Professor Lu’s presentation was titled “The Pursuit of Happiness in Maoist China: What Can We Learn from It?”

The first three decades of the People’s Republic of China is often described as an era of constant political revolution and economic deprivation. However, Lu contends that pursuit of happiness in everyday life still took place at the time of Mao’s “proletarian dictatorship” and such perseverance formed a type of grassroots resistance to tyranny and ultimately served as the dynamics for the post-Mao reform that brought China’s remarkable resurgence in recent years. 

The forum was attended by about 500 scholars from all over the world and featured a dinner with China’s minister of the State Council and the mayor of Shanghai and a visit to the China Art Museum.