ABSTRACT
No form of art, nor any branch of the performing arts, can live outside the confines of its own society. By its very nature it must be rooted within a particular context – social, economic, historical or political. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC) especially, the performing arts are to a significant degree welded tightly into the society that produces them. This chapter covers the period from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 to the autumn of 1976, the year when Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong died. One of the most pronounced features of the Chinese since 1949, and indeed before, is their strong sense of patriotism and nationalism. From 1949 to 1976 China was undoubtedly a revolutionary nation in which the government and people strove to bring about radical change in society. The people in all parts of China professed an enthusiasm for revolutionary ideology.
