ABSTRACT
Chinese society has seen extensive changes in almost all sectors since the ‘gang of four’ fell in October 1976. These have been accompanied by major transformations in the performing arts, which have influenced, and been affected by, the rest of society. The overwhelming impression which emerges from a consideration of the Chinese performing arts since 1976 is of an attempt to revive a lost culture. During visits to China, one of the commonest terms among performing arts circles was huifu, to restore, recover. Failure to restore was always regarded as a pity, success was the highest good. Virtually all the classical operas are actually arrangements made under the Communists, either before or after liberation. Experience in other societies suggests that it is modernisation itself which is the principal enemy of the traditional arts. Modern techniques can make the sound of a filmed opera as good as an actual performance.
