This research is an empirical analysis of the cultural hegemony pursued by Mao's China (1949-1966) in the field of mass culture. Based on the empirical research of this study, and inspired by the perspective of "Bringing the State back in" School, and the "State in Society" theory as well, this research put forth the theoretical perspective of "Complex Vision of State Capacities", which highlights the uneven-ness of state capacities in different fields and different aspects of the same field, and emphasizes that we should pay attention to both the strong state capacities, weak state capacities, the paradox of strong state capacities, the conflict between different state projects and the influence of "policy feedback" on state capacities. Based on the Extended Case Method, this research selects the Dashijie Amusement Center in Shanghai as the subject of research. It analyzes how the new regime effectively took over and transformed Dashijie, and meanwhile, demonstrates that under the influence of the complex state capacities, Dashijie gradually lost its original characteristics as an amusement center, and became more and more similar with Workers' Club. This phenomenon is called as cultural isomorphism. Negotiational hegemony to some extent alleviated this situation of cultural isomorphism, while zero-sum hegemony exacerbated it. With this development, the number of audience of Dashijie dropped a lot, which implies the predicament of cultural hegemony in the field of mass culture pursued by the totalistic state. Following the methodological perspective of the Extended Case Method, and also inspired by Bourdieu's theory of cultural field, this research further analyzes the evolution of Shanghai Bureau of Cultural Affairs. It demonstrated that, compared with the Nationalist Government, the new regime took further step in state building in the field of mass culture, advancing the bureaucratization of cultural administrative apparatuses and penetrating the state power into the cultural field at the grass-roots level. On the other hand, this research also reveals that the new regime is constrained by the weak state capacities in financial resources, human capital, sufficient bureaucratization, and the limitation of state capacities in the heterogeneity of the masses and the asynchronous-ness of structural transformation. As a result, the state capacity of the totalistic state in eradicating the production and circulation of the old mass cultural products is relatively strong and thus relatively successful, while the state capacity in constructing a new socialist mass culture, which was expected to be widely accepted by the masses, is relatively weak and thus relatively unsuccessful. In the view of "Complex Vision of State Capacities", negotiational hegemony reflected the recognition of complex state capacities, and it was thus necessary and beneficial for the state project of cultural hegemony; while the zero-sum hegemony reflected lack of recognition of or even did not accept the situation of complex state capacities, and thus exacerbated the situation of cultural isomorphism, leading to the final predicatement of cultural hegemony.;This extended case analysis thus demonstrates the intricate relationship between complex state capacities and cultural hegemony. It aims to deepen our understanding of the cultural history and state nature of Mao's China; theoretically, it aims to bring the state back into the cultural analysis based on a more solid foundation of state theory and provide a reference case for applying state theory to analyze cultural and other issues.
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