Pessoptimist About China's Future: Scientific Progress and Social Harmony in Hospital by Han Song and Nova by Cao Fei

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cris.lastimport.scopus2026-01-21T04:10:17Z
dc.abstract.enThis paper analyses the critical responses to the official Chinese Communist Party narratives of scientific progress and social harmony found in Han Song's 韩松 2016 novel Hospital (医院, Yiyuan) and Cao Fei's 曹斐 2019 film Nova (新星, Xin xing). Both works challenge the state's vision of a technologically determined, utopian future. The study explores how these texts subvert the official discourse by critically examining four thematic areas: the relationship between past and future, China and the outside world; the personal dimension of the quest for scientific progress; the disconnect between state-level achievements and the livelihood of ordinary citizens; and the concept of personal freedom and happiness. Both works depict a relentless pursuit of progress that leads to the erosion of individual agency, transforming citizens into objects of (bio)technological experimentation. By offering counter-narratives to the state's sociotechnical imaginary, Han Song and Cao Fei provide an ambivalent vision of China's future, one rooted in the anxieties of its present.
dc.affiliationCentrum Cywilizacji Azji Wschodniej INH
dc.contributor.authorJacoby, Marcin
dc.contributor.authorMachajek, Piotr
dc.date.access2026-01-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-20T13:12:19Z
dc.date.available2026-01-20T13:12:19Z
dc.date.created2025-12-18
dc.date.issued2026-01-19
dc.description.abstract<jats:p> This paper analyses the critical responses to the official Chinese Communist Party narratives of scientific progress and social harmony found in Han Song's 韩松 2016 novel <jats:italic toggle="yes">Hospital</jats:italic> (医院, <jats:italic toggle="yes">Yiyuan</jats:italic> ) and Cao Fei's 曹斐 2019 film <jats:italic toggle="yes">Nova</jats:italic> (新星, <jats:italic toggle="yes">Xin xing</jats:italic> ). Both works challenge the state's vision of a technologically determined, utopian future. The study explores how these texts subvert the official discourse by critically examining four thematic areas: the relationship between past and future, China and the outside world; the personal dimension of the quest for scientific progress; the disconnect between state-level achievements and the livelihood of ordinary citizens; and the concept of personal freedom and happiness. Both works depict a relentless pursuit of progress that leads to the erosion of individual agency, transforming citizens into objects of (bio)technological experimentation. By offering counter-narratives to the state's sociotechnical imaginary, Han Song and Cao Fei provide an ambivalent vision of China's future, one rooted in the anxieties of its present. </jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.grantnumber101061700
dc.description.granttitle“Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC)
dc.description.sdgNoSDGsAreRelevantForThisPublication
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/18681026251413255
dc.identifier.issn1868-4874
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2151
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18681026251413255
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationliteraturoznawstwo
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enHan Song
dc.subject.enCao Fei
dc.subject.enpost-humanism
dc.subject.enpessoptimism
dc.swps.sciencecloudnosend
dc.titlePessoptimist About China's Future: Scientific Progress and Social Harmony in Hospital by Han Song and Nova by Cao Fei
dc.title.journalJournal of Current Chinese Affairs
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle