Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy “红色经典”样板戏影评：智取威虎山

03/14/21 • 64 min

From the very beginning, the Chinese Communist party took entertainment seriously. By drawing crowds to see plays, dances, songs, and other shows, they were able to spread their political messages and create new followers to the cause.
Perhaps the culmination of this, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy (智取威虎山) was one of the 8 Model Plays promoted by Mao's Wife Jiang Qing (江青), as an attempt to modernize Beijing Opera for a Revolutionary Audience. Telling the story of a PLA detachment fighting a Bandit warlord, it was played dozens of times a year in almost ever town and village across China during the cultural revolution.
In this episode we discuss its content, its legacy, and and the brutal irony that many of the people who made this ultimate propaganda piece, were they themselves victims of the Cultural Revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_Tiger_Mountain_by_Strategy
Script: http://massline.org/PekingReview/PR1969/PR1969-51-52-TigerMountain.pdf

Previous Episode

The Los Angeles Chinese Massacre 1871年洛杉矶华人大屠杀

1870s Los Angeles was a lawless town where violence ruled and life was cheap. Gunfights were an almost daily occurrence, and rival gangs dueled in the street.
Despite that, the country was still shocked by the dramatic mass lynching of Chinese immigrants which occurred there in 1871. Often described as the largest mass lynching in the US, it has in many ways faded from our public consciousness.
In this companion episode to the Pigtail Ordinance, we discuss the face of anti-asian racism outside of the law, mob violence, and the legacy of vigilante justice in the US today.
[LINKS]
Check out At the Moment, An Asian American News Podcast, by AZI Media: https://www.azi.media/.
In their upcoming episode, At the Moment will be discussing the recent rise of anti-asian hate crimes in the United States. We highly recommend you give it a listen!
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Check out our episode on the Pigtail Ordinance:
Apple Podcast: HERE
Website: HERE
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Next Episode

Kidnapped in London: A Sun Yat-Sen Story 孙中山：伦敦蒙难记

Sun Yat-Sen is regarded today by both the PRC (People's Republic of China) and the ROC (Republic of China) as the founder of the modern nation. He was the first to break the imperial system, and set a path for something new and revolutionary.
However, before he was the founder of the nation, he was simply a failed revolutionary, with a head full of ideas. Perhaps one of his most famous stories from these early days is when he was 'Kidnapped' by agents of the Qing empire while in London.
Join us as we discuss Dr Sun Yat-Sen, his early life, his kidnapping, and how he might not really have been cut out for the revolutionary life.
Kidnapped in London By Sun Yet-sen: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kidnapped_in_London/6VQuAAAAYAAJ?hl=en