Shanzhai phenomenon in China: A Foucaultian perspective on ethics and care of the self

Abstract

Shanzhai (山寨) is a new mode of production that has evolved into a distinctive Chinese phenomenon marked by low prices, innovative appropriations, and locally customized designs. Against the backdrop of state-society relations in the New China, this article analyzes the production of shanzhai mobile phones in terms of the five artifacts of object, image, body, time, and space. It also applies Michel Foucault’s later work on ethics to the phone consumption offered up by globalization and considers how his discussion of the practices of the self help to elucidate the value of non-conformity, as well as ethics, freedom, and self-governance, which are complicating the contemporary identity scene in terms of consumption choices. Finally, it assesses the degree to which Foucault’s ethics in relation to the personal project of the self can shed light on the current transformation in design practices and the re-shaping of the politics of consumption.