Utopia and Utopianism in the Contemporary Chinese Context: Texts, Ideas, Spaces decisively demonstrates the extent to which utopianism has shaped political thought, cultural imaginaries, and social engagement after it was introduced into the Chinese context in the nineteenth century. In fact, pursui
Utopia and Utopianism in the Contemporary Chinese Context: Texts, Ideas, Spaces
β Scribed by David Der-wei Wang
- Publisher
- Hong Kong University Press
- Year
- 2020
- Tongue
- English
- Leaves
- 245
- Edition
- 1
- Category
- Library
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
β¦ Synopsis
Utopia and Utopianism in the Contemporary Chinese Context: Texts, Ideas, Spaces decisively demonstrates the extent to which utopianism has shaped political thought, cultural imaginaries, and social engagement after it was introduced into the Chinese context in the nineteenth century. In fact, pursuit of utopia has often led to actionβsuch as the Chinese Revolution and the Umbrella Movementβand contested consequences. Covering a time span that goes from the late Qing to our days, the authors show that few ideas have been as influencing as utopia, which has compellingly shaped the imaginaries that underpin Chinaβs historical change. Utopianism contributed to the formation of the Chinese state itselfβshaping the thought of key figures of the late Qing and early Republican eras such as Kang Youwei and Sun Yat-senβand outlived the labyrinthine debates of the second halve of the twentieth century, both under Maoβs rule and during the post-socialist era. Even in the current times of dystopian narratives, a period in which utopia seems to be less influential than in the past, its manifestations persistently provide lifelines against fatalism or cynicism. This collection shows how profoundly utopian ideas have nurtured both the thought of crucial figures during these historical times, the new generation of mainland Chinese and Sinophone intellectuals, and the hopes of twenty-first-century Hong Kong activists.
β¦ Table of Contents
Contents
Preface
Prologue
Part I: Discourses
1. Imagining βAll under Heavenβ
2. Liberalism and Utopianism in the New Culture Movement
3. The Panglossian Dream and Dark Consciousness
Part II: Provocations
4. Nihilism beneath Revolutionary Utopianism
5. The World in Common
6. Anticipatory Utopia and Redemptive Utopia in Postrevolutionary China
Part III: Fictional Interventions
7. Utopianism Is a Humanism
8. The Spirit of Zhuangzi and the Chinese Utopian Imagination
9. Traveling through Time and Searching for Utopia
Part IV: Hong Kong Horizons
10. From Silent China to Sonorous Hong Kong
11. Before and after The Midnight After
12. Legalistic and Utopian
Coda
Contributors
Index
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