The fatal similarity between two ‘emperors’

HAN WOO-DUK
The author is a senior reporter of the China Lab.

If I were asked to select the “most Chinese” article among the news from China this year, I would pick the “disappearance of the emperor” reported in October. The article was about “Chongzhen: The hard-working emperor who brought down a dynasty,” a book about the last Ming emperor. It disappeared from bookstores just a few days after publication.

The publisher claimed that the work had been recalled due to printing issues. But many people say that it was banned because it included an expression reminiscent of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The book said, “A series of defeats and mistakes were repeated. The harder the emperor worked on administration, the more the country ruined.”

Did the book really prompt Xi’s wrath?

Xi’s administration can be summed up as a combination of “Sino-nationalism” and “hardline authoritarianism.” Xi emphasizes patriotism by chanting the “Chinese Dream” whenever he has the opportunity. “The revival of the great Chinese people” and “Chinese nationalism” have come to the forefront of politics this way.

It was an even stronger authoritarian system that was chosen to realize the Chinese dream. State power increasingly converged on the Communist Party of China, and party ideology has overwhelmed the country’s politics and economy.

Authoritarian states try to control people’s thoughts, as ideas that challenge their systems could jeopardize their power. This is why China blocks western internet platforms such as Google and YouTube and uses digital surveillance systems to monitor its people. It is also why the book “Chongzhen” disappeared from shelves.

Such concentration of power raises the efficiency of the state’s operations but feeds the crisis of “policy failure.” The economic impact of excessive lockdown during Covid-19 shows this. The economy was hurt because the ideology of “common prosperity” overtook market principles. As the government controls the country’s tech companies, jobs for young people only decrease.

China’s economy has been able to grow thanks to “loose authoritarian politics” and an “inclusive economy.” Chinese politics have steadily reduced the government’s intervention in the private sector since the Open Door Policy was announced in 1978, encouraging autonomy and innovation in the private sector. That is the key point that has elevated the Chinese economy to a global “number two.” But the “Chinese authoritarianism” of the Xi Jinping era defied this logic, and now the economy is slowing down, fueling the people’s fatigue.

“Chongzhen” is apparently not targeting President Xi. But when readers saw copies displayed at bookstores, they were reminded of their leader. The book was destined to disappear from shelves from the beginning, and that symbolically illustrates the harsh reality of Chinese society in 2023.