Stinking Old Ninth

The Stinking Old Ninth (Chinese: 臭老九; pinyin: chòu lǎo jiǔ) is a Chinese dysphemism for intellectuals used at two major points, the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).[1][2]

History

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The Yuan dynasty

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The term originated during the Yuan dynasty where the Mongol conquerors identified ten "castes" of Chinese: bureaucrats, officials, Buddhist monks, Taoist priests, physicians, workers, hunters, prostitutes, (ninth) Confucian scholars and finally beggars, with only beggars at a status below the intellectuals.[1][3]

The Cultural Revolution

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During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the term "Stinking Old Ninth" was often used as a synonym for intellectuals, who were widely persecuted during the revolution and pushed to undergo "self-transformation".[1][4][5][6] The "Nine Black Categories", expanded from the Five Black Categories (landlords, rich farmers, anti-revolutionaries, bad influences, right-wingers), further included traitors, spies, capitalist roaders and (ninth) intellectuals.[6][7][8]

Mao Zedong's distrust towards intellectuals was evident even before the Cultural Revolution.[6][9][10][11][12] For example, during the Anti-Rightist Campaign in 1957–1959, tens of thousands of intellectuals were persecuted.[6][13][14] The name "bourgeois intellectual" became a standard phrase in Mao's time.[15][16] During the Cultural Revolution, intellectuals were called the "Stinking Old Ninth" and were subjected to condemnation, purge, imprisonment and even execution.[9][11][15][17] On May 3, 1975, Mao made the following comments at his meeting with members of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party:[18][19]

In the fields of education, science, literature and art, and medicine, where intellectuals are concentrated, there are some good [people], and there are a few Marxist-Leninists. You [at the] Ministry of Foreign Affairs [are at] a place where intellectuals are concentrated, am I wrong? You two are stinking intellectuals, you should admit this, being the stinking old ninth category, the old ninth category cannot [just] walk away.

Rehabilitation

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After the Cultural Revolution, in August 1977, Deng Xiaoping mentioned in a meeting that it was the Gang of Four who came up with the phrase and that Mao himself saw intellectuals as still having some value in society.[20] A few days later, Hua Guofeng also attributed the invention of the term "Stinking Old Ninth" to the Gang of Four in his talk at the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.[21] In the Boluan Fanzheng period, the saying of "Stinking Old Ninth" was abolished and intellectuals were rehabilitated.[22][23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Jiao, Liwei (2019-11-12). A Cultural Dictionary of The Chinese Language: 500 Proverbs, Idioms and Maxims 文化五百条. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-71302-2.
  2. ^ Li, Kwok-sing (1995). A Glossary of Political Terms of the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. pp. 27–28.
  3. ^ Ya Se (雅瑟) and Qing Ping (青苹), eds. (2014). 中华词源 (Etymologies of China). Available on Google Books.
  4. ^ Ip, Hung-yok (23 November 2004). Intellectuals in Revolutionary China, 1921–1949. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203009932. ISBN 978-1-134-26520-6.
  5. ^ Bonnin, Michel (2013-08-07). The Lost Generation: The Rustication of China's Educated Youth (1968–1980). The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 978-962-996-481-8.
  6. ^ a b c d Wang, Laidi (2003). "毛泽东的知识分子政策" [Mao Zedong's policies on intellectuals]. Modern China Studies (3). Archived from the original on 2024-03-18.
  7. ^ Song, Yongyi (August 25, 2011). "Chronology of Mass Killings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)". Sciences Po. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Mann, Jim (1985-09-18). "'It's Not the Same Communist Party It Was' : China's Old Soldiers Yielding to Technocrats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  9. ^ a b Bonnin, Michel (2013-08-07). The Lost Generation: The Rustication of China's Educated Youth (1968–1980). The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 978-962-996-481-8.
  10. ^ Ip, Hung-Yok (2010), Cheek, Timothy (ed.), "Mao, Mao Zedong Thought, and Communist Intellectuals", A Critical Introduction to Mao, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 169–195, ISBN 978-0-521-88462-4, retrieved 2024-03-23
  11. ^ a b Pines, Yuri (2012-05-27). The Everlasting Empire: The Political Culture of Ancient China and Its Imperial Legacy. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13495-6.
  12. ^ Bao, Tong (2014-08-29). "'Mao And Deng Were The Same, And We Should Ditch Them'". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  13. ^ "Echoes of persecutions past in China's intellectual crackdown". South China Morning Post. 2017-06-08. Archived from the original on 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  14. ^ Zeng, Zhaojin; Eisenman, Joshua (September 2018). "The price of persecution: The long-term effects of the Anti-Rightist Campaign on economic performance in post-Mao China". World Development. 109: 249–260. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.04.013.
  15. ^ a b Lu, Hanchao (2024), "The Stinking Number Nine", Shanghai Tai Chi, Cambridge University Press, pp. 55–96, doi:10.1017/9781009180979.004, ISBN 978-1-009-18097-9, retrieved 2024-03-23
  16. ^ Zhou, Enlai (1962-03-02). "论知识分子问题" [On the issue of intellectuals]. Marxists Internet Archive (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  17. ^ Wang, Youqin (2001). "Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966" (PDF). The University of Chicago. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-04-17.
  18. ^ Mao, Zedong (1975-05-03). "毛泽东同在京中央政治局委员的谈话（1975年5月3日）" [Chairman Mao's Talk with Members of the Politburo who Were in Beijing]. Marxists Internet Archive (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2024-03-17.
  19. ^ The Secretarial Bureau of the Office of the Central Committee (1975-05-03). "Chairman Mao's Talk with Members of the Politburo who Were in Beijing" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-13.
  20. ^ Deng Xiaoping (1984). "Mao Zedong Thought Must be Correctly Understood as an Integral Whole". Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. Vol. 2. Beijing: Foreign Language Press.
  21. ^ Hua, Guofeng. "十一大上的政治报告（一九七七年八月十二日报告，八月十八日通过）华国锋 - 中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会". China Daily. Archived from the original on 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  22. ^ Deng, Xiaoping (1980-01-16). "目前的形势和任务" [The current situation and tasks]. China Reform Information Center. Archived from the original on 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  23. ^ Wu, Yuenong. "邓小平与科技界的拨乱反正" [Deng Xiaoping and the Boluan Fanzheng in science]. People's Net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
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