The Politics of Fictional Medicine: Entertainment, Propaganda, and Education in Chinese Medical Dramas in the Xi Era

Abstract

Based on the analysis of six TV series, this paper explores how Chinese medical drama embeds medical imagery with evolving ideological constructs representing the political orientation of contemporary China. A brief examination of the characteristics of Chinese medical drama genre, the healthcare system in the People’s Republic of China, and the regulatory framework of C-drama will provide the background for the analysis of the representation of national and international politics in the corpus selected. The findings will show how Chinese medical TV series dramatize various key social relationships (e.g., doctor/patient, patient/family, family/society, society/nation, traditional/modern, national/international) and social changes (e.g., ethics, morality, wealth gaps, reforms) with the purpose of both problematizing the current issues China is facing and instructing the audiences on the path to be taken under the leadership of Xi Jinping.  

Keywords

Chinese medical drama; core values; COVID-19; PRC healthcare; TCM.