Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Characters from the revolutionary operas

  • Description

    Ding Jiasheng was a professor in the Stage Design Department at Shanghai Theatre Academy. The background of this image is the town of Yan’an, identified by the pagoda on a rocky peak [also seen in EA2006.217 and EA2006.293], where on 2 May 1942 Mao Zedong declared that all art and literature should serve politics first and art second. The slogan reads 'Long live the triumph of Chairman Mao's revolutionary line of literature and art!’, and the ten figures in this image are characters from the ‘Eight Model Operas’. These revolutionary operas comprised six modern Beijing operas, and two ballets, and in addition one symphony. The definition and scope of the “eight revolutionary model operas”, was officially announced in the editorial of People’s Daily on 31 May 1967, with the opening sentence: ‘In order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Chairman Mao’s Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art, eight revolutionary model operas are being played on the stages of our Capital City: Beijing operas Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, On the Docks, The Legend of the Red Lantern, Shajiabang, Sweeping the White Tiger Regiment, ballets Red Detachment of Women, The White Haired Girl, and symphony Shajiabang.’

  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChina Shanghai province (place of creation)
    AsiaChina Shanghai province (place of publication)
    AsiaChinaShaanxi province Yan'an (subject)
    Date
    September 1974
    Artist/maker
    Ding Jiasheng (probably born 1940s) (designer)
    Shanghai Theatre Academy (established 1945) (designer)
    Associated people
    Shanghai People's Publishing House (established 1951) (publisher)
    Xinhua Bookstore (established 1937) (retailer)
    Material and technique
    lithograph
    Dimensions
    76.8 x 106 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased, 2006.
    Accession no.
    EA2006.261

Glossary

Ding

  • Ding

    A Chinese bronze tripod ritual cooking vessel. Also a type of white porcelain from Northern China.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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