| The purpose of this study is to probe the interplay of politics and musical culture in China by investigating the context, contents, and conflicts in Modern Revolutionary Beijing Opera, as politics plays a greater role in the arts of China than in virtually any other country. This dissertation focuses on a sensitive politically topic in China: how a highly developed traditional art, Beijing Opera, was transformed for the purposes of political indoctrination and control during the "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976), a major political event in twentieth century Chinese history. By adopting an ethnomusicological standpoint, this dissertation seeks to explicate the unique phenomenon of Modern Revolutionary Beijing Opera in its historical, social, cultural, and political contexts as well as its musical, theatrical, and artistic factors.;First, to provide a context for Modern Revolutionary Beijing Opera, this paper traces the history of traditional Beijing Opera in imperial China in the nineteenth century, its development during the Communist regime of the twentieth century, the birth of Modern Revolutionary Beijing Opera in 1964 under the direct supervision of Jiang Qing (Mao Ze-dong's wife), and its quick extinction after 1976 and the fall of the "Gang of Four." Political, social, economic and cultural contexts are discussed. Second, this dissertation studies the contents of "eight model plays" designated by Jiang Qing, called yang ban xi in Chinese, which came to dominate the Chinese stage for ten years. The themes and music are examined in depth. Thirdly, the study explores the conflicts of ideology and form between traditional Beijing Opera and Modern Revolutionary Beijing Opera. Finally, the paper argues that radical, political-oriented reforms to a traditional art form must take cultural and artistic values into consideration; otherwise such reforms fail in the long run. |
