 (Chiu, 2007, P 194)

“One of the few respites from the cycle of propaganda and exercise was the occasional visit of singers and dancers brought in to perform for troops before they headed to war – a heightened experience for these groups of agitated, isolated young men.In the series of satirical paintings “The Day before I went Away” (2008), Guo Jian offers impressions of how young woman were positioned by the army in these covertly erotic performances to manipulate the soldiers to the point of sexual hysteria and blood lust.”  

The PLA’s Entertainment Soldiers, also known ‘Military Performing Troupes’, ‘Song and Dance Troupes’ or ‘Military Art Troupes’  were initially recognised by Mao Zedong as an important element of ‘art as a form of media’ which was one of the most effective forms of propaganda.For Mao “revolution was art; art was revolution”, and art as a form of mass media was possibly one of the most effective and long lasting impressions that could be left on a people, and was left on the Chinese people.