'A thorn in my heart': Narratives of systemic burdens and gendered suffering in Chinese autism parenting discourse.

Post-socialist China provides a paradoxical context for women, where economic independence is promoted even as traditional gender norms endure, shaped by class stratification and consumerist values. Drawing on intersectional feminist theories (Crenshaw, McRobbie, Banet-Weiser), this paper analyses the 2017 TV series The First Half of My Life by tracing protagonist Luo Zijun’s transformation from dependent housewife to “independent” professional through character dialogue, visual semiotics of costume and setting, and cultural context. The analysis shows how the series frames female empowerment through neoliberal ideals of consumption, professional self-reinvention, and class-based mobility, while Zijun’s apparent success remains profoundly conditional. Her ascent depends on class privilege and elite social capital, which undercuts the narrative of self-made agency. Juxtaposing Zijun with her professional friend and working-class sister further reveals how patriarchal expectations cut across class, while meaningful upward mobility remains tied to elite networks. Overall, the study argues that the series simultaneously critiques patriarchy and endorses commodified, consumer-driven notions of empowerment, challenging simplistic empowerment narratives and demonstrating how female agency in contemporary Chinese media is shaped by class-based conditions.

Correction: Quality, Reliability, and Dissemination of In Vitro Fertilization-Related Videos on Chinese Social Media: Cross-Sectional Analysis of 300 Short Videos.

China accounts for approximately 50% of global new liver cancer cases, predominantly driven by hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma. The disease presents a distinctive socio-medical profile characterized by a prolonged etiological chain (chronic hepatitis B—cirrhosis—liver cancer), late-stage diagnosis, and a cultural norm of family-first disclosure—whereby physicians typically inform family members before patients themselves. These features position family caregivers, rather than patients, as the primary information seekers and communicators in online health discourse. Drawing on the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) and Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory, this study analyzes 1,857 liver cancer-related user comments collected from Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)—a Chinese lifestyle-oriented social media platform with over 300 million monthly active users—between December 2024 and February 2026. BERTopic, a neural topic modeling framework suited to short Chinese social media texts, was employed for inductive topic extraction. The analysis yielded 15 interpretable topics, organized into five thematic categories: clinical diagnosis and treatment (34.8%), emotional support and caregiving (26.3%), upstream chronic disease management (14.2%), symptom and tumor assessment (12.5%), and online health consultation (9.6%). Notably, hepatitis B and cirrhosis medication management emerged as the second-largest topic, directly mirroring the HBV-dominant etiological chain characteristic of Chinese liver cancer. Family-role terms ("father," "mother," "husband") and Buddhist prayer language appeared as high-salience keywords across multiple topics, underscoring the caregiver-driven and culturally embedded nature of the discourse. The study proposes the concept of "proxy information seeker" as a theoretical extension of CMIS, reveals privacy boundary tensions arising from caregivers' routine public disclosure of patient health information under China's non-disclosure culture, and provides empirical grounding for caregiver-oriented platform governance and digital health literacy interventions.

One of the most consequential territorial disputes today is the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, involving Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Drawing on Communication Geography and a qualitative framing analysis of 533 English-language news articles from state-affiliated outlets in these six countries, this article shows how media actively reshape the definition and contestation of geographical space. The analysis reveals that Chinese state media project stability and a preference for peaceful resolution, while other claimants remain skeptical and carefully avoid actions that might provoke Beijing, given its global influence. Across outlets, naming practices and repeatable symbolic devices are used to align the SCS with national interests, reinforcing competing territorial imaginaries and amplifying the salience of the dispute. Focusing on state‑affiliated English coverage highlights how official media articulate policy positions, signal diplomatic red lines to international audiences, and shape the legal and rhetorical resources available to negotiators.

Heatwaves and online climate sentiment: evidence from Chinese social media

This paper examines how ethnic minority identities were produced in news reports of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation campaign in China between 2015 and 2020 by examining how the Party organ, People's Daily, and the provincial newspaper, Hunan Daily, reported the same issue. Using a corpus of 230 articles (120 national, 110 provincial) available through digital archives (using governance and ethnicity-related search terms), it employs qualitative comparison as the main method of the research, basing it on framing theory, Faircloughian critical discourse approaches, and the theory of representation. The analysis coded texts on evaluative lexis, agency assignment, and voice attribution as well as cultural imagery. Results indicate that people's readings are biased towards macro achievement discourses, Party elite, and passive grammar that present communities as benefactors whose sense of gratitude is a political reward. Hunan Daily, on its part, uses human-centered narration, quotations, and action verbs to predict local decision-making, entrepreneurship, and cultural economy. The comparison shows no institutional scale in representation of the authority of the institution because the central discourse produces symbolic inclusion with a poor voice, whereas provincial discourse can partially represent the self and have more subjectivity. The study explicates how poverty governance communication produces an imagination of agency and provides implications for increased voice-based reporting on rebuilding post-poverty revitalization.

Computational text analysis of emotional expressions related to non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese social media.

Abstract This study examines the under‐theorized political role and identity of Chinese international students, who emerge as significant actors caught between U.S. soft power ambitions and rising geopolitical suspicion. Amid escalating U.S.‐China tensions, these students are forced to confront environments shaped by competing geopolitical discourses, where they are discursively positioned as insufficiently loyal or even anti‐China in some home‐country narratives, while simultaneously being constructed as national security threats in the host country. By reimagining them as “diaspora in the making,” this research investigates how macro‐level geopolitical dynamics are experienced and negotiated through the micro‐level interactions of everyday academic life. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with 38 Chinese international students at a large, predominantly white Midwestern university, the analysis identifies three key manifestations: political labelling, racialized border surveillance and everyday social tensions. Findings further reveal that students develop critical awareness of competing U.S. and Chinese media discourses and become aware of their racialization as “Asian” within American contexts. Importantly, the study demonstrates that these students are not passive subjects; they exercise strategic agency by navigating structural constraints, engaging in digital activism and forging solidarity across transnational spaces. This research advances diaspora studies by expanding the concept of Chinese diaspora to include international students as strategic actors who actively shape their political identities and communities within global power structures.

As digital living becomes more prevalent, cyberbullying has emerged as a global issue threatening individual well-being and social cohesion. As China's leading social media platform, Weibo plays a crucial role in addressing cyberbullying, yet existing research has insufficiently examined the platform's intervention frameworks and public attitudes toward such measures. This study combines nudge theory with governance logic to conduct two studies aimed at systematically analyzing Weibo's intervention measures and their effects. Study 1 showed that Weibo has established a comprehensive intervention framework that covers the entire cycle of user behavior, combining soft and hard measures across six categories and 17 specific strategies. Soft strategies include behavioral norms, reminders, guidance, and education, while hard strategies encompass management and accountability. Study 2, a survey of 455 participants, indicated that although the public generally viewed soft strategies less favorably than hard ones, positive attitudes toward three soft strategies were associated with positive behavior. Likewise, favorable attitudes toward the hard strategy of behavioral management predicted more positive behavior, while supportive attitudes toward behavioral accountability were linked to less harmful behavior. The results indicate a mismatch between public preferences and strategy effectiveness: while hard measures are more widely accepted, soft strategies remain indispensable in incentivizing positive intervention and fostering a positive community atmosphere. This study underscores the value of a complementary soft-hard governance approach to combat cyberbullying. The findings offer theoretical foundations and practical insights for shaping effective governance strategies on social media platforms.

Once regarded primarily as a pathological state, madness has become a mode of online expression among some members of Generation Z. Drawing on Goffman’s dramaturgical theory and Collins’s Interaction Ritual Chain theory, this paper analyzes the communicative practice of hysterical literature. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews conducted on mainstream Chinese social media platforms, this study investigates the manifestations and communication processes of hysterical literature while also examining the psychological states of young people reflected in this phenomenon. The findings indicate that (1) hysterical literature can be understood as a form of emotional expression for stress release among the participants studied, characterized by expressive strategies of hyperbole, collage, and parody. It is a negative form of expression that nevertheless reflects a profound desire for positivity. (2) Authors of hysterical literature engage in a theatrical performance of resistance from a standpoint of weakness, consisting of a frontstage marked by regressive behavior and a backstage that resists discipline. (3) The communication of hysterical literature operates as a form of selective affinity within intimate relationships, facilitated by entertainment and enabling participating individuals to achieve emotional resonance. Finally, hysterical literature offers insights into the vivid expressive and psychological tendencies of Generation Z while also motivating renewed scholarly scrutiny of “madness” as a counter-disciplinary act.

ABSTRACT While existing studies have examined how Chinese state media embed ideological agendas through language, far less is known about the ideologies articulated about language itself. This study addresses this gap by analysing the cultural politics of linguistic diversity in the National TV Host Competition, a high-profile yet understudied talent show produced by China Central Television. Drawing on Agha, Asif’s. (2003. “The Social Life of Cultural Value.” Language & Communication 23 (3–4): 231–273) notion of enregisterment, the paper shows how state entertainment television enacts language ideologies by shaping the visibility and indexical meanings of Hanzi, Putonghua, regional varieties and non-Han languages. Although multilingual elements appear, Hanzi and Putonghua are consistently elevated as markers of unity and civilisation, whereas dialects and minority languages are showcased in affectively appealing yet constrained ways. These patterns exemplify a mode of state multilingualism in which diversity is symbolically celebrated but disciplined through monoglot, standard-language ideologies. This study extends existing debates on language ideology, showing how entertainment television functions as a key site in the state management of linguistic diversity.

This article presents a comparative analysis of the emotional coloring of news texts in Russian and Chinese media using the example of coverage of three key events in 2024: the development of artificial intelligence technologies, the change of power in Syria, and the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The subject of the research is the emotional and evaluative vocabulary, syntactic techniques and tonality of news texts in Russian and Chinese media in the context of their cultural, political and informational differences. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the use of emotional means of expression, stylistic techniques and strategies for constructing news reports in the media space of the two countries, as well as to determine how national differences in approaches to event coverage affect the perception and formation of public opinion. The paper uses methods of linguistic analysis, including sentiment analysis, syntactic and lexical analysis, which made it possible to assess the degree of expression of emotions and stylistic features of texts. The results of this study showed that the Russian media is characterized by a more restrained and analytical style, in which the emotional assessment of events is mainly conveyed through quotations and choice of vocabulary. In contrast, Chinese media are more actively using vivid emotional and evaluative vocabulary, means of artistic expression (metaphors, rhetorical questions) and interactive syntactic constructions, especially in materials related to technological advances. Russian publications display a neutral or neutral-negative tone, while Chinese publications are more often focused on a neutral-positive presentation of information. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a systematic comparative analysis of the emotional coloring of news texts in Russian and Chinese media using the example of coverage of current international events in 2024. Unlike previous studies, this work focuses not only on lexical and syntactic analysis, but also on cultural and political aspects of shaping the tone of news in the media space of the two countries. The findings of the study highlight the significant difference in approaches to covering events in Russia and China, reflecting cultural and political peculiarities, as well as strategic priorities of media communication in the context of globalization.

Metaphorical identity construction of depression sufferers on Chinese social media.

Short-form videos have become the common source of cancer information for Chinese patients and caregivers. We evaluated the content, quality, and reliability of lung cancer treatment videos on TikTok, Bilibili, and Kwai and generated evidence-based recommendations for cancer health education. We conducted a cross-sectional study of lung cancer treatment short videos on TikTok, Bilibili, and Kwai. The top 200 most-liked videos per platform posted between January 1, 2020 and October 30, 2025, were retrieved on November 1, 2025. After screening, 300 videos (100 per platform) were analyzed. Two oncologists rated quality using GQS (1-5) and DISCERN (1-5); creator identity was classified. Comment sentiment (SnowNLP) and engagement metrics were analyzed. TikTok had the highest engagement and quality (GQS 3.0, DISCERN 3.0) versus Bilibili/Kwai (2.0) (p < 0.001). Professionals achieved the highest quality (GQS 3.0) versus institutions (1.0) (p < 0.001). However, absolute quality was low across all platforms: only 6% of videos met high-quality criteria (GQS ≥ 4), and 5% met DISCERN ≥ 4. Engagement showed a weak negative correlation with quality (ρ = -0.13 to -0.21). Overall quality is low; professional content is more reliable but less viral. Embedding quality indicators in algorithms and promoting certified creators could improve patient cancer education.

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has placed substantial strain on China–U.S. relations, with media coverage playing a pivotal role in shaping public perception. This study extends the framework of network agenda-setting (NAS) theory by incorporating affective attributes alongside substantive ones, thereby broadening the existing theoretical lens. Using a mixed-methods design that combines machine learning, focus group interviews, surveys, and social network analysis, the study identifies 12 distinct substantive attributes grouped into three clusters: politics, economics, and public health. Addressing a gap in the predominantly Western-focused scholarship, it examines how networks of substantive and affective attributes in Chinese media correspond to public perceptions of China–U.S. relations. The results show a strong alignment between media and public agendas, with negative affective attributes predominating media coverage. By applying NAS theory to the Chinese context during a global crisis, the study highlights the complex interplay between affective and substantive dimensions and their influence on public agendas. These findings emphasize the importance of media practitioners balancing both affective and substantive narratives to shape public understanding effectively.

This article examines how artificial intelligence is transforming the contemporary museum from a static repository of objects into a dynamic system of interpretation, participation, and imagination. Through a qualitative comparative analysis of three emblematic case studies from Beijing, Turin, and Cambridge, the study explores how different cultural, political, and epistemological frameworks shape the integration of AI in museological practice. The Beijing case illustrates a state-led infrastructural model in which AI supports large-scale heritage governance and digital sovereignty. The Turin case highlights a participatory and human-centered approach, where AI functions as a mediator aligned with ethical design, community engagement, and sustainability. The Cambridge case, represented by Harvard University’s Chinese Art Media Lab, presents an experimental paradigm in which AI operates as a creative and imaginative partner in immersive reconstruction and algorithmic aesthetics. Drawing on digital hermeneutics, phenomenology, and actor-network theory, the article argues that AI acts simultaneously as technological infrastructure and interpretive agent, redistributing authority among curators, visitors, and machines. The intelligent museum thus emerges as a cognitive ecosystem where cultural meaning is co-produced through human–machine collaboration, raising new ethical, epistemological, and aesthetic questions for the future of digital museology. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Digital Museology; Cultural Heritage; Human Computer Interaction; Immersive Media

Abstract This article develops the concept of meritocratic nationalism to unpack the online backlash surrounding the rise to fame of a Tibetan cyberstar, Tenzing Tsondu (Ding Zhen), on Chinese social media. Meritocratic nationalism not only embeds ideals of individual achievement, education attainment, and productivity within narratives of national identity and regime legitimacy, but also sustains structural inequalities through racialized and gendered assumptions about who is capable of merit and whose success is ‘deserved’. First, critics frame state media’s endorsement of the internet celebrity as a betrayal to the meritocratic ideal the state is supposed to safeguard. However, this does not lead to a critique of meritocratic legitimacy itself but rather its reaffirmation. Secondly, the reproduction of a Han-centric and masculine-coded ideal of merit is integral to the construction of majority male victimhood, which denies and normalizes structural violence. Thirdly, we note the multifaceted representation of the international in the backlash, where users deploy the figure of ‘white American men’ as fellow victims of ‘political correctness’ to animate a racialized imagination of shared majoritarian grievance. The article contributes to nationalism studies and broader debates on meritocracy, racism, and the grievance politics of ethnic majority men.

ABSTRACT This study traces the viral trajectory of the Chinglish meme ‘You swan, he frog’ from Chinese social media to institutional discourse, highlighting its cultural, linguistic, and pedagogical significance. Drawing on the World Englishes framework, it argues that Chinglish is no longer seen simply as flawed English but as an emergent variety characterized by creativity, hybridity, and youth identity. Using discourse-centered online ethnography and summative content analysis, the study examines the meme’s circulation across Xiaohongshu, China Daily, and national English examinations. The findings reveal three forms of institutional reframing: Chinglish as an expression of cultural confidence and soft power, a marker of linguistic hybridity, and a pedagogical resource. Public responses further point to shifting language ideologies, with Chinglish increasingly viewed as humorous, empowering, and meaningful in local contexts. Overall, the study demonstrates how digital creativity is reshaping English in contemporary China, positioning Chinglish as a legitimate, culturally resonant mode of expression.

ABSTRACT The “illness blogs” of cancer patients constitute a crucial medium for understanding the lived experience of illness, while the narratives constructed by their family caregivers during the caregiving process hold distinct and significant value in their own right. Grounded in illness narrative theory, this study proposes the concept of “surrogate illness narratives” to investigate how relatives construct illness experiences through vicarious writing and generate alternative forms of health-related public expression within digital public health discourses. Drawing on data from a Chinese online community “Cancer Diary–2017,” this study employs a mixed-methods approach, including computer-assisted content analysis, to systematically examine the thematic concerns, narrative strategies, and interactive dynamics of caregivers’ posts. Findings indicate that, in terms of what is narrated, caregivers’ posts primarily address four themes: medical and caregiving journeys of parents with cancer, illness progression and emotional expression, sharing on cancer-related knowledge and treatments, and cancer experiences of grandparents within intergenerational care contexts—all reflecting distinct familial attributes. As to how narratives are structured, caregivers predominantly adopt nodal narratives, detailed medical descriptions, self-documentation, and monologic expression. Regarding how the narratives are received, different storytelling features lead to divergent engagement outcomes: posts with a positive orientation and detailed accounts tend to evoke stronger empathy and response, whereas linear and lengthy accounts of illness progression tend to attract less interaction. By shifting the focus from patient-centered narration, this study illuminates how surrogate storytelling reconstitutes illness experiences and family relations in Chinese digital contexts, and further contributes to the formation of affective publics.