Book Review Performing the Socialist State: Modern Chinese Theater and Film Culture by Xiaomei Chen (Columbia University Press, February 2023)
Abstract and keywords
Abstract (English):
The review reviewed the basic structure and ideas of Xiaomei Chen's book, Performing the Socialist State: Modern Chinese Theater and Film Culture. This title can be translated as "The Performances of the Socialist State: Contemporary Chinese Theater and Film Culture". This monograph deals with the aesthetics of pre-communist, communist and post-socialist China. The two-part book explores the creative work of Tian Han, Hong Shen, and Ouyang Yuqian, prominent figures in contemporary Chinese culture, and explores their legacy, which helped shape the theater culture of the 21st century. The main idea of the book is that despite the ideological restrictions, especially characteristic of Maoist China, the analyzed figures created works of genius in their aesthetics, constituting masterpieces of not only national but also world culture. The book is recommended for culturologists, art critics, historians, and anyone who loves and appreciates modern Chinese culture.

Keywords:
Chinese culture, modern Chinese theater, modern Chinese cinema, presentation of the socialist state, recent history of China, XX century
Login or Create
* Forgot password?