Brutality and Civility in Early Reform-Era China: The “Five Emphases, Four Beautifications” Campaign
Modern China: An International Journal of History and Social Science
Published online on March 18, 2026
Abstract
Modern China, Ahead of Print.
This article proposes an interpretation of the “Five Emphases, Four Beautifications” (wujiang simei) campaign that was launched in 1981, the first large-scale policy aimed at fostering “civilized” (wenming) behavior among citizens of the People’s Republic ...
This article proposes an interpretation of the “Five Emphases, Four Beautifications” (wujiang simei) campaign that was launched in 1981, the first large-scale policy aimed at fostering “civilized” (wenming) behavior among citizens of the People’s Republic ...