Performing Chinese Nationhood, Envisioning Socialist Solidarity: <i>People on the Grasslands</i> (1953) and Ethnic Minority Female Performer-Workers in Early PRC Cinema

Abstract This article revisits socialist Chinese film culture through a transnational feminist lens with a case study of the interethnic production and international exhibition of People on the Grasslands (1953). It examines the role of socialist films and film workers in constructing national identity and shaping global imaginaries in the early years of the People’ Republic of China (PRC). I argue that People on the Grasslands exemplified the Party-state’s multivalent project of nation-building and world-making, which relied on both showcasing and harmonizing differences across national, ethnic, gender, and cultural borders under the banner of socialist solidarity. Focusing on the leading actress Wurina and her offscreen labor, onscreen performance, and presence at international cultural and diplomatic events, I further complicate the co-constitution between the national and international socialist spheres by underscoring the intersection of gender and ethnicity. I draw on performer-worker studies to interrogate how Wurina and socialist film workers alike navigated the tension between stardom and labor. Through performing gender, ethnic, national, and socialist identities, they not only helped integrate ethnic diversity into the national imaginary but also presented a cohesive national image on the global stage. Meanwhile, they negotiated their positions and agencies within the early PRC’s cultural production system, leveraging state-sanctioned mobility across and within national borders to cultivate personal networks and affective bonds transnationally.