We must not forget the past!, 1963
"Eating Bitterness" (吃苦 - chi ku) is a phrase that means to persevere through hardship without complaint, or even to suffer.
Such experiences of perseverance or suffering were recounted during "speak bitterness" sessions, where the oppressed were encouraged to indict the Old Society. Mere articulation of sufferings was not sufficient; the sense of bitterness had to be cultivated and fermented. As a result, class consciousness and/or class hatred would emerge or be strengthened.
During the Land Reform movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s, "speaking bitterness (诉苦 suku)" was mainly implemented as a technique of mobilization. In the 1960s, the "recalling bitterness (忆苦 yiku)" campaign was intended to reenact class struggle and reinforce class awareness by invoking collective memory.
