YOUTH IN CHINA

by Claire Huot

July 9, 2006

3 Generations

• New China Youth

• Cultural Revolution Youth

• Reform Era Youth

New China Youth

Tian Zhuangzhuang’s “The Blue Kite”

--The Political and the Collective

Cultural Revolution Youth

• “In the Heat of the Sun” by Jiang Wen (and Wang Shuo)

• Sex and politics as games

Reform Era Youth

• “The World” by Jia Zhangke

• Opening to the world

China’s Pop Idol

• Regional TV vs state TV• Omnipotent cellphones• The androgynous and the girl-next-door

look• The common denominator:

democratization of fun and desire

Li Yuchun

Netizen Culture

BBS and Internet surveys

Blogs

Mu Zimei

摇滚• Rolling Stone

• Rolling Stones

Cui Jian

The Case of the Bloody Mantou

• “The Promise” by Chen Kaige

• Hu Ge’s parody

• Martial arts invasion

Chen Kaige, an oxymoron?

Hu Ge, a People’s Hero

“The Promise” by Chen Kaige

Hu Ge’s Parody

Grass-roots Activism

A

D

V

O

C

A

C

Y

China Viewed by its Artists

• Ai Weiwei: a precarious unity• Zhang Huan: human life is cheap• Tang Zhigang: good boys and girls • Cui Xiuwen (f): a generic people• Chen Qiulin (f): ravaged cityscapes• Yin Xiuzhen (f): heavily treaded lands• Cao Fei:(f) an unspeakable generation gap• Weng Fen: a very very bright future

Education is Serious Business

The school system• College studies• Admission exam• Studying abroad /at

home • Turtles and

seaweed

The School System

• The single child: since 1979

• Family vs school influence

• System reform by 2010

College Studies

• The “best” universities: ranking and grants• 1978:1.4% population• 1980s: 2-3%• 2002: 15% (16 million students)• 2006: 20% (over 20 million students)• 2010: projection of more than 30 million

“We bought a Mercedes-Benz and they delivered a VW.”

Studying Abroad /At Home

• Double diploma programs

• International campuses

• Exchange programs

• The US in China

Turtles and Seaweed

• 海归， 海龟； 海呆， 海带• Chinese students in Canada:

– in 2003: over 110,000– in 2004: only 55,000

Young, Forever

The 2008 Olympics

The sky’s the limit… 谢谢！

©Claire Huot 2006