Soul of Beijing Opera, The: Theatrical Creativity and Continuity in the Changing World

Appendix 1B.

289 Appendix 1: Chronology Mainland Taiwan Mainland Taiwan 1949 The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is founded on 1 October. The government of the ROC moves to Taiwan, and martial law is declared on the island. June: Preliminary session for the first National Congress of Literary and Artistic Workers (NCLAW). 2–19 July: NCLAW is held. 27 July: Committee of Theatre Reform (CTR) is established, later changed to Theatrical Reform Bureau. July: workshops organized for traditional theatre practitioners begin and continue until 1951. Theatre Reform begins. Under martial law, strict censorship is imposed on publications and performances. 1950 “Resist the USA; Assist Korea” campaign. People’s Volunteer Army is sent to Korea. Shows are organized to raise money for the Korean front. April: Mao Zedong’s calligraphy, “Let a hundred flowers bloom; weed out the old to bring forward the new” is presented as a gift for the establishment of the Chinese Indigenous Theatre Research Institute. 27 November–11 December: National Symposium on the Traditional Theatre is held in Beijing. “Suppressing rebellion theatre” and “anti-Communist and antiSoviet theatre” are advocated by the government. Political/social events Events concerning jingju (theatre) and arts 290 Appendix 1: Chronology 1951 The Three-Antis Movement (against corruption, waste and bureaucracy at the governmental level). “5 May Instructions” on Theatre Reforms, issued by the State Administrative Council and signed by Zhou Enlai, ban twenty-six plays. 20 May: Mao Zedong’s essay “We Should Seriously Discuss The Biography of Wu Xun”4 claims the film is a “serious distortion of the Chinese people’s revolutionary history”. Following Mao’s instructions, a nationwide political campaign in the arts sector begins. 1952 The Five-Antis Movement (against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state assets, cheating in labour or materials, and stealing state economic intelligence) mainly targeting the bourgeoisie. October: Manifesto of the Seventh National Congress of the GMD states that in order to achieve the victory in the “war for democracy, peace and justice”, the whole nation must first safeguard “[the] national history and culture”. Star actors organized in teams to perform at the Korean frontier for the People’s Volunteer Army. 1953 More performing teams are sent to Korea. The registration of theatre troupes under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture (MoC). State-run theatre companies are organized at different levels. Mainland Taiwan Mainland Taiwan Political/social events Events concerning jingju (theatre) and arts 291 Appendix 1: Chronology 1954 Instructions on consolidating the administration of theatres (venues) are issued by the MoC. Jingju companies attached to the armed forces are formally established. 1955 February: campaign against writer Hu Feng. July: Hu is arrested as a counterrevolutionary . Chiang Kai-shek advocates “Literature of Struggle”. Consequent vogue for “Theatre of Struggle”. 1956 Joint state-private ownership of industrial and commercial enterprises. Intellectuals are encouraged to express opinions under the slogan: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend”. June: “Repertoire of the traditional theatre” is discussed at the first national symposium organized by the MoC. Practitioners are encouraged to stage more traditional repertoire. 1957 Hundred Flowers movement continues. 8 June: People’s Daily editorial “Why So” marks the official commencement of the AntiRightist Campaign. October: Eighth National Congress of the GMD is held, emphasizing again that the war against the CCP is a cultural war to preserve the long history and traditional virtues. April: Practitioners are urged to “dig up buried cultural legacy”. May: Ban on twenty-six plays is lifted by the MoC. June: Meetings at various levels denounce Rightists in theatre circles and in the arts sector. July: Statement by seven National Congress Representatives from theatre circles, including Mei Lanfang and Cheng Yanqiu: “[We] do not perform bad plays.” 292 Appendix 1: Chronology Those who staged the previously banned plays are publicly criticized. Performances are reduced to let practitioners focus on the AntiRightist Campaign. 1958 Great Leap Forward and collectivization campaign. June–July: MoC holds a national symposium to discuss how traditional theatres can stage more plays on contemporary themes. Slogan: “Plays with contemporary themes are the key link.” Large numbers of low-quality contemporary plays are written and performed. 1959–61 Serious famine. Mao Zedong’s call for “antirightist opportunism”, the principal danger to the Great Leap Forward and the collectivization. Sino-Soviet split emerges. Economic policy is adjusted to deal with problems caused by the Great Leap Forward. The CCP journal Red Flag (May 1961...