Sang culture: a pessimistic subculture in the Chinese Cyberspace

Abstract

CHARLES UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism Qingyun Cai Sang Culture: A Pessimistic Subculture in The Chinese Cyberspace Master Thesis Prague 2022 Abstract Since the reform and opening-up, China's economy has maintained rapid growth. However, since 2008, economic growth has shown a slow trend, and Chinese society is entering a "new economic normal". As China is currently in a period of social transformation, there are problems such as excessive housing prices, a widening gap between the rich and the poor, increasingly severe class solidification, and an unsound social security system. Against such a social background, the Sang culture emerged in 2016, which is opposite to the positive energy ideology advocated by the Chinese mainstream culture. It has the characteristics of negativity, self-mockery, and depression, which the Chinese youth group has dramatically resonated with. Mainstream news media represented by the People's Daily generally regard Sang culture as a kind of youth spiritual opium and a problematic subculture. The popularity of any subculture has its deep-seated reasons. Therefore, this thesis will combine the methods of Critical Discourse Analysis and Qualitative Content Analysis to research the significance of Sang culture on the Chinese...