Liang, Yixin
(2017)
IF ONE THING CAN BE RESOLVED WITH BIAOQING BAO, THEN DON'T USE WORDS!”: THE GENEALOGY OF BIAOQING BAO IN THE CHINESE INTERNET CULTURE.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
As one of the trendiest Internet memes in China, Biaoqing Bao has experienced fast development, from the early emoticons used on QQ and Internet images inspired by the rage comics in the late 2000s to a brand new branch of online communication tool around 2015. Biaoqing Bao has its distinctive feature to combine images and texts together to convey users’ emotions and feelings. Various technologies like Biaoqing Bao generators also enable users to draw different sorts of materials, such as social hot issues, to make them into Biaoqing Bao. Biaoqing Bao thus offers a vantage point to look at today’s Chinese pop culture. In this thesis, I will investigate the origin of Biaoqing Bao which can be traced back to 2009 when a new type of images emerged online to vent netizens’ sentiment against the Internet censorship launched by the Chinese government. As the predecessor of Biaoqing Bao, these images served the subversive purpose against the authoritarian manipulation over the cyber space. Although the subversive spirit embodied in Biaoqing Bao seems to subside when Biaoqing Bao has been more and more used on major instant messaging platforms, the creativity in Biaoqing Bao still leaves relatively free space for netizens to fully represent their digital selves and celebrate such liberty of expression. I will also investigate the 2016 Facebook campaign launched by the Chinese mainlanders, to demonstrate that such a subversive symbol plays an important role in constructing a united national identity to participate in the international political dispute. Biaoqing Bao provides a channel to vent the netizens’ anger in a playful way, in contrast to the moderate attitude of the government. In this sense, I argue that Biaoqing Bao, as one of the semiotic codes created and circulated on the Internet, is not only a visual entertainment in communication as a signifier of Chinese pop culture, but also a practice that represents a subversive symbol that strives against any forms of authoritative regulation and manipulation in the Chinese Internet culture.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
14 June 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
13 April 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
14 June 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
14 April 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
69 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > East Asian Studies |
| Degree: |
MA - Master of Arts |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Biaoqing Bao, Carnivalesque, China's Internet censorship, Internet Memes, The Facebook Campaign |
| Date Deposited: |
14 Jun 2017 15:30 |
| Last Modified: |
14 Jun 2017 15:30 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/31464 |
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