Figure 1.1. Villagers and revolutionaries rally in support of Xi’er as she denounces landlord Huang Shiren in the monumental tableau vivant concluding scene of the Central Academy of Drama’s 1950 production of The White-Haired Girl in Beijing. From the August 1950 issue of Zhongguo huabao (China Pictorial) 1, no. 2.

Figure 2.1. Liu Qiao’er spins yarn in her cave house. From the film Liu Qiao’er (1956).

Figure 3.1. “You’re the demon!” Image from the film showing twin Peonies. 1959. From the film Chasing the Fish Spirit.

Figure 4.1. The titular concubine, Li Huiniang (Li Shujun), chastising the corrupt prime minister Jia Sidao (Zhou Wanjiang) in an early 1960s northern kunju production of Meng Chao’s Li Huiniang. Source: Meng Chao, Li Huiniang (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 1961).

Figure 5.1. Sun Tianlu as Heavenly Soldier, and Lin Ahmei as Xiao Qing (Green Snake) in The Legend of the White Snake, performed by the Dance Company of Central Experimental Opera Theatre, 1960. Photo by You Zhenguo. From Dance (Wudao), 1960, no. 4, contents page.

Figure 6.1. Members of the Dagger Society, backed by the masses, confront Western imperialist leaders and Qing officials at the British consulate in Shanghai. From the national dance drama Dagger Society that premiered in 1959, performed by the Shanghai Experimental Opera Theatre. Photographer: Wu Yinbo. Originally published in Renmin huabao (People’s Pictorial) 1960, no. 16, p. 25. Courtesy of China Foto Bank.

Figure 6.2. Dagger Society leaders Zhou Xiuying and Pan Qixiang demonstrate the use of movement postures derived from Chinese opera. From the national dance drama, Dagger Society, performed here by the Shanghai Experimental Opera Theatre. Courtesy of Shu Qiao.

Figure 6.3. Dagger Society members perform “Shield Dance,” a choreography adapted from Wenzhou folk performance. From the national dance drama Dagger Society that premiered in 1959, performed by the Shanghai Experimental Opera Theatre. Photographer: Wu Yinbo. Originally published in Renmin huabao (People’s Pictorial) 1960, no. 16, p. 24. Courtesy of China Foto Bank.

Figure 7.1. Map of Shanxi Opera Genre Distribution, showing the diversity of operatic styles in the province. From Zhongguo difang xiqu jicheng: Shanxi sheng juan (Collected Chinese Regional Operas: Shanxi Province Volume).

Figure 8.1. A scene from War Drums on the Equator. From Renmin Huabao (People’s Pictorial), December 1965, p. 28. Reprinted with permission.

Figure 8.2. A scene from the PLA troupe’s version of Letters from the South. From Renmin Huabao (People’s Pictorial), April 1965, p. 18. Reprinted with permission.

Figure 9.1. Li Tiemei and Granny Li hold aloft the eponymous prop in the film version of The Red Lantern. From the film Hongdeng ji (The Red Lantern, 1970).

Figure 9.2. Lighting plot from production manual for The Red Lantern. From Zhongguo jingjutuan, Geming xiandai jingju Hongdeng ji (Revolutionary Modern Beijing Opera The Red Lantern). (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1972).

Figure 9.3. Schematic for red lantern prop from production manual for The Red Lantern. From Zhongguo jingjutuan, Geming xiandai jingju Hongdeng ji (Revolutionary Modern Beijing Opera The Red Lantern). (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1972).