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

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Authors
Jacoby, Marcin
Machajek, Piotr
Monograph
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Date
2026-01-19
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Journal title
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
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Pages
Pages
DOI
ISSN
1868-4874
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Weblink
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18681026251413255
Access date
2026-01-19
Abstract PL
Abstract EN
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 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.
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Keywords PL
Keywords EN
Han Song
Cao Fei
post-humanism
pessoptimism
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URI
https://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2151
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cc-by
Except as otherwise noted, this item is licensed under the Attribution licence | Permitted use of copyrighted works
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Grant/project name
“Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC)
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