THE STATE AND INTELLECTUAL APPROPRIATION OF “FOLK” IN EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHINA

Abstract

This thesis analyzes how the idea of “folk” is used in discourse by the state and intellectuals to gain internal legitimacy and to reposition themselves globally in early twenty-first century China. By interrogating the discourse of “folk” as intangible cultural heritage and art, this thesis seeks to understand the role of “folk” in re-constituting Chinese culture and the Chinese nation. Throughout history, “folk” has been signified as the rural, the superstitious, and the feudal, all of which hinged on different socio-political conditions. To grasp the invented and discursive nature of the idea of “folk,” I regard this discursive regime as “folkism.” By using folkism, I hope to reveal the power and domination of language-games in shaping the way in which “folk” is discussed in public and academic spheres. I argue that “folk” is consequently cemented into a position that is immobile and tangential to what it intends to represent.