Games and Play in Chinese and Sinophone Cultures

Games have been studied in game studies, but little has been published on the history of games and gaming in China. This volume examines representations of gender, class, materiality, and imaginations of the nation in Chinese and Sinophone contexts, addressing ways in which games inhabit, represent, disrupt, or transform cultural and social practices. It explores analog and computer games, rock carvings of board games, weiqi cultures, scholars and courtesans games, gambling, games based on literature, video-game politics, and appropriation of Chinese culture in video games.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 302 pages
Publication date: 31 July 2024
Publisher: University of Washington Press

Games have been a part of human culture for thousands of years, with ancient gameboards and board games like Weiqi (Go) originating in China. Over time, China has developed a rich variety of card, dice, board, sport, and performance games, and is now a major player in the contemporary digital game industry. This volume explores the history of games and gaming in China, examining representations of gender, class, materiality, and imaginations of the nation in Chinese and Sinophone contexts. It also addresses ways in which games inhabit, represent, disrupt, or transform cultural and social practices, drawing connections between the traditional and the modern and between local or regional and higher-order economic, cultural, and political structures. The book includes analyses of rock carvings of board games, weiqi cultures, scholars and courtesans games, gambling, games based on literature, video-game politics, and appropriation of Chinese culture in video games. The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 228 x 153 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295752402