This talk explores the evolving discourse and cultural practices surrounding the concept of humanism (rendaozhuyi 人道主义) in the People’s Republic of China from the 1960s to the 1980s. Focusing on key historical moments such as the Sino-Soviet Split, the Cultural Revolution, the death of Mao, and the implementation of the Open-Door Policy, it traces the ways “humanism” was received, suppressed, reinterpreted, and rearticulated in these shifting political contexts. By reexamining cases of minority nationality films (少数民族电影) and “scar” literature through this lens, this talk also complicates theoretical discussions with cultural critiques informed by Sinophone and global comparative perspectives.

Faye Qiyu Lu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in comparative studies of modern Sinophone and Chinese literature, film, and popular culture. Her dissertation takes a comparative humanist approach to explore various genres of cultural production in Cold War Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, critically engaging with global discourses on Marxist and decolonial humanism. Her recent article has been published in Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, and she is co-editing a volume on Taiwan’s culture and history during the global Cold War. Faye is currently a research fellow at the University of Milan, working on the project “Reading Europe through Contemporary Sinophone Literature.”