The sin of words: Censorship and self‐censorship in China during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

2023/06/12 by Peiyuan Li · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Asian Studies and History #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #Electoral Systems and Political Participation

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/aehr.12268

openalex publication_date 2023/06/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Abstract This study examines the impact of a large‐scale censorship campaign in Qing China (1644–1911) on intellectuals' writings. Using a Difference‐in‐Difference approach and analysing 23,000 poems, the study reveals a significant decrease in the frequency of censored words in poems written by censored intellectuals. There was no room to circumvent censorship by adopting homophones, split words, and variant characters. The machine learning analyses uncover some indication that the censorship campaign influenced intellectuals' writing styles, with intellectuals shifting away from the censored poetry. The campaign created intense political pressures, leading to self‐censorship, but its long‐term impact on word choices was minimal.

Citations

• Text as Data

Discussions

• Qing govt censorship 1644-1790 shifted the writing of intellectuals away from censored poetry & words, according to Peiyuan Li in the Asia-Pacific Econ Hist Rev. Text analysis of 27,000 poems points t [bsky, 7 points, 0 comments]

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