Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for 'socialist arts' sparks fears over creative freedom
Directives follow speech by Xi Jinping in which he told artists to reject 'stench of money'
The Communist Party has issued new policy directives to "strengthen and improve the Communist Party's leadership of artistic practices" - raising fears about restrictions on creativity and doubts about Beijing's effectiveness in getting across its ideological message to the public.
Monday's move came a year after a landmark speech by President Xi Jinping in which he told authors, actors and artists, including Nobel laureate for literature Mo Yan, that their work should present socialist values and not carry the "stench of money". The new rules were issued days after the release of the full text of Xi's speech in which he urged them to create works that were both artistically outstanding and politically inspiring.
During Mao Zedong's historic Yanan talks about literature and art in 1942, the leader said creative ambitions must first serve the people and the revolutionary cause; state media drew comparisons between the two speeches.
Monday's rules, passed at a September Politburo meeting, were intended to implement Xi's demands, Xinhua reported.
Beijing political commentator Zhang Lifan said the rules could compromise the quality of art. "Great art has always been from individual expression - not a centralised mindset," he said.