Serve the People! (novel)

Serve the People! (Chinese: 为人民服务) is a 2005 novel by Yan Lianke. The English version, translated by Julia Lovell, was published in 2010 by Black Cat/Grove.

Background

This phrase was coined by Mao Zedong in 1944 when he wrote an article, "To Serve The People", to commemorate the death of a red army soldier Zhang Side (张思德). In that article Mao said:" To die for the benefit of the people, is more important than Tai mountain; working for the fascists and dying for those who oppress and exploit the people, that death would be lighter than a feather. Comrade Zhang Side died for the benefit of the people, so his death is heavier than Tai mountain."
During the Cultural Revolution, this article was required reading for millions of Chinese; it was also one of the Three Old Articles(老三篇). "To serve the people" became one of the most popular slogans of all times, even being used today. However, there was evidence suggested by author Jung Chang's book Mao: The Unknown Story, indicating that Comrade Zhang Si-De was in fact killed while processing raw opium when the kiln collapsed on him.

Yan Lianke used Mao's phrase for the name of his novel "Serve The People!", which contains vivid and colorful descriptions of sex scenes, resulting in extensive controversy when it was featured in 2005 in a magazine "Flower City". The Chinese government ordered the publisher to stop the release of 30,000 copies of the magazine, which in turn created huge demand for the novel.[1]

The storyline is similar to D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover: the younger wife (32 yrs) of an old and impotent army general (52 yrs), begins to seduce a soldier (28 yrs), assigned to do the domestic chores for the general. During a three-day run of sex, the soldier runs out of energy. They discovered that when he smashes a bust items with Mao Zedong's image, he can get aroused again. Afterward they smash or deface all of the Mao imagery in their residence to prove their love for each other. The story's background, the Cultural Revolution, means the main characters are fully aware of the consequences of smashing Mao's statues: death by firing squad.[2]

The novel was banned by the Chinese government at least partially because of its depiction of items related to Mao Zedong and political issues, as well as sexual content.[3] It has been translated into French, Danish, Norwegian, German, Dutch, Italian, Czech and English.

Adaptation

There have been reports of a South Korean erotic film adaptation by Jang Cheol-soo (set in North Korea),[4] but the project seems to have been abandoned.

References
  1. Toy, Mary-Anne (2007-07-28), "A pen for the people", The Age, retrieved 2010-04-28
  2. Schillinger, Liesl (2008-05-04), "Kissing the Cook", New York Times, retrieved 2008-04-28
  3. . Kirkus Reviews. 2007-12-15 https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/yan-lianke/serve-the-people/. Retrieved 2018-11-30. Missing or empty |title= (help) - Online publication: May 20, 2010.
  4. "Yoo Ah-in to star in erotic movie". Han Cinema. 2013-07-28.
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