Welcome to Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art,

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 46-60.

• Modern and Contemporary Literary Theory and Criticism • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Consumption of Celebrity and the Republican Apparatus: Lu Xiaoman, Xu Zhimo and Tabloids in Late 1920s Shanghai

Chen Jianhua   

  1. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai 200240, China)
  • Online:2016-09-25 Published:2017-09-30
  • About author:Chen Jianhua is the Zhiyuan Chair Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai 200240, China), specializing in the history of Chinese literary culture from the thirteenth to twentieth century.

Abstract: In late 1920s Shanghai tabloids flourished. With sensational news reports and literary narratives, they catered to urban readers' needs for daily emotional and cultural consumption. Due to their involvement in the Yunshang Company and theatre performances, Lu Xiaoman and Xu Zhimo became foci of Pictorial Shanghai and other major tabloids. Numerous news or rumors about their activities revealed different values, tastes, and commercial strategies among the tabloids, which told the game rules, ethics, and cultural politics of various communities and strata in the civil society. To a certain extent, the tabloids not only helped the masses know more about power relations but also mediated between the civil society and the state apparatus.   

Key words: Lu Xiaoman, Xu Zhimo, Shanghai tabloids, consumption of celebrity, the Republican apparatus