Functionalities of Political Humor in Xi Jinping's Era: Resistance, Cynicism, Nationalism

In political communication, 'humor' has important functions, ranging from indirect activist participation to community building. Particularly in the Chinese public sphere, humor has been said to play three primary roles: 1) creative resistance, 2) playful symbolism, and 3) participatory nationalism. Studies have shown that satire and parodies can creatively destabilize and circumvent the system of censorship and propaganda. Research also demonstrates that, through humor, online users vent grievances in a cynical and symbolic way. In addition, they may also utilize humor to build social connections and form subcultural communities. Furthermore, in Xi Jinping's era, top-down and bottom-up nationalistic narratives produce satirical texts to enhance regime legitimacy by challenging non-authoritarian governance styles and ideological values. Parodies and satirical expressions emerge in various forms and constitute different public actions and are engaged by different communities depending on the context. We first review the previous academic debates on the socio-political implications of humor in Chinese society. Subsequently, through a discourse analysis of some examples, we zoom into the discursive practices and engagement dynamics of humor on online platforms to disentangle the multifaceted character of digital political culture in Xi's China and in authoritarian environments. We found that through continuous production, circulation, re-contextualization and re-appropriation of memes, the Chinese state and society form a symbiosis online that espouses rather than eschews each other's discourse, although often in a fluid and nuanced manner.