Radio and Social Transformation in China

239 Pages·2019·5.137 MB·English

by  Wei Lei

Radio and Social Transformation
in China
The first systematic, comprehensive and critical English-l anguage study of radio
in China, this book documents a historical understanding of Chinese radio from
the early twentieth century to the present.
Covering both public matters and private lives, Radio and Social Transforma-
tion in China analyses a range of themes from healthcare, migration and educa-
tion, to intimacy, family and friendship. Through a concentrated and thorough
scrutiny of a variety of new genres and radio practices in post- Mao China, it also
investigates the interaction between radio and social change, particularly in the
era of economic reform. Building on the core theoretical concept of ‘compressed
modernity’, each of the radio genres explored is shown to embody China’s
efforts to achieve modernity, while simultaneously exemplifying radio’s capa-
city to manage the challenges that have arisen from the country’s distinctive and
perhaps unique process of modernization.
Written in an engaging style, this book makes an important contribution to
radio history internationally. As such, it will be of great interest to students and
scholars of broadcast media, radio and Communication Studies, as well as
Chinese culture and society.
Wei Lei is a junior fellow of the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
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For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
Routledge-C ontemporary-China-S eries/book- series/SE0768
Radio and Social
Transformation in China
Wei Lei
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Wei Lei
The right of Wei Lei to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Title: Radio and social transformation in China / Wei Lei.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. |
Series: Routledge contemporary China series | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019000840 (print) | LCCN 2019004300 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429507618 (Ebook) | ISBN 9780429017858 (Adobe Reader) |
ISBN 9780429017841 (ePub) | ISBN 9780429017834 (Mobipocket
Encrypted) | ISBN 9781138579934 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Radio broadcasting–China–History. | Social
change–China–History.
Classification: LCC HE8699.C56 (ebook) | LCC HE8699.C56 L45 2019
(print) | DDC 384.540951–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000840
ISBN: 978-1-138-57993-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-50761-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
To my mother and father,
WANG Yunqiu and LEI Chuanlong

Contents
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
List of abbreviations xi
1 Transforming radio in China: introduction to an
understudied medium 1
2 Radio and a revolutionary China: from the Republic of
China era to the Mao era 28
3 Radio news and the articulation of one voice: continuity
and transformation of China National Radio’s Channel
One 57
4 Late night talkback radio: the production of intimacy in
post- Mao China 92
5 Health infomercial radio: privatization, medicine and
self- responsibility in post-M ao China 124
6 Drive radio and the construction of urban middle-c lass
identities: from traffic radio to the ‘Car World’ 153
7 Digital soundwork in contemporary China: uncertainty,
listening and the betterment of ‘a deficient self ’ 181
8 Missed opportunities and future challenges 207
Index 216
Figures
2.1 The soldiers are helping installing loudspeakers in the village
in North China with which they have established a good
relationship. The installation of loudspeakers would enable
rural dwellers to get access to domestic and international
news. 42
2.2 Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a wired
radio station was launched in a mining area in North China.
During the pre- work, the off- work and break time, the radio
station broadcast various programmes that appealed to the
workers. 43
3.1 On 25 April 1951, women in a neighbourhood in Beijing listen
to the live broadcast of ‘women in Beijing protesting against
the United States arming Japan’. 64
3.2 On 29 April 1951, Shanghai Radio Station sent its mobile
broadcasting car through Shanghai’s urban areas, allowing the
public without radio receivers to listen to the public trial of
counter- revolutionary criminals. 65
4.1 The daughter (on the left) attends a local talkback radio
programme about personal issues hosted by an urban woman. 94
6.1 Road in Beijing is full of cars during the rush hour in the early
night. 166
Acknowledgements
The compilation of this book has borne witness to considerable intellectual and
emotional turmoil over the years from its inception to its publication. Without
the support of many colleagues and institutions, this academic endeavour to tell
the story of radio in China to the world in book form would never have reached
fruition. Therefore, this seems an appropriate time to express my deepest grati-
tude to the abovementioned colleagues and institutions who have offered various
forms of support at every step throughout this long literary journey.
The one person I cannot thank enough is my PhD supervisor Professor Wanning
Sun. This project, which developed from my PhD thesis that I undertook at the
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), would never have reached book form
without her unwavering guidance, support and encouragement both intellectually
and emotionally. Beyond her supervision, Professor Sun has become a role model
for many, not only in the spheres of understanding and conducting research, but in
the way she approaches life in general. Tremendous thanks also go to Dr James
Beattie, who offered both professional editing of – and useful comments on –
Chapters 1, 2 and 4 in the early stage of the project. I would also like to thank Tom
Morton, my PhD co- supervisor. As both a scholar and practitioner of radio, he
inspired me to traverse the often difficult radio (audio) studies trajectory. I am very
grateful to my PhD thesis examiners, Professors David Goodman (Melbourne
University), Xiaoling Zhang and Jia Gao for their positive assessments. In par-
ticular, I owe a debt of gratitude to Professor David Goodman, a world-r enowned
scholar of the history of radio broadcasting who recognized the significance of my
PhD thesis as the first systematic English- language examination of radio in China
in the twentieth and twenty-fi rst centuries. Professor Goodman strongly recom-
mended that I should develop it in book form.
Thanks also to innumerable teachers, friends, colleagues and interviewees in
both China and abroad for the wide range of support they offered at different
stages of this academic pursuit. A number of people deserve special mention:
Professors Li Deshun, Yin Weizhi and Liu Xuzhou at China University of Polit-
ical Science and Law for their kind support that enabled me to continue my
graduate studies; Dr Lauren Gorfinkel at Macquarie University, Dr Jahnnabi Das
at UTS, Dr Qiu Zitong at the Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang Univer-
sity, Editor Huang Fang at the Paper (Pengpai) media and Dr Vivien Chan at the