The London School of Economics and Political Science The Politics of Online Wordplay: on the Ambivalences of Chinese Internet Discourse Yanning Huang A thesis submitted to the Department of Media and Communications of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, September 2018 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 97,992 words. 2 Abstract: Chinese cyberspace is vibrant with new expressions created and disseminated by Internet users. Generally light in tone, terms such as ‘Grass Mud Horse’ and diaosi (literally meaning ‘dick strings’) have been argued to constitute a playful and satirical form of speech exemplifying grassroots netizens’ carnivalesque resistance against the authoritarian party-state. Grounded in and informed by a historical review of the transformations of class and gender relations in China, my doctoral research goes beyond such a dichotomising framework by adopting a critical socio-linguistic perspective. Through extensive original discourse analysis, focus groups and in-depth interviews with a cross-section of the Chinese urban and rural youth population, I sketch out two major ambivalences of online wordplay in Chinese cyberspace, finding that, on the one hand, it simultaneously recognises and disavows the living conditions of the truly underprivileged—migrant manual workers; and, on the other hand, that it both derides the lifestyles of the economically dominant and also displays a desire for middle-class lifestyles. Interviews further reveal that Chinese Internet discourse articulates tensions between the stance of urban young men in the lower-middle class and that of urban young women in the middle class. The former reveals men’s anxieties and self-victimisation at what could be called the changing gender order. The latter emphasises women’s autonomy and aspirations with regard to ideal masculinities. I conclude that this latter stance is underpinned by an emerging ideology of ‘consumerist feminism’, which celebrates women’s empowerment but limits this to the private realm and to personal consumption. Finally, the thesis also takes into account the co-option of Internet discourse by corporations and party media and the ways in which this shapes the changing connotations of online wordplay and its bearing on the wider social order and power struggles in contemporary China. 3 Acknowledgements I still remember the beginning, at Shaku’s office. When Shaku handed me the first reading piece, saying ‘no rush, take your time to settle down first’, Bingchun came in, smiling, ‘long time no see’. I could not be luckier having Shaku and Bingchun as my supervisors. Your knowledge, support, encouragement, understanding, and sharing are more than I can ever repay for. Thank you for all your comments and corrections. In many ways, this is a co-authored thesis. Thank you for introducing me to your families, for sharing with me your views on academia, on love, on the world. At the cost of being a ‘thesis widow’, Yunwen kept me accompanied and sane during my most intensive period of writing. My gratefulness is indescribable. You are way more than the companion of my life. You have been my source of inspiration by being sharp and brave, by now becoming an eurythmist. I also owe my thanks to a number of great scholars whom I am lucky enough to know in person. My interest in studying Chinese online wordplay was triggered by Prof. Cao Jin who also insisted me to pursue a PhD. I have benefited immensely from the methods book Prof. Murdock and Barbara sent me. Dr. Wang Hongzhe kindly shared with me his insights on ‘netizens’ in the Chinese context which supported and sharpened my arguments. Dr. Izabela Wagner led me to understand what anthropology is and how compassionate it should be. My PhD life would be much duller without the friendship and comradeship with a bunch of PhD researchers within and outside the LSE. Xiaoxi, Ziyan, Mengying, Benjamín, Fabien, Ram, Floyd, Gyorgyi, Alice, Jessica, Ssu-Han, Mabu, Xiang Yu, Sylvie and Wang Yan, thank you for the chats, the jokes, the walks, the hugs and the helps, all of which I will always remember and cherish. Special thanks to Inés for introducing me to Taichi! My PhD research was funded by the China Scholarship Council whose generosity I deeply appreciate. I am also thankful to the great support from my Department at the LSE: Prof. Nick Couldry, James Deeley and Cath Bennett. I would like to leave the last bits of grateful words to my respondents and my parents who do not necessarily read English: 谢谢你们的参与，和我分享你们对网络流行语的理解以及生命中的酸甜苦辣。没有 你们，不可能有我的论文。特别感谢子艳、沈洋、红梅、生竹、李雪、新蕾，还有 黄筱帮我招募合适的采访对象。最后要谢谢爸妈一直以来对我的照顾和理解，谢谢 你们对知识的尊重。是你们首先教我去做一个有正义感、有爱心的人。 4 Table of contents Abstract:.......................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 10 1.1 Topic ............................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Focus .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.3 The Chinese Internet ...................................................................................................... 15 1.3.1 A quasi-separated cyberspace ‘allowed’ by the government .................. 16 1.3.2 ‘Netizens’ in the Chinese context ............................................................ 18 1.3.3 Key points of intervention........................................................................ 21 1.4 Playful Everyday Politics ................................................................................................. 23 1.5 Studying Online Satire in China ...................................................................................... 27 1.5.1 Online satire as carnivalesque rituals and memes .................................. 27 1.5.2 Bakhtinian carnival and its applicability to studying Chinese cyberspace31 1.5.3 Strategic co-optations of online wordplay by corporations and the state .......................................................................................................................... 33 1.5.4 Defining Chinese Internet discourse ........................................................ 36 1.6 Overview of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 2: DISCOURSE, STRUCTURE AND EMBODIED AGENCY ....................................... 41 2.1 Chinese Internet Discourse as ‘Popular Language’ ........................................................ 41 2.2 Convivial Tension and Mimicry ....................................................................................... 43 2.3 Laughter, Social Order and the Discursive Ritual of Naming .......................................... 48 2.4 Ideology and Common Sense ......................................................................................... 52 2.5 The Body, Habituation and the ‘Dialogic’ Nature of Language ...................................... 55 2.6 Theories of Performativity ............................................................................................. 59 2.6.1 The performativity of social discourse ..................................................... 59 2.6.2 Symbolic power and the mystification of social performatives............... 62 2.7 Social Structures and Habitus......................................................................................... 65 2.7.1 Integrating the Bourdieusian and Aristotelian habitus ............................ 70 2.8 Embodied Agency ........................................................................................................... 73 2.9 The theoretical framework and research questions ...................................................... 75 CHAPTER 3: A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF CLASS AND GENDER IN CHINA .............................. 81 3.1 My Approach to Class and Gender ................................................................................. 81 3.1.1 Debating class .......................................................................................... 81 3.1.2 The three dimensions of gender .............................................................. 84 3.2 Pre-Revolutionary China ................................................................................................. 85 3.2.1 China ‘from the soil’ ................................................................................. 86 3.2.2 Patrilineage and patrilocal marriage ........................................................ 88 3.2.3 The wen/wu dyad....................................................................................