Hegemony and translation: gendered Chinese popular culture in change

This thesis explores the crucial role of translation in the development of Chinese nationalism from 1840 to date, and in the gendered reproduction of nationalism within transnational popular culture and fandoms in China after the neoliberal turn in 1978.

Understanding nationalism, gender, and translation through the lens of hegemony, this thesis focuses on four fandoms in China – the fandoms of ACGN, K-pop, English-speaking audio-visual products, and Chinese celebrities – to explore how nationalism is addressed as the state’s hegemonic project and negotiated globally under the influence of diverse gender narratives brought by translation. This thesis maps and analyses the interactions between female fans, local platform companies, transnational cultural industries,<br>and the regulatory apparatuses in the context of the state’s regulation of translational fandoms, by combining the methodologies of digital ethnography and textual analysis.