Visual Representation of Internal Migration and Social Change in China

Abstract

During the 1980s and 1990s, a “dominant discourse” of internal migration developed in China, portraying the migrants' contribution to China's economic development while highlighting the social problems associated with rural-to-urban migration. In recent years one can trace a shift, evident in academic research, popular and media rhetoric, and policy formulation, toward a more migrant-centered narrative. This article aims to show that this change was in part the result of an emerging alternative discourse—initially created by a cultural avant-garde—representing a growing interest in migration and an ambivalent and even sympathetic view toward migrants, their social quandaries, impact on urban society, and opportunities for integration. In the examination of this alternative discourse, the article reviews contemporary visual representations of migration and the surrounding discussions (at public events, in scholarly works, and on the internet), which reveal the creation of a sociocultural “public sphere.” By unearthing the alternative discourse, the dialectical connection between discourse and social change is brought to light, as these visual works not only reflected a complex reality but also contributed to remodeling it.