Chinese Women Striving for Status
Sport as Empowerment
Summary
In the late twentieth century, Deng Xiaoping urged the Chinese policymakers to construct a model of "comprehensive national power" – Chinese sportswomen are in the vanguard of this construction! More than this, in the process, they have achieved elevated social status, and in some cases considerable wealth! This book is unique in recording their astounding achievements.
"Chinese Women Striving for Status: I marvel at the complexities of the summaries. The book is certain to be important."
– Professor Sheldon Rothblatt, Formerly of the Department of History and Director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California (Berkeley)
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Prologue: Realizing “The Chinese Dream”—Chinese Women in the Vanguard
- 1. The Chinese Geopolitical Challenge—the Beijing Olympic Games: Medium for Chinese Women’s Assertion and Ascendancy
- China: National Renaissance; the Symbolic Beijing Games
- Changing Geopolitical Spectrum: Changing National Image—The Beijing Olympics
- Beijing Games, Diplomacy, Sport, Sportswomen
- Olympic Success, Gender Relations, Women
- Olympic Legacies: Momentous Social Change, Evolved Gender Relations, Transformed Infrastructure
- Conclusion: The Beijing Olympics—Powerful National Stimulant
- Notes
- References
- 2. Chinese Soft Power and Chinese Women: Furthering the Ambitions of Xi Jinping: Campus Football to World Football
- Reaction, Reform, Renewal
- Football: Women’s Football—Rise and Fall
- “Cuju”: Patriotism, Commercialization, Corruption, Inequality
- Campus Football: State Investment, Talent Training, Global Aspirations
- Chinese Women: Football—Innovations, Aspirations, Prospects
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- 3. Changing Priorities, Policies, Practices: Sport for All
- Challenge and Response: Demographics and Development
- Family Planning, Demographic Policy and Sport for Girls
- “The Chinese Dream”: Further Educational Consequences
- Ageing Society, Health and Sport
- Family: Marriage, Family Size, Family Roles
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- 4. Chinese Aspirations: “New Female Bodies,” Major Campus Reform, Renowned Educational System; Onwards to 2049
- Chinese Ambitions: Educational, Political, Geopolitical
- Reform: School Education, Physical Education and Sport
- Higher Education: Explosive Expansion
- From Combination to Integration: “Sport with Education”—Recapitulation
- Sport, Power, Gender, State
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- 5. Setting for the Sustained Preeminence of Chinese Sportswomen: The 2022 Olympic Games
- Sport: The Continuing Contemporary Chinese “Revolution”!
- A Rolling Renaissance Continued: Country, Cities, Women
- Part One. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games: The Bid and the Preparation
- Winter Olympic Bid: Communist Party, “Chinese Dream,” Regional Development
- Preparations for the Games: Goals—“Green, Inclusive, Open, Clean”
- Winter Olympic Games 2022: Women—Enhanced Reputations, Increased Representation
- Part Two. The 2022 Games: Intended Legacies
- Heritage Strategic Plan
- Sustainability, Cost, Efficiency
- The 2022 Winter Olympic Games: Challenges and Complexities
- Outstanding Games: “A History Making Success”
- Conclusion: A Conscious and Compelling “Chinese Dream”
- Notes
- References
- 6. A Contemporary Chinese “Revolution”: Commercialism, Capitalism, Celebrities
- Pervasive and Impressive Innovation
- Commercialism in Chinese Sport: Analytical Neglect
- Commercialization and Sports Management: Shifting Emphases
- Sport: Expansion—Commercialization and Industrialization
- Globalization, Endorsement, Celebrities
- “Performance Capital,” Celebrity Status, Confident Confrontation
- Conclusions: Final Reflection—the Vanguard Advances
- Notes
- References
- 7. China: New Media, New Sport, “New” Gender Projection: Imagery, Idolatry and Sexualization
- New Media Influence: New Gender Coverage—New Gender Outcomes
- Media Revolution, Information Revolution, User Revolution
- Media Integration, Obligatory Adaptation, Assertive Sportswomen
- Women, Fitness Enthusiasts, Internet Celebrity
- Conclusion: Media and Sport—the New Symbiotic Association
- Notes
- References
- 8. Chinese Sportswomen; Ultimate Self-Chosen Goals: Continued Olympic Glory and Attained Gender Recognition; The Chinese Dream
- Chinese Women, Olympic Prominence, Global Admiration
- The Continuing Success of Chinese Sportswomen: Significant Factors
- Beyond Sport: Gender Equity, Female Empowerment and “The Female Chinese Dream”
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- 9. Chinese Sportswomen: Fame, Wealth, Empowerment; Revelatory Case-Studies
- The Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team: Highs and Lows
- The “Medal-Factory” Diving Team
- Tennis: Chinese Women “Superstars”
- Table-Tennis: China’s Women’s “Dream Team”
- Women Weightlifters: Excellent but Ostracized!
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Epilogue: China, Women, Modernity, Sport: The Vanguard Advances
- “The Present Is Pregnant with the Future”
- A Future Symbolized by Global Respect, Influence and Authority!
- Notes
- References
- Appendices
- Appendix 1: Recent Physical Education Related State Policies
- Appendix 2: The Olympic Games: Nine of the First Chinese Olympic Gold Medals Were Won by Women
- Appendix 3: Number of World Championships Won by Chinese in 21st century
- Appendix 4: International Awards Received by Chinese Women
- Appendix 5: Chinese Women Inducted into the Hall of Fame
- Appendix 6: Female Table Tennis Stars of the 21st Century
- Appendix 7: Significant Sports Events for Chinese Women and Sports in the 21st Century
- Index
List of Tables
Table 1.1: Women’s Contribution to Chinese Olympic Performances in 21st Century
Table 3.1: Percentage of the Young and the Old and the Ratio of Gender at Birth over Time
Table 6.1: Top 10 Highest Impacted Sports Events in China in 2018
Table A.1: Recent Physical Education Related State Policies
Table A.2: The Olympic Games: Nine of the First Chinese Olympic Gold Medals Were Won by Women
Table A.3 The Number of World Champions Won by Chinese in 21st Century
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, we would like to thank those closest to us, who bore the brunt of our hermetic disappearances in our tortuous attempts at scholastic creativity: thus, we would wish to offer special thanks for their sympathetic and understanding support for our absences from familial moments, to respectively a husband—Bingshu and a wife—Doris. We also owe our gratitude to specific colleagues; in the case of Dong Jinxia to her former and current graduate students Song Ya and Cao Jingyi who helped collect some information for and designed the cover of the book and to her university colleagues Zhang Zhanjia and Chen Wenchen for their generosity in providing the valuable photos for the book; in the case of J.A. Mangan, gratitude is offered to Sheldon Rothblatt, Brian Bridges and Jon Sullivan for their always swift interest and support. We would like to express also our thanks to Suma George of Lang international publishers for her support and assistance. Finally, we would both like to pay particular tribute to those scholars of Chinese history, culture and society-from both East and West-who over the years, have been for us both “lanterns” shining a penetrating light on modern China.
Prologue: Realizing “The Chinese Dream”—Chinese Women in the Vanguard
China: Recent Dramatic Developments
Since the opening of the 21st century, dramatic and significant changes have taken place in Chinese society: extensive urbanization, massive infrastructure construction, the Internet revolution, the impressive entry of Chinese companies and their products into international markets, the hugely successful hosting of sports mega-events such as the Olympics, and indeed many more similar events,1 have made a huge impact in China and on the world.
China’s rise, economic, political, military, and athletic, has elevated it significantly in the global community. Arguably, nowhere has this been more visible than in sport—the 20th century global status obsession. China has ranked in the top three in the Olympic medal tallies since 2000 peaking in the 2008 Olympic Games staged appropriately in Beijing.
The extraordinary international performances of Chinese athletes, women in particular, have thrust them into the center of the global spotlight and sparked considerable interest around the world: soft power proclaimed!
Chinese Women and Modern Sport: Questions
Is Chinese women’s success in modern sport a product of national circumstances and ambition which can be located, recorded and documented by careful inquiry? Have the spectacular achievements and consequent elevated status of Chinese women in world sport impacted on the status of Chinese women in Chinese society in general? Are there any indications of the impact of the outstanding global success in sport of Chinese women on women’s political, social and economic status in the country? But first and foremost, the question to be asked is: “how did the changed post 1949 political, economic, cultural and social environment, eventually and ultimately, affect women’s participation, nationally and internationally, in sport in the first two decades of the 21st century?” These questions deserve, indeed need, to be answered. To date, however, there is an extraordinary paucity of analytical studies of the 21st century involvement of Chinese women in sport and its relationship with political, economic, cultural and social change—at both home and abroad!
It is self-evident that historically sporting success has often been a product of the interaction of various macro and micro factors, such as international and domestic politics and policies, economic advance, traditional culture, and not least, state sports policies, administrative control and national financial investment.
In China, what has recently changed and why to overturn predominant past inbuilt male privilege?
Sources: National and International
Based on the Chinese government documents on Chinese economy, education, family and sport, and a wide ranging literature review (of both publications in Chinese and English), interviews with coaches, athletes, administrators and sports fans, and the use of questionnaire completion, this investigation will explore the complicated relationships between Chinese society, sport and gender in the era of globalization and commercialization, with special attention devoted to the continuity and change in China associated with gender and sport AND the forces behind them in recent years including national policy, commercialization, globalization, technological advance and family development.
Critical Theoretical Utilization
A number of theories will be utilized in the book. First and foremost, feminist theory2 will provide a framework for the analysis of the unique social status and life experience of the modern successful Chinese sportswoman and for an exploration of her relations to political, economic, cultural and social change in contemporary China. In particular, this study will adopt the view of postmodern feminism: gender ideals, norms, and categorizations are substantially constructed and designated by society.3
Finally, this analysis will utilize the theories of nation branding and soft power as reference points when the relationship between sport and national identity is discussed. Nation branding, to follow Simon Anhol, refers to the practice of communicating a cohesive, compelling national image through a coordination of effort embracing: tourism, export brands, policy decisions, inward investment by foreign companies, cultural exchange and exports and individuals.4 Soft power theory was developed by Joseph S. Nye in his book Bound to Lead in 1990. Soft power is the ability to influence others by influence rather than by coercion.5 Since Chinese President Hu Jingtao (2003–12) stated in January 2006 that increasing China’s international status and influence depends on both hard power and soft power,6 the expression “soft power” has frequently been mentioned in official documents and academic publications in the country. Indeed, China has made a concerted effort to cultivate its soft power in order to promote its interests and expand its influence as a rising power in the world.7 This has generated great concern on the part of some foreign nations,8 the United States in particular. The U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS), for example, conducted two comprehensive studies on China’s soft power influence in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in the first half of 2008.9 Sport is, without any doubt whatsoever, a key element in Chinese diplomatic policy and a major instrument of China’s soft power strategy.
Cultural Capital and “Bodily Capital”
Furthermore, Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital provides the foundation for the analysis of performance capital and bodily capital in this volume. Bourdieu proposes that cultural capital has three forms: the state of embodiment (the enduring tendency of the body and mind), the state of objectification (a particular valuable artifact, book, etc., traces of theoretical and knowledge system), and the institutionalized state (the legal certification system).10 Physically embodied cultural capital, also known as “bodily capital,” is a form of capital involving power, status and differentiation. It is an indispensable element for the accumulation of all kinds of capital.11 Chinese women have demonstrated this beyond argument!
Monograph: Structure
This volume has nine chapters plus a Prologue and Epilogue. Chapter One reviews the Beijing 2008 Games and its intimate association with the projection of national image, sports diplomacy, successful sportswomen and their elevated status in modern Chinese society. Chapter Two focuses on football—without any dispute the most popular sport in the modern world. China has made enormous effort to improve its performance but continues to perform relatively weakly. The chapter reviews the nationwide football reforms in the past decade and examines both the motive for and the impact these reforms on schools, national teams for both men and women, and the national football association that governs the sport. Chapter Three considers the lasting impact of the draconian “One Child Policy” adopted in 1980. This policy only ended in 2013 and caused great concern nationally and internationally. Its impact on the Chinese will be considered. In addition, attention will be focused on the changes of family policy over the years since 2013, its expected and actual impact on the Chinese, on women’s sport especially and women’s changing attitudes to career, family and far from least, to sport with a special focus on the young and the old. Chapter Four describes the ongoing educational reforms in schools and universities to promote the skills required to service a powerful, advanced and leading global nation. Education has always been highly valued in China. With the declared aim of becoming a leading educational force in the near future, China has introduced a number of new regulations, measures and programs concerning the teaching, examination and assessment of students from kindergarten to university within this century. These reforms will fully embrace sport and physical education and women’s involvement and capacity in these now central curricular elements. The implications for Chinese girls are clear: their involvement will be total. Chapter Five examines the changes and conflicts that commercialization has brought to sports management of China, and the opportunities and challenges that sportswomen are faced with in the new commercial times. Chapter Six analyses the major reasons that Beijing and Zhangjiakou12 jointly bid and hosted the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, its expected and actual impacts on the geopolitical development of China, the north in particular, and the development of winter sport and the accompanied boost of winter sports industry and tourism. Chapter Seven covers the development of the Chinese mass media in China and the emergence of the new media and the considerable impact of both on Chinese sport and sportswomen and on the relationships involving athletes, sports administrators, fans. Chapter Eight reviews the astounding sports achievements of Chinese women in recent decades, the factors contributing to these achievements and the implications for Chinese women on and off sports field. Chapter Nine stresses the point that “women’s sport” in China is a generic expression that embraces many sports and sportswomen across the world’s sports stage fully in keeping with the advance of China in its advance across the world’s geopolitical stage.
Finally, it is argued with firm conviction that Striving for Status, in recording the remarkable, skilled and confident efforts of Chinese sportswomen, both nationally and internationally, in recent decades, is original in focus and unique in presentation in its depiction of the sportswomen of China in their collective striving for, and achieving of, international status and recognition.
1 The Chinese Geopolitical Challenge—the Beijing Olympic Games: Medium for Chinese Women’s Assertion and Ascendancy
China: National Renaissance; the Symbolic Beijing Games
Throughout China the first decade of the 21st century is symbolized by the Beijing Games: from winning the hosting rights to hosting the Games. It is no exaggeration to state that the Games massively stimulated political, social and gender confidence in China. The Games sent the clearest message to the world that the 21st century Renaissance of “The Middle Kingdom” was underway.1 Though the Games were over twelve years ago, their impact is still felt in China and perhaps the world as well. There are a number of books and articles on Games-related issues, such as national identity, foreign policy, media freedom, sports investment and more. Among them the following merit special attention: Susan Brownell’s Beijing’s Games: What the Olympics Mean to China (2008), J.A. Mangan and Dong Jinxia’s Beijing 2008: Preparing for Glory: Chinese Challenge in the “Chinese Century” (2009), Wolfram Manzenreiter’s The Beijing Games in the Western Imagination of China: The Weak Power of Soft Power (2008) are some of them. However, there are very few academic works examining the lasting impact of the Games on China’s effort to revive its national grandeur, and on the contemporary unique progression and performance in sport of Chinese women. This work seeks to help fill the vacuum.
Details
- Pages
- XXX, 320
- Year
- 2023
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781433185823
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433185830
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781433185847
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433185816
- DOI
- 10.3726/b18027
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2023 (July)
- Keywords
- Chinese Women – Striving for Status: Sport as Empowerment China women sport modernity globalization women empowerment commercialization global projection Chinese dream
- Published
- New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, Oxford, 2023. XXX, 320 pp., 9 b/w ill., 6 tables.
