Temporality and Spatiality: "Global Jiangnan" as Theoretical and Historical Framework

This paper explores the relationship between the global and the local through new research on the concept of "global Jiangnan." Centering its theoretical inquiry on temporality and spatiality, it revisits the tradition of Jiangnan—distinct from the broader notion of "the South" in the Chinese context—and seeks to define "global Jiangnan" as a concept distinct from "the global South" through theoretical, historical, and cultural lenses.

At the theoretical level, this study introduces a global approach to Jiangnan beyond its conventional interpretation within regional history. Historically, it examines the evolution and transformation of Jiangnan across both pre-modern and modern contexts. To bridge the divide between these historical periods, the paper traces manifestations of "global Jiangnan" in key historical moments and locations, including early Qing Beijing.

Culturally, drawing on Deleuzian concepts, this study investigates the folds, deterritorialization, and reterritorialization of Jiangnan across time and space on a global scale. Ultimately, it proposes understanding Jiangnan as a fluid, dynamic, and foldable space—one that takes on diverse forms within different historical and social structures.