Understanding the body and disability in Chinese contexts

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.