Giorgio Strafella

The adoption of postmodernist and postcolonial theories by China’s intellectuals dates back to the early 1990s and its history is intertwined with that of two contemporaneous trends in the intellectual sphere, i. e. the rise of conservatism and an effort to re-define the function of the Humanities in the country. This article examines how these trends merge in the political stance of a key figure in that process, Peking University literary scholar Zhang Yiwu, through a critical discourse analysis of his writings from the early and mid-1990s. Pointing at his strategic use of postmodernist discourse, it argues that Zhang Yiwu employed a legitimate critique of the concept of modernity and West-centrism to advocate a historical narrative and a definition of cultural criticism that combine Sino-centrism and depoliticisation. The article examines programmatic articles in which the scholar articulated a theory of the end of China’s “modernity”. It also takes into consideration other parallel interventions that shed light on Zhang Yiwu’s political stance towards modern China, globalisation and post-1992 economic reforms, including a discussion between Zhang Yiwu and some of his most prominent detractors. The article finally reflects on the implications of Zhang Yiwu’s writings for the field of Chinese Studies, in particular on the need to look critically and contextually at the adoption of “foreign” theoretical discourse for national political agendas.

This study discusses how the Chinese Communist Party has fashioned "Marxism" as a tradition during the last three decades. I argue that its leaders have invented the tradition of Sinicised Marxism by means of a ritualised repetition that emphasises a largely factitious continuity with the purpose of legitimising the Party, justifying policy changes and winning factional struggles. The point is corroborated by an analysis of the invocation of "Marxism" during key political phases in the reform era when the pretence of continuity became crucial for the CCP, including 1978-1985, 1992-1995 and the Eighteenth Party Congress of 2012. The article shows how, in the debates on "the criterion of truth" and "Marxist humanism", the reformists endorsed a re-definition of Marxism that aimed at saving communism from radical Maoism and legitimising the new policies. Next, I examine texts from the beginning of the second reform period, when official propaganda strove to justify the roll-out of a market economy by portraying "pragmatism" as the essence of Marxism. Finally, I analyse how Party-state leaders have invoked Marxism around the time of the last leadership transition. The article suggests that such a use of "Marxism" in contemporary official discourse originates from Mao Zedong Thought as well as in a gradual hollowing out of the concept. As a result it sheds light on the ideological undertows of China's contemporary socio-political history and on the chances of future political change.

In the ‘society of the spectacle', according to Guy Debord, ‘smug acceptance of what exists can also merge with purely spectacular rebellion' and dissatisfaction itself becomes a commodity. Drawing on his reflections on celebrity and the spectacle, this article analyses the highly popular blog of novelist and racing car driver Han Han (born 1982). By doing so, it explores the relation between Han Han's celebrity and his voice as a social critic. The analysis focuses on how Han Han's blog thrives on the combination of his celebrity status and Everyman image; how it contrasts ‘anti-intellectualism' in the tradition of Wang Shuo (born 1958) with elements of literati ideology including moderate loyal criticism and cultural nationalism; and how it negotiates the tension between commercial spectacle and the expression of sociopolitical concerns. The article also argues that unlike citizen journalism, Han Han's blog relies on editorial commentary on hot topics and acts as a ‘safety valve' blog. This article aims to contribute to understanding the rise in China's cybersphere of a celebrity who merges the images of rebel, opinion leader and cultural entrepreneur.

This article investigates artist and activist Ai Weiwei's media politics. In 1997 Ai Weiwei imagined a modernist movement that would practise a "non- compromising vigilance on society and power" and since 2005 he has embraced blogging and micro-blogging to enact such intent. We argue that his "communi- cation activism" is part of a broader artistic and political program that long pre- dates his online presence. The study examines how the artist has experimented with blogging and micro-blogging to spread his message of "awakening" in defi- ance of censorship and surveillance. It shows how Ai Weiwei's communication strategy combines an international celebrity status, criticism, irony and a round- the-clock interaction with his netizen audience and the media. It also critiques the effectiveness and coherence of this mode of activism from two perspectives - namely, Jean Baudrillard's analysis of "private telematics" and Jodi Dean's "blog theory" - and finally assesses its impact. The study aims to enhance our understanding of the web-based communication strategies of Chinese activists, shedding light on cultural production and consumption in Chinese cyberspace as a socio-political barometer.

This paper sets out to analyse the rise of women from the cultural margins as China’s new superstars, celebrities and women cultural entrepreneurs (wenhua qiyejia) in China’s new mediasphere. Mediasphere includes the cybersphere, literary and non-literary texts, emphasizing their interconnectedness. This study analyses changes in popular culture, gender roles and social dynamics in a globalising post-socialist China (1997-present). It examines how the new women superstars and cultural entrepreneurs—including Internet author Anni Baobei (b. 1974), actress Xu Jinglei (b. 1974) and video artist Cao Fei (b. 1978)—invent themselves as ‘consumption celebrities’ in Guy Debord’s (1992) sense of the word—whose personae epitomise the many facets of China’s new popular culture. Working within the current political system, they use the new digital and social media for marketing, self-fashioning, activism and communicating with their target audiences. China’s Internet population reached 854 million netizens in June 2019 with a 61% penetration rate (CNNIC 2019), providing Chinese citizens with new avenues to communicate through non-official channels. This study analyses first, how China’s new women stars fashion themselves as a new type of celebrity; and second, how their works create a media spectacle. This media spectacle exists on three levels: first, as the public spectacle of female self- fashioning, casting the new woman author and artist as a media celebrity; second, as a literary or artistic reflection on China’s economic reforms and globalisation; and third, as the epitome of the social rise of women as China’s new cultural entrepreneurs. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the cultural and social negotiations surrounding the rise of the women as superstars and cultural entrepreneurs in China’s mediasphere. This research will shed new light on China’s new urban culture and changing gender dynamics in the era of globalisation.

This paper analyses the theme of marginality and liminality in the artistic oeuvre of Yang Zhichao (b. 1963), who has been one of China’s most prominent experimental artists since the 1990s. Mainly through the media of Performance Art and art installations, Yang Zhichao’s works explore the issue of social and cultural marginality in modern society—from the condition of migrant workers, beggars and psychiatric patients, to the geographical frontiers of Chinese civilisation and the status of the avant-garde artist in reform era China (1978-present). Artworks discussed in this paper include Yang Zhichao’s performance Tanning (2000) and the installation Chinese Bible (2009), as well as his “Kong Bu and Dingzi” drawings (2002-2007)—the latter representing an example of how Yang has merged the language of Performance Art with the idea of drawing and calligraphy as time-based art. While existing literature on Yang Zhichao’s art has focussed on his most “shocking” performances such as Planting Grass (2000) and Iron (2000), this paper analyses two contemporaneous works of Performance Art entitled Within the Fourth Ring (1999) and Jiayu Pass (1999-2000). The first centred around the experience of homelessness and the second around life in a psychiatric hospital, both works stem from Yang Zhichao’s belief that without placing one’s own body in the circumstances of marginalised groups the artist can never move beyond observing them ‘as a bystander or a voyeur’ (authors’ interview with the artist, 2014). By analysing these particular artworks, this study highlights the uniquely “contemporary” (in Agamben’s sense) character of Yang Zhichao’s anti-spectacle approach to Performance Art.

This paper sets out to examine how the new digital media contribute to the rise of a new social phenomenon—women cultural entrepreneurs—while changing gender roles in a globalising China (1997-present). This study examines how China’s new women cultural entrepreneurs—including Internet author Anni Baobei (b. 1974), video artist Cao Fei (b. 1978) and documentary film-maker Chai Jing (b. 1976)— invent themselves as ‘consumption celebrities’ in Guy Debord’s (1992) sense of the word—whose personae epitomise the many facets of consumer culture. Working within the current political system of consultative Leninism, they use the new digital and social media for marketing, self-fashioning, activism and communicating with their target audiences. China’s Internet population reached 802 million netizens in 2018 with a 57.7% penetration rate (CNNIC 2018), providing Chinese citizens with new avenues to communicate through non-official channels. This study analyses first, how China’s new women cultural entrepreneurs fashion themselves as a new type of celebrity; and second, how their works create a media spectacle. This media spectacle exists on three levels: first, as the public spectacle of female self-fashioning, casting the new woman cultural entrepreneur as a media celebrity; second, as a literary or artistic reflection on China’s economic reforms and globalisation; and third, as the epitome of the social rise of China’s new cultural entrepreneurs. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the cultural and social negotiations surrounding the rise of the new women cultural entrepreneurs in China’s mediasphere.