The old and glorious “Selected Essays” did not survive the obtuse censors of the CCP.
by Chang Meixiu
“Selected Essays” or “Anthology of Essays” (杂文选刊) is, or rather was, an old and glorious Chinese literary magazine. Although with a penchant for satire, it had survived for the remarkable time span of 35 years, passing through different periods, politics, and Presidents. But finally, even “Selected Essays” could not survive the censors of Xi Jinping.
It has been forced to cease publications, and December 2023 has been its last issue. Its phone line has already been disconnected. Editors confirmed that ceasing publications was not a voluntary choice.
Its cover crossed a red line. It represents a hand pointing the way forward. Minuscule human figures run like lemmings on the arm and the hand and jump into an abyss. Only after jumping, their expression goes from enthusiastic to desperate.
This can be a general meditation on human foolishness, but censors became persuaded it was a direct attack against Xi Jinping. The Chinese media often mention that Xi always “indicates the way” to the Party members and the population of China, if not to the whole world.
That an arm and a hand pointing the way forward can only belong to Xi Jinping is confirmed, in the eyes of the censors, by the fact that 指明帝 (the Emperor who indicates [the way]) is used as a nickname of the Chinese President, mostly in a satirical sense.
Netizens have commented that shutting down “Selected Essays” is a sinister omen of what will happen to all independent media.
Note that “Selected Essays” was published by Jilin People’s Publishing Company, a large company which prides itself that “it always adheres to the correct publishing direction,” and was not generally considered a dissident or anti-CCP publication. It didn’t matter. Perhaps the cover really offended the censors. Or perhaps it was a pretext. Only propaganda media are now allowed in China.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
