Anren: Friend and Enemy in Peace and Benevolence?

Built within the landlord’s Manor House in the township of Anren, the Rent Collection Courtyard (RCC) was part of an ongoing curatorial experiment designed to ensure that the museum itself became part of Mao’s “one big concept.” Examining the various experiments that led to their revolutionary curatorial practice, this chapter tracks the progress of the museum as it is transformed from a rural landlord manor house into a revolutionary machine designed to channel affective energy toward a revolutionary political intensity. With the RCC as its centerpiece, this machine produced experimental curatorial practices that were designed to aid the transformation of peasants into committed revolutionaries.