1964 Chinese People's Liberation Army Pictorial Propaganda Map of Vietnam

An unusual Communist perspective 1964 pictorial propaganda map of the Vietnam War issued by Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The Map

A map of Southeast Asia is situated in the center, and highlights Laos and Vietnam. North and South Vietnam are divided, though subtly, by a small dashed line. The capitals of both North Vietnam and the communist part of Laos are marked by red stars, without a doubt in order to highlight their allegiance to China. The part of Laos allied with the United States and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, are both marked by target-like icons. Red symbols mark areas controlled by the Viet Cong, or, as here, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. A hand holding a gun marks areas of armed resistance, while a hand holding a torch identifies areas of civilian protests against the 'imperialists.' The circles with airplanes mark U.S. Air Force bases, while other with anchors mark U.S. Navy bases. The battleships identify areas where the U.S. Seventh Fleet was active.

The Columns

Two columns flank the central map and consist of printed photographs, text, and icons. The column on the left includes two photographs of South Vietnamese troops, with a short text below the top photo next to the flag of the National Liberation Front of Southern Vietnam. The text reads

The National Liberation Front of Southern Vietnam, established at the end of 1960, is an organization of patriotic people of all classes and strata against US imperialism and its running dogs. The front called on the people to unite to defeat American imperialism and its running dog dictatorship, to fight for independence, democracy, peace, neutrality, and then for the peaceful reunification of the leased country.

A 'running dog' is a Chinese pejorative term and, per the Saturday Evening Post, was used to describe 'a person who follows obediently after the person whose dog he is…', usually involves flattery, and the person is usually powerful and often evil. Mao Zedong used the term 'imperialist running dog' to refer to those allied with counterrevolutionary forces.

Below this statement, statistics provide an overview of the conflict from 1961 until mid-1964. These include informing the reader that the People's Self-Defense Forces of Southern Vietnam carried out nearly 64,000 attacks during that time, shot down 1,363 helicopters, sank or damaged 620 battleships, wrecked or damaged 1,000 tanks, seized over 35,000 weapons, and wrecked 1,000 military trucks. On the right, below the photograph of a protest by Vietnamese people, the broadside declares that more than 32 million people participated in the 'anti-American patriotic movement' in 1963, which was a major increase over previous years. Then the broadside provides information relating to the number of killed and wounded enemy soldiers, including Americans, and the number of Americans killed every month between 1962 and 1964. The final group of statistics states that More than two-thirds of the land has been liberated (170,000 square kilometers) and more than half the population (14 million people). It also informs the viewer that over 6,500 'strategic villages' were destroyed between 1961 and April 1964.

Publication History

This map was created and published by People's Liberation Army Pictorial (解放軍画报社編輯出版) in 1964. This is the only known example. There is ghost OCLC reference lacking institutional affiliation, suggesting that one example may once have been referenced somewhere.