Suzhi Discourse as a Structural Component of Institutionalized Individualism in Post-Maoist China

Abstract

AbstractThis third chapter sheds light on how the State’s discourse on population “quality” (suzhi) represents a sophisticated means of governance from afar.Initially emerging in the 1980s, the concept focused on population control. Eugenic slogans promoting “fewer births, better births” reflected a belief that both genetic and environmental factors shape quality. This approach aimed to cultivate a vibrant, competitive youth capable of propelling China onto the global stage.In the 1990s and 2000s, the discourse gained prominence and underwent a shift. It ultimately encompasses moral, intellectual, psychological, ideological and physical characteristics. Zhang Weiqing’s 2007 speech highlights the Party-State’s push for an ideal of quality that would produce competent workers and citizens.The concept is infused through various organizations, including TV dramas. The chapter argues that the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television controlling their content shown in, TV series act as powerful vehicles for norm dissemination. They actively participate in the socialization of the population. The chapter examine five TV dramas and how they depict the transition to adulthood through the prism of this discourse.