History and Memory in the Marketplace: Cultural Representations of Mid-20th Century China

This book explores the different ways in which the Chinese Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution has been romanticized and commodified in recent years,including through eroticized,nostalgic,digitized,and commodified memories. It examines the meanings,values,and problems of these new mnemonic rewritings and the resistance to official suppression of critical articulations of the Cultural Revolution history. It also highlights the ways in which Chinese intellectuals use the market and commodification to establish channels of conversations and a discourse on China's recent history and the politics of memory.

Format: Hardback
Length: 126 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2021
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc

This book delves into the captivating realm of romanticized memories surrounding the Chinese Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a phenomenon that has emerged since the late 1980s. It offers a comprehensive examination of these memories, which differ significantly from previous representations that primarily focused on trauma. By drawing on a diverse range of literary, cinematic, and digital presentations, as well as examples from the cultural marketplace, the book explores the eroticized, nostalgic, digitized, and commodified aspects of these memories.

In the context of a persistently cautious political climate in China, where open expressions about the Cultural Revolutionary past have been discouraged, and against the backdrop of a global climate characterized by prevailing (capitalist) modernity and nostalgic sentiments, this book examines the meanings, values, and problems inherent in these new mnemonic rewritings of the Cultural Revolution experience. It also analyzes the intricate conflicts and connections between these memories and the global influences.

Through its study, this book uncovers a robust resistance to the official suppression of critical articulations of the Cultural Revolution history. It reveals how Chinese intellectuals have ingeniously employed the market and commodification trends to effect such resistance. By granting commodification its due credit for facilitating Chinese intellectuals in establishing channels of conversations and potentially fostering a discourse on China's recent history and the politics of memory, this book aims to provide valuable insights into the trajectory of history, particularly in the context of the ongoing debate among Chinese intellectuals regarding the nature of the capitalist economy in China.

Weight: 274g
Dimension: 225 x 150 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781433185281
Edition number: New ed