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Transcript

The History of Book Bans in China

LIS 350, Diana Dai

The History of China儒

Qin Dynasty

(221 to 206 BC)

The Earlist Book Ban in China...

1

Book censorship has been a method used by China since the start of the Qin dynasty (221 to 206 BC).

2

Both domestic and foreign books which do not meet the central government's requirement will be censored and forbidden to be printed or distributed.

No matter how severe and torturing the punishment was, the Qin Dynasty only lasted 14 years.

Qin Dynasty

However, he issued a decree to burn all classic works of the Hundred Schools of Thought, including Confucianism and Taoism, as well as poetry, prose, and music. Only books on medicine, astrology, divination, and agriculture were spared.

The emperor established his kingdom out of fear that his legitimacy would be questioned and to prevent people from undermining his rule, he unified and strengthened the Chinese empire.

221 to 206 BC

Furthermore, he carried out a massacre of intellectuals in order to control and restrict their thoughts and actions to align with his own desires.

Qin Shi Huang

(213 BC)

Burning of Books

&

Burying of Scholars

The Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty

- The purported burning of texts in 213 BCE 

- The live burial of 460 Confucian scholars in 212 BCE

Why?

WHY?

to reinforce the Legalism ideology of the Qin government by destroying philosophical works from the Hundred Schools of Thought

Books to be most "dangerous" politically:

  • poetry (confucius)
  • history (historical records of other states)
  • philosophy

advocated political ideas often incompatible with the totalitarian regime

concering the ancient virtuous rulers

people would invoke the past and become dissatisfied with the presnt

Damage to Chinese intellectual heritage is hard to assess due to lack of historical records...

Burning of Books

BOOK BURNING

Technological books were spared from destruction (Li Si's memorial)

State history books suffered great losses, with very few surviving from before Qin

"Objectionable" books such as poetry and philosophy were preserved in imperial archives and kept by official scholars

All history books not in the Qin interpretation to be burned (unclear whether they were all destroyed or some were kept in imperial archives)

Any surviving histories in the archives may have been destroyed in 206 B.C. when enemies captured and burnt the Qin imperial palaces.

SCHOLARS BURYING

Burying of Scholars

Tradition had it that after being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, Qin Shi Huang ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be buried alive in the second year of the proscription.

Aisin Gioro Hongli

(18th century)

Censorship in 18th century China

  • Emperor Qianlong (Aisin Gioro Hongli), who ruled from 1735 to 1796
  • instructed officials to conduct "literary inquistion" (book review) that were published in the 17th century
  • last for 15 years, starting from 1774

“If the books contain language that is anti-dynastic, then the woodblacks and printed sheets must both be put to the flames. Heterodox opinions must be quashed that later generations may not be influences. ” (Baltiman, p. 126, 1935)

EMPORER'S CONCERN

The Legitimacy of the Manchus

The Qing dynasty's legitimacy depended on being seen as rightful rulers of China, and their Inner Asian (Manchus) origins created a need to control discourse about the past to justify their rule.

In Chinese political theory, civilization was defined as literate expression, and controlling the recording of knowledge was crucial for state legitimacy.

The Qing dynasty implemented censorship to dominate discourse about the past, with books dealing with historical matters being the main target.

The Qing government imposed a book ban to suppress books that challenged the official historical narrative or criticized Qing rule.

The book ban was part of a larger effort to control the dissemination of knowledge and maintain the Qing dynasty's legitimacy as rulers of China.

Mao Ze Dong

(20th century)

During the 20th century, Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party implemented various censorship laws in China. CCP's censorship aimed to maintain political control, enforce community standards, and protect Maoist ideology.

This censorship began in the 1940s and intensified in the 1950s and during the Cultural Revolution, where books deemed anti-Communist or Maoist were censored and prohibited.

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

  • During Mao Zedong's rise to power in the 1950s, only a few writers who dared to criticize his political and utilitarian view of literature

  • These writers became the target of a national media attack, leading to arrest, imprisonment, and the purging of their literary works from mainstream society

  • Censorship and the suppression of competing ideologies were central to political norms during this time

Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976 resulted in the banning of many books, including Western classics and works by Chinese authors that did not conform to mainstream political ideologies

Many of China's most important writers today were heavily persecuted as counter-revolutionaries during the revolutionary years, and their works were banned.

Cultural Revolution

CENSORSHIP

Censorship

The censorship system was institutionalized with unparalleled sophistication and thoroughness, expanding to domains varying from news media and TV programs to literature, films, and the arts, while obtaining not only prescriptive control but also restrictive control.

During this time, public book burnings also became a tool to destroy all material not deemed appropriate by the CCP.

Xi Jin Ping

(21 century)

Like Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping has continued many of the practices put in place to censor media and literature by the Cultural Revolution.

21st Century

POLITICAL

POLITICAL INCORRECT

Xi Jinping (November 15, 2012 - present), current CCP General Secretary, has continued to ban books in mainland China and Hong Kong that are considered “politically incorrect”.

Like Mao, Xi has specifically targeted libraries to censor pro-democracy books and textbooks used in schools, all to promote “patriotism and ideological purity in the education system”.

BURNING BOOKS

Burning Books Haven't been Stopped!

  • In 2019, Xi Jinping was criticized for allowing the resumption of burning books in China

  • A library in Northwestern China was caught burning books by the local press

  • Laws implemented by Xi's Ministry of Education allowed libraries to "cleanse" books that promoted "incorrect global outlook and values"

  • This led to book burnings taking place in various parts of China.

Book Bans in China Nowadays

GAINING ACCLAIM

  • Chinese modern politics and biographies of former leader.

  • lives of or allegations concerning current leaders are particularly sensitive topics

  • Tibet and Xinjiang that do not fully endorse that these are part of China are also banned

  • the Dalai Lama, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, or the events of the Cultural Revolution

  • the Falun Gong religious movement, as well as other religious books that contradict government-endorsed theology, including some editions of the Holy Bible

  • allegorical fiction books that indirectly criticize the Chinese government
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