ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book deals with the limitations, or the so-called failure, of Chinese soft power when soft power is conceived as a topdown, state-sponsored, influence-seeking project. It proposes a more localized textual and contextual approach to the question of soft power with an emphasis on local, regional, and transnational cultural agency. Engaging with a plethora of media products and practices, the scholars in the book argues that the presumed "center" of Chinese soft power is in symbiotic coexistence with a plurality of soft powers that are marginal, accidental, yet attractive and effective. The book examines the specific connection between cultural soft power – with a focus on TV and film – and the successful developments of new markets. It also examines how Chinese screen cultures, both nationally and transnationally, generate, shape, and transmit soft power while being shaped and transformed by it.
