Børge Bakken
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888208661
- eISBN:
- 9789888455119
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208661.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Børge Bakken explains that the Party ideology of the “Chinese Dream” is not the alleged dream of the people as presented by the propaganda, but rather the dream of the emperor. The “Dream” is instead ...
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Børge Bakken explains that the Party ideology of the “Chinese Dream” is not the alleged dream of the people as presented by the propaganda, but rather the dream of the emperor. The “Dream” is instead building on a strategy of “betting on the strong”. Inequality in China as measured by the Gini coefficient of relative income differences has reached world top levels, making China one of the most unequal societies in the world today. It is virtually impossible for poor migrants to achieve any kind of prosperity under circumstances disfavouring them. In coping with this problem, the poor and the destitute employ illegal strategies and employ certain “weapons of the weak” in order to cope with the strain created by the unequal framework they are operating within.Less
Børge Bakken explains that the Party ideology of the “Chinese Dream” is not the alleged dream of the people as presented by the propaganda, but rather the dream of the emperor. The “Dream” is instead building on a strategy of “betting on the strong”. Inequality in China as measured by the Gini coefficient of relative income differences has reached world top levels, making China one of the most unequal societies in the world today. It is virtually impossible for poor migrants to achieve any kind of prosperity under circumstances disfavouring them. In coping with this problem, the poor and the destitute employ illegal strategies and employ certain “weapons of the weak” in order to cope with the strain created by the unequal framework they are operating within.
Gerda Wielander
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9789888455720
- eISBN:
- 9789888455515
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888455720.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter provides an overview of the most important works in happiness studies today as well as an analysis of the available happiness data on China since 1990, charting the main development and ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the most important works in happiness studies today as well as an analysis of the available happiness data on China since 1990, charting the main development and their underlying social and economic causes. It links the rise of reported happiness since 2005 in China to the government’s stepped up ideological efforts, notably through the Chinese Dream campaign and its associated happiness education campaign. This chapter also provides an analysis of the main themes emerging in the book, which include propaganda and political discourse, suzhi, and the appearance of Ah Q as important cultural archetype. Finally, the Introduction also provides a short summary of each chapter, and in its conclusion argues that despite the multiplicity of influences which shape the various discourses, we can find broadly shared agreement about values and aspirations in relation to happiness across a wide spectrum of society.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the most important works in happiness studies today as well as an analysis of the available happiness data on China since 1990, charting the main development and their underlying social and economic causes. It links the rise of reported happiness since 2005 in China to the government’s stepped up ideological efforts, notably through the Chinese Dream campaign and its associated happiness education campaign. This chapter also provides an analysis of the main themes emerging in the book, which include propaganda and political discourse, suzhi, and the appearance of Ah Q as important cultural archetype. Finally, the Introduction also provides a short summary of each chapter, and in its conclusion argues that despite the multiplicity of influences which shape the various discourses, we can find broadly shared agreement about values and aspirations in relation to happiness across a wide spectrum of society.
Gerda Wielander and Derek Hird (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9789888455720
- eISBN:
- 9789888455515
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888455720.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
Contemporary Chinese voices approach the topic of happiness from many diverse positions and perspectives. Happiness, often represented by the Chinese character fu 福, is part of the visual propaganda ...
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Contemporary Chinese voices approach the topic of happiness from many diverse positions and perspectives. Happiness, often represented by the Chinese character fu 福, is part of the visual propaganda campaign of the Chinese Dream, and raising levels of happiness has become an official government target. Much is written and said about happiness by the Chinese government, but also by authors of self-help books, by journalists, TV chat show hosts, pop psychologists and China’s netizens. This book is the first attempt at analyzing these various writings and related images to see what concepts and agendas inform this proliferation of happiness discourse. Through comprehensive analysis of text and images in multimedia formats, the essays in this volume reflect the diversity and pervasiveness of Chinese happiness discourse enacted by different social groups and actors. The aim of this volume is to analyse out what different social actors, different philosophical, psychological, cultural, political ideas bring to the subject of happiness in contemporary China. The authors bring a number of theoretical perspectives and conceptual approaches to this endeavour, resulting in a multidisciplinary and multi-methodological volume. The different chapters illuminate how the recent discourse of happiness encompasses both motifs of individual self-interest and collective socialist ethics. The volume shows that happiness has emerged as a culturally and historically specific and relevant topic for China’s population that resonates across class divisions. As such, the book make a significant contribution from the perspective of the Humanities to the understanding of individual and collective happiness in China today.Less
Contemporary Chinese voices approach the topic of happiness from many diverse positions and perspectives. Happiness, often represented by the Chinese character fu 福, is part of the visual propaganda campaign of the Chinese Dream, and raising levels of happiness has become an official government target. Much is written and said about happiness by the Chinese government, but also by authors of self-help books, by journalists, TV chat show hosts, pop psychologists and China’s netizens. This book is the first attempt at analyzing these various writings and related images to see what concepts and agendas inform this proliferation of happiness discourse. Through comprehensive analysis of text and images in multimedia formats, the essays in this volume reflect the diversity and pervasiveness of Chinese happiness discourse enacted by different social groups and actors. The aim of this volume is to analyse out what different social actors, different philosophical, psychological, cultural, political ideas bring to the subject of happiness in contemporary China. The authors bring a number of theoretical perspectives and conceptual approaches to this endeavour, resulting in a multidisciplinary and multi-methodological volume. The different chapters illuminate how the recent discourse of happiness encompasses both motifs of individual self-interest and collective socialist ethics. The volume shows that happiness has emerged as a culturally and historically specific and relevant topic for China’s population that resonates across class divisions. As such, the book make a significant contribution from the perspective of the Humanities to the understanding of individual and collective happiness in China today.
Tsering Woeser and Wang Lixiong
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9789888208111
- eISBN:
- 9789888268191
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208111.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
The political destiny of the Chinese and the Tibetans are intertwined. Yet, the increasing politicization in the Tibet Autonomous Region threatens to worse the conflict between them. The 2008 Beijing ...
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The political destiny of the Chinese and the Tibetans are intertwined. Yet, the increasing politicization in the Tibet Autonomous Region threatens to worse the conflict between them. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are vehicles of such politicization. The Tibetans’ political future lies less with the Dalai Lama but more with the initiative to abandon wishful thinking and take up organizing. Self-immolation is futile sacrifice. If the Tibet question is not resolved during the Dalai Lam’s lifetime, the next riots will be much worse than those in March 2008.Less
The political destiny of the Chinese and the Tibetans are intertwined. Yet, the increasing politicization in the Tibet Autonomous Region threatens to worse the conflict between them. The 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway are vehicles of such politicization. The Tibetans’ political future lies less with the Dalai Lama but more with the initiative to abandon wishful thinking and take up organizing. Self-immolation is futile sacrifice. If the Tibet question is not resolved during the Dalai Lam’s lifetime, the next riots will be much worse than those in March 2008.
