ABSTRACT
This chapter, drawing on Gramsci's original concept, describes contemporary Chinese popular culture as a “double hegemony” of state and big capital entertainment enterprises. Taking the example of the BL xianxia web drama The Word of Honor (Youku 2021) and its two lead actors, Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun, the chapter examines how popular cultural production and its main agents in the PRC – youth idols – are entangled in a complex net of ultimately ideological and political meanings. By constructing an idealised image of traditional Chinese culture and providing a “healing” effect by channelling the desires and frustrations perceived by young people in China and abroad into positive fantasies, this kind of cultural product effectively strengthens the soft power of the Chinese regime and helps promote patriotic values. Within the CCP's paradigms of “cultural self-confidence” and “cultural security”, the chapter also contributes to showcasing the perceived superiority of thousands of years of Chinese culture and its potential to compete on the global cultural stage.
