Matten M (2018)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2018
Pages Range: 1-22
Journal Issue: 3
During the early PR China era the science dissemination campaign (kexue puji) not
only aimed at conveying scientific knowledge related to daily life concerns, but also
knowledge about invisible dangers, most prominently those emanating from weapon of
mass destruction such as nuclear weapons. The immediate task of the young PRC
after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 was to make nuclear radiation visible by
iconic metaphors and to teach the population about the dangers of an invisible nuclear
fallout should the United States decide to use nuclear weapons. By focusing on the
most characteristic media in science dissemination of the 1950s such as the
Newsletter of Science Dissemination (Kexue puji tongxun) as well as popular science
journals such Science Pictorial (Kexue huabao) and Knowledge is Power (Zhishi jiushi
liliang) it will be shown how the state used metaphors of the invisible to influence social
and political behavior. Convincing the barely literate peasant and the inchoately
educated worker of possible dangers in the Cold War required a different epistemology
of knowledge than in traditional society. This resulted in a further refinement of Maoist
science philosophy that integrated materialism into science policies.
APA:
Matten, M. (2018). Coping with Invisible Threats: Nuclear Radiation and Science Dissemination in Maoist China. East Asian Science, Technology and Society, 3, 1-22. https://dx.doi.org/10.1215/18752160-6976023
MLA:
Matten, Marc. "Coping with Invisible Threats: Nuclear Radiation and Science Dissemination in Maoist China." East Asian Science, Technology and Society 3 (2018): 1-22.
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