Party Spirit Made Flesh: The Production of Legitimacy in the Aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

Abstract

This article argues that the Party retains a tradition of seeking to revitalize its legitimacy through demonstrations of benevolence and glory. The post-2008 Sichuan earthquake provided just such an opportunity to mobilize the discourse of "Party spirit" and display the willingness of cadres to suffer and sacrifice themselves on behalf of the people. In addition to being grist for the propaganda mill, these norms and expectations were implemented in concrete policy directives and work pressures. Local cadres, who were also earthquake survivors, started to suffer from exhaustion, insomnia, and depression. After high-profile suicides by several local cadres, the Party adopted a therapeutic discourse in order to address the psychological needs of individual cadres, though these gentler policies seem doomed to be short-lived. O n May 12, 2008, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Wenchuan region of Sichuan province. It resulted in over 85,000 fatalities, left 5 million people homeless, and disabled critical communication and transportation infrastructures. The catastrophe was prolonged as a result of multiple aftershocks, mudslides, and floods. The government's response was praised for allowing unprecedented media access to the earthquake zone and the emotional response of national leadership, most notably the compassionate tears of Premier Wen Jiabao. 1 The party-state's monopoly on moral authority was complicated, however, inasmuch as "a tremendous surge of volunteers, civic associations, enterprises, and media from across the country donated their time, money and materials to the *I wish to thank Geremie Barmé, Andrew Mertha, Joseph Mink, Anita Chan, Jonathan Unger, and the reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. I am also grateful for the opportunity to present an earlier version of this article at Cornell University's Contemporary China Initiative Lecture Series.

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“…Instead, synthetic revolutionary experiences have been created to take their place. Indoctrination, commitment, and conformity are guided by the Leninist concept of 'party spirit' (dangxing, 党性), which encompasses the distinct and unconditional dedication to the party and its mission-a reading that was first popularised by the book How to Be a Good Communist, CCP second-in-command Liu Shaoqi's guide for party members that was first published in 1946 (Sorace 2016).…”

Pandemia y guerra: narrativas de crisis y liderazgo. Análisis de las estrategias discursivas presidenciales en el inicio de la pandemia del COVID-19

“…Y ese proceso colectivo tiene naturaleza política, puesto que corresponde a gobiernos y administraciones dirigir y aportar soluciones en la gestión de las crisis (Liu y Boin, 2020). En este sentido, se pueden considerar como "fuerzas dinámicas en los procesos continuos de legitimación, deslegitimación y relegitimación" ('T Hart y Boin, 2001) que rompen los marcos simbólicos familiares que refrendan el orden sociopolítico preexistente, dañando la legitimidad de los líderes e instituciones gubernamentales, pero también brindando oportunidades para reparar ese daño (Sorace, 2016). Dicho de otra forma: los actores políticos y sociales participan en una suerte de competencia sobre la construcción de los marcos de las crisis (de Clercy y Ferguson, 2016;Lakoff, 1991).…”

Party spirit: producing a communist civil religion in contemporary China

“…Barring exceptional events, such as after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, when CCP cadres and members selflessly participated in a massive rescue operation, nowadays real struggle and violence are no longer an option to strengthen the commitment of party members and cadres (Sorace ). Instead, synthetic revolutionary experiences, like those that will be discussed at length later on in this article, have been created to take their place.…”

“…The CCP's emphasis on party spirit was more widely applied between 1942 and 1944 during the Yan'an Rectification Campaign, which welded the Party into a revolutionary machine under Mao's unchallengeable leadership. Party spirit was further popularized throughout the Party by the book How to be a good communist , the CCP second‐in‐command Liu Shaoqi's guide for party members, which was first published in 1946 (Sorace ). In later years, party leaders have continued to use the concept of party spirit, usually to condemn their foes within the leadership in a call for an end to factionalism and a restoration of unity, for instance by Deng Xiaoping shortly after the start of the reforms in 1978 (Deng : 192).…”