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Abstract

The dissertation takes a transcultural approach toward Chinese caricatures the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and their global connections, exploring their associations with the visual arts of the time. The study argues that Chinese caricatures emerged due to transcultural interactions, reflecting Chinese attempts to balance and even reverse asymmetries in visual presentations and power dynamics. The dissertation encompasses caricatures produced in China, including those published in colonial Hong Kong. By analyzing these caricatures, the study reveals how Chinese and foreign caricaturists overcame asymmetries in four critical aspects: the painting genre, publications, imagery and concepts. These visual agents manifested caricatures as a thriving art form for Chinese audiences, introduced Western-style humor magazines and caricatural visual languages, various foreign concepts, and ultimately created their unique caricatural expressions that connected with the global community.