CULTURAL REVOLUTION

After the start of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) headed by the infamous Gang of Four, including Mao’s wife Jiang Qing, all traditional forms of theatre were prohibited. Jian Qing had already inspected some 1000 Peking operas and suggested banning most of them. Now it was the Party’s literature committees that dictated what was allowed to be performed.

Jiang Qing interpreted Mao’s teachings extremely rigidly, which led to the politisation of theatre to an extent that has never been seen, before or after, in the history of the arts. Five Revolutionary Model Dramas were created by the literary circles led by Jiang Qing. They included Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, Zhiqu wei Hushan (Chih-ch’ü wei Hu-shan), The Red Lantern Hongdeng ji (Hung-teng chi), Sha Jia Creek Shajia bang, (Sha-chia pang), On the Docks Haigang, (Hai-kang) and Raid on the White Tiger Regiment Qixi Baihu tuan, (Ch’i-hsi Pai-hu t’uan).

Jiang Qing formulated new theatrical aesthetics for these model operas. Similarly, as the earlier traditional operas, the model operas were also based on fixed character types. However, the various earlier types, based on their social status and inner qualities, were now replaced with character types based solely on their class background.

These rigid stereotypes include two main categories. The revolutionary and thus “good” characters are portrayed as standing in the middle of the stage in heroic, “revolutionary” poses, well lit with pinkish spotlights (red being a positive colour both in the traditional and later in the Communist colour symbolism). The “bad” characters, i.e. the class enemies, are placed at the side of the stage in ugly poses and dimly lit by bluish light (blue often being a negative colour in traditional opera masks).

In the huge stage decors, costuming, and in make-up, “heroic realism”, were the only accepted style. The music is a mixture of traditional Chinese and Western music since, according to Jiang Qing, Western music was more suitable to express heroism than Chinese music. Many stage conventions, as well as acrobatics, were retained from the traditional Peking Opera, although in the fighting scenes guns and rifles now replaced the traditional weapons.

The first model drama was ready to be performed in 1969. The model works came to include eight works altogether, regularly revived by the party committees to reflect the current trends of the party’s policy. They include the above-mentioned five model dramas, one symphony (Yellow River) and two Model Ballets, The Red Detachment of Women, Hongse niangzi jun (Hung-sê niang-tsŭ chün) and The White-Haired Girl, which was reformed from an early song drama into a model ballet. Revolutionary ballets make full use of Soviet-style heroic classical ballet with pointe shoes and furious leaps.

Besides the actual model works, huge spectacles combining different forms of the performing arts were also set up. The East is Red, Dongfang hong (Tung-fang hung) was an example of this kind of “revolutionary entertainment” which aimed to illustrate the success story of the revolution. Besides these model works and spectacles very few other works were allowed to be performed. Actors, writers and other theatre workers who refused to join the teams, or were otherwise regarded as anti-revolutionaries, were persecuted and many of them died.

However, many well-known actors played in the model dramas and their artistic level was the highest during the Cultural Revolution. No wonder that the model dramas are still rather popular today. Together with the model ballets, they are still performed every now and then. They are all available as recordings and even revolutionary opera karaoke was in vogue at the turn of the 21^st century.

AFTER THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

The political situation and, consequently, cultural climate changed drastically after Mao Zedong’s death and the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976. In the same year a list of 41 Peking operas was published, which could now be included in the repertory of opera troupes instead of the model dramas and ballets. Gradually, interest in traditional forms of theatre was revived and actors and teachers who were disgraced during the Cultural Revolution could return to their work.

In this new, more open climate, dramatists and other theatre artists have been able to handle the traumatic decades of Chinese history. At the same time, doors have been opened to Western influences including Western plays. Classics like Shakespeare and Moliére as well as more modern classics, such as Brecht and Becket, have been staged regularly. In the mid-1990s Arthur Miller directed his play Death of a Salesman in Peking.

Ballet is also thriving in modern China. Western classical ballets are performed in the biggest metropolises. Modern dance dramas are created combining Western and Chinese dance techniques. One very influential work in this field has been the Tales of the Silk Road, Silu huayu (Szû-lu hua-yü), which had its premiere by the Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Ensemble in 1976.

The dance drama is set in Central Asia during the Tang period, in the region of the Silk Road connecting China with Persia and the Mediterranean region. Full use was made of the famous Dunhuang Buddhist cave murals, which are located in Gansu province. By studying the paintings and combining their poses with the Russian ballet technique and Chinese acrobatics, the choreographers created a kind of historical fantasy style which had had a great appeal for audiences, both in China and abroad.

The semi-historical, fairytale-like glamour aesthetics captured in the Silk Road ballet is regularly employed by grand tourist spectacles, the most prominent of them being the Tang Dynasty Dances performed in Xian, formerly Changan, the old capital of the Tang Dynasty. With its sugar-sweet visualisation and play-back musicians and singers it has served as a model for similar kinds of tourist entertainment throughout the country.

Western opera is also popular in China. In connection with the Beijing Olympics in 2008 a huge new opera house was opened in Beijing. It is but one addition to the approximately 3000 theatre houses operating in China in the early 21^st century. It is impossible to get a clear picture of all the activities going on in these theatres and among the myriads of folk groups and state-run troupes.

Spoken drama is thriving, and much new repertory for it has been written. Modern dance in China had its roots in the Guangzhou in the 1970s. Young Chinese dancers and choreographers appear regularly at dance festivals around the world. Performance art has its exponents in China, often in close contact with the country’s very lively contemporary art scene. Even decades ago Chinese cinema won lasting international acclaim, and on the movie screen the fantastic fighting scenes of Peking Opera are reborn in the form of the kungfu action films.

Amid all these forms of theatrical art and new trends traditional theatre also flourishes. Peking Opera is still the most popular form of opera and it is taught all over the country. As mentioned earlier, the classical Kun Opera was included in the UNESCO List of Outstanding Examples of the World’s Intangible Heritage in 2001. It is, of course, impossible to predict what exactly will be the fate of traditional Chinese theatre in this time of globalisation and commercialisation.