Official remembering and forgetting in Xi Xinping's China
Published: January 7, 2026
Duration: 30:02
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores the complex and often suppressed memory of China's recent past. Drawing on Tania Branigan's Red Memory, we delve into the heart of Beijing—Tiananmen Square—and unpack its layers of history, from the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and the tragedy of 1989.
Why does the portrait of Mao Zedong still gaze over the square, despite the catastrophes of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution? How does the Chinese Communist Party use "Red Tourism" and...