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Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley et al. eds., "Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media" (Routledge, 2025)
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Welcome to the New Books Network.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Hello, my name is Mingye Wrongsley and I'm a host on the New Books Network. I'm also a research associate at soas, University of London. It is my greatest pleasure to invite one of my best friends, Dr. Yiben Ma, to this podcast to discuss the second edition of Rowledge Handbook of Chinese Media with me. So before we begin the conversation, can I ask Yiben to introduce yourself?
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Sure. Hi everybody. I'm Dr. Yiben Madhu. I'm a lecturer at the School of International Communications and the University of Natian, Nimbu, China. So my research interests mainly focus on political communication in China, including Chinese online nationalism, propaganda, critical discourse, analysis of media texts. I also have key research interest in the intersection of sports and communication, in particular the role of sports in nation building and the formation of national identity.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Thank you very much, Yiben. The second edition of Rowledge Handbook of Chinese Media was published in 2025 by Rowledge and it was co edited by Yiben, myself and also Professor Gary Wrongsley. And so since both Yiben and I are co editors. So I'm hoping actually this podcast is not going to be structured like a straightforward interview, but more like a conversation. And I hope that through our conversation we will not only introduce this book to our potential readers, but also will share our reflections as editors and researchers of Chinese media and communications. So before we start our conversation, I think actually probably good moment to summarize the whole book to offer our readers an overview about this handbook. So Yi Ben, can you do the honor please?
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Yes. So the Rolled Handbook of Chinese Media second edition is actually a fresh flagship handbook commissioned by Rollage and we started planning the book in 2022. So this handbook is quite special to me personally because I contributed to both editions. The first edition of the Riology Handbook of Chinese Media was published exactly 10 years ago and I contributed a chapter to that handbook. For this edition of the handbook, I not only contributed a chapter, but also I served as one of the editors of this handbook. So this handbook actually means a lot to me personally. For this edition of the handbook, we successfully invited an international team of over 40 researchers, both established scholars and emerging scholars in the area of Chinese media studies. And these 40 plus researchers coming from around the world, including Greater China, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Europe, North American as well as Australia. Some of the contributors of this edition also contributed to the last edition. But of course, we have new scholars contributing to this second edition. Overall, in this handbook we have 29 chapters, including the introduction. Actually, we have 30 chapters in total. So as you can see, this is a very big handbook. This handbook actually includes five broad themes. Well, all the editors, all the three editors initially felt very difficult to think about a structure that accommodates these 29 chapters focusing on different aspects of Chinese media studies. So therefore, we have five broad themes. The first one is the development of the study of Chinese media. Well, this section is actually very new in this edition, which was not existent in the first edition. The reason for that, because we all realize that there have been so many changes and transformations taking place in Chinese media studies. So therefore, we would like to devote this section to discussing identifying major developments in the theoretical conceptual as well as methodological frameworks used to research and understand the Chinese media. Second theme, second part, includes journalism, press freedom and social mobilization. So this section, this part is largely set against the wider context of COVID 19 and the changing political landscape. So in the case, for example, in the case of Hong Kong, the implementation of National Security Law and the chapters in that part discuss the major changes and challenges facing journalism, as well as the emergence of new practices in journalism, in social mobilization, etc. The third part is the Internet, public sphere and media culture. So these particular parts generally talks about the role of media in facilitating social change and media culture. Chapters in that part, on the one hand, continue to examine the role of media in promoting national and political agenda. So we have chapters talking about how documentary and commercial films can actually serve as means of political propaganda carrying on promoting political agenda and ideologies. On the other hand, we also have chapters discuss how media can actually serve as a discussion space for alternative and competing voices. The fourth part is about markets, production and the media industry. So we shift our attention on the media industry, in particular the political economy of Chinese media industry. So in that part, chapters mainly look at the interplay between internal and external forces, key stakeholders and market power relations that have shaped the structures and businesses of Chinese media. So we talked about the emerging game industry, for example, and other related issues such as copyright issues in music industry, for example. The last part, we talked about Chinese media and the word. So chapters in that, that part discuss and explore China's international communication and its global reach. So basically that's the overall structure and the main themes that have been covered in this handbook.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Yeah, excellent. Thank you very much. Yeah, Yiben, you know, given such a comprehensive overview, so that's brilliant. And just like Yiben mentioned, so in fact we both were involved in the first edition of Handbook of Chinese Media and also the second edition, even though in slightly different capacity. So you know, that's why I think when we were co editing this current volume, then looking back to the first edition, it did actually give us some reflections about the changes over the past decade. And so the contrast between the first and second editions of the Rao Li Zhehan Book of Chinese Media, I feel it vividly captures the dramatic transformation of the past decade, which is a decade of digital transformation. So I Remember in the first edition, in 2015, Internet and social media research occupies only relatively modest space within the field. But by 2025 in our second edition, the digital world is no longer a theme among the others, but the organizing principles of media analysis. And this shift reflects not only technological change, but also profound social and political reconfigurations across the Chinese speaking world, sometimes described as the Sinosphere. And it is understood by me not as a political unified space, but as a cultural and historical reference point in a loosely connected constellation of societies. And within this very broadly defined realm of Chinese media, including China, Taiwan, Macau and transnational Chinese communities, media have become central to how power is exercised, contested and imagined, whether through pandemic governance, nationalistic discourse, civic activism or cultural production. And like Yibin said, he contributed a chapter in 2015, which was one of the few chapters looking specifically on digital media, Internet discourse. So, you know, I'm sure even also have a very deep reflection about this particular chapter.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Yeah, indeed, I still recall a decade ago I contributed my chapter on to the first edition of the Handbook on Online Chinese Nationalism. So at the time I mainly focus on nationalistic discussions, debates on online forums, because at the time social media was not really existent. And immediately look back, well, in the second edition again I wrote another chapter on online nationalism. So this time in particular we focus a lot on digital media, in particular social media, how social media actually contributes to the shaping the dissemination of online Chinese national discourses.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Yes, so yeah, so you know, the first reflection about editing this book, like I said, is to do with this rapid change of media landscape and also the study of Chinese media in general. My second reflection about this process is also demonstrate to me how the study of Chinese media is so closely related to current lived experience. So for example, in the first edition of the handbook, several chapters use the materials of a Beijing Olympic in 2008 and in the second edition of the LA Handbook of Chinese Media, several researchers tackled COVID 19 heads on so for example, we have a chapter discussing collective memory and the blank paper movement. We also have a chapter examining how the Taiwanese government found innovative ways to battle against misinformation and disinformation during the pandemic. We also have a chapter analyzing the policy impact of international co production of documentaries in China during and after COVID 19 so put together, these chapters remind us that media power today is marked by contradiction. In a prc, for example, political authority has become more centralized, regulatory frameworks more stringent and narrative control more more systematic. At the same time, digital platforms continue to generate new social practices, cultural forms and modes of expression that do not fit neatly into models of top down control. So media system appears simultaneously close and inventive, predictable and volatile. So understanding this coexistence rather than choosing one side of the binary and has become a central challenge for scholars. As for Taiwan, a democratic society facing persistent external interference, Taiwan has become a crucial testing ground for response to disinformation and platform manipulation. Institutional innovation, civic participation and also media literacy initiatives have helped mitigate social some threats, particularly during the pandemic. Yet deep political polarization and how levels of trust in news media highlight the fragility of democratic information ecosystems. So Taiwan's experience underscores the fact that democracy alone does not guarantee media credibility or public confidence. So I don't know Ibn, if you have any thoughts about sort of the current lived experience come across in our.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
I agree what you said. So one of the very important changes that have been covered in the second edition of the handbook is the COVID because no one could have foreseen a global pandemic like this a decade ago. And it still reminds me vividly that during the time during the entire period of COVID three of us were actually living and working in China. So we actually observed the scale of disruption it caused to all of us. So on the on the other hand, Covid accelerated the diffusion of digital services and technologies and how our life have been mediated. So this process actually has blurred the line between online and offline, public and private. And these technological change have been embedded into almost every single aspect of our daily life. On the other hand, as you just mentioned, that Covid did actually bring a lot of change as well as challenges. And one of them, as discussed in the handbook, is the problem of disinformation and misinformation. As you just said, we had a chapter focusing on the case of Taiwan, discussing the effectiveness of the so called multi stakeholder approach in dealing with in tackling the problem of misinformation and disinformation. And another chapter as you mentioned, specifically talking about the manufacturing of collective memory by Chinese official media and how this narrative was resisted by social media users in China. So I think, I think well this. Well because as I as I mentioned earlier, we started planning this handbook around sometime in 2022 so that that was still within in Covid and the so is not surprising that most many of the chapters included in this handbook were actually written in the context of COVID.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Yes, absolutely. So yeah, I think actually you know, editing this book, the process itself while we try to be professional and touched as a researcher, but it also actually help us make meaning of our lived experience, you know, try to tee through. So that's why I think actually the whole process itself I find is very revealing but also very enriching for myself. And that's why my final reflection is actually from a much more personal perspective. You know, I'm very pleased actually. Our handbook tried to include all territories of Chinese media, but does not treat these territories as isolated cases. So instead it reveals shared themes and parallel challenges across diverse political systems while remaining attentive to local specificities. But you know, so although we only have a handful of Taiwan centered chapters, but I do find actually these Taiwan related chapters engage directly with key debates on digital governance, misinformation, you know, like you said, civic participation and cultural representation. They offer insights that resonate well beyond Taiwan itself. So for example we have chapter which call for reconceptualization of Chinese media studies from a Taiwan centered perspective, challenging PRC centric frameworks that long dominated the field. And this intervention is reinforced by empirical studies that examine Taiwan's media environment as both highly digitized by vjooqic and deeply politicized. Another chapter tackling Taiwan's multi stakeholder approach to combat misinformation during COVID 19 pandemic that we both mentioned. There's also a chapter on LGBTQ media discourses traces how representations of gender and sexuality have evolved since the 1980s, showing how media have both reflected and propel Taiwan's progressive legal and social transformations. And beyond news and political communication. We also have a chapter focusing on museum collections and literary games. And it illustrates how digital culture in Taiwan merges heritage play and civic education, underscoring expanding boundaries of what counts as media in the digital age. So put together, these Taiwan focused chapters do more than offer individual case studies lay foreground recurring themes, disinformation, misinformation, platform governance, media trust and cultural negotiation that resonate across the Chinese speaking world, while also illuminating how different political contexts shape divergent outcomes. So these three reflections explain why I'm so proud of our collective effort.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Yeah, indeed. And also these chapter actually reflects how interdisciplinary these studies are. So for example, you talked about one chapter which basically discuss developing literary games. And that particular chapter really illustrate how media convergence and transmedia storytelling in practice. Because when we are talking about media convergence, we used to talk about journalism adopting to digital technologies and platforms, but now as we know, the entire media industry is converging. And that chapter actually offers a very concrete, non western and empirical example of transmedia storytelling, illustrating the innovative use of music collections and literary works in the creation of interactive games that serve the dual purpose of entertainment and education. So it really expands how we understand such term as transmedia storytelling, not just as theory, but more important as a lived practice.
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Mingye Wrongsley
I agree totally. And so Yiben, do you have other reflections you want to share with us?
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Well, looking at both editions of the handbook, I realized that there are some themes that which that remains the same. Of course there are changes, there are updates, there are a few themes and topics still remain prominent. But of course there are other issues and phenomenon which are new in this edition. So I will talk about for example the things which are newly covered in this edition of handbook. For example, as you just previously mentioned that digital technologies in particular social media was very new when the first edition of the handbook was published. So not so many people, only a few chapters actually talked about social media in China and they thought social media as the future technologies. But in this particular edition of Handbook, social media has been discussed literally in every single chapter. Well, even though there are chapters which are not specifically talking about social media, but they are more or less written in that context. And because of the prevalent uses of social media, like short video sharing platforms, they actually give rise to new practices and new phenomenon that worth academic scrutiny and debates. For instance, we there there are some chapters that are talking about new phenomenons such as digital labor, the emergence of online celebrity in China. We Call Wang Hong. And these new phenomenons also requires researchers to think about new methodologies to study Chinese media in the digital media era. So for instance, one of the chapters in our handbook talked about natnography as a new research method analyzing social media in China. Well, the methodology of natnography is not new to be honest, but that chapter actually provides, you know, empirical discussion about the adoption of natnography in studying Chinese social media, discussing the empirical as well as ethical issues relating to the use, the use and application of Latinography in the Chinese context. There are also themes and topics remain prominent in both editions. For example, the topic of soft power, the concept of soft power remains a prominent topic in both editions and continue to shape China's communication with domestic and international audience. So with China's growing influence, along with change in media platforms and geopolitics, how we think about Chinese soft power has shifted. And we have a few chapters in this edition of handbook actually talked about soft power. So for instance, one chapter talk examines discuss the concept of soft power and how the Chinese understanding of soft power diverged from the original concept proposed by Joseph Nye and how Chinese soft power can be assessed and measured. Following President Xi's call to tell China's story better, the Chinese government has actually invested enormously in its international communication efforts. So this is evidenced by the expansion of global television networks such as CGTN and the presence of Chinese diplomats, embassies and media social media platforms such as X and Facebook. So these as these efforts are aimed at increasing China, not only China's presence on the global media landscape, but also trying to project. An image which President Xi calls a lovable, respectable and also credible image of China. So like your chapter co authored with Gary, talking about co production of documentary and you have argued that this practice can actually enhance China's cultural soft power. But you also warned that the lack of autonomy and credibility within the state system can actually limit the effectiveness of China's public and cultural diplomacy. And other chapters also talked about issues with credibility and journalist independence can also prevent China's global TV networks such as CGTN from becoming a globally influential news channel. So this is some of my observations.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Oh, thank you very much Yibin. Yeah, I'm sure you know, if our third co editor, Professor Gary Wrongsley, if he's here, he probably has a lot more to say as well. But yes, you know, as an expert of soft power, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, I think actually also you know, because of Gary's vision along this particular subject and also amazing contributions from Our authors that are things we are able to provide in a situated handbook within the developments within the broader genealogy of China's global media ambitions, while also examining the structural limits of a state led communication in a fragmented international information environment. Yeah, I also feel actually we can talk a little bit maybe about Hong Kong and Maau.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Oh yes, I think both editions actually covers a lot discussion about Hong Kong. And if we compare 2015 and 2024, the contracts between Hong Kong is actually very striking. So Hong Kong remains a very important area of Chinese media studies. Not only, you know, there are so many famous established scholars, you know, analyzing Chinese media there, but also Hong Kong itself provides a very good opportunity to look at how media industries journalism actually adopt to various different kind of changes. So journalism and social movements were once very prominent. But we see the change in this edition primarily because of the political and the change in political environment in Hong Kong, in particularly the implementation of National Security Law. So now the environment is much more constrained. But on the other hand, this change in political environment also led to discussion around other new emerging, for example, journalistic practices. So for example, one of the chapters in the handbook talks about solutions journalism, how this new type of journalistic practice has been localized and practiced in Hong Kong.
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Mingye Wrongsley
Yeah, certainly, I think actually for the change of Hong Kong. I think what I have learned is actually even under these conditions, that journalists continue to search for adaptive practices that preserve professional purposes without crossing increasingly rigid red lines. So the Hong Kong case stands as a sobering illusions illustration of how quickly media systems can be restructured under authoritarian pressure. And I also see actually Macau represents a quieter but no less revealing case. Yeah, I think media development shaped by colonial legacies, religion and geopolitics underscores how historical trajectories intersect with digital transformation. So while Macau has not experienced the same level of political conflict as Hong Kong, its media evolution highlights shared pressure of marketization and technological change that cut across the Chinese cultural region. So yeah, I think up to this point, I wonder maybe actually you have any concluding remark to sort of end our discussion about and also editing the book.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Okay, yeah. Well, I would like to say a few words about Macau before I am going to provide my concluding remarks. I'm very happy, to be honest, to be able to have a chapter included in our handbook about Macau, because there was. Well, Macau was not actually covered in the first edition of the handbook. Macau is a very interesting case which actually received much less attention compared with Hong Kong. But it does not mean that it's not worth academic debate or discussion. So, yeah, as you said, Macau is actually a very special case. And we have such a chapter discussing how Macau's media landscape has been shaped by a range of different factors. Colonial pasts, history, multiple different factors that have shaped the ecosystem of Macau's media industry. So overall, in terms of the concluding remarks, personally, I find this is a very challenging but at the same time very rewarding process for me to be able to co edit this big volume with Mengye and Gary. And it means a lot to me. And I think for me, the most difficult and challenging part of editing this handbook is actually to write the introduction of this very big handbook. I think we all share the same feeling that writing introduction for such a big book is very challenging. And it's basically, it's very hard to, you know, to use a few thousand words to cover what has been covered in this handbook because, you know, there has been so many different topics have been covered, have been discussed. And at the same time, I also immediately realize that even though there has been so many different topics have been covered, but still what we have covered about Chinese media study is actually very limited. So therefore, I think that we are using this opportunity of this handbook to encourage more research about Chinese media studies, which is ever involving, which is highly interdisciplinary. So that is some of my observations.
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Mingye Wrongsley
I agree. Thank you very much, Yiban, for sharing with us. I think we'll just conclude here, and I'm very pleased that we make a small contribution to the field of communication and media studies in general. So I hope another opportunity will meet again. All right. Okay, thank you very much.
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Dr. Yiben Ma
Thank you. Bye bye.