A New Thoughtfulness in Contemporary China

Globalization euphoria and enthusiasm for the West are on the decline in contemporary China. Critical voices make themselves heard in artistic and cultural circles, turning towards their personal everyday lives to take stock. Their questions revolve around concrete experiences in the radical upheaval of lifeworlds, the continued significance of traditions after many of them have been thoroughly uprooted, and the paradoxes produced by the predominance of neoliberalism. The 17 positions assembled in this volume provide a vivid illustration of such a new thoughtfulness in a wide variety of aspects ranging from aesthetics and art to theatre and photography.

“The volume is an important corrective to the visibility of Western art criticism of Chinese contemporary art and aesthetics by making Chinese language materials available to a wider audience and is in line with the drive towards greater indigenous representation in the arts.” —Tina Pang, curator, University of Hong Kong Museum and Art Gallery