The Phantom of Opera. Activity Book (v.2)

He opened with novels, saying sarcastically to a Party audience in September 1962: БЂњArenБЂ™t there a lot of novels and publications at the moment? Using novels to carry out anti-Party activities is a big invention.БЂ«Mao later laid into all books: БЂњThe more books you read, the more stupid you become.БЂ«БЂњYou can read a little,БЂ«he would say, БЂњbut reading too much ruins you, really ruins you.БЂ«This was unashamedly cynical, as he himself was well-read, and loved reading. His beds were tailor-made to be extra large, with enough space for loads of books to be piled on one side (and sloping, so that the books would not topple over onto him), and his favorite hobby was reading in bed. But he wanted the Chinese people to be ignorant. He told his inner circle that БЂњWe need the policy of БЂkeep people stupid.БЂ™ БЂ«In spring 1963, Mao turned his attention to traditional Chinese opera. Unlike opera in the West, Chinese opera was popular entertainment. For hundreds of years, different regions had developed their own distinctive styles, performed in village markets as well as city theaters, danced in the northern mountains amidst winds and dust, and sung under moonlight and kerosene lamps on southern islets, listened to by fishermen on houseboats ...»