The Cultural Revolution Of 1966 To 1976, Initiated By Communist Party GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

The Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, initiated by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in an attempt to reduce the influence of China’s intellectual elite on the country’s institutions, has had (5) lasting repercussions on Chinese art. It intensified the absolutist mind-set of Maoist Revolutionary Realism, which had dictated the content and style of Chinese art even before 1966 by requiring that artists “truthfully” depict the realities of socialist life in (10) China. Interest in non-social, non-political subjects was strictly forbidden, and, during the Cultural Revolution, what constituted truth was entirely for revolutionary forces to decide—the only reality artists could portray was one that had been thoroughly (15) coloured and distorted by political ideology.

Ironically, the same set of requirements that constricted artistic expression during the Cultural Revolution has had the opposite effect since; many artistic movements have flourished in reaction to the (20) monotony of Revolutionary Realism. One of these, the Scar Art movement of the 1980s, was spearheaded by a group of intellectual painters who had been trained in Maoist art schools and then exiled to rural areas during the Cultural Revolution. (25) In exile, these painters were for perhaps the first time confronted with the harsh realities of rural poverty and misery—aspects of life in China that their Maoist mentors would probably have preferred they ignore. As a result of these experiences, they developed a (30) radically new approach to realism. Instead of depicting the version of reality sanctioned by the government, the Scar Art painters chose to represent the “scarred reality” they had seen during their exile. Their version of realist painting emphasized the day- (35) to-day hardships of rural life. While the principles of Revolutionary Realism had insisted that artists choose

public, monumental, and universal subjects, the Scar artists chose instead to focus on the private, the mundane, and the particular; where the principles of (40) Revolutionary Realism had demanded that they depict contemporary Chinese society as outstanding or perfect, the Scar artists chose instead to portray the bleak realities of modernization.

As the 1980s progressed, the Scar artists’ radical (45) approach to realism became increasingly co-opted for political purposes, and as this political cast became stronger and more obvious, many artists abandoned the movement. Yet a preoccupation with rural life persisted, giving rise to a related development known (50) as the Native Soil movement, which focused on the native landscape and embodied a growing nostalgia for the charms of peasant society in the face of modernization. Where the Scar artists had reacted to the ideological rigidity of the Cultural Revolution by (55) emphasizing the damage inflicted by modernization, the Native Soil painters reacted instead by idealizing

traditional peasant life. Unfortunately, in the end Native Soil painting was trivialized by a tendency to romanticize certain qualities of rural Chinese society (60) in order to appeal to Western galleries and collectors.

“The Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, initiated by Communist Party” is a GMAT reading comprehension exercise. Candidates need to be highly proficient in GMAT reading comprehension. There are six comprehension questions in this GMAT reading comprehension section. The purpose of the GMAT Reading Comprehension questions is to evaluate candidates' comprehension, analysis, and application skills. Candidates who are actively preparing can benefit from GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which one of the following titles most accurately captures the main point of the passage?

(A) “Painting and Politics: A Survey of Political Influences on Contemporary Chinese Art”
(B) “How Two Movements in Chinese Painting Transformed the Cultural Revolution”
(C) “Scarred Reality: A Look into Chinese Rural Life in the Late Twentieth Century”
(D) “The Rise of Realism in Post-Maoist Art in China”
(E) “The Unforeseen Artistic Legacy of China’s Cultural Revolution”

2. Which one of the following works of art would be most compatible with the goals and interests of Scar Art as described in the passage?

(A) a painting of a village scene in which peasants commemorate a triumph over cruel political officials
(B) a painting symbolically representing the destruction caused by a large fire
(C) a painting depicting the weary face of a poorly clothed peasant toiling in a grain mill
(D) a painting caricaturing Mao Zedong as an overseer of farm workers
(E) a painting of two traditionally dressed peasant children walking in a summer wheat field

3. Which one of the following statements about realism in Chinese art can most reasonably be inferred from the passage?

(A) The artists who became leaders of the Native Soil movement practiced a modified form of realism in reaction against the styles and techniques of Scar Art.
(B) Chinese art has encompassed conflicting conceptions of realism derived from contrasting political and artistic purposes.
(C) The goals of realism in Chinese art have been effectively furthered by both the Scar Art movement and the Native Soil movement.
(D) Until the development of the Scar Art movement, interest in rural life had been absent from the types of art that prevailed among Chinese realist painters.
(E) Unlike the art that was predominant during the Cultural Revolution, Scar Art was not a type of realist art.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be LEAST likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding the Cultural Revolution?

(A) It had the ironic effect of catalysing art movements at odds with its policies.
(B) The art that was endorsed by its policies was less varied and interesting than Chinese art since the Cultural Revolution.
(C) Much of the art that it endorsed did not accurately depict the realities of life in China but rather a politically motivated idealization.
(D) Its effects demonstrate that restrictive policies generally foster artistic growth more than liberal policies do.
(E) Its impact has continued to be felt in the Chinese art world years after it ended.

5. The primary function of the first paragraph is to

(A) introduce the set of political and artistic ideas that spurred the development of two artistic movements described in the subsequent paragraphs
(B) acknowledge the inescapable melding of political ideas and artistic styles in China
(C) explain the transformation of Chinese society that came about as a result of the Cultural Revolution
(D) present a hypothesis about realism in Chinese art that is refuted by the ensuing discussion of two artistic movements
(E) show that the political realism practiced by the movements discussed in the ensuing paragraphs originated during the Cultural Revolution

6. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following views of the Native Soil movement?

(A) Its development was the inevitable consequence of the Scar Art movement’s increasing politicization.
(B) It failed to earn the wide recognition that Scar Art had achieved.
(C) The rural scenes it depicted were appealing to most people in China.
(D) Ironically, it had several key elements in common with Revolutionary Realism, in opposition to which it originally developed.
(E) Its nostalgic representation of rural life was the means by which it stood in opposition to Revolutionary Realism.

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