Xiao previously said that his publishers had been disciplined, something he now says was info obtained from his agent. The publisher has now told him that nothing of the sort happened.

Still, it’s an interesting situation. When Xiao first posted that his book had been banned, it still seemed available from online booksellers and was listed in Douban. Those listings have now all been taken down. Did those organizations actually receive an order from some arm of the government (i.e. Xiao’s publisher is misleading him)? Or did they merely react to Xiao’s announcement of the ban and voluntarily pull the records as a preventative measure?

Xiao pushed out a digital copy of the book in one of his missives to journalists over the past few weeks, but it doesn’t seem to have made it online.

But I heartedly disagree with you. “Banned in China” doesn’t mean that an official document has been issued by anyone; it means that when one goes to a bookstore in China, the book isn’t there and cannot be ordered. Or, when you go to read the book online, or to read comments about it — like the author’s blog — you can’t access the web site.

The Chinese authorities are exceedingly aware that documents can be photocopied, scanned and put up on the Internet. And they know that this makes even a mediocre book more popular. Why issue a document when a phone call or two will do the job?

If you have a web site address where we can read the book — one that is available to those of us in China — please list here!

Also, Xiao Mo made a blog post yesterday explaining that his publisher has told him that they have not in fact received any order banning the book. (title is 萧默主动删除“笑谈《一叶一菩提》被禁”》三文的声明 — you’ll have to search for his Tianya blog because the link seems to be tripping the spam filters here).

Xiao writes that he had initially sought out New Star Press in early 2009 to publish his book, but they declined. He found an agent, which ended up placing the book with New Star anyway. The agency was the one who informed him of the supposed ban; the actual publisher only cleared things up later on. Perhaps it was a ploy by the agent for more press coverage?

Regardless, it’s an interesting book that’s well worth reading, even if it isn’t Banned in China.

The author was interviewed in “AsiaWeek” (亚洲周刊), and in the article sounded very angry — and surprised — about his book being banned in China. He has worked under the Ministry of Culture many years, and much of the book had previously been published in scholarly magazines in China. As I recall, he is looking for a HK publisher now, but I assume that would be for a Chinese edition.

I was disappointed by quotes from the interview which sounded suspiciously like a defense of the politically correct motives behind the book. Xiao Mo made it sound like he went out of his way to make the book sound “positive,” avoiding finger-pointing regarding individual actions or policies during the Cultural Revolution that harmed, or potentially could have harmed the grottos, the artwork, relics, etc.

I’m interested in what actually happened in Dunhuang, not a sanitized history that glosses over “embarassing” facts.

But I haven’t read the book yet!

http://paper-republic.org/links/dunhuang-novel-set-in-cultural-revolution-alarms-chinas-censors/#comments

Anyway, I see in her the deepest novelist of the Guo Jingming generation.