Introduction and Thesis

Introduction

Mao Era Garbology is a Digital Humanities (DH) project that provides historians, history enthusiasts, and students with a unique lens of material culture they can use in historical investigations. The term "material culture" refers to the particular study of physical objects such as artifacts, numismatics, exonumia, and other physical resources that people create and use to define their culture. In this particular historical context, material culture specifically refers to the study of physical objects that have been used in the "Chinese" past, particularly those that pertain to the Mao Era.

Material culture serves as a reflection of the interactions of people, specifically the average laypersons, with the grand Zeitgeist of their times. That is, material culture delineates, in an often more approachable and down-to-earth manner, the values, beliefs, and practices of a society at a given time. Thus, with its indicative nature of the spiritual aspects of society, material culture also serves as a key that historians can use to unlock the mystical idealistic progressions seen in history that present themselves in a similarly more down-to-earth fashion beyond the disturbances of often grandiose and imposing ideological influences.

The title of this Digital Humanities project "Mao Era Garbology" draws great inspiration from the term "Sinological Garbology" that Swedish sinologist Michael Schoenhals coined to refer to the study of discarded documents gathered from flea markets and other unconventional sources (cited in the Introduction to the PRC History Source Transparency at Simon Fraser University, published by Jeremy Brown). Mao Era Garbology has extended the definition of "Garbology" to refer to the study of things beyond the "discarded documents" with the inclusion of all memorabilia that relate to the past, particularly of the chapters of Chinese history that find affinity to Mao. From another perspective, the term "Garbology" was also adopted to serve as a more ceremonious term to refer to "Flea Market History", which quite accurately reflects the sources of the memorabilia on display in this project – the flea markets of Beijing.

This interdisciplinary approach combines elements of archaeology, anthropology, and material culture studies to reconstruct the lived experiences of ordinary people during the Mao Era and beyond. By examining the material remains of daily life, we can uncover stories that are often absent from official historical narratives, providing a more nuanced understanding of this complex period in Chinese history.

Thesis

First and foremost, this project is a project of Digital Humanities (DH) where the discipline of Information and Digital Technology intersects with the discipline of Humanities. As digitalization becomes ever more omnipresent and its reverberations are felt throughout society, its applications in the study of humanities are ever more elevated. Indeed, digital technology has terminated the barricades to understanding and greatly improved international understanding that transcends the traditional geopolitical boundaries. Therefore, the author hopes Mao Era Garbology can be a project of Digital Humanities that can help promote international cognizance and knowledge of the Mao Era of modern Chinese history and its lingering echoes that affect Chinese society (both the daily life of citizens and the political edifice) to this day.

Secondly, this project anchors itself in the study of Material Culture as a lens for studying history beyond the textbook, beyond the grandiose rhetoric of the political know-how, beyond the superficial. Material culture is and delineates the interactions between the average human and the zeitgeist of their times.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, through the medium of Digital Humanities and the lens of Material Culture, this project intends to showcase the progression in the lifestyles of the Mao Era and post-Mao Era of modern Chinese history, both in terms of material life and spiritual life. As such, this project centers itself around the delineation of the progression of ideals in Chinese society over time, exploring both commonalities and juxtapositions over time.

Indeed, much has changed when comparing the pre-Mao Era of Chinese history and the Mao Era of Chinese history. In many respects, Mao forever changed Chinese society, not only in terms of adopting ideologies and systems of government but also in the way Chinese people lived their lives, as reflected by the memorabilia of Material Culture. Perhaps even more of such alterations may be discovered when contrasting the Mao Era of Chinese history and the post-Mao Era of Chinese history as the oriental colossus seemingly steers "right" in its "Open and Reform Policy". To that end, this project explores exactly the developments of Chinese society, via the Material Culture lens, regarding Mao.

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