Xi Jinping's call for political art evokes bad memories of Cultural Revolution
Some see president's speech to artists as echoing forebear's cultural edict that helped trigger excesses of Cultural Revolution
The role of arts and culture has again become a hot topic of debate on the mainland, after an unusual speech by President Xi Jinping. In remarks reminiscent of an imperial edict, Xi urged artists to create works that were not just artistically outstanding but also politically inspiring.
They should expand China's arts and culture industry abroad, on a level parallel to Hollywood, while promoting socialist core values at home to serve the Communist Party's agenda.
The meeting was attended by the upper echelon of military and government-owned cultural organisations, including the People's Liberation Army's art troupes, prominent movie actors and directors, authors and opera singers.
Traditional Chinese culture is the lifeblood of the nation and an important source of core socialist values, Xi said, as well as "a foundation for China to compete in the world".
China Daily hailed Xi's speech for "emphasising the integration of ideology and artistic values", while the Global Times, an affiliate of the party's flagship newspaper People's Daily, said it "answered the question of whom [the artists] serve".
State media drew comparisons to a speech delivered by Mao Zedong decades ago. In his famous Yanan talks on literature and art delivered in 1942, Mao declared creative ambitions must first serve the people and the party's revolutionary cause.
Under Mao's rule, artists, writers and cultural workers served as propagandists, promoting ideology, praising government policy and indoctrinating and brainwashing people.