Film Yang Shanzhou starring Li Xuejian

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at a symposium on culture and art on October 15, where he stressed that the culture and art industries should serve the people and socialism, a ripple effect has spread throughout the nation as culture and art circle insiders have begun voicing their opinions on how the president's views should be carried out.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Culture held a special forum inviting some the authors, actors, scriptwriters and other artists that had attended the symposium to share their thoughts on Xi's speech, which explicitly pointed out what kind of artistic works should be encouraged, what should be avoided and is being viewed by many as a signal for the future direction of artistic creation in the country.

Top quality artistic works

"Culture is the foundation for the Chinese nation, the [CPC] Party has the determination and mission to promote the development of the country's culture and art," said Wang Meng, the famous writer behind the book Young at Heart and also the former minister of culture.

Out of the participants who attended the symposium on October 15, Wang has his own particular understanding of the concept that Xi referred to as "Art Peak," the idea that while China has seen a number of high-quality works, it still lacks works of the very highest quality. "President Xi stressed that we should have 'Art Peak (top-quality art) works.' But to climb to that peak, one must first have an honest heart, a high spirit and special feelings and vision," said Wang.

Besides discussing China's "Art Peak" issue, Xi also pointed out other typical problems that currently exist in the Chinese culture and art industries, such as quantity overwhelming quality, mass produced art and plagiarism.

"Vulgarity does not equal popularity, desire does not represent hope, simple sensory delights do not equal spiritual happiness," Xi said, dropping a clear hint concerning some works that have been the center of controversy for their artistic value, or lack thereof, such as the serial Countryside Love produced by comedy icon Zhao Benshan, who, by the way, called on all of his employees to look deeper into the issues brought up at the symposium shortly after it concluded.

Though Xi didn't specifically mention what works can be considered vulgar in nature and therefore be discouraged, he did talk about several works that he believes truly reflect the beauty of the human spirit. "You have done a good job in portraying the image of Jiao Yulu and Yang Shanzhou in film," Xi pointed out to famous actor Li Xuejian, who played both these well-known government officials commonly used as Party role models, during the symposium. "Those works reflect the kind of people they were."

Not content to just point out existing problems, Xi also aired his view of what a truly outstanding art work should entail. "A good work of art should put its effect on society first... Culture and art should not play a subservient role to the market. A great work of art should be one that is able to achieve success ideologically and artistically, while also be welcomed by the market."

Stimulating creativity

It's rare indeed for the country's top leader to talk directly to members of the culture and entertainment industries. As something that hasn't happened in decades, it's no wonder some critics are comparing the symposium to the historic Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art presided over by Mao Zedong in 1942. Over 100 writers and art professionals attended the forum, during which the role of literature and art was clarified, an act that greatly influenced the creation of art in the Chinese mainland for decades to come.

"It's already been 10 days since I attend the symposium but I'm still very excited," said Zhao Ruheng, president of the Chinese Dancers Association, at the forum held by the Ministry of Culture on Saturday. "It was definitely a landmark event that those of us within literature and art circles have anticipated for a long time," Zhao said, unable to suppress her excitement about the symposium.

"Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference members within literature and art circles don't have much say. The fact that he said so much aside, President Xi's very presence that day was a great encouragement to us."

At the end of the Ministry of Culture forum, Minister of Culture Cai Wu said that the ministry intends to hold similar forums to further explore the ideas discussed at the symposium, so that the spirit of these ideas could be better understood and put into practice.

"Xi's speech clarified the important position of literature and art in realizing the Chinese Dream. He has placed his trust in us," said Cai.

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