UtopiaandUtopianismintheContemporaryChineseContext:Texts,Ideas,Spacesdecisivelydemonstratestheextenttowhichutopianismhasshapedpoliticalthought,culturalimaginaries,andsocialengagementafteritwasintroducedintotheChinesecontextinthenineteenthcentury.Infact,pursuitofutopiahasoftenledtoaction—suchastheChineseRevolutionandtheUmbrellaMovement—andcontestedconsequences.CoveringatimespanthatgoesfromthelateQingtoourdays,theauthorsshowthatfewideashavebeenasinfluencingasutopia,whichhascompellinglyshapedtheimaginariesthatunderpinChina’shistoricalchange.
UtopianismcontributedtotheformationoftheChinesestateitself—shapingthethoughtofkeyfiguresofthelateQingandearlyRepublicanerassuchasKangYouweiandSunYat-sen—andoutlivedthelabyrinthinedebatesofthesecondhalveofthetwentiethcentury,bothunderMao’sruleandduringthepost-socialistera.Eveninthecurrenttimesofdystopiannarratives,aperiodinwhichutopiaseemstobelessinfluentialthaninthepast,itsmanifestationspersistentlyprovidelifelinesagainstfatalismorcynicism.Thiscollectionshowshowprofoundlyutopianideashavenurturedboththethoughtofcrucialfiguresduringthesehistoricaltimes,thenewgenerationofmainlandChineseandSinophoneintellectuals,andthehopesoftwenty-first-centuryHongKongactivists.
