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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Chinese Political Cartoons and the Visualization of Politics

Sha (Sana), Na (2020)
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
The main purpose of this was to examine the current Chinese satirical/political cartoons by studying anti-corruption cartoons. Also, to answer the question from an online discussion about “whether there are satirical cartoons (讽刺漫画) in China today”. The study follows the concept of political cartoons as a medium of politics and society. The information and the hidden meaning of the cartoons are explored by applying the conceptual metaphorical theory. A total amount of 61 cartoons from the government organized anti-corruption cartoon competition and 5 semi-structured interviews with Chinese cartoonists are collected in this study. Semiotic analysis of signs in the cartoons shows both universal and local cultural values in anticorruption... (More)
The main purpose of this was to examine the current Chinese satirical/political cartoons by studying anti-corruption cartoons. Also, to answer the question from an online discussion about “whether there are satirical cartoons (讽刺漫画) in China today”. The study follows the concept of political cartoons as a medium of politics and society. The information and the hidden meaning of the cartoons are explored by applying the conceptual metaphorical theory. A total amount of 61 cartoons from the government organized anti-corruption cartoon competition and 5 semi-structured interviews with Chinese cartoonists are collected in this study. Semiotic analysis of signs in the cartoons shows both universal and local cultural values in anticorruption cartoons. The cartoonists that were interviewed in this research holds both similar and different opinions about Chinese political cartoons, which also provided more insight into this subject. From the analysis of cartoons, it suggests that the cultural background of the cartoons is an important part of understanding them. Further, the satirical feature of political cartoons (mocking the ugliness, judging the injustices, and bring thoughts to the audience) can be found from the study result. Therefore, I argue that there are satirical cartoons in China today. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sha (Sana), Na
supervisor
organization
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Political cartoons, Satirical cartoons, China, Cartoonists, Metaphors, Semiotics
language
English
id
9031439
date added to LUP
2020-10-28 13:47:19
date last changed
2020-10-28 13:47:19
@misc{9031439,
  abstract     = {{The main purpose of this was to examine the current Chinese satirical/political cartoons by studying anti-corruption cartoons. Also, to answer the question from an online discussion about “whether there are satirical cartoons (讽刺漫画) in China today”. The study follows the concept of political cartoons as a medium of politics and society. The information and the hidden meaning of the cartoons are explored by applying the conceptual metaphorical theory. A total amount of 61 cartoons from the government organized anti-corruption cartoon competition and 5 semi-structured interviews with Chinese cartoonists are collected in this study. Semiotic analysis of signs in the cartoons shows both universal and local cultural values in anticorruption cartoons. The cartoonists that were interviewed in this research holds both similar and different opinions about Chinese political cartoons, which also provided more insight into this subject. From the analysis of cartoons, it suggests that the cultural background of the cartoons is an important part of understanding them. Further, the satirical feature of political cartoons (mocking the ugliness, judging the injustices, and bring thoughts to the audience) can be found from the study result. Therefore, I argue that there are satirical cartoons in China today.}},
  author       = {{Sha (Sana), Na}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Chinese Political Cartoons and the Visualization of Politics}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}