New China's First Spring Festival Two or Three Things

February 17, 1950 was the first Spring Festival after the establishment of the the People's Republic of China. On December 23, 1949, the 12th Government Affairs Council of the Central People's Government adopted the "National New Year's Day and Memorial Day Holiday Measures", stipulating that the people of the whole country will have a three-day holiday on the first, second and third day of the first month of the lunar calendar every year. A series of measures are taken to ensure that the masses have a good Spring Festival.
 

Leading Cadres Honest and Thrifty for Spring Festival
 

As the first Spring Festival in New China is approaching, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has realized that while ensuring that the people have a happy and peaceful Spring Festival, it must pay close attention to the party style and government style, and resolutely put an end to the old society and the old government during the Spring Festival. The phenomenon of waste and corruption. On December 30, 1949, Zhou Enlai presided over the 13th government affairs meeting of the State Council. The meeting discussed and passed the regulations that government staff at all levels are not allowed to entertain guests, receive gifts and pay New Year greetings to each other during the New Year and the Spring Festival. Party and state leaders took the lead and persisted in their work during the Spring Festival. For example, on New Year's Eve in 1950, Chen Yun still insisted on convening a meeting of some ministers of the departments under the Central Finance Committee, and said at the end of the meeting: "Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year. It is suggested that everyone should not pay New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival, think about what they have done in the past year, and sum up the experience and lessons. What should we do next year."

In all the work of celebrating the first Spring Festival in New China, the Central people's Government has stipulated that, except for necessary activities and procedures, extravagance and waste are not allowed to increase the burden of the masses. In the "instructions on carrying out mass propaganda work and literary and artistic work during the Spring Festival and Spring Festival," all literary and artistic activities are required to "earnestly pay attention not to hinder production, work, and economy, and strive to cooperate with the political and cultural study of the masses". In the "Instructions on Carrying out New Year's Painting Work", it is pointed out that the printing of New Year's paintings "must avoid flashy, reduce costs, take care of the purchasing power of the masses, and avoid excessive prices". The People's Government of Guangdong Province and the People's Government of Guangzhou City also jointly issued a notice, reiterating the notice of the Government Affairs Council, and at the same time requesting: "The Spring Festival is approaching, and government staff at all levels in our province and city must strictly implement the regulations of the Government Affairs Council to maintain the integrity of our revolutionary workers. Simple style, and change the remaining bad habits of the bureaucratic feudal society, and convey the compliance requirements!"

Carry out the Spring Festival campaign to support the army and the family.

On January 26, 1950, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Central People's Government issued the "Instructions on Carrying out the Spring Festival Support Movement in Various Places". The instructions stated: "The Spring Festival is coming, and all localities should carry out the support movement to publicize the victory of the People's Liberation Army and the liberation of Hainan Island and Tibet this year. Task, write letters to comfort the soldiers in front, comfort the martyrs, commemorate the martyrs, inspect the work, and get help for the difficult life in the martyrs in the disaster area." Subsequently, the People's Daily published an editorial on February 2, ''Launching the Spring Festival Support for the Army Movement'', calling on local leaders to provide comfort to the People's Liberation Army troops on a voluntary basis, so as to improve the social status of martyrs and military families. Form a new fashion of caring and respecting martyrs and military families.
 

The Beijing Municipal People's Government sent personnel to condolences to the People's Liberation Army troops guarding the capital. Each district presented flags to the garrison and flowers to the families of the heroes. All parks and historical sites in the city received free tours of martyrs and military families. The South China Branch of the Communist Party of China designated February 1 to March 1 as the month of the military support movement. All provinces, cities, special offices, and counties have established military support committees to mobilize the masses to support the army, labor the army, condolences to the martyrs, and military families. Before and after the Spring Festival, all districts in Guangzhou donated 0.7 billion yuan in old money for supporting the army. Shantou City hung honor cards and lanterns in front of martyrs' families and military families. Through various gatherings and mass cultural and entertainment activities, the Northern Shaanxi Administrative Office widely publicized the establishment of the Northwest Military and Political Committee of the Central People's Government and the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government and the brilliant achievements and immortal contributions of the People's Liberation Army, raised the political awareness of the masses, and stimulated support for the army. Enthusiasm. The Central Committee of the Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee also responded positively to the Spring Festival campaign, calling branches across the country to respond to the Spring Festival campaign,Donate money to comfort the martyrs and military families, and call Commander-in-Chief Zhu de of the Chinese people's Liberation Army and transfer all the officers and men to pay the highest respect.
 

Do everything possible to ensure market supply

In order to stabilize market prices in Shanghai during the Spring Festival, the Central Financial and Economic Commission has been collecting large batches of materials from Central South, Southwest, Northeast and other places to Shanghai since December 1949. In order to prevent the price of grain from rising before the Spring Festival, grain companies at all levels have sold all kinds of coarse grains in major cities, thus stabilizing grain prices and ensuring the life of the masses during the Spring Festival. On the first day of the market opening after the Spring Festival in 1950, Shanghai's grain, gauze, cooking oil and other major commodities were all open for supply, and the quotation was still the same as before the Spring Festival, which dashed the attempts of speculative capitalists to manipulate the market and drive up prices. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the Southwest Finance and Economics Committee actively guided the party committees, military control committees, and people's governments of large and medium-sized cities in the southwest to introduce policies and measures to prohibit black market transactions, crack down on speculation, protect and encourage the legitimate business activities of industrial and commercial operators, and quickly win the market. Leadership and price control stabilized prices during the Spring Festival. In Beijing, the Beijing Grain Branch retailed grain at the Xiannongtan Market in advance, and the quoted price was still the same as before the market closed, meeting the basic needs of the citizens. At the same time, in addition to preparing sufficient rice noodles and cooking oil during the Spring Festival, the Beijing Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has also reserved non-staple food products such as vermicelli, biscuits, paper cigarettes, candies, and various daily necessities such as flower cloth, towels, socks, soap, etc. In particular, it has prepared a large amount of kerosene and window paper for suburban farmers. Retail companies affiliated to the Municipal Bureau of Commerce cooperate with district offices and district governments to issue grain purchase certificates to the working masses to meet the demand for new year's goods. State-owned grain companies, state-owned shops and cooperatives in the northeast have prepared enough flour, rice, soybean oil and salt to be distributed to all parts of the northeast. In order to meet the living needs of workers, the Northeast Grain Corporation has allocated more flour and rice for the Spring Festival to Benxi, Anshan, Fushun and other industrial and mining areas.
 

Launch a variety of literary and artistic activities loved by the people
 

On December 21, 1949, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education of the Central People's Government jointly issued the ''Instructions on Carrying out New Year's Day, Spring Festival Mass Propaganda Work and Literary and Artistic Work'', clarifying the publicity focus of the first Spring Festival in New China, and advocating the adoption of movies and dramas, Singing, Yangko, drums, allegro and other forms enrich the people's artistic activities, and prepare sufficient short scripts, lyrics, songs, etc. for the masses to adopt. Cultural and artistic workers from all walks of life across the country responded enthusiastically to the call of the Central People's Government to carry out mass cultural activities during the Spring Festival and provide a rich cultural feast. The All-China Association of Drama Workers mobilized national drama workers to hold a new drama movement week, and Shanghai also held a local opera singing competition for the Spring Festival, in which famous artists such as Mei Lanfang and Zhou Xinfang participated. More than 1600 rural theater troupes have been restored in the rural areas of various counties in Shandong Province to cooperate with the cultural and recreational activities of the Spring Festival and widely publicize the production and disaster relief work. Lunan rural theater troupe rehearsed plays such as "production self-help" and other plays to the countryside.

The Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government, together with the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Education, convened the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Drama Association, Artists Association, Music Association and other units to study the Beijing Spring Festival literature and art publicity activities and establish the Spring Festival Literature and Art Working Committee. The Science Popularization Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Education held the "Spring Festival Science Knowledge Exhibition" at the Middle School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University outside Heping Gate. The content of the exhibition included general scientific knowledge, from apes to human and maternal and infant health knowledge, etc., and organized outside the venue Recreational performances. Since the fourth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the Central Academy of Drama has performed plays such as "Class Love", "Heroes Club", "Good Military Family", "Family Glory", and "Couple Literacy" for workers; the Central Academy of Drama, the Central Youth Art Theater, and the Beijing People's Art Theater, and various clubs in the opera circle performed for three days from the first to the third day of the lunar calendar; North China Film Exhibition; organize a touring screening team to tour the suburbs and show "Back to Your Team!" ". On the eve of the Spring Festival, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed. On the first day of the first month, a celebration meeting attended by more than 100000 people was held in Tiananmen Square. It is worth mentioning that the film "My Life" adapted from Lao She's novel of the same name was released before the Spring Festival in 1950. The film showed the vicissitudes of Beijing in the past 50 years, and it was in line with the atmosphere of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. The best-selling film can be called the earliest "New Year film" in New China ".
 

New Year Pictures of Tradition and Innovation

New Year pictures are one of the most popular art forms among the Chinese people. It is also a fine tradition that our party has adhered to since the revolutionary war to publicize the party's principles and policies and educate the people through New Year pictures. In order to give full play to the propaganda and education role of New Year pictures, the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government issued the "Instructions on Carrying out New Year Pictures" on November 26, 1949, stating: "This year's New Year pictures should publicize the Chinese People's War of Liberation and the Great Victory of the People's Revolution, the establishment of the the People's Republic of China, the common program, the revolutionary war to the end, and the restoration and development of industrial and agricultural production. New Year pictures should focus on the new, happy life of the working people and their heroic and healthy image." In the new year's painting creation technology, printing, distribution, artistic expression and other aspects also make requirements, at the same time remind should pay attention to the cooperation with the old year painting industry and folk painters.
 

Subsequently, the art circles around the New Year picture creation, publishing, sales work. The National Artists Association and the Beijing New Chinese Painting Research Association have rushed to produce more than 40 kinds of New Year pictures, including Zhang Ding's "New China Children", Deng Shu's "Welcome to Soviet Friends", Feng True's "Welcome to the Return of Working Heroes" and other color New Year pictures. Hangzhou organized professors such as Yan Han and Pan Yun to carry out the New Year picture creation movement, and created more than 30 New Year pictures such as "Democratic Anti-hegemony", "Children Offer Flowers to Chairman Mao", "Men Farming Women Weaving. While creating the New Year pictures, the Northern Shaanxi Artists Association revised the folk old New Year pictures "Spring Bull Picture" and "Zaojun Picture", etc., and added new content for publication. During the Spring Festival, the Beijing branch of Xinhua Bookstore set up mobile sales offices for New Year pictures in Zhongshan Park and Changdian. The masses can freely visit and choose to buy, which is greatly welcomed by the masses. The popular art society of Shijiazhuang City adopted the method of selling paintings by the folk, breaking the "window doctrine" and hanging the New Year paintings outside the door with ropes in rows, attracting countless people to buy them. In order to encourage and praise the creation of New Year pictures, the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government also organized a national New Year picture exhibition to select awards, award, and publish paintings.

Source: People's Political Consultative Conference