ABSTRACT
In many respects, the first decade of the new millennium was one of the most open periods in the history of modern China. While far from the heady enthusiasm of the pre-Communist era, particularly the New Culture Movement (from around 1915 to 1930), during which foreign ideas were introduced to and integrated with indigenous ideas, the cultural scene in China was once again reinvigorated by international influences. Driven by the realization that culture can be converted into capital, the current ruling regime is endeavouring to position China as both an innovative and a creative nation (Keane 2007). Moreover, the regime has sensed that the recent fascination with Korean popular culture (often referred to as “han-liu,” or the “Korean wave”), has lost some of its potency; in turn, cultural policy makers are hoping that the next cultural wave will be one from China—one that will regain China's status as the cultural core of Asia.
