ABSTRACT
Over the past decade and a half, Chinese serial TV dramas dealing with government and governance have spurred considerable popular and critical interest, particularly with respect to how they function as a form of political discourse. I, for one, have written quite a bit about the politically charged TV dramas set in the dynasty era, treating them as a form of political discourse by linking the thematic preoccupations of these dramas with China’s overall popular and intellectual discourses concerning the path, steps and speed of China’s economic and political reforms. 2 I discuss how dynasty dramas reflect, engage in and in turn influence China’s major intellectual and policy debates as the country undergoes rapid political, economic and social changes. My focus for this chapter is on the transformation of politically charged dynasty dramas from anti-corruption to officialdom, which registers the shifting popular cultural ethos from righteous indignation to resignation that takes corruption as inevitable and part and parcel of a modern bureaucracy. This chapter further calls attention to the absence of China’s officialdom drama in its current incarnation amid the new round of anti-graft campaigns under China’s new leader, Xi Jingping. I will use the popularity of the US version of the officialdom drama House of Cards as a comparison to illustrate Chinese television drama’s intricate relationship with Chinese politics.
