The Shian Kian Weekly Review
The Shian Kian Weekly Review was a short-lived Chinese weekly publication founded by Mao Zedong in Changsha in 1919.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Shian Kian Weekly Review, also known as Xiangjiang Review, was a Chinese-language weekly review founded by the young Mao Zedong in Changsha, Hunan, on June 14, 1919. Its Chinese title was 湘江评论, written in simplified Chinese as 湘江评论 and in traditional Chinese as 湘江評論. The publication emerged during a period of intense political and intellectual mobilization in China following the May Fourth Movement. It was among the earliest publications associated with the development of communist political thought in China. The review was notable for its local orientation and accessible linguistic style. Its articles were written in the Changsha dialect rather than exclusively in formal literary Chinese, helping connect its political commentary with readers in Hunan. Mao wrote most of the articles, making the publication an important early vehicle for his political arguments, social criticism, and advocacy of mass political participation. The review’s editorial voice reflected the wider ferment of the period, when young Chinese intellectuals were debating national independence, social transformation, popular education, and competing revolutionary ideologies. The publication’s existence was brief. In mid-August 1919, Zhang Jingyao, then governor of Hunan province, banned the review. It published only five issues before its suppression. Although its run was short, the periodical later acquired historical importance because of Mao’s role in founding and writing for it, and because it is regarded as one of the earliest communist publications in China. The Shian Kian Weekly Review is therefore best understood not as a continuing media company but as a historically significant political periodical and an early publishing platform. Its significance rests on its connection to the intellectual and organizational development of Mao Zedong, its use of a regional spoken language, and its place in the political press of post-May Fourth China. The publication has also appeared in cultural treatments of the early history of the Chinese Communist movement; the film 1921 highlights Mao’s role in establishing the review.
History
The Shian Kian Weekly Review, also known as Xiangjiang Review, was established in Changsha, Hunan, on June 14, 1919. Its founding took place shortly after the May Fourth Movement, a period in which student activism, anti-imperialist politics, and debates over China’s future shaped a rapidly expanding public sphere. Young intellectuals increasingly used newspapers and journals to discuss national sovereignty, social reform, popular education, and revolutionary change. Mao Zedong founded the review while still a young political activist in Hunan. He wrote most of its articles, giving the publication a strong connection to his early political development. The review was not a long-running commercial periodical. Instead, it functioned as a political and intellectual platform through which Mao and his circle could express views on social conditions and mobilize public opinion. Its early importance derives partly from this direct relationship between the publication and Mao’s emerging political thought. A distinctive feature of the review was its use of the Changsha dialect. Rather than relying solely on formal written language, it sought to communicate in a regional spoken form familiar to local readers. This choice reflected an effort to make political discussion more accessible and to root the publication in the social and linguistic environment of Hunan. It also illustrates the broader importance of popular-language publishing in the political culture of early twentieth-century China. The publication faced official suppression soon after its launch. Zhang Jingyao, the governor of Hunan, banned it in mid-August 1919. Only five issues had appeared. The ban ended the review’s direct publishing life and made it an example of the restrictions faced by politically oppositional publications under provincial authorities. Despite its limited circulation and very short run, The Shian Kian Weekly Review acquired lasting historical significance. It is commonly identified as one of the earliest communist publications in China and is studied as evidence of Mao’s early editorial and political activity. Its importance is also connected to the wider transition from reformist and nationalist debate toward organized communist politics in the years after 1919. Later cultural representations, including the film 1921, have drawn attention to Mao’s role in founding the review and to its place in the early history of the Chinese Communist movement. The publication is now defunct and survives primarily as a historical subject rather than as an operating media brand.
Products and positioning
A short-lived regional political review that used the Changsha dialect to communicate revolutionary and social commentary during China’s post-May Fourth intellectual ferment.
Political periodical · 1919
The Shian Kian Weekly Review
A weekly Chinese-language review founded in Changsha in 1919. It published political and social commentary associated chiefly with Mao Zedong, who wrote most of its articles. The publication used the Changsha dialect and became known for presenting political ideas in a locally accessible form. Its run ended after five issues when the Hunan authorities banned it in mid-August 1919.
Brand decisions
1919
Adoption of the Changsha dialectOtherBackground
The review was created during a period of political and intellectual mobilization in China and sought to communicate with readers in Hunan.
Action taken
The publication used the Changsha dialect for its articles rather than relying only on formal literary Chinese.
Aftermath
The linguistic choice became one of the review’s distinguishing historical characteristics, although the publication was later suppressed after five issues.
1919
Suppression by Hunan authoritiesOtherBackground
The review’s political commentary appeared during a period of official sensitivity toward oppositional and revolutionary publications.
Action taken
Zhang Jingyao, governor of Hunan, banned the review in mid-August 1919.
Aftermath
The ban ended the publication’s short run after five issues and left it as a historical example of early communist publishing in China.
Recent events
- 1919
The Shian Kian Weekly Review is founded in Changsha[1]
Other
Mao Zedong founded The Shian Kian Weekly Review in Changsha, Hunan, on June 14, 1919.
- 1919
Hunan authorities ban The Shian Kian Weekly Review[1]
Regulation
In mid-August 1919, Hunan governor Zhang Jingyao banned the publication after it had issued five numbers.
The publication is referenced in the film 1921[1]
Other
The film 1921 depicts Mao Zedong’s role in founding The Shian Kian Weekly Review in its portrayal of early Chinese Communist history.
Sources1 sources
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