{{Short description|Chinese magazine}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox journal | title = Yanhuang Chunqiu | abbreviation = no | language = Chinese | editor = Jia Leilei | country = China | history = 1991–present | frequency = Monthly | website = https://www.yhcqw.com/ }} '''''Yanhuang Chunqiu''''' ({{lang-zh|s=炎黄春秋|p=Yánhuáng Chūnqiū}}), sometimes translated as '''''China Through the Ages''''', is a monthly journal in the People's Republic of China that was historically commonly identified as liberal and reformist. It was started in 1991, with the support of Xiao Ke, a liberal general of China's People's Liberation Army.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-07-20|title=Ouster of liberal Chinese magazine publisher marks era's end|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ouster-of-liberal-chinese-magazine-publisher-marks-eras-end/|website=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Du Daozheng served as the founding director of the publisher.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=2016-08-17|title=China censorship: How a moderate magazine was targeted|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37097832|access-date=2021-01-17}}</ref>
It was previously regarded as one of the most influential liberal journals in China, issuing some 200,000 copies per month.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Death of a Liberal Chinese Magazine|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/the-death-of-a-liberal-chinese-magazine/|access-date=2021-01-17|website=The Diplomat|language=en-US}}</ref> It paused its operations in 2016, however, after a crackdown from CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Hornby |first=Lucy |date=19 July 2016 |title=Liberal Chinese magazine folds in defiance of Beijing controls |url=https://www.ft.com/content/049bcd22-4d86-11e6-88c5-db83e98a590a |url-access=subscription |access-date=31 January 2017 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> Following the pause, a new management team with editors supporting Xi Jinping was introduced, and it continued to be published.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=2016-07-28|title=Writing on the wall for outspoken Chinese magazine two years ahead of closure|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1996017/writing-wall-outspoken-chinese-magazine-two-years-ahead|access-date=2021-01-17|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref>
== History == thumb|Entrance into the publisher. === Founding === In 1990, Xiao Ke, a liberal General of the People's Liberation Army and standing member of the Central Advisory Commission, together with other officials, began to organize the launch of a history journal.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Song |first=Wenmao |date=2001-08-15 |title=萧克将军与《炎黄春秋》 |url=http://www.china.com.cn/firbry/2001-08-17/2001-08-17-3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617182032/http://www.china.com.cn/firbry/2001-08-17/2001-08-17-3.htm |archive-date=2004-06-17 |website=China Internet Information Center |publisher=Guangming Daily |language=zh}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Xu|first=Qingquan|date=2018|title=萧克将军十周年祭|url=http://mjlsh.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/Book.aspx?cid=4&tid=4905|access-date=2021-01-17|website=Chinese University of Hong Kong}}</ref> In March 1991, the credentials for publication were approved, and in April all personnel of the publisher started to work in Beijing.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" />
On July 1, 1991, ''Yanhuang Chunqiu'' published its first issue.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /> Du Daozheng served as the founding director of the publisher.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=Amid Crackdown, China's Last Liberal Magazine Fights For Survival |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/10/489318226/amid-crackdown-chinas-last-liberal-magazine-fights-for-survival |access-date=2021-01-17 |website=NPR.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> In early 1992, after Deng Xiaoping's southern tour, ''Yanhuang Chunqiu'' began to publish articles in support of the Reforms and Opening-up program.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-10-28|title=杜导正："两头真"的春秋|url=https://www.jnu.edu.cn/1a/f4/c2632a72436/page.psp|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109215840/https://www.jnu.edu.cn/1a/f4/c2632a72436/page.psp|archive-date=2021-01-09|access-date=2021-01-17|website=Jinan University}}</ref> In 2001, Xi Zhongxun, a leading reformist and the father of Xi Jinping, publicly supported and praised the journal.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=2016-07-27 |title=Liberal Magazine, 'Forced Into a Corner' by China, Girds for Battle (Published 2016) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/world/asia/china-yanhuang-chunqiu.html |access-date=2021-01-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-26|title=习近平亲手整死了《炎黄春秋》（高新）|url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-09262018114518.html|access-date=2021-01-17|website=Radio Free Asia|language=zh}}</ref>
===Political interference=== In July 2010, ''Yanhuang Chunqiu'' published a memoir by retired CCP Politburo member Yang Rudai praising Zhao Ziyang. It marked a rare break of the long-standing taboo in China against mentioning the former leader since he was ousted after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/chinese-magazine-breaks-zhao-taboo-20100708-1022g.html|title=Chinese magazine breaks Zhao taboo|date=8 July 2010|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref>
In January 2013, ''Yanhuang Chunqiu''{{'s}} website was temporarily shut down by the Chinese government after it had published an editorial urging the implementation of constitutional rights.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Shi |first=Tao |date=2014-09-19 |title=《炎黄春秋》被迫"换婆家" 杜导正：做好停刊准备 |url=https://www.dw.com/zh/%E7%82%8E%E9%BB%84%E6%98%A5%E7%A7%8B%E8%A2%AB%E8%BF%AB%E6%8D%A2%E5%A9%86%E5%AE%B6-%E6%9D%9C%E5%AF%BC%E6%AD%A3%E5%81%9A%E5%A5%BD%E5%81%9C%E5%88%8A%E5%87%86%E5%A4%87/a-17935271 |access-date=2021-01-17 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1120153/yanhuang-chunqiu-website-closed-down-after-editorial-constitution|title=Yanhuang Chunqiu website closed down after editorial on constitution|date=5 January 2013 |access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>
In July 2015, the founding publisher, Du Daozheng, had taken up the role of editor-in-chief, when Yang Jisheng was forced to resign.<ref name="scmp">{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1840595/chinese-censor-pushes-liberal-magazine-brink-closure|title=Chinese censor pushes liberal magazine to brink of closure, says former chief editor|date=16 July 2015|work=South China Morning Post|author=Verna Yu|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref> In connection with his resignation, Yang published two letters: the first explained the reasons for his resignation to the members of Yanhuang Chunqiu and its readers; the second was sent to the General Administration of Press and Publication and criticized intensified government restrictions on topics that the magazine was permitted to cover.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/07/201507160051.shtml#.Vdw55NOqqko|title=杨继绳：离开《炎黄春秋》总编岗位的两封公开信|work=Boxun|access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>
In 2016, China's media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, declared 37 recent news items in breach of political guidelines.<ref name="ClosureRFA"/>
===Suspension of publication=== The journal was long considered influential among liberals and reformists,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://article.yeeyan.org/compare/342422 |title=BBC News - Southern Weekly reporters confront |access-date=2014-02-24 |archive-date=2015-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408114933/http://article.yeeyan.org/compare/342422 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but the entire editorial team resigned in July 2016 following the sacking of the longtime publisher, Du Daozheng, and demotion of the chief editor, Xu Qingquan, by order of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, amid intensifying pressure from the authorities to soften its editorial stance. The magazine had been founded in 1991 by reform-minded party veterans, including the efforts of General Xiao Ke, and had a circulation of around 200,000.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="ClosureSCMP">[https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1991412/outspoken-liberal-chinese-magazine-yanhuang-chunqiu#comments Outspoken liberal Chinese magazine Yanhuang Chunqiu stops publication after management purge], SCMP, 18 July 2016</ref>
The July 2016 restrictions led the magazine's editorial staff to announce that the magazine could no longer be published, as the academy had unilaterally abandoned an agreement allowing its publication within defined bounds. They further revealed that academy staff had seized control of the Yanhuang Chunqiu website at the magazine's offices.<ref name="ClosureRFA" /><ref name="ClosureSCMP" /> ''China Digital Times'', a website based in the United States that is focused on censorship in China, reported that as an attempt to resist the change, some senior staff attempted to withhold financial records, office keys, and the magazine's official seal to prevent those affiliated with the academy from using them.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Samuel |date=2016-08-17 |title="Ultra-left" Takes Over Journal as Ex-editor Loses in Court |url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2016/08/ultra-leftists-take-journal-former-editor-loses-court-appeal/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229150906/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2016/08/ultra-leftists-take-journal-former-editor-loses-court-appeal/ |archive-date=2024-02-29 |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=China Digital Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Nevertheless, it appeared that publication would continue, under staff from the academy including Jia Leilei, its former vice-president.<ref name="ClosureRFA">[http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/editors-announce-end-of-top-chinese-political-magazine-after-staff-reshuffle-07182016110746.html Editors Announce 'End' of Top Chinese Political Magazine After Staff Reshuffle], ''Radio Free Asia'', 18 July 2016</ref><ref name="ClosureSCMP" />
After he was dismissed, Du announced that the publication had been suspended,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2016/07/21/472863/Ouster-of.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721123717/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2016/07/21/472863/Ouster-of.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 21, 2016|title=Ouster of liberal Chinese magazine publisher marks the end of an era|work=The China Post|date=21 July 2016|access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref> and said the closure resembled methods used in the Cultural Revolution.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/world/asia/china-yanhuang-chunqiu-dissolved.html|title=Liberal Chinese Journal's Purged Editors Declare Publication Dissolved|author=Kiki Zhao|date=19 July 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref>
=== Post-suspension === After it had been suspended, a new management team with editors supporting Xi Jinping was introduced and continued to be published.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Wang Yanjun, the magazine's former deputy editor, called the first edition after the changes "fake" and "diametrically opposite to the spirit of our magazine".<ref name=":8" /> A writer for the ''China Digital Times'' called the changes "a hostile takeover" and added that the journal, once a "maverick", had been "neutered".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boyd |first=Alexander |date=2021-04-15 |title=Beijing Launches Hotline for Reporting Online "Historical Nihilism" |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/04/beijing-launches-hotline-for-reporting-online-historical-nihilism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529045035/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/04/beijing-launches-hotline-for-reporting-online-historical-nihilism/ |archive-date=2024-05-29 |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=China Digital Times|language=en-US}}</ref>
As of May 2024, ''Yanhuang Chunqiu'' continues to be published,<ref>{{Cite web |title= |script-title=zh:炎黄春秋网 |trans-title=Yanhuang Chunqiu |url=https://www.yhcqw.com/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.yhcqw.com |publisher=Yanhuang Chunqiu |archive-date=2024-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529222517/http://www.yhcqw.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with Jia Leilei serving as editor-in-chief.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |script-title=zh:关于我们 |trans-title=About Us |url=https://www.yhcqw.com/98/98_1.html |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.yhcqw.com |publisher=Yanhuang Chunqiu |archive-date=2024-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329084231/http://www.yhcqw.com/98/98_1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1991 establishments in China Category:Chinese-language magazines Category:Monthly magazines published in China Category:Political magazines published in China Category:Magazines established in 1991 Category:Liberalism in China Category:1991 in Beijing Category:Monthly journals