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If you thought only the likes of our RBI Govenor, Raghuram Rajan, could groove to government policy, think again. You are about to hum the catchy Chinese 13th five-year plan tune for the next hour.
Go on. I dare you to come away from this video without the shi san wu getting into your head. You have been warned.
I once thought chirpy animation and government policy were as far removed from each other as Mahatma Gandhi and violence. However, that my stereotype should be laid to rest by the seemingly stodgy Chinese government should not be as surprising as it seems. China has, again and again, surprised the expert and layman alike. At every foreign declaration of an impending economic and social fall, she has navigated her way skillfully (or not, depending on your perspective) around the bend, to become the second-largest economy in the world today.
A major enabling factor in this journey has been the post-Mao Communist Party of China’s ability to place the imperative of current reality before old ideology. Even as things remain the same in China, they are also constantly changing.
Deng Xiaoping set this precedent of adapting to change when he opened the Chinese communist economy in the late 1970s and immortalised the economic capitalist revolution that was to come in his quote — “Whether a cat is black or white makes no difference. As long as it catches mice, it is a good cat”.
This adaptability has been on display in an interesting area in the last couple of years — slick government propaganda videos set to cheerful and catchy music including, of all things, Rap!
If you wanna know what China's gonna do, best pay attention to the Shi San Wu !
For instance, aimed at educating foreigners are the animated music video ‘Pay Attention to the Shi san wu’ released in October 2015 and the The Real Kung Fu in China’s economy earlier this year. Shi san wu ( shi san =13, wu =5) explains how the planning process unfolds in China. The other video uses four Kung Fu principles of...
‘Retreat to move forward’,
’Perseverance ensures success’,
‘Do as nature does. Learn from nature’,
‘Share widely for mutual benefit’
... to explain recent Chinese economic policies.
On the other hand, Rap-style videos like the Four Comprehensives (highlighting the Chinese Dream to be achieved by President Xi Jinping’s political theory distilled in four slogans) released earlier this year...
... and the People’s Liberation Army’s recruitment video are clearly meant for the Chinese citizens. For instance, the reference in the Four Comprehensives video, to the “do you know who my dad is” syndrome common to China (Hindi-Chini, truly Bhai Bhai !).
“Nobody is above the law. Nobody can abuse power! Hidden rules are useless. Offenders should not be shameless. Everyone is equal before the law. Think your dad can protect you? No way!”
The PLA video features images of young soldiers and modern machinery, rocket launchers, satellites, fighter-pilots and tanks, aimed at attracting the young, educated Chinese.
These videos show the changing face of China to foreigners and natives alike. They are unlike the traditional nationalistic releases more commonly associated with Communist regimes, such as the song ‘Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China’, which was originally written in 1943...
... and featured in the 1965 musical East is Red . These are modern videos, devoid of overt nationalism, even self-deprecating. And did I mention, in the case of the shi san wu , catchy as hell!
Clever Advertising?
Like any good persuasive product, the videos have, what Psychologist David Ludden, in >his article in Psychology Today calls, a rich cultural symbolism. He refers to the shi san wu video where at 00:33 mins, there is a reference to the plan and China’s huge size. This is accompanied by images of a coyote, bear and an elephant. Ludden claims these represent the U.S., Russia, and India, all of which are pushed aside by two hands for the huge Chinese map to take centre stage on screen while the singers continue:
“Like China huge?”
“Yeah, China huge.”
“Wow, that’s really big!”
The PLA video, similarly, at 02:17 mins shows a satellite that moves to reveal the Indian subcontinent below. This is accompanied with the refrain ‘ chong, chong, chong (冲冲冲)’. Chong, like many Chinese characters, has multiple meanings, depending on the context. While my Indian eye, in light of the background map, read that as ‘conflict’, my Chinese friend read that with the lines following as ‘Go! Go! Go!’ A popular expression to cheer someone on, like ‘ jia you ’ (加油).
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
True to its form, not all has changed in China though. Take the slick videos above that aim to reach out to foreigners — the >production house behind them is more or less a mystery . Not much is known about it other than its name — Fuxing Lu Shang Gongzuoshi , or ‘On Fuxing Road Studio’. It does not deal with foreign language media directly and often its identity is kept secret even from the foreign PR agencies hired abroad.
Soft Power
By no means are these modern videos isolated attempts at increasing soft power. China has been working on its soft power the way it does everything else. Steadily. Confucius Institutes, established to promote Chinese Language and Culture are found all around the world today, controversies notwithstanding. While Indians have a Priyanka Chopra playing lead in Quantico or a Raj Koothrapalli in The Big Bang Theory , the Chinese community gets a whole series in Fresh off the boat , not to mention a Chinese Watson in the Sherlock Holmes television series Elementary (thank god for Mindy Kaling!). Being too big a market to ignore, Hollywood movies released in China are often modified to adapt to the requirements here. And when foreigners start humming a country’s old-fashioned 5-year plan, I’d say it had arrived.
Closer home, Prime Minister Modi has instructed ageing BJP lawmakers to get their virtual acts and get active on social media. Maybe the OROP veterans should consider an uber cool, rap video on their plight. Perhaps it will bring their issue to the forefront of public attention. Going by the verbal gaffes the BJP lawmakers have been prone to, who knows, it might even go viral courtesy the newbee social media users!
In the meantime, I leave you with a more prosaic educational video released on President Xi’s departure for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS summit in Russia in 2015.
Briefing on Going With Uncle (Xi) to S.C.O. and BRICS explains the significance of the summit and even features our own Prime Minister Modi increasing mutual trust among nations with his signature selfie diplomacy.
