Joking About Mao Lands Chinese TV Host in Hot Water

April 10, 2015

Joking About Mao Lands Chinese TV Host in Hot Water

By CHRIS BUCKLEY

Mao Zedong famously said a revolution is not a dinner party. Nor, it seems, is a dinner party in China an occasion to mock Mao's revolution.

In the past few days, some tipsy jibes by a Chinese television celebrity, Bi Fujian, have been enough to inspire tirades from the state media and imperil Mr. Bi's career.

A crooning, avuncular regular on China Central Television entertainment programs, Mr. Bi apparently thought he was amusing a few guests around a banquet table when he sang some lines from a Mao-era opera and peppered the lyrics with sarcastic asides. But shaky video of the performance lasting a minute or so leaked onto the Internet in recent days, and now Mr. Bi stands accused of political sacrilege, which cannot be good when your job depends on echoing party propaganda themes.

"Bi Fujian is a China Central Television host, and his comments in this Internet video have serious social consequences," the state broadcaster said in a statement issued Wednesday night. "We will conscientiously investigate this and sternly deal with it according to the relevant regulations."

Later on Thursday, Mr. Bi broke his silence with an apology that amounted to a plea for clemency.

"I feel extremely remorseful and pained," Mr. Bi said on his page on Sina.com's Weibo, a popular microblog site. "I sincerely offer my deepest apologies to the public. As a public figure, I will certainly heed the lessons and exercise strict demands and discipline over myself."

It seems unlikely that the relevant regulations, whatever they are, will let Mr. Bi off easily. The Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, has demanded that citizens, especially artists and writers, uphold party orthodoxy, and has warned against "historical nihilism," or bleak depictions of the past that undermine the party's stature. Mr. Xi has taken particular umbrage at critics of the party who live off the party's largess.

Mr. Bi's public mortification is a symptom of the times, Zhang Ming, a liberal-minded historian at Renmin University in Beijing, said in a telephone interview. News reports said on Thursday that Mr. Bi has already been suspended from appearances on China Central Television for this week.

"This is the general direction ideologically," Mr. Zhang said. Mr. Bi's comments would have been ignored by his bosses, except they had spread on the Internet and been seized on by Maoist loyalists, he said.

"Nowadays, officials are all quite sensitive ideologically, and they're afraid of being accused of not responding when something like this comes out," he said. "It's clearly more sensitive than a few years ago.

"There wouldn't be much of a fuss if an ordinary citizen said this," Mr. Zhang added. "But Bi Fujian is a big deal."Something like an older, Chinese Ryan Seacrest, the smooth host of "American Idol," Mr. Bi has been the host of a long-running talent show, "Avenue of Stars." He was also one of several hosts of the variety gala that hundreds of millions of Chinese people watch on Lunar New Year's Eve.

Mr. Bi's sin was to offer his own interpretation of a song from "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy," one of the eight "model" operas and ballets that Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, and her artistic underlings developed in the 1960s to replace traditional performances with revolutionary content. Mr. Bi grew up under Mao, and he knew the lyrics by heart, but his improvised asides were not what Ms. Jiang had in mind.

"The Communist Party! Chairman Mao!" Mr. Bi sang, adding, sotto voce, "Uh, don't mention that old son of a bitch, he tormented us!"

"Leading us forward, a red star on our heads and revolutionary red banners planted either side!" Mr. Bi continues, adding: "What kind of costume is that?"

"The red banner points to clouds dispersing! The people of the revolutionary region overthrow their landlords, free themselves!" he sings, adding, "Huh, what did the landlords do to offend you?"

"The people's army, sharing suffering and woe with the people, have come to clear Tiger Mountain!" he concludes, ending with a salty, dismissive expression that can't be printed here.

The guests around the table giggled as Mr. Bi threw out his quips, and burst into laughter and applause at the end. The presence of two Western men and a Western woman has magnified speculation, rich in conspiracy theories, about who was present and how the video became public.

Like quite a few Chinese celebrities, Mr. Bi seems to have combined a politically wholesome public persona with an irreverent sense of humor in private. And the reaction to Mr. Bi's brief performance has illustrated the divide in China between Mao's sacred official stature and public opinion, which is much more mixed between reverence and revulsion.

Commentaries in the state media and on the Internet reviled Mr. Bi as a traitor and heretic for mocking Mao, but online, some people defended his right to his opinions and welcomed his satirical take on Mao's grievous mistakes.

"The epidemic of sneers, crude words and obscenities is by no means a blessing for the Internet," said a commentary about Mr. Bi issued by Xinhua, the main state news agency. "Even less is it a symbol of free expression."

A party organization devoted to building "Red Army" schools to perpetuate revolutionary traditions stripped Mr. Bi of his title as a "loving ambassador," the China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday. The organization vowed that it would "keep firm faith in the revolution and spread the great spirit of the Red Army from one generation to the next."

Outside the confines of the state media, however, Mr. Bi had his defenders."Totally support Bi Fujian," read one comment on Weibo. "Everyone has the right to free speech, not to mention saying that Mao was a big dictator who brought calamity to China, ruined China's literary heritage and starved tens of millions of people."

Mr. Bi, 56, came of age during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, Mao's tumultuous bid to cleanse the party and society of ideological deviance, and spent three years "sent down" to the countryside as part of Mao's program, noted one online commentary.

"The core evidence used to condemn Bi is his comment that Mao Zedong 'tormented us,'" it said. "Was that comment really so wrong?"

That commentary and other defenders of Mr. Bi noted that even official assessments of Mao have been ambivalent. The party's decision on history, which Deng Xiaoping oversaw in 1980-81, in an effort to shore up Mao's battered status, nonetheless noted that Mao had brought on calamities during his later years, including the Cultural Revolution.

Under Mr. Xi, though, the party has imposed even tighter censorship on public discussion and research about Mao's era. Party publications have also dismissed as lies the conclusion, shared by many historians in China and abroad, that tens of millions of people, possibly 30 million or more, died because of the famine and other suffering brought on from the late 1950s by Mao's Great Leap Forward, when his attempt to catapult the country into Communist abundance crashed disastrously.

Unlike the intellectuals of Mao's era who dared to question the party's policies, Mr. Bi appears unlikely to spend time in prison for his performance. But his days in the limelight could be over, for now at least.

Internet speculation has also turned to who else attended the dinner with Mr. Bi. Liu Dawei, the chairman of the China Artists Association, felt compelled to deny rumors that he was one of the guests, according to the China News Service.

"This is a case of political entrapment using rumors and slander to engage in personal attacks," Mr. Liu said.

Vanessa Piao contributed research.

2015年04月10日

央视主持人毕福剑酒桌调侃毛泽东受批判

储百亮

毛泽东有一句名言，革命不是请客吃饭。在中国，似乎请客吃饭也不应该是嘲讽毛泽东革命的场合。

过去几天，中国电视名人毕福剑酒醉时的一些嘲讽言论，已经引发了官方媒体长篇大论的谴责，并足以影响毕福剑的个人前程。

在中国中央电视台的娱乐节目中时常露面的毕福剑保持了一种大叔式的形象，说话低声细气。显然当时他是想逗宴会上的宾客开心，唱了几句毛泽东时代的样板戏，并在其中加上讽刺性的调侃。不过，这段只有一分钟左右、画面不稳定的视频被泄露到了网上，如今，毕福剑被指存在政治上的不敬。考虑到他的工作靠的是附和中共的宣传导向，这可不是一件好事。

"毕福剑作为央视主持人，在此次网络视频中的言论造成了严重社会影响，"这家官方电视台周三晚间在一份声明中说。"我们会认真调查并依据有关规定作出严肃处理。"

周四晚些时候，毕福剑打破沉默，发表了一份道歉声明，希望求得原谅。

"我感到非常自责和痛心，"毕福剑在拥有大量用户的微博网站新浪微博的个人主页上说。"我诚恳向社会公众致以深深的歉意。我作为公众人物，一定吸取教训，严格要求，严于律己。"

无论存在哪些相关规定，似乎都不太可能轻易放过毕福剑。中共领导人习近平要求民众，尤其是艺术家和作家，坚持党的正统观念，并警告要避免"历史虚无主义"，以及对削弱共产党地位的历史的苍白描述。习近平对于体制内的党的批评者尤其不满。

人民大学的自由派历史学者张鸣在电话采访中说，毕福剑的公开受辱是时代的症状。一些新闻报道周四称，中央电视台本周将停播毕福剑主持的节目。

"这是意识形态上的大方向，"张鸣说。他说毕福剑的老板们本来不在乎他的言论，但现在被传到了网上，被毛泽东的忠实追随者抓住不放。

"如今，官员们在意识形态方面都非常敏感，它们害怕被指责在这样的事情发生时没有回应，"他说。"现在明显比几年前更加敏感。"

"如果是普通人说了这些话，就不会有这么多麻烦，"张鸣接着说。"但毕福剑是个公众人物。"毕福剑一直是选秀节目《星光大道》的主持人，有点像伶牙俐齿的《美国偶像》(American Idol)主持人瑞安·西克莱斯特(Ryan Seacrest)的年长中国版。毕福剑还是上亿观众在农历新年观看的春节联欢晚会的几位主持人之一。

毕福剑的罪过是点评了一段京剧《智取威虎山》，这是毛泽东的妻子江青和手下在上世纪60年代打造的八段革命样板戏和芭蕾舞剧之一，旨在用革命内容取代传统表演。毕福剑是在毛泽东时代长大的，这些戏文他都熟记于心，但他即兴的点评可不是当初江女士的想法。

"共产党！毛主席！"毕福剑唱道，然后小声地说，"别提那个老*养的，可把我们害苦了！"（本文中涉及不便发表的粗俗语已用*略去。——译注）

"红旗指处乌云散，解放区人民斗倒地主把身翻， "他接着唱起来，然后说，"地主招你惹你了？"

"一颗红星头上戴，革命红旗挂两边！"毕福剑接着唱道，然后说，"这啥打扮啊？"

"人民的军队与人民共患难，到这里为的是扫平威虎山——吹牛*吧！"

当毕福剑抛出自己的戏谑之语时，桌上围坐的客人纷纷忍不住笑起来，最后还报以掌声。现场有两名西方男子和一名西方女子，这加剧了人们关于当时究竟有谁在场，以及这段视频是如何公布的猜测——其中不乏阴谋论。

与不少中国名人一样，毕福剑似乎有着政治上循规蹈矩的公众形象，私底下却又有一种玩世不恭的幽默感。人们对毕福剑这个短暂表演的反应，说明中国社会在毛泽东神圣的官方地位和公众舆论之间存在分歧，后者倾向于一种崇敬和厌恶交杂的情绪。

由于讽刺了毛泽东，官方媒体和网络评论猛烈抨击毕福剑是叛徒和异端；但是在网上，也有人在捍卫他表达观点的权利，并对他嘲讽毛泽东的严重错误的做法表示欢迎。

"黑话、粗话、下流话横行，绝非网络空间之福，"主要官方通讯社新华社所发表的一篇关于毕福剑的评论称。"更不能作为表达自由的象征。"

《中国青年报》周三报道，一个致力于建设"红军"小学来延续革命传统的中共机构撤销了毕福剑的"爱心大使"称号。该组织承诺，它将"坚定革命信仰，使伟大的红军精神代代相传"。

不过，在国家媒体之外，毕福剑拥有自己的支持者。"绝对支持毕福建，"一条微博评论称。"每个人都有权力自由言论，更何况说的是毛这种祸乱中国，断送中国文脉，饿死千万百姓的大独裁者。"

一条网络评论指出，今年56岁的毕福剑成长于1966年至1976年文化大革命时期——毛泽东为清除党内和社会上的不同意识形态而掀起的大规模运动——还曾被"下放"到农村三年。"下放"也是毛泽东计划的部分内容。

"用来谴责毕福剑的核心证据就是他所说的毛泽东'把我们害苦了'，"评论称。"这样说真的错了吗？"

这条评论和毕福剑的其他捍卫者指出，官方对毛泽东的评价也一直充满矛盾。邓小平于1980年到1981年主持的历史决定，是为了捍卫毛泽东摇摇欲坠的地位，不过其中也指出毛泽东晚年曾带来灾难，其中就包括文化大革命。

然而，在习近平的领导下，共产党对关于毛泽东时代的公共讨论和研究进行了更严格的审查。中国内外的许多历史学家都认为，从上世纪50年代末开始，毛泽东的大跃进运动所造成的饥荒和其他灾难共导致数千万人丧生——人数可能在3000万人或以上——但共产党刊物却称这一结论为谎言。当时，毛泽东让中国迅速过上共产主义富裕生活的尝试发生了灾难性的崩溃。

与毛泽东时代敢于质疑共产党政策的知识分子不同，毕福剑似乎不会因为自己的表演而被关押入狱。但是，他聚光灯下的生活可能会就此结束，至少目前如此。

网上还开始猜测当时还有谁在与毕福剑共进晚餐。中国新闻社报道称，有传言称中国美术家协会主席刘大为也是当晚的宾客之一，迫于压力，刘大为对这一传言进行了否认。

刘大为称，"这一造谣诽谤、进行人身攻击、政治陷害事件，已造成广泛而恶劣的社会影响，我会已上报上级机关及有关部门极速查处，以正视听！"

储百亮(Chris Buckley)是《纽约时报》记者。

Vanessa Piao对本文有研究贡献。