Beijing opera during the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong's art theory

The subject of the thesis is the modern-day Beijing opera included in the canon of the "Eight Model Plays". The operas are discussed in their historical and ideological context. Their contents and forms are analysed to investigate in what sense they meet the requirements put forward by Mao Zedong in his theory of literature and art, as originally formulated at the Yan'an 延安 conference in 1942. The thesis focuses, in particular, on Mao's idea of using traditional forms to communicate new and revolutionary content (known as "putting new wine in old bottles")