In all societies, the governing body presiding over the people has an inherent influence on artwork, both direct and indirect. Unfortunately, modern China does not have a strong history of artistic freedom, though resistance has persisted in some ways. During the earlier decades of the CCP’s rule, the government had absolute power over art that met the public eye; however, in private, some still used it as a medium of subjective expression.
Moreover, there was a period between 1976 and 1989 in which artists saw more and more freedom, but this has been curbed for the sake of stability of the CCP’s governance. Nowadays, the government seeks to display (internationally and nationally) only ideologically friendly work—though policies are prone to confusing and inconsistent shifts. Artists nonetheless have prevailed and have managed to resist even amid the toughest circumstances and government control.