Blog Post: Implications on Chinese Children’s Literature

For my first blog post, I would like to focus on the topic of children’s literature in China and how it differs from within the United States. In a short article on a blog “What’s On Weibo”, China’s popular social media blogging site, Koetse explained how “Chinese publishers received orders that foreign children book titles must be lowered or even halted to prevent an ‘idealogy inflow’ and to protect and promote children’s books written by Chinese authors” (Koetse, 2017). In a move to censor Western ideals from their children, the Chinese government has opted to limit the amount of United States published books available to them. While the United States is becoming more accepting of diverse literature, as shown from the materials in our class, China is closing its doors to outside literature (Springen, 2018).
There are theories as to why this may be the case. The overarching idea is censorship. In a country where its citizens are now using a credit system in order to make life choices, as exploited in a Black Mirror episode “Nosedive”, the government seeks to control how its people think and behave. It even censors personal thoughts, as shown by the deletion of a post about the new government book limitations (Koetse, 2017). Another motive could be economics. By limiting the amount of books imported, the Chinese authors and publishers are able to sell more of their books to their people. Finally, an argument is presented that as children grow older, they are more focused on high stakes test preparation and do not have time to read unrelatable books about teen romance, drugs, and crime (Springen, 2018). However, I do not think that the development of children should not be hindered by censorship or economic dilemmas. They should still have access to the diversity of literature and, unlike what Hernandez suggests in her blog post, I think that Chinese children’s literature is moving backwards from progress.

Works Cited:

Brooker, C. (Writer), & Wright, J. (Director). (2016). Nosedive (television series
episode). In C. Brooker (Producer), Black Mirror. London, Britain: House of Tomorrow.

Koetse, M. “Top 5 of Popular Children’s Books in China after Crackdown in Foreign Storybooks.” What’s on Weibo, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.whatsonweibo.com/top-5-popular-childrens-books-china-crackdown-foreign-storybooks/

Springen, K. “The Growth of Chinese Children’s Books.” Publishers Weekly, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/75921-the-growth-of-chinese-children-s-books.html