ABSTRACT
Bai Hua's fusion of art and political activism actually continues a very ancient Chinese pattern of literati involvement in affairs of state. A national campaign to criticize Bai Hua's screenplay, Unrequited Love, broke the momentum of a post-Mao trend toward fewer political restrictions on the arts. Bai Hua's complaints about the administration of cultural work within the Kunming Military District, his former base, were not well received, and he was dismissed from both the Party and the army during the anti-Rightist campaign. Bai was considered an “object of dictatorship” and thus had no access to internal documents or any right to participate in political meetings. The central place of factional ties of patron to client in Bai Hua's career underscores a classic Chinese approach to power and influence. Bai Hua's career as a military official is full of irony. The army plays a complex role in the politics of Chinese culture.
