The Visual Politics and Aesthetic Strategies of a “Grey Publication”: A Study of the Image Narrative of Hai Kwang Literature Monthly

Abstract

Hai Kwang Literature Monthly (1966–1967) was a literary periodical published amid the politically sensitive climate of Cold War Hong Kong. Taking Issues 1–13 as the primary corpus, this study employs quantitative image analysis and close reading to examine the periodical’s visual practices across its covers, art/fine-arts columns, illustrations, and advertisements. It argues that the periodical mobilized the visual symbols of world-famous paintings and the female body to strike a balance between elitist and popular appeals; simultaneously, through strategies of excision, modification, and depoliticization, it softened its leftist coloring and cultivated an ambiguous “grey” image. In the later issues, the introduction of Southeast Asian themes opened up a cross-regional “third space.” These visual strategies demonstrate how the periodical mediated competing political and market pressures, and they offer a fresh perspective for understanding publishing and visual culture in Cold War Hong Kong.