Symposium: The Artist as Public Intellectual in China

The artist as a public intellectual in contemporary China enters a rich stream of norms and expectations made up of elements drawing from traditional and modern scholars, governments and artisans. This rich array of tools exists in a particular ideological moment―today's China with its form of government, public, and artists. A review of the living heritage that informs Chinese artists who choose to act as intellectuals in the public arena , given the nature of the public sphere in 21st century China and the issues confronting citizens and officials, helps us to make sense of particular, works of art and the efforts of particular artists in the public eye, such as Mo Yan, Ai Weiwei, and Chan Koonchung.