The educational goals of the Chinese Communist government have been promoted by means other than formal education. During the 1960s and 1970s, plays, opera, popular literature, and music were seen to have the capacity to educate. For example, in 1964 the Festival of Peking Opera in Contemporary Themes was organized by Jiang Qing, Mao��s wife. New works combining drama and ideology, such as Taking of Tiger Mountain by Strategy, were written for the opera. Similar cultural modifications were introduced into Chinese ballet; elements of traditional folk dance, martial arts, gymnastics, and classical ballet were integrated into a popular production. These shows were performed not only in the major cities but also in the smaller cities and the countryside.

With the increase in foreign cultural exchanges since the mid-1970s, the official attitude toward the propaganda aspects of the arts has been relaxed. Foreign literature, which had been banned in the 1960s, began to reappear in China. In 1978 and 1979 some 200 translations of foreign works, including popular novels from the West, were completed in the People��s Literature Publishing House.

In popular music the change was officially noted in a government report, which stated that new songs were emerging in the early 1980s because the Chinese were ��tired of the old political songs and slogans they grew up with.�� The Chinese government also recognizes that the arts afford a useful social outlet. Movie theaters are usually filled to capacity, and traveling troupes of acrobats, circus performers, and jugglers, as well as ballet and opera shows, play to full houses in small cities and commune centers. During the 1980s, China showed increased openness to classical and popular musicians from the West.

The climate for cultural expression in China is delicate because of the speed with which government attitudes can change. In 1957, during the Hundred Flowers campaign, writers and intellectuals were encouraged to speak up and provide perspectives on the government��s progress in meeting the needs of the people. The criticisms that were prompted by this call for candor were so strong that the government suddenly reversed itself, and many intellectuals found themselves persecuted for the opinions they had expressed. Similar ��changes of sky�� led China��s artists, writers, composers, and filmmakers to respond cautiously to governmental encouragement of independent cultural expression in the late 1970s and early 1980s.