Breaking with the Old to Establish the New:Reform of Traditional Theater in the North China Liberated Areas(1945-1949)
The traditional theater is one of the significant legacies of Chinese national culture and art.In traditional society,it per-formed dual functions of edification and entertainment while also carrying strong feudal colors.After the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan,the reform of traditional theater in the liberated areas in North China faced numerous challenges,including the preva-lence of old plays along with the shortage of new ones,severe exploitation within theater troupes,a strong profit-oriented mindset a-mong theater troupes and performers,and outdated reform concepts held by leading cadres.The Party and government of the North Chi-na Liberated Areas acted in accordance with actual local conditions to further promote the reform of traditional theater from such aspects"reforming the plays,reforming the people,and reforming the system."Following the reforms,both the reformed traditional plays and newly created ones enriched the entertainment lives of the broad masses,while also supporting and advancing various tasks in the liber-ated areas in North China,such as military enlistment,support for the army,land reform,and production,which imperceptibly helped to accomplish the revolutionary education among the populace.
liberated area in North Chinareform of the traditional theatercultural mobilization