Patriotic Education Campaign

The Patriotic Education Campaign (simplified Chinese: 爱国主义教育; traditional Chinese: 愛國主義教育; pinyin: Àiguó zhǔyì jiàoyù) was a political campaign in China initiated in 1991 but not carried out in full scale until 1994. In May 1995, the Chinese government issued the "Notice on Recommending Hundreds of Patriotic Education Books to Primary and Middle Schools across the Country", and made a list of a hundred patriotic films, a hundred patriotic songs, a hundred patriotic books.[1]The main goal of the campaign was to "boost the nation’s spirit, enhance cohesion, and foster national self esteem and pride".[2]

This was done through education that was designed to construct a historical memory of what the People's Republic of China was created from,[3] by emphasizing the role the Communist Party of China in securing national independence, and the influence of foreign countries on China. This aim was to boost the Communist Party's legitimacy, which during the 1980's had declined, particularly around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.[4][5] The academic Suisheng Zhao has said the Campaign is part of a strategy to make the Party the “paramount patriotic force and guardian of national pride.”[6]