Cultural emergence, exchange, and governance

China’s rise is often understood as a challenge to Western dominance in the world, not only in geo-strategic terms, but also in the realm of culture and values. Some suggest that Chinese cultural influence will negatively impact on values associated with the West, such as democracy and human rights. Many worry about the potential for violent conflict on a global scale that could result from such a clash of value systems. Others argue that China and its traditions of thought can provide a better alternative to failing Western values. Chinese state and societal actors are making exchange around arts and culture a key focus of development and interaction with the rest of the world.

Lancaster University has research strengths in Chinese culture and heritage, politics and international relations, legal system, and intercultural exchange and understanding. We collaborate with scholars, NGOs, museums, and business partners from design and creative industries. Design and management are both key areas of research by fellows based at Lancaster College in Weihai, Shandong province. We collaborate closely on a number of projects with the Lancaster University Confucius Institute, which also houses our visiting scholars.

Recent publications on cultural emergence, exchange, and governance

Zeng, J. (2019) 'Chinese views of global economic governance' Third World Quarterly, Vol. 40, pp. 578-594

Hameiri, S. and Zeng, J. (2019 forthcoming) 'State Transformation and China’s Engagement in Global Governance: The Case of Nuclear Technologies' The Pacific Review.

Atherton, A.M. and A. Newman (2018) 'Entrepreneurship in China: The Emergence of the Private Sector', London: Routledge.

Chubb, A. (2018) ‘Assessing public opinion’s influence on foreign policy: the case of China’s assertive maritime behaviour’, Asian Security. pp. 1-21.

Hird, D. (2018) ‘Smile Yourself Happy: Zheng nengliang and the Discursive Construction of Happy Subjects.’ In G. Wielander and D. Hird, eds., Perspectives on Chinese Happiness. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. pp.126-154.

Hird, D. and G. Song. (2018) ‘Introduction: Transnational Chinese Masculinities in a Global Age.’ In D. Hird and G. Song, eds., The Cosmopolitan Dream: Transnational Chinese Masculinities in a Global Age. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. pp. 1-26.

Resources on cultural emergence, exchange, and governance

China Law Translate: translations of Chinese legal and political documents.

China Copyright and Media: translations of media-related documents of the Chinese Communist Party and People’s Republic of China.

China Media Project: analysis, commentary and translations of media, ideological and cultural policy in China, based at Hong Kong University.

Chinese Foreign Policy Archive: thousands of documents from Chinese and international archives, now available online through the Wilson Center.

dajiangyou 打酱油: fieldwork notes on Chinese digital folklore, from anthropologist Gabriele de Seta.

Line 21 Project: an online resource that focuses on contemporary Chinese state propaganda and public diplomacy, offering a large collection of contemporary propaganda images.

Phonemica 乡音苑: a map-based database of Chinese vernacular speech recordings.

Chubb, A. (2018) ‘Assessing public opinion’s influence on foreign policy: the case of China’s assertive maritime behaviour’, Asian Security, March 2018, pp. 1 - 21. Denemark, D. and A. Chubb (2016) ‘Citizen attitudes towards China’s maritime territorial disputes: traditional media and internet sources as distinctive conduits of political views,’ Information, Communication & Society , 19(1), pp. 59 - 79.

Chubb, A. (2015) ‘China’s shanzhai culture: “grabism” and the politics of hybridity,’ Journal of Contemporary China, 24(92), pp. 260 - 279. Gorfinkel, L. and A. Chubb (2015) ‘When foreigners perform the Chinese nation: Televised global Chinese language competitions, China and the world,’ in Geng Song & Ruoyun Bai (eds.) Chinese Television in the Twenty-First Century: Entertaining the Nation (London: Routledge), pp. 121 - 140.

Shahar Hameiri and Jinghan Zeng, State Transformation and China’s Engagement in Global Governance: The Case of Nuclear Technologies The Pacific Review, 2019 forthcoming