Manifestations of Blackness in China Pop Culture

February 11, 2021 by Jason Li

This wonderful three-part talk hosted by Poster House features:

Dr. Keisha A. Brown on the erasure of Blackness in recent advertising. For example, when an ad that John Boyega conceived and starred in for British brand Jo Malone was recreated, without permission, by the brand in China where Blackness was overwritten by Han Chinese…

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What Lies Behind The Great Firewall: A Vast Great Shopping Mall Internet Complete With Mall Cops Moderators

February 1, 2021 by An Xiao Mina

An Xiao Mina and Xiaowei Wang write in the Knight First Amendment Institute blog:

In the West, we’ve become accustomed to reports of censorship in China as the result of a menacing authoritarian regime that threatens the core tenets of free expression. While a convenient construction, this centers authoritarianism as the guiding force for China’s social media platforms, missing…

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Finding Solace & Entertainment Under Quarantine: China’s Netizens Pave the Way

March 12, 2020 by Jason Li

There’s been a raft of great coverage recently about how people in China are adapting to life under quarantine, especially the ways that they’re leveraging technology to entertain themselves at this stressful situation. Below is a recap of some of what we’ve seen (with a hearty shout-out to those who first reported on it).

Livestreamed “bedroom” concerts

A Bilibili livestream concert poster by Merrie Records featuring a set list behind a small TV surrounded by snacks (and a cat) — Merrie…

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As The Coronavirus Rages On, Cartoonists Lash Out With Irony, Quiet And Candor

February 10, 2020 by Jason Li

A muscular half person, half snake has wrapped a bunch of doctors and journalists in its arms and is gesturing for them to be silent. — Created by 撒旦君 Sadan via Weibo.

Despite dramatic measures taken to stem the tide, the coronavirus is still spreading across China and the rest of the world. Confined to their homes, independent cartoonists in China continue expressing their views around the epidemic through their works. Some creators have reached a state of detached irony, while others are…

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21 Chinese Cartoonists Unite in a Dragonball Fanfic to Fight the Coronavirus

January 31, 2020 by Jason Li

A fight sequence between the heroes and villains of Dragonball. Goku starts casting a spirit bomb.

The villain is defeated by the spirit bomb that collects the energy of the people of the earth.

Setting the scene for our current disaster: the coronavirus in Wuhan.

A Hubei hero is trying to cast a spirit bomb but requires more energy. An SOS text message is sent to the rest of the world requesting their help.

People around the world raise their hands to give energy to the spirit bomb, part one.

People around the world raise their hands to give energy to the spirit bomb, part two.

People around the world raise their hands to give energy to the spirit bomb, part three.

People around the world raise their hands to give energy to the spirit bomb, part four.

People around the world raise their hands to give energy to the spirit bomb, part five.

The spirit bomb is cast and destroys the coronavirus demon. — *Created by @涂案Tuan featuring cameos by @西朴SYPO @DADA插画 @哈哈小子KingBoy @s七月q @就是仙人张啊 @TOO谈GoodGu @逆行阿星 @bobobottle瓶子 @中鸟lc …*

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Chinese Cartoonists Grieve, Pray & Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

January 24, 2020 by Jason Li

An anxious seal and octopus in a crowded room with their suitcase. Everyone has surgical masks on. — Illustration by Wang XX from Weibo.

As Wuhan and other nearby cities in China remain in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, the normally festive Lunar New Year season is now beset with anxiety and grief. People across the country have taken to social media to share messages of concern, to share tips on…

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Photo essay: China Residencies’ 2019 cross-country tour of arts spaces

July 10, 2019 by Jason Li

Montage of our photos of people and art in China

Ahead of its sixth Crystal Ruth Bell Residency program (apply now – it’s fully funded!), the team at China Residencies took a cross-country tour around China to visit art and culture spaces new and old. Below we’re featuring photo highlights from this strip, which have been culled (with permission) from their lovely Instagram account.…

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Stop Calling It A Cold War

February 18, 2019 by Graham Webster

From Technology Review’s The US and China aren’t in a “cold war,” so stop calling it that, by Graham Webster:

Unlike the US and USSR, in which science and technology developed on largely independent tracks, the US and China are part of a globally intertwined ecosystem. As an example, ZTE, the Chinese maker of network equipment and smartphones, was…

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An Anthology of Naked Underground Chinese Comics

February 13, 2019 by Jason Li

I started working with Orion at Paradise Systems a few months ago, and ICYMI we launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish an anthology of semi-illicit, nudity-flaunting comics from China:

Naked Body is a 100-page, full color anthology edited by Yan Cong. It began life a few years ago when Yan Cong was told by…

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The Internet’s Warring States Period

January 29, 2019 by An Xiao Mina

From Foreign Policy’s The War-Torn Web, by Sean McDonald and An Xiao Mina:

Contention on how the internet should be run isn’t new. Some have identified this as a world of parallel internets, or rifts in the vision of how the internet should operate. But the gulfs in governance and action opening up and the active efforts to influence…

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