Shanzhai

Deconstruction in Chinese

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Criticism, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book Shanzhai by Byung-Chul Han, The MIT Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Byung-Chul Han ISBN: 9780262343589
Publisher: The MIT Press Publication: October 6, 2017
Imprint: The MIT Press Language: English
Author: Byung-Chul Han
ISBN: 9780262343589
Publisher: The MIT Press
Publication: October 6, 2017
Imprint: The MIT Press
Language: English

Tracing the thread of “decreation” in Chinese thought, from constantly changing classical masterpieces to fake cell phones that are better than the original.

Shanzhai is a Chinese neologism that means “fake,” originally coined to describe knock-off cell phones marketed under such names as Nokir and Samsing. These cell phones were not crude forgeries but multifunctional, stylish, and as good as or better than the originals. Shanzhai has since spread into other parts of Chinese life, with shanzhai books, shanzhai politicians, shanzhai stars. There is a shanzhai Harry Potter: Harry Potter and the Porcelain Doll, in which Harry takes on his nemesis Yandomort. In the West, this would be seen as piracy, or even desecration, but in Chinese culture, originals are continually transformed—deconstructed. In this volume in the Untimely Meditations series, Byung-Chul Han traces the thread of deconstruction, or “decreation,” in Chinese thought, from ancient masterpieces that invite inscription and transcription to Maoism—“a kind a shanzhai Marxism,” Han writes.

Han discusses the Chinese concepts of quan, or law, which literally means the weight that slides back and forth on a scale, radically different from Western notions of absoluteness; zhen ji, or original, determined not by an act of creation but by unending process; xian zhan, or seals of leisure, affixed by collectors and part of the picture's composition; fuzhi, or copy, a replica of equal value to the original; and shanzhai. The Far East, Han writes, is not familiar with such “pre-deconstructive” factors as original or identity. Far Eastern thought begins with deconstruction.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Tracing the thread of “decreation” in Chinese thought, from constantly changing classical masterpieces to fake cell phones that are better than the original.

Shanzhai is a Chinese neologism that means “fake,” originally coined to describe knock-off cell phones marketed under such names as Nokir and Samsing. These cell phones were not crude forgeries but multifunctional, stylish, and as good as or better than the originals. Shanzhai has since spread into other parts of Chinese life, with shanzhai books, shanzhai politicians, shanzhai stars. There is a shanzhai Harry Potter: Harry Potter and the Porcelain Doll, in which Harry takes on his nemesis Yandomort. In the West, this would be seen as piracy, or even desecration, but in Chinese culture, originals are continually transformed—deconstructed. In this volume in the Untimely Meditations series, Byung-Chul Han traces the thread of deconstruction, or “decreation,” in Chinese thought, from ancient masterpieces that invite inscription and transcription to Maoism—“a kind a shanzhai Marxism,” Han writes.

Han discusses the Chinese concepts of quan, or law, which literally means the weight that slides back and forth on a scale, radically different from Western notions of absoluteness; zhen ji, or original, determined not by an act of creation but by unending process; xian zhan, or seals of leisure, affixed by collectors and part of the picture's composition; fuzhi, or copy, a replica of equal value to the original; and shanzhai. The Far East, Han writes, is not familiar with such “pre-deconstructive” factors as original or identity. Far Eastern thought begins with deconstruction.

More books from The MIT Press

Cover of the book The Inversion Factor by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Living Well Now and in the Future by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets! by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book A Prehistory of the Cloud by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Žižek's Jokes by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Paul Lauterbur and the Invention of MRI by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Authors, Users, and Pirates by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book How Smart Machines Think by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book The Reasoned Schemer by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Engaging the Everyday by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book The Power of Resilience by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Reassembling Rubbish by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Men, Machines, and Modern Times by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Small, Gritty, and Green by Byung-Chul Han
Cover of the book Why Only Us by Byung-Chul Han
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy