Romance as a medium-Lin Huiyin’s relationships in transmedia intertextual discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lin Huiyin (1904–1955) was the first woman architect in modern China. Her romantic love stories have shaped a discourse that, for optimal engagement, both provides and requires transmedia and intertextual media theories. This research examines Lin’s romantic stories that entangled with her career and life, from the perspective of media ecology, narrative, and gender studies. I argue that although the Chinese media environment is censored, constrained, and scrutinized, given enough time and movement among multiple platforms, a medium can shape its own ecology and develop “organic” discussions on a subject that is commonly perceived as less political and more humanistic, particularly romantic love. These discussions provide a more spontaneous discourse for media users to share their opinions and expose more genuine views on gender, nation, and morality. These topics require continuing conversations rather than didactic education to change. Although change usually does not occur quickly, the airing of genuine yet problematic opinions helps the public and stakeholders observe, identify, and interact with them and create the possibility to reshape public opinions on gender roles, particularly women’s roles in romantic discourse, which always interacts with women’s individual realization as well as professional, familial, and social relationships.