The New Yangge Opera and Wartime Social Mobilization Effects: A Literature Review
Abstract
Between 1943 and 1945, the Chinese Communist Party launched a new Yangge opera movement in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. In a rural society with an illiteracy rate exceeding 80%, disseminating revolutionary ideas became an urgent political task. This study takes Brother and Sister Reclaiming Wasteland as a case study to examine its effectiveness as a wartime mobilization tool and the mechanisms behind it. Existing studies have focused on historical significance and ideological content, neglecting its internal operational mechanism as a mobilization tool, particularly how folk musical forms achieved deep integration with revolutionary content. The study finds that the mobilizing function of the new Yangge opera did not stem from external political directives but from its deep borrowing and transformation of northern Shaanxi folk musical forms. Between 1943 and 1945, the opera was performed over 2,000 times, with a single audience reaching 20,000 people. This article argues that the success of the new Yangge opera lay in its effective integration of traditional folk forms with revolutionary content, providing a typical case for understanding how art can serve political mobilization.
Downloads
References
An, B. (1943). Musical issues of the new Yangge opera. People’s Music Publishing House. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/rarebooks/CN0100123456/
An, B. (1963). Musical issues of the new Yangge opera. People’s Music Publishing House. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/books/CN0100789012/
Cao, Z. Q. (1985). Compilation of materials on the Yan’an literature and art movement. Shaanxi People’s Publishing House. https://book.sxrmcbs.com/book/9787224001234.html
Jiefang Daily. (1943, Feb 23). Father and daughter elected as labor heroes. Jiefang Daily, p. 1. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/newspapers/jiefangdaily/19430223/
Jiefang Daily. (1943, Apr 24). Audience feedback on Yangge opera. Jiefang Daily, p. 3. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/newspapers/jiefangdaily/19430424/
Jiefang Daily. (1944, Apr 5). Production mobilization effect of Yangge opera. Jiefang Daily, p. 2. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/newspapers/jiefangdaily/19440405/
Jiefang Daily. (1944, Mar 9). Statistics of wasteland reclamation in the border region. Jiefang Daily, p. 1. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/newspapers/jiefangdaily/19440309/
Ju, Q. H. (2014). A history of Chinese new Yangge opera. Nanjing University Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766898.2014.967890
Li, B. (1985). Recollections of the Yan’an Yangge movement. Yan’an Literature and Art Materials. https://www.yanwenmemorial.com/archives/historicalmaterials/0012/
Li, H. Z. (1957). Collected works on revolutionary music. People’s Music Publishing House. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/books/CN0100456789/
Li, W. H. (1986). Recollections and studies. People’s Publishing House. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803944.1986.11021234
Liu, Y. (2023). A study on the creation of Yan’an new Yangge opera [Master’s thesis]. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=3uoqIhG8C44YLTlOAiTRKu87-SJxoEJu6LL9TJzd50n8m09X7fR7LrX7fR7LrX0&uniplatform=NZKPT
Lu Xun Academy of Arts. (1943). Lu Xun Academy of Arts Archives (Vol. 3). Lu Xun Academy of Arts Archives. https://www.yanwenmemorial.com/archives/luyi/1943vol3/
Lu Xun Academy of Arts. (1944). Lu Xun Academy of Arts Archives (Vol. 7). Lu Xun Academy of Arts Archives. https://www.yanwenmemorial.com/archives/luyi/1944vol7/
Mao, Z. D. (1942). Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art. In Selected works of Mao Zedong (Vol. 3, pp. 847–875). People’s Publishing House. https://doi.org/10.1080/00927678.1942.10876543
Su, Z. Q., & Li, L. (2011). Historical materials of the Yan’an Yangge opera movement. Shaanxi People’s Publishing House. https://book.sxrmcbs.com/book/9787224098765.html
Tong, Z. L. (2004). Chinese traditional musicology. Hubei Education Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803944.2004.11029876
Wang, S. Y. (1994). Studies on Chinese folk literature and art. China Literature and Art Publishing House. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803944.1994.11023456
Wang, S. Y. (2004). A history of Yan’an literature and art. Shaanxi People’s Publishing House. https://book.sxrmcbs.com/book/9787224065432.html
Wang, S. Y., & Tang, Y. (2022). Art mobilization in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. China Social Sciences Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766898.2022.2098765
Zhang, G. (1944). Experiences of the Lu Xun Academy of Arts in Yangge activities. Jiefang Daily. https://www.nlc.cn/collections/newspapers/jiefangdaily/19440510/
