Chinese society and culture

Database

published: 29.04.2024

Voices of China’s Society and Culture Database

Introduction to the China’s Society and Culture Database

Mainstream discourse on China denies the complexity of China’s society and culture, especially the emergence of new expectations and new ways of looking at life which give rise to different opinions and a diverse cultural production. This database focuses on a variety of forms of expression in Chinese society despite censorship and sometimes repression. We investigate four channels of expression on “opinion”. First, the field of social conflict covers a broad spectrum. Since the end of the 1990s, employees of state-owned enterprises, migrant workers, or homeowners have not hesitated to defend their interests. The second channel concerns the social networks. These have become a real place for the exchange of information and views, as well as an indispensable source of information for the Chinese government on the state of the country. Third, we have to take into account of the new currents of opinion that are emerging in China and challenging the values and norms that rule Chinese society. Fourth, we conducted interviews with Chinese migrants and Chinese students living in France. In addition to "opinions", we investigate other forms of expression through cultural and literary productions.

Description of data

A set of data collected by the SWPS University team deals with materials on cultural and literary productions, including online artist information, ample information on Chinese theatre, statistical data on the cultural sector in China, among others. Data collected by the Sciences po team are divided in three. First, we collected and analyzed hot topics in Chinese social media since the beginning of the project. We observed netizen comments and tracked the evolution of discussions over time. The two other sets presents interviews with both Chinese migrants and students.

The data collected by the UAM DWARC team consists mainly of interviews with Chinese students and migrants, on a number of debates that are mobilising Chinese society on the one hand, and about European societies and the European Union on the other. Their dataset is available separately, on the UAM data repository.

Access to some database

Access to some data is open. In other cases (relevant for the UAM data) it is restricted so the data can only be accessed by researchers affiliated at European research institutions.