The reference to Mao's 1942 speech to artists should not be taken lightly. Is Xi Jinping preparing for a major crackdown on members of the creative sector in the name of Communist ideology? Mao used this tactic over and over again to silence his critics and gain absolute control over the media and artistic production. Read about what life was like for artists in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in China. Discover how many of China's greatest artists were arrested, put under house arrest, lost any ability to make a living, with some of them even starving to death, all in the name of ideology. Xi knows artists in today's China, even if they were not alive during those highly repressive decades, understand where this could be going. I suspect a chill went through that audience when they heard Xi's speech.