MODERN HISTORY

Letters of Revolution: The Failed Movement to Eradicate Chinese Characters

The campaign to replace traditional characters with a phonetic system reflected Chinese society’s desire for change during the 20th century

FILM

China’s Revolutionary Youth on Screen

Three movies and one TV series to learn about the May Fourth Movement, one of China’s most important protests

STREET TALK

Why China’s Educated, Jobless Grads Relate to a Pathetic Scholar

Chinese youth are identifying with the struggles of the protagonist in Lu Xun’s “Kong Yiji,” as they face unemployment and limited job prospects despite their education.

MODERN HISTORY

How Did China End Up Celebrating Two New Years?

In the early 20th century, China tried to ban its millennia-old lunar calendar in the name of modernity—with mixed success

STREET TALK

How Netizens Adapt Lu Xun to Modern Problems

What if the renowned 20th-century writer was alive to splurge on Singles’ Day?

STREET TALK

Turtle Eggs and Scorpion Hearts: The Colorful World of Chinese Cursing

Discover China’s favorite swear words and their cultural contexts

STREET TALK

How Netizens Adapt Classic Literature to the Covid Age

Literary-minded social media posters are adapting famous works for the Covid-19 era

LANGUAGE

The Art of Saying Nothing

Chinese netizens have become experts at “feihua wenxue”: using superfluous language to get out of any awkward situation

MODERN HISTORY

The Butterfly Effect: Redeeming China’s Early Romance Novels

How “Mandarin Duck and Butterfly,” a romantic literary movement from early 20th century China, became forgotten in the tides of modernization

HISTORY

How China Adopted Western Punctuation

The story of how Chinese punctuation evolved from the Han dynasty to today