WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch On the(re)emergence of cultural revolution imagery in China, Hong Kong and Singapore in the 21st century. Natalie Siu-Lam Wong School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2010. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] ON THE (RE)EMERGENCE OF CULTURAL REVOLUTION IMAGERY IN CHINA, HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY NATALIE SIU-LAM WONG A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2010 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Westminster is solely my own work ABSTRACT This thesis interrogates the (re)emergence of Cultural Revolution imagery in the 21 st century as a cultural lens through which contemporary contradictory relations between China, Hong Kong and Singapore are revealed. Between the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, a number of images originating from political posters produced during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the People's Republic of China (PRC) were circulating in urban city cultures of Hong Kong and Singapore, and in cyberspace in China. Removed from their original context those images were reproduced as new cultural products and sites in new urban environments. The research methods are predominantly shaped by the nature of the research which could broadly be described as ‘visual culture’ and the transformations of a set of images across time, as an extremely recent phenomenon. Drawing on key concepts in cultural studies, such as signifying practices, representation, articulation and identity, I use Cultural Revolution popular cultural products as ‘media texts’ to understand societies and contemporary urban popular cultures in China, Hong Kong and Singapore. As my research reveals, Cultural Revolution imagery can be flexibly transferred to different physical and virtual forms and its meaning varies according to cultural contexts, local practices which are shaped by historical backgrounds of respective locations. It is the transferability of Cultural Revolution imagery which continues to play a role in mass communication in contemporary urban popular culture. The first chapter sets the scene for the (re)emergence of Cultural Revolution imagery in the 21 st century in China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Chapter Two provides a detailed account of methodologies and examines academic literature. Chapter Three discusses the commodification of Chinese Revolutionary imagery in mobile multimedia pictures in Chinese urban culture. Chapter Four examines the ways in which Chinese Revolutionary imagery was borrowed by Hong Kong designers in the post-1997 Hong Kong context through some examples of commercial commodities using Cultural Revolution imagery as branding elements. Chapter Five discusses how Chinese Revolutionary imagery - 3 - was used in commercial spaces (i.e. theme restaurant) in Singapore at the turn of the 21 st century. - 4 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my supervisor Katie Hill for her guidance, patience and support. I consider myself very fortunate for being able to work with a very encouraging and considerate supervisor like her. I am very thankful to Harriet Evans for her valuable advice and encouragement. I am also very grateful to the Universities' China Committee in London for partially funding my fieldwork in China and Hong Kong. I am indebted to my parents, Wong Ming-Kam and Kwok Lin-Ying, who offer their love and encouragement all the while. They funded the writing of this thesis, enabling me to complete my PhD course. I am also very thankful to my brother, Wong Siu-Pang, who is always supportive and considerate. I am extremely grateful to Sunny Siu for his care and tolerance. Without his love and support, I would have given up on the completion of this thesis. I am also incredibly grateful to Derek Hird and Jonathan Wong for introducing me to Ed Poole and Douglas Young. I would also like to thank Alison Mo, who gave interesting discussions on Singapore and Malaysian cultures, and Paul Tang, who spent hours to talk about his business and experience. I feel an immense gratitude to Nicole Lai, Michael Ingham and other friends for their discussions, help, friendships and advice, without which I could not be able to accomplish this long and tough journey. Last but not least, I am incredibly thankful to Oliver Schwickerath for his I.T. support and advice which was tremendously helpful. - 5 - CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................ 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 10 TERMS OF ANALYSIS : CONCEPTS AND THEMES ................................................................................ 18 Deconstruction: différance & ‘under erasure’ ..................................................................... 18 Articulation ........................................................................................................................... 26 Identity and Globalization .................................................................................................... 29 THE CHAPTERS ................................................................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY AND LITERATURE REVIEW AN INTERDISCIPLINARY METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 32 CLASSIFYING SOURCES .................................................................................................................... 33 RESEARCH STRUCTURE , METHODS & TECHNIQUES .......................................................................... 35 Museums and exhibition visits .............................................................................................. 39 Online research..................................................................................................................... 43 My personal journey ............................................................................................................. 47 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 50 A visual culture perspective .................................................................................................. 50 Chinese modernization and postmodernism ......................................................................... 54 Postcolonial hybridity and cultural identity.......................................................................... 56 Communist images in capitalist cultures .............................................................................. 62 The transferability of Cultural Revolution imagery.............................................................. 65 CHATPER THREE CULTURAL REVOLUTION IMAGERY AS MOBILE PHONE TEXT PICTURES : CULTURE , TECHNOLOGY AND THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN 21 ST CENTURY CHINA INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 69 YOUTH ENGAGEMENTS WITH CULTURAL REVOLUTION IMAGERY ................................................... 76 Red Guards engagement with posters................................................................................... 77 New technology development in post-2000 era..................................................................... 84 Cultural Revolution imagery as mobile phone pictures........................................................ 88 CULTURAL REVOLUTION IMAGERY SINCE MAO ’S DEATH ............................................................... 96 CULTURAL REVOLUTION IMAGERY AS NEW NATIONALISTIC ICON .................................................. 99 CULTURAL REVOLUTION POSTERS IN ASIAN CUP 2004................................................................. 102 Poster No.1: China Team Go! ............................................................................................ 102 Poster No.2: Chinese Football Nothing Is Impossible!!!...................................................