China’s stringent censorship and fractured cultural infrastructure have forced writers to adapt and embrace flexibility across genres in order to continue creating meaningful work. Journalists have become serial entrepreneurs, constantly seeking new ways to fill the gaps left in the media landscape. One example is Zhang Wenmin, also known as Jiang Xue, who left institutional journalism to become a self-publishing blogger after facing increasing pressure. She faced criticism from friends and family for her unconventional approach and was even banned from major social media platforms. However, a friend offered her WeChat account to post her diaries, which went viral but also attracted attacks. The worsening media environment in China has made it difficult for journalists like Zhang to express themselves without being perceived as abnormal.
On the other hand, there has been an emergence of a community of writers who are empowered by affordable technology, particularly smartphones, allowing a broader range of people, including working-class individuals without formal education, to pursue literature. Social media platforms like Kuaishou have become an outlet for factory workers, masseurs, and truckers to share their compositions, including poetry. Fan Yusu, a single mother, gained overnight fame after her autobiographical essay went viral on WeChat. These platforms have provided opportunities for marginalized voices to be heard and have challenged traditional notions of who can participate in literary expression.
Journalist and editor Yang Ying has championed overlooked stories and alternative platforms. Despite facing setbacks and censorship, Yang has managed to build a successful career. After leaving mainstream media, she co-founded a popular digital outlet called Curiosity Daily, which covered diverse topics that were often ignored by the state-controlled media. Yang later launched the online magazine Xiaoniao, where she published literary writings on topics that were no longer explored in journalism. She believes that literature is a refuge and a means for people to connect and communicate with each other in a media landscape where such connections are increasingly difficult to achieve.
Zhang Jieping, a journalist-turned-media entrepreneur, created Zaichang, a community and platform that provides aspiring journalists with the resources and skills to tell impactful stories. Zhang and other publishers like Yang aim to normalize topics that the state deems counterproductive or inconvenient, such as the disappearance of traditional villages and rising anxiety after disasters. However, publishing such work attracts unwanted attention in Xi’s China. For example, when Xiaoniao published stories about individuals who evaded COVID-19 lockdown rules, the local police summoned Yang for a conversation, leading her to remove the entire mobile app issue. Despite the risks, Zhang and other publishers continue to push boundaries and provide a platform for alternative narratives.
In summary, China’s strict censorship and fractured cultural infrastructure have compelled writers to be adaptable and fluid in their approach to genres. Journalists have become serial entrepreneurs, seeking new ways to fill the gaps in the media landscape. Affordable technology has empowered a broader range of individuals, including working-class people, to participate in literary expression. Figures like Yang Ying have been instrumental in championing overlooked stories and creating platforms for alternative narratives. However, publishing such work comes with risks and attracts unwanted attention from authorities. Despite the challenges, these publishers persist in providing a space for diverse voices and narratives.
Additional Piece:
The challenges faced by journalists and writers in China highlight the importance of independent media and alternative platforms in fostering a diverse and inclusive media landscape. As the state tightens its grip on the flow of information and imposes stricter censorship measures, it is crucial for individuals and communities to find creative ways to circumvent these restrictions. The rise of self-publishing bloggers, online magazines, and social media platforms as outlets for marginalized voices is a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of writers and journalists in the face of adversity.
In an era where traditional media is increasingly compromised and controlled by the state, independent journalists and writers play a critical role in upholding the principles of freedom of expression and providing an alternative perspective to mainstream narratives. These individuals are often at the forefront of uncovering stories that are deemed inconvenient or counterproductive by the state, shedding light on the realities faced by marginalized communities and advocating for social change.
The power of storytelling cannot be underestimated. Through literature and journalism, individuals can connect with each other, share their joys and sorrows, and foster a sense of empathy and understanding. This is particularly important in a society where the media environment has become increasingly polarized and fragmented. By amplifying diverse voices and narratives, independent media outlets offer a platform for a more nuanced and inclusive dialogue, challenging dominant narratives and giving voice to those who are marginalized or overlooked.
However, the risks and challenges faced by journalists and writers in China should not be overlooked. The crackdown on dissenting voices, the censorship of online platforms, and the threat of legal repercussions pose significant barriers to those who dare to challenge the status quo. It is important for the international community to support and amplify the work of these individuals, as well as to advocate for the protection of freedom of expression and the right to access information.
In conclusion, the evolving media landscape in China presents both challenges and opportunities for journalists and writers. While censorship and restrictions may limit the scope of expression, the rise of independent media outlets, self-publishing bloggers, and social media platforms has provided a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. These alternative platforms not only serve as a refuge for writers but also foster a sense of community and connectivity in a society where the media environment has become increasingly polarized. Despite the risks involved, the push for independent journalism and storytelling remains crucial in promoting freedom of expression and challenging dominant narratives.
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In this environment of intense censorship and fractured cultural infrastructure, writers must be flexible, willing to give up the old ways and move fluidly between genres if they want to continue doing meaningful work. Journalists become serial entrepreneurs dreaming up new ways to create to fill in the gaps they see. When one project becomes unfeasible, they move on to another.
Zhang Wenmin, a veteran journalist who writes under the name Jiang Xue, became known for her coverage of a 2002 civil rights case in which four police officers showed up at the home of a newly married couple because they were watching pornography. Among many colleagues, there was a consensus that no matter what, they had to try to say a little more, recalls Zhang. Feeling increasing pressure, she left institutional journalism in 2015 to become a self-publishing blogger. With long straight hair, Zhang dresses simply. In contrast to the steely insistence on common sense in her writing, there is a vulnerable shyness in her physical presence. “I’ve never been cool,” she teased herself quietly, arms wrapped in front of her body. On WeChat, she wrote stories about dissidents, something that no media would allow her, she said, because it’s like raping a tiantiao — a heaven-sent statute. She was not invited to journalistic events. She lost her Weibo and WeChat accounts and became virtually invisible. “My friends and family think I went too far,” Zhang said. When the city of her, Xi’an, locked himself up, a friend offered her own WeChat account to post Zhang’s diaries. They went viral but also sparked attacks. “The worsening of the media environment in the last 10 years makes people see things backwards,” she said. “When you do the most normal thing, it seems abnormal.”
Elsewhere, an even more ascendant type of community of writers appeared. Its participants are assisted by affordable technology (three-quarters of the Chinese population are smartphone owners), allowing a broader swath of people to post more varieties of writing. While Hao’s generation of writers were predominantly middle-class and upwardly mobile, the spread of Internet-enabled technology has allowed working-class people without degrees to pursue literature. On social media platforms like Kuaishou, where users post short video clips, factory workers, masseurs and truckers began composing poems. In 2017, a 44-year-old single mother, Fan Yusu, became a literary star almost overnight after his autobiographical essay, “I Am Fan Yusu,” went viral on WeChat. Beginning with a striking line: “My life is a hard book to read: Fate has bound me badly,” she chronicles her rural youth and eventual employment by a super-rich Beijing businessman who hires her to babysit. that she shares. with a mistress of hers Six days a week, she leaves behind her own daughters and attends to the beloved child. She began to write in her spare time because she, she thought, “to live you have to do something besides eat.”
Journalist and editor Yang Ying has been a champion of overlooked stories and the platforms that host them. She’s managed to build a successful career despite cycles of setbacks and revivals: A former reporter for a business weekly, she left that magazine in 2014 after growing dissatisfied with mainstream media. Along with a couple of other publishers, he started a popular digital outlet whose name translates to Curiosity Daily that covered topics like the Shanghai Pride Parade, a Texan who moved into a dumpster for a year to explore sustainable living. and the work of the Japanese author. Hirokazu Kore-eda, who once commented that creators should keep the influence of the state at bay. After authorities twice suspended the outlet for “illegally building a news gathering and editing team,” the team disbanded in 2019. Yang persisted, following up that project with an online magazine called Xiaoniao, or Little Birds, in which who published literary writings on topics that could no longer be explored in journalism. “Literature is our last refuge,” Yang told me.
“In stories, people can communicate with each other,” Zhang Jieping, a journalist-turned-media entrepreneur and founder of the Zaichang, or “On the Scene” scholarship, told me. “Her joys and sorrows become relatable. With today’s media, it’s increasingly difficult to achieve that.” As journalistic institutions collapsed, Zhang built Zaichang to create a community and a ladder for aspiring journalists to learn how to tell such stories. Publishers like Yang and Zhang want to correct that disconnect by normalizing what Yang called “everyday clutter” — topics the state sees as counterproductive, such as the disappearance of traditional villages and rising diagnostic anxiety after disasters. However, in Xi’s China, publishing this work means attracting unwanted attention. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, Xiaoniao published a special edition that collected disturbing true stories, including one about a young woman who evaded the rules to cross the city to see her seriously ill father. Soon, the local police invited Yang to have tea. Seemingly inundated with tea dates, she asked him to remove the entire mobile app issue from the post. she complied.
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