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Book Launch - Chinese Socialism: Can Shanghai National Bourgeoisie be “Remol

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Why did bourgeois dreams persist in socialist Shanghai, even at the height of revolutionary transformation? This talk invites audiences to explore one of the most intriguing paradoxes of early Chinese socialism—the survival of bourgeois lifestyles and sentiments within a society determined to eliminate them. Drawing from her monograph Shanghai Mundane: Survival and Revival of Bourgeois Sentiments under Chinese Socialism (Bloomsbury, 2025), the speaker brings to life the dramatic encounters between socialist reformers and Shanghai’s national bourgeoisie during the transformative years of 1949–1956. Through vivid readings of Zhou Erfu’s novel Morning in Shanghai and Tang Xiaodan’s film City without Night—works once censored yet deeply revealing—the talk uncovers the human stories behind ideological change. Blending political history, literature, and film, this presentation offers fresh perspectives on ambition, adaptation, and resistance in socialist Shanghai. Participants interested in modern Chinese history, urban culture, literature, or film will find this talk both intellectually stimulating and richly engaging.

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Center for Chinese Studies, Mānoa Campus

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