Punk Culture in Contemporary China

223 Pages·2018·1.896 MB·English

by  Jian Xiao

JIAN XIAO
P
U N K
CULTURE
IN CONTEMPORARY
CHINA
Punk Culture in Contemporary China
Jian Xiao
Punk Culture in
Contemporary China
Jian Xiao
School of Communication
and Design
Sun Yat-sen University
Guangzhou, China
ISBN 978-981-13-0976-2 ISBN 978-981-13-0977-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0977-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018952908
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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A
cknowledgements
The research upon which this book is based was made possible with the
funding by ‘The Fundamental Research Funds for Sun Yat-sen University
in 2017’ (17000-31610138) and ‘The Bilingual Curriculum Training
Project –Communication Studies’ (17000-18822604). A previous version
of Chap. 3 was published in the European Journal of Cultural Studies 2017,
20(6): 707–723, @2017 European Journal of Cultural Studies; a previous
version of Chap. 6 was published in the Chinese Journal of Communication
2017, 10(3): 246–263, @2017 Chinese Journal of Communication.
I would like to thank all those who participated in the research and my
family and friends who supported me. I would particularly like to thank
Professor Paula Guerra and Dr. Jim Donaghey who contributed their
research in Portugal and Indonesia.
v
c
ontents
1 I ntroduction: Context, Method, and Theoretical
Framework 1
Jian Xiao and Paula Guerra
Introducing Punk 1
Interpreting Chinese Society 3
The Punk Scene in China 5
The Theoretical Framework 7
The Location 12
The Fieldwork 14
An Overview of the Major Questions 18
The Structure of the Book 18
References 21
Part I Punk in China 25
2 P unk in China: History, Artefacts, and Blogs 27
The Emergence of Punk in China 28
The Development of Punk in China 31
Blogs 38
References 44
vii
viii CoNTENTS
3 The Biographical Approach: The Story of a Chinese Punk
Musician 47
Introducing Mr. Li 48
Entering the Punk Scene: Interest 49
Reaction to Neighbours and the General Public 50
Critical Moments: Reaction to the Authorities 52
Being Marginal to Society 54
Being Marginal on the Street 55
Involvement in Punk Activities 58
Talking About Resistance 64
Conclusion 67
References 68
4 The Path to Punkhood, and Being a Punk 69
Becoming a Punk 69
Being a Punk 78
The Ideal Punk Lifestyle 86
Conclusion 98
References 99
5 Punk Performance, Hangouts, and Alternative Norms 101
Punk Performance 102
The Conflicts Within Punk Performance 107
Localising Punk Music 119
Hangouts 120
Conclusion 125
References 126
6 Boundaries and Identity: Understanding Online Punk
Practices 127
Two Fora: ‘Punk’ and ‘Punk Is Not Dead’ 128
Boundary-Breaking: Communicating with Outsiders 138
Boundary Construction: Shaping Forum Norms 141
Different Approaches to Punk 145
Creating Shared Identities 146
Conclusion 149
References 150
CoNTENT S ix
Part II A Comparison with Intra-Asian and European Punks 153
7 A Comparison Between Indonesian and Chinese Punks:
Resistance, Hangouts, and DIY 155
Jim Donaghey and Jian Xiao
The Emergence of Punk in Indonesia and China 155
Responding to Punk 156
Punk and Activism in Indonesia and China 159
Punk Space: Hangouts, Distros, and Infoshops 164
DIY Production and Distribution 166
DIY Gig Organising 168
Conclusion 173
References 174
8 A Comparison Between Portuguese and Chinese Punks:
A Genealogy, Style, and Space 177
Paula Guerra and Jian Xiao
A Genealogy of Punk Between Portugal and China 177
Style 179
DIY Practices and Lifestyle 183
Social Movements 186
Punk Space 190
References 195
9 Conclusion 201
The Development of the Chinese Punk Phenomenon 201
Punk Resistance in China 204
Reflections on the Book 211
References 212
Appendix: Biographical Characteristics of Respondents 213
Index 217
n A
otes on uthors
leAd Author
Jian Xiao (Loughborough University) works at School of Communication
and Design, Sun Yat-sen University. She has published in European
Journal of Cultural Studies, Chinese Journal of Communication, Punk &
Post-Punk, and so on. Her research interests focus on new media and cultural
studies. E-mail: [email protected].
co-Authors
Jim Donaghey (Loughborough University) is a punk anarchist working
in academia, at Queen’s University Belfast. Jim is an active participant in
his local punk and anarchist scenes and is also the web editor of www.
AnarchistStudies.blog and member of the editorial board of Punk & Post-
Punk journal. Jim is in several punk bands, including Gulder and
Lawfucker. E-mail: j. [email protected].
Paula  Guerra (University of Porto) is an associate professor in the
Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the
University of Porto and researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the same
University (IS-UP), where she coordinates the subgroup Artistic Creation,
Cultural Practices and Policies. She is coordinator and founder of the
KISMIF Conference. She co-authored various books and her numerous
journal articles have been published. E-mail: [email protected].
xi
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 3.1 The performance of Mr. Li’s band 60
Fig. 5.1 Moshing in punk performance 105
xiii