Book review: Milestones on a Golden Road, by Richard King

by Richard King
HKU Press
3.5 stars
David Bartram

It can be difficult, and not always desirable, to separate art and politics.

For example, we have to ask whether the art that glorified Mao Zedong's doomed bid to turn China into a communist utopia can be viewed in its own right, without considering the millions of people who died as it was being produced.

History tells us that this is a distinction few can bring themselves to make. In Milestones on a Golden Road, Richard King says the government-approved socialist literature written in China during the Mao years isn't of interest only as historical context, but as a body of work with genuine literary value.

The "golden road" is a recurring metaphor during this period for China's march towards a perfect form of communism. King also uses it to map his own journey through the era's literature, stopping off at key moments such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, to examine fiction from the period.

One of the highlights along this road is Hu Wanchun's A Man of Outstanding Quality, which tells the story of a perfect revolutionary hero, Wang Gang, who endeavours to almost single-handedly repair a rail line. King explains how the story was used during the Great Leap Forward as a way of inspiring both personal and national betterment.