Lumumba in China
A politico-cultural response-appropriation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51185/journals/rhca.2023.0506Keywords:
Lumumba, Congo, China, War-Drums on the Equator, Chidao zhangu, revolutoniary artAbstract
The figure of Patrice Lumumba has been the focus of intense historical debate, but also of cultural and artistic practice around the world. This article examines the sudden rise of Lumumba commemoration and artistic response in communist China in the mid-1960s. Various artists and artist groups produced musical compositions, songs, opera, film, live theatre performance, musicals, dance, photo novels, poetry, and comics. The performances travelled across the country to the big metropoles and were supported by printed material in English and French, meant for international access. This cultural response died down at the end of 1966, which coincides with the onset of the Cultural Revolution and a shift in China’s international politics towards Africa to a more pragmatic approach in its relations with the various newly independent African countries.
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