Jessica Imbach - Böcker

Over the past decade, digital technologies have profoundly reshaped the Chinese cultural landscape. With a focus on the creative agency of new media and online communities, this volume examines this development through the notion of the Sinocybersphere - the networked spaces across the globe that not only operate on the Chinese script, but also imaginatively negotiate the meanings of Chinese culture in the digital age. Instead of asking what makes the internet or new media “Chinese,” the chapters situate contemporary entanglements of cultural and digital practices within specific historical, social, and discursive contexts. Covering topics as diverse as live-streaming, AI poetry, online literature, poetry memes, cyberpunk fiction, virtual art exhibitions, cooking videos, censorship, and viral translations, the collection as a whole not only engages with a wide range of Chinese new media phenomena, but also demonstrates their relevance to our understanding of contemporary digital culture.

Re-Thinking Literary China celebrates Andrea Riemenschnitter’s scholarly career and her influence on Chinese literary studies in Europe. Featuring contributions from colleagues, friends, and former students, the volume explores diverse topics, from the origins of "brainwashing," medieval rhetoric, late Qing vegetarian anarchists to the governance style of Empress Cixi, the fusion of Honglou meng with Harry Potter in internet literature to poetry in Chinese science fiction. Other chapters examine indigenous resistance to capitalist forces in Monsoon Asia, visual art by Cao Fei and Ai Weiwei, and the music of Taiwanese Hakka singer Lo Sirong. Additionally, the collection offers fresh perspectives on literary figures such as Jin Yong, Mo Yan, and Xi Xi, shedding light on their impact on Chinese and global literature. Through these and other themes, the book provides critical insights into the evolving intersections of history, politics, and literature in China and beyond, making ita valuable resource for scholars and readers interested in Asian literary culture.