From live-streaming to memes: an exploratory study of the Chinese abstract culture as a structure of feeling among Chinese youth

The abstract culture is a youth subculture characterized by the incomprehensible, vulgar, and even abusive presentations of live streamers in China. Through online viewers’ second creation, remixing, and dissemination of these presentations, the live streamers become memes widely recognized by Chinese young generations. This subculture started catching netizens’ attention with the establishment of the Abstract Studio from the game live- streamers Li Gan and Sun Xiaochuan on the livestreaming platform Douyu. With subcultural studies and Raymond William’s notion of the structure of feelings, this study analyzes the abstract culture from the perspective of its reception among Chinese youth. Through qualitative survey and thematic analysis, this exploratory study contends the abstract culture constructs a structure of feeling composed of four dominant feelings: participatory and creative for entertainment, emotional utopia, freedom of expression, and herd mentality. The simultaneous presence of these four feelings reflects the diverse means of expression and complex emotions that exist in abstract culture, which arise from Chinese young people’s responses to Chinese social norms, state and grassroots discipline, and technical traits of social media.