Controversy in China over an effeminate general in a TV drama reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) anxiety over its military image and desire to exert total control over the cultural sphere, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a report.
Chinese actor Zhang Linghe (張凌赫), who starred in the drama Pursuit of Jade (逐玉), drew attention from Taiwanese audiences.
However, he was heavily criticized on the Internet in China, where he was dubbed a “foundation general” due to his makeup.
Photo: Screen grab from the Internet
What began as a joke among fans that the character must “do his makeup at 4am to fight a battle at 6am” escalated into intense scrutiny by Chinese state and military media.
China’s National Radio and Television Administration held a symposium early last month to address the controversy, the MAC said in its latest quarterly report on the situation in China published last month.
The Chinese agency issued demands to “eliminate appearance worship,” “abandon abnormal aesthetics” and “avoid reliance on Web traffic,” saying that actors must “look the part,” the council said.
Aesthetics have become politicized, revealing Beijing’s insecurity over who controls its military image, the report said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) had in March praised the show’s rapid rise in popularity, using it to claim that “compatriots on both sides of the Strait are connected by blood and share a common culture.”
However, state-run outlets such as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army News Media Center and the People’s Daily later criticized the show, saying that artistic creation must adhere to reality.
China has historically revered masculinity and the bravery of its military figures, the news outlets said, adding that excessive beautification might mislead young people’s understanding of soldiers and history.
A military-affiliated commentary account called “Junzhengping” (鈞正平) criticized the show for allowing “values to yield to aesthetics.”
During its symposium, the radio and television administration used uncharacteristically strong wording to demand a shift from a “star-centric” to a “script-centric” production model, the MAC said.
It encouraged the production of works with an “earthy charm” and “vitality,” while calling for reduced reliance on romances and ancient idol dramas, the council added.
Social media discussions have linked the phenomenon to the CCP’s crackdowns on “boys’ love,” and “effeminate” and “decadent” aesthetics.
Some academics said that this highlights a discord between the CCP’s desire to create cultural exports and its internal purges, as well as its anxiety over the interpretation of military figures, the MAC said.
Media reports suggested that the rare intervention by PLA media reflects the will of high-level officials, it said.
Although China’s Ministry of Education previously promoted physical education in schools to cultivate “masculinity” among students, it had limited success, it added.
The “foundation general” incident again exposes the totalitarian nature of China, turning masculinity into a rigid, singular standard, where delicate or soft depictions — especially of soldiers — are viewed as threats to the national image, the report said.
The report concluded that the controversy reflects the CCP’s ambition to fully permeate the cultural sphere.
When characters, temperaments and aesthetic standards are subjected to unified norms, so-called “cultural development” simply means obedience, the council said.
This is the true face of the CCP’s cultural control, where freedom of creation and expression are instrumentalized for state propaganda, it added.
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