"Industrial Revolution Also Originated in China?"... Chinese Communist Party Cracks Down on Pseudo-Historical Theories

The Communist Party’s journal Qiushi issues strong criticism
Spread of pseudo-historical theories shakes official historical narrative
Rapid proliferation through AI-powered short-form content... Calls for account sanctions

Amid the spread of 'pseudo-historical theories' in China that deny Western history and manipulate the superiority of Chinese civilization, the Chinese Communist Party has stepped in to restrain these narratives.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo by AFP The Korea Herald

Pseudo-historical theories like 'Tang Dynasty Denialism' and 'Western Civilization Originating from China' rapidly spread on social media

On the 7th, Yonhap News cited the South China Morning Post (SCMP) from Hong Kong, reporting that "Qiushi, the Communist Party's theoretical journal, criticized that the extreme and pseudo-historical theories online are spreading overseas and damaging China's academic discourse leadership and cultural image."

In its magazine published earlier this month, Qiushi ran an article titled "Let Us Clearly Recognize the Nihilistic Nature of Pseudo-Historical Theories," highlighting and criticizing a range of extreme claims that deny both official Chinese and Western history. Pseudo-historical theories largely fall into two categories. The first trend is the denial of Chinese history itself. The most notable example is the 'Tang Dynasty Denialism,' which spread on social networking services (SNS) between April and May this year, arguing that the Tang Dynasty, established by northern ethnic groups, never existed and that instead, the Song Dynasty existed during that period.

The second category refers to the so-called 'Western Civilization Originating from China Theory,' which claims that Western civilization originated from China. Proponents argue that Westerners fabricated ancient Greek and Roman civilizations in later periods, and that major Western scientific and technological advances, such as calculus and the steam engine, as well as the Industrial Revolution, were simply imitations of Chinese civilization. Outlandish claims also include denying Aristotle's existence and asserting the roots of Western civilization are in China, citing, for example, the similar pronunciations of Mount Emei (Emeishan) in Sichuan Province and the Chinese name for the Alps, 'A'erbeisi.' Claims that the Ming Dynasty's encyclopedia, the "Yongle Encyclopedia," gave birth to modern Western civilization also fall into this category. Qiushi criticized these assertions as "forced and absurd narrations."

These absurd claims are spreading rapidly, propelled by short-form videos created using artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithm-based recommendations. Qiushi characterized this trend as "an anti-intellectual variant of historical nihilism," noting that related content tends to "present shocking conclusions up front, then take fragmented information out of context and package it as 'evidence.'"

Chinese short-form video on Douyin claiming that the Ming Dynasty encyclopedia "Yongle Encyclopedia" gave birth to Western modern civilization.

Chinese authorities focus crackdown on conflict with the official view of the 'Chinese National Community Consciousness'

What Chinese authorities are particularly concerned about is that this trend is shaking even the state-sanctioned historical narrative. Some contend that "the Yuan and Qing Dynasties are not China" because of the imperial bloodlines. The related '1644 Historical Perspective' regards the year 1644—when the Ming Dynasty fell and the Qing Dynasty was established—as a rupture in Chinese civilization, defining subsequent periods as ruled by foreign forces. This viewpoint conflicts with the Chinese Communist Party's historical narrative, which attempts to consolidate both Han and minority ethnic histories into the one 'Chinese national community consciousness.'

Since last year, Chinese authorities have been concentrating their crackdown on individual media accounts spreading such claims. Last month, state-run media such as the People's Daily website and the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department's SNS account published pieces criticizing pseudo-historical narratives. However, these topics continue to circulate more widely online, as they are recast into short text or video formats.

The Chinese Communist Party also urged vigilance regarding AI. Qiushi stated, "If the internet and training datasets become infused with large amounts of AI-generated fake historical materials, algorithms can amplify bias, bias can entrench perceptions, and entrenched perceptions can in turn shape new algorithms, forming a vicious cycle." Qiushi asserted that "mainstream values" should be reflected in content-platform algorithm recommendations and that accounts disseminating pseudo-historical theories over the long term should be sanctioned according to the law and regulations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.