China’s Youth Cultures and Collective Spaces

Creativity, Sociality, Identity and Resistance

Vanessa Frangville, Gwennaël Gaffric

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367173043
• eBook ISBN: 9780429509032
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Popular Culture
• Index: Social Sciences

Presenting the collaborative work of 13 international specialists of contemporary Chinese culture and society, this book explores the spaces of creation, production, and diffusion of "youth cultures" in China among generations born since the 1980s.

Defining the concept of "youth culture" as practices and activities that catalyze self-expression and creativity, this book investigates the emergence of new physical spaces, including large avenues, parks, shopping malls, and recreation areas. Building on this, it also examines the influence of non-physical places, especially digital cultures, such as online social networks, shopping platforms, Cosplay, cyberliterature, and digital calligraphy and argues that these may in fact play a more significant role in Chinese civil society today.

As an exploration of how youth can be creative even in a coercive environment, China's Youth Cultures and Collective Spaces will be valuable to students and scholars of Chinese society, as well those working on the links between space, youth, and culture.

Part I

Youth culture in commodified collective spaces

1 From homes to parks, shopping malls, and theaters—trajectory of spatial shift in Chinese Erciyuan Cosplay practices

Hua Bin

According to an iResearch report, by 2016, the core consumer of Erciyuan (二次元)—a concept originating from Japan referring to the subcultures of animation, comics, and games (ACG), sometimes referred to as a “two-dimensional subcultures”—had reached 7 million. Including regular consumers,¹ the number is as large as 200 million (People’s Daily, 2017). Among other cultural practices, Cosplay, or the act of portraying a fictional character by dressing up as that character, is the earliest and the most practiced one and is indispensable in any Erciyuan scenes in Mainland China.

Following the linear development of Erciyuan culture in Mainland China, a spatial shift of Cosplay practices can be observed: beginning with early small-scale practices in homes and later moving toward public spaces such as parks, commercialized parks, shopping malls, and theaters. Based on my fieldwork, interviews with organizers and Cosplayers, and participant–observation during the Golden Mask Cosplay Contest sessions held in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 in Beijing, in this chapter I explore the strategies and tactics adopted by the youth in the utilization of space in Cosplay; the limitations created by the spaces on Cosplay practices; and the spatial evolution that such cultural practices have initiated, in order to understand the causes behind the changing utilization of public spaces and how the choice, utilization, and negotiation for space has affected the practice of Cosplay itself. To discuss Cosplay and spatiality, I adopt the theory of the “third places” (Crick, 2011a, 2011b; Oldenburg, 1989), which refers to the spaces beyond the realms of homes, schools, works, and virtual spaces, which is where I locate Erciyuan spaces wherein Erciyuan cultural practices are performed.

In this chapter, I first discuss the development of Erciyuan culture in Mainland China from a historical point of view, followed a detailed discussion of Cosplay and spatiality. I utilize the Golden Mask Cosplay Contest (GMCC), which was established in 2005 as the first State-organized Cosplay contest in China, as the case study to discuss, employing a temporal perspective showing the evolution from Cosplay’s early practices to the changes that occurred after the initiation of the GMCC, focusing in particular on the use of space such as, homes, parks, shopping malls, theaters, and virtual spaces.

Erciyuan in China—a historical review

Japanese animation was first introduced and broadcast on Chinese television networks in the 1990s, then, with China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and as a result of the policy encouraging the opening of the cultural industry to the global market, the number of introduced anime works into the Chinese market significantly increased (Yang, 2011). More recently, pirated Japanese manga from Taiwan and Hong Kong entered the market due to a lack of newly released animations on TV (Chen and Teng, 2006). These media productions fulfilled the needs of the Chinese Millennials to occupy their spare time. As a result, a new aesthetic hobby, lifestyle, and a serial of unique values and concepts shaped by the Japanese ACG emerged (Endo, 2008; Wu, 2012).

From the late 1990s, young Chinese ACG fans began dressing up as manga, anime, and game characters. This embodiment of ACG characters is called “Cosplay,”² a term that was coined in the 1980s by the game designer Takahashi Nobuyuki when he encountered the costuming practices of American fans on a visit to the United States (Bruno, 2002; Winge, 2006: 66–67). The practice of Cosplay in Mainland China was derived and developed from the wholesale embracing of Japanese ACG content. Cosplay then gained national popularity as a result of sophisticated Internet constructions and its growing visibility in parks, shopping malls, and early ACG conventions (Manzhan 漫展). Though with a great variation in scale, purpose, and ways of organization, early ACG conventions started to emerge as a hub for pirated ACG derivative goods, which not only fulfilled the needs of the Chinese young consumers, but also attracted early Cosplayers to put their creative works on display. More recently, thanks to an improved digital infrastructure and their increasing online and public visibility, the popularity of Cosplay has further entrenched itself among fans and consumers of Japanese ACG content.

Japanese anime broadcast on Chinese TV, pirated manga, and games entertained the Chinese Millennials and had a significant impact on their lifestyles. According to Yang (2011), until 2005, Japanese ACG content was overwhelmingly popular among Chinese youth and ACG fan clubs were created in Chinese universities, which regularly organized events such as Cosplay, manga classes, and anime projections. This intense popularity of Japanese ACG content gave rise to concerns by the Chinese government, for “the prevalence of popular culture can be problematic in that it becomes a potential external force which might compete or negotiate with the ruling ideology” (Fung, 2009). In reaction to that concern, in 2004 the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) endorsed a document with the goal of enhancing the ideological and moral construction of the Chinese youth, in which the government highlighted the possible effects of foreign ACG content on Chinese youth and urged the production of original Chinese ACG content (Baidu, 2004). In other words, to better maintain the Chinese ideological constructs, Chinese ACG contents were needed to meet needs of the Chinese youth. Cosplay, as a rising youth practice, caught the eye of Chinese officials for the commercial and industrial roles it played. Among Cosplay enthusiasts, a great number majored in animation and comic creation. The Chinese government would first need them as a talent pool for the creation and production of Chinese ACG content. Second, Cosplay would perform as a litmus test for the popularity of existing content and as a promotional tool for newly released productions. Thus, when the first Cosplay contest was held at ChinaJoy³ in 2005 and was covered in E-Comic (Dianman 电漫), an ACG magazine created and circulated by Publishing House of Electronics Industry (PHEI), the assimilation of Cosplay by the Chinese official sphere was realized and this signaled the start of a number of changes. Third, as part of the ACG industrialization, Cosplay also pushed forward consumption of costumes, gear, and other ACG derivative goods.

Since 2005, with the support of municipal and local governments, hundreds of Cosplay contests have been held throughout China. Chinese content and East Asian popular culture were introduced to broaden the definition of Cosplay. These genres not only satisfied audience need, but also enriched the text of Cosplay from mere Japanese ACG contents to more wide-ranging Chinese content and pan-East Asian popular cultural elements. The diversified and inclusive content brought new forms of stage performances as well. These new genres, which are not visible in Cosplay scenes outside of China, epitomize the uniqueness of the Chinese Cosplay scene. In addition, these Cosplay contests made the professionalization of Cosplay and commercialization of ACG-related cultural products possible and feasible, which in turn led to the formation of Chinese Erciyuan (二次元) culture.

The term Erciyuan, or “Two Dimensions” refers to the two-dimensional world comprised of animation, comic/manga, games, and novellas in Japan, and is based on the circulation and consumption of ACG contents. In its early stages, the content of Erciyuan was limited to Japanese ACG only. Erciyuan lovers in Mainland China were avid consumers of this content and, as a result, numerous cultural products such as figures, Cosplay works, dōjinshi,⁴ and derivative products (posters, CDs, budges and clothes) are constantly created (Sina, 2016).

In China, Erciyuan is a culture that is created, dominated, and consumed by Millennials who are fans, consumers, and creators of transnational ACG content. Industrially, the Chinese Erciyuan culture is part of the Chinese ACG industry and is supported executively and financially by the Chinese government. Benefiting from governmental support, the Chinese Erciyuan culture germinated and developed into a wide culture that includes manga/comic, animation, games, Cosplay, ACG product creation and, later on, ACG Conventions (Manzhan 漫展).

Erciyuan culture is different from other forms of youth culture in China. First, Erciyuan culture is non-resistant to the national culture and is compatible with the Chinese ACG industry, and thus, is largely apolitical in nature. Second, Erciyuan is a culture that is revolves around Millennial fans who create and consume ACG content. In other words, the culture is of the Erciyuan, by the Erciyuan, and for the Erciyuan. Third, the actors within this culture are not limited to the youth, but engage a wider age group due to its consumptive nature. Erciyuan actors, nowadays, includes not only the post-1970s (Qilinghou 七零后) and post-1980s (Balinghou 八零后), who were the first consumers of Japanese ACG content, but also the post-1990s (Jiulinghou 九零后) and post-2000s (Linglinghou 零零后). Lastly, the Chinese Erciyuan culture is closely related to the commercial activities under the umbrella of the Chinese ACG industry.

Cosplay has been interlinked with such commercial activities throughout the history of Erciyuan culture: Cosplay first served as the publicity tool for marketplaces and then was commercialized and professionalized. The role of Cosplayers also evolved from practitioners to “prosumers,”⁵ Cosplay celebrities, and organizers of ACG conventions.

Cosplay and spatiality

Dressed in self-tailored costumes and colorful wigs, Cosplayers wave their delicately molded gear to bring characters from anime, manga, and games to real life. This creative practice requires effort and skills to interpret two-dimensional images in a three-dimensional way. Each character needs to be studied thoroughly; Cosplayers need to capture not only the color and style of the costumes but also the personality and body languages of the persona. Though Cosplayers can deliver their work according to the existing narrative story worlds, or to rewrite it into something different based on their original works, the spirit of the characters remains unchanged. Cosplay practice is a difficult and time-consuming artistic work, which Lotecki (2012) refers to as a creation of “living artwork through play,” whose aim is to exhibit art to its audience through posing. If we call the embodiment of a character in a preexisting narrative as representational in nature, the posing of it through precise body language would be performative, and the quality of Cosplay would be judged by its recognizability (Domsch, 2014). Cosplay, for its representational and performative nature, is practiced to be seen. It translates a plain image into physical reality through the (re)reading, (re)writing, (re)inventing, and (re)performing of the ACG characters. In this sense, spaces are indispensable for Cosplay in terms of showcasing, posing, and performing.

Nowadays, Cosplay displays in Mainland China can be seen mostly in physical spaces such as parks, theme parks, shopping malls, and theaters. These spaces were not designed for Cosplay practices, but rather, they were rediscovered and re-utilized by Chinese ACG fans for iconic purposes. Moving away from their “publicness,” many places are rather shared spaces (gongyong kongjian 公用空间), a term coined by Dai (1999) to indicate a cooperative relationship between Chinese socialism and Western capitalism. These spaces are shared to serve as leisure spaces, sport venues, consumer places, recreational venues, and occasionally or regularly for Cosplay practices.

Another popular space for Cosplay are virtual spaces in BBS, blogs under the ACG category. Compared to physical spaces, virtual places serve mainly as channels for information exchange and friendship building among Cosplayers and ACG fans. The virtual spaces are also highly participatory and interactive in the sense that each user can publicize reviews of Cosplay work or ACG content as well as create their own original work, which will be in turn discussed and reviewed. In addition to fan-based websites, government-endorsed Cosplay is also present in the virtual world. Different from others, they are designed as channels for voting, news releasing, and virtual material sharing.

Erciyuan spaces as hybrid third places

Spaces for Cosplay, both physical and virtual, are spaces beyond the realms of homes, schools, and the workplace. They are neutral ground, open or semi-open (with entrance fees)...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Notes on contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: where wild grass grow: Chinese youth culture formation in physical and virtual spaces
• PART I: Youth culture in commodified collective spaces
• PART II: Spaces of sociability
• PART III: Spaces of social engagement
• PART IV: Traveling in space–time
• Index