History, Development and Analytical Models of Chinese Television

This chapter traces the evolution of Chinese television studies from the pre-reform mass-propaganda paradigm through the post-1978 transformation debates. It first distinguishes Western and Chinese scholarly perspectives on the Soviet totalitarian model, then contrasts libertarian accounts of industrialization and institutional change with political economy critiques of party-market corporatism. The analysis extends to cross-border television flows, which originated in the 1950s but intensified dramatically after the reform. The chapter concludes by advocating an outward-looking framework grounded in Global South perspectives, one that situates China’s television transformation within transnational power dynamics rather than national boundaries alone.