China’s cultural industry is not often the topic of a book. However, the newly released Red Creative: Culture and Modernity in China tackles questions about how the government sees its cultural industry and how the domestic cultural industry has evolved over time. The book’s authors, Dr. Justin O’Connor and Dr. Xin Gu, joined Aladin Farré to discuss their findings and to reflect on cultural policy in China.

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions. If you have a China-themed cultural project, please get in touch!

With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves for graphic design and Sean Calvo for music support.

Recommendations: 

The music label Maybe Mars.

The movie Platform (2000).

Answers to the quiz:

The first time the word culture (文化 wénhuà) appeared in China was in The Book of Changes (易经 yì jīng). 

In 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Culture merged with the China National Tourism Agency to create the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to the Global Soft Power Index, China is ranked fifth in the world.