The "Daily Life" Study Of Chinese Popular Culture

From the end of 20th century to early 21st century, the study of Popular Culture (PC) in China has become more and more mature. With further discussion, researchers are not just satisfied with the simple phenomena analysis, thus, a series of deeper theoretical problems begin to appear, among which are the issue of aesthetic property of PC, the relationship of PC and Folk Culture, the distinction and relation between PC and Elite Culture and Mainstream Culture, and the value of PC itself. Especially, nearly every researcher has to face this problem during his or her study: how to put the analysis of the single issues into the overall study, so as to accomplish the construction of Chinese PC theory.The author of this paper tries to employ Daily Life (DL) as the general clue, analyze the relationship of PC and DL, the influence of DL towards PC, and the states of DL in PC, and discuss the above issues further, and then combine these issues together, so as to grasp the inward property of PC and organize the complex phenomena, and promote the self—maturing of the study of Chinese PC during theoretical discussion and practical criticism.This paper develops the arguments in mainly three sections. In the first section, the author bases on PC study as her approach and organizes the range of DL, arguing that in the field of philosophy and sociology DL mainly tracks following steps: "depending on non-DL" to "establishing its noumenon status" and then to "demonstrating its value and significance". (1) As early as Marx and Angels period, comparatively personal material life took the priority because it could maintain the basic existence of individual;after that, Husserl considered the world of DL as a unexpounded object of intentionality, argued that it is the original base of Philosophy World, holding its noumenon status;Heidergger analyzed the existence states of DL such as "chat, equivocal, and degradation " and emphasized Fore being;while Lukacs and Henri Lefebvre considered DL as the main domain of capitalist alienation, and argued that to eliminate alienation of capitalist, DL must be criticized . During this period, the research domain of DL showed the noumenon status of DL, but most theorists of this period focused on DL to confront alienation of capitalist society. Compared with the purposes of anti—capitalist alienation, saving European scientific crises, and realization of overall humanity, DL still stood a slightly inferior status. (2) Affirming the noumenon status of DL is not the highest achievement of DL philosophy. Along with this research clue, some scholars began to discover the special value and significance of domains of DL in human historical process and individual reproduction level. From the perspective of the former, French Annales scholar Fernand Braudelargued that DL as "Middle Fraction " affected historical development, which was not only the base of constructing "Long Fraction", but the direct presenter of it and inward decider of "Short Fraction" historical events, which played key role in human historical process. As for the latter, no matter the pattern of " thing—in—itself existence " or " thing—for—itself existence ", DL is the home of reproduction of individual. It not only appeared as "cradle of non—DL origin ", but also obtained its own ideology property and independent political function. Domain of DL began to show its special natural character. (3 ) From its own natural property of DL, the most obvious distinction between DL and non—DL lies in that the former took "Repeated Thinking " as main thinking pattern, while the latter took "Creative Thinking ". In addition, along with "Repeated Thinking ", Principle of Pragmatism, Imitation and trait of Analogy, pursuit of sense of security and the pleasure-and-utility-oriented satisfaction of DL appeared.Returning back to PC study horizon , DL study of western PC theories, including mainly 3 historical periods: Frankfurt's period, "the Culture Industry Theory" which established by Adorno and Horkheimer taking DL as its denying object, and strictly criticized PC , which as the cultural type has close relationship with DL: While Benjamin affirmed fully the reasonability of DL existence, and affirmed its value and significance. During British—American Culture research school period, researchers observed the overall state of DL. They not only analyzed the complexity of DL from perspective of class, race and gender, but also affirmed the consumers of PC activity "Top—down" initiative power operation. Finally, the appearance of Consumer society theory completely liberated the dependence of DL from non—DL, which argued that in modern consuming society consumption is more important than production, while DL is the main content of consumption and the main occurring place. As the main cultural type in consuming society, PC inevitably had very intimate relationship with DL.In the second section of the paper, the author takes DL as her research horizon, analyzes the different attitude of Elite Culture, Mainstream Culture and Popular Culture towards DL, basing on these she establishes the typical nature of PC. (1) Because of their love of non—daily life such as revolution, enlightenment and criticism, producers of Elite Culture tend to treat ordinary daily life as implication of non—daily life, argue that daily life should be the object of denying and surpassing. In the specific operation, they either definitely criticize DL or tailor the content of DL to make it fit to the narrative utterance of non—daily life, or through the overturning of daily life narration, daily life experience and daily life sentiment arouse the readers' reflection towards DL, so as to remove DL from non—DL successfully, and try their best to emphasize the opposite of DL: enlightenment, belief and the never—giving—up spirit of rebelling. (2) Compared with Elite Culture, the existence state ofDL in Mainstream Culture is more complex. On the one hand, Mainstream Culture tends to restrain DL with principle of political ideology and then deny the rationality of DL in Culture Text, or according to non—DL value principle to assemble DL. On the other hand, DL has been existing as Folk Life in texts of mainstream culture, entrusting real life to texts. However, generally speaking, mainstream culture doesn't inquire about the value and significance of DL, what it resorts to is non—daily life based on society—determined political ideology. (3) Compared with the above mentioned, the natural property of PC comes from its firm confirming of the status of noumenon and value of noumenon. From the perspective of the former, PC emphasizes the instant contextualization of all the cultural texts and holds the view that the most important thing is the secular function of cultural texts but not its former natural intension, From the perspective of the latter, PC discovers the noumenon value of DL from the angle of the reproduction of individual: Firstly, it admits the significance of maintaining individual existence of DL;secondly, PC emphasizes that individual finds its position from DL but not from non—DL;thirdly, PC respects the property of DL, understand life and construct cultural text with the principle of DL. Therefore, it's just during the overall denying of DL that PC acquires its special natural property and value.After reform and opening up, with the development of national economy and promotion of social liberation, the Chinese people's consuming structure and life style are changing quickly. DL accounts for more and more important position in the whole society. With regard to the close relationship PC and DL, the promotion of DL has an influence on the development of Chinese PC: (1) In contemporary Chinese society, the noumenon status of DL leads to the fact that people pay more attention to life elements such as material existence, immediate enjoyment, and family happiness, and pass these desires through their cultural needs, require cultural product affirming commonality of life significance and reasonability of contemporary living activities, the result of which will surely leads to banishment and adaptation of pondering of metaphysics. This adaptation, on the other hand, represents the initiative removal of elite awareness of PC, represents the acceptance of compromise elite culture and popular daily life concept. (2) With the growing proportion of DL time, in order to get closer to the mass, spread mainstream ideology state and maintain the social stability, mainstream culture has to give in to DL, changing from whole politicalization to absorption of elements of DL, such as offering visual impact, fulfilling readers' curiosity, secularizing heroes to arouse consumers' warm feeling. While from the perspective of PC, it is a prerequisite for it to gain the approval of mainstream ideology so as to pursue market benefit or express popular utterance. What's more, it will subconsciously take the utterance expression of mainstream ideology as the obvious subject or "what clinches the point". (3) From the perspective of cultural consumption, in contemporary Chinesesociety, focus of DL is transmitting to urban areas, consuming idea is penetrating into every field of DL gradually, with which, the Folk state of contemporary PC is also changing, the main character of which is "urban imagination of folk culture" and "folk imagination of urban culture". (4) The complexity of DL determines the different cultural tastes of individuals of various identification and position;therefore, PC is divided into several different types. According to the social category of Chinese DL, contemporary Chinese PC mainly includes Citizen Class PC, Middle Class PC, Employed Laborer Class PC and Youth PC, the main body of which is Citizen Class PC and Middle Class PC.In the third section of the paper, basing on the above category, the author explores the existence state of DL in Citizen Class PC and Middle Class PC, and analyses further the influence of DL towards these two types of PC. As to the Citizen Class, PC highlights the prototype of DL, masters the psychology of common people, and expresses the daily desires of the mass. This tradition has been extended from popular literature along to contemporary time. Meanwhile, the affirmation and emphasis of Citizen Class PC towards secularization of DL, refunds an evaluation field and measurement to the natural state of DL that the entertainment and commerce property of PC acquires its reasonability and affirming value. Generally speaking, the success of Citizen Class PC lies in the fact that it truly expresses the secular concepts and desires of common people in practical DL. However, because of the character of "Sheltering and upholding evil" of DL itself, inevitably, it can't avoid its weakness of assimilation with mainstream ideology and superficiality.Compared with Citizen Class, Middle Class has much closer relationship with post—modern consuming society. As for this class, DL is more of a aesthetic existence state. Diachronically, aestheticisms, neo—sensualists and Middle Class in contemporary society are all the practice of aesthetics can exist in everything of DL, main body should be immerged in contemporary pleasure acquired in observation of objects, they embody Body symbol aesthetic value. DL aesthetic view directly leads to the attention of Middle Class PC towards the immediately of DL and emphasis of symptom function, bringing inevitable imperfection to Middle Class PC.As Chinese PC study develops to contemporary state, quite a few problems still remain. The appearance of "DL domain" can help us to comprehend Chinese PC phenomena, to master the overall Chinese PC study theory and the relationship between DL and PC more macroscopically, which is an effective approach for researchers to explore PC.