic,ifnotprivate,lifetowardvictoryonthebattlefront”(Förster2000,2,8).10FormoreontheGirlScoutsmovementinRepublican-eraChina,seeTillman(2014).

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state” (Hwang2006, 191). Introduced through themediationofWesternmissionariesand foreign-educated Chinese in the wake of the 1911 revolution, 11 scoutingrepresented a modern pedagogical way to mobilize, educate, and discipline China’syouth.TheappealofscoutingtoChina’seducatorsandpoliticianswaslargelyconsistentwith the original intent of Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941), who founded the BoyScoutsin1907inordertocombatwhatheperceivedasa“declineofthemanlyBritishcharacter”thatthreatenedtoerodeBritain’sreputation intheworld(Rosenthal1986,3). Chinese scouting was thus part of a larger global youth movement to transformchildrenintoobedient,patriotic,andmilitary-readycitizens.WiththeonsetofhostilitiesbetweenChinaandJapan inthe1930s, theNationalistgovernmentactivelypromotedtheBoyScoutmovement,viewingitasnotonlyausefulideologicaltoolforcultivatingobedience and loyalty in the next generation of citizens but also—in the words ofsociologist Jinlin Hwang—“an important step in creating fresh troops for revolution”(2006,191).

TheactualparticipationofBoyScoutsinthewareffortandtheirheroicactsofself-sacrificeweresubjectsthatcirculatedwidelyinscoutpublicationsandpopularjournals.PerhapsnostoryofBoyScoutheroismcapturedthepublic imaginationmorethanthefour Shanghai scouts who were killed when they were providing first aid to injuredciviliansandsoldiersduringtheShanghaiIncidentof1932.12Theimages,songs,essays,and newspaper reports that were disseminated to the public via China’s treaty-portpressdepictedthedeathsof the fourmartyredscouts inamannerthat foregroundedthebarbarityoftheJapaneseinvadersandexhortedthenation’syouthtofollowintheirfootsteps.Onenewspaperaccountextolledthescouts’sacrificialactbyreferringtoitas“agloriouspageinthehistoryoftheChineseScouts”(Yeetal.1932,7).Anotherwriterclaimedthat theirmartyrdomwas testament that“theaimof theChineseBoyScoutswas finally accomplished in the stormof shots and shells” (quoted in Choi 2008, 88).Nationalistpropagandausedmartyredyouthtoarousesupportforthewaramongthenation’s youngestmembers. Indeed, itwasnotuncommon forwritersandofficials toremarkthattheactionsofthefourmartyrswas“theonlyidealmodelforChina’syouth[to follow],”evengoing so faras to callon“allof thenation’syouth” toemulate thefourscoutsand“facedeathunflinchingly”(Yeetal.1932,7).Ultimately,thedeathsofthe four scoutswere commemorated in amanner that both inscribed their sacrificialactswithnationalmeaningandobfuscatedthedistinctionbetweenchildrenandadultsoldiers. After all, the act of applying the appellation of “martyr” (lieshi烈士) to thedeathofthesefouryoungboyswasinandofitselftestamenttothepervasivewartimeblurringof thegenerationalboundarybetweenyouthandadult,which—amongotherthings—createdanewroleforthenation’syoungestmembers:thatofmartyr.

11TheoriginofscoutinginChinaisacontestedstory.FormoreonthevariousversionsofthefoundingofthefirstChineseBoyScouttroop,seeChoi(2008,13–16)andCulp(2007,178–180).12ThefourscoutswereBaoZhenwu鮑振武,MaoZhengxiang毛徵祥,LuoYunxiang羅雲祥,andYingWenda應文達.

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Chinese propagandists also played an important part in militarizing childhoodduring the War of Resistance. The figure of the child was central to the wartimepropagandistic efforts of Chinese cartoonists, in which “patriotism, nationalism, andheroism formed thebasisof thevisual representationsof children” (Pozzi2014,123).Portrayals of children as heroes and military-ready citizens in propaganda cartoonscontributedtomilitarizingchildren’sculture.Thetransformationof thenation’syouthfrom“incomplete”and“miniaturized”beings—toborrowfromthewriterZhouZuoren(1920,2)—toactiveparticipantsinwariscapturedinawartimecartoonpublishedina1937 issueofNationalSalvationCartoons (Jiuwangmanhua救亡漫畫) (figure2).Thecartoon depicts row upon row of Boy Scouts standing neatly at attention, offering aritual salute to the sacrifices made by the country’s martyred heroes. The captionsuggestivelypointsthewayforwardforthescoutsand,byextension,thenation’syouthin the ongoing struggle against Japanese imperialism: “We march along the path ofmartyrs,doingourutmosttocatchuptothem”(“Womentazhelieshidelu,ganshanglaile”我們踏著烈士的路，趕上來了)(Huang1937).

Figure2.CartoonshowingChineseBoyScoutsofferingaritualsalutetothemartyrsoftheWarofResistance.Source:Huang(1937).

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Children’s literature was also profoundly affected by the war, especially alongideologicalandpolitical lines.Left-wingwriterschampioned“acolloquialrevolutionaryliterature” that “would be accessible to illiterate and semi-literate peasants and theirchildren” (Farquhar 1999, 167) and serve as a vehicle for inculcating in childrennationalistic,militaristic, and socialist values. The shift away from an urban emphasisand audience in children’s literature was due not only to the relocation of urbanintellectualsandartiststothecountryside,butalsotoMaoZedong’s1942“TalksattheYan’anForumonLiteratureandArt,”whichmandatedthatliteratureandartservethepolitical aims of the CCP and be directed toward “workers, peasants, soldiers, andrevolutionary cadres” (Mao1967, 71). Thismeant thatBoy Scouts andother childrenfrom the petty bourgeoisie were no longer featured as the main heroes in leftistchildren’s literature, replaced instead by the “brave patriot” and “militant hero”who“representedthepeasantryandnottheproletariat”(Farquhar1999,168).ThecreationofthesocialistchildmartyrWangErxiao,apeasantcowherd,intheearly1940sispartandparceloftheseshiftingculturalandpoliticalattitudestowardthechildtriggeredbytheexigenciesofwarandthegrowinginfluenceofMaoistideology.

Both the CCP and Nationalist Party viewed the child as a key player in resistingJapaneseaggression.However,therewasanimportant ideologicaldifferencebetweenthetwopartiesoverthechild’splacewithinsociety,withanimpactondiscoursesaboutchild martyrdom. Nationalist educators and politicians identified children as “futuremastersofthenation”whorequiredphysicalandcivictraining(likescouting)topreparethem for their future roles as adult citizens (Culp 2007, 178–208). Communistperceptionsofchildren,bycontrast,werenotsolelypremisedontheirfuturepotentialasadults;instead,childrenwereregardedaspoliticalactorsintheirownright,agentsofrevolutionarychange.Thisdistinctplaceofthechild inCommunist ideology ledtothecreationofapantheonofsocialistchildhero-martyrs,perhapsnonemorefamousthanWangErxiao.

“SingoftheCowherdBoy—Erxiao”andtheCreationoftheSocialistChildMartyrWang Erxiao became an exemplar of the new socialist child because of the immensepopularityofa1942folksong(geyao歌謠)entitled“SingoftheCowherdBoy—Erxiao”(“Gechang Erxiao fang niulang” 歌唱二小放牛郎).13The lyrics were written by FangBing方冰(1914–1997),apoetwhowasservingasaCommunistpropagandaworkerintheJin-Cha-Jiborderregion.ThemelodywascomposedbyLiJiefu李劫夫 (1913–1976),asongwriterwhoalsoworked intheCCP’sPropagandaDepartmentand laterbecameoneoftheforemostcomposersofrevolutionarysongsinpost-1949China(SunZ2011).Inspired byMao’s “Talks,” the folksong was a narrative composition that featured amember of themasses as its protagonist, a thirteen-year-old cowherdwhoheroically

13Formoreonthewidespreadpopularityofthisfolksonginpre-andpost-1949China,seeFang(1995),SunZ(2011,46),andSunN(2015,68).

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sacrificeshis life inorder toprotecthis fellowvillagersandnearbyCommunist troopsfromenemysoldiers.

In keeping with the CCP’s desire to “create an alternate mass culture” thatoriginatedwiththemassesandwastailoredtotheirpoliticalneeds(Hung1994,256),LiJiefuadoptedseveralfeaturesofHebeifolksongsandusedtheminhiscompositionofthe musical score. The song’s narrative was inspired by well-known folktales thatcirculated orally in areas affected by the Japanese invasion (SunN 2015, 67–68). Thefinal versionof the song—which, according to FangBing’s recollection, took less thantwo hours to write—was immediately performed by a young art troupe under Li’sdirection.Shortlythereafter,theCommunistJin-Cha-JiDaily(JinChaJiribao晉察冀日報)decided to publish the song, leading to its widespread circulation in Communist-controlledareasandbeyond(Fang1995).Acloselookatthelyricsshowthatthefigureof thesocialistchildmartyrwasnot justareflectionof the increasingmilitarizationofchildhoodbuta representationof the ideal imageof thenewsocialistchild:anactiveagent of revolutionary change, selflessly devoted to the Communist community andcause.Byusingthecharacterof thechildmartyras thesuprememanifestationof thenewchild,however,thesongalsobringsintoreliefinherenttensionsembeddedintheactofascribingpoliticalmeaningintothedeathofachild.

“SingoftheCowherdBoy—Erxiao”consistsofsevenverses.Theopeningversesetsthestagebyportrayingapastoral setting inwhichcattlearegrazingon themountainslopesand theprotagonist,ayoungcowherdreferred toasWangErxiao,emergesonthescene.14ThesecondverseforegroundsthegravedangerfacingErxiaoandhisfellowvillagersdue to thearrivalofenemy troops.What ismost strikingabout thisverse is,first, the specificity with regard to the date and time of the enemy’s arrival (“themorningofthe16thofSeptember”)and,second,the lackofspecificitywithregardtotheidentityoftheenemysoldiers(FangandLi1949).Theformerfeaturehastheeffectof lending the account historical authenticity, whereas the latter affords the songpoliticalflexibility,becauseitcouldbereferringtoanyoftheCCP’senemies.Inthethirdverse,welearnthattheenemytroopshavelosttheirwayandresorttocapturingErxiaoto serve as their guide. In the fourth verse, the young cowherd proceeds tocourageously lead them into an ambush, uponwhich the enemy quickly realizes thattheyhavebeendupedbytheyouth.ThefinalthreeversesofthesongprovideavividandgraphicaccountofErxiao’smartyrdom,beforeconcludingwithareassurancethatthememoryofErxiao’sheroicsacrificehasnotbeenforgotten.

The fifth and sixth verses depict the sacrificial death of the young protagonist.While shedding light on how the death of a child is fashioned into a redemptive andmeaningfulnarrative, they remain sensitive to theethicalproblematic inherent in theactof lionizingchildmartyrdom.Hereare the twoverses thatdescribeErxiao’sbloodsacrifice:

14Myclosereadingofthesongisbasedonitspublicationina1949issueofSoundsofthePeople’sSinging(Renmingesheng人民歌聲;FangandLi1949).

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TheenemythrustabayonetintoErxiao，Flinginghiscorpsenexttoalargeboulder.Ourthirteen-year-oldErxiao,Pitifully[kelian可憐]diedthistragic[can惨]way.Thecadresandfellowvillagersweresafe,Buthelayrestingamongthecoldmountains.Withasmile[weixiao微笑]imprintedonhisface,Hisblooddyedredthedeepblueskies.(FangandLi1949)

The portrayal of the young protagonist’s death in both tragic and heroic termshighlights the complex feelings that portrayals ofmartyrdom engender. As scholar ofreligionElizabethCastelli cogently states inher studyofearlyChristianmartyrologies,“To participate in the preservation of the memory of martyrdom is to enter into adiscourse that lionizes suffering in itsmost extreme forms” (2004, 197). The narratorwhoaimstouseErxiao’sstoryasaclarioncallforactionandsolidarityatthesametimefeels compelled to temper veneration of the child’s selfless act of heroism byoccasionally interjecting a melancholic tone into the text. This latent ambivalenceregardingtheuseofthechildmartyrasaparagonofthenewchildmanifestsitselfinadialecticalmannerwhereinthenarrativeveersbetweentheheroicandthetragic, thelaudable and the lamentable. After all, the death of a child is not just a solemn andmournful event but also poses an existential threat to the very survival of thecommunity,especiallybecausetheCCPviewedchildrenas“revolutionarysuccessors.”

Thesong,however,absolves itself fromseemingtoaestheticizeandpoliticizethechild’smartyrdombycallingattentiontotheexpressionontheyoungcowherd’sface:“asmile”thatismeanttosignifyhiswillfulembraceofdeath.Moreover,byconcludingthesongwiththepromisethatthis“movingstoryhasspreadtoeveryvillage,”thesongis also able to move beyond the threat posed by the young protagonist’s death,suggesting thathismartyrdomwasnot fornaught (Fangand Li 1949).Whatemergesfromthistext,then,isanimageofthechildasanactiveagentofrevolutionarychange,whoiswillingtogosofarastosacrificehislifefortheCommunistcause.Thefigureofthechildasanimportantparticipantinthewareffortandheroicmartyrofthenation,as represented in Fang Bing and Li Jiefu’s song, reflects the normalization of amuchmorepronouncedroleforthechildinCommunistactivities.

In addition to advancing a larger role for the child in the struggle for nationalsurvivalundertheleadershipoftheCCP,thesong’sportrayalofErxiao’smartyrdom,asisthecasewithmostmartyrtexts,isaimedatgeneratingandsolidifyingcommunalties.Badiou’s theory of the “passion for the real” has emphasized how twentieth-centurypolitical projectswere driven by an impatient yearning to construct a newhumanity.Centraltothecreationofthe“newman,”asBadiouseesit,wasa“ferventdesire”forfraternity through the forging of a “we-subject” (2007, 91). Perhaps nowhere is thisdesire for togethernessmore evident than in the song’s invocation of a “we-subject”positionforboththecharacters inthenarrativeandpeopleoutsidethenarrativewho

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participate in it throughtheperformativeactofsinging.Theuseofthepronoun“we”throughoutthesongfunctionstonegateexpressionsofindividualidentityandinvokeasenseofcommunitybetweenthecharactersinthesonganditssingers.Importantly,thesenseofcollectivitythatthesongchampionsthroughitsuseofthepronoun“we”isnotonlygeneratedthroughtheexistenceofasharedenemybutalsoproducedthroughthesacrificial death of one of itsmembers. Significantly, Erxiao’s attainment of the “we-subject” position occurs after his self-effacing act of martyrdom. His posthumousintegrationintothecollective“we”ispoignantlyexhibitedinthesongwhenitreferstohimas“ourthirteen-year-oldErxiao”immediatelyfollowinghisdeath(FangandLi1949).As for the singers, a senseof togetherness is forged through thepublic actof singingabout the death of one of their own. In the end, the song’s representation ofWangErxiao’smartyrdomservesadualpurpose.First,itadvancesalargerroleforthechildinthe Communist cause by suggesting that the child is both an integralmember of thecommunity andan agentof change. Second, the songpromotes solidarity among thelivingthroughtheircollectiveremembranceofthechild’ssacrificialdeath.

“Sing of the Cowherd Boy—Erxiao” demonstrates how the figure of the childmartyr inpre-1949China servedasan importantmeaning-making site forarticulatingcommunity and producing new ideas of the child. Fang and Li’s decision to use athirteen-year-oldboyasthesong’sheroillustratestheinclusionofthechildwithinthecollective “we” and the central role envisioned for the child in the national struggle.Moreover, the circulation of Erxiao’s story through themedium of folksong not onlyservedasamechanismforheighteningthecollectiveconsciousnessviathepublicactofsinging,butalso—andperhapsmore importantly—enabled the revolutionarymessageto reach the rural and illiteratemasses, amongwhom childrenwere by and large itsintendedaudience.StorieslikeWangErxiao’sthusservedasemotionalandideologicalinstruments for transforming Chinese youth into politically awakened “we-subjects.”However, as demonstrated by Wang Erxiao’s martyrdom, a tragic byproduct of thispoliticalprojecttomoldthenewchild,wastheviolentdeathofoneofthecommunity’syoungestmembers.

Mao-EraRefashioningoftheChildMartyrWangErxiaoDuring the late 1940s and early years of the PRC,Wang Erxiao became a householdnameasthestoryofhisheroicmartyrdomcirculatedacrossavarietyofculturalforms,suchas short story, song,poeticdrama, andpicturebook (lianhuanhua連環畫).Oneshould also note that Wang Erxiao was not the only socialist-era child martyr to beimmortalizedinthepopularimagination.ForemostamongthemwereLiuHulan劉胡蘭(1932–1947), Song Zhenzhong宋振中 (1941–1949), and Liu Wenxue劉文學 (1945–1959),allofwhombecamenationalheroesthroughthetransmissionoftheirstoriesin

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newspaper reports and literary and filmic texts. 15 Particularly arresting about thecultural afterlifeofWangErxiao’s story andothers like it is their continued relevanceand widespread appeal even after the establishment of New China in 1949, whichheraldedthe“liberation”oftheChinesepeople.HistorianChang-taiHung(2008;2011,213–234)callsattentiontohowthedevelopmentofa“cultoftheredmartyr”inpost-1949 China both legitimized the CCP’s authority and promoted the use of therevolutionarydeadasmodelsforthelivingtoemulate.TheemergenceofapantheonofchildmartyrsduringtheearlyPRC,withchildrenanimportantpartoftheCCP’scultofthe red martyr, further attests to the centrality of the child in Chinese socialistconfigurations of community, as well as the increasing perception of the child as aprincipalagentof revolutionarychange.Storiesofchildheroismandmartyrdomwerepowerful vehicles for expediting the political transformation of the next generation.These stories furnished images of the ideal new child in action intended to galvanizeyoungreaderstofollowinthefootstepsoftheirrevolutionaryforbearers.Perhapsitisfor thisreason, then, thatweseeaproliferationof fictionalandhistoricalaccountsofchildhero-martyrsduringtheMaoyears,whentheimpatient,antagonistic,andfuture-oriented ideology of continuous revolution pervaded the political and culturallandscape.16

OneofthemoreinfluentialliteraryportrayalsofWangErxiaoinMao-eraChinawasXingYe’s邢野(1918–2001)poeticdrama(shiju詩劇)titled“TheCowherdBoy—WangErxiao”(“WangErxiaofangniulang”王二小放牛郎,1963).17Writtenbytheformervicechairman of Hebei’s Literary Federation and author of the 1953 drama The GuerillaCaptain (Youji duizhang 游擊隊長; Xing Y 1953), later adapted into the 1955 film

15LiuHulanistheyoungestfemaleCommunistmartyr.Herstoryappearedinawidearrayofmediainpost-1949China,especiallyafterMaocommemoratedhermartyrdombypenningtheslogan,“Agreatlife,agloriousdeath”(Shengdeweida,sideguangrong生的偉大，死的光榮).FormoreontheculturalafterlifeofLiuHulan,seeX.Wang(2018,155–189).SongZhenzhong,morecommonlyknownasLittleRadishHead(XiaoLuobotou小蘿蔔頭),isregardedas“China’syoungestmartyr”(Zhongguonianlingzuixiaodelieshi中國年齡最小的烈士).Hebecameahouseholdnamewhenhisstoryappearedin“themostpopularcontemporaryChinesenovelintheSeventeenYears[1949–1966]”:RedCrag(Hongyan紅岩)(Li2017,44).LiuWenxuewasfourteenwhenhe“waskilledbyalandlordwhohefoundstealingthecommune’scropsatnight”(Farquhar1999,275).HisstorycirculatedwidelyinMao-eraChinainavarietyofforms,includingfolksong,picturebook,andspokendrama.In1983,theMinistryofCivilAffairsconferredonhimthetitle“revolutionarymartyr”(geminglieshi革命烈士)(WangX2009).16Forexamplesoffictionalsocialist-erachildheroes,seethenovelsbyGuanHua管樺,YuLaiDidNotDie(YuLaimeiyousi雨來沒有死,1948);HuaShan華山,TheFeatherLetter(Jimaoxin雞毛信,1949),madeintoamoviein1954;andXuGuangyao徐光耀,TheLittleSoldierZhangGa(XiaobingZhangGa小兵張嘎,1959),adaptedintoafilmin1963.17TheinfluenceofXingYe’spoeticdramawasacknowledgedinthepost-Maoerawhenitwasawardedsecondplaceinanationalcompetitionforchildren’sliteraturecoveringtheperiod1954to1979(XingX2011,160).

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GuerillasonthePlain(Pingyuanyoujidui平原游擊隊),thispoeticdramawaspublishedinthePRC’smostimportantpoliticalnewspaper,People’sDaily(Renminribao人民日報).Its appearance on May 29, 1963 coincided with Mao’s launching of the SocialistEducationProgram,amassivepropagandacampaignaimedatreversingcapitalisttrendsinpost-GreatLeapForwardsocietybypromoting“collectivism,patriotism,andsocialism”(Spence 2013, 531). The CCP’s propaganda apparatus used heroes and models toreintroducesocialistvaluesintoChinesesocietyandcultivategreaterloyaltytoMaoandthe party. The most famous model-hero to emerge during this period was Lei Feng(1940–1962),amemberofthePeople’sLiberationArmywhosededicationtoMaoandattitude of self-sacrifice epitomized the values the CCP sought to inculcate in thenation’s citizens (figure 3).Mao’s proclamation onMarch 5, 1963, to “Learn from LeiFeng”(“XiangLeiFengxuexi”向雷鋒學習)initiatedtheLeiFengcultandsimultaneouslyencouragedthecreationandcirculationofotherstorieslikeit(Larson2009,110–111).Itwasbynomeansacoincidence,then,thatXing’s iterationoftheWangErxiaostoryappearedjusttwomonthslaterinPeople’sDaily.

Figure3.PhotoofLeiFeng.Source:Renminhuabao人民畫報 (People’sillustratedmagazine),April1963.WikimediaCommons,https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1963-04_1963%E5%B9%B4_%E9%9B%B7%E9%94%8B.jpg.

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WhereasFangBingandLiJiefu’s1942folksongcommemoratedand,byextension,promoted the child’s active involvement in the life-and-death struggle for nationalsurvival, Xing Ye’s portrayal of Wang Erxiao’s martyrdom set its sights on producingcommunityand inculcating in thechildrenofNewChina theethosofcollectivismandsacrifice.Ontheonehand,theprojecttoconstructasocialistutopiainevitablyentailedsacrificemadeonbehalfofthepoliticalcollective,andWangErxiao’sstory—repackagedtomeet the political needs of 1963—served as a useful vehicle for disseminating thesocialistidealsofcollectivism,classstruggle,andself-sacrificetothenation’syouth.Onthe other hand, however, Xing’s poetic drama,much like the 1942 folksong, is ladenwithanethicalandexistentialanxietytriggeredbyitsvenerationofthesacrificialdeathofthenewchild.

Xing’s piece openswith a short preface that begins by quoting the first verse ofFangandLi’sfolksong,whichisfollowedbyapoemwrittenbyFanghimself.InadditiontolendingXing’saccountofWangErxiao’sstorycredibility,Fang’sprefacepoemservesanother important role: it foregrounds themagnitudeof thestory that isabout tobetoldandconstructsalinkbetweenthepastandthepresent.Theformerisachievedinthe opening lines when Fang directly addresses his audience as “clever children”(congming de xiaopengyoumen 聰明的小朋友們), and proceeds to underline thesignificance of the story they are about to hear: “This is a tragic [bei悲] and heroic[zhuang壯]paean,/Butitisalsoabattlecry./Thisisastorythatiswritteninblood,/Would you like to hear about it?” (Xing Y 1963). Similar to the 1942 folksong, Fang’spoemincludesarhetoricthataimstostrikeafinebalancebetweentheheroicandthetragic indealingwith thetension-riddentopicofchildmartyrdom.However, incallingthe story of the young cowherd’s sacrificial death a “battle cry” and then offering topresentittochildren,theheroicanddidacticelementsofthetaleclearlyoutweighanyethicalobjectionsthefirst-personnarratormayhaveregardingtheuseofa“storythatiswritteninblood.”

Fang Bing’s preface poem also forges a connection between Wang Erxiao’smartyrdom in1940s ruralChina and the contemporaryPRC. This link is accomplishedthroughthenarrator’sfairy-tale-likeabilitytofurnishhisyoungaudiencewith“goldenwings” so that they can flyback in time to thecountrysidewhereWangErxiao is stillherdingcattle.ItisworthnotingthatthepointofdepartureforthishistoricaladventureisBeijing’sTiananmenSquare:“thebirthplaceof thePeople’sRepublic” (Wu2005,8).ThesignificanceofTiananmenSquareinastoryaboutchildmartyrdomextendsbeyondits symbolic value as the most sacred political space in post-1949 China; moreimportantly,thesquareishometo“themostimportantnationalmemorialevercreatedbytheChineseCommunists”:theMonumenttothePeople’sHeroes(Hung2011,253).Completed in 1958, the nearly forty-meter obelisk monument was erected tocommemorate the new socialist state’s dead heroes (figure 4).18To begin the tale of

18FormoreonthehistoryoftheconstructionoftheMonumenttothePeople’sHeroes,seeWu(2005,24–50)andHung(2011,235–255).

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WangErxiao’smartyrdom in thepoliticallyhallowed spaceof TiananmenSquare is tocreateadirectlinkbetweenhisdeathandthesocialiststate’spantheonofredmartyrs.Injustsixteenlines,then,theprefacepoembothsuturesthetemporalandspatialgapbetweenWangErxiao’spre-liberationmartyrdomand1960sPRCandsituateshisself-sacrificewithintheCCP’smasternarrativeofmodernChinesehistory.

ThelengthofXing’spoeticdramanaturallyentailedthecreationofamorefleshed-out and embellished account ofWang Erxiao’smartyrdom than Fang and Li’s seven-versefolksong.InadditiontoErxiao’spoliticalacumenandmartyrdom(ofwhichmorewillbesaidlater),thefigureoftheenemygarneredgreaterattentionfromtheauthor.Xing’sdetailedportrayaloftheenemybothdefinesandproducescommunity.Whereasthe 1942 song onlymentions “the enemy” three times and never explicitly identifiesthem,Xing’spieceeschewsambiguityinitsportrayaloftheyoungmartyr’spersecutors.Withinthefirstfewlinesoftheopeningactwelearntheidentityofthepoem’sprincipalenemy:“murderousandruthlessJapanesebandits”whohavedescendeduponErxiao’svillageaspartof their “mopping-up”campaign. Inaddition toanexternalenemy, thepoem also features an internal enemy, in the figure of a “traitor.” His identity as a“landlord’sson”and“memberoftheGuomindang”highlightsthecentralityofclassandlingeringsenseofparanoiathatmarkedsocialist-eraarticulationsofcommunity(XingY1963).

Figure4.PhotooftheMonumenttothePeople’sHeroesinBeijing.Source:Photobytheauthor.

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Xing’spoemgoesonestepfurtherthanprovidingtheidentityofthevillains;italsopresentstheminsuchawaythattheyarerenderedutterlydevoidofhumanity,ataskmade considerably easier by the status of their victim: a thirteen-year-old boy. Xingforegrounds this dehumanization in the bestial and supernatural language used todescribe the external enemy throughout the poem, such as “monsters,” “wolves,”“demons,”and“devils.”Asforthetraitor,wearetoldthathe“diedlikeadog,andhisinfamyspreadfarandwide”(XingY1963).AsChang-taiHungpointsout,“thecommonpractice of portraying political opponents in subhuman or nonhuman form, such asanimals, reptiles, and insects, to demonize the enemy allows propagandists to insulttheiradversarieswithoutguiltandimpliesthattheeliminationofenemieswouldbringabout a safer society” (Hung2011, 161). Besides sanctioning theeliminationof thoselabeledenemiesof thepeople, theportrayalof themartyr’santagonists insubhumanterms also functions to define and redefine the boundaries of community bydemarcating friend from foe. In lionizing the child martyr and denigrating hispersecutorsandsoon-to-beexecutors,thepoemproducesabinaryviewoftheworldinwhichafeelingoftogethernessisforgedandsustainedthroughtheviolentexpulsionofthose who discursively occupy the position of the “other.” This dichotomousconstructionofcommunityissalientlyexhibitedinErxiao’sshoutsofgleewhenhelaterleads the Japanese troops into an ambush: “Our victory is fast approaching, / Theannihilationof theenemy iscoming!/Wewillbevictorious,/Theenemywillperish”(XingY1963).Whatemergesfromthepoem’sportrayaloftheenemyisthusanimageoffraternitybornoutofasharedsenseofanimositytowardanyonewhomightimpedetherealizationofanewsocialorder.

Whereasthevillainisdepictedinsubhumanterms,thefigureoftheboymartyrisportrayedasanobjectofaweandreverence,aparagonofthenewsocialistchild.Xing’sglorificationofErxiao’slifeanddeathpresentsthesonsanddaughtersoftherevolutionwithanimageoftheidealChinesechild.Thisimageservesasasourceofinspirationandguidance. Although the young cowherd is only thirteen, he has already acquiredcollective consciousnessandunderstands the importanceofpoliticalorganizationanddiscipline. As the squad leader of the Children’s League (Ertong tuan兒童団), ErxiaocoordinatesanddirectsscoutingoperationsamongthelocalchildrenwhilealsoservingasaliaisonbetweenthevillagersandtheEighthRouteArmy.Innowaydoesheallowhisstatusasanot-yet-adult tohamperhisparticipation in thewareffort.Hetells thecommanderoftheEighthRouteArmy:“Paynoattentiontomyyoungage,asatreecanstillbeusefulevenifithasnotyetreachedmaturity”(XingY1963).

Erxiao’sstatusasa“we-subject”isdemonstratedbyhisactiveparticipationintheChildren’s League and through his selfless devotion to the collective, for which heeventuallymakes the ultimate sacrifice. His privileging of the collective over his ownself-interestisillustratedinhiswillingnesstoallowtheJapanesetocapturehimratherthan risk thepotentialdemiseof theEighthRouteArmyandconsequently imperilhisfellowvillagers.LikethemodelsoldierLeiFeng,Erxiaoisanorphan.Theabsenceofanyfamilymembers forgesandstrengthenshisattachment to thepoliticalcommunity.As

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RussiascholarKaterinaClarkputsitinherstudyoftheSovietnovel,“thechildwithoutafatheristothatextentachildwithoutanidentity…allareorphansuntiltheyfindtheiridentityinthe‘greatfamily’”(2000,135).ForErxiao,theabsenceofabiologicalfamilyultimately enables him to integrate completely into the socialist family. Indeed,followinghissacrificialdeath,Erxiaoreceivesconfirmationofhis“identityinthe‘greatfamily’”whenheiseulogizedas“ChairmanMao’sexemplarychild”(Maozhuxidehaoertong毛主席的好兒童)(XingY1963).

It isunlikely,though,thatWangErxiaowouldhavebeenheldupasamodelchildandbecomeahouseholdnameforgenerationsofChineseyouthifhehadbeenmerelyaselfless,loyal,andpoliticallyawakenedboy.Rather,Erxiaooweshisapotheosisinthepopular imagination entirely to his heroic act of self-sacrifice. As a martyr, he holdsemotional, political, and pedagogical significance in death, because his martyrdomimparts to the living “anobligation toemulate [his]highmoralexample” (Clark2000,179). As self-sacrifice for the revolutionary collective, Erxiao’s martyrdom symbolizesthesupremeattainmentof“we-subjecthood,”a feat thatevenachildcouldaspire toachieve.Althoughthepoem’srepresentationofErxiao’ssacrificialdeathlargelyadherestotherhetoricalconventionsadoptedbythenewsocialiststateinitscommemorationof its dead heroes, Erxiao’s status as a thirteen-year-old introduces an underlyingtensionthat isabsent fromaccountsofadultmartyrs, thesacrificialdeathof thenewchildbothempowersandimperilstheutopianprojecttocreateanewhumanity.Ontheonehand,thechild’sdeathservesasaclarioncallforsolidarityandcollectiveaction;onthe other hand, the premature death also deprives the nascent socialist nation of itsfuture new citizen. In this sense, then, the fate of the new child is conceptuallyconjoined with the fate of the new nation, lending greater urgency to the task ofensuringthatthechilddidnotdieinvain.

ThetransformationofErxiao’sdeathintoaredemptivenarrativeisinpartachievedthroughXing’sportrayalofthecommemorativeactivitythatfollowsinthewakeoftheyoung hero’s sacrificial act. The theme of death and regeneration permeates theaccount,fromtherhetoricofthepoemtothebehaviorofErxiao’ssurrogatefamily.Thefinal act of the poem, which immediately follows Erxiao’s execution, opens with thepoliticallysymbolicimageofdaybreak:“Theredsunrisesintheeast”(XingY1963).AstheredsunsymbolizesMaoandtherevolutionaryproject,itsuggestsnotonlythatthedeathofErxiaohasgivenbirthtoagloriousnewfuturebutalso,toborrowfromClark,that“evendeathcannotdeterHistory’sonwardmarch”(Clark2000,181).Thefutureofthe socialist nation, moreover, is also safeguarded through the symbolic transfer ofErxiao’s“revolutionaryspirit”tohisfellowChildren’sLeaguememberShanni.Indeed,itisnotacoincidencethatthefirstpersontoappearonthescenetomournErxiao’sdeathis the politically enlightened young shepherd. Shanni’s status as a young female isnoteworthy, as it suggests that girls, too, are expected to contribute to the socialistproject. Ultimately, her timely presence in Erxiao’s moment of corporeal demisereassures the reader that the children and youth of New China will carry on hisrevolutionary legacy. Finally, for the political community at large, the public burial of

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Wang Erxiao renews thebondsof kinship and galvanizes collective action toward therealizationofsocialistperfection.

The poem explicitly uses the memory of Erxiao’s martyrdom to encourageyoung readers to learn from his heroic example and follow in his revolutionaryfootsteps. Toward the end of the final act, the narrator exhorts the children of NewChina to: “Learn from his revolutionary spirit, / Learn from his combative example, /Learn from his loyalty to the nation and the people, / Learn from his loyalty to theCommunist Party!” (Xing Y 1963). Xing’s piece thus proffers up the figure of therevolutionarychildmartyrasbothaninstrumentofthechild’spoliticalawakeningandamodelworthyofemulation.Thepoemgoesonestepfurther,though,toensurethatitstarget audience understands that its role in the building of a socialist utopia is notconfinedtotheclassroom,norisittoberelegatedtoafuturedatewhentheybecomeadults.Inthecoda,XingYeincorporatesanotherpoembyFangBingtoaddressthechildreadersonelasttime,urgingthemtoimmediateaction:

Dearchildren,Thereisnoneedtoshedtearsorbeovercomebygrief.Singloudlythistragicandheroicsong,AndreceiveErxao’sredhorncall.Raiseupyourstrongarms,Asthesoundofsingingwilltriumphoveranyweapons.Unfurlyourheroicwings,Sincethishorncallwillburyanyenemy.(XingY1963)

Therefore,inamanneridenticaltotheprefatorypoem,Fanggesturesbeyondthe

imaginary realm of the poetic drama to speak directly to his young audience. Thisnarrative feature underlines Xing’s and Fang’s ultimate intention inwriting about theheroicexploitsofachildmartyr:tonotmerelydescribebutprescribea largerroleforchildren in the construction of a new social order. If the new child’s death is to beredeemedandnotimperilthefutureofthesocialistnation,itisthennecessaryforthechildren of New China to attain political maturity in the present and assume theirrightfulpositionwithin the revolutionary collectiveas radical agentsof change.Or, toput it more polemically, if the new child’s death is not to be for naught, it is thenincumbent on the nation’s youth to follow in his heroic footsteps, which may entailgreater actsofblood sacrifice. In theend, as the storyofWangErixaodemonstrates,“destructionandfoundation”liesattheheartofsocialistconfigurationsofcommunityandMao-eraconceptionsofthenewchild(Badiou2007,39).

ConclusionThe emergence and development of the trope of childmartyrdom inmid-twentieth-centuryChinaislinkedtothecountry’swartimeexperiencewithJapanandthesocialist

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project to mold the new child. Although Nationalist Scout discourses militarizedchildren’scultureintheyearsleadinguptotheWarofResistance,thedominantviewofchildhoodpromotedby theNationalistPartywaspremisedonanotionof childrenas“patrioticconsumers”and“futuremastersoftheChinesenation”(Pozzi2014,105).Inshort,Nationalistsregardedchildrenprimarilyintermsoftheirpotentialasconsumersand future citizens of the republic. By contrast, Communists identified children as“revolutionarysuccessors”whowereexpectedtoassumeavanguardroleindefendingthesocialistcommunityandcontributingtowardtherealizationofaCommunistfuture.Communist perceptions of children as viable political actors were reflected in theabundance of cultural productions that featured children as heroes and martyrs;foremost among these was the story of Wang Erxiao. At the same time, however,socialist-era narratives of child martyrdom brought to the fore tensions that arise inpoliticizing and aestheticizing the death of a child andwere ladenwith an existentialanxietytriggeredbytheprematuredeathofthe“revolutionarysuccessor.”

Figure5.Collageofimagesfromthe2003filmadaptationoftheWangErxiaostoryShaonianyingxiong少年英雄 (Younghero).Source:Renminribao人民日報(People’sdaily),November7,2003,16.

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This article began by referencing Red Tassel, a contemporary-era children’stheatricalproductionaboutWangErxiao, to foreground the continuing significanceofthememoryofchildmartyrdominmoldingthemindofthemodernChinesechild.ThatplayisjustoneofthemanyculturalreproductionsoftheWangErxiaostorytoappearinthepost-Maoperiod.Indeed,WangErxiao’sapotheosisinthepopularimaginationhasled to the dissemination of his story across a wide range of materials, including“documentaryliterature”(jishiwenxue紀實文學),feature-lengthfilm(figure5),musicaltheater,animatedfilm(donghuapian動畫片),andevenaCCTVmusicvideo.19ThestoryofWangErxiao’smartyrdomhasalsofounditswayintoschoolprimersandtextbooks,further cementing the young cowherd’s status as a national hero in post-Mao China(Sun N 2015, 69–70). Whereas pre-1949 and socialist-era representations of WangErxiaoweremotivated by, in Badiou’s (2007, 32)words, “the passion for the real” (adesire to use the memory of child martyrdom to mold the new socialist child),contemporary depictions of the boy martyr Wang Erxiao, by contrast, are aimed ateducating,entertaining,andprofitingfromthepost-socialistchild.Childmartyrstoriesintoday’sChinaarethusnolongertiedtoanotionofthechildasapoliticalactorinhisorherownright;instead,theyareintendedtoinculcateloveofnationandobediencetoparty in children so that when they grow up they will contribute to nationaldevelopmentundertheleadershipoftheCCP.

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AbouttheAuthor

AndrewKauffmanisaPhDcandidateinmodernChineseliteratureatIndianaUniversity.