Wounding Ideals: Israel Epstein’s Life Saga in Communist China

Despite of all its enigma and revealingness, Israel Epstein’s (1915-2005) life in communist China remains a vacuum in English-language scholarship on the history of the People’s Republic of China. This paper intends to fill this vacuum. It seeks to rediscover Epstein’s communist experience, with par...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sun, Mengxi (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: David Publishing Company 2017
In: Cultural and religious studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 5, Issue: 3, Pages: 142-152
Further subjects:B Cultural Revolution
B Chinese Communist Party
B Pro-communism foreigners
B Israel Epstein
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Despite of all its enigma and revealingness, Israel Epstein’s (1915-2005) life in communist China remains a vacuum in English-language scholarship on the history of the People’s Republic of China. This paper intends to fill this vacuum. It seeks to rediscover Epstein’s communist experience, with particular focus on his fervent activism in and unapologetic defense of the Cultural Revolution. Through analyzing his experience, this paper exposes the essential allurement of Chinese communism encapsulated in the ideals of revolutionary regeneration and revolutionary virtues. Beyond Epstein’s communist experience, this paper calls for a deeper and broader pondering on the analogy between communism and religion. Such an illuminating analogy should inspire more intellectual efforts than critical expositions of formalistic vainglory or personality cult.
ISSN:2328-2177
Contains:Enthalten in: Cultural and religious studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17265/2328-2177/2017.03.004