China: Book seen as comparing Xi Jinping with failed emperor vanishes from bookstores
Chinese leader Xi Jinping
A Chinese book on a Ming duynasty emperor who ran his kingdom into the ground and committed suicide 400 years ago has suddenly disappeared from book stores in China and even online searches for the book are being censored, reported Financial Times. It has been reported that the book draws certain parallels between the failed king and current Chines President Xi Jinping.
The book titled 'Chongzhen: the Diligent Emperor of a Failed Dynasty' is a reprint of an already published book which is likely to have been vetted by elements of Chinese state. The disappearance of the book is hence being considered uncommon
The book describes the reign of last emperor of the Ming dynasty. It described how the king purged senior officials and mismanaged his kingdom and as the rebels closed in on Beijing, hung himself on a tree outside the Forbidden City.
The book's cover reportedly says that the harder Chongzhen worked, the faster he brought about downfall of the empire.
“A series of foolish measures [and] every step a mistake, the more diligent [he was] the faster the downfall,” it says.
Anything negative that draws parallels with current leaders has long been censored in China.
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China is still struggling to recover from economic effects of Xi's ultra-strict Zero Covid policy. It has been argued that the policy hit consumers as well as small businesses.
The previous edition of the book carried a milder title; 'The Past of Chongzhen: The Final Scene of the Ming Empire'. It was authored by late historian Chen Wutong.
According to Financial Times, searches for the book on China's popular social media app Weibo, have been censred.
Xi Jinping himself takes study of history very seriously.
“I think he believes history has a pattern and it’s meaningful and people have to get the right idea from it,” said Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London, as quoted by Financial Times
Chinese censors have been swift to remove online content that casts a poor light on Xi Jinping.
In 2017, searches for Winnie the Pooh, the portly cartoon character was banned after an online joke compared the character's physical resemblance with Xi Jinping.
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