The Han Lens: Media Representation and Public Reception of Chinese Ethnic Minorities: A Case of Ayanga

Abstract

This research examined the ways that ethnic minorities are depicted in mainstream media representations in China and how the public accepts and consumes such depictions. It provides a case study of the Inner Mongolian singer Ayanga, who made his debut in the media in 2012 and gained great popularity in a musical talent show in 2018. The thesis put various media texts produced by related fans communities into a database for analysis. By looking into the media strategies used by the state power structure and the majority ethnic group of China, a country where the dominant mainstream Han group makes up over 90% of the national population, the study discovers how representations of ethnic minorities help to construct the Han's subjectivity in China's nationality.