Intellectual Discourse in Reform Era China by Giorgio Strafella

Author:Giorgio Strafella [Strafella, Giorgio]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367026974
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Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2019-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Sakai Hirobumi notes how cultural criticism in the 1990s ‘from many perspectives attempted to turn “the 1980s” into an object of analysis’ and the debate marked the beginning of this trend (Sakai, 2011: 18). Cai Xiang’s words in the passage above exemplify the attempt – after the 1989–1992 watershed – to look back at the 1980s and critique the attitude of the intellectuals during that decade of ‘utopian’ optimism (see also Cai Xiang, 1994: 49).

Finally, Cai Xiang admitted that by unleashing market forces the reforms had brought forward consequences unforeseen by intellectuals in the 1980s. When the intellectual’s ‘utopia’ failed to materialise, a modern lexicon of socio-cultural ideals became an object of derision, he lamented. Key values such as freedom, equality and justice were given a new ‘secular interpretation by the urban class’ (Xu Jilin et al., 1994: 48). ‘Freedom’ became freedom to get rich, and ‘equality’ materialised in the opportunity to start a business. In his view this represented a regression to a primitive search for ‘sensorial satisfaction’, leading to ‘vulgarisation’ and mediocrity. This consideration made him reflect on the discursive mode and social relevance of Chinese intellectuals:

If a certain intellectual movement is unable to turn itself into a common social practice, then one should doubt of its ‘temporal’ meaning. Once it is transformed into a vulgarised social practice, however, what we obtain is indeed a bitter fruit. The intellectual’s romantic view of society and the individual completely vanished as soon as it came into contact with reality. The masses are controlled by some kind of autonomous economic interest, they pursue the satisfaction of the organs and reject the tireless admonishing of the intellectual – the bell has rung, the lesson is over and the intellectual’s identity as ‘tutor’ has self-destroyed.

(Xu Jilin et al., 1994: 48)

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