Public Sphere in China: A Literature Review

Abstract

Controversies have been longstanding around the application of the concept of public sphere to a Chinese context since China did not ever have the equivalent historical circumstances for the sprouting of public sphere as the eighteenth century Europe did. With a postmodern constructivist perspective, this paper combs a series of important academic works henceforth from the discussion of Chinese public sphere began in late 1980s and tries to unpack the trajectory of the development of public sphere in China as well as the discussions arising therefrom. It argues that the concept of public sphere can be extrapolated but with distinct manifestations taking root in its respective socio-political conditions. The paper echoes with some scholars’ proposal that studying Chinese public sphere should break free of the conceptual constrains and establish the theoretical autonomy by examining it in social movements rather than in theoretical argumentation.