Chinese society and culture

Policy brief

published: 11.12.2024

Not All Happy: Voices of Social Critique in Contemporary Chinese Culture

Marcin Jacoby

Anna Gryszkiewicz

Piotr Machajek

František Reismüller

This policy brief provides topic mapping of works of social interest by Chinese writers and artists in the period 2012-2024, with a focus on most recent productions and publications.

Three main topic clusters are identified. The document also includes a discussion on how writers and artists work with the censorship system and what ways they find to voice social critique. The Policy Brief is accompanied by Research Notes entitled "Mapping the Social Discourse in Chinese Art and Literature of the Xi Jinping Era" which include names and titles of all works relative the discussion, also in Chinese characters and the pinyin transcription.

Download research notes ↓

About authors

Marcin Jacoby

Associate Professor at SWPS University, Head of the Asian Civilisation Research Center

Sinologist, translator, cultural manager

Anna Gryszkiewicz

Researcher at SWPS University

Theatrologist, sinologist, specialising in cross-disciplinary studies in performing arts and high technology

Piotr Machajek

PhD candidate at SWPS University

Sinologist, translator, and literature scholar, specializing in contemporary Chinese literature

František Reismüller

Researcher at SWPS University

Sinologist, translator, specializing in modern Chinese and Taiwanese culture