| Weary of the pomp and circumstance surrounding massive events like the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2009 and 2010's Shanghai World Expo, one might expect to be overwhelmed by ostentation in 2011, the year of the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Yi Qie Wei Le Ren Min ("All for the People") that was the sort of history on display at a thus-named exhibition celebrating 90 years of Communist Party history at the China Millennium Monument Museum. Rather than heavy-handed propagandizing and heaping of praise upon leaders, the exhibition was almost audacious in its austerity. Instead of celebrating 90 years of Party leadership, this exhibition celebrated 90 years of ordinary people working together, true to the spirit of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
I never liked history classes as a youth because I thought it was nothing but worthless military trivia and rote memorization of presidential biographies. As a young adult I discovered that it wasn't studying history that I disliked, but propaganda and indoctrination of middle school history classes. Subversive history books like Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen and A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn taught me that authentic history is not told from the perspectives of leaders and elites, but by regular people.
The exhibition I visited was not at all subversive, but it did focus on the lifestyles and activities of ordinary people instead of singing praises of the elites. It is a reminder that the CPC contains people from many varied socio-economic classes and different walks of life.
It began with an introductory montage in quasi-3D parallax projected against a 180 degree screen, documenting important events in modern Chinese history, such as the return of Hong Kong and Macau to China, the bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Shenzhou 6 manned spacecraft—showcasing ambition without over-the-top theatrics. In fact, the only thing imposing about the multimedia introduction was the accommodating size of the round atrium in which visitors were received.
The history of the CPC is a few decades longer than the People's Republic of China. The Party was founded amidst a civil war between myriad local warlords vying for power after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). A section of the exhibition was bathed in eerie blue light, with telegram signals beeping out Morse code, while an air raid siren sang of underground Party members like Yan Youwen, an unsung hero who collected intelligence while posing as a secretary to a Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist military leader.
Yan's identity as a "red agent" was not discovered until 1997. On the opposite wall were portraits of 169 other young underground CPC members who collected intelligence on the KMT and Imperial Japanese Army from 1921 to 1949.
Later sections of the exhibition relating to the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) featured insights into the daily lives of Chinese people during this difficult era of Chinese history, which remains taboo and is rarely discussed openly. The mere existence of this part of the exhibit is a testament to earnest efforts toward intra-party reforms, even if somewhat sanitized.
Among other artifacts were medals awarded to model workers during the 1950s and 1960s—from shopkeepers to toilet cleaners—and food ration coupons, relics of the planned economy period dated as recently as 1978. All of this was evidence that although life was very difficult for Chinese people before the market-oriented reforms and opening-up policies that proposed by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, life still went on.
Although there was no shortage of photos featuring the four generations of CPC leadership, it was tastefully understated in favor of more humble populism. Of particular note was a series of photos of early Party leaders Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Zhu De breaking ground for the Shisanling Reservoir in Beijing's present-day Changping District. Although it bore marks of a posed photo opportunity, it was nonetheless considerably organic, not to mention unexpected to see the top leadership getting their hands dirty toiling side-by-side with workers.
After that, guests were greeted by a reconstruction of a traditional Beijing-style tea house, which served tea in the authentic Old Beijing way—from a common cask into plain bowls, without pretentious ceremony, and free of charge.
There were also a couple of interactive exhibits, including a massive touchscreen photo wall and a massive red banner embroidered with the Party oath; guests are invited to add a few gold stitches to the collective work.
At the end, I was asked to write a virtual greeting card with a digital stylus that mimics a calligraphy brush. My contribution: "Happy Birthday, Party!"
The author is an American living in Beijing | 
