Chinese Soft Power and Media Discussion and Updates

FairAndUnbiased

FairAndUnbiased

Brigadier
Registered Member
sunnymaxi said:
luckily time has rapidly changing.

Donghua overtaking Japanese manga market share worldwide. people just don't see this trend.

for example. Mo Dao Zu Shi

One of the official posters for Mo Dao Zu Shi by Tencent.jpg


The series received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its high production quality and storyline, and amassed a notable Internet fandom both in China and overseas.

The series has since become a worldwide hit, ultimately generating 4.63 billion views on
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as of July 2022.
The series holds a rating of 9.5 out of 10 on both
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and WeTV platforms, cementing its status as one of the most acclaimed
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series in the world.

It won 1st place in the Anime Top 5 category during the first half period of Rakuten TV Award 2022, based on the number of units sold from December 2021 to May 2022.

this is just one example. there are tons of Donghua anime series coming out from Mainland. same with Chinese dramas/series. taking over online platforms include Youtube by storm. thanks to all recent hatred from US/KOREA/JAPAN, Chinese people more and more inclined towards domestic products.
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Yep and it's also not just a single anime series, there's a whole list like 两不疑， 拾忆长安，风灵玉秀，镇魂街，全职高手，etc. Art College 1994 even won the Berlin film festival awards. On Bilibili International, half of the comments are from Filipinos or Vietnamese. The other half are from Anglophone Malaysians or Singaporeans.

I also have to emphasize that the soft power that really matters is stuff like religion, nationalism and ideology because they can control perceptions of reality and people will actually sacrifice for them.
 
TK3600

TK3600

Major
Registered Member
Think this way, if USA lose all their soft power today and only keeps hard power such as military, economy, would EU still line up to sacrifice national interest to serve American? EU is getting economically dismantled.

The hard power trick alone cant even get Iran and North Korea to cooperate.

It is undeniable that soft power matters, although which source matters more is disputable. Anime is far less powerful than religion for example.
 
In4ser

In4ser

Junior Member
Soft power makes one soft. Typically it becomes prevalent during the midpoint or peak of a nation’s cycle. While association with it is often seen as the cultural high point of a society, it is also when it’s cracks also first appear. People become lazy and weak, preferring to accumulate social status and abstract influence over personal achievement or practical self-worth. Kind of like 2nd generation family wealth. I think this is about where South Korea is and Japan has been as K Pop Culture and Anime flourishes but it’s other metrics of success like industrial and economic competitiveness began to collapse.
 
T

tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
TK3600 said:
Yes, soft power and hard power synergize and promote each other. But it is certainly possible to have one but lack other.

It is possible to have money but no political leverage, but having money helps.

It is possible to have good technology but no spy network, although technology helps.

It is possible to have strong military might but nobody buy your ideology.

Religion has diminished influence today but it is undeniable it was used to rule for thousands of years. It is mentioned to drive the point not that it is powerful today.

You could say soft power is useful for maximize the potential of hard power as a force multiplier. Although soft power not backed by hard power is not useful at all. Ideally you want both.
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“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” —— Sun Tzu :D
 
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tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
sunnymaxi said:
luckily time has rapidly changing.

Donghua overtaking Japanese manga market share worldwide. people just don't see this trend.
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I visit english language anime/comic forum regularly，I don't see that trend. Perhaps you could provide some forum link，where people outside of China discuss Chinese anime enthusiastically？
 
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tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
manqiangrexue said:
And what did this "soft power magic" translate into? Some tourists? Does it stop any country from sanctioning your products or sanctioning products to you if you become a challenge? Does it remove a superpower's ability to strike you if you insist on your interests over theirs? Does it even preserve the tourism that you have if hostilities break out? Is it going to make people rise up against thier government telling them to give concessions to Thailand because they make the best dramas? LOL No, it doesn't do any of that.
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And do you have the ability strike any country that does not like you？Or force any country to behave on your term without winning local people's heart？ I think not. Soft power also affect how people from certain countries being treated in other countries.

manqiangrexue said:
If Thai interests cross Chinese interests and they insist, the tourism will dry up, their dramas will be banned
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Thai dramas never "officially" enter Chinese market anyway，just like most of hollywood films. China banned Korean cultural products，that does not stop people from keep watch these things.

manqiangrexue said:
and if they push for it at sea, their navy will be defeated.
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Unrelated

manqiangrexue said:
And you can't even get too pushy there because recently, Chinese people have been saying that there are more and more tourist traps aimed towards Chinese people in Thailand; what used to be a pleasant and cheap trip has become an expensive rip-off so they won't go again.
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And it is the Thai soft power keep luring Chinese to visit there，despite the risk. Just like Korea，we all know Koreans hate Chinese people，but that does not prevent huge number of Chinese people who obsessed with Korean culture want to visit Korea，despite the risk of being poorly treated. That's the power of soft power，I can spit on your face all I want and you will still worship me.
 
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tonyget

Senior Member
Registered Member
You think you are so strong so powerful so advanced？Well，people in other countries don't perceive it that way. Your "social status" around the global don't naturally rise along with your hard power，and I don't think the Chinese government has plan or capability to use force to "teach these countries a hard lesson" in order to let them respect China and Chinese people.

The only way to accomplish this is by soft power，and XiJinPing recognize this. As I said before，the Chinese government is fully aware of the importance of soft power. Soft power has always been emphasized in policy papers，as one of the strategic goals need to achieve. Just because you don't perform well in some area，does not mean that area is not import. It is not like Chinese government don't care about soft power，rather it is they have commited to boost soft power but yield little result so far. There is no shame in admitting the shortfall of one's work，no one can accomplish all it's goals，Chinese government is no exception.
 
K

KYli

Brigadier
People are still living in la la land. So called soft power in entertainment domain is the most useless that only liberals who seek others' approval would constantly talk about. Remember that Americans use entertainment to reinforce its liberal international order. LGBTQ, Green peace are just byproducts.

A real soft power is Mao little red book that inspired revolutions all over the world. Since China is no longer attempting to export ideology or regime changes, it is doubtful that China would try to reengage such ideology warfare. Other soft power is religion such as crusades that rally all Christians or nationalism that rally all Chinese to fight Japan in WW2.

American soft power is based upon its liberal international order(ideology), Anglo 5 eyes(culture affiliation), American exceptionalism(religion). Using such soft power, Americans can rally its people and allies. As for comic books or boys love drama, it is only sissy thinks that these are important and rally people to spill blood.
 
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