Debating Official History

Welcome to a new lecture in the "Centenary of the Chinese Communist Party" series this autumn semester: Inner-party disputes over the historiography of the People’s Republic of China by Anja Blanke, Zeppelin University.

The lecture focuses on post-1976 inner-party debates and disputes on the "historical mistakes" by the CCP. Since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, the CCP is struggling to find a consensus, not only within the society, but also within the party. Although the 1981 "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China" has set the official parameters for the historiography, this approach was not sufficient to prevent alternative views on the CCP’s past appearing from inner party circles on a long-term basis. The lecture shows that the official narratives of the past were even attacked by a number of former high-ranking party officials like Li Rui 李锐 and Li Shenzhi 李慎之 who contributed to a critical approach in dealing with the "historical mistakes" by the CCP since the 1990s.

Please register

The guest lecture will be both physical and digital, and is open for everyone who are interested. To receive a link to the digital meeting, please register here.

For further inquieries about the lecture series, please contact Julia Marinaccio on Julia.Marinaccio@uib.no

The lecture will be recorded and the video put online after the lecture.