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. In March 1991, the credentials for publication were approved, and in April all personnel of the publisher started to work in
Beijing. In 2001,
Xi Zhongxun, a leading reformist and the father of
Xi Jinping, publicly supported and praised the journal.
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. In January 2013,
Yanhuang Chunqiu website was temporarily shut down by the Chinese government after it had published an editorial urging the implementation of constitutional rights. In July 2015, the founding publisher, Du Daozheng, had taken up the role of
editor-in-chief, when
Yang Jisheng was forced to resign. 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. 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. 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. 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. Nevertheless, it appeared that publication would continue, under staff from the academy including Jia Leilei, its former vice-president. and said the closure resembled methods used in the
Cultural Revolution.
Post-suspension After it had been suspended, a new management team with editors supporting Xi Jinping was introduced and continued to be published. As of May 2024,
Yanhuang Chunqiu continues to be published, with Jia Leilei serving as editor-in-chief. ==References==