The Transformation of Socialist Realism in China: from Party Mobilization to Artistic Pluralism

This article analyzes the evolution of socialist realism in the People’s Republic of China as a tool for ideological mobilization and the formation of cultural identity. Drawing upon archival materials–including Mao Zedong’s speeches at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art (1942) and the Politburo’s resolution on the «Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom, Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend» campaign (1956) – along with publications from the party press and oral histories of participants in grassroots artistic collectives, the study demonstrates how mass theater, exhibitions, posters, and cinema initially served the rigid party directive that «art must serve the people» Later, under the influence of the policy of «people’s aesthetics» these artistic forms began to incorporate traditional crafts and folkloric motifs. The article further examines the localization of «Yan’an heroes» within regional cultural frameworks and the transformation of the image of the «socialist person» into types such as innovators and labor heroes. The reform period of 1978–1985 is discussed as a transition to artistic pluralism, whereby a retreat from strict party control gave rise to stylistic and thematic diversification.