Yu Miin-ling, 2015, Shaping the New Man: CCP Propaganda and Soviet Experiences, 405 pages, Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica.

Based on the perspectives of politics, foreign relations, culture and society, this book explores what the Chinese Communist Party learned from Soviet experiences of utilizing novels, textbooks, songs, films, model workers, and female tractor drivers to popularize the concept of the new man, including class consciousness, collectivism, the glorification of labor, and gender equality. Soviet experiences were important references for CCP policy-making, so when Sino-Soviet relations shifted from honeymoon to schism the CCP changed the contents of the new man accordingly. The contributions of the book start with a comparative study to elucidate the complicated nature of post-1949 Sino-Soviet relations. Secondly, it shows that Mao Zedong’s emphasis on class struggle since the late 1950s to carry out a continuous revolution was a crucial revision of Stalin’s model. Thirdly, there is data on how using various media to publicize “correct ideology” contributed to the success of CCP social education. Fourthly, studying new man propaganda sheds light on Red Guards’ education before the Cultural Revolution and the nature of Mao’s regime. The legacy of new man propaganda can still be found in many current debates and publications by generations that grew up during Mao’s era.