Beijing Review: "Develop Creative Socialist Literature and Art," January 7, 1972 This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

Source: "Develop Creative Socialist Literature and Art," Beijing Review 15, no. 1, 7 January 1972, 5.

Transcribed by an HC, April 15, 2005


BEIJING REVIEW

January 7, 1972


Develop Creative Socialist Literature and Art

Since the Ninth Party Congress in 1969, a mass movement to create revolutionary literature and art has swept the country on the basis of the popularization of model revolutionary theatrical works created during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, depicting proletarian heroes and heroines and reflecting contemporary life. A number of new Peking operas, modern dramas and songs and dances have been tried out in Peking, Shanghai and other cities. There has been initial success in reportage, oil painting, graphic art, traditional Chinese painting, sculpture and photography.

Characteristic of this movement is the portrayal of heroic figures of workers, peasants and soldiers and adherence to the orientation of serving the workers, peasants and soldiers. Party organizations at various levels have strengthened their leadership over literature and art and conscientiously carried out Chairman Mao's line in this field. Amateur writers and artists and professional playwrights, writers, painters and composers have made joint efforts to create good socialist works.

A Renmin Ribao commentary "Develop Creative Socialist Literature and Art" published on December 16 last year pointed out that the creation of revolutionary literature and art "is an important measure of the proletariat exercising all-round dictatorship over the bourgeoisie in this sphere." It sums up the basic principles for developing socialist literature and art as follows:

* Adhere to the orientation of serving the workers, peasants and soldiers, and of serving socialism and proletarian politics;

* Correctly handle the relation between politics and art and strive to achieve the unity of revolutionary political content and the highest possible perfection of artistic form;

* Implement the principles "Make the past serve the present and foreign things serve China" and "Let a hundred flowers blossom; weed through the old to bring forth the new";

* Apply the creative method of combining revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism;

* Form a revolutionized contingent to create literary and artistic works, and strengthen its ideological and organizational building;

* Strengthen Party leadership over creative revolutionary literature and art, firmly grasp the struggle between the two lines on the literary and art front and raise our consciousness in implementing Chairman Mao's revolutionary line.

The commentary called on literary and art workers to strive to create, under the guidance of Chairman Mao's line on literature and art, more and better works to greet the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the publication of Chairman Mao's Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art .