Author’s Note: What follows is a diary entry included in Alexander Werth’s epic 1947 book that records the events surrounding the momentous Battle of Stalingrad - which occurred in 1942. Werth spent much of the war-years between 1941-1945 ensconced as a BBC Journalist in the USSR and witnessed first-hand the brutality of the Catholic-supported Nazi German invasion - and attempted genocide - of that country’s population. Of course, the USSR was in fact fifteen diverse countries united in their joint other-throwing of the Bourgeoisie and the vicious capitalist system it practiced. At least three of these Republics, although ‘Socialist’, were nevertheless historically and culturally ‘Buddhist’. A number of Red Army regiments were formed containing ‘Buddhist’ men and women who fought bravely to defend the USSR from external attack! Of course, the West exercises a mixture of racially motivated ‘ignoring’, ‘disinforming’ and ‘misinforming’ when it comes to recording Soviet history. Soviet ‘Buddhists’ were good Communists – as Werth records. Furthermore, as we live in changing times in Bourgeois society - the manner in which Werth describes 'Tanya' is a product of his time and considered today as being 'insensitive' at best and 'discriminative' at worst. I certainly do not endorse this type of demeaning narrative. On the other hand, the historical data Werth conveys is infinitely valuable in the face of wall-to-wall US anti-intellectualism. Think for yourselves and make-up your own minds. As the (British-educated) Werth could read, write and speak Russian fluently, (he was born in Russia - but his family migrated to the UK when he was very young), he takes a rather stern and overly critical attitude toward the Soviet method of providing authoritative translation textbooks (conveying correct Russian to Asiatic language translations and vice versa) – which were then deployed amongst the non-Russian populations by specially trained Cadres of young people who could not necessarily understand the language of the non-Russian ethnicities to any great degree (as they did not have to). This Soviet method allowed a few genuine experts in all the included languages to centrally compile these textbooks - which were then printed in their tens of thousands and quickly distributed freely to the masses – thus enhancing communication and cultural exchange. In a very real sense, Cadres such a ‘Tanya’ featured below – acted as a proto-search engine – with the caveat that unlike the universal translators of the modern internet age, the translations she supplied were ‘correct’ and ‘sound’. Once again, if indeed another example is needed, we see the ‘corruption’ of the Lamaist system of landlordism which the Communist Party of China has thoroughly over-thrown in Tibet and China! Although John Snelling – of the Buddhist Society in London – once published a book about ‘Buddhism in Russia’, he did so by completely ignoring the English language evidence provided by Werth, a fellow Britain who had lived in the USSR for many years of his life! After-all, people like Snelling were pursuing the hidden agenda of conforming to the strictures of US anti-intellectualism during the so-called ‘Cold War’ and misrepresenting the USSR through the agency of Buddhism. For the record, I do not agree with the arbitrary ransacking of temples or stealing Buddha statues – as this is the behaviour of the Western imperialists (a process which can be clearly observed in the British Museum). Local people taking matters into their own hands, however, is an issue involving the self-governing of Revolutionary activities, and the situation explained below should be interpreted in this context. (25.9.2023) November 23 (1942) ‘The other day I got to know, through Ludmilla, an enormously fat girl, tall, red-cheeked, and ginger-haired, called Tanya – with legs like Doric pillars. She seems to be vaguely married to somebody – or divorced; I don’t know. Anyway, this formidable fat blonde is said to drive all the Caucasians and Asiatic crazy, whenever she visits their countries. She’s on a good racket. She translates into smooth Russian verse the works of Azerbaijan, Buriat-Mongol, Yakut and God knows whatever poets. She doesn’t know any of their languages, of course, but she is given a literal translation, and then concocts a poem with roughly the same idea, and it’s often called “Translated from the Buriat-Mongol,” etc. It’s a well-paid and well-encouraged racket, and she claims that Stalin himself was delighted with her Buriat-Mongol Poems. It’s done in the name of a closer acqiantance amongst the peoples of the Soviet Union, and these “translators” are given some wonderful facilities by the Writers’ Union. Thus, Tanya, has travelled by plane, ship, carriage, reindeer, sleigh, railway, and every other means of locomotion all over Western Siberia, and Yakutia, and right up to the Siberian Arctic coast, and all through Central Asia and Mongolia, and also the Caucasus. She is full of good stories about life in Yakutia, now quite a reasonably large town, and almost a metropolis in north-Siberian terms, and about all the remarkable adventurous characters one meets there – trappers, and sea captains who sometimes hibernate in the Bear Islands and Wrangel Island. She also tells stories of Buriat-Mongolia – of the secretary of the Obkom who as a youngster became famous for killing the most notorious bandit of the region; he came home one day and threw the bandit’s head on the family dinner-table, much to his mother’s horror. “He has an extraordinary face,” said Tanya, “very and pale, a perfect Mongolian face, with grey temples and black fiery eyes.” He had also led the young people’s revolt against the Lamas. When the Buriat-Mongolian Communists heard Stalin had expressed approval of Tanya’s translations from Buriat-Mongolian, they ransacked a distant temple and presented her with a whole trunkful of Buddhas. When I went to her flat the other day – she shares her house with some other people – I found that she still had a few Buddhas left; the rest had been looted by her friends, while some had been destroyed in the bombing of Moscow last year when there was a fire in the house where she was living. One of the Buddhas she carries around everywhere and seems to be very superstitious about it. She also owns a remarkable brass statue from a Buddhist temple – an unbelievably erotic affair.’ Alexander Werth: The Year of Stalingrad, Simon, (2001), Book III - The Defensive Battle – Chapter V - Moscow in October and November, Pages 327-328 English Language Reference:
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Art is useful to uplift the spirit (mind) and generate a broader perspective through which the world can be understood! Marx and Engels discussed often how the external world conditions the inner being - whilst the Buddha explained in detail how to identify and uproot the 'imprints' projected into the mind in the form of greed, hatred and delusion - the tripartite cornerstones of ancient Indian feudalism and modern (predatory) capitalism! This relationship between the 'old' and the 'new' explains WHY Buddhism retains its importance in the modern world and can be a useful developmental tool for the contemporary Proletariat! Of course, the Bourgeoisie also claims Buddhism for itself - the paedophile 14th Dalai Lama springs to mind - but so do any of the so-called 'Western' Buddhist movements of appropriation! Just as soon as a monetary 'price' is charged for what amounts to regulating the breathing process - it is clear the true path of Dharma has been abandoned! Capitalist endeavour is NOT the uprooting of greed, hatred and delusion - but its EXACT opposite! The White intellection that justifies this process in the numerous so-called 'journals', 'magazines' and special interest 'books' - is surely the very definition of pure evil! An example of racism through the written word! The message is simple - the White Bourgeoisie has appropriated Buddhism for its own deceptive ends - and the developing (non-White) Bourgeoisie throughout the Asian countries is prepared to 'sell' their traditional culture to the Europeans as a means to fuel this racist addiction! Buddhism, when it is successful, is the end of predatory capitalism and the end White domination! This reality is true of both the 'inner' and the 'outer' world simultaneously!
By Yang Chengchen LHASA, March 27, 2022 (CNS) -- March 28 is the 63rd anniversary of the liberation of millions of serfs in Tibet. The book "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was written by American writer Anna Louis Strong in 1965 and is still one of the best books for anyone to understand the history of Tibet’s democratic reform.
In 12 chapters, Strong makes an important observation about Tibet, the snowy plateau, as part of the foreign press in 1959, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) suppressed a rebellion seeking to overturn democratic reform. In the preface of its English version, Israel Epstein, the Polish-born journalist, commented that Strong’s narration was “close to the facts” and her "approach and the actual development of reality are in harmony." The book’s perspective is still valuable today 60 years after Tibetan serfs were emancipated. However, the description of Tibet has been distorted more or less from reality by some western media, converting Tibet into an imaginary and idealized place that never existed. Uncritical thinking, lazy reporting, and even deliberate misreading of Tibet are still prevalent in Western media sources. These are arm-chair writers who hold the view that Tibet is the one that exists only in their imagination, refusing to recognize or willing to admit "actual development" in the real Tibet. Since the 1990s, with the development of criticizing Orientalism, post-colonialism, and cultural hegemony, the impression of Tibet under the influence of the western context has aroused extensive reflection. People should realize that the so-called spiritual Tibet, like Shangri La, does not exist. This land, which was in the grip of the feudal serfdom for thousands of years, was never a spiritual land for most of its people. Exploitation, oppression and material concerns could be frequently witnessed here in the old society. The title "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was true for the vast majority of people in Tibet in 1959. According to Strong’s personal observations, Tibet was undergoing a dramatic reform, which rejuvenated this snowy plateau. The author witnessed youth coming back to the land, which had been unchanging for hundreds of years by the feudal serfdom. At that time a new vision was shared among the people, the fate of the land was in their own hands and a democratic Tibet was being built. In fact, this vision has largely been realized by the people of all the various ethnic groups in today’s Tibet. The people on this snowy plateau can see all of the possibilities, which are now revealed in the full development of the unique, mysterious, and rich Tibetan culture. Just a casual investigation into the history of Tibet would reveal that primitive feudalism controlled the land until the middle of the last century. Serf owners in Tibet, who accounted for less than 5% of the population, possessed all cultural and educational resources and monopolized material and spiritual wealth due to their control of political and religious power. Women, even of the upper class, and monks who were in charge of important temples such as Jokhang Temple, in Lhasa, were deprived of the right to education, and were not allowed to read newspapers or any modern books. The vitality of Tibet, which had been suppressed by this antiquated social system, found new life in this land due to socialistic democratic reform. Today, a new inclusive cultural system has been established in Tibet, with new shared wealth created with a value of more than 6 billion yuan. The illiteracy rate in the old Tibet was as high as 95%. After the establishment of a modern educational system, ordinary people can enjoy 15 years of free public education, and the average length of education has been increased to 13.1 years. To over romanticize, even "exoticize", Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism will not help anyone to understand Tibet or its place in the larger Chinese national community. "To build a paradise on the roof of the world" was a slogan hung on the streets of Tibet in 1959. At the time, the 10th Panchen Erdeni Lama, Chökyi Gyaltsen, told the press, which included Strong, "the Tibetan people are walking towards happiness from now on". Today, 63 years later, the actual development of Tibet demonstrates the truth in these words. The Chinese government is sparing no effort in continuously improving the roof of the world, which can be witnessed and welcomed by all people. A better Tibet belongs to China and the world. |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
May 2024
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