Independence

The Chinese literary field is conventionally divided into two overlapping and mutually sustaining spheres: the ‘official’ and the ‘unofficial’. The former refers to activities sponsored by the state-funded Writers Association and publications by state-owned publishing houses. The latter, sometimes misleadingly designated as ‘underground’, refers to privately funded activities by a self-appointed cultural elite that derives part of its identity from being at odds with the state, and these days also with the market. Since the arrival of the internet, some ‘unofficial’ literary activity has moved online. This chapter describes a fascinating, if extreme, example: the online literary journal Heilan (Black and Blue), run by a group of experimental fiction writers enamoured with the French nouveau roman. It found and explored a unique niche for its uncompromising literary ideas, keeping them alive for much longer than any other ‘unofficial’ group, virtually unnoticed by censors and critics alike.