Stepmother Culture: A Close Look at Contemporary Chinese Culture and Art

Author: Yin Jinnan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: The preface includes articles written since 1993. Most of them were published in the magazine Dushu (Reading) under the column "Knocking Alone." After publishing the book Knocking Alone, while writing columns for Dushu and hosting the "Eastern Art Circle" for Dongfang (East), I became a "person associated with contemporary Chinese art," receiving so many invitations that it became overwhelming. I suddenly grew tired of this "career" of accepting invitations to write articles, as free expression fell into the trap of opposing it. The existing profession nearly turned me into a waste person, while my soul kept searching for something with real vitality, even if it was a hollow heartbeat. In China after 1993, the "emigration of intellectuals" was replaced by the focus on "going into business." The so-called "Confucian merchants" suddenly multiplied. The ancient Confucianism had become a fashionable "modernized" new Confucianism. Confucianism became both the object and means of business, and this was also aided by the popularization of ancient classics. The I Ching (Book of Changes) became a fortune-telling book for practical situations, Laozi and Chan Buddhism became tools for secular forces to deconstruct the sublime, Buddhism and Taoism became the for gatherings of the people for health and other purposes, and the thoughts of the Legalists and military strategists became tactics and scams in modern business warfare. The sea of literature turned into a sea of commerce, and the waves remained vast. It was precisely when the sea of literature turned into a sea of commerce that overseas students returned en masse. For them, the boundless sea of learning was home. This home was the "Eastern" of the homeland, the "periphery" outside the center of imperialist economic and cultural hegemony. In fact, what arrived in China before overseas students was undoubtedly "postmodernism." "Postmodernism" was originally a lean chicken in Western intellectual circles (not as fat as KFC's home-style chicken in the U.S.), and it was lean because it was "wild." Despite being lean and wild, its feathers were colorful, far more dazzling than mainstream poultry. But once it arrived in China, it no longer remained lean and wild but became a greasy roasted chicken, appearing on the tables of many celebrities, and suddenly became the main dish. Though lean, the chicken was alive, while the roasted chicken, through its death and readiness, fully gratified the stomachs of the learned celebrities. This is a classic allegory of Western postmodernism being "posted" in China. As long as it is an allegory, it has the space for textual interpretation and deconstruction. The "postmodernist" lean chicken "roams" China, requiring translation and speculation. With its belt translated, the wild chicken or lean chicken becomes a roasted chicken, fatter than KFC. However, postmodernism can also write another allegory: using a richer attire to hide this lean chicken, beautify the living creature, turn it into a swan, and raise it in the sky, where it can soar freely, dazzling the eyes of onlookers, and gaining the "consensus" of those who gaze up. Eating postmodernism as a roasted chicken is based on practicality, while admiring it as a swan is based on aesthetics and spirituality. Both seeing and eating (or eating after seeing) become the epitome. Gazing at the sky while eating from the bowl, the scenery here is the best! Eating can cultivate virtue, while gazing can convey spirit. It is both like a teacher to the emperor and a teacher to Confucius. As a greasy roasted chicken, postmodernism has become the main dish of Chinese intellectual circles, while as a swan, it has become a beautiful sight for the academic world! I have no preconceptions about postmodernism, nor do I deny its benefits, but I sometimes regret its excess fat and ornate feathers in China. After eating and seeing, the gaze of the roasted chicken or the swan has not replaced the inherent "modern" gaze of Chinese celebrities. The ethnic minorities in China are still seen as "people who sing and dance," and this has not changed in the hearts of celebrities in any way. The character for "entertainment" () and "deceit" () still carry the radical for "woman." For some Westerners, Africa is the "world of animals," and for some Chinese celebrities, it is no different. The "Eastern" is still the "world of people," but it refers only to China, and even exceeds the "Asia" in Mao Zedong's "Asia, Africa, Latin America" concept. In many cities in China, "You are truly a farmer" is still a more insulting curse than "You are truly a rogue." Feminists still use the term "prostitution" but never the corresponding "patronization" to replace the ancient word "whoring." Lu Xun still does not belong to himself. He remains the soul of the soulless and the weapon of the weaponless. Our sorrow has always been his. Environmentalists tell us (rather than rural teachers) that the Yellow River has already started to dry up. The roasted chicken or swan of culture comes from afar. The myth of the mother is still being sung. I call my miscellany "Post-stepmotherism" to emphasize the subjective characteristics of the criticized object and to subvert the authority of those who regard "consensus" as "individuality." I want to look at contemporary culture and art with the eyes of an ordinary wild bird, not a wild chicken, much less a roasted chicken or swan. May this "bird person" be able to escape the fate of a lean chicken and not become the "smoked bird" or "good bird" of the celebrities—that would be lucky. This is the preface. The author is a professor of art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and is known as a "sensitive and calm art critic." This book is a sequel to Knocking Alone, collecting 37 art essays published in recent years in magazines like Dushu. The author, with a unique intellectual approach, touches upon the trends, phenomena, and the states of artists and individuals in the art and intellectual circles of the past two years, expressing a calm observation and intuitive perception of contemporary art, particularly focusing on "avant-garde art." The book is divided into four parts: "Avant-garde Concepts," "Beauty/Artists," "Cultural Perspectives," and "After the Elite," with over 100 color illustrations.