Creative Industries in China

Art, Design and Media

Keane, Michael

China Today

1. Edition April 2013
192 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-0-7456-6100-1

John Wiley & Sons

Further versions

Creative industries in China provides a fresh account of
China's emerging commercial cultural sector. The author shows
how developments in Chinese art, design and media industries are
reflected in policy, in market activity, and grassroots
participation.

Never has the attraction of being a media producer, an artist, or a
designer in China been so enticing. National and regional
governments offer financial incentives; consumption of cultural
goods and services have increased; creative workers from Europe,
North America and Asia are moving to Chinese cities; culture is
increasingly positioned as a pillar industry.

But what does this mean for our understanding of Chinese society?
Can culture be industrialised following the low-cost model of
China's manufacturing economy. Is the national government
really committed to social liberalisation?

This engaging book is a valuable resource for students and scholars
interested in social change in China. It draws on leading Chinese
scholarship together with insights from global media studies,
economic geography and cultural studies.

Map ix

Abbreviations x

Figures and Tables xi

Chronology xii

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction 1

1 Culture in Flux 12

2 Culture and Creativity 49

3 The Cultural Innovation Timeline 70

4 Desperately Seeking Innovation 97

5 Art 125

6 Design 149

7 Media 177

Notes 202

References 208

Index 230

"It is unusual for a modern scholar to truly capture a field; there are so many running in the same direction. But Keane is the man who noticed, shaped and now writes with huge authority on the creative industries in China. This is an important and scholarly addition to the project."
Stephanie Donald, University of New South Wales

"In this pioneering book, Michael Keane provides a broad introduction to the Chinese discourse of media, arts and design industries. Using substantial fieldwork observation, Keane offers unique insights into the development of concepts of innovation and their relationship with intellectual property, culture, commerce and politics in China."
Anthony Fung, Chinese University of Hong Kong

"Michael Keane pioneered the study of creative industries in China. This book opens up access to fundamental but hitherto unexplored areas of a young industry whose rise was closely entwined with international lobbying, a burgeoning design culture, and fluctuating policy directives. Nobody can unravel those multi-faceted debates and discourses more deftly than Keane. This is a must read for anybody interested in the future of innovation in China."
Jing Wang, New Media Action Lab, MIT

Michael Keane is Professor in the Creative Industries Faculty at
Queensland University of Technology. He is the author of
China's New Creative Clusters: Governanance Human Capital
and Investment (2011) , and Created in China: the Great New
Leap Forward (2007).

M. Keane, Queensland University of Technology