May there always be sunshine The author of these words, popular in Russia in the 20th century, is an unknown boy of 4 years old, born in the early 1920s. This is evidenced by an article published (1928) in the magazine “Native Language and Literature in Labor School” (No. 4-5). It was called "Techniques

Let them hate - as long as they are afraid From Latin: Oderint, dum metuant [oderint, dum metuant]. The authorship of these lines is usually attributed to the Roman emperor Caligula (12-41 AD), who became famous for his cruel rule. Indeed, as the Roman historian Suetonius (“Caligula”) writes,

Let the Loser Cry From Hermann’s aria in the opera “The Queen of Spades” (premiere - December 7, 1890) by P. I. Tchaikovsky, the libretto for which was written by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1850-1916), the composer’s brother. Quoted

Let the world perish, but justice will be done From Latin: Pereat mundus et fiat justicia [pereat mundus et fiat justice]. Erroneously attributed to the world of lawyers of Ancient Rome. Actually belongs to the late European Middle Ages: this is the motto of the Emperor (1558-1564) of the Holy Roman

Let the shoemaker judge no higher than the boot From Latin: Ne sutor supra crepidam judicet [ne sutor supra crepidam judicet]. Words that, according to legend, were uttered by the famous ancient Greek painter Apelles in response to the remarks of an uninvited layman adviser. Quoted as advice

Let the storm blow harder! From the prose poem “Song of the Petrel” (1901) by Maxim Gorky (pseudonym of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, 1868-1936), in which a call to revolutionary struggle is expressed in the language of symbols: “Storm! A storm will break out soon! - This is the brave Petrel proudly

Let the killers begin first From French: Que Messieurs les assassins commencent. Words of the French writer Alphonse Jean Kappa (1808-1890), which he spoke during a period of heated discussions in France about the abolition of the death penalty. He opposed its abolition, publishing in the magazine he published

“...Let these misers get it in full” Thanks to one curious story with gas, humanity today has electricity. Here's how it happened. American scientist and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) first thought about the possibility of electric lighting,

Let the Story Lead You Here's the main thing I want you to remember about story structure: let the story you want to tell live on its own, choose its own path and follow it. Everything you do should help her move forward. If you

Let them know how you perceive their behavior If you don't think the person's intentions are good, then tell them directly how their comments or any other demonstration of negativity towards your work affects you. But at the same time, connect your reaction with the action,

Let them know that we are not a failure! If you have already decided what kind of sport you will use in your free time to make up for the lack of movement in the office, it’s time to choose a training place. Whether it's a gym, fitness center or club, be sure to pay attention to the following

Make Daily Management a Habit I know you're busy. I know that your time is limited. You don't have time. So you don't have time not to manage. Dedicate a certain time to management every day - at the beginning of the working day or at any other time

I want a brewery (even a small one) Not so long ago in the USA, when we talked about beer, everyone meant either Budweiser or Miller. Although there is no big difference between these two drinks, and both of them practically have the same taste, as well as the same story, reminiscent of history

Campaign preparation

Progress of the campaign

In the summer of 1956, Mao found the problem interesting and asked Zhou Enlai to take control of the campaign. Mao hoped that the active inclusion of the intelligentsia would open up new creative reserves and give socialism an active course. Mao was confident that only the socialist path of development was possible, and the socialist ideology must defeat all capitalist views, even among non-communists.

The name of the movement came from a classic poem: “Let a hundred flowers bloom, Let a hundred schools compete” (Chinese: 百花齐放，百家争鸣, pinyin: bǎi huā qífàng, bǎi jiā zhēngmíng, pal. : Bai Hua Qifang, Bai Jia Zhengming).

Already at the end of 1956, the campaign was announced, but at first there was no criticism; on the contrary, numerous letters came with conservative advice. Zhou Enlai, having reviewed the letters, realized that the widely publicized campaign was not moving. Discussing this with Mao, he said that more enthusiasm was needed from senior officials to launch the campaign.

Historical campaign prototype

Slogan “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools compete” was once put forward by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified China around 200 BC. e. Mao Zedong always compared himself with Qin Shihuang, advocating a united and strong China.

During the time of Qin Shihuang, advisor Li Si, summing up the campaign, said: (Sima Qian. Historical notes. Vol. 2. (translation by R.V. Vyatkin))

...However, adherents of private schools ... revile the laws and instructions, and everyone, having heard about the issuance of a decree, based on their teaching, begins to discuss it. Entering the palace, they condemn everything in their hearts; leaving the palace, they engage in gossip in the alleys. They consider defamation of the monarch to be valor... by gathering low people, they sow slander. The best thing is to ban it!

Li Si proposed banning all schools and burning all books, punishing with death those who kept them, except for certain historical, medical and fortune-telling books. The Emperor accepted this decree. One of the central provisions of this policy was the harsh persecution of Confucians.

The newspapers were practically silent about this, but they got involved in July 1957 (when the campaign itself had already begun to wind down), paying attention to the fight against “counter-revolutionary elements” and the “anti-party line.” This was the first serious disagreement, which later led to the end of friendship between China and the USSR.

see also

• Wu Hongda is a Chinese dissident sent to camps as a result of the campaign.

Links

• Spence, Jonathan D., The Search For Modern China 2nd edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1990. (pp. 539-543)
• Sima Qian. Historical notes. T. 2. (translation by R.V. Vyatkin) Science GRVL 1975.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Mao Zedong announced a broad campaign in 1957 to increase publicity and criticism.

The movement was called Baihua Yundong(Chinese: 百花运动). The most active part of the campaign began in February 1957, when Mao addressed the Chinese intelligentsia, offering freedom of opinion, criticism and pluralism. This caused immediate sharp criticism of the party, the ideas of communism and Mao personally, in which Mao saw the machinations of “bourgeois right-wing elements.” In July 1957, the entire campaign was abruptly curtailed, but its consequences were felt from 1958 to 1966. The initial period of glasnost turned out to be a trap: the campaign resulted in mass persecution of the intelligentsia.

Campaign preparation

Progress of the campaign

After the campaign

Having announced the end of the campaign, Mao began to call on the intelligentsia to unite. At the same time, he began to accuse the intelligentsia of counter-revolutionary activities and opposition to Chairman Mao. Those who were particularly zealous in their criticism began to be subjected to punishment, including torture and bullying, often without trial. Many were sent to the villages for re-education through labor.

The situation subsequently led to the Cultural Revolution, which lasted until 1976.

Historical campaign prototype

Slogan “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools compete” was once put forward by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified China around 200 BC. e. Mao Zedong always compared himself with Qin Shihuang, advocating a united and strong China.

During the time of Qin Shihuang, advisor Li Si, summing up the campaign, said: (Sima Qian. Historical notes. Vol. 2. (translation by R.V. Vyatkin))

...However, adherents of private schools ... revile the laws and instructions, and everyone, having heard about the issuance of a decree, based on their teaching, begins to discuss it. Entering the palace, they condemn everything in their hearts; leaving the palace, they engage in gossip in the alleys. They consider defamation of the monarch to be valor... by gathering low people, they sow slander. The best thing is to ban it!

Li Si proposed banning all schools and burning all books, punishing with death those who kept them, except for certain historical, medical, agricultural and fortune-telling books. The Emperor accepted this decree. One of the central provisions of this policy was the harsh prosecution of

I rarely like exhibitions of contemporary Russian design. The fact is that the design reflects in detail the cultural, economic and social processes taking place in the country. A resource economy is not interested in production and therefore in design. Thus, domestic design is represented by the forces of disparate enthusiasts acting independently, without the support of government institutions or commercial industries. In such conditions, the designers’ products resemble children’s crafts made from acorns and pine cones; sometimes they are quite funny. Rather, we can talk about form-creativity, about creating models of a basic idea. For these crafts to become a real designer product, they must go through a long path of optimization to meet market and production requirements.

Having visited the exhibition “Culture of Life. North”, which opened on July 1, 2018 in the Vyborg Aalto Library, I received an invitation to write a critical review of what I saw as feedback useful to the authors. That’s what I’m going to do, following the Soviet principle: “if you criticize, suggest.”

Let's start with the exhibition itself. It is located in the lecture hall of the Aalto Library, the building of which is a pearl of Finnish modernism. The space of the hall in itself is an important filter for compliance with human-oriented northern design. The small exhibition looks quite appropriate, which demonstrates the good selection and presentation of exhibits.

“Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools compete,” said one Chinese emperor. The exhibition would benefit from the work of several more worthy authors. Let's hope for a larger number of participants in the next exhibition.

Let's move on to the exhibits.

Studio Elnik presented children's play mats and a lamp made of plowshare veneer. The rugs, and all the textiles presented on the studio’s website, are fully consistent with northern traditions. Carpets and fabrics made from natural materials, giving warmth, so valued in the North, are an important component of home comfort. The theme of the decor is northern nature and fauna, and the laconic graphic solution refers to the work of Josef Frank and the Marimekko company, which have long become icons of northern design. The products show sufficient elaboration of the topic and knowledge of the regional heritage.

The situation with a lamp is different. If the image of the basic element - the ploughshare - is chosen quite accurately, then the shape of the lamp leaves much to be desired. The array of the lampshade looks heavy from a distance: the texture of the layers of the ploughshare is difficult to see and merges into a significant volume, devoid of details. A dark color reveals this flaw even more; perhaps white would hide it to some extent. There is a sense of insufficient optimization work in the product: the designers were complacent in the successful choice of the ploughshare as an image for the module and did not go further. The luminaire represents a promising prototype rather than a final product.

A good solution would be to separate the layers of the ploughshare into different concentric bases, cascading down, or to place the modules at an angle to the light source so that the light passes between them and thereby highlights their texture. It would also be appropriate to develop a larger range based on the existing element.

Studio 52 FACTORY presented a collection of children's toys “Red Dolls”.

It is worth noting the success of some images that refer to the works of Bilibin and Roerich, the appropriateness of the avant-garde decor and the quality of the products. However, it is immediately obvious that these products have low potential as real toys. Designers work with contexts that children do not understand. The product turned out to be aesthetic, but hardly childish; there is a certain falsity in this that is not typical of Northern design. Authors should consider better positioning of their products. Choosing the right niche for your product is also a designer’s skill. Similar pieces-images would be more appropriate for a gift chess set.

Transforming vases have the same drawback as toys - incorrect positioning. The function of a vase is already quite conventional, wouldn’t it be easier to abandon it altogether? Let them remain a designer.

It is interesting that the works of the 52 FACTORY studio occupy a borderline position between the works of Boremir Bakharev, who immediately creates an aestheticized object with a reduced function, and the toys of Yuri Marin from the RUSSIAN WOODEN series, which, without a doubt, will be loved by children.

Boremir Bakharev (TROFOTODESIGN studio) has extensive experience in creating art objects of artistic value. The works presented at the exhibition were no exception. Let us note the successfully found images, borrowed from traditional motifs of Karelian embroidery. Boremir's works demonstrate the gradual transformation of a graphic sign into an object reminiscent of a medieval water ladle. It is noticeable that the designer is busy searching for the best application of the idea being developed. There is no doubt that a successful solution will be found.

Toys from the series RUSSIAN VILLAGE (Yuri Marin) have already found their fans. It is interesting not only for children to twirl them in their hands. Let us note the author's humor in the choice of characters and the mobility of the toys, which gives the image an additional dimension. It is noticeable that these works have already undergone a certain evolution and are close to the final product.

As criticism, we note the poor quality of painting and protruding fasteners, which should be made hidden with an internal hexagon so as not to injure the teeth of the youngest users.

Jewelry studio MOST ART METAL (Polina Mityaeva) with freshwater pearls are elegant and laconic, referencing the traditional jewelry of Zaonezhie. They have northern beauty. Of course, jewelry art is more of a craft than design in its optimization sense. Dependence on industrial technologies is minimal and in our conditions this is a big plus.

Kizhi lamps ( Glafira Mikhailovna) is a completely mature product. In addition to the successful image, it should be noted the quality of execution and the presence of several models: presentation in a group is undoubtedly more impressive.

Furniture projects are the most complex of the exhibits at the exhibition. Achieving success in furniture design is very difficult. I liked the top of the table created by the studio KORA (Alexander Samsyka and Daria Karabanova). There is, of course, nothing new here, but you can feel the good taste of the author and the Nordic character of the entire product. Perhaps a round tabletop would be even more appropriate. The table base is not graceful enough to express the dignity of the top and requires optimization.

The rest of the furniture projects did not attract my attention, since they do not add anything to the existing array of furniture design, but they demonstrate the authors’ understanding of northern aesthetics and mastery of carpentry techniques.

In Swedish there is the concept slöjd (sloyd), which means manual labor, which is considered not as a means of creating material values, but as an educational system designed to form neatness, accuracy, and conscientiousness in the master. The exhibition exhibits demonstrate that their authors have a good command of professional skills, but this is not enough. To work successfully, a designer must acquire a methodology for studying existing solutions and improving them through step-by-step optimization. If there is no improvement, there is no design. Unfortunately, most domestic designers do not burden themselves with studying the achievements of the past, thereby depriving themselves of support from the array of culture. Their projects are based on the use of certain clichés - understandable, generalized images that carry ready-made meanings. This is a purely commercial approach that has nothing to do with the principles of Nordic design, based on respect for tradition and the breadth of culture.

Summing up the exhibition “Culture of Life. North”, one can notice a pronounced tendency to create atmospheric art objects, which demonstrates a very superficial and romanticized understanding of northern design, which is essentially very rational and functional. The northern culture of life is primarily about its rationality and only then about its elegance. Domestic designers often choose the path of least resistance, rarely thinking that it leads nowhere.

Pavel Ulyanov,
design history specialist, collector, designer