Flashcards for Reshaping Chinese Culture Under Mao

What were Mao's beliefs about culture?

• Culture was integral to society and a tool for control.

• Proletarian culture had to reflect the working class.

• Feudal and bourgeois culture were to be eradicated.

• Art and culture were to serve revolutionary purposes, not individual expression.

What was Jiang Qing’s role in reshaping Chinese culture?

• Appointed as the "cultural purifier of the nation."

• Tasked with eliminating the "four olds" (old ideas, culture, customs, habits).

• Enforced strict censorship and replaced traditional works with revolutionary opera-ballets.

• Commissioned works glorified the proletariat's struggle.

How did Jiang Qing enforce public conformity?

• Strict censorship banned non-revolutionary works.

• Western music and traditional Chinese opera were banned.

• Audiences feigned enthusiasm for revolutionary works out of fear.

How were artists and intellectuals impacted under Mao?

• Suppression of creativity: Artists were required to align with revolutionary ideals.

• Re-education and persecution: Sent to labor camps and subjected to brutal treatment.

• Traditional art forms and individual expression were labeled bourgeois and outlawed.

What happened to artistic creativity during the Cultural Revolution?

• Jiang Qing's policies created a decade of cultural stagnation (1966–1976).

• Innovation was stifled; artists produced only politically safe, uninspired works.

• Instead of a cultural renewal, existing culture was nearly destroyed.

How did some resist Jiang Qing's cultural policies?

• Deng Xiaoping criticized her rigid approach, suggesting culture should entertain as well as indoctrinate.

• Most intellectuals and politicians stayed silent, fearing persecution.

What were the broad consequences of Jiang Qing’s cultural policies?

• Strict conformity replaced creativity.

• Non-proletarian culture was eradicated.

• Cultural richness was lost, with intellectuals and artists silenced.

• A generation lost its cultural identity and heritage.

What key events defined the artistic wasteland under Mao?

• Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) led to a void in artistic and cultural expression.

• Censorship and propaganda dominated artistic production.

• The Cultural Revolution left long-lasting scars on Chinese society.

What is the summary of consequences of Mao’s cultural reshaping?

• Intense political correctness replaced creativity.

• Traditional and bourgeois art forms were destroyed.

• Society suffered from a loss of cultural identity and generational damage.

• 100 million people were affected by the Cultural Revolution’s cultural policies.