The Sinification of Soviet Agitational Theatre: ‘Living Newspapers’ in Mao’s China

The Sinification of Soviet Agitational Theatre: ‘Living Newspapers’ in Mao’s China – Jeremy Taylor

Abstract: The
adoption
and
 development
 of
zhivaya
gazeta
 (lit.
‘living
 newspapers’)
 in
 China
 follows
a
 trajectory
 common
 to
 many
 forms
 of
 artistic
 expression
 that
 were
 introduced
 into
 that
 country
by
the
Soviets
in
the
early
decades
of
the
twentieth
century.
While
the
Soviet
heritage
 of
 this
 theatre
 was
 at
 first
 celebrated,
 the
 Chinese
 Communist
 Party
 sought
 to
 tailor
 it
 to
 particular
 needs
 and
 to
 present
 it
 as
 a
 specifically
 Chinese
 innovation,
 rechristening
 it
 ‘huobaoju’.
 Despite
 dying
 out
 in
 the
 Soviet
 Union
 by
 the
 late
 1920s,
 ‘living
 newspapers’
 continued
 to
 be
 produced
 in
 China
 from
 the
 1930s
 through
 until
 the
 Cultural
 Revolution
 (1966‐76),
 with
 the
 form
 being
 employed
 in
 tandem
with
 specific
 campaigns
 or
attempts
at
 mass
mobilisation.
Indeed,
 the
 very
 nature
 of
 Chinese
 communism
 under
Mao
 provided
 the
 perfect
environment
in
which
this
form
of
theatre
could
thrive.

Keywords: China, 
theatre,
 Soviet,
 culture,
 revolutionary,
 huobaoju