Between Tradition and Modernity - The Influence of Western European and Russian Art on Revolutionary China

By Jonas Gerwing

The main concern of this culture-historical study consists in the critical analysis of the evolution and development of Modern art in China following the demise of the Qing-dynasty (1911) up to the ideological dissociation of the People’s Republic from the Soviet Union during “the Great Leap Forward” (1958-62). Hereby, the focus will be put on illustrating different analytical approaches in order to understand the mechanisms of producing national culture and arts in China of the first half of the 20th century. Relating to the given topic of this analysis, the process of remodeling or modernizing Chinese national identity uttered the essential question of how artistic and cultural traditions should be perceived by the people in the future. The question remains if a specific (national) cultural identity can be created without the preservation of or self-reference to cultural heritages of the nation’s past. Following Communist ideological reasoning, the collective national identity of the Chinese society should be remodeled in the manners of Socialism. Cultural spheres created by arts and literature should, therefore, accelerate the people’s transition towards a ‘classless’ society. In its historical appearance, Mao's interpretation and perception of 'Socialism' had a lasting effect on defining or limiting the society’s collective (national) identity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9783735752130

Jonas Gerwing

Jonas Gerwing (*1988), geboren in Münster Studierte Osteuropäische Geschichte, Russische Kunstgeschichte und Russische- und Sowjetische Kulturwissenschaften in Hamburg, Helsinki und Sankt Petersburg. Seit 2014 - Dissertationsprojekt: In Times of Socialism’s Waning Star -The Aesthetics of Glasnost and the Cultural Demise of Socialism in the late 1980s." (Universität Heidelberg)

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Illustrations

1. Introduction

When Mao Zedong proclaimed the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (PR China) on October 1, 1949, another Socialist territorial state was established in Asia after the turmoil of civil war between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek. After the stabilization of its power, the CPC which was, during the Civil war, in a tensed relationship to its ideological partner, the Soviet Union, made use of the CPSU’s experiences and designed a Communist state in China in accordance with the Soviet-Russian role model. Besides the structural and political exemplary function of the Soviet Union, Socialist realism was utilized in its Soviet definition in the artistic and cultural scene in order to expedite a cultural revolution in China and to cut the ties to its own national past.

The main concern of the following culture-historical study consists in the critical analysis of the evolution and development of Modern art in China following the demise of the Qing-dynasty (1911) up to the ideological dissociation of the People’s Republic from the Soviet Union during the Great Leap Forward (1958-62).

A crucial point in the own scientific considerations can be defined in the identification and disclosure of artistic trends which had a sustainable effect on the modernisation of Chinese art in the first half of the 20th century.

In the second part of this thesis, special attention will be paid to the art in the People’s Republic after 1949. Particularly, the influence of the Soviet Union on the culture-political developments in the People’s Republic and its impact as the major role model and ideological source for the establishment of a new national Chinese art will be further discussed and illustrated.

In a first contentual focus, dealing with Chinese art prior to 1949, important artistic developments will be highlighted which appear to be substantial for an extensive understanding of Chinese Modern art. These preceding reflections are necessary since the emergence of Socialist realism must be integrated into the developmental process of modern artistic trends in China and cannot be seen solely as a product of Maoist reforms after 1949. In this respect, the genesis of the Socialist imprint of Academic realism must rather be understood between the poles of Western and traditional influences on Chinese art, as well as in the context of the anti-Japanese propaganda during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45).

In a following step, the effects will be examined which the adoption of the Soviet political model had on the culture political orientation of the country after the proclamation of the PR China. Besides the centralisation of cultural institutions and the proclamation of Socialist realism as the prevailing artistic style in literature and fine arts, the focus will especially be laid on the cultural exchange between the USSR and the PR China. The Chinese cultural politics must, however, not be seen and interpreted as a black box. Despite the stylistic supremacy of Socialist realism, traditional styles like the Chinese ink and landscape painting (Guohua) were predominantly enhanced in periods of political liberalization (Hundred Flowers Campaign).

After the depiction of the impact which the encompassing purges had on the Chinese artistic scene, following the suppression of the Hundred Flowers Campaign, the development of Modern Chinese art will be finally evaluated. At the center of attention stands primarily the conception of the prevailing, ambivalent identity of Chinese art which was shaped by the adoption of Soviet Socialist realist ideals and by the continual existence of national artistic traditions.

Due to the limitations of this paper, a holistic analysis of China’s cultural development in the field of fine arts appears as hardly feasible. Thus, the following remarks will be based on incisive evolutions in Chinese art which illustrate and clarify the factual connections and the contentual aims of this present study.

In consequence of the laid emphasis on analyzing the creation of a new revolutionary identity in Chinese contemporary art, guided and enforced by the CPC’s leadership, a profound methodical consideration must be undertaken, preliminarily to the further historical analysis. Hereby, the focus will be put on illustrating different analytical approaches in order to understand the mechanisms of producing national culture and arts in China of the first half of the 20th century (see 2.). Relating to the given topic of this thesis, the process of remodeling or modernizing Chinese national identity uttered the essential question of how artistic and cultural traditions should be perceived by the people in the future. Throughout the history, revolutionary forces within a society always seemed to face the general dilemma of dedicating oneself to the renewal of cultural and social traditions without losing its particular national identity (see 2.1). However, the question remains if a specific (national) cultural identity can be created without the preservation of or self-reference to cultural heritages of the nation’s past (see 2.2). Following Communist ideological reasoning, the collective national identity should be remodeled in the manners of Socialism. Cultural spheres created by arts and literature should, therefore, accelerate the people’s transition towards a ‘classless’ society. Socialism, as a result, defined or limited the society’s collective (national) identity (2.3). Concluding the methodological introduction to this thesis, the results and risks of eliminating cultural links and intercultural communication will be illustrated. By creating the opposing others which were propagated as subversive elements threatening the social and cultural integrity of the society, many authoritarian regimes like the German Democratic Republic or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea relinquished the surplus gained by cultural diversification and condemned their own country into (global) isolation.

A detailed and conducive access to the methodological issues mentioned above was especially given in the theoretical analysis ‘Identitätspolitik – Vom Missbrauch kultureller Unterschiede’ written by Thomas Meyer.¹ For a better understanding, the writings of Terry Eagleton², Alberto Melucci³ and Laurajane Smith⁴ have been, among others, highly rewarding.

For the following analysis of Chinese art in the 20th century and especially during the era of Mao Zedong, several scientific works provided a detailed insight into the culture-political composition of revolutionary China and into the different developments within Chinese contemporary arts. Particularly, the detailed studies by Julia Andrews⁵, Michael Sullivan⁶ and Frederick Teiwes⁷ must be mentioned which reflect the current state of research in accordance with the subject matter of the present paper. Besides the selected works of the academic, secondary literature, Mao’s speeches in Yan’an (1942)⁸ served as a central source for understanding the culture-political orientation of the CPC in the foundation phase of the PR China.

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¹See Meyer, Thomas (2002).Identitätspolitik – Vom Missbrauch kultureller Unterschiede, Franfurt am Main.

²See Eagleton, Terry (2009). Was ist Kultur? Eine Einführung, München.

³See Melucci, Alberto (2006). Challenging codes – Collective action in the information age, Cambridge, New York, Melbourne.

⁴See Smith, Laurajane (2006). Uses of Heritage, London, New York.

⁵See Andrews, Julia F.; Shen, Kuiyi [Ed.] (1998). A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China, New York. – Ibid. (1994). Painters and Politics in the People’s Republic of China, 1949-1979, Berkeley, Los Angeles.

⁶See Sullivan, Michael (1996). Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China, Berkeley, Los Angeles.

⁷See Teiwes, Frederick C. (1993). Politics and Purges in China – Rectification and the Decline of Party Norms, 1950 – 1965, Armonk, New York.

⁸See Zedong, Mao (1961). Reden auf der Beratung über Fragen der Literatur und Kunst in Yenan, Beijing.

2. Shaping cultural and national identity through arts and literature

Being symbolized in the downfall of the Chinese Qing dynasty in 1911, the pressure on China strengthened to modernize its society and the country’s political structures in order to become competitive with its geopolitical neighbors in a rapidly globalizing world. Although being discussed in greater detail, later on, in this thesis (see 3; 3.1), culturally antagonistic alternatives