Understanding the body and disability in Chinese contexts

Abstract

This article examines the conceptualization of the body and disability throughout Chinese history. To concisely present a general scene, the article defines three historical periods and, in each period, explains the social context, dominant ideologies, and meaning of the body and disability. The arguments are as follows: traditional China (before 1949) was a homogeneous society, in which a whole, correct body was required and people with impairment were de-humanized; in socialist China (1949–1979), the body was seen as national property and those contributing less were marginalized; and in China’s post-communist reform (since 1979), the body has been defined as an individual tool of production and competition. Disabled people have started to emerge as a legislative, political, and social category, who are equal in theory but marginalized in practice, and who are expected to be active and productive through their personal endeavors.

Keywords:

• body
• disability in China
• Confucianism
• collectivism
• individualism

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank her PhD supervisors, Professor Nicholas Watson and Dr Joanna Ferrie, for their insightful and helpful comments on earlier drafts of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by China Scholarship Council [Grant 201306770011].