Big-character posters () are handwritten posters displaying large Chinese characters, usually mounted on walls in public spaces such as universities, factories, government departments, and sometimes directly on the streets. They are used as a means of protest, propaganda, and popular communication. A form of popular political writing, big-character posters do not have a fixed format or style, and can appear in the form of letter, slogan, poem, commentary, etc.
Though many different political parties around the world have used slogans and posters as propaganda, the most intense, extensive, and varied use of big-character posters was in China in various political campaigns associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Big-character posters were first used extensively in the Hundred Flowers Campaign, and they played an instrumental role in almost all the subsequent political campaigns, culminating in the Cultural Revolution. Though the right to write big-character posters was deleted from the Constitution of China in 1980, people still occasionally write big-character posters to express their personal and political opinions.
History in China
Prototypes before 1949 Dazibao have been used in China since imperial times, but became more common when literacy rates rose after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. They have also incorporated limited-circulation newspapers, excerpted press articles, and pamphlets intended for public display. Big-character posters can be seen as part of a long tradition of using writings to convey information and express dissent in public. Wall posters have been used in China to publicly announce royal edicts, pronouncements, and various orders since at least the Zhou dynasty (1046 BC – 771 BC), when posters were the only means of communication between the emperor and his people. Local governments also used such posters, for instance to announce news or describe the physiognomy of wanted criminals. Documentation of posters used to express political dissent can be found as early as the Han dynasty. Around 172 AD, a poster attacking the powerful eunuchs appeared on the gate of the Imperial Palace.
In the Republic of China, increased popular literacy enabled a more effective use of public posters as a form of political propaganda. Posters and other forms of public writings were frequently employed to express nationalist sentiment. During the May Fourth Movement in 1919, Peking University students were enraged by the Treaty of Versailles, which handed German-occupied territory in China to Japan after World War I and decided to hold a rally in protest. "Inflammatory notices" on the campus bulletin board announced their plan. When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, and during the lying-in-state held in Central Park in Beijing, people spontaneously hung thousands of funeral scrolls around the park, which were often inscribed with a couplet expressing their grief and respect for the leader of the Xinhai revolution. Posters were also used extensively in 1925 during the May 30th Movement, for instance in urging patriotic citizens to stop using foreign products.
At the time, the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) used slogans and posters in their political propaganda. Some early posters share the visual aesthetics of later big-character posters. For instance, a poster printed by the Political Department of the General Headquarters of the National Revolutionary Army led by KMT is dominated by big characters written in the center. The sentence read: "If the peasants want to plough their fields, they must help the revolutionary army." Compared to contemporary designs, which were often more flamboyant and distracting, this poster has a simple grotesque-style border that directs the reader's attention to the words.Zhang, Shaoqian (2016). "Visualizing the Modern Chinese Party-State: From Political Education to Propaganda Agitation in the Early Republican Period". Twentieth-Century China. 41 (1): 63. Although the poster was printed, the characters appear as forceful handwritings that convey a heightened sense of immediacy.
Big-character posters in the Yan'an period Inspired by the Soviet Union, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also used wall newspapers and posters in their propaganda campaign, as they could be easily produced and reproduced and were written in accessible language conducive to mass mobilization. It was commonly believed that big-character posters originated in Yan'an, the CCP headquarter during the Anti-Japanese War and the subsequent civil war. They not only disseminated news and communist ideas but were also used to purge party officials during the 1942 Rectification Movement. During this early use of big-character posters, both the target and the degree of criticism were strictly controlled by the CCP party units.Leijonhufvud, Göran (1989). Going Against the Tide: On Dissent and Big Character Posters in China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. p. 42. However, occasionally, though rarely, people also used big-character posters to criticize the CCP. On March 23, 1942, Wang Shiwei, a 36-year-old pro-Communist journalist and writer, posted an essay titled "Two Reflections". Written in large characters, the essay criticized certain party leaders for repressing forms of political dissent.Hua, Sheng (1990). "Big Character Posters in China: A Historical Survey". Journal of Chinese Law. 4 (2): 235. In the next week, several other posters similarly critical of the party also went up, which triggered intense debate among the party leadership. The party did not appreciate such public criticism of its operation, and the writers were punished. In particular, Wang was accused as a "Trotskyist spy" and beheaded in 1947.Hua, Sheng (1990). "Big Character Posters in China: A Historical Survey". Journal of Chinese Law. 4 (2): 236. In 1945, during The 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong reflected on Wang's big-character poster: "We were defeated by him. We acknowledged our defeat and worked hard at rectification." In 1957, when Mao Zedong had started to use big-character posters to mobilize the masses during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, he looked back to the Yan'an period in his talk at the supreme state conference: "A few big-character posters were written in the Yan'an period, but we didn't promote it. Why? I guess maybe we were a bit foolish back then."
1950s: Big-character posters in the Hundred Flowers Campaign and the Great Leap Forward In late 1956, Mao Zedong believed that internal contradictions within the socialist society and within the party leadership, such as issues of subjectivism, bureaucratism, and secretarianism, must be solved before they develop into serious antagonism that requires more violent and radical measures. To expose these contradictions, Mao was determined to create an open atmosphere in which people may freely air any constructive advice. In February 1957, he launched the Hundred Flowers Campaign, which attempted to mobilize the masses, especially non-party intellectuals, to voice their concerns and contend with each other.
However, as criticism started to target Mao's judgment and question whether China should be led by CCP and whether China should adopt the socialist path, Mao decided that it was enough.Wemheuer, Felix (2019). A Social History of Maoist China : Conflict and Change, 1949-1976. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 113. On May 15, 1957, he wrote an article "Things are starting to change", which was immediately passed around party cadres but not yet made public.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 8. In the article, Mao insisted that "In recent days the Rightists in the democratic parties and institutions of higher education have shown themselves to be most determined and most rabid... To date, the Rightists have yet to reach the climax of their attack, and they are going at it in high spirits... We shall let the Rightists run amuck for a time and let them reach their climax. The more they run amuck, the better for us... Why is such a torrent of reactionary, vicious statements being allowed to appear in the press? To let the people have some idea of these poisonous weeds and noxious fumes so as to have them uprooted or dispelled."
The first critical big-character poster was posted on May 19, 1957, on the walls of the dining hall of Peking University, after Mao made up his mind that all those criticizing the party would be encouraged to speak up only to be eliminated later. This first poster was not exceptionally radical. It questioned how representatives to the National Congress of Youth League were selected and implied that the responsible cadres were nepotistic.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 10-11. 500 more posters followed in the next three days, and the number continued to grow. The content of these big-character posters varied from criticizing the "three evils" (subjectivism, bureaucracy, and sectarianism), criticizing dogmatism in teaching, demanding freedom to form communities and societies, and urging the cancellation of bans on books.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰[Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 11-35.Leijonhufvud, Göran (1989). Going Against the Tide: On Dissent and Big Character Posters in China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. p. 48. One poster by Long Yinghua from the philosophy department suggested that a section of the university wall should be designated as a forum for such democratic discussion, and hence the Democracy Wall was born in Peking University.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰[Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 11. Some of the more radical posters questioned the primacy and legitimacy of CCP and demanded absolute democracy.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 16-17, 19, 24-25. Liu Qidi's poster "Hu Feng is certainly not a counter-revolutionary" challenged the accusations of the intellectual Hu Feng three years ago in an earlier rectification campaign, which essentially questioned the judgment of Mao and CCP.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 14-15.
Most party media were silent about the student movement. "The Democracy Wall in Peking University", written by Liu Guanghua from Wenhui Daily, was one of the few articles sympathetic towards it.罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 21. Some posters quoted in his article had evident "anti-party" and "anti-socialism" sentiment. Liu's essay encouraged nationwide writing of big-character posters, which started to appear in universities in Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. This first wave of big-character posters was not welcomed by university party cadres. For instance, Cui Xiongkun, the deputy secretary of CCP in Peking University, stated: "big-character is not the best practice."罗, 平汉 (2001). 墙上春秋：大字报的兴衰 [Springs and Autumns on the Wall: The Rise and Fall of Big-character Posters] (in Chinese). 福建: 福建人民出版社. p. 11. Party authorities urged students to stop posting, which only generated more posters denouncing their restriction of freedom of expression. The Peking University Party Committee eventually gave consent to the posting of big-character posters.Guangming Daily (May 26, 1957). Cited in Leijonhufvud, Göran (1989). Going Against the Tide: On Dissent and Big Character Posters in China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. p. 48.