Editing Jiang Qing (section)

=== Cultural reforms ===
[[Image:Jiang Qing arts poster.jpg|thumb|Poster showing Jiang promoting the fine arts during the [[Cultural Revolution]] while holding Mao's ''[[The Little Red Book|Little Red Book]]''. The slogan reads: "The invincible thoughts of Mao Zedong illuminate the stages of revolutionary art!"]]
From 1962 onwards, Jiang Qing began appearing publicly as Mao's wife and later gave frequent speeches in the cultural and propaganda sectors, criticizing and condemning various figures.<ref name=":13" /> By late 1965, as Jiang Qing's influence grew, she rallied close allies such as [[Zhang Chunqiao]] and [[Yao Wenyuan]].<ref name=":13" /> She organised a campaign to criticise the play ''[[Hai Rui Dismissed from Office]]'', which marked the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.<ref name=":13" />

In February 1966, Jiang hosted a forum with [[People's Liberation Army|PLA]] officers.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=230}} The group studied writings by Mao, watched films and plays, and met with the cast and crew of an in-progress film production.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=230}} The forum concluded that a "black line" of [[bourgeois]] thought dominated the arts since the PRC's founding.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=|pp=230-231}} A summary of Jiang's analysis at the forum was later distributed widely during the Cultural Revolution and became a significant document.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=231|pp=}}

Over April through June 1966, Jiang presided over the All-Army Artistic Creation Conference in Beijing.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=231|pp=}} Conference attendees evaluated a total of 80 domestic and foreign films.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=231|pp=}} Jiang approved of 7 as consistent with [[Mao Zedong Thought]] and criticised the other films.{{Sfn|Li|2023|p=231|pp=}} Backed by her husband, she was appointed deputy director of the [[Central Cultural Revolution Group]] (CCRG) in 1966 and emerged as a serious political figure in the summer of that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Landsberger |first=Stefan R. |date=2024 |title=Madame Mao |url=https://exhibitions.globalfundforwomen.org/exhibitions/women-power-and-politics/appearance/madame-mao |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815061222/https://exhibitions.globalfundforwomen.org/exhibitions/women-power-and-politics/appearance/madame-mao |archive-date=15 August 2022 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=International Museum of Women}}</ref>

==== Revolutionary operas ====
{{Main|Revolutionary opera}}

[[File:President Richard Nixon, Pat Nixon, Chou En-Lai, Jiang Qing (Madame Mao), William Rogers, Henry Kissinger, and Others Attend the Revolutionary Opera Performance of The Red Detachment of Women.tif|thumb|Jiang Qing (in the centre) watching ''[[Red Detachment of Women (ballet)|The Red Detachment of Women]]'' with [[Richard Nixon|President]] and [[Pat Nixon|Mrs Nixon]] and others]]
In 1967, at the beginning of the [[Cultural Revolution]], Jiang declared eight works of performance art to be the new models for proletarian literature and art.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roberts |first=Rosemary |date=March 2008 |title=Performing Gender in Maoist Ballet: Mutual Subversions of Genre and Ideology in The Red Detachment of Women |journal=Intersections}}</ref> These "model operas", or "[[revolutionary opera]]s", were designed to glorify Mao Zedong, The People's Liberation Army, and the revolutionary struggles. The ballets [[The White Haired Girl|''White-Haired Girl'']],<ref>{{Citation |last1=Khoua |first1=Choui |title=The White-haired Girl |date=1950 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0483468/ |access-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208163739/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0483468/ |archive-date=8 February 2017 |url-status=live |others=Qiang Chen, Baiwan Li, Hua Tian |last2=Wang |first2=Bin}}</ref> ''[[Red Detachment of Women (ballet)|Red Detachment of Women]]'', and ''[[Shajiabang (opera)|Shajiabang]]'' ("Revolutionary Symphonic Music") were included in the list of eight, and were closely associated with Jiang, because of their inclusion of elements from Chinese and Western opera, dance, and music.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winzenburg |first=John |title=Musical-Dramatic Experimentation in the Yangbanxi: A Case for Precedence in The Great Wall |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2016 |location=US |pages=189–212}}</ref> The Red Guards condemned [[Yu Huiyong]] to be a "bad element" for propagating feudalism through his utilisation of traditional Chinese music in operas. Yu was also tagged as "a democrat hiding under the banner of the Communist Party" due to his frequent absences in party meetings. In 1966, Yu was subsequently sent to a Cow Shed, a small room where the "bad elements" were confined. In October 1966, Yu was released after Jiang requested a meeting with Yu to stage the production of two operas in Beijing. Jiang seated Yu next to her, as a display of Yu's importance in the making of yangbanxi, during the showing of ''Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy''.<ref name=":12" /> During [[Richard Nixon]]'s famous [[Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China|visit to China]] in February 1972, he watched ''Red Detachment of Women'', and was impressed by the opera. He famously asked Jiang who the writer, director, and composer were, to which she replied it was "created by the masses."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Kristine |date=30 August 2010 |title=Re-makes/Re-models: The Red Detachment of Women between Stage and Screen |journal=Opera Q |volume=26 |issue=2–3 |pages=316–342 |doi=10.1093/oq/kbq015 |s2cid=191566356}}</ref>

==== Fashion designs ====
{{External media|image1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083905/http://img.qdaily.com/uploads/20160909220543XmKsJC2USE7yaoA4.jpg-WebpWebW640 Jiang Qing's Robe]|width=220px}}
In 1974, Jiang Qing directed the [[Ministry of Culture (China)|Ministry of Culture]] to design a new dress for Chinese women, inspired by elements of women's clothing from the [[Song dynasty]]. The dress was called the Jiang Qing Dress.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Finnane |first=Antonia |date=2005-03-01 |title=Looking for the Jiang Qing Dress: Some Preliminary Findings |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2752/136270405778051518 |journal=Fashion Theory |language=EN |doi=10.2752/136270405778051518}}</ref> The dress featured a symmetrical V-neckline, differing slightly from the traditional Y-shaped neckline of [[Hanfu]]. Mockingly dubbed the "Nun's Robe," Jiang intended for female cadres to lead the way in wearing it, with the eventual goal of making it a nationwide standard.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cheng |first=Shigang |year=2005 |title=昙花一现"江青服" |url= |journal=Culture and History Vision |language=zh-hans |issue=19 |pages=48–49 |issn=1672-8653}}</ref>