Editorial - Making the New World: The Arts of China's Cultural Revolution

Abstract

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Wuchan jieji wenhua da geming), from a general understanding, was launched in 1966 by Mao Zedong for his political agenda and ended with his demise in 1976. It has been seen as a watershed, the defining period of the half-century Communist rule in China. Studies on the Cultural Revolution offer more than historical insight, and they are essential for a better understanding of China today. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Centre for Chinese Visual Arts (CCVA) at Birmingham City University convened a two-day international conference hosted at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. This conference, Making the New World: The Arts of China's Cultural Revolution, invited more than twenty contributors including researchers, curators and artists worldwide to discuss the significance of the arts and culture of the Cultural Revolution, and to reflect upon their impacts on everyday experience in China within socio-political, cultural and global contexts. On the basis of the conference contributions, this special issue has been edited through the further development of selected academic papers and conversations.