Sorcery on Social Media: Douyin Representations of Magic Users and Ethnic Difference in Hainan, China
Sorcery on Social Media: Douyin Representations of Magic Users and Ethnic Difference in Hainan, China

Summary/Abstract: The South China island of Hainan is home to large numbers of non-Han ethnic minorities. Owing to its distinct geography and population, sorcery (variously defined) has been practiced on Hainan, and the island is often associated with sorcery in online, literary and popular media discourses. We explore the dynamic relationship between the craft of Gin (Jin 禁 in Mandarin Chinese), a local sorcery supposedly practised by ethnic minorities in Hainan, and perception and imagination of this practice on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. Relying on online interaction content generated by Hainan-based users of either Han Chinese or ethnic minority origins, this study examines the expression of folklore themes and figures through the algorithmically mediated popular imagination. The paper finds that the social media platform offers individuals interacting online a space to engage in vernacular discourse and creative expression along folkloric lines. However, its online folklore problematically represents and reproduces dominant perspectives on Hainan’s geographical, ethnic, gender and economic divides. We argue that an opaque content recommendation algorithm often boosts sensationalised engagement and decontextualised communication. Further research directions into folklore on social media in China are proposed.

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