Xi, Mao and the dark art of ideology
President Xi Jinping's landmark speech on arts and culture last week signalled his intention to revive Maoist ideology over the sector and to tighten censorship of art and literature, analysts said.
President Xi Jinping's landmark speech on arts and culture last week signalled his intention to revive Maoist ideology over the sector and to tighten censorship of art and literature, analysts said.
Xi, who is also Communist Party general secretary, told a forum of writers, artists and actors that their works should present socialist values and not be polluted by the "stench of money".
Echoing many of Mao's teachings, Xi said art should serve socialism and the people, and be consistent with Marxist-Leninist thinking.
Xigen Li, associate professor with City University's department of media and communication, said the remarks signalled the president's aim to exercise greater ideological control.
"It is a sign that Xi wants to have more control over the arts, and through that, more control over ideology," Li said.
Steve Tsang, head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, said the speech pointed to the tightening of ideological control over the arts and culture, with Xi trying to ensure that the arts promoted the party's brand of nationalism.
"The signal [for censorship] has been hoisted. Those who do not fall in line should know that the days when they can still not do so are numbered," Tsang said.
He said the speech had parallels with one late helmsman Mao Zedong delivered in 1942 during the Yanan rectification movement. In a famous speech at the revolutionary base in Shaanxi province, Mao called on writers and artists to contribute their works to serve the cause of revolution and communism.
"Xi is tightening censorship and control. It is to ensure that the arts and literature do what Xi and the party wants in shaping public opinion in China. This focus on nationalism implies an inherent xenophobia as China under Xi asserts what Xi sees as 'Chinese values and Chinese rights'," Tsang said.
Journalism professor Yuan Fang , from Communication University of China, said Xi's message was clear: the arts' primary role was to work in the service of the party and its priorities.
Yuan said censorship was on the rise, prompting many artists to avoid politically sensitive subjects in their work.
Arts and culture have boomed on the mainland as market reforms have ushered in some relaxation of controls on the sector since the 1970s. But Xi's address last week contained a warning to artists that their work should not "fall slave to money".
Li said it would be difficult to impose an ideological burden on the arts and ignore the market given the market's central role in the economy.
He said artists faced a dilemma - they needed to follow the market to survive but also needed to be politically correct to be accepted by the government.
"How can politically correct artworks win over a market-oriented audience?" Li asked.
