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

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.