Mao Badges in the Billions: Uncommon Perspectives on the Early Chinese Cultural Revolution

Professor Douglas Reynolds of Georgia State University’s History Department will discuss his collection of some 20,000 Mao badges which he acquired in 1994-95 when he was in Beijing. After their ten-year residence in his basement, Professor Reynolds began to sort and organize his “hoard.” His talk for the forum will tell the story of the badges and present the unexpected findings that resulted from his study. This topic is particularly appropriate because 2016 is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.