Dramas of new China (1949–1966)

Modern Chinese drama serves as an umbrella term to encompass both spoken drama (huaju), a western-style theatre introduced to China at the turn of the twentieth century, and modern rendition of traditional Chinese opera (xiqu), such as Peking opera, Kun opera, etc. It also incorporates theatrical adaptation of literary and artistic works from other genres, especially novel and fiction. Dramas in the seventeen-year period of Maoist China refer to the theatrical writings and performances produced from the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949) to the beginning of the Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966). Its overall output is characterized by an adherence to Maoist thoughts of literature and arts (Mao Zedong wenyi sixiang) in terms of revolution, class, history, aesthetics and politics. In her study of Chinese drama of this period, Xiaomei Chen rightly points out that the drama of new China “mostly followed the Maoist ideology of literature and art, which viewed serving the interests of the proletariat cause – that is, the cause of workers, peasants, and soldiers – as its main function.” ¹ Hong Zicheng’s History of Contemporary Chinese Literature also emphasizes the political function and agency of dramas in this historical period: “After 1949, … [t]here was also a continuing stress on the notion of the direct, intimate relationship between the theatre, politics, and society… . Beginning in 1963, during the preparation for and the initiation of the Cultural Revolution, of all the arts the theatre, including western-style drama, was seen as the art form best suited to the direct expression of political enthusiasm and imagination.” ²