The (Digital) Majesty of All Under Heaven: Affective Constitutive Rhetoric at the Hong Kong Museum of History’s Multi-Media Exhibition of Terracotta Warriors

Abstract

During a series of protests in Hong Kong about a leadership transition widely perceived to give Mainland China greater political influence, the Hong Kong Museum of History held a Special Exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors of Xian, China. Sponsored by “The Leisure and Cultural Service Department,” the exhibit featured the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who ushered in “an epoch-making era in Chinese history that witnessed the unification of China” (Museum Exhibition). This essay explores the multi-media aspects of the exhibit, arguing that encounters with dramatic music and fully immersive digital experiences are examples of an embodied, affective form of constitutive rhetoric. Put differently, the museum’s multi-media elements demonstrate how Maurice Charland’s theory of a constitutive rhetoric can be informed by recent work on affect and can provide one point from which to engage affect theory and the “affective dimension of politics.”

Notes

¹ CY has also been accused of being a “secret Communist,” a charge he has denied. See: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1103&MainCatID=&id=20120731000102 and http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/is-hong-kongs-new-chief-a-communist/507103.

² In response to protests, CY agreed to keep the National Education curriculum non-compulsory for the time being; however, protests continue throughout the city for fear of secret, internal pressure on schools to adopt it and for fear of an eventual change in policy.

³ The king of the state of Qin began the Qin Dynasty around 221 BCE, uniting various warring states. The British Museum as well as Princeton University host websites with additional information: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/c/china_qin_dynasty_221-207bc.aspx; http://www.princeton.edu/˜achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Qin_Dynasty.html.

⁴ In my view, the narratives of scholars are valid insofar as they provide access to phenomenological insights; indeed, much of the history of phenomenology and phenomenological methods work this way. However, an ethnographic approach that collects narratives from others may also prove valuable and may be a better fit for scholars more comfortable with the social sciences.

⁵ In marketing studies and mass media scholarship, scholars seem interested in developing strict scales and measures of affect (See: Patwardhan et al.; Peine et al.). Although this work clearly has its relative validity and uses, I propose affect as always multiple, ever-shifting, and entwined with the sensory complexities of the environment. In short, it seems too limiting or reductive in my view to create scales or measures in advance of situations.

⁶ Images of the multi-media display are available in a video about the exhibit produced by the “Now” news channel and available here: http://news.now.com/home/international/player?newsId=39506

⁷ This is a note regarding my personal experience of the exhibit and those people I observed. It is not meant to be universalized.

⁸ It is fair to say that some, not all, Hong Kongers and Mainlanders believe they can identify Chinese ethnic groups through facial structures. See the discussion here as a quick example: http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_chinaway/2006-01/20/content_78342.htm