破除封建迷信 相信科学 (Do Away with Superstition and Believe in Science), ca. 1970
破除封建迷信 相信科学 (Do Away with Superstition and Believe in Science), author unknown, ca. 1970
This poster shows a child is lying in bed with covers piled up on top of him. His mother is on her knees in front of burning incense. Her head is turned back as she is looking up at a female health worker and a man, possibly the child's father, who are looking back at her with reproach. The caption states, “Some people pray to gods in the hope of avoiding the evil spirit of malaria but that is superstition. We must not believe in those lies but science.” This poster looks down upon previous tradition methods of malaria control and attempts to bolster the more modern methods being encouraged by the government.
About the Book
This Cultural Revolution era two-poster series, published around 1970, encourages citizens to believe in the government and science, not tradition nor superstition, to protect themselves from diseases like malaria. Like many public health posters of this time, the politics of the moment are used to incentivize the public to do their part and stay healthy.