Unstable Heroes: A Study of the Representation of the Male Figure in Chinese Cultural Revolution Oil Paintings

Abstract

Idealised male figures depicted in oil paintings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76) were used to glorify selective and shifting heroic ideals. The male figure occupied a unique, highly codified position designed to arouse emulation and so embodied a range of abstract values that changed according to desired political outcomes. By contextualizing and tracking shifts in representation, the instability of the objectives of the Cultural Revolution becomes evident. The visual world of the Cultural Revolution was populated by idealised male figures such as Chairman Mao; unstable heroes such as political figures who might later be erased from history paintings; model heroes such as soldiers, workers and peasants; and ethereal cultural heroes such as writers. Rather than forming a fixed pantheon, the constantly changing representation of heroic male figures testifies to the inherent instability of what constituted a hero in this turbulent decade. By examining the intimate connections between Chinese Cultural Revolution art and politics, a deeper understanding emerges of the subtle games played between the Chinese government, competing factions, and the cultural world. Public policy signals, motives, feints and desired outcomes can then be placed within a historic context. The scars, patterns and stratagems of this period remain relevant to a nuanced understanding of China today.