Knowing Asia in the post-war era

Cultural disseminations on Mao’s China in Argentina during 1950s

Abstract

This work investigates the way in which discourses on the People’s Republic of China during the early years of the 1950s in Argentina were situated at the intersection of various interests, representations, and knowledges, while in constant dialogue with the communist world and while also influenced by elements beyond it. To do so, it pays special attention to the position that Asia acquired in the post-war era, when the urgency to prevent a Third World War, the newfound roles of Asian peoples after decolonization, and the political interest that the region garnered within the framework of the Cold War, all generated a widespread interest towards it.

Thus, it places circulations related to China –particularly those of cultural materials––within that context. It demonstrates how culture served as a privileged vehicle for establishing international connections at a time when China had little international recognition. It then focuses on a particular case: the Argentine Association of Chinese Culture, which operated within the Argentine Communist Party during those years, and whose eclectic nature made sense in the post-war world in general and in the global peace-building project in particular.