Propaganda in Modern Peking Opera

Propaganda in Modern Peking OperaPropaganda in Modern Peking Opera

During the Cultural Revolution during the latter half of the 20^th century, the newly empowered Communist Party of China made many changes to everyday life.  The primary goal of these changes was to establish and legitimize communism in the eyes of the people.  The most obvious means of accomplishing this goal was to make significant changes to those aspects of the culture with which the citizens interacted with frequently that would subtly sway their views into line with those of the CCP. One of the many pieces of Chinese culture that was used as communist propaganda was the Peking Opera. 

Prior to the changes made during the Cultural Revolution, the Peking Opera was a very traditional Chinese art form. The CCP, however, created eight model operas that were permitted to be shown due to their revolutionary themes and their distance from what Mao Zedong believed to be the “feudalistic” and “bourgeois” themes of traditional Peking Opera. In describing the new revolutionary model plays, Daniel S. P. Yang says, "The actor no longer declaims in the old formalized pattern but speaks in the every- day dialect of Peking. The story is unfolded not on a bare stage, but in realistic settings complete with naturalistic sound and lighting effects. The conventional elaborate costumes with their "water sleeves," the thick-soled boots, artificial beards, and symbolic make-up have been replaced by civilian costume and the drab uniform of today. Most significant of all, the plays no longer depict ancient heroes in their historical settings but portray contemporary people in their everyday lives. " (p. 167).  With the exception of these eight revolutionary model plays, most performances were prohibited barring major modifications to the story lines.  In fact, any performances without communist themes were banned.

The overarching theme of revolution was not the only form of propaganda in the modern Peking Opera.  There were also many symbols within the plays that supported communism and rejected the traditional way of thinking.  One of the revolutionary model plays, The Legend of the Red Lantern, was particularly filled with such symbolism as shown by the following excerpt.

 “GRANNY: We've had this lantern for 30 years. For 30 years it has lighted the way for us poor people, for workers. We have kept it through storm and stress. Your granddad carried this lantern, and now your dad carries it. It's bound up with all that happened last night and today, which you saw for yourself. I tell you, this red lantern is our family treasure. TIEH-MEI: Our family treasure? GRANNY: It's dark, time to get supper. (Puts the lantern carefully down and goes to the kitchen.) TIEH MEI (picks up the lantern to examine it carefully, puts it gently down, and pensively turns up the paraffin lamp). Granny has told me the story of the red lantern, Only a few words, yet how much it means. I have seen my father's courage, My uncles' willingness to die for it. What are they working for? To save China, save the poor and defeat the Japanese invaders. I know they are in the right, They are examples for the rest of us. You are 17, Tieh-mei, no longer a child, You should lend your father a hand. If his load weighs a thousand pounds, You should carry eight hundred. “

This excerpt leads one to understand the red lantern as a symbol for the communist spirit and the struggles that the Chinese people have endured to arrive at their current destination. It also serves as a means of demonstrating that what they have worked so hard for is a good thing by referring to it as a “family treasure”.  Furthermore, the fact that the characters appear as a common Chinese family serves to put into the minds of the audience that as common Chinese people themselves, this is how they should feel and the opinion they should have.

The various forms of propaganda found in the revolutionary models of modern Peking Opera were incredibly effective for a variety of reasons. First, they had an impact on a relatively large subject base. During these times, the Peking Opera was very popular and had large audiences in the major influential cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Secondly, by creating characters that were everyday citizens in modern times the message seemed appropriate for the audiences. Had the settings of these operas been in ancient times like traditional Peking Opera, the ideas entering the minds of the audience would not be as obviously relevant to their lives. Finally, the Peking Opera was a form of entertainment.  Individuals made the choice to attend these revolutionary model operas with their friends or their family and thus, any message received from the play could be justified as a thought of their own.

The eight model plays of modern Peking Opera were an effective propaganda technique employed by the Chinese Communist Party.  They served to not only legitimize the ideals of communism within the minds of the Chinese people, but also to indoctrinate them with the notion that they should feel as the characters feel, united in their drive to save China. The revolutionary model plays provided Chinese citizens with a revolutionary new form of entertainment that helped to ease their minds regarding the changes going on around them and to reassure them that their thoughts were normal. By banning all plays without communist themes, the CCP established itself as not just the dominant political party in China, but also as the party who was doing the right thing and would lead the citizens to a successful and happy future.

Works Cited

Clark, Paul (2008). The Chinese Cultural Revolution: A History. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press

Yang, Daniel S. P. "Peking Drama with Contemporary Themes." The Drama Review: TDR 13.4 (1969): 167-80. Web.

Strict Gender Roles in Modern Chinese Literature

Over the past century in the United States women have had incredible success fighting for equality in the workplace and the voting booths. The stereotypical view of a woman has transgressed from one who stays at home and takes care of the family to one who exists as a contributing member in the workplace and who shares familial responsibilities with her significant other. One could say that stereotypical gender roles in the United States have disappeared. This is in steep contrast to the portrayal of female characters in modern Chinese literature where the gender roles of men and women are strictly defined and vastly different.

Females in Chinese literature are often described primarily according to their familial role.  In the cast of characters of Tian Han’s play The Night a Tiger Was Captured, all of the male characters are referred to by their occupation such as a hunter, a farmer, and the headman of a village.  The women, however, are referred to only by their relationships to the men, be they a daughter, mother, or wife.  I think this is very interesting.  Tian Han completely neglects to inform the audience of Liangu’s significance to the story; she is simply referred to as the only daughter of Wei Fusheng. 

The marginalization of women in the literature carries important historical implications for the time as well. From Lu Yin’s Autobiographical excerpts in the May Fourth Women Writer: Memoirs, “The following year, my uncle hired a tutor for my brother and male cousins. As for me, I was to have my aunt as my teacher. Although she had never once set foot inside a school, Auntie had been taught by her husband to read such things as The four Classics for Women and was therefore more than adequate to teach an ignorant student who could not recognize van a single character.” (Pg. 101) From this quote it is evident that males and females were not treated equally in China at the time.  Formal education was a luxury afforded only to the males in the family.  This perpetuates these strict gender roles of men and women in China because presumably the educated individuals will be the breadwinners for the family, while those who remain uneducated (i.e. the women) will take care of matters at home.  The problem was also greater than a family’s desire to educate only the males. From the same story, “There were no women’s colleges at the time and other colleges were not yet accepting female students, so I didn’t have many paths to choose from. “ (Pg. 110) Women in China did not have to opportunity to participate in formal education even if they had the means and desire to do so.

Although these women are not expected to seek employment they still work very hard as emphasized by the following quote from The Night a Tiger Was Captured: “They have to wake up early, and they don’t get to sleep till late.  And they spend all their time spinning thread, serving tea, cooking, and washing clothes- not to mention planting yams up on the hillside and harvesting the fields. They work so hard all year long that they damn near drop.” (Pg. 14) 

Other than working hard at home and remaining uneducated, women in modern Chinese literature also have other stereotypes cast upon them.  Female characters are often portrayed as helpless or stupid.  For example, Lu Yin stated in her autobiography that upon her father’s death her mother was “a helpless widow” and “not a capable woman”.  She further points out that due to her mother’s inability to cope with his death, their family “plunged into a sea of despair” implying that women are incapable of coordinating and leading families in the absence of men.  Furthermore, a recurring element in Chinese literature is that of arranged marriages.  This leads to one of two conclusions: either women are an object used to tie families together through marriage or women are unfit to pick their own lover.  Given all of the talk of the other daughters-in-law by the mothers in Tian Han’s The Night the Tiger was Captured as well as the conversations regarding the prominence of the husband-to-be’s family, one could argue in favor of the first conclusion.

While analysis of modern Chinese literature may lead one to a dismal outlook regarding the equality of the sexes as well as an overarching abolition of gender roles, there were in fact women in powerful political positions in China during the turn of the 20^th century.  A prime example is Empress Dowager Cixi who is believed to have controlled the Qing dynasty for forty-seven years. There is also an upside to the roles played by women in modern pieces of literature exported from China. In many cases, the female characters, usually younger, disobey the wishes of their parents to instead pursue their own dreams or desires.  This is a relatively recent phenomenon. In The Night the Tiger Was Captured Lian-er wants to be wed to the fool, Huang Dasha, rather than following through with her arranged marriage to a member of the Chen family.  Similarly, in Wu Jianren’s novella Sea of Regret, one of the protagonists, Dihua, fights the traditional societal view of a girl’s responsibility to obey her parents in order to do what she thought was necessary and dutiful to pursue her love with Bohe.

Despite Chinese literature traditionally characterizing women as being dependent and subservient to men, many modern pieces have begun to show women as having opinions of their own, typically to create a life for themselves different from that of the stereotypical Chinese housewives. One could argue that as women fight to achieve more in their lives, opportunities for all Chinese women will increase.  For example, if enough women attempt to attend a college, perhaps the college will begin to accept female students.  Eventually, social norms will change so that women are expected to experience a formal education and break the gender roles of the past.