Introduction: The politics of negative affects in post-Reform China

If there is such a thing as dominant public sphere in post-reform China, its emotional tonality has often been described overwhelmingly positive, evidenced by the recent focus on “happiness” campaigns or state-promoted “positive energy.” This special section takes prevalence of positivity an invitation to investigate opposites: what, authoritarian context, political work negative affects bitterness, fear, shame, indifference, deflation, trouble? Locating articles within broader literature affect and emotion anthropology beyond, this introduction provides overall framing for collection. Based articles, it depicts potential negativity both disruptive generative, through their evaluative propositional force which induces transformation while evading repression.