Art in Turmoil: The Chinese Cultural Revolution, 1966-76

In this national convulsion the arts played a strikingly large role, a process described with great care in Art in Turmoil. Robert Fulford, “A new level of art criticism,” National Post, June 15, 2010

This is a brilliant, thorough study of art created during the disastrous decade in China’s modern history. The recent flood of publications on China’s contemporary art scene make this book on the immediately preceding period necessary reading because of the polar opposite forces that brought the two periods into play.… Essential.

CHOICE

This volume compellingly illustrates that the artistic products of the CR period were anything but “artless, sterile, without depth, without truth, and without reality” (189). Moreover, present-day artistic producers and their works, as well as society at large, continue to be influenced by them.

Stefan R. Landsberger, University of Amsterdam, The China Beat

The level of scholarship throughout is high, with extensive reading in Chinese-language primary and secondary sources combined with personal experience. It is recommended reading for all students of contemporary Chinese culture and society.

Bonnie S. McDougall, University of Sydney, Australia, Pacific Affairs, Vol 84, No 3