State Capitalism and Entertainment Markets: The Socialist Transformation of Quyi in Tianjin, 1949–1964

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the state and a persistent entertainment market during the socialist transformation period of 1949–1964. Drawing on the competing narratives in state archives and the oral accounts of performers and Chinese Communist Party cadres, the article examines the interplay of central policies, local practices, and personal experiences in the formation of state-run troupes and new quyi in Tianjin. It reveals that state-run troupes applied various marketing strategies to fulfill the task that the Center had assigned them: achieving self-sufficiency amid local economic difficulties. The central government promoted a state capitalist policy, and yet provided little funding. To support themselves, local leaders employed such marketing approaches as performing for pay at parties (“party performances”), staging quyi opera, and charging audiences on a pay-by-time basis. In a process of policy testing and negotiating among multiple levels of government, central policies were adjusted. This study demonstrates that the cultural reform was not simply a contest between a singular state and the market, but rather that the state existed at multiple levels and the lack of state funding facilitated a market economy. State capitalism laid a foundation for the socialist cultural transformation.