Alignment and Distancing: A Review of The Construction and Communication of Mental Illness and Health Discourse in China Since Modern Times

Abstract

For years, the mention of Li Yungeng has evoked memories of the spring of 2009, when he first introduced the works of Michel Foucault at the "NJU Journalism & Communication Reading Group." At that time, Foucault was in vogue; translations of his major works were emerging in succession, sparking intense interest among young scholars. I have long maintained that, unlike many casual admirers, Li’s engagement with Foucault extended beyond mere appreciation. It was an epistemological and methodological immersion—one that influenced the faculty and students around him. Consequently, when I received the manuscript for The Construction and Communication of Mental Illness and Health Discourse in China Since Modern Times, I experienced the distinct illusion of reading Madness and Civilization or The Birth of the Clinic. Moreover, I felt a palpable sense of the painstaking effort Li dedicated to this volume.

I have known Yungeng for nearly 20 years. In 2008, while I was an in-service postdoctoral fellow at Fudan University, I taught an course on Social Psychology to undergraduates at Nanjing University. It was then that I discovered a truly exceptional cohort. After two years of study, this grade was distinct from any I had encountered: nearly thirty students demonstrated a profound interest in academic reading, with Yungeng being the most active among them. For an educator, such students are a blessing. At their collective insistence, I established the "NJU Journalism & Communication Reading Group." Unexpectedly, this group has thrived for seventeen years, remaining a vibrant incubator for academic talent to this day.

Yungeng naturally assumed the role of the inaugural Secretary-General. In my memory, Yungeng possessed boundless energy; he was animated and exuberant when sharing his reading insights. While his interest in communication texts was sparse, he had a particular affinity for philosophy—lighting up whenever Foucault was discussed. It was, therefore, a natural progression when he later enrolled in the Philosophy Department for his graduate studies. Through the students' presentations, I too acquired new knowledge. It was a quintessential experience of pedagogical reciprocity; they systematically liberated my attention from the dominance of American sociology and empirical communication research. Furthermore, Yungeng’s persistent introduction of Foucault’s oeuvre compelled me to prioritize Foucaultian thought in my own work.