Culture Archives - Friends of Socialist China

Cuban culture celebrated in London

Friends of Socialist China co-editors Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett were pleased to join a celebration of Cuban Culture Day on October 21. Held in a packed Bolivar Hall, the cultural premises of the Venezuelan Embassy in London, ‘Cuban Mosaic: A Night of Identity and Resilience’ brought together Cuban artists and friends of Cuba from cultural and artistic circles for a dazzling medley of music, dance and poetry that served to well illustrate the vibrancy and diversity of Cuban culture and the society it reflects.

Organised by the Cuban Embassy in London, with support from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC), the evening was presided over by Ambassador Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, who expressed her pride in the artistic quality and warmth of the gathering, which strengthened ties between Cuba and people in Britain. Friends of Cuba from all walks of life were present at the invitation-only gathering.

The following report was originally published on the website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

On 21 October, in London, the Cuban Embassy, with the support of the Campaign for Solidarity with Cuba (CSC), hosted an unforgettable gala in celebration of Cuban Culture Day. Entitled ‘Cuban Mosaic: A Night of Identity and Resilience,’ the event brought together Cuban artists and friends of the island in the United Kingdom to offer a broad and exciting sample of our music, dance and poetry. The result was a vibrant and emotional evening at the Bolívar Hall of the Venezuelan Embassy in the United Kingdom.

The programme combined virtuosity, tradition and contemporary creativity, with Cuban artists presenting a variety of performances and instruments, from classical pieces to modern compositions, allowing the audience to experience the cultural richness of Cuba and the celebrations that take place in our country during October.

At various points, classics from the Cuban tradition were revived alongside arrangements and performances that reflected the vitality and relevance of our culture. The evening was opened by pianist Eralys Fernández and clarinettist Lester Chío Alonso, who offered a highly lyrical start. Guitarist Nikos Baroutsakis captivated the audience with his repertoire, while Ramon Goose and John Woodham brought rhythm and flavour with guitar and congas. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Sergio Marciano shone with pieces that connected directly with the audience. Dance talent was represented by Damarys Farres & CSA Dance Company, who offered choreographic moments of great expressive power, and the London Lucumi Choir provided the voices needed to complete the evening’s sound palette.

The diverse and enthusiastic audience included British parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of cultural, business, consular and academic institutions, as well as the CSC. They all joined in the celebration, enjoyed the displays of Cuban culture up close and learned more about the significance of Cuban Culture Day, which commemorates the identity, resilience and creativity of our people.

Ambassador Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter presided over the evening and expressed her pride in the artistic quality and warmth of the gathering, which strengthened ties between Cuba and the British public. The presence of diplomats, cultural representatives and friends of Cuba underscored the international and dialogue-oriented nature of the event.

The Revolutionary Reel: How Chinese cinema sustains the struggle

The power of storytelling to sustain revolutionary enthusiasm and struggle is well-known. Stories both true and fictional have encouraged fighters in times both good and bad. Vladimir Lenin loved to read novels and took particular inspiration (and the title of one of his most famous works) from Chernyshevsky’s What is to be Done?. This novel continues to inspire, with Chinese President Xi Jinping citing it at the 2024 BRICS Conference, noting how the protagonist’s “unwavering determination and ardent struggle encapsulate exactly the kind of spiritual power we need today. The bigger the storms of our times are, the more we must stand firm at the forefront with unbending determination and pioneering courage.”

As the times have moved on, so have the formats of storytelling, and the moving image has come to replace the written word over the 20th century as the dominant form of narrative. In the same way as novels, the medium responds directly to the social contexts in which it is produced. In the Chinese revolutionary era, and the years leading up to the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, this was evident in the burgeoning film industry of the time, located mostly in Shanghai. The importance of many of these films and the extent to which they played an ideological role in sustaining the Chinese people’s resistance is charted in the below Sixth Tone article, which notes that the films “evolved from cultural commentary into a medium of resistance, help[ed] to shape public opinion and mobilize support for the war effort.” In place of some of the traditional melodramas or fantasy epics, the early Communist Party of China played a direct role in advocating stories which portrayed everyday people’s struggles, women’s struggles, and other tales that raised social awareness.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory against Japanese Aggression, and their inestimable contribution to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, and once again cinema is making an important ideological contribution. 2025 has seen numerous films depicting this victory and the Chinese people’s experiences and contributions: Dead to Rights (a story in the context of the Nanjing Massacre), both fictional and documentary films covering the Dongji Island incident (where Chinese fisherfolk saved drowning British POWs), as well as the upcoming Evil Unbound, a story covering the notorious germ warfare human experiments carried out by the Japanese Imperial army.

In addition to re-establishing the proper historical contributions of the Chinese people in the history books, which for too long have been downplayed in the West, these narratives and documentaries also remind the Chinese people, and the peoples of the Global South at large, of the importance of protecting one’s own sovereignty and their capacity for resistance and victory.

Kim Jong Il noted in 1973 that “the task set before the cinema today is one of contributing to people’s development into true communists and assisting in the revolutionising and remodelling of the whole of society on the working-class pattern.” And whether you prefer the black and white classics, or the modern blockbusters, the leftist cinema of the People’s Republic of China continues to play this role.

The following article was first published by Sixth Tone.

In the years leading up to Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Chinese cinema had already begun preparing for it. Following the Mukden Incident in 1931, a false flag attack by Japanese troops on a railway line in northeastern China as pretense to invade Manchuria, Chinese filmmakers began incorporating themes of social crisis, injustice, and national survival into their work.

Review: Dead to Rights

The Chinese film Dead to Rights, a moving depiction of the 1937-38 Nanjing Massacre, went on general release in London on September 5, distributed by the Cultural Centre of Nouvelles d’Europe UK.

Carlos Martinez reviews the film, arguing that: “Although harrowing to watch, Dead to Rights is not a film of despair. It restores to memory the countless unnamed heroes who resisted occupation. And it reaffirms the principle that only truth can prevent history from being distorted or erased.”

Shen Ao’s Dead to Rights (released domestically as Nanjing Photo Studio) is a Chinese film of searing power and urgency. Set during the Nanjing Massacre of December 1937, it combines meticulous historical detail with a sweeping human drama that is resonating deeply with audiences around the world. Since its release in July, the film has smashed box office records and helped to reignite the discussion about one of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century.

The story follows A Chang (Liu Haoran), a humble postman who is mistaken for a photo studio employee by occupying Japanese soldiers. Realising that their mistake offers an opportunity for survival, Chang plays along. Inside the photo studio, he encounters the owner and his family sheltering in the basement, as well as an actress taking refuge.

The group’s uneasy survival hinges on developing photographs for a Japanese army photographer, Lieutenant Hideo Ito, who is documenting Japanese activities in the city for propaganda purposes. Yet the images they process – of torture, murder and rape – become an unbearable testament to the horrors engulfing their city. Together, the group risks everything to preserve these negatives and smuggle them to the outside world, convinced that only by exposing the truth can justice be served.

The drama draws inspiration from real events. In 1938, a teenage apprentice in Nanjing did indeed copy photographs brought in by Japanese soldiers, creating an album that would later serve as crucial evidence in war crimes trials. The English title, Dead to Rights, underscores the central motif: incontrovertible proof of wrongdoing that ultimately condemned the perpetrators.

The film’s release is especially poignant given its timing, just a few weeks before the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender and the end of the Global Anti-Fascist War. As I observed in a recent article, “China’s role in the war, and indeed the very existence of the Pacific Theatre, has to a significant degree been written out of history… However, China was the first country to wage war against fascist occupation, and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was of decisive importance to the overall global victory over fascism. In the course of 14 years of war (1931-45), China suffered over 35 million casualties, and around 20 percent of its people were made refugees.”

While the war crimes carried out by Nazi Germany are etched indelibly into global consciousness, the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities committed by the Japanese armed forces remain far less well known outside China. The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, the Eastern counterpart to the Nuremberg trials, estimated that over 260,000 people were killed in the weeks following Japan’s seizure of the city. Tens of thousands of women were raped in what the late historian Iris Chang described as “an orgy of cruelty seldom if ever matched in world history”.

Films like Dead to Rights serve to set the record straight, telling the truth about the occupation’s crimes and reasserting China’s place in the Global Anti-Fascist War. Shen’s film insists that China’s sacrifices, resistance and heroism be remembered.

But the film also arrives at a moment when this history feels painfully alive, with Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza generating horrifying images of indiscriminate bombing, destroyed hospitals and civilian massacres. Indeed, the film’s central theme – the imperative to document the crimes of an occupying force – is being replayed today by courageous journalists and citizens in Gaza, whose cameras and pens are transformed into weapons of truth. As the director has commented: “A photo was a bullet on that battlefield. The click of a shutter echoed the crack of gun. The negatives pierced invaders’ lies.”

Wherever atrocities are denied or minimised – whether the Nazi Holocaust, the Nanjing Massacre, or today’s unfolding tragedies – the work of bearing witness becomes a form of resistance. The film’s characters embody that conviction. Facing daily terror, they nevertheless refuse compromise. They echo the patriotic spirit of a generation that insisted, “We will win this war,” and demanded “not one inch less” than the full liberation of China.

Artistically, the film is striking. The opening sequence cuts between bullets firing and camera shutters clicking, equating the act of shooting with both violence and documentation. The production design recreates Nanjing’s wartime devastation with harrowing realism, while the cast delivers performances of quiet dignity and depth. Liu Haoran’s A Chang is an unlikely hero – fearful but ultimately courageous – whose humanity anchors the narrative.

Although harrowing to watch, Dead to Rights is not a film of despair. It restores to memory the countless unnamed heroes who resisted occupation. And it reaffirms the principle that only truth can prevent history from being distorted or erased. In an era when denial and revisionism persist — whether from Japanese right-wing politicians or from those who seek to obscure the atrocities being perpetrated right now by Israel — this is a powerful and important message.

Dead to Rights is an epic of historical cinema, challenging audiences to confront uncomfortable truths, remember forgotten histories, and to connect to the shared global struggle against fascism and imperialism. To remember is to resist. And to honour those who preserved the truth in Nanjing is to stand in solidarity with those who risk everything today to show the world what must not be denied.

At time of writing, Dead to Rights is showing in cinemas in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the UK. Details may be found here.

London film retrospective pays tribute to Anna May Wong

In the following article, which originally appeared in the Morning Star, David Horsley reviews a season of Anna May Wong’s films, currently showing at the British Film Institute (BFI) on London’s Southbank until October 8, and pays a well-deserved tribute to the pioneering Chinese-American actor and filmmaker.

David writes: “Some films dealing with the war in China either used the usual racist stereotypes or actors in ‘yellow face’ when depicting Chinese people. But one film, Lady From Chungking is an anti-imperialist classic without said stereotypes.

“Anna May Wong (real name Wong Liu Tsong) portrays the lady of the film’s title. She is not only a member of the resistance in an area occupied by the Japanese but is in fact the group’s leader. She wisely directs their efforts to resist and plays a major personal role, sacrificing her life for the cause of freedom.

“Her final defiant words before a firing squad says after her death, that many more will follow in her place, leading to peace and a China free from the invaders.”

She excoriated the racist and sexist stereotyping that she faced in her professional life: “How should we be, with a civilisation that’s so many times older than that of the West. We have our own virtues. We have our rigid code of behaviour, of honour. Why do they never show these on the screen? Why should we always scheme, rob, kill?”

Further information, including synopses of all the films, and details of showings may be found on the BFI website.

David Horsley is also the author of a booklet on the life of Claudia Jones, the African-American communist and great friend of China.

During WWII, Hollywood film makers produced dozens of films based on that conflict. Many were worthy attempts to support the war effort against Hitler and a few are anti-fascist classics, like the outstanding None Shall Escape the Judgement made in 1944 which envisages a court in Warsaw trying a Nazi for his part in the Holocaust. This was years before the actual Nuremberg Trial.

Most films dealt with the war in Europe, with very few on the war in China where the Japanese invaders slaughtered over 20 million men, women and children.

Some films dealing with the war in China either used the usual racist stereotypes or actors in “yellow face” when depicting Chinese people. But one film, Lady From Chungking is an anti-imperialist classic without said stereotypes.

London concert honours China’s victory over fascism

More than 300 people gathered at the Royal College of Music in London’s Kensington district on the evening of August 28 for a concert arranged by the Chinese Embassy in commemoration of the 80^th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

With the theme, Honour History for a Better Future, the concert featured ten pieces of Chinese and Western music presented by the Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theatre and New Elements Music.

Founded in 1953, the Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theatre is one of China’s most prestigious performing arts groups. New Elements Music was founded in London in 2019 and is dedicated to building bridges between Chinese and global music cultures. There were also guest performers from the London City Orchestra and the Camden Philharmonia Orchestra.

Opening with the Ode to the Red Flag, a classic of revolutionary Chinese music composed by Lü Qiming in 1965, the program featured Chinese modern folk music from the period of war and revolution along with contemporary work inspired by the vision of building a community of shared future for humanity. Western pieces included Sir Edward Elgar’s Nimrod.

Particularly poignant for a number of people in the audience was Long Way from Home, the theme song from the documentary film The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, performed live by Elly O’Keeffe, the London-based Irish singer, who also sings it in the film, accompanied by clips from the film.

A stirring finale was provided by the piano solo Ode to the Yellow River, performed by Di Xiao, Professor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, followed by the choral singing of Defend the Yellow River and My Motherland.

Defend the Yellow River is the last movement of the Yellow River Piano Cantata composed by Xian Xinghai during the war against Japanese aggression. In 1970, it was also adapted into the Yellow River Piano Concerto, which incorporates phrases from The East is Red and the Internationale.

The mixed choir was formed by members of the Choir of the Chinese Embassy in London, the London Chinese Philharmonic Choir and a team from the London Branch of the Bank of China.

Special mention should also be made of the evening’s conductors, Ray Lin from New Elements Music and Thomas Payne, Musical Director of the London City Orchestra.

The event was sponsored by the London Branch of the Bank of China.

Among the distinguished friends of China present were Labour member of the House of Lords, Lord Davidson of Glen Cova; Mrs Denise Wynne, daughter of Lisbon Maru survivor Dennis Morley; former President of the British Sociological Association Martin Albrow; and Jack Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club. Friends of Socialist China was represented by our co-editors Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett.

A short report of the evening was carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

The unlikely global rise of Chinese rapper Lanlao

The following article from Sixth Tone profiles the unexpected global breakthrough of Lanlao (aka SKAI ISYOURGOD), a 27-year-old rapper from Huizhou, Guangdong. Emerging in 2023 with Stacks from All Sides/Karma Codes, a track critiquing inequality, Lanlao first went viral on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) before crossing over to TikTok, YouTube, and Spotify, where he recently surpassed Jay Chou as the most-streamed Mandarin-speaking artist. His songs, mixing trap-influenced beats with vividly local storytelling, have resonated across languages and borders, inspiring memes and dance routines, and generating more than 1.7 billion Douyin views.

Unlike some earlier Chinese rappers who imitated US-centric themes, Lanlao localises hip-hop with characters drawn from Guangdong life. His lyrics reflect the region’s wealth disparities and cultural diversity, as well as depicting everyday reality for a variety of social groups.

Lanlao also embodies Guangdong’s cultural heterogeneity. Blending Mandarin with Hakka, Cantonese, and Teochew, his linguistic palette echoes the speech patterns of overseas Chinese communities, particularly in Southeast Asia. This, coupled with themes of migration, helps to explain his strong diaspora following. International listeners, meanwhile, connect to the familiar cadence of Southern US rap, an influence Lanlao openly acknowledges.

His meteoric rise — celebrated by fans, state media, and even his hometown government — highlights how locally rooted, culturally hybrid Chinese hip-hop can achieve global reach.

Over the past year, Lanlao, a hip-hop artist from a low-profile city in southern China who raps in complex, accented Mandarin and whose videos abound with niche cultural references, has become one of the most successful Chinese musicians internationally.

The artist, who also goes by the name SKAI ISYOURGOD, saw his unlikely rise begin with the release of “Stacks from All Sides/Karma Codes” in summer last year. The song, a commentary on wealth and inequality, first took off in China on Douyin, before gaining traction among overseas Chinese on its international sister app TikTok. Later, it spread to non-Chinese-speaking foreign audiences, with 26 million views on YouTube and with comments such as, “Understanding 0%, Vibing 100%.”

Lanlao would go on to prove to be more than a one-hit wonder, with subsequent songs, such as “Blueprint Supreme,” spawning new waves of fans from different countries, generations, and backgrounds posting videos of themselves on social media reinterpreting the track through quirky dance routines. Last month, he surpassed Mandopop legend Jay Chou as the most-streamed Mandarin musician on Spotify, approaching 5 million monthly listeners.

China honours communist composer Theodorakis on his centenary

Special concerts celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary Greek communist composer Mikis Theodorakis were held in three Chinese cities from July 29 to August 2. They marked the first time for the composer’s work to be performed in China, a country he had long wished to visit but failed to realise before his death on September 2, 2021.

Known for his film scores, including the iconic music for ‘Zorba the Greek’, Theodorakis’ compositions often blend traditional Greek music with classical and contemporary styles, creating a unique and powerful sound.

Minister Counselor and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Greek Embassy in Beijing Alexandros Vidouris told Global Times that the loud applause during the performance was way beyond his expectations.

“It was a dream of composer Theodorakis to have his work performed in China. Unfortunately, he could not come before he passed away. So, this was a very significant moment in his memory commemorated yesterday [July 29], a hundred years since the day he was born,” he said.

Maria Papageorgiou, a classical and classical crossover performer, added: “Theodorakis was a global composer, because he had strength and was willing to bring all people together in peace and protest for their rights, or for their love and their country.”

The Greek Reporter also reported on the concerts.

In a separate article, it reviewed the composer’s life: “The shadow of war, however, soon fell over his formative years. The German occupation during World War II and the subsequent Greek Civil War were not just historical events; they were lived experiences that forged his unwavering commitment to justice and human rights. He joined the resistance, faced arrests, torture, and exile – trials that would forever infuse his music with raw, visceral power.”

Noting how his music combined classical techniques while remaining true to his roots, the article continued: “It was this unique synthesis that allowed him to bridge the gap between popular music and high art. He took the poetry of Greece’s greatest literary figures – Nobel laureates like George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis, and the revered Yannis Ritsos – and set them to music, making complex verses accessible to the masses.

“His scores for films like ‘Zorba the Greek’ (1964) introduced the iconic sirtaki dance to the world, making him an international sensation. Yet, it was the epic oratorio ‘Axion Esti’ (1960), based on Elytis’s poem, that truly cemented his place as a national treasure, a work that became an anthem for Greek identity.

“Nevertheless, Theodorakis was more than a composer; he was a revolutionary. When the military junta seized power in Greece in 1967, his music was banned, and he was once again imprisoned. From his cell, his melodies became the clandestine soundtrack of defiance.

“Smuggled out of the country, his songs became anthems for protesters worldwide, a powerful symbol of the Greek people’s struggle against tyranny. His international renown, fueled by artists and intellectuals who championed his cause, eventually led to his release and exile, but his voice remained unbroken.

“Upon his return to Greece after the fall of the junta, Theodorakis continued to compose prolifically, always with an eye towards social justice and peace.”

Strangers When We Meet: A nuanced projection of life on the edge in today’s China

Friends of Socialist China was invited to the Tiantan Award Panorama, a Chinese Film Event, presented by the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF).

This week-long journey through six exceptional Chinese films – powerful dramas, emotional stories, and thought-provoking themes that reflect the vibrant and evolving landscape of the country’s cinema – was held from May 10-17, at the Genesis Cinema in East London.

In the below review, Alfie Howis, a writer and activist based in London, looks at an emotional, quasi-romantic drama featuring two ex-prisoners entwined in a somewhat toxic relationship with a precipitous age gap and diverging visions of marriage.

Strangers When We Meet is a 2024 film by Zhang Guoli, starring Fan Wei and Zhou Dongyu. I had the pleasure of viewing this film in London as part of the Beijing International Film Festival’s international screenings. It is an emotional, quasi-romantic drama featuring two ex-prisoners entwined in a somewhat toxic relationship with a precipitous age gap and diverging visions of marriage. The plot is well paced and doesn’t feel rushed despite the hairpin twists and turns, while the high-quality, beautiful cinematography shows the technical and artistic prowess of contemporary Chinese cinema.

Warning: spoilers below

What struck me about this film was its non-judgemental and sympathetic approach to its central characters despite their backgrounds. Lao Qin, Zhou Dongyu’s character and Chang Juan, Fan Wei’s character, are both revealed to have been in prison for murder. The opening section of the film features the end of Lao Qin’s time in prison and his release, where he is treated kindly by prison guards and told that it doesn’t matter what he did now that he is free. He gets back on his feet, finding an apartment and trying to work, tasks all of which seem to be relatively easy and unaffected by his rather long stint in prison that just ended. Although emotionally Lao casts a downtrodden image, it is not as a result of any discrimination he faces as an ex-prisoner. Similarly, when Chang Juan goes missing in the mid to late section of the film, the prison authorities have a great concern for her wellbeing and work with Lao Qin to try and find her – there is no hint of disdain or inhumanity when dealing with such serious ex-criminals. On the contrary, they are generally humanised and treated normally, not overly sympathised, coddled, or patronised, but treated as people just trying to get by despite their hard circumstances.

The approach to wealth and its utility is complex and goes far beyond a basic consumerist ideology, despite one of the central themes being that Lao Qin comes into a large sum of state compensation from the demolition of his family home. Chang Juan is more attached to excessive consumption, buying expensive clothes with Lao Qin’s money and pushing for various reckless and self-indulgent spending decisions. While this is softly mocked and an object of comedy in the plot, it turns out to be a broader feint of Chang Juan’s character, as her ultimate goal is to abscond with a chunk of the money to pay off the innocent victim of a crime she committed. This is ultimately a noble goal, and even at times took on a feminist character as Chang Juan uses the patriarchal marriage system, with its bride cost, to right the wrongs of her crime.

An unexpected friendly encounter: Ambassador Wang Yajun pays tribute to veteran artists from the DPRK

The following article, which was originally published on the website of the Chinese Embassy in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), relates how Ambassador Wang Yajun and his staff members visited the fine arts exhibition in the capital Pyongyang held in honour of April 15’s 113^th birth anniversary of the DPRK’s founding leader Kim Il Sung.

To his surprise, he met there with two old artists in their 90s from the Korean People’s Army. They fought side by side with the Chinese People’s Volunteers more than 70 years ago and have a special bond with the Chinese people.

92-year-old Korean People’s Artist Li Lushan said that he had participated in many major battles, such as blocking the US Army’s Incheon Landing. In 1951, he was seriously injured, and it was the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army that sent him to Changchun, Jilin for treatment. During that time, the Chinese people selflessly donated blood for him and took great care of him. It was China and the Chinese people who gave him a second life.

Cui Shigen, a 90-year-old painter from the Songhua Academy of Fine Arts in the DPRK, said that the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army soldiers had visited his home and encouraged him by patting his shoulders when they heard that he was going to join the army. Later, he fought with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the Eastern Front and participated in post-war reconstruction. At a celebration party, he also created portraits of Chairman Kim Il Sung and Chairman Mao Zedong, which were highly praised by the army leaders and soldiers.

The article noted that the two artists are not only household names in the DPRK. Their work is also very popular in China.

Ambassador Wang paid tribute to the two veteran artists for their contributions to national independence, development and China-DPRK friendship, wished them good health and longevity, and said that through their works, he felt the great love of the Korean people for their national leaders. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. “I believe that under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea headed by General Secretary Kim Jong Un, the Korean people will surely achieve greater success in the journey of creating a new era of national comprehensive rejuvenation. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ participation in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. I believe that under the strategic guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jog Un, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, which was forged with blood, will surely be inherited and developed, and will continue to move to a higher level, benefiting the people of the two countries.”

The article was published in Chinese and has been machine translated.

In early spring of April, the “Exhibition of Fine Arts by Veteran Artists in Memory of the 113th Anniversary of the Birth of Chairman Kim Il Sung” was grandly held at the Pyongyang International Cultural Center. On the 20th, Ambassador Wang Yajun of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea and his delegation visited the exhibition.

In the exhibition hall, oil paintings such as “Mangyongdae Residence” and “Spring in Mt. Paektu” vividly show Chairman Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary career and glorious achievements in his dedication to the independence and prosperity of North Korea and the happiness of the people. Korean paintings such as “Golden Autumn” and “In a Greenhouse Benefiting the People’s Livelihood” reflect from multiple angles the fruitful results achieved by General Secretary Kim Jong Un in leading the North Korean people to create a new era of national comprehensive rejuvenation. In addition, there are many exquisite works that vividly present the unique and beautiful natural scenery of North Korea.

What Ambassador Wang and his delegation did not expect was that there were many famous old North Korean artists participating in the exhibition. Among them, two old painters in their 90s were from the People’s Army. They fought side by side with the Chinese People’s Volunteers more than 70 years ago and have a special bond with the Chinese people.

92-year-old Korean People’s Artist Li Lushan said that he had participated in many major battles, such as blocking the US Army’s Incheon Landing. In 1951, he was seriously injured and it was the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army that sent him to Changchun, Jilin for treatment. During that time, the Chinese people selflessly donated blood for him and took great care of him. It was China and the Chinese people who gave him a second life.

Cui Shigen, a 90-year-old painter from the Songhua Academy of Fine Arts in North Korea, said that the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army soldiers had visited his home and encouraged him by patting his shoulders when they heard that he was going to join the army. Later, he fought with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the Eastern Front and participated in post-war reconstruction. At a celebration party, he also created portraits of Chairman Kim Il-sung and Chairman Mao Zedong, which were highly praised by the army leaders and soldiers. When he was moved, Cui Shigen sang the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Song in Chinese with Ambassador Wang and his entourage. The sincere and friendly atmosphere deeply touched everyone at the scene.

Today, the two old artists are not only household names in North Korea, but their Korean paintings and oil paintings are also very popular in China.

Ambassador Wang paid tribute to the two veteran artists for their contributions to national independence, development and China-DPRK friendship, wished them good health and longevity, and said that through the affectionate works, he felt the great love of the Korean people for their national leaders. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. I believe that under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea headed by General Secretary Kim Jong-un, the Korean people will surely achieve greater success in the journey of creating a new era of national comprehensive rejuvenation. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ participation in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. I believe that under the strategic guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jong-un, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, which was forged with blood, will surely be inherited and developed, and will continue to move to a higher level, benefiting the people of the two countries and making greater contributions to maintaining regional peace.

The growing popularity of Indian cinema in China

In the following article, which was originally published by UK-China Film Collab, Asma Waheed looks at the abiding popularity of Indian cinema in China despite the ups and downs of the countries’ bilateral political relations over the decades.

Asma notes that while there has rightly been much attention paid to East-West cinematic exchange, “it is equally important to examine East-East cinematic exchange – in this case, the relationship between Indian and Chinese cinema… Bollywood’s popularity in China provides a real threat to Hollywood’s once-held monopoly in the global film market. But the story of Bollywood in China is not confined to the 21st century – instead it spans across to the 1950s, a time where both countries had undergone monumental change.”

The beginnings of Indian film success in China date from the 1951 film Awaara, or Liulangzhe (流浪者). Directed, produced and starring Raj Kapoor, a legendary icon in Indian film, the story follows the life of a young man, Raj, as he becomes entangled in a life of crime. A mainstay of the Golden Age of Indian cinema, in its exploration of themes such as destiny, justice, and morality, Awaara became a symbol of new nation-building in a post-independence India.

In an act of cultural exchange and diplomacy, the Indian People’s Theatre Association brought Awaara to China in 1955. Such was its popularity that even Chairman Mao was said to be a great fan of the film and its title song, Awaara Hoon. (The Indian People’s Theatre Association [IPTA] is the oldest association of theatre artists in India. It was formed in 1943 and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle against British colonial rule. Communist leaders such as PC Joshi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India [CPI], and Sajjad Zaheer, General Secretary of the Progressive Writers’ Association, were instrumental in its formation. It remains the cultural wing of the CPI.)

Today, a key inheritor of this legacy is Aamir Khan, famed for his 2001 anti-colonial cricketing epic Lagaan. Asma notes that:

“In the surveys and research regarding South Asian and East Asian film relationships, a primary reason for why audiences enjoyed Aamir Khan’s film and other Indian films was the shared cultural values. This may be surprising to some, but in Yanyan Hong’s research, it found that Indian film movie-goers were attracted to the film’s engagement with social issues relevant to both Indian and Chinese societies.”

She concludes: “The status of Indian cinema in China has shifted with the political climate, enjoying bouts of immense popularity before falling out of favour, only to reemerge years later. The nature of the film industry is such that it has become a vehicle for cultural diplomacy – whether Indian cinema will see another spike of interest in China remains undecided, but their relationship serves as a clear example of how good storytelling resonates across borders, adapting to the unique landscapes of each country and society. More importantly, it showcases the shared nature of human experiences across different cultures and highlights the similarity across seemingly different people.”

As the world grows more globalised in the 21st century, the impacts on the film industry are undeniable.

China emerged as one of the world’s largest box office markets, with over 90,000 cinema screens in the country, and Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite made history as the Oscars. Fuelled by diasporic communities mainly in the US and UK, Bollywood too continues to garner attraction across the globe. It is certain that the film industries of South and East Asian countries are driving their soft-power transnationally, evident in Korea’s Hallyu Wave growing from a regional trend in East Asia to now a tsunami sweeping across the globe.

There has rightly been much attention on the East-West cinematic exchange, and it is long overdue that Asian cinema has received praise in Hollywood institutions. However to better understand cinema in a global context, it is equally important to examine East-East cinematic exchange— in this case, the relationship between Indian and Chinese cinema.

In this essay series, I will explore the evolving and dynamic relationships between South Asian cinema and two markets— China and the UK. As a country with a considerable South Asian population, the UK presents an interesting case for understanding the reach of Bollywood beyond the subcontinent. Meanwhile, as two of the world’s most sizeable economics, India and China’s film industries offer a fascinating and important case study of cross-border cultural exchange in a globalised world.

In many people’s minds, Indian cinema— especially Bollywood^[1]— is a genre full to rhetorical brim with melodramatic narrative, musical sequences, and grand dance numbers. But it is the unique and emotional storytelling that struck a chord with Chinese audiences, leading to major commercial success— indeed, Bollywood’s popularity in China provides a real threat to Hollywood’s once-held monopoly in the global film market.^[2] But the story of Bollywood in China is not confined to the 21st century— instead it spans across to the 1950s, a time where both countries had undergone monumental change.

Xi Jinping speech at the Forum on Literature and Art

Qiushi, the theoretical journal of the Communist Party of China (CPC) recently published the full text of the Speech at the Forum on Literature on Art, delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on October 15, 2014, but now officially published in full.

The main body of Comrade Xi’s speech is divided into five parts, and these are some of the key points he makes in each section:

A thriving Chinese culture is essential for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation

Every leap forward for human society and civilisation has been accompanied by historic cultural progress… Throughout history, China’s position and influence in the world has never relied on military might or outward expansion, but rather on the compelling power and appeal of its culture.

Literature and art serve as a clarion call for progress in every age… During the European Renaissance, giants like Dante, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Michel de Montaigne, Miguel de Cervantes, and William Shakespeare ushered in the dawn of a new era and awakened people’s minds. Remarking on the Renaissance, Engels noted that it was “a time which called for giants and produced giants – giants in power of thought, passion, and character, in universality and learning.”

The famous Chinese writer Lu Xun once said that to transform the intellectual world of our compatriots, we must first work on literature and art. Our endeavours to provide intellectual guidance, forge inner strength, and build a common cultural identity are all inseparable from literature and art. At a time when towering skyscrapers are rising across the land, we must also make sure that the intellectual and cultural towers of our nation stand tall and majestic.

2. We should produce excellent works worthy of the times

Excellent works are not confined to one style, form, or standard. They can be highly refined compositions or popular entertainments, monumental masterpieces or universally accessible creations. What makes a work great is its capacity to warm and inspire audiences, to spread and endure through time, and to win people’s affection with its positive energy and appeal.

When I visited Russia last March, I met with several Russian sinologists and mentioned that I had read many works by Russian authors, including Chernyshevsky’s What Is to Be Done?, which had such a profound impact on me when I read it in my youth. During a visit to France this March, I discussed the influence of French literature on my life, explaining that I developed a strong interest in French literature and art in my youth, because many of our Party’s early leaders had studied in France. While in Germany, I shared my experience of reading Faust. At the time, I was working in rural Shaanxi Province. When I learned that a fellow student had a copy of the book, I walked 15 kilometres to borrow it from him. Later, he walked the same distance to retrieve it. Why do I share these stories with foreigners? I do it because literature and art are a universal language. When we talk about literature and art, we are really talking about society and life. This makes it one of the easiest ways to create understanding and connection with others.

Problems such as plagiarism and imitation are leading to a sameness in many works, while assembly-line production and fast-food-style consumption are also problems. In some works, we see a mockery of the sublime, a distortion of classical narratives, and a subversion of history, as well as the denigration of ordinary people and heroic figures. Some works fail to distinguish between right and wrong or good and evil; they glorify the ugly as beautiful and exaggerate the dark side of society. Others indulge in sensationalism, catering to low tastes and treating creation as a “money tree” for personal gain or a “party drug” for sensory gratification. Some works are poorly written, hastily produced, and contrived, contributing to the creation of “cultural garbage.” Some creators overemphasise luxury, excessive packaging, and ostentation, allowing form to overshadow content. Moreover, some are fixated on the notion of “art for art’s sake,” focusing solely on personal experiences – tempests in teacups that are of no relevance to the general public or real life. All this serves as a warning: literature and art must not lose their direction in the tide of the market economy, nor deviate from the question of whom they are supposed to serve. Otherwise, literature and art will be devoid of vitality.

I have spoken with several artists about the most pronounced issues in literature and art today. Coincidentally, they have all mentioned the same word to me: impatience. Some people believe that it is not worth their time to continue refining a work until it reaches its potential because they cannot quickly convert their efforts into practical value – or, in other words, they cannot swiftly cash in. Not only is this attitude misguided, it also allows low-quality works to thrive and leads to a situation where the bad drives out the good. The history of artistic development shows that the pursuit of quick success, excessive resource exploitation, and shoddy production harm not only art but the cultural life of society. Vulgarity is not the same as accessibility; desire does not equate to hope, and mere sensory entertainment does not equal spiritual joy. For literature and art to gain the people’s recognition, superficiality, opportunism, self-promotion, and empty grandstanding will not cut it. Mutual flattery and self-congratulation are also not going to work.

We should adhere to the principle of “letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend,” in order to promote academic and artistic democracy, create a positive, healthy, and harmonious atmosphere, encourage open discussions among different viewpoints and schools of thought, and advocate the development of various genres, themes, forms, and techniques. This will help promote mutual learning and exchange of ideas, content, style, and schools of thought.

The internet and new media have transformed artistic forms, giving rise to many new genres and profoundly changing how art is conceived and practiced. The shifts toward digitised text, more visually-oriented books, and online reading have spurred a major transformation in the arts and broader social culture. To adapt to these developments, we should focus on the creation of online art and provide stronger positive guidance in this evolving landscape.

The recent years have seen a surge of new artistic organisations, such as private studios, private cultural agencies, and online artistic communities. New artistic groups, including online writers, contracted writers, freelance writers, independent producers, independent actors and singers, and freelance artists, have all become very active. There is a strong likelihood that future artistic masters will come from among these groups, given that throughout history and across cultures, many renowned artists have emerged from society and from among the people. We should broaden our outreach efforts, expand our connections, and look at these groups with a fresh perspective. With new policies and methods, we can unite and engage such artists and guide them to become a vital force in the flourishing of socialist art.

We should encourage people-centred cultural creation

Sino-British Concert: East-West Dialogue, Spring Sequence of New Sounds

On February 2, 2025 the ‘Sino-British Concert: East-West Dialogue, Spring Sequence of New Sounds’ was held at London’s Royal Academy of Music. David Peat, Secretary of Friends of Socialist China (FoSC) Britain Committee, attended the event on invitation. The following is his report.

On Sunday 2nd February, visitors to London’s central Shaftesbury Avenue and surrounding streets were able to take part in Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations. The breadth of China’s historic culture and modern development were all displayed: exuberant traditional ‘Lion Dances’ took place next to China’s cutting-edge high-tech electric BYD vehicles. People could purchase good fortune souvenirs, and enjoy street snacks and the sounds of firecrackers, all along the temporarily pedestrianised thoroughfare. Each year London’s main Chinese New Year celebration, which expanded beyond the bounds of Chinatown proper since the mayoralty of Ken Livingstone, can be enjoyed by both tourists and residents of the capital city. With the recent viral success of the Xiaohongshu [Red Note] app, western users have been able to witness the amazing CNY celebrations that take place all over China, so no doubt some attendees were keen to enjoy that closer to home.

To the west of Chinatown proper, another event was held, which was a stunning display of musical skill and proof that artistic cultures – and cultures in general – benefit from sharing traditions and influence across borders. This event was the Sino-British Concert: East-West Dialogue, Spring Sequence of New Sounds, hosted by the Sino-British Ensemble, the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), and the UK Beijing Arts Centre.

In attendance at the event was Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang and his wife Counsellor Hua Mei, along with Minister Zhao Fei. Among others present were representatives of organisations that have sought to build connections and understanding between China and the UK, including Special Guest Michael David Wood, historian and SACU President, who is especially known for his book and BBC documentary on China’s iconic Tang dynasty poet Du Fu. Prior to the performances, Professor Wood gave a brief talk outlining the history of musical exchanges between the west and the east and highlighted the ongoing potential for artistic collaboration to build bridges between nations and peoples.

This sold-out event was held in the beautiful Duke’s Hall of the Royal Academy of Music. The program was expansive and diverse, with more than 80 musicians performing 10 ‘dialogues’, in which one piece of music from the western tradition and one from the eastern were performed alternately, or even directly in conversation with one another. The Sino-British orchestra features musicians from China, the UK, India, Germany, Italy, Romania and other countries, and also foregrounded pieces and musical styles from China’s ethnic minority musical traditions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has highlighted how China in its history has long cherished the notion of “harmony without uniformity.” In a speech at UNESCO headquarters in 2015 titled ‘Exchanges and Mutual Learning Make Civilizations Richer and More Colorful’, President Xi quoted Yan Zi, prime minister of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), who is recorded as observing: “Only by combining the texture, length, rhythm, mood, tone, pitch and style adequately and executing them properly can you produce an excellent melody… Who can tolerate the same tone played again and again with one instrument?”^[1] This observation matches the purpose of the concert: appreciating the new connections and possibilities that can be created when diverse musical traditions and peoples are brought into contact. As the enormous interest in apps like RedNote has shown, people in both East and West are intensely curious to make connections with one another, and the results are ‘win-win’ when they do. Events like the Sino-British concert are a wonderful way to establish and strengthen these sorts of links.

For those interested in similar events in future, check SACU’s website at Home – Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)

^[1] Xi Jinping, The Governance of China Vol 1, pp. 283 – 289.

From TikTok to the Little Red Book

The following article by Joe Scholten takes a look at the Chinese social media app RedNote (小红书/xiaohongshu – the direct translation of which is Little Red Book), to which millions of “TikTok refugees” migrated after the Biden regime banned TikTok.

Joe notes that the sudden appearance of millions of US users on RedNote has led to an unprecedented (and unpredicted) cultural exchange between particularly young people in China and the US – in spite of the best efforts of the US government to prevent such exchanges. “What stunned me most was that for the first time in a very long time I had seen Americans critically engaging with a fundamental truth regarding China that I thought would take Americans decades to understand: that at the end of the day we have collectively been lied to about China.”

The article describes how people in the US were able to see for the first time how people in China really live, and how many were shocked that ordinary Chinese people find it far easier to afford dignified housing, good quality healthcare and nutritious food than their US counterparts. What’s more, the “TikTok refugees” were surprised to find that the Chinese people they encountered online were able to express themselves freely on a wide range of topics. “For example, they seemed surprised that there was a plethora of LGBTQ content, or the account of a Uighur medical student talking about how much she liked the nightlife in her college city, or just how unifying cat taxes and tongue-in-cheek memes about China stealing data were.”

Joe concludes:

This moment with RedNote is a historic one. I sincerely hope that Americans will go to Little Red Book and see how their own lives could be better. I want Americans to see how we can build a better world, a socialist world, and how we can learn from the things China does well and apply those lessons to the betterment of the world.

The incoming Trump administration has given TikTok a 75-day reprieve, so it remains to be seen whether US users will be able to continue on the app going forward. Regardless, the cultural exchange that has opened up via RedNote is a positive example of grassroots people-to-people relations that can help to counter the New Cold War propaganda and build towards a future of peace and cooperation between the US and China.

Joe Scholten is a writer and activist from St Louis, Missouri.

As news has come forth that the United States Supreme Court has upheld a proposed TikTok ban following months of lawsuits against the ban, a somewhat strange phenomenon has emerged, with millions of American users fleeing to a Chinese Social Media app 小红书 (literally “Little Red Book”, but usually known in English as RedNote). As of the penning of this article roughly 3.4 million American users have downloaded the app as per Reuters; I suspect however that number is an underestimate given my own experiences on the app.

The app’s user base is largely made up of women, with about 300 million users. By US standards this is a large user base, but WeChat has roughly 1 billion more active users. Despite such a large user base Americans, and anglophone internet users in general, are likely unfamiliar with the Chinese internet. Sites like BIlibili, Youku, Weibo, etc aren’t household names in most anglophone countries outside of largely immigrant and ethnically Chinese communities within said countries. The large influx of users to RedNote has been one of the more unexpected events of the last few years, though I suppose this may be a week when decades happen.

Before penning an analysis of this application, I wanted to understand it by engaging with it, and although I have had plenty of thoroughly eye opening experiences, I will discuss these later. I would like to first begin this section by detailing how American audiences have reacted to these events. Millions of views have been garnered on platforms like TikTok describing how Americans have been lied to about China. Upon seeing how people in China can afford groceries, how housing is affordable, how the government prevents homelessness, and how the social credit system doesn’t exist, many Americans express the sentiment that they have been lied to by their government. By all accounts they have been lied to, seeing posts from Chinese audiences confused by the concept of “social credit” has exposed millions of Americans to a fundamental truth: much of the information they have received about China has been false. From a historical standpoint this has been an enormous paradigm shift.

During the Cold War, a strength of the American system was how ubiquitous and global US products were – things like Coca Cola, Hollywood, popular music and so on were globally recognizable brands. Even in the USSR you could find teenagers who wanted to emulate US culture (stilyagi). Arguably to this day the same can be said in relation to these brands. Tools like social media are often headquartered in the US and have ties to US intelligence agencies. Yet for presumably the first time in history, US users are flocking in the millions to an app headquartered in a socialist country. What’s more, Americans are beginning to understand that they themselves have been consuming US capitalist propaganda from the apps they consume. The hegemony of US social media is being broken.

Brixton plaque remembers China pioneer

A pioneering photographer, now considered a founder of photojournalism, was honoured with the unveiling of a blue plaque at his former home in the south London district of Brixton on Thursday August 8. London’s blue plaques scheme, run by English Heritage, celebrates the links between notable figures of the past and the buildings in which they lived and worked.

John Thomson, who was born in Edinburgh in 1837 and who died in London in 1921 and is buried in Streatham Cemetery, was known for some of the first photographs of China, Cambodia and Thailand to reach a British audience, as well as for photos of the poorest sections of the working class in Victorian London, before finally winning recognition from ‘high society’ and royalty.

In April 1862, Thomson left Edinburgh for Singapore, beginning a ten-year period of travelling in East and South Asia. After visiting Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known) and India in October-November 1864 to document the destruction caused by a cyclone, he travelled to Thailand (then known as Siam), taking photographs of the monarch and members of the royal court and government.

Inspired by accounts of the rediscovery of the ruins of the city of Angkor, which was at the heart of a magnificent Khmer civilisation that flourished from the ninth century onwards, Thomson set off on his first major photographic expeditions and, despite nearly dying of malaria, took the first known photographs of the Angkor Wat Temple, which today takes the central place on the Cambodian flag. As in Siam, he also took photos of the Cambodian royal family.

Following a brief return to Britain, he settled in Hong Kong in 1868, using it as a base to explore and photograph China extensively over the next three years, including Fujian province, Guangzhou, Beiijing, Shanghai, the Great Wall and deep into central China. He published many of his photographs under the title, ‘Illustrations of China and Its People’.

His other important publication was ‘Street Life in London’. According to the BBC, it “recorded some of the impoverished characters living on the fringes of late nineteenth century society in London. His photographs include Hookey Alf of Whitechapel, who wore a hook in place of the arm he lost in an industrial accident and hung around the streets of east London looking for casual labour… His photojournalism, deliberately intended to prick the consciences of the Victorian middle classes, included a poignant picture of a destitute woman in Covent Garden, taken in 1877 and entitled ‘The Crawlers’.”

What the BBC did not report was that, far from merely intending to prick middle class consciences, each of the 36 photos was accompanied by text written by Adolphe Smith Headingley, a Marxist revolutionary and member of the First International. Half-French and a participant in the Paris Commune, Smith narrowly escaped execution when the Commune was crushed and was also instrumental in popularising the singing of the Red Flag in the British Labour movement.

Speaking at the unveiling of Thomson’s plaque, Jamie Carstairs, senior digitisation officer with Bristol University’s library services, who originally made the nomination, said that Thompson was an exceptionally gifted and versatile photographer with “a rare combination of a keen intellectual curiosity, perceptive observational skills, and visual virtuosity.”

‘Illustrations of China and its People’, consisting of 200 photographs and descriptions, was published in 1874. It earned him the nickname “China Thomson”. He is nowadays acclaimed as one of the best foreign photographers ever to set foot in China, Carstairs noted.

“Thomson’s photography introduced the Victorian public to what it could not see – far away Asia – and to what it did not necessarily want to see – London’s poorest people. John Thomson is a model photographer. Talented, hardworking, innovative, effective, generous, humane. His respect and empathy for the people he photographed made for compassionate and moving portraiture, especially of women.”

Carstairs was followed by Betty Yao MBE, a Chinese community activist, who co-founded the Pan-Asian Women’s Association (PAWA UK) and is the Managing Director of Credential International Arts Management. The rediscovery of Thomson’s work on China is largely thanks to 15 years of tireless work by Betty, who curated the touring exhibition, ‘Through the Lens of John Thomson’, which has now been viewed by over a million visitors throughout Britain, Ireland, China, Europe and North America. Betty has also chaired the John Thomson Commemoration Group, which completed the restoration of his gravestone at south London’s Streatham cemetery in 2019.

She told the gathering of her first encounter with Thomson’s work: “Instantly, I fell in love with his images of China, especially the many, many photographs of women.”

Mayor of Lambeth, and Labour Councillor for Brixton North, John-Paul Ennis said: “I’d like to thank everybody involved in helping to bring this blue plaque to fruition. Blue plaques create the opportunity to sow seeds in people’s minds. To see that great people have lived or worked in your community can have a huge impact on you.”

Thomson’s great-granddaughter, Caroline Thomas said: “As Londoners by upbringing, the work [‘Street Life in London’] resonates greatly, despite being produced over a century ago. It’s sad to think that some of the themes still prevail today. We’re especially proud of the fact that Thomson and Smith chose as their subjects ordinary people and those on the edge of society… It is this humanity that we would like to honour.”

In 2020, a heritage plaque was unveiled on the Edinburgh building where Thomson was born.

The below article was originally published on The Brixton Blog. We also embed an interview with Betty Yao, recorded in 2018, to coincide with her exhibition showing at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS University of London.

From Wagner to Alex Ho: new musical territory

We are pleased to republish the below review of a May 21 piano recital by Aidan Chan, which originally appeared in the Morning Star and was written by the paper’s classical music correspondent Simon Duff.

Aidan is a brilliant young Irish Chinese pianist whose work is often described as “fearless, courageous and ambitious.” A campaigner against racism, and a member of the FOSC Britain Committee, Aidan explores the relationship of music to revolution and of identity and social structures to performance.

His concert, held at the 1901 Arts Club in London’s Waterloo, a hidden gem of the London cultural scene, focused on the work of Wagner, along with the London premiere of a new work by the up and coming British Chinese composer Alex Ho. Aidan describes this piece as being “a response to Puccini’s opera Turandot, in particular its Orientalist portrayal of Chinese cultures and people.”

The concert also featured a video and poetry piece by Aidan entitled ‘What Light Shines There?’, inspired by the interdisciplinary work of the late Korean American author and artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, who was tragically murdered in 1982, during which he read a poem while images portrayed the nuclear ‘doomsday clock’, intertwined with montage of a US air strike on Syria.

AIDAN CHAN is an Irish Chinese pianist whose work favours an exploration of identity and social structures through performance. He has an affinity for Chopin and Mozart. In short he is fearless, courageous and ambitious.

For his London May concert Chan chose to focus on the work of Wagner and emerging British-Chinese composer Alex Ho.

The concert opened with Wagner’s Prelude from Tristan und Isolde arranged for piano by Zoltan Kocsis. Opening with a delicate two-note harmonic suspension opening it gives way to clusters of build-up chords. Dark and menacing clouds complete the soundscape before moving into lighter tones and moods of brief optimism, before Wagner’s full dynamic range explores his notions of God and revolutionary zeal.

Under Chan’s cool flexible and light playing, the piece flowed and the rhythmic intensity worked with poetic touches.

The passion and commitment continued through the next piece by Wagner’s Feierlicher Marsch from Parsifal, arranged by Liszt. Playing on the 1901’s Steinway Model C grand piano, the tonal clarity shone out.

Speaking ahead of the concert Chan explained what drew him to perform Wagner: “I’m particularly interested in his legacy as a cultural zeitgeist. There is a hauntological element to it that keeps finding its way into social and political discourse. Last year I read Paradoxes and Parallels, a collection of conversations between Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said and that pushed forward my thinking about my position as a performer of Western classical music in the context of today’s world.”

Wanting to create a piece which further contextualised some themes common to the Wagner’s works, a section of the concert was given over to a video and poetry piece by Chan entitled Light What Light Shines Through, inspired by the interdisciplinary work of Korean American author and artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. This pointed towards the transience of time and death/rebirth as a cycle, and also consumer alienation and apathy. Chan read a poem and the images, over silence, were of a doomsday clock intertwined with montage of a US air strike on Syria.

Contemporary composer Alex Ho’s work is deeply admired by Chan. His new work — premiered at the concert — is called Torn, to the ground, exhausted, sobbing. It begins with slow minimal notation with Chan singing a lullaby-like series of high notes as he played a high note melodic note cluster, before moving on to Copeland-inspired fast-paced sections, and then into area of modern Chinese jazz.

On the Steinway the overall intention and effect was stunning. Ho is moving into new important territory.

Chan adds: “The piece is a response to Puccini’s opera Turandot, in particular its Orientalist portrayal of Chinese cultures and people. As a performer it always broadens my horizons to work with him as he actively encourages dialogue between performer and composer and leaves much space for his music to be communicated through the performance itself.”

The final piece was a return to Wagner and Liszt in the form of the Isoldens Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. Slow builds into further grand operatic chordal gestures.

At the end of the evening the audience knew that they had witnessed a special concert. Some 12 hours later the general election was called. Hope for a brighter future ahead, indeed.

Three-Body Problem: science fiction for China’s ‘New Era’?

The following article by David Peat – Iskra Books editorial board member and secretary of the Friends of Socialist China Britain Committee – discusses the new Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel The Three-Body Problem, comparing it with the original book and with last year’s Chinese television adaptation by Tencent.

While describing the Netflix adaption as “admirable in many respects”, David considers that the series is somewhat let down by “poor scriptwriting and ham-fisted characterisation”. Compared to the Chinese adaptation, the Netflix version is too fast-paced, packing too much into a small number of episodes. “With more room to breathe, the novel and the Tencent series also bring out other elements” not covered by the Netflix series, including ecological themes.

David writes: “It has been noted that recent Western science fiction, particularly in cinema, is based either on simplified superhero narratives or extremely pessimistic dystopian/post-apocalypse scenarios, and this reflects a spiritual and ideological absence in late capitalist culture.” Liu Cixin, by contrast, “focuses on proactive and creative responses to long-standing and seemingly intractable problems affecting the whole of humanity.” As such, “Liu Cixin’s stories are fitting science fiction for China’s ‘New Era’ period of continuing socialist construction, undertaking (and more importantly achieving) its own enormously complex and profound projects of poverty elimination, green transformation, and high-quality development.”

David concludes that the Three-Body Problem has the potential to foster cultural understanding and people-to-people exchange between China and the West, “opening a door to the captivating world of Chinese science fiction for a global audience.”

This article contains no spoilers for any of Liu Cixin’s works or their adaptations.

The Three-Body Problem (三体), a science fiction novel released in 2006, counts as perhaps the major cultural ‘crossover’ success of China in the last decade. This was true even before the release of the new Netflix television adaptation of the book, released on the 21st of March 2024, and produced and written for the screen by Game of Thrones show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, alongside Alexander Woo.

That the creators of arguably the largest television ‘phenomenon’ of recent years saw fit to choose Three-Body as their next project is testament to the cultural impact of this work within China and, increasingly, in the wider world. All the more interesting since the author Liu Cixin, a cultural icon in the PRC, refuses to repudiate his country’s revolutionary history, including its current governing party, the Communist Party of China. As such, he cannot easily be co-opted as a ‘dissident’, and those seeking to market and adapt his works in the West find themselves in the awkward position of having to promote an author who is proud of his country’s achievements and is able to critically engage with the historical path of the Chinese revolution in a productive way, avoiding what Xi Jinping refers to as “historical nihilism.”^[1]

This article will look at the original book series, as well as a Chinese-made (Tencent) adaptation from 2023, and compare them with the recently released US-made (Netflix) adaptation. It will assess the relative merits of each version, different audience reactions to these series, as well as some wider considerations of the differences between contemporary Western and Chinese science fiction.

Three-Body Problem was published in China in 2006. The book is the first of a trilogy, with subsequent volumes titled The Dark Forest (黑暗森林) and Death’s End (死神永生), with the trilogy collectively known as Remembrance of Earth’s Past (地球往事). It achieved broad commercial and critical success domestically, with Liu’s works accounting for 2/3rds of the Chinese science fiction market, and abroad, with translations into more than 20 languages. In English, the first volume of the trilogy, translated by Ken Liu, received the coveted Hugo Award for ‘Best Novel’ in 2015, the first non-English speaking writer to do so. Liu Cixin’s dominance of modern Chinese science fiction can also be seen in the enormous domestic (and moderate international) success of film adaptations of his Wandering Earth novel, with China selecting the second instalment in this film series as its submission for this year’s Oscars.

The plot of the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series is difficult to summarise, especially when trying not to spoil anything. In general, the action initially takes place in a near-contemporary era with the deaths by suicide of various theoretical and applied physicists around the world, many of them leaving cryptic notes suggesting something along the lines of “Physics doesn’t exist.” The first book also jumps back to Mao-era China and follows Ye Wenjie, herself a gifted physicist, during the Cultural Revolution and subsequent work at a radio telescope base in Inner Mongolia. In the broadest possible strokes, the series can be considered an ‘alien contact’ story, but it also touches on themes such as ecology and human development, ‘game theory’, the capacity for ideological groups to form depending on external circumstances, global cooperation to overcome multi-generational problems, and high-level physics concepts.

The books were extremely well-received, with many praising their creative and inventive use of scientific concepts, enormously ambitious ‘high-concept’ action sequences, and philosophical themes. Equally, however, some readers critiqued the series, suggesting that these overwhelmingly abstract ‘ideas’ take centre stage, to the detriment of any focus on interpersonal drama and character development. As such, for years it was considered that the novels were ‘unfilmable’.

There had been a few abortive attempts at adapting the book series in China, in animation, or even video game form. Eventually, the Chinese company Tencent succeeded and released a 30-episode series in January 2023. This covers the events of the first novel, Three-Body Problem,_,in exhaustive detail, and is considered a highly faithful adaptation, often with dialogue taken straight from the novel. On release, it was praised by fans of the book, with strong performances, excellent cinematography and impressive special effects, especially for its budget and the fact it was a Chinese television drama. However, there were also some criticisms, from both domestic and international audiences, which criticised the show’s irregular pacing, poor performances by non-Chinese actors, and the ‘old-fashioned’ CGI of the ‘video game’ section of the story.

Embracing the Year of the Dragon

In the following article, which was originally published by China Today to coincide with the start of the Year of the Dragon, our co-editor Keith Bennett, noting that the Lunar New Year has increasingly become a common festival of people throughout the world, goes on to illustrate how it has become an integral part of British life, celebrated not only by the Chinese community and all those with a connection to China, but increasingly by people from all communities and all walks of life.

Keith notes how the celebration in London’s Chinatown, which had already become one of the largest and most spectacular outside Asia, was brought to Trafalgar Square by progressive mayor Ken Livingstone, and due in large part to the hard work and efforts of two great friends of China, the late Redmond O’Neill and Jude Woodward.

Highlighting how China’s late Premier Zhou Enlai had stressed that his country’s diplomacy rested on a tripod of state-to-state, party-to-party and people-to-people relations and that President Xi Jinping has often stressed that good people-to-people relations are the foundation for sound state-to-state relations, Keith concludes:

“British people from all walks of life and backgrounds have been increasingly taking Chinese New Year to their hearts. It has become part of our culture and calendar. This is one more reminder that Cold War hostility and bellicosity do not represent the interests of the people of any country and are therefore destined to fail.”

Chinese people, and people throughout the world, are looking forward to welcoming the Year of the Dragon, which falls on February 10, 2024. The Dragon is considered the most auspicious of the 12 signs in the Chinese zodiac and this year is specifically the Year of the Wood Dragon, the first since 1964. According to Lifestyle Asia, “Wood Dragons enjoy fulfilling careers. They’re likely to materialize all their ambitions into actions, coming up with truly revolutionary ideas.”

In the run up to the Chinese people’s greatest holiday, there has already been some good news. On December 22, 2023, the 78th United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus that, as from 2024, the Chinese, or Lunar, New Year shall be designated as a UN “floating holiday,” to be taken into consideration when drafting the world body’s calendar of conferences and meetings.

This might be best understood as a welcome and quite possibly overdue recognition of reality. The Lunar New Year has long since ceased to be solely a great festival for all Chinese people; for other countries and peoples in East Asia sharing a cultural heritage and numerous neighborly bonds with China; and for overseas Chinese and people of Chinese heritage on the five continents and across the four seas. It has increasingly become a common festival of people throughout the world.

In my country, Britain, it is, of course, a special occasion for our Chinese community and for all those of us with a connection to China. This naturally especially applies to Chinatowns, such as those in London, Liverpool (the oldest in Europe), Manchester and elsewhere.

The London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA), one of the U.K.’s most important Chinese organizations, long led by the indefatigable Chu Ting Tang, proprietor of the Imperial China restaurant, works hard throughout each year to stage one of the greatest and most spectacular Chinese New Year celebrations outside Asia, which attracts tens of thousands of people – not just Chinese people, but Londoners from every background in this most multicultural and multinational of cities, joined, too, by visitors and tourists from all over.

This great celebration had long since outgrown the crowded pavements of Gerard Street, Lisle Street, Wardour Street, Newport Place, and others in the heart of Chinatown, when Ken Livingstone, the progressive mayor of London, brought it to the heart of the capital in nearby Trafalgar Square.

This was a key part of Ken’s ambitious program to recognize and celebrate the city’s great diversity, from Ireland’s national Saint Patrick’s Day, to the Notting Hill Carnival (originally inspired by Claudia Jones, a communist of Trinidadian origin, who met Chairman Mao and is now buried to the left of Karl Marx), to the Eid, Diwali, Vaisakhi, and Hannukah festivals of the Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish faiths.

None of this would have been possible without the devoted and tireless work of two great friends of China, who were mainstays of the mayor’s office and administration. Redmond O’Neill and Jude Woodward, socialists, Marxists, and internationalists, left us far too early, but we remember them not least at Chinese New Year. Its central place in London life is thanks in great part to them.

The Chinese New Year is also a focus for all in the business community with an interest in China and the Chinese market. This is now marked by an ever-increasing number of dinners and receptions, but the flagship event has long been the “Icebreakers” Chinese New Year Dinner, customarily held in the ballroom of the iconic Dorchester Hotel, home also to the China Tang Restaurant, founded by the late Sir David Tang, on Park Lane, and organized by the 48 Group Club. Originally hosted by the London Export Corporation (LEC), the first U.K. company to trade with the new China following the establishment of the People’s Republic, and founded by the late Jack Perry, it is now joined by the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the China Chamber of Commerce in the U.K. (CCCUK), and features keynote speeches by the Chinese ambassador and other VIPs, both British and Chinese. It has even received letters and messages of greetings from President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders.

For the last couple of decades, the Chinese affiliates, and China interest groups, of the Conservative, Labor and Liberal Democrat parties have all also hosted celebratory dinners, although these have now been somewhat negatively impacted by the new Cold War mentality and the rise of neo-McCarthyism. My personal highpoint from these events – although they have also been attended by a number of serving prime ministers and receptions have been held at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence – was when former Chinese Ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming joined Jeremy Corbyn, the first socialist leader of the Labor Party in at least eight decades, to celebrate at the Phoenix Palace, one of London’s most outstanding Cantonese restaurants, as well as brought the traditional lion dance to life at Labor’s headquarters.

But, as mentioned, Chinese New Year in the U.K. has now gone well beyond those with a specific China interest. It is, for example, marked with special projects and lessons in many of our primary schools up and down the country.

China’s late Premier Zhou Enlai, in my view the greatest diplomat of the 20th century, stressed that China’s diplomacy rested on a tripod of state-to-state, party-to-party, and people-to-people relations.

President Xi Jinping has often stressed that good people-to-people bonds are the foundation for sound state-to-state relations.

British people from all walks of life and backgrounds have been increasingly taking Chinese New Year to their hearts. It has become part of our culture and calendar. This is one more reminder that Cold War hostility and bellicosity do not represent the interests of the people of any country and are therefore destined to fail.

Happy New Year of the Wood Dragon!

Xi Jinping: Integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and the best of its traditional culture

The following is the text of a speech given by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at a meeting on cultural inheritance and development in June 2023, at which he comprehensively set out his views on the integration of Marxism with China’s specific realities and especially the best of its traditional culture, which is now being known as the “two integrations”.

Xi notes that:

“The traditional Chinese culture encompasses a multitude of significant concepts, including social ideals of pursuing the common good for all and achieving universal peace; governance principles of regarding the people as the foundation of the state and governing by virtue; traditions of striving for great unity in the country and ensuring unity amid diversity; values of dedicating oneself to self-cultivation, family management, state governance, and peace for all and shouldering one’s duties to secure the future of the nation; aspirations of embracing the world with virtue and cultivating integrity; economic principles of enriching the people and improving their lives and pursuing the greater good and shared interests; ecological ideas of promoting harmony between humanity and nature and the coexistence of all living things; philosophical thoughts of seeking truth from facts and combining knowledge with action.”

Explaining that Chinese civilisation is distinguished by its continuity, he adds that Chinese people’s deep-rooted sentiments for the motherland and profound sense of history constitute an ideal for upholding great unity and provide spiritual support for guiding the Chinese nation through countless hardships on the path to national rejuvenation.

He also refers to the creativity of Chinese civilisation, saying that it “places stress on discarding the outdated in favour of the new and making progress on a daily basis… The creativity of Chinese civilisation determines that it upholds tradition without clinging to the past and respects ancient wisdom without reverting to archaic thinking. It also determines that the Chinese nation is fearless in facing new challenges and embracing new things.”

It is also inclusive:

“Rather than replacing diverse cultures with a single monoculture, Chinese civilisation endeavours to integrate various cultures into a shared tapestry.”

Next, Xi Jinping turns his attention to the significance of the two integrations with Marxism, explaining that:

“Given the profound foundations of our venerable 5,000-year-old civilisation, the only path for pioneering and developing Chinese socialism is to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and the best of its traditional culture (‘two integrations’). This systematic conclusion has been derived from our extensive explorations of Chinese socialism. We have always emphasised integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and have now officially brought forward the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture. As I once stated, without the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilisation, where would the Chinese characteristics come from?”

Mutual compatibility, he insists, is the fundamental prerequisite:

“The ‘two integrations’ is not a far-fetched proposition. Despite their distinct origins, Marxism and traditional Chinese culture exhibit remarkable congruence. For instance, the social principles of pursuing the common good for all and acting in good faith and being friendly to others resonate harmoniously with the ideals and convictions of communism and socialism; the governing concepts of regarding the people as the foundation of the state and governing by virtue align seamlessly with the political principle of putting the people first; and the practices of discarding the outdated in favour of the new and ceaselessly pursuing self-improvement correspond faithfully to the revolutionary spirit of Communists. Marxism sees the essence of man from the angle of social relations, while in Chinese culture, people are defined by their relationships with their family, their country, and the world. Both reject the notion of viewing humans as isolated entities.”

“Integration,” he further explains, “extends beyond mere juxtaposition; instead, it creates a new, organically unified cultural entity. On one hand, Marxism entered China with its advanced theories, giving a new lease of life to Chinese civilisation with its truthfulness. It ushered China into the modern era, revitalising and modernising Chinese culture. Traditional concepts such as regarding the people as the foundation of the state, all regions sharing common customs and practices, all things living side by side, and enriching the people have transformed to modern ideas of pursuing democracy, forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, maintaining harmony between humanity and nature, and striving for common prosperity.”

This integration has reinforced the foundations of China’s socialist path:

“The path of Chinese socialism is fundamentally socialist, grounded in Marxism. The essential socialist elements in Chinese culture provide an intellectual foundation for the embrace of Marxism in China. The path of Chinese socialism is continually broadening, and our determination to remain on this path is unwavering.”

In the concluding part of his speech, Xi Jinping points out that: “Under the guidance of Marxism, we must adeptly integrate the past with the present, draw on successful foreign experiences, make informed choices through dialectical reasoning, and develop the new from the old, therefore achieving a seamless fusion of traditional and contemporary cultures.”

The speech was originally published in Chinese in Qiushi Journal, theoretical organ of the Communist Party of China, issue 17 of 2023. This official English translation appeared in Qiushi’s English language edition, issue 5 of 2023.

Today, we convened a meeting on cultural inheritance and development. Preceding this event, I visited the newly built China National Archives of Publications and Culture and the Chinese Archaeological Museum at the Chinese Academy of History and found them exceptionally insightful.

To establish both the Chinese Academy of History and the China National Archives of Publications and Culture was a decision of great significance made by the CPC Central Committee. The Chinese nation boasts a legacy spanning millions of years of humanity, ten millennia of culture, and five thousand years of civilization. My visit to these two places helped deepen my appreciation for the time-honored Chinese culture and the profound depth of Chinese civilization. Only through a comprehensive and deep understanding of the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and development of the best of the traditional Chinese culture, vigorously push forward the progress of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and cultivate a modern Chinese civilization.

Culture is fundamental to a nation’s foundation and future. Recently, I have consistently pondered the major issue of promoting China’s socialist culture and developing a modern Chinese civilization. This is precisely the reason that led us to convene this meeting today. Here, I would like to address three key points.

I. Developing a profound understanding of the defining characteristics of Chinese civilization

The traditional Chinese culture encompasses a multitude of significant concepts, including social ideals of pursuing the common good for all and achieving universal peace; governance principles of regarding the people as the foundation of the state and governing by virtue; traditions of striving for great unity in the country and ensuring unity amid diversity; values of dedicating oneself to self-cultivation, family management, state governance, and peace for all and shouldering one’s duties to secure the future of the nation; aspirations of embracing the world with virtue and cultivating integrity; economic principles of enriching the people and improving their lives and pursuing the greater good and shared interests; ecological ideas of promoting harmony between humanity and nature and the coexistence of all living things; philosophical thoughts of seeking truth from facts and combining knowledge with action; the mindset of understanding multiple perspectives and seeking harmony through the middle way; and communication approaches of acting in good faith and being friendly to others. These concepts collectively shape the defining characteristics of Chinese civilization.

Chinese civilization is distinguished by its continuity

Chinese civilization is the only great, uninterrupted civilization that continues to this day in a state form. This unequivocally affirms the cultural identity and robust vitality of Chinese civilization as it has responded to challenges and broken new ground through self-development. Chinese people’s deep-rooted sentiments for the motherland and profound sense of history constitute an ideal for upholding great unity and provide spiritual support for guiding the Chinese nation through countless hardships on the path to national rejuvenation. This continuity inherently dictates that the Chinese nation will follow its own path. If not through the prism of its extensive history of continuity, one would not be able to understand ancient China, contemporary China, let alone China of the future.

Chinese civilization is distinguished by its creativity

Chinese civilization places stress on discarding the outdated in favor of the new and making progress on a daily basis. It embodies both profound depth and dynamic forward surges. Continuity doesn’t mean being stagnant or inflexible; on the contrary, it represents a history marked by creativity-driven progress. The Chinese nation embraces the ethos of self-renewal, as an ancient saying goes “improve oneself in one day, do so from day to day, and there will be daily improvement.” This spirit propels the Chinese nation’s sustained material, cultural-ethical, and political advancement, allowing it to stand tall and firm as one of the most prosperous and powerful civilizations throughout a long historical period. The creativity of Chinese civilization determines that it upholds tradition without clinging to the past and respects ancient wisdom without reverting to archaic thinking. It also determines that the Chinese nation is fearless in facing new challenges and embracing new things.

Review: Creation of the Gods I

Below is a brief review of the recently-released Chinese blockbuster movie, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms. We would like to thank Trinity CineAsia for inviting Friends of Socialist China to attend a special showing and Q&A in London with the film’s director of photography.

This review is written by David Peat, an editorial board member of Iskra Books.

Those who have been paying attention to recent Chinese ‘blockbuster’ cinema will have noticed a qualitative shift in terms of the size of productions, the level of visual effects, and the confidence in representing both contemporary and historical Chinese stories. While wuxia (martial arts historical drama) with enormous casts, impressive sets, gravity-defying choreography, and beautiful costumes have for decades been one of the most popular Chinese cultural exports, the Chinese film industry was not typically well-known for its special effects. As recently as 2015, the general consensus with domestic audiences could be summed up by a slang term: 5元特效 “5 cent VFX”. However, with films such as the Wandering Earth series, the PRC’s film industry has shown it can offer a spectacle just as impressive, if not better, than the west.

That’s not to give the impression that the Chinese film industry is seeking to merely imitate Hollywood (whose ‘blockbuster’ offerings amount to endless sequels/revivals of increasingly exhausted intellectual property) but instead, the recent tranche of highly-polished cinematic works are squarely aimed at consolidating a vibrant domestic filmmaking industry, telling distinctively Chinese stories that will also have global crossover potential. This appears to be working, with China’s cinema market becoming the second-largest in the world in 2016, and the dominance of Hollywood-made films falling from 48% in 2012 to just 12% in 2021.

The latest cinematic ‘event’ in this burgeoning industry is Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, a historical fantasy epic based on Chinese mythology. Inevitably referred to as “China’s Lord of the Rings”, this is an adaptation of the 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods which itself tells a fantastical history of the transition from Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE) to Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BCE). Released in July domestically, it went on to be the top-grossing film of the season, and likely the year. The production is absolutely enormous, with the trilogy expected to be the most ambitious and expensive in Chinese film history. Wuershan, the Chinese director from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, heads up the 2,000-strong crew on this epic project, and in fact did consult with Peter Jackson (the creative force behind the Lord of the Rings series) before getting started on this ambitious trilogy.

The story, which will be well-known to Chinese audiences, features a wide range of characters, with emperors, demons, demi-gods, evil magicians, and army generals, as well as a focus on the Emperor’s Royal Guard (which is composed of the sons of the most powerful regional Lords, to fend off rebellion). In spite of this, the film opens with Prince Yin Shou, as a general of the Emperor’s army, putting down a regional uprising with great violence. In the course of this, inadvertently awakening a fox demon who possesses the body of the daughter of the defeated, rebellious Lord. She talks her way into avoiding becoming another victim and accompanies the prince back to the imperial capital, becoming a concubine for the prince, and going on to encourage his aspiration to become ‘King of All Realms’ (by any means necessary). However, the manner of his ascension, as well as the widespread violence of putting down the earlier rebellion, incurs the wrath of the Gods who bring about ‘The Great Curse’, causing suffering in all corners of the land (and whose effects are shown in blighted crops, fouled water, and illness). The immortals of a spiritual plane known as ‘Kunlun’ send down some of their own to our world with a magical scroll called the ‘Fengshen Bang’, which, if activated by the King of All Realms, can bring about an end to The Great Curse. However, upon arrival at the royal palace, the demi-gods realise the cruel and untrustworthy nature of the current King, and worry that the Fengshan Bang may be used for evil instead of good. As such, they decide to flee and hope that any next king may be a more suitable recipient. The story goes on to chart the adventures of the demi-gods and their allies trying to prevent Yin Shou from gaining possession of the magical artefact, as well as the attempts of would-be usurpers of his throne, including a potential candidate who may be worthy of bringing an end to The Great Curse.

The set pieces are of an epic scale as would be expected from the Oscar-winning production design of Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Red Cliff), with enormous battle scenes, and Tim Yip’s amazing work with costuming is also on display. Since the era depicted is so historically distant, historical accuracy would be difficult to measure, however he was inspired by surviving Shang Dynasty bronze artefacts. The performances tend towards the melodramatic, as befitting the grand mythological stakes, with the egotistical and cruel Yin Shou (played by Fei Xiang, aka Kris Phillips) as well as the fox-demon’s host Su Daji (played by Naran) being particular standouts. The visual effects take centre stage and are (mostly) impressive, with one particularly powerful sequence of a fight with a giant, crumbling stone tiger magically brought to life being reminiscent of the lauded Shadow of the Colossus video game. All in all, the film is an entertaining and well-paced fantasy epic, and a great introduction for western audiences into a new and intriguing mythological tradition.

This film is the first part of a trilogy, and those who were bemused by the ending of Dune’s first film may take warning that this film likewise ends very much looking to the subsequent episodes, and it follows the contemporary tradition of a number of ‘mid-credits’ sequences setting up future events. It is, however, an enjoyable story in its own right and an excellent introduction to a wide range of characters, many of which will presumably play large parts in the forthcoming sequels, which are set to be released in China in 2024 and ‘25 respectively.

Creation of The Gods is distributed in the UK by Trinity Cine Asia. The film will be released on streaming services next year.

Integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and traditional culture

In the following article, the Theoretical Study Group under the Executive Council of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee gives a systematic explanation and historical background to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s concept of the “two integrations”, namely of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and traditional culture.

The article quotes Xi Jinping as saying:

“Given the rich foundations of our more than 5,000-year-old civilisation, the only path for pioneering and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics is to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with its traditional culture. This systematic conclusion, drawn from our explorations of Chinese socialism, is the strongest assurance for our success.”

It notes that the history of the CPC has been a process of continuously adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times and a process of continually making theoretical innovations.

In the periods of the new-democratic revolution (1921-1949) and of socialist revolution and development (1949-1978), the CPC integrated the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete realities of the Chinese revolution. This enabled it to blaze the correct revolutionary path of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing state power with military force, secure victory in the new-democratic revolution, complete the socialist revolution, and carry out a highly productive socialist development drive. It was during this process that the CPC established, enriched, and further developed Mao Zedong Thought, which marked the first historic step in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

The CPC, the article notes, has drawn upon the Chinese concept of the people being the foundation of the state, the idea of universal participation in governance, the tradition of joint and consultative governance, and the political wisdom of being all-inclusive and seeking common ground while setting aside differences. On this basis, it established the system of people’s congresses and the system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation.

Deng Xiaoping, it adds, stressed that “the socialist China we are building should have a civilisation with a high cultural and ideological level as well as a high material level; only if we do well on both fronts can we say we are building socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Deng also emphasised the need to carry forward and develop the Chinese nation’s fine cultural traditions and the Party’s fine traditions, oppose lingering feudal influences, and guard against the corrosion of decadent capitalist ideas. He also put forward a fundamental criterion for appraising all the party’s work, namely, whether it is favourable to growing the productive forces in a socialist society, to increasing the overall strength of the socialist state, and to raising the living standards of the people.

Xi Jinping, the article continues, has pointed out that:

“The basic tenets of Marxism must be closely integrated with China’s specific realities. We should adopt the right approaches to our national traditional culture and the cultures of other countries to equip ourselves with all the outstanding intellectual and cultural achievements of humanity.”

Xi Jinping’s Thought upholds the people-centred viewpoint of Marxism and draws extensively on the ancient Chinese governance principles of regarding the people as the foundation of the state and ensuring the people enjoy safety, prosperity, and contentment. It also adheres to Marxist principles regarding the relationship between humans and nature and draws on Chinese wisdom concerning the environment, including the ideas of humanity being an integral part of nature and all things living side by side. Likewise, it adheres to Marxist ideas on world history and carries forward the broad-minded vision advocated in traditional Chinese culture, which includes seeking prosperity for all and harmony between all nations. On this basis, initiatives such as a global community of shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative have been put forward.

The article explains that after Marxism was introduced into China, its propositions were enthusiastically embraced by the Chinese people amid fierce competition between different ideological trends, and they ultimately took root and bore fruit in the land of China. This was far from coincidental. Rather, it was because they were consistent with China’s millennia-old culture and the common values that Chinese people intuitively apply in their everyday lives. It is only with mutual compatibility that genuine integration can be achieved. “This integration is not a master plate from which we simplistically continue our history and culture, nor a pattern through which we mechanically apply the ideas of classic Marxist authors, nor a reprint of the practice of socialism in other countries, nor yet a duplicate of modernisation from any other country. Rather, it is the combining of the basic principles of scientific socialism with China’s specific realities, historical and cultural traditions, and the call of the times. It demands a harmonious blending of communist faith and socialist convictions with the millennia-old ideals of the Chinese nation.”

Integration, it explains, is not about piecing different components together; it is not a simple physical convergence, but instead requires complete fusion. While Marxism has profoundly changed China, China has also greatly enriched Marxism.

The article was originally published in Chinese in issue 13, 2023 of Qiushi Journal, the CPC’s main theoretical organ. This English language version was first published in issue 4, 2023 of Qiushi’s English edition.

In an address at a meeting on cultural inheritance and development, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted, “Given the rich foundations of our more than 5,000-year-old civilization, the only path for pioneering and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics is to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with its traditional culture. This systematic conclusion, drawn from our explorations of Chinese socialism is the strongest assurance for our success.” In his speech, General Secretary Xi incisively discussed the significance of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and traditional culture (referred to as the “two integrations”) and the rich implications and practical requirements therein.

The CPC’s experience and application of the “two integrations”

The history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been a process of continuously adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times and a process of continually making theoretical innovations. The CPC has led the people through arduous quests, setbacks, and pioneering efforts to accomplish enormous tasks that would have been inconceivable for any other political force in China. Essentially, this has been possible because the CPC has remained committed to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and the best of its traditional culture, thus continually adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

In the periods of the new-democratic revolution (1921-1949) and socialist revolution and development (1949-1978), the CPC integrated the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete realities of the Chinese revolution. This enabled it to blaze the right revolutionary path of encircling cities from the countryside and seizing state power with military force, secure victory in the new-democratic revolution, complete the socialist revolution, and carry out a highly productive socialist development drive. It was during this process that the CPC established, enriched, and further developed Mao Zedong Thought, which marked the first historic step in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. By integrating Marxism’s basic tenets with China’s realities, the CPC developed many original theoretical achievements, put forward a series of important ideas regarding China’s revolution and development, and led the people in securing great successes in the new-democratic revolution and in socialist revolution and development.

In his explorations of a path for China’s revolution and development, Mao Zedong placed importance on interpreting and applying Marxism from a national perspective and was particularly adept at drawing nourishment from China’s cultural heritage. Indeed, he once observed that “We should sum up our history from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen and take over this valuable legacy.” Mao advocated making the past serve the present and stressed the need to “extensively and critically make use of China’s cultural heritage,” “to reject its feudal dross and assimilate its democratic essence,” and “to make the things we have inherited our own.” He fully tapped the contemporary value of China’s traditional culture by infusing classic Chinese idioms such as “seeking truth from facts” and “shooting the arrow at the target” with new meanings. These were used to illustrate the Marxist approach to thinking and working, which grounds all actions in reality. In this way, Mao demonstrated a practical mastery of the best of China’s traditional culture.