Opening: The Miracles of Chairman Mao and the Deaf-Mutes of Liaoning Province

Physical prowess was very much at the heart of Chairman Mao's revolution of the Chinese people. Strength and endurance, application and perserverance, labor and the ability to engage in it, were valued more highly than acuity and intellect.

But to have the right attitude towards participation in the world, one had to be able to understand, study and constantly find new meaning in the words of Chairman Mao himself. While the object of revolution and rectification, the disciplining acts of change, is often seen as being the mind or spirit, the body was also an important part of the equation. For malfaesants who were not directly 'enemies of the people,' remoulding, a tempering through manual labor, became a key feature of politically-induced 'self-renewal'.

It was also important to be able to hear, and repeat, the revolutionary message. Chanting slogans, or just the line 'Long live Chairman Mao!', could sum up reams of revolutionary texts, replace with one oft-repeated mantra all the canonical works that were too difficult to digest.

Deaf-mutes were cut off from the revolution. They could neither hear the word of Mao, nor give voice to their own piety. At a time when slogans replaced all other forms of communication, when Mao quotes were the quintessential expression of thought, and the guide to all action, not to be able to join in the chorus of chanting was the equivalent of complete alienation.

Next: 2. The Role of the People's Liberation Army