Zhou Xiaoping: A Blogger for China’s Renaissance?
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2016-08-24
Author(s)
Abstract
In October 2014 Xi Jinping, while chairing the Forum on Literature and Art Work, praised attending bloggers Zhou Xiaoping 周小平 (b. 1981) and Hua Qianfang for “spreading positive energy” with their online essays. This paper analyses Zhou Xiaoping’s blogging, focussing on some of his most read and shared essays on national and international issues. The paper puts Zhou’s writing in relation to the content of Xi Jinping’s speech at the Forum and to current CCP cultural policies in general. It discusses Zhou’s rise from minor Internet personality to national celebrity following the General Secretary’s endorsement. The paper compares Zhou’s writing style, positions and status to those of China’s best-known blogger, Han Han. Despite differences in their political stances and the fact that Han Han’s celebrity status derives more from commercial success than official endorsement, our paper points to similarities in their writing styles and online personae. In particular, both bloggers aim at persuasiveness and credibility by posing as spokespeople of China’s “man in the street”, as opposed to the authoritative, but impersonal and “wooden” language of the officialdom. The official endorsement of Zhou’s work echoes a practice of Mao and Deng’s times, when Party leaders identified the writings of certain little-known or anonymous authors with the “correct” position on a given political issues to express their stance indirectly, or to claim popular support during a factional struggle. At the same time, it exemplifies how the Party-State propaganda apparatus has embraced certain forms and contents from Internet culture, including online celebrity.
Language
English
Keywords
Blogging
Xi Jinping
Zhou Xiaoping
Internet
celebrity
art
literature
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Event Title
European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) 21st Biennial Conference
Event Location
St. Petersburg, RUS
Event Date
21.-28.08.2016
Division(s)
Eprints ID
249125
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Name
Strafella Berg ZXP EACS2016 24082016.pdf
Size
5.12 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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