Chinese society in cultural productions of the Xi Jinping era: key issues and recurring themes

Due to three years of COVID-19 restrictions and the strengthening of Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule, our grip on the latest developments in Chinese culture here in Europe has loosened. The deepening of the ideological divide between the „collective West” and the PRC has made it even more challenging to understand the changes in Chinese society over the last few years. The further we drift apart, the less we know about each other. However, cultural productions can function as a tool helping to bridge this widening gap in mutual knowledge. In this podcast, we present the initial results of ongoing research on Chinese cultural productions, which is a part of the China Horizons project. We look at the latest films, literary works, theatre productions and works of visual artists from China and discuss what they can tell us about Chinese society. What are the key topics tackled by artists working in the PRC? What are the recurring themes and themes specific to certain genres? What are the conditions of work in the cultural field in Xi Jinping’s China? These questions, and many more, will be covered in conversation between the four researchers working on this project. The project “China Horizons – Dealing With a Resurgent China” (DWARC) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700.The Culture Zone of SWPS University is a project in which, together with the invited guests, we discuss various elements of the culture that surrounds us, as well as introduce the realities, phenomena and customs present in other countries. More information about the project: www.kultura.swps.pl