In the Red

by Barme, Geremie R.

• ISBN13: 9780231106153
• ISBN10: 0231106157
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

China, Geremie R. Barmé notes, has become one of the greatest writing and publishing nations on the planet, and both cultural activists and the state are embroiled in debates about the production and distribution of its cultural products. But what happens when global culture and Chinese capitalist-socialism meet in the marketplace? In the Redinvestigates what goes on behind the rhetoric of the official Chinese government and the dissident community and provides a unique perspective on mainstream Western perceptions of cultural developments, artistic freedom, and popular lifestyles in China today.Illustrated with fascinating cartoons and photographs and rich with facts, anecdotes, and events, In the Redexposes the complex relationship between "official" culture (produced, supported, or sanctioned by the government) and "nonofficial" or countercultures (especially among urban youths and dissidents). Two key and contrasting events loom large in this narrative: the 1989 protests that ended with the June 4 massacre and a nationwide purge, and Deng Xiaoping's 1992 "tour of the south," in which he emphasized the need for radical economic reform. Although a level of political tolerance has evolved since the 1970s, Barmé sheds light on the significance of the intermittent denunciations of artists, ideas, and works.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Culture in the Red	ix
Acknowledgments	xxi
The Chinese Velvet Prison	1	(19)
An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove	20	(18)
Traveling Heavy	38	(24)
The Apotheosis of the Liumang	62	(37)
The Graying of Chinese Culture	99	(46)
Consuming T-shirts in Beijing	145	(34)
Packaged Dissent	179	(22)
Artful Marketing	201	(34)
CCP™ & Adcult PRC	235	(20)
To Screw Foreigners Is Patriotic	255	(26)
Kowtowing to the Vulgar	281	(35)
Totalitarian Nostalgia	316	(29)
Postscript Springtime in Beijing	345	(20)
Appendix Screw You, Too	365	(14)
Notes	379	(96)
Glossary	475	(10)
Index	485