Passport to Peking : A Very British Mission to Mao's China

In 1954, eighteen years before Nixon's momentous visit to China, scores of European delegations set off for Beijing, in response to Prime Minister Chou En-Lai's invitation to "come and see" the New China and to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Communist victory. In this delightfully eclectic book—part comedy, part travelogue, and part cultural history—Patrick Wright tells the story of the remarkable Britons who made this journey, including former Prime Minister Clement Attlee; dapper and self-important philosopher A. J. Ayer; the brilliant young artist-reporter Paul Hogarth; poet and novelist Rex Warner (a former Marxist who had just married a Rothschild); and the infuriatingly self-obsessed Stanley Spencer, who emerges as the unlikely hero of the story. Using a host of previously unpublished letters and diaries, Wright captures the impressions—both mistaken and genuinely insightful—of the delegates as they wandered behind the bamboo curtain. Full of comic detail, this book is also a study of China as it has loomed in the British mind: as both the primitive orient of early western philosophy and the alluring site of revolutionary transformation. President Nixon's famous 1972 trip has gone down in history as the first great opening between the West and Communist China. However, eighteen years previously, former prime minister Clement Attlee had also been to China to shake Chairman Mao by the hand. In the second half of 1954, scores of European delegations set off for Beijing, in response to Prime Minister Chou En-lai's invitation to'come and see'the New China and celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Communist victory. In this delightfully eclectic book, part comedy, part travelogue, and part cultural history, Patrick Wright uncovers the story of the four British delegations that made this journey. These delegations included an amazing range of people from the political, academic, artistic, and cultural worlds of the day: Clement Attlee and his former Health Minister, Nye Bevan; dapper and self-important philosopher A. J. Ayer; the brilliant young artist-reporter Paul Hogarth; poet and novelist Rex Warner (a former Marxist who had just married a Rothschild); and the infuriatingly self-obsessed Stanley Spencer who famously lectured Chou En-lai on the merits of his hometown of Cookham, but who emerges as the unlikely hero of the story. Using a host of previously unpublished letters and diaries, Patrick Wright reconstructs their journey via the USSR to the New China, capturing the impressions - both mistaken and genuinely insightful - of the delegates as they ventured behind both the iron and the bamboo curtains. Full of comic detail of the delegates and their interactions, it is also a study of China as it has loomed in the British mind: the primitive orient of early western philosophy, a land of backwardness that was used to contrast with the progressive dynamism of Victorian Britain, as well as the more recent allure of revolutionary transformation as it appeared in the minds of twentieth century Britons. Contents 16 List of Plates 18 List of Figures 19 Part I. In the Spirit of Geneva (London to Minsk) 24 1. Embarkation 26 2. Holding Out in the Legation Quarter 44 3. Paul Hogarth's Marxist Shudder 65 4. The Battle of British 'Friendship' 80 5. The Charms of Anti-Americanism 100 6. Barbara Castle's Bevanite Sigh 116 7. Chou En-Lai's Winning Smile 123 Part II. One Good Elk and Dinner with the Politburo (Moscow) 142 8. Flowers for Edith Summerskill 144 9. Just Like Manchester a Hundred Years Ago 161 10. The Tragic Thoughts of Chairman Smith 179 11. Stanley Spencer's Pyjama Cord and the Socialist Tree 196 Part III. Anticipating China (Moscow to Ulan Bator) 204 12. Ghosts over Siberia (Casson and Pulleyblank) 206 13. A Blue Jacket for Abraham Lincoln (Paul Hogarth) 229 14. How China Came to Cookham (Stanley Spencer) 247 15. The Flight of a Brown Phoenix (Cedric Dover) 265 Part IV. Listening to the Oriole (China) 290 16. Clement Attlee鈥檚 Break 292 17. Popeyed among the Tibetans: The Undiplomatic Rapture of the Cultural Delegation 327 18. Cadillacs, Coal Mines, and Co-operatives: The Second Labour Delegation Grapples with the Facts 360 19. 'Nuts about Pavlov'? Resuming the Scientific Dialogue 388 Part V. The Artist's Reckoning (China) 414 20. Revolution Comes to the Art Schools and Museums 416 21. Paul Hogarth's Sky Full of Diamonds 437 22. Stanley Spencer's English Takeaway 472 Afterword: Holy China? 502 Appendix: Membership of Three Delegations 528 Notes 530 Photographic Acknowledgements 589 Index 590 A 590 B 591 C 593 D 596 E 597 F 598 G 598 H 599 I 601 J 601 K 602 L 602 M 604 N 605 O 606 P 607 Q 608 R 608 S 609 T 611 U 612 V 613 W 613 X 614 Y 614 Z 614 In the spirit of Geneva (London to Minsk). Embarkation ; Holding out in the Legation Quarter ; Paul Hogarth's Marxist shudder ; The battle of British "friendship" ; The charms of Anti-Americanism ; Barbara Castle's Bevanite sigh Chou En-Lai's winning smile One good elk and dinner with the Politburo (Moscow). Flowers for Edith Summerskill ; Just like Manchester a hundred years ago ; The tragic thoughts of Chairman Smith ; Stanley Spencer's pyjama cord and the socialist tree Anticipating China (Moscow to Ulan Bator). Ghosts over Siberia (Casson and Pulleyblank) ; A blue jacket for Abraham Lincoln (Paul Hogarth) ; How China came to Cookham (Stanley Spencer) ; The flight of a brown phoenix (Cedric Dover) Listening to the oriole (China). Clement Attlee's break ; Popeyed among the Tibetans : the undiplomatic rapture of the cultural delegation ; Cadillacs, coal mines, and co-opperatives : the second Labour delegation grapples with the facts ; "Nuts about Pavlov" : resuming the scientific dialogue The artist's reckoning (China). Revolution comes to the art schools and museums ; Paul Hogarth's sky full of diamonds ; Stanley's Spencer's English takeaway ; Afterword : holy China? ; Appendix : membership of three delegations. President Nixon's famous 1972 trip has gone down in history as the first great opening between the West and Communist China. However, eighteen years previously, former prime minister Clement Attlee had also been to China to shake Chairman Mao by the hand. In the second half of 1954, scores of European delegations set off for Beijing, in response to Prime Minister Chou En-lai's invitation to 'come and see' the New China and celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Communist victory. In this delightfully eclectic book, part comedy, part travelogue, and part cultural history, Patrick Wright uncover Uncovers the story of British politicians, scientists, and artists who were invited to China by Chou En-lai in 1954. Traces their journey across the USSR and Mongolia, captures their arguments and impressions, and assesses their role in diplomatic relations