Fengshu Liu
Biographic Data
| ID | 4015719 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fengshu Liu |
| GIVEN NAMES | Fengshu |
| FAMILY NAME | Liu |
| SIGNATURE | LIU F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oslo |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3599-3279 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 183 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
‘Chinese Childhood Through Children’s Own Eyes’
It has been more than one year since we first released the call for papers for this special issue. Right now, we are happy to see that the issue has been published. At the beginning, we received 23
Individualism and reproductive choices among highly educated young women in present-day China
This study examines how highly educated young women from China’s only-child generation navigate reproductive choices amidst multiple and competing discourses addressing them as reproductive subjects. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 women born between 1982 and 1998, this study reveals how individualism, shaped by an emphasis on self-expression, neoliberal discourse, consumerism and the child-centredness typical of urban one-child families, …
I won’t remain here’
Vocational education is often associated with socially disadvantaged youth, yet less is known about advantaged students who enter lower-status vocational tracks. This study examines how such students draw on family capital to navigate placement within China’s stratified education system. Based on interviews with 29 students at a secondary vocational school in Beijing, and focusing on 17 socially advantaged participants, the study explores how cla…
China’s ‘Bad Students’”
Navigating transnational familyhood
Gender Fluidity Versus Homohysteria
This article investigates how young Chinese male fans interpret and engage with mediated athletic bromances, drawing from interviews with university students who follow sports games closely. The research uncovers complex dynamics wherein these fans contextually embrace and delegitimise the homoerotic aspects of mediated athletic bromances as they navigate their sports consumption. This phenomenon reflects the multifaceted experiences of young men…
Diversifying youth temporal orientations during educational transitions in China
Analysing young people's temporal experiences can help understand their varied transition pathways in individualised societies. This study explores the diversity of Chinese youths' orientations towards time by addressing how they practise agency, situated within the temporal, familial and gender matrices. We surveyed and interviewed young people at a county‐seat lower secondary school in North China and identified three temporal orientations: ‘lo…
Study Gods
Co-Constructing a Gender–State Entanglement in Canonical Three Kingdoms Fandom
Adopting a discourse-historical approach (DHA), we analyse how male influencers and their followers co-construct a gender–state entanglement through social-mediated discussions about a mythologised historical figure, Zhuge Liang, on Bilibili. The analysis discovers that the historical figure is portrayed as a wen–wu masculinity archetype, whose imaginary is modified against current socio-cultural trends and intertextually linked to China’s nation…
Chinese Young Men's Construction of Exemplary Masculinity
Using interviews with twenty-five male Beijingers in their final year of upper secondary school, this article shows that their construction of masculinities in all cases revolves around the importance of chenggong (outstanding accomplishment). They perceived chenggong as a prerequisite for the 'the good life,' 'the good person,' and 'the good man.' But striving for chenggong entails much personal cost. Chenggong's strong assertion by all these yo…
An Expressive Turn with a Chinese Twist
This study examines generational change in young women's other-sex relations, drawing on interviews with 17/18-year-old Beijingers, their mothers and grandmothers. The change constitutes an 'expressive turn' with Chinese characteristics. Individual emotional self-fulfillment-irrelevant to the 'grandmothers' and important to the 'mothers' mainly in relation to marriage-has for the 'daughters' become an important part of being young and of marriage…
From degendering to (re)gendering the self
China has seen dramatic transformations in ideals of femininity since the 1970s. This article explores what it entails for young women of the only-child generation to construct ‘modern’ womanhood within a context of multiple and conflicting gender discourses. Based on life history interviews in Beijing, the article shows that both a ‘degendering’ and ‘(re)gendering’ of the female self ensued as the participants positioned themselves simultaneousl…
Politically indifferent’ nationalists? Chinese youth negotiating political identity in the internet age
This article explores why apparent political indifference coincides with nationalist passion in Chinese cyberspace. Drawing on interviews with university students and the notion of ‘new politics’, this article argues that online nationalism constitutes an important extension of the political being in the Chinese context, or a form of ‘new politics’ among contemporary youth in certain societies. The ‘dual’ political identity emerging from Chinese …
Wired for fun
Drawing upon narratives from China’s ‘E-generation’ (the urban only-child generation), this study explores how the Internet as a cultural tool is actually being taken up by young people and made meaningful for themselves within the socio-cultural context of today’s China. The narratives revolve around their perceptions and experiences of the net in some major domains of their lives: recreation, the self, learning (study/work) and sociability. It …
The norm of the ‘good’ netizen and the construction of the ‘proper’ wired self
The strong concern in Chinese society about young people and the internet suggests a norm about how to relate to the net, reflecting and transcending the tension found in other societies between the societal expectations of the internet and young people’s actual uses of it. This article explores how the tension between different internet discourses in China is being played out in young people’s negotiation of a ‘proper’ wired self. Adopting a dis…
The Internet in the everyday life‐world
Based on in‐depth interviews, this study offers a comparison of how high‐school students in China and Norway are actively constructing the Internet as an element of their everyday lives. Through the Schutzian notions of everyday life‐world, social‐biographical situation and relevance, the study has revealed striking differences between the Chinese and Norwegian participants concerning their relationship with the Net, although both have been refer…
It is not merely about life on the screen
The Internet café (wangba) continues to enjoy high popularity among urban Chinese youth, mostly members of China's only-child generation, despite the derogatory connotations the wangba carries, official control and widely diffused access at home. Based on observation at wangbas and in-depth interviews with urban youth, I explore from the Internet café goers’ perspective what wangba going is all about. The study shows that the wangba serves as a h…
Constructing the autonomous middle-class self in today's China
This paper explores the identity construction of a number of young-adult only-children who were winners in the fierce competition for a seat at university. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the choices and decisions these young people viewed as significant and how, in negotiating these choices and striving for their life goals, a particular understanding of the self may emerge. The study shows that striving for the middle-class lifestyle…
Negotiating the filial self
This article explores how a group of first–generation young–adult only–children negotiate the filial self in the specific socio–cultural context of today's China and with their cultural baggage as only–children. The article draws upon in–depth interviews with 22 young adults, both women and men from various backgrounds. In their narratives, the young people unanimously indicated an imperativeness to be dutiful to their parents in old age. They of…
Boys as only‐children and girls as only‐children—parental gendered expectations of the only‐child in the nuclear Chinese family in present‐day China
Studies on the effect of only‐child status on girls’ education indicate that the only‐child policy has had an unintended consequence of engendering a child‐centered culture with a strong belief and shared interest among the urban community in educating the only‐child regardless of the child’s sex. As the distribution of education by sex is frequently argued to be a key determinant for gender inequality, this finding seems to carry an unquestioned…
Basic education in China’s rural areas
From degendering to (re)gendering the self
China has seen dramatic transformations in ideals of femininity since the 1970s. This article explores what it entails for young women of the only-child generation to construct ‘modern’ womanhood within a context of multiple and conflicting gender discourses. Based on life history interviews in Beijing, the article shows that both a ‘degendering’ and ‘(re)gendering’ of the female self ensued as the participants positioned themselves simultaneousl…
Constructing the autonomous middle-class self in today's China
This paper explores the identity construction of a number of young-adult only-children who were winners in the fierce competition for a seat at university. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the choices and decisions these young people viewed as significant and how, in negotiating these choices and striving for their life goals, a particular understanding of the self may emerge. The study shows that striving for the middle-class lifestyle…
Boys as only‐children and girls as only‐children—parental gendered expectations of the only‐child in the nuclear Chinese family in present‐day China
Studies on the effect of only‐child status on girls’ education indicate that the only‐child policy has had an unintended consequence of engendering a child‐centered culture with a strong belief and shared interest among the urban community in educating the only‐child regardless of the child’s sex. As the distribution of education by sex is frequently argued to be a key determinant for gender inequality, this finding seems to carry an unquestioned…
Chinese Young Men's Construction of Exemplary Masculinity
Using interviews with twenty-five male Beijingers in their final year of upper secondary school, this article shows that their construction of masculinities in all cases revolves around the importance of chenggong (outstanding accomplishment). They perceived chenggong as a prerequisite for the 'the good life,' 'the good person,' and 'the good man.' But striving for chenggong entails much personal cost. Chenggong's strong assertion by all these yo…
It is not merely about life on the screen
The Internet café (wangba) continues to enjoy high popularity among urban Chinese youth, mostly members of China's only-child generation, despite the derogatory connotations the wangba carries, official control and widely diffused access at home. Based on observation at wangbas and in-depth interviews with urban youth, I explore from the Internet café goers’ perspective what wangba going is all about. The study shows that the wangba serves as a h…
Negotiating the filial self
This article explores how a group of first–generation young–adult only–children negotiate the filial self in the specific socio–cultural context of today's China and with their cultural baggage as only–children. The article draws upon in–depth interviews with 22 young adults, both women and men from various backgrounds. In their narratives, the young people unanimously indicated an imperativeness to be dutiful to their parents in old age. They of…
Politically indifferent’ nationalists? Chinese youth negotiating political identity in the internet age
This article explores why apparent political indifference coincides with nationalist passion in Chinese cyberspace. Drawing on interviews with university students and the notion of ‘new politics’, this article argues that online nationalism constitutes an important extension of the political being in the Chinese context, or a form of ‘new politics’ among contemporary youth in certain societies. The ‘dual’ political identity emerging from Chinese …
Basic education in China’s rural areas
The norm of the ‘good’ netizen and the construction of the ‘proper’ wired self
The strong concern in Chinese society about young people and the internet suggests a norm about how to relate to the net, reflecting and transcending the tension found in other societies between the societal expectations of the internet and young people’s actual uses of it. This article explores how the tension between different internet discourses in China is being played out in young people’s negotiation of a ‘proper’ wired self. Adopting a dis…
Wired for fun
Drawing upon narratives from China’s ‘E-generation’ (the urban only-child generation), this study explores how the Internet as a cultural tool is actually being taken up by young people and made meaningful for themselves within the socio-cultural context of today’s China. The narratives revolve around their perceptions and experiences of the net in some major domains of their lives: recreation, the self, learning (study/work) and sociability. It …
Gender Fluidity Versus Homohysteria
This article investigates how young Chinese male fans interpret and engage with mediated athletic bromances, drawing from interviews with university students who follow sports games closely. The research uncovers complex dynamics wherein these fans contextually embrace and delegitimise the homoerotic aspects of mediated athletic bromances as they navigate their sports consumption. This phenomenon reflects the multifaceted experiences of young men…
Co-Constructing a Gender–State Entanglement in Canonical Three Kingdoms Fandom
Adopting a discourse-historical approach (DHA), we analyse how male influencers and their followers co-construct a gender–state entanglement through social-mediated discussions about a mythologised historical figure, Zhuge Liang, on Bilibili. The analysis discovers that the historical figure is portrayed as a wen–wu masculinity archetype, whose imaginary is modified against current socio-cultural trends and intertextually linked to China’s nation…
An Expressive Turn with a Chinese Twist
This study examines generational change in young women's other-sex relations, drawing on interviews with 17/18-year-old Beijingers, their mothers and grandmothers. The change constitutes an 'expressive turn' with Chinese characteristics. Individual emotional self-fulfillment-irrelevant to the 'grandmothers' and important to the 'mothers' mainly in relation to marriage-has for the 'daughters' become an important part of being young and of marriage…
The Internet in the everyday life‐world
Based on in‐depth interviews, this study offers a comparison of how high‐school students in China and Norway are actively constructing the Internet as an element of their everyday lives. Through the Schutzian notions of everyday life‐world, social‐biographical situation and relevance, the study has revealed striking differences between the Chinese and Norwegian participants concerning their relationship with the Net, although both have been refer…
Basic education in China’s rural areas
Boys as only‐children and girls as only‐children—parental gendered expectations of the only‐child in the nuclear Chinese family in present‐day China
Studies on the effect of only‐child status on girls’ education indicate that the only‐child policy has had an unintended consequence of engendering a child‐centered culture with a strong belief and shared interest among the urban community in educating the only‐child regardless of the child’s sex. As the distribution of education by sex is frequently argued to be a key determinant for gender inequality, this finding seems to carry an unquestioned…
Constructing the autonomous middle-class self in today's China
This paper explores the identity construction of a number of young-adult only-children who were winners in the fierce competition for a seat at university. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the choices and decisions these young people viewed as significant and how, in negotiating these choices and striving for their life goals, a particular understanding of the self may emerge. The study shows that striving for the middle-class lifestyle…
Negotiating the filial self
This article explores how a group of first–generation young–adult only–children negotiate the filial self in the specific socio–cultural context of today's China and with their cultural baggage as only–children. The article draws upon in–depth interviews with 22 young adults, both women and men from various backgrounds. In their narratives, the young people unanimously indicated an imperativeness to be dutiful to their parents in old age. They of…
It is not merely about life on the screen
The Internet café (wangba) continues to enjoy high popularity among urban Chinese youth, mostly members of China's only-child generation, despite the derogatory connotations the wangba carries, official control and widely diffused access at home. Based on observation at wangbas and in-depth interviews with urban youth, I explore from the Internet café goers’ perspective what wangba going is all about. The study shows that the wangba serves as a h…
The norm of the ‘good’ netizen and the construction of the ‘proper’ wired self
The strong concern in Chinese society about young people and the internet suggests a norm about how to relate to the net, reflecting and transcending the tension found in other societies between the societal expectations of the internet and young people’s actual uses of it. This article explores how the tension between different internet discourses in China is being played out in young people’s negotiation of a ‘proper’ wired self. Adopting a dis…
The Internet in the everyday life‐world
Based on in‐depth interviews, this study offers a comparison of how high‐school students in China and Norway are actively constructing the Internet as an element of their everyday lives. Through the Schutzian notions of everyday life‐world, social‐biographical situation and relevance, the study has revealed striking differences between the Chinese and Norwegian participants concerning their relationship with the Net, although both have been refer…
Wired for fun
Drawing upon narratives from China’s ‘E-generation’ (the urban only-child generation), this study explores how the Internet as a cultural tool is actually being taken up by young people and made meaningful for themselves within the socio-cultural context of today’s China. The narratives revolve around their perceptions and experiences of the net in some major domains of their lives: recreation, the self, learning (study/work) and sociability. It …
Politically indifferent’ nationalists? Chinese youth negotiating political identity in the internet age
This article explores why apparent political indifference coincides with nationalist passion in Chinese cyberspace. Drawing on interviews with university students and the notion of ‘new politics’, this article argues that online nationalism constitutes an important extension of the political being in the Chinese context, or a form of ‘new politics’ among contemporary youth in certain societies. The ‘dual’ political identity emerging from Chinese …
From degendering to (re)gendering the self
China has seen dramatic transformations in ideals of femininity since the 1970s. This article explores what it entails for young women of the only-child generation to construct ‘modern’ womanhood within a context of multiple and conflicting gender discourses. Based on life history interviews in Beijing, the article shows that both a ‘degendering’ and ‘(re)gendering’ of the female self ensued as the participants positioned themselves simultaneousl…
An Expressive Turn with a Chinese Twist
This study examines generational change in young women's other-sex relations, drawing on interviews with 17/18-year-old Beijingers, their mothers and grandmothers. The change constitutes an 'expressive turn' with Chinese characteristics. Individual emotional self-fulfillment-irrelevant to the 'grandmothers' and important to the 'mothers' mainly in relation to marriage-has for the 'daughters' become an important part of being young and of marriage…
Chinese Young Men's Construction of Exemplary Masculinity
Using interviews with twenty-five male Beijingers in their final year of upper secondary school, this article shows that their construction of masculinities in all cases revolves around the importance of chenggong (outstanding accomplishment). They perceived chenggong as a prerequisite for the 'the good life,' 'the good person,' and 'the good man.' But striving for chenggong entails much personal cost. Chenggong's strong assertion by all these yo…
Co-Constructing a Gender–State Entanglement in Canonical Three Kingdoms Fandom
Adopting a discourse-historical approach (DHA), we analyse how male influencers and their followers co-construct a gender–state entanglement through social-mediated discussions about a mythologised historical figure, Zhuge Liang, on Bilibili. The analysis discovers that the historical figure is portrayed as a wen–wu masculinity archetype, whose imaginary is modified against current socio-cultural trends and intertextually linked to China’s nation…
Diversifying youth temporal orientations during educational transitions in China
Analysing young people's temporal experiences can help understand their varied transition pathways in individualised societies. This study explores the diversity of Chinese youths' orientations towards time by addressing how they practise agency, situated within the temporal, familial and gender matrices. We surveyed and interviewed young people at a county‐seat lower secondary school in North China and identified three temporal orientations: ‘lo…
Study Gods
China’s ‘Bad Students’”
Navigating transnational familyhood
Gender Fluidity Versus Homohysteria
This article investigates how young Chinese male fans interpret and engage with mediated athletic bromances, drawing from interviews with university students who follow sports games closely. The research uncovers complex dynamics wherein these fans contextually embrace and delegitimise the homoerotic aspects of mediated athletic bromances as they navigate their sports consumption. This phenomenon reflects the multifaceted experiences of young men…
‘Chinese Childhood Through Children’s Own Eyes’
It has been more than one year since we first released the call for papers for this special issue. Right now, we are happy to see that the issue has been published. At the beginning, we received 23
Individualism and reproductive choices among highly educated young women in present-day China
This study examines how highly educated young women from China’s only-child generation navigate reproductive choices amidst multiple and competing discourses addressing them as reproductive subjects. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 women born between 1982 and 1998, this study reveals how individualism, shaped by an emphasis on self-expression, neoliberal discourse, consumerism and the child-centredness typical of urban one-child families, …
I won’t remain here’
Vocational education is often associated with socially disadvantaged youth, yet less is known about advantaged students who enter lower-status vocational tracks. This study examines how such students draw on family capital to navigate placement within China’s stratified education system. Based on interviews with 29 students at a secondary vocational school in Beijing, and focusing on 17 socially advantaged participants, the study explores how cla…
Sociology (17 works) · China (16 works) · Gender Studies (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Gender Studies (12 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Social science (10 works) · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance (9 works)