Shishang Xiansheng

Shishang Xiansheng
CategoriesMen's magazine
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherTrends magazine group
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993)
Company
  • Trends Media Group
  • IDG
  • Hearst
CountryChina
LanguageChinese

Shishang xiansheng (时尚先生; Mr Fashionable) is a Chinese monthly men's magazine. It is the first men's magazine in the country.[1] In addition, it was the sole magazine targeted Chinese men until 2000 when Da Dushi, another men's magazine, was launched.[1]

History and profile

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The magazine was started in 1993 as a supplement to Shishang yieng, a women's magazine.[1][2] The founding company was the Trends magazine group.[1] From 1997 Shishang xiansheng became a separate title.[2] Two years later the magazine began to be published as the Chinese version of the American men's magazine Esquire.[1][2][3] Upon this an English script Esquire was added to the background of its title.[4]

Shishang xiansheng is a venture of Trends Media Group, International Data Group (IDG), and Hearst.[4] The magazine is published by the Trends magazine group on a monthly basis.[5] Its target audience is affluent Chinese men in their 30s and 40s.[2] The stated objective of Shishang xiansheng is to provide a harmonious balance between the material and spiritual wealth, which reminds the official discourse of Chinese state "to grab with both hands, with both hands tough."[6] It mostly covers the topics of fashion and accessories.[6]

The magazine established an award, Man of the Year, in 2004.[7] In 2005 Wang Feng was appointed the editor-in-chief of the magazine.[4] In 2008 a movie, Esquire Runway, was produced by the publishing company to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the magazine.[8] Shishang xiansheng was the best selling men's magazine in China in 2010 with a circulation of 680,000 copies based on the reports by the publishing company.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Men's magazines all the rage in China". Asia One. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Geng Song; Derek Hird (2013). Men and Masculinities in Contemporary China. Leiden: BRILL. pp. 57, 70. ISBN 978-90-04-26491-5.
  3. ^ Jeremy Goldkorn (2 February 2004). "Esquire China". Danwei. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Shuang Li (2011). The New Generation of Lifestyle Magazine Journalism in China: The Professional Approach (PhD thesis). University of Westminster.
  5. ^ a b "World Magazine Trends 2010/2011. China 2011" (PDF). FIPP. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  6. ^ a b Tracy K. Lee (2008). Constructing Consumerist Masculinities: Men's Lifestyle Magazines in Contemporary China (Conference paper). Monash University. hdl:1885/27981. ISBN 9781876924676. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  7. ^ Tracy Lee; Geng Song (July 2010). "Consumption, Class Formation and Sexuality: Reading Men's Lifestyle Magazines in China". The China Journal. 64 (64): 159–177. doi:10.1086/tcj.64.20749251. S2CID 140530345.
  8. ^ Derek Elley (27 June 2008). "Review: 'Esquire Runway'". Variety. Retrieved 19 February 2017.