The lost and found of self : individuality in modern China through the art of Liao Bingxiong

This thesis examines the changing sense of self and individuality among intellectuals and creators in China across the Kuomintang, Maoist, and post-Mao periods, using the life and work of cartoonist Liao Bingxiong (廖冰兄)(1915–2006) as a case study. By tracing Liao’s artistic and personal trajectory, this study explores how political repression and ideological control shaped not only artistic production, but also individuals’ sense of self, values, and agency. Using artwork analysis, coupled with biographies and reminiscences written by Liao’s family members and friends, this study attempts to delineate Liao’s psychological landscape in different eras and examine the relationship between political demands and individual subjectivity. It also draws on the experiences of other contemporary intellectuals and creators through their literary works, memoirs, and magazine articles, providing historical context for Liao’s personal experience and a broader range of cases for a more comprehensive understanding of the periods. Adopting Robert Jay Lifton’s theory of thought reform and Janja Lalich’s framework of cult personality, this study argues that Maoist political campaigns severely hindered individuals’ humanity, psychological well-being, and personal development, even leading some intellectuals to develop a “pseudopersonality” in order to survive persecution. The thesis also argues that the post-Mao period marked not simply a relaxation of political restrictions, but a gradual recovery of selfhood and the enjoyment of art, marked by the emergence of art centering on artists themselves, as well as art that does not bear any particular messages. By conducting a biographical study, performing visual analysis, applying a psychological lens, and focusing on a cartoonist, a member of a relatively understudied group in intellectual history, this thesis presents a new perspective on the individuality of modern Chinese intellectuals.