A Continuous Revolution

“Mittler’s groundbreaking study assesses Cultural Revolution arts—music, drama, opera, painting, comics, and literature—as more than propaganda, demonstrating that they were paradigm-shifting works that left indelible impacts on China’s artistic culture… Magisterial in scope, this book proves that art of the Cultural Revolution period was not an aberration but rather the most complete expression of trends that had begun in the early 20th century, when yearnings for a great hero first entered popular discourse. As the apotheosis of mass culture, the Cultural Revolution produced truly popular art that spoke to uneducated farmers and urbane intellectuals alike and was experienced in multiple ways that belie claims of hegemony. Accompanied by a website that includes further text, images, music, and video clips, this will serve as the definitive study of its genre for years to come.”—N. E. Barnes, Choice