Current Sociology

Please welcome our Sociologists of the Month for June 2025, Zhang Jingting (Shanghai International Studies University, China) and Jia Chao (East China University of Science and Technology, China). Their article for Current Sociology Tragedy does not die: Creativity, emotions, and metaphor of revolution in the context of Chinese Revolutionary Drama was shortlisted for the Annual SAGE Current Sociology Best Paper Prize’s third edition (Vol. 72), and is Free Access this month.

Zhang Jingting

Could you please tell us about yourself? How did you come to your field of study?

Z. Jingting: As the first Chinese doctoral graduate in sociology from the University of Buenos Aires, my academic trajectory has been deeply shaped by cross-cultural immersion and interdisciplinary curiosity. Before specializing in sociology, I completed undergraduate and graduate studies in Spanish Language and Literature, which equipped me with linguistic fluency and a profound appreciation for Latin American cultural narratives. My three years of living, researching, and teaching across Latin America—particularly in Argentina—allowed me to witness firsthand how collective emotions, historical memory, and sociopolitical struggles intertwine in everyday life. These experiences crystallized my commitment to sociology, specifically the sociology of emotions, as a framework to decode how affective forces—such as solidarity, indignation, or nostalgia—animate social movements and cultural identities.

My identity as a multilingual scholar bridging China and Latin America positioned me uniquely to explore comparative social issues. The theoretical lens of emotional sociology, which I later refined during my doctoral work, emerged organically from this transnational perspective. It became a tool to dissect how societies narrate their pasts, negotiate present crises, and imagine futures through emotionally charged symbols—whether in the revolutionary dramas of China or the protest art of Latin America. This fusion of literary training, lived experience, and sociological rigor continues to define my work, enabling me to trace how emotions operate as both glue and catalyst in diverse sociocultural contexts.

What prompted you to research the area of your article, “Tragedy does not die: Creativity, emotions, and metaphor of revolution in the context of Chinese Revolutionary Drama”?

Z. Jingting: The article grew from my broader interest in how revolutionary ideologies are sustained and reimagined through cultural forms. Chinese Revolutionary Drama, as a genre, uniquely encapsulates the interplay between political narratives and emotional resonance. I was particularly drawn to the metaphor of “tragedy” as a recurring motif—not merely as an aesthetic device but as a sociopolitical mechanism. My research was motivated by a dual aim: to contribute fresh perspectives to emotional sociology and to re-examine Chinese Revolutionary Drama beyond reductive interpretations that dominate some international scholarship. Works like The White-Haired Girl (?????), for instance, are often simplistically labeled as “propaganda,” overshadowing their intricate interplay of artistic innovation and emotional resonance. In The White-Haired Girl, the protagonist’s suffering is not merely a political allegory but a performative act that ritualizes grief into a shared language of justice.

This process, rooted in China’s sociocultural context, reveals how revolutionary dramas encode emotions into institutional practices (e.g., collective mourning, symbolic gestures) that adapt to shifting societal needs. By integrating drama semiotics with emotional sociology, the study modestly suggests that non-Western cases like these can expand our understanding of how affective and ideological systems interact—a step toward more inclusive global theoretical dialogues. By analyzing such dramas through the lens of tragedy, I sought to illuminate how they creatively mediate historical memory and collective ethics, challenging assumptions about their ideological rigidity.

What do you see as the key findings of your article?

Z. Jingting: The article advances a “revolutionary emotional reproduction model” that transcends conventional analyses of Chinese Revolutionary Drama as either political propaganda or aesthetic artifacts. By integrating the sociology of emotions with cultural metaphor theory, the study reveals how these dramas institutionalize mass emotions to transform political discourse into collective identity. A key innovation is the concept of “revolutionary tragedy’s paradoxical immortality”—the idea that political discipline, rather than stifling creativity, generates artistic innovation. This challenges the simplistic “ideology-versus-art” binary prevalent in Western scholarship.

Central to this model is “emotional dynamics” as an explanatory framework. Through works like The White-Haired Girl, I demonstrate a three-phase mechanism:

• Sublimation of Tragic Emotion: Grief and sacrifice are elevated into “sublime sorrow” (??), a collective emotional register that binds audiences to revolutionary ethics.
• Metaphorical Transposition: Emotional intensity is encoded into cultural symbols (e.g., the protagonist’s white hair as a metaphor for systemic injustice), enabling abstract ideals to resonate across diverse audiences.
• Institutional Internalization: Through repeated performance and ritualization, these symbols become embedded in societal value systems, ensuring ideological continuity while allowing creative reinterpretation.

This framework not only repositions revolutionary drama as a site of artistic-political symbiosis but also offers a broader methodological lens for analyzing how affective forces sustain institutional legitimacy in cultural forms globally.

What are the wider social implications of your research in the current social climate? How do you think things will change in the future?

Z. Jingting: In an era marked by global political polarization and renegotiations of historical memory, my research highlights how cultural artifacts like drama serve as emotional archives and tools for ideological negotiation. By dissecting the interplay of creativity and emotion, the study underscores the role of art in sustaining or subverting collective identities. In China’s current climate, where debates over tradition and modernity persist, such analyses offer insights into how state and society navigate continuity and rupture. Looking ahead, I anticipate that digital media and transnational cultural exchanges will further complicate these dynamics, necessitating interdisciplinary frameworks to decode evolving emotional and creative landscapes.

Do you have any links to images, documents or other pieces of research which build on or add to the article? Or a suggested reading list?

Z. Jingting: To contextualize the article’s interdisciplinary approach, I recommend the following works:

• Sociology of Emotions & Cultural Theory:

- Aguiluz-Ibargüen M. & Beriain J. (2023). A Sociological Genealogy of Culture Wars. Oxford: Taylor & Francis.

- Cárcel J. A. R. (2022). Una aproximación sociológica y cultural al Mar desde la Tragedia Griega. Cuadernos del MUBAG, (1), 81-90.

- De Sena A. & Scribano A. (2020). Social policies and emotions: A look from the Global South (pp. 1-11). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

- Scribano A. (2018). Politics and emotions. Houston: Studium Press.

• Revolutionary Aesthetics & Cross-Cultural Dialogue:

- Dingxin Z. (2023). “Anchoring History in Turbulent Times” In The Reconstruction of Chinese Sociology (pp. 797-817). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

- Howard R. (2022). Contemporary Chinese Theatre. Oxford: Routledge.