八八吧 · 88 Bar – Page 2 – A group blog about Chinese tech, media and design

The Great China R&D Squeeze of 2021 & the US Obsession with China’s Collapse

January 28, 2022 by Jason Li

Lots of gems in this year’s edition of Dan Wang’s annual letter. It is really worth the long read, but today we’re going to hone in on two sections of his analysis on where China is today. First, on the 2021 squeeze on tech companies:

Beijing’s attitude marks a difference with capitalism as it’s practiced in the US. Over…

Continue readingThe Great China R&D Squeeze of 2021 & the US Obsession with China’s Collapse

Chinese Comics Review

David: a comic exploration of a hybrid identity

January 18, 2022 by Jason Li

Book cover with a pencil drawing of a man with a bird's head wearing a suit sitting on a park bench

David is a graphic novel that explores what it means to be different, a misfit caught between two worlds, and it does so through its half bird half man protagonist. The story opens with David as he goes about mundane human activities. These bird-man gags are mirthful and witty. It helps…

Continue readingDavid: a comic exploration of a hybrid identity

Book Review · Starting Up in Shenzhen

Looking at China and Seeing Ourselves: Two Ethnographies of Tech in China

September 13, 2021 by Jason Li

Two book covers. The first is for Blockchain Chicken Farm which features an agragrian landscape. The second is for Protoype Nation and features a ballerina in the middle of a factory.

Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside
By Xiaowei Wang
FSG Originals, 256 pp.

Prototype Nation: China and the Contested Promise of Innovation
By Silvia M. Lindtner
Princeton University Press, 288 pp.

It’s really hard to get an on-the-ground view of…

Continue readingLooking at China and Seeing Ourselves: Two Ethnographies of Tech in China

The missing context that plagues tech reporting about China

July 5, 2021 by An Xiao Mina

An Xiao Mina writes in the Columbia Journalism Review:

One problem I see is that many journalists reporting on Chinese technology have limited experience reporting within and about China. They might not fully understand the economic and media aims of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese language, or the underlying logic of global capitalism. China has a population of…

Continue readingThe missing context that plagues tech reporting about China

Chinese Comics Review

This quintessential Chinese millennial is a seal, and she is adorable

May 25, 2021 by Jason Li

A cute, rotund, cartoon seal clutches things on these two book coveres

Upon first glance, Seal (海豹) looks like just another cute character dreamed up by the internet, lolling about on her futon, joyfully procrastinating with her friends. Seal embodies these positive qualities in her print debut, No Big Deal If You Like Me (喜欢我也没关系), and in the cult favorite Tumblr. But if you dig deeper into the larger…

Continue readingThis quintessential Chinese millennial is a seal, and she is adorable

China Meme Report

Chaoyang Trap: a newsletter about the latest internet memes, media and subcultures in China today

April 28, 2021 by The Editor

Editor’s note: Below are some excerpts from the second issue of Chaoyang Trap about trending memes and subcultures on China’s internet. For more consider subscribing to their newsletter.

Nisu (泥塑) is an online subculture of female fans fantasizing about male celebrities being female, often in the role of a lover, a sister, a…

Continue readingChaoyang Trap: a newsletter about the latest internet memes, media and subcultures in China today

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…

Continue readingManifestations of Blackness in China Pop Culture

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…

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

Ethnography of Tech

Debunking myths about China state control & surveillance in the age of COVID-19

April 7, 2020 by Tricia Wang

Editor’s note: Starting in January, Tricia re-connected with her former colleagues and contacts in Wuhan (where she did extensive fieldwork in the past) to find out more about the COVID-19 pandemic and the truth behind some popular myths that have been floating around on the Western mainstream media. Here, we document her debunking two such myths (with the help of Shayla…

Continue readingDebunking myths about China state control & surveillance in the age of COVID-19

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).

…

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