China’s intergenerational divide
Older intellectuals find young Chinese childish, nationalist and scary
In recent days, scholars of culture in China have been locked in serious argument about a silly claim: namely, that young people are killing the Chinese language. Their wrangling has filled social-media sites followed by liberal intellectuals, a lively but embattled online world where blog posts may be censored after an hour, but still earn hundreds of thousands of views in that time.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A generational divide”
From the May 28th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from China
It’s a good time to be an astrologer in China
In the face of hardship, the country’s youth are embracing superstition
The early days of the Trump administration, as viewed from China
A good start, but it could get worse quickly
How (un)popular is China’s Communist Party?
As the economy falters and the social compact frays, Xi Jinping wants to know
An outrage that even China’s supine media has called out
Anger is growing over a form of detention linked to torture and deaths
Why foreign law firms are leaving China
A number of them are in motion to vacate
An initiative so feared that China has stopped saying its name
“Made in China 2025” has been a success, but at what cost?