The subject of investigation is to determine whether the modernizations of Chinese operas rightly represent China. The investigation will focus on Chinese operas from 1949 to 1976 and the government's involvement during the Cultural Revolution. Mao's motivations for reforming China are considered in this investigation and the relationships between them are explored. The two primary sources selected for evaluation, Chinese Perspectives in Rhetoric and Communication by D. Ray Heisey and Red Azalea written by Anchee Min, will be evaluated for their origins. , objectives, limits and values. Traditional Chinese operas have played an important role in the lives of Chinese people. The operas were inspiring, entertaining and very popular with people of all ages and all walks of life (Turzuolo). During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong used culture as a powerful weapon to maintain political power and transform society. All art forms in China were tightly controlled and manipulated to reform Chinese culture. “True reform could only come with the creation of Chinese operas on non-traditional, preferably contemporary subjects” because if the operas could be transformed, then Chinese literature and art would follow (Clark 15). Since 1949, opera houses have become state property of the Communist Party. government for propaganda purposes. Plays had to be reviewed and approved before they were allowed to be performed before audiences in "New China", which was China after 1949. New policies placed all theatrical activities under the direct control of the government. Traditional Chinese culture was abolished and uprooted (Clark 11). The only ballet or opera presented in China was Yang Ban Xi or “The Eight Model Plays”. Five of which replaced the traditional statues of Beijing...... middle of paper ......ao. Internet. February 2, 2011. .Terzuolo, Chiara Park. “Opera and politics: in China, the Twains will meet”. Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs 9.1 (2009): 34-45. March 13, 2009. The web. February 2, 2011. .King, Richard, Ralph C. Croizier, Scott Watson and Sheng Tian Zheng. Art in turmoil: the Chinese cultural revolution, 1966-76. Vancouver: UBC, 2010. Web. February 3, 2011. .Clark, Paul. “The Chinese Cultural Revolution: A History.” Google Books. Internet. February 3, 2011. .Heisey, D. Ray. “Chinese Perspectives in Rhetoric and Communication.” Google Books. Internet. February 3. 2011. .