"What Next, Ultra Postmodernism?"
Post '89 Essay
by Yin Jinan
A cursory
review of words with the prefix " ",
(pronounced hou and translated as post or late when used as a prefix).
Used by China in the past reveals words like:
The usage of the prefix " Interestingly enough, we also come
across the word " Hou niang connotes a status that
negates that of the natural mother in as much as the natural mother's
original position in the family is filled by the hou niang. Taken further,
hou niang completely subverts the word " In this regard, hou niang is a bit like " After all, to speak metaphorically of " It is true that "hou xiandai zhuyi"(postmodernism) has been all the rage, burning hot in China's academic circles. While in the West it was never more than a renegade rebellion on the periphery of mainstream culture, in contemporary Chinese culture it has managed to penetrate the palace walls and assume the imperial throne. After all, herein were a set of ready-made game instructions and globalized rules for all avant garde games. All of the unresolved problems and issues in Chinese art and art history thus were re-written as "hou xiandai zhuyi" cultural problems and issues. To date, only China's Thus, even if "hou xiandai zhuyi" has taken
center stage in academic circles, there remain certain strongholds
against which its popularization campaign have come up short. If this were
not the case, then why don't we have terms like " If academicists had wanted to do it right, they should
have started at the top and worked their way down. In the end, they have
come up short of a revolution (as they intended), achieving at best a somewhat
limited reform program. The postmoderns have bestowed upon us a unique
and advanced perspective by which we might reflect on our own culture and
the outside reality. The theory itself brings no real benefits to people
outside its fold even if it has helped a small minority get a little For those at the center, however the benefits of hou xiandai zhuyi are many. Under the banner of hou xiandai zhuyi, they wield enormous authority over other schools of thought, so much so, I fear, that hou xiandai zhuyi is not helping to address real issues and in danger of reversing the progress made by modernism. As it is now, hou xiandai zhuyi has served only to empower a new cultural ruling elite, who in many ways might be likened to an evil "hou niang"(stepmother) China's avant garde art has sprung from a sense of reality,
but has always leaned on western theories for stimulation. Western modernism
and postmodernism served it well. In fact, it is said that behind the avant
garde's fight against the deluge of commercialism and secularism in today's
society there is a renewed philosophical and theoretical passion. Even
so, I fear hou xiandai zhuyi (postmodernism) like modernism is not enough
to sustain the passions of Chinese artists for long. Then, what next,
" While we cannot speak metaphorically of hou xiandai zhuyi (postmodernism) as a kind of houniang zhuyi (postmotherism or stepmotherism), especially from the standpoint of western culture where it is in fact the natural mother of contemporary art, it should be pointed out that in China it is a kind of houniang (stepmother or postmother). Thus the term houniang zhuyi (postmotherism or stepmotherism)
has a certain ring of truth about it. And, to continue the metaphor, when
houniang becomes old, I suppose we can expect a post houniang. But even
if both are houniang, there is a proverb in China which says, "she
who has breastmilk is therefore my mother," which, in an odd sense,
really seems to capture the meaning of the word "niang"(mother)
in China. |
It is true that "hou xiandai zhuyi" (postmodernism) has been all the rage, burning hot in China's academic circles. While in the West it was never more than a renegade rebellion on the periphery of mainstream culture
All of the unresolved problems and issues in Chinese art and art history thus were re-written as "hou xiandai zhuyi" cultural problems and issues.
.. even if "hou xiandai zhuyi" has taken center stage in academic circles, there remain certain strongholds against which its popularization campaign have come up short.
hou xiandai zhuyi has served only to empower a new cultural ruling elite, who in many ways might be likened to an evil "hou niang"(stepmother)
... it is said that behind the avant garde's fight against the deluge of commercialism and secularism in today's society there is a renewed philosophical and theoretical passion.
xiandai zhuyi (postmodernism) like modernism is not enough to sustain the passions of Chinese artists for long. |
(pronounced Hou Han and translated as The
Late Han Dynasty) 
(pronounced Hou Zhou and translated as
The Late Zhou Dynasty ) 
(pronounced Hou Tang and translated
as The Late Tang Dynasty)
"
(pronounced hou niang and commonly translated
as stepmother, but literally translated "post mother")
as distinct from "
"
, (pronounced hou xiandai and translated as postmodern), in terms of its
usage. Hou xiandai, on the surface, connotes a relationship of continuance,
i.e.. from one to another. When in fact, it serves to subvert. Of course,
this is meant as nothing more than a little postmodernism humor.
",
(pronounced hou xiandai zhuyi and translated as postmodernism),
as a kind of "
(pronounced "guohua" and translated as "Chinese painting","Chinese
wash painting", "Chinese traditional painting" or "Chinese
ink painting") has shied away from calling itself something like "
"
(pronounced "hou xiandai da shuimo hua" and translated roughly
as "postmodern freestyle wash painting"). The same is true of
China's oil painting. No one has yet stepped forward to label it "postmodern
realist oil painting." 
ยจ
(postmodern decorative urban sculpture, "
"
(postmodern authentic folk fine arts) or even "
"
(post modern set priced wedding photography) sweeping the country.
(introduction fee) now and again. 
"What Next, Ultra Postmodernism?"
by Yin Jinan