Signifying the Local: Media Productions Rendered in Local Languages in Mainland China in the New Millennium: 25

“This wide-ranging exploration of the linguistic value found in localized Chinese media texts (including literary fiction) offers rich insights into the broader contexts of Chinese cultures… Liu’s extensively detailed book provides insights into the various modes of communication in China that challenge notions of Han-dominant, Putonghua-Mandarin-based entertainment. Through a variety of well-chosen examples across a range of mediums, Liu successfully informs us of a China far from the monoculture sold to us by Western media and (some) academics…. A mammoth undertaking.”
The China Journal, No. 72 (July 2014), 170-172

“Liu’s monograph offers an impressive and extensive analysis of the place of dialects and local languages in modern China through analysis of a wide range of media and texts. It debunks the myth that mainstream media is monolithically Putonghua. Throughout the book, Liu links China-focused literary analysis and case studies to a variety of international contexts, making the work relevant to scholars working with similar themes outside of China. Overall, the monograph is comprehensively researched. … The work must be praised for its scholarly attention to detail.
I highly recommend it for scholars and students with an interest in sociolinguistics, languages and media, social power and the use of language among different social and ethnic groups, and those interested in understanding the pluralistic reality of contemporary Chinese culture, a vision that contrasts with official PRC discourse and with what some China commentators would have us believe.”
Lauren Gorfinkel, Macquarie University, MCLC Resource Center Publication, February 2017