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CCP slogans for 2021

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Source: China Media Project (4/14/21)
CCP SLOGANS FOR 2021
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CCP Slogans for 2021

The site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Image available at Wikimedia Commons under CC license.

In a report yesterday, CMP noted the release by the Central Office of the CCP of a propaganda blueprint for the promotion of the 100th anniversary of the Party this year. The “Notice,” which was reported on the front page of the People’s Daily, defines the key propaganda themes that will likely dominate the Chinese media in 2021.

Along with the CCP notice, propaganda authorities released a list of 80 propaganda slogans to be used in this year’s campaign. Such a top-down national release of propaganda slogans was unprecedented in the reform era before 2019, when a list of 70 propaganda slogans was issued for the 70th anniversary of the PRC.

Below is our brief analysis of six key points gleaned from the list of 80 slogans. Continue reading →

Chinese Independent Cinema Observer inaugural issue

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The Chinese Independent Film Archive (CIFA) would like to alert you to the inaugural issue of its the new journal, the Chinese Independent Cinema Observer.

Chinese Independent Cinema Observer is a bi-lingual peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of Chinese independent films and film culture, particularly of mainland China. It publishes three times a year on the official website of Chinese Independent Film Archive (CIFA). The editorial team is made up of twelve film scholars and/or independent filmmakers across the world who are eager to push the boundaries as a team and to create a journal that is inclusive, retrospective, creative and interactive.

This inaugural issue, ‘Sino-Japanese Connections in Independent Film Cultures’, seeks to understand Chinese independent cinema, together with its historical trajectories, spaces, and transformations, by situating it within and alongside the cinematic-cultural interconnections between China and Japan of the recent three decades (1989-2020). This issue does not seek to provide a so-called ‘panoramic view’ or the ‘one and only’ historical narrative apropos Japanese-Chinese independent film connections. Rather, the contributors use this platform as an entry point to demonstrate how complicated the interconnections are, their politics, and how meaningful it would be to engage in these discussions in the future.

Luke Robinson

The People’s Map of Global China

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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are happy to announce a new initiative stemming from the Made in China Journal: The People’s Map of Global China.

Using an interactive, open access, and online ‘map’ format, we are collaborating with nongovernmental organisations, journalists, trade unions, academics, and the public at large to provide updated and updatable information on various dimensions of Global China in their localities.

The Map consists of profiles of countries and projects, sortable by project parameters, Chinese companies and banks involved, and their social, political, and environmental impacts.

This is a ‘people’s’ map in two ways. First, our content attempts to trace the global imprint of China focusing on the experiences of the people most affected by it. For this reason, you will discover that our profiles have a strong focus on issues related to labour rights, environment, land, Indigenous communities, etc. Second, our map relies on the input of a growing network of people who often hail from the places they are discussing, who have been conducting in-depth research on the various facets of Global China in their localities, and/or are working directly with communities impacted by these projects.

Beside the map homepage, you might also want to check out our project database, country database, list of contributors, and FAQ page. We are currently launching with profiles for 17 countries and 23 projects, but the map will be updated on a rolling basis. Even though we already have much more content in the pipeline, we welcome new pitches and submissions. To keep track of our updates, you can follow us on our dedicated Facebook and Twitter profiles. Continue reading →

Taiwan indigenous hunters try to uphold tradition

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Source: NYT (4/13/21)
Taiwan Hunters Contend With Taboos, and Trials, to Uphold Tradition
阅读简体中文版 | 閱讀繁體中文版
The island’s Indigenous hunting cultures are circumscribed by ancient rituals and modern legal restrictions. We join a hunt as Taiwan’s constitutional court considers a case on Indigenous rights.
By Amy Qin and Amy Chang Chien

Bayan Tanapima, a Bunun hunter, firing his homemade hunting gun in the woods of eastern Taiwan last month. Credit…Ashley Pon for The New York Times

ZHUOXI, Taiwan — The smell of damp earth filled the air on a recent moonless evening as the hunter wove through the dense mountain thicket, clutching a homemade rifle and with only the narrow white beam of a headlamp to illuminate his prey.

But the hunter, Vilian Istasipal, was confident. He knew this terrain well.

A member of the Bunun, one of 16 officially recognized Indigenous groups in Taiwan, Mr. Vilian, 70, has been hunting on this land for more than 60 years.

Some of his earliest memories growing up in Zhuoxi, a town of around 6,000 people in eastern Taiwan, involved going on dayslong hunts with his father deep into the mountains where he learned skills considered essential to being a Bunun man, like how to lay a trap, shoot a flying squirrel and skin a boar.

“We kill them, but we also pay respect to their lives,” Mr. Vilian said in the courtyard of his home in Zhuoxi, also known as Takkei in the Bunun language. Continue reading →

China’s bookstores are making a comeback

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Source: SupChina (4/8/21)
China’s brick-and-mortar bookstores are making a comeback
Chinese bookshops nearly died under the assault of ecommerce companies, but they are booming again as cultural centers and recreational spaces where books are just one part of the offering.
By Chang Che

Yanjiyou Bookstore in Chengdu. Image: ArchDaily.

On a Wednesday morning in the summer of 2011, the Beijing bookstore Wind in the Pines (风入松书局), a 16-year-old cultural sanctuary, closed its doors for the last time.

“This was once a cultural epicenter of the capital, a spiritual home for many,” mourned one internet user (in Chinese). “Though I knew its days were numbered, I still can’t help but cry on its last day.”

The closure of Beijing’s flagship bookstore was just the beginning of a long road to obsolescence for physical bookstores across the nation. In the early 2010s, China was still on the brink of its digital revolution, accounting for 1% of global online transactions. By 2017, China’s economy had utterly shifted gears: 40% of the world’s digital transactions occurred within its borders, and the prospect of maintaining any brick-and-mortar enterprise during that ecommerce craze seemed like a Sisyphean nightmare.

But now, physical bookstores are coming out of a long winter. Last week, China’s state media reported that bookshops during the pandemic had undergone something of a renaissance: 1,500 brick-and-mortar bookstores closed, but more than 4,000 new ones sprouted up. Continue reading →

Colgate position

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Visiting Assistant Professor in Chinese 2021-2022. Chinese Language, Literature, and Culture. Colgate University.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures invites applications for a one-year visiting assistant professor position in Chinese, beginning fall semester 2021. A Ph.D. is expected prior to or shortly after date of hire and native or near native command of both Chinese and English is required. The area of specialization is open. The successful candidate will be prepared to teach Chinese language courses at all levels, a China-related course in the humanities designed by the applicant, and may be expected to participate in all-university programs, including the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum. The teaching load is five courses for the year. Salary and benefits are competitive. A letter of application, CV, and three letters of reference must be submitted through https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/18346. Colgate strives to be a community supportive of diverse perspectives and identities. Candidates should describe in their cover letter how their approach to teaching demonstrates an ability to work effectively with students across a wide range of identities and backgrounds. Review of applications will begin April 21, 2021, and continue until the position is filled. Applicants with dual-career considerations can find postings of other employment opportunities at Colgate and at other institutions of higher education in upstate New York at https://upstate-ny.hercjobs.org/. It is the policy of Colgate University not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of their race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, being or having been victims of domestic violence or stalking, familial status, or any other categories covered by law. Colgate University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Candidates from historically underrepresented groups, women, persons with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

China allows people to pay respects to Jiang Qing

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Source: Radio Free Asia (4/7/21)
China Allows People to Pay Respects at Grave of Cultural Revolution Leader Jiang Qing
By Qiao Long

China Allows People to Pay Respects at Grave of Cultural Revolution Leader Jiang Qing

Picture dated 25 January 1981 in Beijing of Jiang Qing (1914-91), third wife of Mao Zedong during the trial of the “Gang of Four”, four Shanghai-based hard-core radical leaders of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). AFP

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has allowed public access to the grave of Jiang Qing, former member of the Gang of Four and widow of late supreme leader Mao Zedong, ahead of its centenary on July 1.

“This was sent to me by a friend in mainland China, and I am forwarding it here,” former CCP Party School professor Cai Xia, who now lives in the United States, said via her Twitter account on April 5, the traditional grave-tending festival where people make long journeys to honor the dead.

She said the move was in contrast with the state security police detail that guarded the grave of late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, who fell from power after opposing the use of military force against unarmed civilians in 1989.

“People aren’t allowed to pay their respects at Zhao Ziyang’s grave, and yet Jiang Qing’s grave is open to the public,” Cai wrote. “The CCP is afraid of whom the public might admire most.” Continue reading →

Sci-fi China: Avatars, Aliens, Anthropos

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Sci-fi China: Avatars, Aliens, Anthropos
科幻中國：异形，异次元，异托邦
April 22, 2021
8:00-10:00 p.m. EST

Description:

Please join us for a workshop on Chinese science fiction with writers Han Song, Egoyan Zheng, Regina Kanyu Wang, and Chen Qiufan. Five young scholars will present their latest research. The event is co-hosted by David Der-wei Wang and Mingwei Song.

The event is co-sponsored by Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University, CCK Foundation, and the East Asian Studies Program at Wellesley College.

Panelists:

Dingru Huang (Harvard University)
Jannis Chen (Harvard University)
Dihao Zhou (Yale University)
Michael O’Krent (Harvard University)
Emily Xueni Jin (Yale University)

Pre-registration Link: Here

Chinese Literature Today 9.2

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Dear colleagues,

We are running a free access period for Chinese Literature Today v9n2 (2020) from now to May 12, 2021. This issue features the fictional works of Lu Min 鲁敏, Xue Yiwei 薛忆沩, and Zhang Ning 张柠, a set of Covid-19 poems and the poems by Zheng Min 郑敏, as well as the artwork of Wang Mansheng 王満晟.

Those contents can be read and downloaded from the Taylor & Francis website at: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/uclt20/9/2?nav=tocList

Best,
Ping Zhu
Acting Editor-in-Chief, Chinese Literature Today

Shows blur western brands over Xinjiang cotton dispute

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Source: NYT (4/9/21)
Chinese Shows Blur Western Brands Over Xinjiang Cotton Dispute
Online platforms that stream dance, singing and comedy shows are pixelating performers’ T-shirts and sneakers amid a nationalistic fervor.
By Tiffany May

The sneakers of a contestant on the stand-up comedy series “Roast” were blurred. Credit…Tencent Video

HONG KONG — Viewers of some of China’s most popular online variety shows were recently greeted by a curious sight: a blur of pixels obscuring the brands on sneakers and T-shirts worn by contestants.

As far as viewers could tell, the censored apparel showed no hints of obscenity or indecency. Instead, the problem lay with the foreign brands that made them.

Since late March, streaming platforms in China have diligently censored the logos and symbols of brands like Adidas that adorn contestants performing dance, singing and standup-comedy routines. The phenomenon followed a feud between the government and big-name international companies that said they would avoid using cotton produced in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where the authorities are accused of mounting a wide-reaching campaign of repression against ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs. Continue reading →

China and Global History — cfp

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Call for Contributions
“China and Global History” International Online Workshop
1-3. September 2021

Main organizer: Sebestyén Hompot (Ph.D. Candidate of Sinology at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna, Austria)

Co-organizers: Tanja Kotik (Ph.D. Candidate of Contemporary History, University of Graz, Austria), Sabine Hinrichs (Ph.D. Candidate of Sinology at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna, Austria)

Since the late 20th century, the concept of “Global History” has gained increasing popularity in Western academia. Global History generally denotes a perspective of history which includes various levels of analysis beyond the nation-state-focused mainstream of modern-era historiography. In recent decades, translations of the term and discussions of its relevance have increasingly entered the academic discourse in China as well.

The aim of the present workshop is to support academic networking, exchange, and discussion among young researchers interested in China-related global history and historiography. Participants will be invited to present their research and act as commentators, as well as session chairs. Continue reading →

“Sister” tackles male gender preference

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Source: Sixth Tone (4/8/21)
Hit Film Tackles Male Gender Preference in Chinese Families
“Sister” has emerged as an unexpected holiday hit, surpassing Hollywood heavyweight “Godzilla vs. Kong.”
By Chen Qi’an

A still frame from the Chinese blockbuster film “Sister.” From Douban

A still frame from the Chinese blockbuster film “Sister.” From Douban

A new Chinese movie is casting a spotlight on a long-debated question: Should personal values be prioritized over traditional family values?

The family drama “Sister” [我的姐姐] which topped the domestic box office during the recent Qingming Festival holiday, tells the story of An Ran, a young woman who is suddenly faced with having to take care of her 6-year-old brother after their parents die in an accident. The movie follows An’s trajectory as she struggles to balance her own life choices while becoming her brother’s caretaker.

The movie, starring popular actor Zhang Zifeng as the titular character, has so far raked in over 500 million yuan ($76 million), outperforming Hollywood hit “Godzilla vs. Kong,” according to ticketing platform Maoyan. On review site Douban, “Sister” has scored 7.2 out of 10. Continue reading →

Cui Zi’en workshop

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May be an image of Zien Cui, sitting and indoorZoom Workshop on: “Queering What Is Left of Queer: The Work of Cui Zi’en.”
April 14, 8:00–9:30 PM EDT
Featuring: Lisa Rofel, UC Santa Cruz; Petrus Liu, Boston University; and Cui Zi’en, film director, producer, film scholar, screenwriter, novelist, and LGBT activist
Sponsored by the CCK Foundation Inter-University Center for Sinological Studies
Registration required:
https://duke.zoom.us/…/tJYofuuvpjooEtSmEMjFordSbpKC9uep…

Hi, Mom top-grossing film for female director

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Source: China Daily (4/8/21)
Hi, Mom now world’s top-grossing film ever from solo female director
By Xinhua

Jia Ling [Photo/Mtime]

China’s tear-jerker film Hi, Mom has overtaken American fantasy Wonder Woman to become the world’s top-grossing film ever from a solo female director.

The maiden directorial project of comedian and actress Jia Ling saw its cumulative box office reach 5.396 billion yuan ($822.87 million) as of early Tuesday afternoon and surpass that of the 2017 superhero film from Patty Jenkins, according to the China Movie Data Information Network.

Hi, Mom is currently the top earner of this year in China, as well as globally. It is the second highest-grossing film ever at China’s box office, outshone only by the 2017 Chinese action-adventure film Wolf Warrior 2 that raked in a total of 5.69 billion yuan. Continue reading →

Living the Socialist Modern

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Dear Students, dear Colleagues, dear Friends!

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. What did it mean to “live with the Specter”, to experience what one might call the making of the “Socialist Modern” that found a first point of culmination with the foundation of the CCP in 1921?

You are cordially invited to the digital lecture series Living the Socialist Modern: The Chinese Communist Party at 100—Global and Interdisciplinary Perspectives organized by the Center for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS) in Heidelberg, in cooperation with the ERC-funded research project READCHINA: The Politics of Reading in the People’s Republic of China in Freiburg and the European Institute for Chinese Studies (EURICS) in Paris. Continue reading →