Editing Jiang Qing (section)

=== Prelude ===
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Before 1962, the Chinese media never mentioned who Mao Zedong's wife was in its international propaganda. People close to Mao Zedong claimed that after the 1950s, Jiang Qing was rarely seen by his side, and their emotional relationship had essentially ended, leaving her feeling frustrated for a time. However, as the 1960s progressed, Mao became increasingly distrustful of the surrounding leaders and his judgment of the domestic political situation grew more severe. Jiang Qing capitalised on this shift, becoming more outspoken, which led Mao to view her as "politically sensitive" and start to trust her. As a result, her power grew steadily.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=2019-04-01 |title=毛澤東晚年的重大失誤：「文革」時期倚重江青 |url=https://www.bastillepost.com/hongkong/article/4180846-%E6%AF%9B%E6%BE%A4%E6%9D%B1%E6%99%9A%E5%B9%B4%E7%9A%84%E9%87%8D%E5%A4%A7%E5%A4%B1%E8%AA%A4%EF%BC%9A%E3%80%8C%E6%96%87%E9%9D%A9%E3%80%8D%E6%99%82%E6%9C%9F%E5%80%9A%E9%87%8D%E6%B1%9F%E9%9D%92 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Bastille Post}}</ref>

After Jiang's return to China in 1962, she frequently attended local opera performances.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Jiang Qing (1964): On the Revolution of Peking Opera |url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/jiang-qing/1964/july/0001.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109164512/http://www.marxists.org//archive/jiang-qing/1964/july/0001.htm |archive-date=9 November 2023 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.marxists.org}}</ref> In 1963, Jiang Qing enlisted A Jia to help modernise Beijing Opera with revolutionary socialist themes. She later instructed the [[Jingju Theater Company of Beijing|Beijing Municipal Opera Company]] to create ''[[Shajiabang (opera)|Shajiabang]]'', depicting the struggle between the Kuomintang and Communists during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], and tasked the [[Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company|Shanghai Beijing Opera Company]] with producing ''[[Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy]]''.<ref name=":2" /> In her first public speech in June 1964 at a [[Peking opera|Peking Opera]] convention, Jiang criticised regional opera troupes for glorifying emperors, generals, scholars, and other [[Cow demons and snake spirits|ox-demons and snake-spirits]].{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=229}}

Jiang's efforts to reform [[Peking opera|Peking Opera]] gained approval from the Communist leadership, especially during the 1964 Modern Beijing Opera Trial Performance Convention. She also formed a productive collaboration with [[Yu Huiyong]], to push the [[yangbanxi]] (model drama) projects. Their shared vision focused on creating operas that reflected modern Chinese society and the lives of the working class, starting with ''[[On the Docks]]'', which portrayed Communist-ruled Shanghai. Jiang's political influence helped ensure the success of these projects, which aimed to create revolutionary art that represented the reality of contemporary life.<ref name=":12" />