Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media

by Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley (Editor), Yiben Ma (Editor), Gary D. Rawnsley (Editor)

Overview

The new, second edition of this successful Handbook explores the growing and evolving field of Chinese media, offering a window through which to observe multi-directional flows of information, culture and communications within the contexts of globalisation and regionalisation.

Bringing together the research of an international and interdisciplinary team providing expert analysis of the media in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, as well as among other Chinese communities, this new edition:

• Highlights how new social, economic and political forces have emerged to challenge the production and consumption of media outputs
• Reveals how the growing prevalence of social media, such as WeChat and TikTok, continues to blur the boundary between online and offline, allowing state institutions to interfere in the lives of their users and civil societies to mobilise and articulate their interests and grievances
• Outlines how the development of new communications technologies and their use by political and economic actors, journalists, civil societies and diaspora communities contribute to the complex multi-directional flow of information, culture and communications in the twenty-first century

Contributing to the growing and evolving field of Chinese media studies, this Handbook is an essential and comprehensive reference work for students of all levels and scholars in the fields of Chinese Studies and Media Studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040400326
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	514
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley is Research Associate, Centre of Taiwan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK.

Yiben Ma is Convenor of the Preliminary Year Programme for International Communications Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

Gary D. Rawnsley is Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences and Professor of Public Diplomacy at the University of Lincoln, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: The Development of the Study of Chinese Media 1. China, Soft Power and Cultural Imperialism 2. Cyber Security, Cyber Sovereignty and Cyber Governance: The Party-State’s Approach to Controlling and Harnessing the Internet in China 3. The Future of Work: Digital Labour Research in China 4. Using Netnography to Study Chinese Social Media: A Methodological Reflection 5. #MilkTeaAlliance as Minor Solidarity: How a Taiwan-Centred Perspective Engages and Challenges the Global South Theoretical Framework Part 2: Journalism, Press Freedom and Social Mobilisation 6. Press Freedom in Post–National Security Law Hong Kong 7. Media and Social Mobilisation in Hong Kong 8. Localisation as Negotiation: Practising Solutions Journalism in Hong Kong 9. Mechanisms to Deal with Misinformation and Disinformation in Taiwan: Covid-19 and Beyond 10. Contested and Negotiated Discourses: Media Framing of LGBTQ Issues in Taiwan 11. The Manufacturing of ‘Correct Collective Memory’ in Chinese Media and the Resistance of Chinese Netizens: From the Covid-19 Outbreak to the Blank White Paper Movement Part 3: The Internet, Public Sphere and Media Culture 12. Digital Media and Politics in China 13. Chinese Nationalism in the Age of Social Media: Competing Actors, Discourses and Interests 14. Online Tucao Subculture in China: A Case Study of Youni Discourse on Weibo 15. Popular Feminism with Chinese Characteristics: A Feminist Study of the First Season of Reality TV Show Sisters Who Make Waves 16. Comparing Utopias: Shifts in Cinematic Representations of Chinese Power in ‘New Mainstream’ Films 17. Guiding the Public: Documentary Films in China 18. Museum Collections and Literary Games in Taiwan: The Crazy Gods Show and Literature Lockdown Part 4: Market, Production and the Media Industries 19. The Evolution of Media in Macao: From the Jesuit Press to the Digital Age 20. Gamers, the State and Online Games 21. Wuxia in the Digital Realm: Transmedia Storytelling and Player Immersion in Role-Playing Games 22. Copyright and China’s Evolving Media Economy: From Marketisation to Platformisation 23. Navigating Copyright in China’s Digital Music Ecosystem: Socially Mediated Discourses and Legal Reforms 24. Crafting Visibility: Authenticity, Intimacy and Networked Relations in Chinese Online Celebrity Culture Part 5: Chinese Media and the World 25. From Institutional Nationalism to Platform Cosmopolitanism: A Genealogical Review of China’s Global Communication Strategy 26. Broadcasting China: Strategies and Trends in the Global Expansion of Chinese Television 27. The Unresolvable Imbalances of China’s English-Language Media: The Case of CGTN 28. China’s Soft Power and Documentary Co-production: Navigating Public Diplomacy in the Covid and Post-Covid Era 29. Transnational Platform Governance amid Geopolitical Rivalries: The Case of TikTok in Sino-India Relations

Editorial Reviews

'The disciplinary maturity of Chinese communication and media studies is on show in this strong collection. Established and emerging scholars have contributed to a volume that ranges across most of the topics that constitute a grounding for students.' – Professor Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, Head of School of the Arts, University of Liverpool, UK

"The present effort provides many perspectives on all types and forms of mass media (newspapers, party press, Internet, photography, broadcasting, television, gaming, public-service broadcasting, documentary), incorporating many aspects and issues (imperialism, soft power, policy, investigative journalism, social mobilization, nationalism, copyright, internationalization) and a variety of approaches (e.g., historical, case study, quasi-autobiographical, textual analysis, content analysis, interviewing, cyber-conflict analysis). Though most of the 28 chapters cover the People’s Republic of China, the editors include three chapters on Hong Kong and three on Taiwan. The book provides a wealth of information and viewpoints...this volume accomplishes what it sets out to do, and it will serve as an entry point into studies of Chinese media. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty." -J. A. Lent, independent scholar, CHOICE

"The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media provides scholars and students with rich materials to comprehend modern Chinese media and society especially in respect of political objectives. The inclusion of case studies on Taiwan and Hong Kong in the volume reflects the heterogeneity rather than the homogeneity in the term, “Chinese media”, as the media in these locations face different sets of challenges to fulfill their democratic duties and ideals." Shih-Chien Chang, China Policy Institute: Analysis

"The handbook offers a large pool of perspectives, evidence, and analyses on Chinese media. It is a shining gem in the field, one that decodes the duality and complexities surrounding the media and their role in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong." Yavor A. Kostadinov, Ming Chuan University, International Journal of Communication 10(2016) pp. 3312

From the Publisher