The Mediated Myth of Lin Zexu

The Mediated Myth of Lin Zexu

Social and Cultural Textures of Chinese Society

In: Edition Kulturwissenschaft, 178

Edited by: Angelo Maria Cimino

transcript-Verlag | 2022

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About this book

The Chinese scholar-official Lin Zexu played a crucial role in the First Opium War in the 19th century. Since 1978, the myth surrounding the historical figure is used to legitimise current rulers' political power, to celebrate dominant values, and to promote a certain associated way of life.
By analysing Chinese media representations of the myth of Lin Zexu, Angelo Maria Cimino identifies the social and cultural significance of a mediated historical knowledge. He examines cultural products such as feature films, digital images, documentaries, cartoons, and songs, analyses their discursive practices and the responses they spawn, and explains how multiple agents within the Chinese media continuously generate and re-affirm the myth's cultural network.

Author information

Angelo Maria Cimino (PhD) earned his doctorate at the University of Cologne, Germany, and works as a postdoctoral researcher at East China Normal University in Shanghai. His research explores the intellectual aesthetics of the publications by the "New Culture Movement" in Republican China.

The Mediated Myth of Lin Zexu

Social and Cultural Textures of Chinese Society

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