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Several of the author's themes are rooted in the profound conservatism and family-centeredness of the Chinese. The copying of the perfect model, whether aesthetic or moral, was considered a higher achievement than expressing originality. The Communists have perpetuated this tradition by extolling new kinds of political models, individuals or institutions that embody all the Maoist virtues, like the soldier Lei Feng or the Tachai production brigade. Because of China's collectivism familial past, the worst punishment an individual can receive is to be isolated from the commu nity and ridiculed by his neighbors. Solomon illustrates this with a 19th Century photograph of two people suffering the cangue, or penal collar, in which their faces are framed for public censure. A postrevolutionary picture shows fanatical Red Guards parading an alleged "capitalist reader" who was forced to wear a dunce cap.
Political Corpses. The notion that Mao's China is partly a captive of its his tory has been developed by an entire generation of China scholars. Most have discussed the tenacity of tradition in sketchy, abstract terms. Solomon's skillful blend of words and pictures brings the past and present into sharp focus.
His method has its hazards. It is often difficult to tell if a national trait derives from an unconscious attachment to tradition or simply from the weight of practical circumstances. A Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party does not adequately explain some of the darker aspects of China's modern experience: the nearly irrational passion of such campaigns as the Cultural Revolution, or Mao's tendency to litter the political arena with the corpses of former friends. By ignoring these parts of the Chinese reality, or treating them as derivations of the past, Solomon sometimes appears a bit apologetic for the China of Mao. Nevertheless, his book should help to clarify the traditional image of China in the American mind, an image that has of ten swung capriciously from sentimental enthusiasm to angry disappointment and back again.