Stinking Old Ninth

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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[edit]

The Yuan dynasty[edit]

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[edit]

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] In 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.

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]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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.
  15. ^ a b Lu, Hanchao, The Stinking Number Nine, Cambridge University Press, pp. 55–96, 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.