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A Cultural Revolution Eatery shuns even good press - for now (LEU SIEW YING - The South China Morning Post)
September 20, 2006 12:49 AM
Copyright The South China Morning Post
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A restaurant themed on the Cultural Revolution has opened on a narrow
street in Guangzhou’s military district, but its owners are worried
coverage in a local newspaper yesterday could invite unwanted attention
from the authorities. At the Da Guo Fan Restaurant, waiting staff
outfitted like Red Guards greet customers with “Tong zhi [comrade] ni
hao”. Customers are shown into rooms with red and yellow decor, the
walls lined with photos and posters of Mao Zedong , Lin Biao , Liu
Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping - key figures of the turbulent period between
1966 and 1976.
There is a statue of Mao, group photos of Red Guards and slogans
exhorting intellectual youths to go to the countryside and be
courageous, but no sign of the excesses of the Cultural Revolution which
might upset the authorities. Red Guards are seen studying and
celebrating the Lunar New Year, not leading struggle sessions against
enemies of the revolution. “It’s very sensitive now because of the new
law that bans businesses from using pictures and statues of leaders.
Besides, we are still applying for our licence,” said a restaurant staff
member, who identified himself only as Zhang.
“After this we might also have the cultural department supervising us,”
he said. “Nobody has bothered us in the past two months and normally the
commerce bureau will not give us any problem, but now that it’s in the
news, higher-up authorities might require them to do something.” One of
the owners, Wen Xuedong , a Guangzhou native, declined a request for an
interview. Mr Zhang said Mr Wen had moved the restaurant from Zengcheng
to downtown Guangzhou because “farmers there could not afford to dine at
the restaurant and did not appreciate history”.
Touched by his own experience of the Cultural Revolution - his father
was sent to a cadres’ school to reform his thinking - Mr Wen had
collected the posters and photos and downloaded Cultural Revolution
material from the internet. A customer said he had been to the
restaurant a few times but “the food is common country cuisine” and he
expected it to lose money if it counted on history to draw customers.
“That period made us feel uncomfortable. Why remember it when we are
living so comfortably now?”
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Posted at 12:49 AM