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((short description|History and commonness of book censorship in China))
[[File:A page ripped out from The Economist by China's censorship department (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|300px|A ''[[The Economist]]'' magazine (1st issue June 1, 2019) whose content related to the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]] was torn out]]

[[Book censorship]] in the [[China|People's Republic of China]] (PRC) is mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP), and is currently widespread in China. Enforcement is strict and sometimes inconsistent. Punishment for violations can be arbitrary many times leading to long sentences for crimes against censorship laws.<ref>((Cite news|date=2020-02-25|title=Gui Minhai: Hong Kong bookseller gets 10 years jail|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51624433|access-date=2020-12-12))</ref>

The CCP and the [[Government of China|government]] have historically been sensitive to any opinions on the politics and history of China and its leaders that differ from currently sanctioned opinions.

In the 2010s, book censorship intensified and spread from mainland China to [[Hong Kong]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> The CCP's handling of the censorship of media and literature has been scrutinized by countries and groups around the world.<ref>((Cite news|title=China Seizes Publisher Of Banned Books Again — Just Months After Releasing Him|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/23/579784671/china-seizes-publisher-of-banned-books-again-just-months-after-releasing-him|access-date=2020-12-12|newspaper=NPR|date=23 January 2018|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128063610/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/23/579784671/china-seizes-publisher-of-banned-books-again-just-months-after-releasing-him|url-status=live|last1=Dwyer|first1=Colin))</ref> The CCP's actions have also resulted in actions of defiance in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.<ref>((Cite news|date=2018-07-18|title=Hong Kong Book Fair draws fans and seekers of forbidden books|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2155781/readers-and-fans-brave-gloomy-skies-snag-deals-hong|access-date=2020-12-12|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040606/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2155781/readers-and-fans-brave-gloomy-skies-snag-deals-hong|url-status=live))</ref>

== History ==
Book censorship is a method of censorship which has been employed in China since the start of the [[Qin dynasty]] (221 to 206 BC).<ref>((Cite journal|last=Tangyuenyong|first=Patchanee|date=2017|title=Banned Books as a State Apparatus in the Qing Dynasty: Ethnicity, Power and Concupiscence|url=https://sc01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tureview/article/view/109362|journal=Thammasat Review|language=en-US|volume=20|issue=1|pages=92–107|issn=2630-0303))</ref> Both domestic and foreign books which do not meet the central government's requirement will be censored and forbidden to be published.

=== Qin Shi Huang ===
In 213 BCE, the government of ancient China waged a book censorship campaign which is called the "[[burning of books and burying of scholars]]".<ref>((cite journal|last=陈 (Chen)|first=生玺 (Shengxi)|date=2011|title=秦始皇缘何焚书坑儒 (Why did Qin Shihuang conduct the movement of "burning of books and burying of scholars")|url=http://www.cqvip.com/qk/81278x/201103/37951846.html|journal=南开学报：哲学社会科学版|issue=3|pages=123–132|access-date=2018-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224239/http://www.cqvip.com/qk/81278x/201103/37951846.html|archive-date=2018-12-15|url-status=live))</ref><ref name=":5">((cite web|url=http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-HLSZ201501086.htm|title=秦始皇"焚书坑儒"浅探 (Qin Shihuang and "burning of books and burying of scholars")--《黑龙江史志》2015年01期|last=陈( Chen)|first=宝齐 (Baoqi)|website=www.cnki.com.cn|access-date=2018-11-21|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233839/http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-HLSZ201501086.htm|url-status=live))</ref>

=== Aisin Gioro Hongli ===
In the 18th century [[Qing dynasty]], the [[Qianlong Emperor]], Aisin Gioro Hongli, (reigned 1735–1796) asked his officials to censor books published in the 17th century which contained any anti-dynastic or heterodox thoughts.<ref name=":1">((cite journal|last=Brook|first=Timothy|date=August 1988|title=Censorship in Eighteenth-Century China: A View from the Book Trade|journal=Canadian Journal of History|volume=23|issue=2|pages=177–196|doi=10.3138/cjh.23.2.177|issn=0008-4107))</ref> All of these books were burned to purportedly prevent them from having a negative impact on the next generation's thoughts.<ref name=":1" />

=== Mao Zedong ===
After winning the [[Chinese Civil War]], the [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party]], [[Mao Zedong]], introduced many new laws concerning censorship in China. In his paper, “The Value of Intellectual Freedom in Twenty-First-Century China: Changes, Challenges, and Progress”, Raymond Pun, a professor and researcher at the Alder Graduate School of Education, states that the CCP “maintained a political censorship that can be understood in three ways: 'to retain power, to maintain community standards and to protect dogma—in this case, Maoist dogma'”.<ref name=":02">((Cite journal| last=Pun|first=Raymond|date=2016-04-04|title=The Value of Intellectual Freedom in Twenty-First-Century China: Changes, Challenges, and Progress|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/613923|journal=Library Trends|language=en|volume=64|issue=3|pages=556–571|doi=10.1353/lib.2016.0000|s2cid=2447837|issn=1559-0682|access-date=2020-12-12|archive-date=2017-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606050434/http://muse.jhu.edu/article/613923|url-status=live))<!-- cite page number when you can get access to article --></ref> This dogma began immediately after 1949 and culminated in the 1950s and 60s,<ref>((Cite journal|last=Larson|first=Wendy|date=2021-03-07|title=Wang Meng and Self-censorship|journal=The Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies|language=en|volume=1|pages=129–160|doi=10.25365/JEACS.2020.1.129-160|doi-access=free))</ref> during the [[Cultural Revolution]], in which books identified as anti-Communist and anti-Maoist were censored and banned.<ref name=":02"/> During this time, public [[book burning]]s also became a tool which was used to destroy all literature which was not deemed appropriate by the CCP. By the end of the Cultural Revolution, only a few books were deemed acceptable by the CCP, including classic works by [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]], [[Vladimir Lenin]], and [[Joseph Stalin]], books written by Mao Zedong and [[Lu Xun]], a few political readings, and [[Revolutionary opera]] books.<ref>((cite journal|last=江 (Jiang)|first=晓原(Xiaoyuan)|date=1998|title=回想当年读禁书 (Recalling my experience of reading forbidden books)|url=http://www.cqvip.com/qk/82838x/199803/3000913312.html|journal=民主与科学|issue=3|access-date=2018-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223328/http://www.cqvip.com/qk/82838x/199803/3000913312.html|archive-date=2018-12-15|url-status=live))</ref><ref name=":0">((Cite news|url=http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n/2014/0208/c85037-24295867.html|title="文革"中后期图书恢复出版纪事 (Book publication in China back to normal after the "Cultural Revolution")website=dangshi.people.com.cn|access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215230232/http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n/2014/0208/c85037-24295867.html|archive-date=2018-12-15|url-status=live))</ref> Books beyond this scope were all banned from selling and borrowing.<ref name=":0" /> In 1971, there were only 46 state-owned publishing houses.<ref name=":0" /> Students who wanted to see these censored books circulated handwritten, string-bound copies among their classmates.<ref name=":0" />

=== Xi Jinping ===
Like Mao Zedong, [[Xi Jinping]] has continued many of the practices put in place to censor media and literature by the Cultural Revolution. Xi Jinping (November 15, 2012 – present), current [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP General Secretary]], has continued to ban books in mainland China and Hong Kong that are considered “politically incorrect”.<ref name=":6" /> Like Mao, Xi has specifically targeted libraries to censor pro-democracy books and textbooks used in schools, all to promote “patriotism and ideological purity in the education system”.<ref name=":6">((Cite news |last=Wu |first=Huizhong |date=2020-07-09 |title=In echo of Mao era, China's schools in book-cleansing drive |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-books-insight-idUSKBN24A1R5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213005326/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-books-insight-idUSKBN24A1R5 |archive-date=2020-12-13 |access-date=2020-12-11 |work=[[Reuters]] |language=en))</ref>

In 2019, Xi Jinping came under fire for resuming the practice of burning books, when a library was caught by the local press burning books in North Western China. Laws put in place by Xi's Ministry of Education gave libraries permission to “cleanse” books that promoted “incorrect global outlook and values,” leading to book burnings around China.<ref>((Cite news |date=2019-12-09 |title=Book burning by Chinese county library sparks fury |language=en |website=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/book-burning-by-chinese-county-library-sparks-fury |url-status=live |access-date=2020-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012450/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/book-burning-by-chinese-county-library-sparks-fury |archive-date=2020-11-12))</ref> In 2023, the Chinese government began banning [[Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia|Mongolian language]] textbooks and publications.<ref>((Cite web |date=2023-09-13 |title=China Enforces Ban on Mongolian Language in Schools, Books |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-enforces-ban-on-mongolian-language-in-schools-books/7267310.html |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=[[Voice of America]] |language=en))</ref>

== Mainland China ==
As well as censoring the publication of such books within China and encouraging self censorship, the importation and dissemination of such material is often severely punished and circulation by the way of online files is strictly controlled.<ref>((Cite journal|last1=Klotzbücher|first1=Sascha|last2=Kraushaar|first2=Frank|last3=Lycas|first3=Alexis|last4=Vampelj Suhadolnik|first4=Nataša|date=2021-03-07|title=Censorship and Self-censorship in Chinese Contexts|url=https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/jeacs/article/view/5935|journal=The Journal of the European Association for Chinese Studies|language=en|volume=1|pages=9–18 Pages|doi=10.25365/JEACS.2020.1.9-18))</ref> Over time China has banned dozens of books, all with their own reasons. (see below in the List of banned books section). Book types that are typically banned are as follows: Books about Chinese modern politics, biographies of former leaders. Books about the lives of or allegations concerning current leaders - these are particularly sensitive topics. Books concerning [[Tibet]] and [[Xinjiang]] that do less than fully endorse that these have always and will always be part of China. Books about the [[Dalai Lama]], about the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre]] or the events of the Cultural Revolution. Books about the [[Falun Gong]] religious movement, and other religious books which may contradict government endorsed theology, including some editions of the [[Holy Bible]]. Books of allegorical fiction that obliquely criticize the Chinese government.((Citation needed|date=December 2020))

Censorship in mainland China also extends from political topics into social taboos.((Citation needed|date=December 2020)) The CCP has made strict regulations on books that have explicit descriptions of sex, like extramarital sex.<ref name=":02" />

China's state-run [[General Administration of Press and Publication]] (新闻出版总署) (GAPP) screens all [[Chinese literature]] that is intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates.<ref name="CECC">((cite web | url = http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/exp/expcensors.php | title = General Administration of Press and Publication | accessdate = 5 September 2008 | publisher = CECC | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080828204934/http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/exp/expcensors.php | archive-date = 28 August 2008 ))</ref> Consequently, the ratio of official-to-unlicensed books is said to be 40%:60%.<ref name="ZonaEuropa">((cite web | url = http://zonaeuropa.com/20050614_1.htm | title = The Underground Publishing Industry in China | accessdate = 5 September 2008 | publisher = ZoneEuropa | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130530094732/http://zonaeuropa.com/20050614_1.htm | archive-date = 30 May 2013 | url-status = live ))</ref> According to a report in ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China.<ref name="CECC" /> The Chinese government continues to hold public book burnings<ref name="OYCF">((cite web|url=http://www.oycf.org/oycfold/httpdocs/Perspectives2/8_103100/afterthoughts_on_the_banning_of.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090404102656/http://www.oycf.org/oycfold/httpdocs/Perspectives2/8_103100/afterthoughts_on_the_banning_of.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 April 2009 |title=Afterthoughts on the Banning of "Shanghai Baby" |accessdate=5 September 2008 |author=Sheng, John ))</ref> on unapproved literature or books that have since fallen out of favor with CCP elites<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-china-library-officials-burn-books-that-diverge-from-communist-party-ideology/2019/12/09/5563ee46-1a43-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_story.html|title=China's library officials are burning books that diverge from Communist Party ideology|last=Shih|first=Gerry|date=December 9, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209220928/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-china-library-officials-burn-books-that-diverge-from-communist-party-ideology/2019/12/09/5563ee46-1a43-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_story.html|archive-date=December 9, 2019|url-status=live))</ref> though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel book sales.<ref name="Amazon.Com">((cite web | url = https://www.amazon.com/Naughty-Spiritual-Pollution-Essential-Reading/lm/R2XEKC3K9JGS1Y | title = Naughty CHINA | website = Amazon | accessdate = 5 September 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090102215608/http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-Spiritual-Pollution-Essential-Reading/lm/R2XEKC3K9JGS1Y | archive-date = 2 January 2009 | url-status = live ))</ref>

Some banned books are distributed to CCP leaders in limited circulation, so they can have a better understanding of the outside world. These books are marked for internal use (內部) i.e. they can only be used by the party.((Citation needed|date=December 2020))

The PRC has also tried to follow the Soviet model, by introducing state-run publishing houses for books in an attempt to keep a tight hold on what can and cannot be shown to the public.<ref name=":02" /> This model forces publishing houses to get approval from the PRC's government before they can publish books, making the publication of them a long and arduous process for the publishers, further restricting the flow of information.<ref name=":02" />

Even though book censorship is widespread across mainland China, censorship is a negotiable process.<ref>((Cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/15/how-i-dealt-with-chinas-book-censors/|title=How I Dealt With China's Book Censors|last=Esherick|first=Joseph W.|website=Foreign Policy|access-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120509/https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/15/how-i-dealt-with-chinas-book-censors/|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref> In 2019, Amy Hawkins and [[Jeffrey Wasserstrom]] of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' claimed that authorities no longer had as much of a focus on censoring books as a declining number of people read, and that there is more concern for censoring products for mass consumption. They stated this explains why the book versions of ''[[Animal Farm]]'' and ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' are available in mainland China, but added that all references to Mao Zedong have been removed from ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''.<ref name="HawkinsWasserstrom">((Cite news|last1=Hawkins|first1=Amy|last2=Wasserstrom|first2=Jeffrey|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-1984-and-animal-farm-arent-banned-china/580156/|title=Why ''1984'' Isn't Banned in China|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=2019-01-13|accessdate=2020-08-15|archive-date=2020-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510051621/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-1984-and-animal-farm-arent-banned-china/580156/|url-status=live))</ref>

In 2020, [[Edmund Burke]]'s ''[[Reflections on the Revolution in France]]'' was censored along with works by conservative writers such as [[Albert Jay Nock]], [[James Stephen (British politician)|James Stephen]], [[Joseph de Maistre]], [[Richard M. Weaver]], [[William F. Buckley Jr.]], [[Russell Kirk]], and [[Mario Vargas Llosa]].<ref>((Cite news|date=August 18, 2020|title=Chinese Publisher Removes Burke's French Revolution Book From Shelves|work=[[Radio Free Asia]]|editor-last=Mudie|editor-first=Luisetta|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/book-08182020093812.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233839/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/book-08182020093812.html|archive-date=August 19, 2020))</ref> [[Thomas Piketty]]'s book ''[[Capital and Ideology]]'' was censored in China for analyzing inequality in the country.<ref>((Cite news|date=2020-08-30|title=China censors Thomas Piketty's book on inequality|url=https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3099460/china-censors-thomas-pikettys-book-touches-nations-growing|access-date=2020-08-30|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830110247/https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3099460/china-censors-thomas-pikettys-book-touches-nations-growing|url-status=live))</ref>

In 2021, the [[Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China]] announced a ban on books in school libraries that engage in "Western veneration".<ref>((Cite news|date=April 18, 2021|title=China purges school libraries of 'Western veneration'|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-purges-school-libraries-of-Western-veneration2|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-19|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419064817/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-purges-school-libraries-of-Western-veneration2))</ref>

==Hong Kong==
((See also|Causeway Bay Books))
Compared with the mainland China, publishing in Hong Kong historically remained less censored. Publishers such as [[New Century Press]] freely publish books, including lurid fictional accounts, about Chinese officials and forbidden episodes of Chinese history. Banned material including imported material such as that published by [[Mirror Books]] of New York City are sold in bookshops such as "People’s Commune bookstore" patronized by shoppers from the mainland.<ref name="NYT51813">((cite news|title=On Hong Kong Shelves, Illicit Dirt on China's Elite|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/world/asia/exposes-of-chinas-elite-a-big-lure-in-hong-kong.html|accessdate=May 19, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 18, 2013|author=Chris Buckley|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722230823/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/world/asia/exposes-of-chinas-elite-a-big-lure-in-hong-kong.html|archive-date=July 22, 2016|url-status=live))</ref> Nowadays, as more and more mainland tourists travel to Hong Kong, the central government tends to have a greater control over the book publication.<ref name=":2">((Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/19/censorship-in-hong-kong-how-china-controls-sale-of-sensitive-books|title=Creeping censorship in Hong Kong: how China controls sale of sensitive books|last=Sala|first=Ilaria Maria|date=2015-05-19|website=The Guardian|access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122051727/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/19/censorship-in-hong-kong-how-china-controls-sale-of-sensitive-books|archive-date=2018-11-22|url-status=live))</ref> There are more book store closures and less willing publishers.<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/hong-kong-publishing-industry-shrinking-under-pressure-china|title=Hong Kong publishing industry shrinking under pressure from China – report|last=Haas|first=Benjamin|date=2016-11-07|website=The Guardian|access-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203750/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/07/hong-kong-publishing-industry-shrinking-under-pressure-china|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref> Bookshops in Hong Kong have been making changes of what they sell and those books generally have less coverage over political, religious, and other sensitive issues disliked by the central government.<ref name=":2" /> This can be regarded as a kind of self-censorship or soft censorship.<ref name=":2" /> In 2018, some Hong Kong booksellers who trafficked banned books were found missing.<ref>((cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/magazine/the-case-of-hong-kongs-missing-booksellers.html|title=The Case of Hong Kong's Missing Booksellers|last=Palmer|first=Alex W.|work=The New York Times |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113082349/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/magazine/the-case-of-hong-kongs-missing-booksellers.html|archive-date=2018-11-13|url-status=live))</ref> Some independent publishers in Hong Kong who sell politically sensitive books hide those forbidden books behind a counter or rent their bookstores on higher floors in some commercial buildings where few people know them.<ref name=":2" /> After the passage of the [[Hong Kong national security law]] in 2020, libraries began removing sensitive books.<ref>((Cite news|last=Lim|first=Louisa|date=2020-08-02|title=Books pulled from the library shelves, songs banned...it's the new normal in Hong Kong|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/02/books-pulled-from-library-shelves-songs-bannedits-the-new-normal-in-hong-kong|url-status=live|access-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819015711/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/02/books-pulled-from-library-shelves-songs-bannedits-the-new-normal-in-hong-kong|archive-date=2020-08-19|issn=0261-3077))</ref><ref name=":7">((Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53296810|title=Hong Kong security law: Pro-democracy books pulled from libraries|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2020-07-05|accessdate=2020-08-16|archive-date=2020-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816104541/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53296810|url-status=live))</ref><ref>((Cite news|date=2020-08-19|title=Hong Kong teachers' union raises concerns over censorship as publishers revise textbooks after gov't review|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2020/08/19/hong-kong-teachers-union-raises-concerns-over-censorship-as-publishers-revise-textbooks-after-govt-review/|access-date=2020-08-20|website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP|language=en-GB|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200819155018/https://hongkongfp.com/2020/08/19/hong-kong-teachers-union-raises-concerns-over-censorship-as-publishers-revise-textbooks-after-govt-review/|url-status=live))</ref>

Over time, people have found different ways to reintroduce banned books into Hong Kong. One of the most famous examples is the [[Hong Kong Book Fair|Hong Kong book fair]], in which thousands of Hong Kong, Mainland, and Taiwanese citizens come to buy censored books unattainable in mainland China.<ref name=":7" />

== Responses to banned books ==

In 2015, 12 American publishers, including [[Penguin Random House]], Macmillan Publishers, and W. W. Norton & Company, signed a pledge to oppose the Chinese government's censorship targeting foreign authors' works.<ref name=":4">((cite news|url=https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/china-books-censorship-publishers/|title=American Publishers Take a Stand Against Censorship in China|last=Qin|first=Amy|work=Sinosphere Blog|date=15 October 2015 |access-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628043035/https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/china-books-censorship-publishers/|archive-date=2018-06-28|url-status=live))</ref> Many foreign authors found that some of their books' content had been removed, without their knowledge, during its translation into Chinese.<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/foreign-authors-warned-about-book-censorship-in-china|title=Foreign authors warned about book censorship in China|agency=Associated Press|date=2015-05-21|website=The Guardian|access-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203810/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/foreign-authors-warned-about-book-censorship-in-china|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref> Some authors did not fully understand how Chinese censorship actually worked, so they just signed contracts stating the insurance of their original content without double-checking whether the translated version had any changes to content.<ref name=":4" /> Most expurgated content was related to political sensitivities or political incorrectness.<ref name=":4" />

In 2017, publishers at a book fair held in Beijing exercised self-censorship by avoiding selling books related with sensitive topics, such as 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, [[Tibetan sovereignty debate]] and [[political status of Taiwan]] so as to adapt to one of the largest book publishing markets in the world.<ref>((cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2108095/beijing-book-fair-publishers-admit-self-censorship-keep|title=At Beijing book fair, publishers admit to self-censorship|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=2018-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108020304/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2108095/beijing-book-fair-publishers-admit-self-censorship-keep|archive-date=2018-11-08|url-status=live))</ref> In the same year, the Chinese government asked Cambridge University Press to block online access to more than 300 articles which contained political sensitivities from ''[[The China Quarterly]].''<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/21/cambridge-university-press-faces-boycott-over-china-censorship|title=Cambridge University Press faces boycott over China censorship|last=Phillips|first=Tom|date=2017-08-21|website=The Guardian|access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203756/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/21/cambridge-university-press-faces-boycott-over-china-censorship|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref> Many scholars signed a petition to call upon Cambridge University Press to oppose against the Chinese government's censorship request so as to ensure academic and publication freedom.<ref>((cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/world/scholars-refuse-to-bow-down-to-china-censorship-pressure|title=Cambridge University Press to restore articles censored from website at request of China|last1=Kirka|first1=Danica|date=2017-08-21|work=National Post|access-date=2018-11-21|last2=Watt|first2=Louise))</ref> The Chinese government has also imposed restrictions on the access to foreign children's books since they believed that children should be more in touch with books reflecting Chinese values.<ref>((cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0e4f68be-056a-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9|title=China restricts access to foreign children's books|last=Feng|first=Emily|website=Financial Times|date=10 March 2017|access-date=2018-12-12|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233839/https://www.ft.com/content/0e4f68be-056a-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9|url-status=live))</ref>

In 2018, the editors of the ''Transcultural Research'' Book Series ended their cooperation with Springer Nature which imposed restrictions on access to more than 1,000 political science journal articles in China.<ref name=":3">((cite news|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/10/03/book-publishers-part-ways-springer-nature-over-concerns-about-censorship-china|title=Book publishers part ways with Springer Nature over concerns about censorship in China|access-date=2018-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120111/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/10/03/book-publishers-part-ways-springer-nature-over-concerns-about-censorship-china|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref> If the content books or journals do not fit the [[Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party]]'s agenda, those books will be banned from publication and selling.<ref name=":3" />

Countries have responded in different ways to the CCP's censorship efforts. In January 2018, the Swedish government issued multiple statements regarding the disappearance of a Swedish book publisher, [[Gui Minhai]], in China. [[NPR]] reported on Sweden's response to China, where a back and forth between the two countries concerning the freedom of the Swedish publisher ensued.<ref name=":12">((Cite news|title=China Seizes Publisher Of Banned Books Again — Just Months After Releasing Him|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/23/579784671/china-seizes-publisher-of-banned-books-again-just-months-after-releasing-him|access-date=2020-12-11|newspaper=NPR|date=23 January 2018|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128063610/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/23/579784671/china-seizes-publisher-of-banned-books-again-just-months-after-releasing-him|url-status=live|last1=Dwyer|first1=Colin))</ref>

Many organizations around the world have also come out with statements against the CCP's actions.((Citation needed|date=December 2020)) In 2018, [[Summer Lopez]], senior director at [[PEN America]] (an organization focused on the protection of the freedom of speech), came out with a statement concerning the CCP's actions with Gui Minhai, stating that “China's treatment of publisher Gui Minhai — a story of abduction, detention, and now denial of medical care — demonstrates flagrant disregard for the rule of law and human rights”.<ref name=":12" />

With pressure on Taiwanese book publishers from the CCP's government, many have turned towards [[Self-censorship|self censorship]] just like in Hong Kong, removing all materials concerning vulgar or politically detrimental content.<ref>((Cite news|date=2014-01-22|title=Beijing tightens censorship of books by Hong Kong and Taiwan authors|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1410713/beijing-tightens-censorship-books-hong-kong-and-taiwan-authors|access-date=2020-12-11|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130150518/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1410713/beijing-tightens-censorship-books-hong-kong-and-taiwan-authors|url-status=live))</ref> Taiwanese books which are about democracy, protests and human rights are blacklisted in China.<ref>((Cite news |last1=Hetherington |first1=William |title=Beijing blacklisting more Taiwanese books: source |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/07/04/2003781105 |website=taipeitimes.com |publisher=Taipei Times |access-date=3 July 2022))</ref>

==List of censored books==
((Dynamic list))
((main|:zh:中華人民共和國被禁出版物列表|zh-yue:香港禁書))
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Author
! Type
! class = "unsortable" | Notes
|-
|''[[Jane Eyre]]'' (1847)
|[[Amy Corzine]] and [[Charlotte Brontë]]
|Novel
|''Jane Eyre'' was censored because the CCP deemed it socially corrupting to the youth of China during the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref>((Cite web|title=Asia Society Museum in New York presents Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence|url=https://asiasociety.org/asia-society-museum-new-york-presents-xiaoze-xie-objects-evidence|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Asia Society|language=en|archive-date=2020-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203171400/https://asiasociety.org/asia-society-museum-new-york-presents-xiaoze-xie-objects-evidence|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
| ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865) 
| [[Lewis Carroll]] 
| Children's Novel/Adventure 
| ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' was banned in the province of [[Hunan, China]] by the [[Kuomintang|KMT]]'s government, beginning in 1931, due to its portrayal of [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] animals which act with the same level of complexity as human beings. The censor General Ho Chien believed that attributing human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that the book would teach children to believe that humans and animals were on the same level, a result which would be "disastrous."<ref>((cite news
|title=Topics of the Times
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|date=5 May 1931
|page=26
|issn=0362-4331))</ref>
|-
| Various works 
| [[Shen Congwen]] (1902–1988)
| Novels 
| "Denounced by the Communists and Nationalists alike, Mr. Shen saw his writings banned in Taiwan, while mainland [China] publishing houses burned his books and destroyed printing plates for his novels. .... So successful was the effort to erase Mr. Shen's name from the modern literary record that few younger Chinese today recognize his name, much less the breadth of his work. Only since 1978 has the Chinese Government reissued selections of his writings, although in editions of only a few thousand copies. .... In China, his passing was unreported."<ref name="shencongwen">((cite news |first=Edward A. |last=Gargan |title=Shen Congwen, 85, a Champion of Freedom for Writers in China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/13/obituaries/shen-congwen-85-a-champion-of-freedom-for-writers-in-china.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=13 May 1988 |accessdate=12 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209093410/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/13/obituaries/shen-congwen-85-a-champion-of-freedom-for-writers-in-china.html |archive-date=9 February 2011 |url-status=live ))</ref>
|-
|''[[Life and Death in Shanghai]]'' (1986) 
|[[Nien Cheng]]
|Autobiography
|It is about the author's personal tortured experience during the Cultural Revolution.<ref>((Cite book|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/life-and-death-in-shanghai/|title=Life and Death in Shanghai &#124; Grove Atlantic|via=groveatlantic.com|access-date=2018-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120242/https://groveatlantic.com/book/life-and-death-in-shanghai/|archive-date=2018-11-21|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''[[Soul Mountain]]'' (1989)
|[[Gao Xingjian]]
|Novel
|Gao Xingjian won the 2000 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] for the book, however all of his works have been banned for having content critical of the CCP.<ref>((cite news |title=Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize for literature |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20121011-china-writer-mo-yan-wins-nobel-prize-literature-sweden |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[France 24]] |date=11 October 2012 |language=en))</ref><ref name="Gao1">((cite journal |last1=Lovell |first1=Julia |title=Gao Xingjian, the Nobel Prize, and Chinese Intellectuals: Notes on the Aftermath of the Nobel Prize 2000 |journal=[[Modern Chinese Literature and Culture]] |date=2002 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=1–50 |jstor=41490878 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490878 |access-date=18 November 2022 |issn=1520-9857))</ref>
|-
|''[[White Snow, Red Blood]]'' (1989)
|Zhang Zhenglong
|[[Non-fiction novel]]
|Banned in 1990, and both the author and publishers were imprisoned for publishing it. The book includes information about atrocities committed by the Red Army during the [[siege of Changchun]], the smuggling of opium by senior Party leader [[Wang Zhen (general)|Wang Zhen]] during the [[Chinese Civil War]], and claims that China's official description of the "[[Lin Biao affair]]" is inaccurate.<ref>((cite book |last1=Yang |first1=Dominic Meng-Hsuan |title=The Great Exodus from China: Trauma, Memory, and Identity in Modern Taiwan |date=2020 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-108-47812-0 |page=58 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/great-exodus-from-china/3426ADEBAB604DE400E4382CB61CD234 |access-date=18 November 2022))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Jacobs |first1=Andrew |title=China Is Wordless on Traumas of Communists' Rise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/asia/02anniversary.html |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 October 2009))</ref>
|-
|''[[Wild Swans|Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China]]'' (1991) 
|[[Jung Chang]]
|Family history
|It talked about brutal political upheavals in China and purges of the Cultural Revolution.<ref>((cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/wild-swans-author-jung-chang-censorship-in-china-is-worse-now-than-it-was-10-years-ago-7657123.html|title=Wild Swans author Jung Chang: 'Censorship in China is worse now than|work=Evening Standard|access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911050058/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/wild-swans-author-jung-chang-censorship-in-china-is-worse-now-than-it-was-10-years-ago-7657123.html|archive-date=2018-09-11|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''[[Yellow Peril (novel)|Yellow Peril]]'' (1991) 
|[[Wang Lixiong]]
|Novel
|Banned. The book contains episodes of a fictional collapse of Chinese communist rule.<ref>((cite news |title=Famous Chinese novelist barred from leaving for Japan on national security grounds |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/19/national/famous-chinese-novelist-barred-leaving-japan-national-security-grounds |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[The Japan Times]] |date=19 December 2015))</ref>
|-
| ''[[Zhuan Falun]]'' (1993) 
| [[Li Hongzhi]] 
| Spiritual/Political<ref>((cite book | title=The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism:Understanding Falun Gong's Matyrdom Strategy: Falun Gong's Media Campaigns | first1=James | last1=Lewis | pages=243–247 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S74pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=July 25, 2017 | isbn=9781107140141 | access-date=May 31, 2020 | archive-date=August 19, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233852/https://books.google.com/books?id=S74pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA243 | url-status=live ))</ref><ref>((cite book|title=Death by whose hand? Falun Gong and suicide. In: Sacred suicide|pages=215–231|chapter-url=https://eprints.usq.edu.au/27133/|isbn=978-1-4094-5086-3|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|date=2014-10-28|chapter=Death by whose hand? Falun Gong and suicide|access-date=2019-06-11|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233906/https://eprints.usq.edu.au/27133/|url-status=live))</ref><ref>((cite journal| title=The Fluid Nature of Academic Freedom for Falun Gong Practitioners | first1=Helen |last1=Farley | journal=Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review |volume=8 |issue=2 |year=2017 |doi=10.5840/asrr201711241 |pages=237–247))</ref>
| Banned in mainland China.<ref>((cite book| last = Bald| first = Margaret| title = Banned Books : Literature Suppressed on cultural grounds| publisher = Facts on File| date = c. 2006| location = New York, NY| pages = 354–358| isbn = 0-8160-6269-2))</ref>
|-
|''[[The Private Life of Chairman Mao]]'' (1994)
|[[Li Zhisui]]
|[[Memoir]]
|Banned for exploring Mao's private life.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Jolly |first1=Margaretta |title=The exile and the ghostwriter: East-West |journal=Biography |date=2000 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=481–503 |jstor=23540278 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23540278 |access-date=18 November 2022 |issn=0162-4962))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=John |title=Dictators' memoirs: not known for their happy endings |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/dictators-memoirs-not-known-for-their-happy-endings-7800845.html |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=29 May 2012 |language=en))</ref>
|-
|''[[One Man's Bible]]'' (1999)
|[[Gao Xingjian]]
|Novel
|All of Gao Xingjian's works have been banned for having content critical of the CCP.<ref>((cite news |last1=Jaggi |first1=Maya |title=Interview: Gao Xingjian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/02/gao.xingjian |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[the Guardian]] |date=1 August 2008 |language=en))</ref><ref name="Gao1" />
|-
|''[[How the Red Sun Rose|How the Red Sun Rose: The Origins and Development of the Yan'an Rectification Movement, 1930-1945]]'' (2000)
|[[Gao Hua]]
|History
|Banned for exploring in detail Mao Zedong in the [[Yan'an Rectification Movement|Yan'an Rectification]] and the internal struggles of the CCP.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Bianco |first1=Lucien |title=An Enlightening Step Forward in the Study of Yan'an and the Chinese Communist Party: A Review of How the Red Sun Rose by Gao Hua |journal=[[China Review]] |date=2019 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=149–168 |jstor=26838902 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26838902 |access-date=18 November 2022 |issn=1680-2012))</ref><ref>((cite journal |last1=Howe |first1=Christopher |title=How the Red Sun Rose: The Origins and Development of the Yan'an Rectification Movement, 1930–1945 Gao Hua (translated by Stacy Mosher and Guo Jian; foreword by Joseph Esherick) Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2019 xviii + 812 pp. $70.00 ISBN 978-962-996-822-9 |journal=[[The China Quarterly]] |date=September 2020 |volume=243 |pages=889–890 |doi=10.1017/S0305741020000831 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/how-the-red-sun-rose-the-origins-and-development-of-the-yanan-rectification-movement-19301945-gao-hua-translated-by-stacy-mosher-and-guo-jian-foreword-by-joseph-esherick-hong-kong-the-chinese-university-press-2019-xviii-812-pp-7000-isbn-9789629968229/087AE7B9620CEFD23ED02E7272EF2081 |access-date=18 November 2022 |language=en |issn=0305-7410))</ref>
|-
|''[[Shanghai Baby]]'' (2001)
|[[Wei Hui]]
|[[Autobiographical novel|Semi-autobiographical novel]]
|Banned. [[book burning|Burned]] in the street and the publisher was shut down for three months because of its [[Sexuality in China|sexual]] and [[Illegal drug trade in China|drug-related content]], which has been accused of being "immoral" by the government. Other writers have accused the book of plagiarism.<ref>((cite news |last1=Melvin |first1=Sheila |last2=Tribune |first2=International Herald |title=A Book Battle in China to Make the Critics Blush |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/20/style/IHT-a-book-battle-in-china-to-make-the-critics-blush.html |access-date=10 February 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 June 2000))</ref><ref>((cite journal |last1=Weber |first1=Ian |title=Shanghai Baby : Negotiating Youth Self-Identity in Urban China |journal=Social Identities |date=1 June 2002 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=347–368 |doi=10.1080/13504630220151601 |s2cid=145768980 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504630220151601 |access-date=10 February 2023 |issn=1350-4630))</ref>
|-
|''[[The Tiananmen Papers]]'' (2001)
|Compiled by [[Zhang Liang (author)|Zhang Liang]]
|Compilation of selected Chinese official documents
|Controversy about this book include authenticity of selected documents and selection bias.<ref>((Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2001/ASIANOW/east/01/08/tiananmen.papers.01/|title=CNN.com - Chinese government says Tiananmen papers are fake - January 8, 2001|website=www.cnn.com|access-date=2018-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126072058/http://www.cnn.com/2001/ASIANOW/east/01/08/tiananmen.papers.01/|archive-date=January 26, 2019|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''Candy'' (2003)
|[[Mian Mian]]
|Novel
|Chinese government censored it because it was, "a poster child for spiritual pollution".<ref>((Cite news|title=FRONTLINE/WORLD . CHINA - Shanghai Nights . Notorious Writer, Forbidden StoriesRead excerpts from Candy ((!)) PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/china/candy.html#:~:text=Chinese%20authorities%20banned%20Mian%20Mian%27s,became%20an%20underground%20best-seller.&text=Chinese,%20they%20are%20not%20so,a%20writer%20being%20so%20open.|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.pbs.org|archive-date=2020-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022015816/https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/china/candy.html#:~:text=Chinese%20authorities%20banned%20Mian%20Mian%27s,became%20an%20underground%20best-seller.&text=Chinese,%20they%20are%20not%20so,a%20writer%20being%20so%20open.|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''[[Death Note]]'' (2003 – 2006)
|[[Tsugumi Ohba]]
|Japanese [[Manga]]
|Officially banned, but discussion and pirated copies are allowed to circulate.<ref>((cite news |title=Japanese comics that are too racy for Chinese censors... but still popular online |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33652502 |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=26 July 2015))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Gnam |first1=Julian |title=Death Note Trending in China Despite Bans |url=https://otakuusamagazine.com/death-note-trending-in-china-despite-bans/ |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[Otaku USA]] |date=29 July 2015))</ref>
|-
|''[[Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary]]'' (2003 or 2008)
|[[Gao Wenqian]]
|Biography
|Banned in China.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Warren |title=Review of Zhou Enlai wannian (Zhou Enlai's Later Years) |journal=[[The China Journal]] |date=2004 |issue=52 |pages=142–144 |doi=10.2307/4127902 |jstor=4127902 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4127902 |access-date=18 November 2022 |issn=1324-9347))</ref><ref>((cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Christopher |title=Rewriting the Cultural Revolution: From Centre to Periphery |journal=[[The China Quarterly]] |date=December 2006 |volume=188 |pages=1098–1108 |doi=10.1017/S0305741006000713 |s2cid=155060419 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/china-quarterly/article/abs/rewriting-the-cultural-revolution-from-centre-to-periphery/73D30B2A31E574475F6ACC436EBE006A |access-date=18 November 2022 |language=en |issn=1468-2648))</ref>
|-
|''[[Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather]]'' (2004)
|[[Gao Xingjian]]
|Short story collections
|All of Gao Xingjian's works have been banned for having content critical of the CCP.<ref>((cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=John |title='Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather': Melancholy of nostalgia, through a dissident's eyes |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20040307&slug=fishing07 |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[Seattle Times]] |date=7 March 2004))</ref><ref name="Gao1" />
|-
| ''I Love My Mum'' (2004)
| [[Chen Xiwo]]
| Political
| A novella in which the relationship between Chinese citizens and their government are metaphorically portrayed as a cognitively impaired man in extreme sexual situations with their mother.<ref>((cite web| url=https://writingchinese.leeds.ac.uk/2014/09/30/censorship-the-first-prohibition-by-chen-xiwo/| title=Censorship: The First Prohibition, by Chen Xiwo| publisher=The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing| date=September 30, 2014| access-date=June 11, 2019| archive-date=August 19, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819233909/https://writingchinese.leeds.ac.uk/2014/09/30/censorship-the-first-prohibition-by-chen-xiwo/| url-status=live))</ref>
|-
| ''[[Will the Boat Sink the Water]]'' (2004)
| Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao
| Academic study
| Banned for exploring peasant protests. Sold an estimated 7 million pirated copies, despite being almost immediately banned by [[Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party|China's propaganda department]].<ref>((cite news |last1=Kahn |first1=Joseph |title=Painting the Peasants Into the Portrait of China's Economic Boom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/07/books/07kahn.html |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=7 August 2006))</ref>
|-
|''[[Mao: The Unknown Story]]'' (2005)
|Jung Chang
|Political
|Banned due to depicting Chairman Mao Zedong as a [[Fascism|fascist]] leader against his people. Book reviews have also been banned.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Leese |first1=Daniel |title=The Pitfalls of Demonisation – Mao: The Unknown Story and its Medial Repercussions |journal=Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions |date=1 September 2007 |volume=8 |issue=3–4 |pages=677–682 |doi=10.1080/14690760701571320 |s2cid=144337070 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14690760701571320 |access-date=16 November 2022 |issn=1469-0764))</ref><ref>((Cite news|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas D.|date=2005-10-23|title='Mao': The Real Mao (Published 2005)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/books/review/mao-the-real-mao.html|access-date=2020-12-12|issn=0362-4331))</ref> 
|-
|''[[Lingren Wangshi]]'' (2005)
|[[Zhang Yihe]]
|Non-fiction
|The book, which documents the experiences of [[Peking Opera]] artists during the [[Anti-Rightist Campaign]] and the [[Cultural Revolution]], was banned by the [[General Administration of Press and Publication]] in 2007.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Béja |first1=Jean-Philippe |title=Forbidden Memory, Unwritten History: The Difficulty of Structuring an Opposition Movement in the PRC |journal=[[China Perspectives]] |date=15 December 2007 |volume=2007 |issue=4 |doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.2623 |url=http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/2623 |access-date=18 November 2022 |issn=2070-3449|doi-access=free ))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Chris |title=Chinese author at war with censors |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-censorship-idUSPEK24849620070201 |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=1 February 2007 |language=en))</ref>
|-
|''[[Dream of Ding Village]]'' (2006)
|[[Yan Lianke]]
|Novel
|Banned for discussing [[HIV/AIDS in China|AIDS in rural China]] ([[Plasma Economy]]),<ref>((cite journal |last1=Xie |first1=Haiyan |title=Nostalgia as Method: Contamination of Blood and Familial Ethics in Yan Lianke's Dream of Ding Village |journal=Journal of Language, Literature and Culture |date=2 January 2020 |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=45–60 |doi=10.1080/20512856.2020.1735039 |s2cid=216223001 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20512856.2020.1735039 |access-date=11 February 2023 |issn=2051-2856))</ref> the ban had reportedly been lifted.<ref>((cite news |last1=Li |first1=Yiyun |title=Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/23/dream-ding-village-yan-lianke-review |access-date=11 February 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 April 2011))</ref>
|-
|''[[Serve the People! (novel)|Serve the People!]]'' (2008)
|[[Yan Lianke]]
|Novel
|Banned for "slandering Mao Zedong", and depicting images of sex.<ref>((Cite book|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/serve-the-people/|title=Serve the People! ((!)) Grove Atlantic|language=en|access-date=2020-12-13|archive-date=2021-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122231318/https://groveatlantic.com/book/serve-the-people/|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''((ill|Tombstone (book)((!))Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962|zh|墓碑 (书籍)|fr|Stèles. La Grande Famine en Chine, 1958-1961))'' (2008)
|[[Yang Jisheng (journalist)|Yang Jisheng]]
|History
|Published in Hong Kong, banned for discussing the [[Great Chinese Famine]].<ref>((cite journal |last1=Garnaut |first1=Anthony |title=Hard facts and half-truths: The new archival history of China's Great Famine |journal=[[China Information]] |date=July 2013 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=223–246 |doi=10.1177/0920203X13485390 |s2cid=143503403 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0920203X13485390 |access-date=7 December 2022 |language=en |issn=0920-203X))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Popoff |first1=Alexandra |title='Tombstone' by Yang Jisheng, translated from the Chinese by Stacy Mosher and Guo Jian - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2012/11/03/review-tombstone-the-great-chinese-famine-yang-jisheng-translated-from-chinese-stacy-mosher-and-guo-jian/yuFFCEmLIxORRuesm3LjXI/story.html |access-date=7 December 2022 |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=3 November 2012))</ref>
|-
| ''[[Big River, Big Sea — Untold Stories of 1949]]'' (2009)|| [[Lung Ying-tai]] || Non-Fiction || It sold over 100,000 copies in Taiwan and 10,000 in Hong Kong in its first month of release, but discussion of her work was banned in mainland China following the book launch.<ref>[http://www.chinafreepress.org/publish/Othernews/Lung_Ying-tai_becomes_an_internet_pariah_in_China.shtml China Free Press Lung Ying-tai becomes an internet pariah in China] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507015531/http://www.chinafreepress.org/publish/Othernews/Lung_Ying-tai_becomes_an_internet_pariah_in_China.shtml |date=2010-05-07 )). Chinafreepress.org (2009-09-18). Retrieved on 2010-05-09.</ref>
|-
|''[[Prisoner of the State]]'' (2009)
|[[Zhao Ziyang]]
|Memoir
|Banned. The book is memoirs by former Chinese [[General Secretary of the CCP|General Secretary]] Zhao Ziyang.<ref>((cite news |last1=Haldane |first1=Matt |title=A piece of Web3 tech helps banned books through the Great Firewall's cracks |url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3172431/web3-tech-helps-banned-books-piracy-site-library-genesis-slip |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |date=16 April 2022 |language=en))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Sheridan |first1=Michael |title=Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prisoner-of-the-state-the-secret-journal-of-chinese-premier-zhao-ziyang-l3288ws2w33 |access-date=18 November 2022 |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |language=en))</ref>
|-
|''[[China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao]]'' (2010)
|[[Yu Jie]]
|Political
| Published in [[Hong Kong]] and banned in mainland China.<ref>((cite news |title=Chinese writer Yu Jie describes 'inhumane treatment' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-16625119 |access-date=16 November 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=19 January 2012))</ref> Author moved to the [[United States]] in 2012.<ref name="NYTWong">((cite news|title=China: Dissident Author Flees to U.S.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/world/asia/china-dissident-author-flees-to-us.html|accessdate=January 19, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 18, 2012|author=Edward Wong|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119134250/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/world/asia/china-dissident-author-flees-to-us.html|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
| ''Bloody Myth: An Account of the Cultural Revolution Massacre of 1967 in Daoxian, Hunan'' (血的神话: 公元1967年湖南道县文革大屠杀纪实) (2012)
| [[Tan Hecheng]]
| Non-fiction
| An account of murders in a rural district of China during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Banned for 26 years and released in 2012.<ref>((cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/china-lifts-veil-on-maos-mass-killings/story-fnb64oi6-1226523663719|title=China lifts veil on Mao's mass killings|last=Sheridan|first=Michael|date=25 November 2012|work=The Sunday Times|accessdate=25 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128020635/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/china-lifts-veil-on-maos-mass-killings/story-fnb64oi6-1226523663719|archive-date=28 November 2012|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''[[Moving Away from the Imperial Regime]]'' (2015)
|[[Qin Hui (historian)|Qin Hui]]
|Political
|Banned. The book explores the unfulfilled promise of [[constitutional democracy]], and another historian suggests that it may have been banned because the topic deals with the [[Huang Yanpei#The "Cycle" conversation|Chinese dynastic cycle]].<ref>((cite news |last1=Zhao |first1=Kiki |title=On China's Constitution Day, Book on Constitutionalism Largely Disappears |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/world/asia/china-constitution-qin-hui-book.html |access-date=24 November 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=4 December 2015))</ref>
|-
| ''[[Capital and Ideology]]'' (2019)
| [[Thomas Piketty]]
| Economy
| Banned for discussing [[income inequality in China|China's income inequality]] and for refusing to accept censorship for a planned translation.<ref>((cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Helen |title=Thomas Piketty refuses to censor latest book for sale in China |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/31/thomas-piketty-refuses-to-censor-latest-book-for-sale-in-china |access-date=17 November 2022 |work=[[the Guardian]] |date=31 August 2020 |language=en))</ref>
|-
|''[[Unfree Speech: The Threat to Global Democracy and Why We Must Act, Now]]'' (2020)
|[[Joshua Wong]]
|Political
|Censored due to inciting secession. Taken out of libraries because of the Hong Kong national security law.<ref>((Cite news|date=2020-07-04|title=Democracy books disappear from Hong Kong libraries, including title by activist Joshua Wong|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2020/07/04/democracy-books-disappear-from-hong-kong-libraries-including-title-by-activist-joshua-wong/|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP|language=en-GB|archive-date=2020-07-05|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200705005751/https://hongkongfp.com/2020/07/04/democracy-books-disappear-from-hong-kong-libraries-including-title-by-activist-joshua-wong/|url-status=live))</ref>
|-
|''The Chongzhen Emperor: Diligent Ruler of a Failed Dynasty'' (2023)
|Chen Wutong
|History
|Censored due to popular comparisons between the final emperor of the [[Ming dynasty]], the [[Chongzhen Emperor]], and Xi Jinping.<ref>((Cite web |date=October 19, 2023 |title=China bans book on last Ming emperor after comments link it to Xi |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/book-10192023132736.html |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=[[Radio Free Asia]] |language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite web |last=Carter |first=Cindy |date=2023-10-18 |title=Xi Parallels Suspected Behind Withdrawal of Book on Ill-fated Chongzhen Emperor |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2023/10/xi-parallels-suspected-behind-withdrawal-of-book-on-ill-fated-chongzhen-emperor/ |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=[[China Digital Times]] |language=en-US))</ref>
|}

==See also==
*[[Censorship in China]]
*[[List of books banned by governments]]

==References==
((Reflist))

((Censorship in China))
((Asia in topic|Book censorship in))

[[Category:Book censorship in China| ]]
[[Category:210s BC establishments]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC establishments in China]]

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