Was MXTX Arrested? Fact Checking Rumors Regarding the Wildly Popular Chinese Author
Concluded (I think) 11/05/21. My initial conclusion remains, but there is a second, final conclusion.
Introduction
When the writer now known as MXTX entered college, she considered a literature major to follow her passion. Her mother, however, advised her to study economics, explaining that MXTX could use her degree to support herself while she wrote on the side. She could hold ink in one hand, money in the other. And thus her writing pseudonym was born: Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (墨香铜臭), meaning “scent of ink, stink of money.”¹
MXTX eventually signed a writing contract with Jinjiang Literature City (晋江文学城, Jinjiang Wenxue Cheng, often abbreviated JJWXC), an online literature platform in China. By 2018, she had written a total of three novels, with a revised version of the third and a fourth on the way.² All her works belong to the danmei (耽美) genre — meaning they center around gay romance — and are extremely popular for their wit, heartbreak, unforgettable characters, and lovely insights into human nature. In fact, as of June 2021, MXTX ranks the 2nd most popular author in all of JJWXC.³
If you are unfamiliar with her name, let’s talk about adaptations to give you a general idea of how beloved and successful MXTX’s novels are. Her first novel, 2014’s The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (人渣反派自救系统, Ren Zha Fan Pai Zi Jiu Xi Tong), was adapted into a donghua (animation). Her second novel, 2015’s Mo Dao Zu Shi (魔道祖师, literally The Grandmaster of the Demonic Path) became one of JJWXC’s most popular novels, and has been adapted into just about every medium possible: a donghua, a manhua (comic), an audiobook, an audio drama, an upcoming mobile game, and 2019’s international hit live-action series, Chen Qing Ling (陈情令, The Untamed). Her third novel, 2017’s Tian Guan Ci Fu (天官赐福, Heavenly Official’s Blessing) surpassed Mo Dao Zu Shi in terms of popularity on JJWXC, and has received adaptation as a donghua, manhua, and an upcoming live-action. Moreover, all three works have been translated into multiple languages by official publishing houses, and fan-translated into several more.⁴
With her success and fans, however, came “heizi” (黑子, literally “black spots”), the Chinese equivalent to the English “antis.” These antis are online haters devoted to directing cruelty towards MXTX. From debunked accusations of plagiarism to a feigned suicide that cited bullying fans of Mo Dao Zu Shi as the cause,⁵ MXTX has been deluged by online malice for years. In fact, the online publications of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Mo Dao Zu Shi were locked on JJWXC in January 2019 after rumored anti reports on inappropriate content. Still, MXTX vowed to make any necessary changes to release her novels again.⁶
So when rumors of her arrest spread in the spring and summer of 2019, many fans assumed it was another anti rumor.
Yet the public has not heard from her since, and her novels have yet to be unlocked.
Online in the English-speaking portion of the fandom in which I spend my time, you will find everything from “her arrest was confirmed” to “how dare you even ask that question?! You’re catering to antis and ruining her name.” But since rumors of MXTX’s arrest keep popping up and there’s been no direct word from MXTX herself for two years a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶x̶i̶e̶t̶y̶, I decided to investigate and fact-check for myself.
Let me start with this: I’m not interested in gossip and speculation. I’m a concerned fan interested in the truth. Going forward I will be explicit regarding what is fact and what is my own analysis. If you are an anti or someone who believes that the process of investigating rumors automatically grants rumors power, please spare yourself and stop now.
I should also add a major disclaimer: …I only know conversational Chinese and had to rely on several online translators for most of this. Yeah, I’m not the person for the job. I know. But since I didn’t know or hear of anyone else doing an objective and in-depth fact check, I decided to try anyway. To this end, I have referenced all the facts I will discuss, so you can and should double-check my results yourself.
My first discovery of note is that the rumors are not just a vague cycle that continually arises at the whims of some anti conspiracy; they are specific to one criminal investigation. As such, I will be fact-checking the following:
Claim: MXTX is the person surnamed ‘Yuan’ (袁) who was arrested in the so-called 3.28 case concerning pornography and illegal business. She was arrested in May 2019. The rumors surfaced with an official announcement in August 2019, and the judgment was released on November 10, 2020.
For what it is worth, I will not be treating this claim as an all-or-nothing statement; I will be investigating with the notion that all, some, or none of it could be true.
I would also add that I do not consider breaking the law indicative of moral failing. There are bad laws, good laws, laws with good spirit but bad letter of the law, outdated laws, unfair laws, fair laws, et cetera. Therefore, I don’t intend this investigation as a disparagement of anyone’s character, least of all MXTX’s.
First: Is MXTX Really Surnamed Yuan?
Yes. The judgments of most Chinese court cases are publicly released on a website called China Judgments Online. The judgment of a 2020 copyright case involving JJWXC proves MXTX has the name Yuan Yimei (袁依楣).⁷
What is Pornography?
If you’re rolling your eyes and asking “Really? You have to cover this?” I understand, but I’m talking about the legal definition. See, pornography is illegal in China. However, the appearance of sex scenes in an artistic work is not considered pornography so long as the work has artistic or scientific value. There are two types of problematic works: obscene publications (淫秽出版物) and pornographic publications (色情出版物).
According to the law, obscene publications are sufficiently designed to titillate or induce sexual crimes or perversions. Obscene content includes assault of minors, incest, rape, and any detailed descriptions of sex, including “gay sexual behaviors or other sexual perversions.” Pornographic publications are not obscene as a whole, but may be harmful to mental and physical health due to small amounts of obscene content.⁸ To my understanding, pornographic works are discouraged but not technically illegal; obscene works are illegal.
What is Illegal Business?
Illegal business in danmei circles often means publishing physical books for profit without going through an official publishing house, which would approve the content of the book. These novels are known as “personal records” (个人志, Geren Zhi). As of May 2019, Professor Luo Xiang of China University of Political Science and Law described this publishing as “normal behavior” for many authors in danmei. In other words, it is a widespread practice and many authors have done it, even though it is technically illegal. A recent crackdown on this illegal publishing has thereby resulted in the arrest of several danmei authors.⁹
There are multiple cases of such arrests, but I am going to dive into the two most recent and infamous cases because I believe they provide some vital background information.
Background I: The Tianyi Case
This case made international headlines in late 2018,¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹² although the headlines were somewhat misleading, which we’ll get to in a bit.
This case centers around a woman named Liu Tingting (刘婷婷), better known by her pseudonym 狗娃子天一 (Gou Wazi Tianyi, literally “Dog Baby Tianyi”).¹³ She was born in 1986, but according to her Weibo (a Twitter-like social media),¹⁴ ¹⁵ her parents had a second child after her. This was during China’s One Child Policy, and as a result of having more than one child, the family faced severe economic penalties. To make matters worse, Liu Tingting’s younger sibling was a boy, and as a girl, she was abused regularly by her family. Despite her high school level education, Liu Tingting was able to make enough money to leave her abusive family and afford her own apartment through writing novels that featured gay couples.¹⁵ More specifically, these novels were “flesh” novels — they were obscene.¹⁶
In 2017, Tianyi’s latest novel Gongzhan (Capture) became quite popular, and ~7000 copies total were sold via the illegal business route.¹⁶ According to Internet rumors, Capture was first reported when a mother found a copy of the novel in her teenager’s backpack. Now, I can’t find anything to verify that, but regardless of how it happened, I will point out that the investigation did not even begin in the same province in which Tianyi resides. She lived in Wuhu County, Anhui Province, and the investigation began in Sichuan Province — over a thousand kilometers away.¹⁶ So there’s no reason to think Tianyi was knowingly marketing her novels to minors.
Anyhow, the investigation began in June 2017,¹⁶ and the last update from Tianyi’s Weibo was at 2:11 pm on November 21, 2017. According to the Southern Weekend,¹³ her over 70,000 fans¹⁶ asked if she was okay throughout the coming year but received no response in return. The reason for her silence was that Tianyi had been arrested on November 21, sometime after her afternoon Weibo post.¹³ In the following months, four others were also arrested for their roles in helping Tianyi produce the novel: roles like printing and packaging the books, binding the books, and operating the Taobao shop that sold the books.¹⁶
About a year after her arrest, on November 16, 2018, news broke that two weeks prior on October 31, Tianyi had been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for the illegal publication of Gongzhan. Of the other four defendants, their sentences ranged from ten months for the Taobao shop owner to again, ten and a half years for the man who printed and delivered the books. This caused quite clamor on social media, where people pointed out that crimes like rape don’t often get that long of a sentence.¹³ ¹⁶
The judge’s explanation was the following: in accordance with a 1998 Supreme People’s Court ruling Tianyi’s amount of profit constituted a “particularly serious” crime and so the ten year sentence was mandatory. Now, laypeople and law professors disagreed with that interpretation, citing complicating factors like inflation,¹⁷ but that is why the judgment was made.
On December 18, 2018, four of the five defendants, including Tianyi, appealed and received a second trial. They maintained that they were not objecting to their guilt, but merely to the harshness of the sentence. The outcome of the appeal (the “second instance” judgment) was not pronounced that day,¹⁶ and a second hearing was held April 1, 2019. However, the outcome was that the original prison terms were upheld.¹⁵
The international media headlines implied Tianyi’s imprisonment was linked to her inclusion of a gay couple,¹⁰ ¹¹ ¹² which was technically misleading. She was sentenced not for having a gay couple in her novel, but for 1) illegally publishing the novel, and 2) the obscene nature of that novel. The fact that Capture’s main relationship involves a 17 year old — underaged — student sexually dominating his teacher likely did not help matters in her sentence.¹⁵
All that being said, is it likely that the judge might consider gay romance inherently more sexual than straight romance and thus be more inclined to deliver a severe punishment due to gay content? Given the unfortunate prevalence of homophobia in the world, my opinion is that the answer is probably ‘yes.’ But the fact remains that the sentence was not inherently because the novel depicted a gay relationship, and I want to be as accurate as possible here.
Background II: The Shenhai Case
As those on Twitter have noted, there is a content warning for suicide during this section.
Tang Zhe¹⁵ was an exceptional writer from a young age: in high school, she was one of three people from her home Hubei Province to win the grand prize in a writing competition among millions of participants. By 2017, Tang Zhe was a graduate student studying animation design at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts by day, and by night, she was Xiansheng Shenhai (先生深海 , literally “Mr. Deep Sea”), an author contracted to JJWXC, just like MXTX. Shenhai had written multiple danmei novels that were quite popular; at the time of her arrest, she placed about 50th on JJWXC’s list of most popular authors, and had well over 110,000 Weibo followers.⁹
In June 2017, her father Tang Shijun (唐世君; his first name is a pseudonym) found his daughter crying as she washed some dishes. Shenhai told her father that she was in a dispute with a fellow author, who had accused her of plagiarism.¹⁸
The story was as follows: in 2014, Shenhai had discovered a novel by one Ye Fengchi (烨风迟; I am not disclosing her real name because it seems people have attempted to stalk her online¹⁵). Ye Fengchi’s story seemed to be very similar to Shenhai’s, so Shenhai reported it as plagiarized, and Ye Fengchi was infuriated. Three years later, in 2017, Ye Fengchi was reported for plagiarism again, and became convinced that Shenhai had reported her a second time. She retaliated by claiming that Shenhai’s latest work plagiarized Vladamir Nabokov’s Lolita, and accused Shenhai of pedophilia,¹⁸ b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶n̶e̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.
Shenhai and her friends compiled a report exposing Ye Fengchi’s accusations as fabricated, but as is common on the Internet, both writers were deluged in cruel comments. This was why Tang Shijun found Shenhai in tears.¹⁸
From then on, Ye Fengchi seemed obsessed with revenge. On Weibo, she made her determination to dox Shenhai known. As this went on, it became clear that Ye Fengchi was most likely not only in the same province as Shenhai, but actually a student at Wuhan University: the exact same university at which Tang Shijun was a professor. In fact, Ye Fengchi’s advisor was a friend of Tang Shijun.¹⁸
Tang Shijun attempted to intervene by approaching his friend, who had already heard some vague things from his student. Now, the advisor friend did try to mediate and tell Ye Fengchi to stop, but Ye Fengchi — somewhat understandably — saw these interventions as a real threat.¹⁸ She retaliated on June 28, 2017 by accusing Tang Shijun of intentions to sexually assault her. He was investigated for six months before he was cleared.¹⁵ ¹⁸
On August 1, 2017, Ye Fengchi posted the following on her Weibo:
“You will find that I will fulfill my promise for you: you and your dad will become famous for pedophilia and pornography.” (“你会发现，我能给你兑现那个诺言：让你跟你爸在×大因恋童、色情而名声大噪。”)¹⁸
Two days later, on August 3rd, the police investigation into Shenhai was opened.¹⁹
Still, and on the surface, all seemed calm again. Ye Fengchi dutifully deleted her Weibo posts at her advisor’s request later in August, and no more incidents occurred for four months.¹⁸
On December 10th, Shenhai arrived in Shanghai for a Comic-Con-like event, where she planned to sell her latest novel, The Emperor in the Cage. Now, Shenhai had been worried about selling her novels after rumors of Tianyi’s arrest emerged, but decided to go ahead to avoid disappointing her readers, who had messaged her their excitement to have a copy of her new book. However, shortly after she disembarked in Shanghai, the shop owner who sold her books informed Shenhai that the books had been confiscated. Shenhai’s close friend reassured her there would be no serious consequences, maybe a fine at most. Just to be safe, however, Shenhai gave her Weibo password to her friend in case something happened.⁹
The next day, her father received a call from that friend saying that Shenhai was missing, and shortly thereafter, his wife called and said the police were at their house, confiscating items like Shenhai’s laptop. The police told the couple that their daughter had been detained under suspicion of “illegal business operations” and “obscenity.”¹⁸
As for the advisor of Ye Fengchi, he received a call from his student. Ye Fengchi opened with the words “Hello, Teacher,” and proceeded to reveal that she was involved with the arrest of Shenhai.¹⁸
The Wuhan police announced the arrest of a female author on December 20, 2017, and rumors quickly spread that the author was Shenhai. Still, no one knew for certain and fans used forums to post “proof” that the author they adored was not detained.²⁰ On Valentine’s Day a few months later, Shenhai’s friend used her Weibo for the first and only time to make it appear she was okay. The post was flooded with comments rejoicing that Shenhai was back, but of course she was not.²¹
As for Shenhai’s family, her parents were brokenhearted and also bewildered; at the time of her arrest, her father did not even know what danmei was. They were astonished to see that their daughter had over 100,000 Weibo followers. So they began to meet with her close friend to learn more about danmei culture, and on sleepless nights, Tang Shijun took to reading his daughter’s novels.¹⁸
In May 2018, Shenhai’s books were declared to be legally pornographic due to descriptions of homosexual sex, but not obscene. The illegal publishing charges stood.¹⁸ Prior to her trial in March 2019, Shenhai attempted suicide twice, but lawyers were unable to secure her a mental health release.⁹
Finally, on March 11, her father was able to see her again with the commencement of her trial. Inside the courtroom, he was surrounded by forty of her devoted fans who had come to support her. However, to his horror, his daughter was escorted into the courtroom in handcuffs alongside the seven other defendants who had helped her publish.⁹
The trial concluded with a second session¹⁵ on May 15, 2019. Shenhai was sentenced to four years in prison, the longest sentence of the eight defendants. Tang Shijun said he would not accept the sentence and vowed to appeal,⁹ ²² but this has not yet taken place. A complicating factor in this delay may be that she was convicted in May 2019, and 2020 saw a lot of court cases delayed for Wuhan because of, well, the pandemic.
Shenhai will actually be released later this year, on December 10, 2021.⁹
As for her writing career, although Shenhai’s account and her works are still discoverable on JJWXC, they are not available for reading.²³ Still, this is what she wrote to her father prior to her trial:
“Whether the result is good or bad, I still have unlimited passion to continue writing, and two or three stories have already taken shape” (无论结果是好是坏，我都还有无限的激情来继续写作，并且已有两三个故事已经成型。)¹⁸
I hope that when Shenhai is released, she becomes a worldwide bestseller who is read for hundreds of years to come.
Back to MXTX: The 3.28 Case
On August 14, 2019, the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office announced that they had investigated many online publishing circles, including JJWXC, to crack down on pornography and illegal publishing in the online literature community. Ten criminal cases were opened as part of this crackdown, including Zhejiang Province’s 3.28 case (3.28 means March 28, the date the case was opened). The 3.28 case resulted in the arrest of three people, including “Yuan Moumou” (袁某某) for disseminating approximately 4,000 copies of obscene materials for a profit of over ¥500,000. “Yuan Moumou” was identified as a “well-known” writer for JJWXC.¹⁹ (Moumou means something like ‘so-and-so.’ In other words, this person’s last name was Yuan).
Also described as part of this crackdown was the 8.03 Wuhan case concerning Tang Mou (唐某) — Xiansheng Shenhai.¹⁹
With speculation growing that MXTX was Yuan Moumou, Beijing News contacted the CEO of JJWXC, Huang Yanming, for comment on August 19. Ms. Huang said that she had no idea who Yuan Moumou and Tang Mou were (“完全不知道是谁”, literally “completely do not know who [Yuan and Tang] are”).²⁴
When asked specifically about MXTX’s arrest, Ms. Huang said, “We have not received any news.”²⁴
After rumors spread that JJWXC had helped with the investigation, the company put out a statement saying:
“Our website has never received a request from the management department to assist in investigating related matters, and our website and website staff have never actively or passively provided any so-called relevant evidence or clues. In response to such rumors on the Internet, the legal affairs have notarized the relevant defamation and rumors. Regarding the slander and rumors, the bad impact on our website and the author will be investigated to the end!”²⁴ (Side note: You can also see the online translator issues here — we get the gist, but the exact wording is not smooth).
Analysis:
First point: the date, just so you know how p̶e̶d̶a̶n̶t̶i̶c̶ thorough I intend to be. While it’s commonly claimed that ‘3.28’ means March 28, 2019, the official statement doesn’t technically say the year. In fact, for Shenhai’s case, ‘8.03’ refers to August 03, 2017. Still, by contrasting the announcement’s description of the two cases, it does seem more likely that 3.28 refers to March 28, 2019 than any other year.
For starters, the announcement opens by stating its focus on cases during “this year” (2019). The 8.03 case was mentioned because the sentencing was complete in 2019. By contrast, the 3.28 case is described as only having been investigated and resulting in the detention of three individuals in 2019. So the 3.28 case is almost certainly younger than the 8.03 case. While it’s possible the case was opened on March 28, 2018, the length of time between investigation and announcement renders this possibility unlikely. See, although there was a lengthy wait for trial, Shenhai was arrested after only four months of investigation, and Tianyi after five months of investigation.
Ms. Huang’s statements must be analyzed one at a time. She provides a denial of even knowing Yuan Moumou, and at first glance, this could be considered evidence against Yuan Moumou being MXTX. However, Ms. Huang also “completely” denies knowing Shenhai, but Shenhai was a JJWXC author who had already been convicted and sentenced by that time. In other words, Ms. Huang’s denial of knowing these authors is not a comment on whether they are arrested or not.
Moreover, it seems improbable that the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office would mistakenly announce that a well-known writer surnamed Yuan from JJWXC was arrested. In other words, there was almost certainly a popular writer surnamed Yuan from JJWXC arrested; the unanswered question is whether it was MXTX or not.
It is also worth noting that the Yuan character is the 37th most popular surname in China as of 2019.²⁵ Given that as of August 2019, there were 46,639 writers signed to JJWXC,²⁶ it is quite likely there is more than one Yuan under contract at the company.
As for what the definition of ‘well-known’ is, the tricky thing is that it’s a subjective adjective. Does it mean anything that Shenhai was not identified as the popular one despite ranking around 50th most popular at JJWXC? I don’t know; I personally find the use of the term ‘well-known’ unsettling, but I also suspect that I may be reading too much into it.
Moving on. Ms. Huang’s second claim — that she had “not received any news” on MXTX’s arrest — is also not a denial. Now, it’s reasonable to expect that Ms. Huang or JJWXC would have received news if MXTX was arrested, so the lack of news may indicate that the rumors are untrue. Unfortunately, Ms. Huang’s statements are not direct enough to completely refute the rumors — which does not inherently mean the opposite, mind you. Her indirect statements are not evidence for MXTX’s arrest; they’re just not denials.
Lastly, fans like to say the statement by JJWXC is a denial, but it isn’t. JJWXC is very specific in that they say they have not assisted in the investigation, nor provided evidence. Their statement, like their CEO’s, says nothing about whether MXTX is arrested or not.
It is fair to ask why JJWXC and their CEO would not directly refute the rumors if they were untrue, but keep in mind that a question is a point of concern, not evidence itself.
Is There Any Record of MXTX Publishing in This Manner?
Yes. As previously stated, this was a common practice for danmei authors up until the Tianyi and Shenhai cases, and MXTX was no exception.
MXTX had an official associated Taobao shop, Shuo Jianmeng (说剑盟, literally “Say Sword Alliance”). From Twitter posts I found, the store closed before May 6, 2019,²⁷ and by the time I looked in March 2021, all 375 posts on its Weibo had been either deleted or hidden.²⁸
From what I could find on a website that saved its posts, Shuo Jianmeng’s last post was a repost on May 22, 2019. Their penultimate post was April 4, 2019, in which they announced an explanation for something unknown: they were adjusting operations and unsure how long it would take.²⁹ Given that they were adjusting operations, I think it’s safe to infer that Shuo Jianmeng’s closure between April 4 and May 6, 2019 was unexpected.
Going back in time: on December 21, 2017, the following was posted to their Weibo:
“#Mo Dao Zu Shi Regarding the postponement of the Simplified Personal Record, I am very sorry to inform you that due to well-known reasons, the personal record of Mo Dao Zu Shi that was originally expected to be online within these two months will be temporarily put on hold. In the past, Shuo Jianmeng continued to advance the preparations for the records and also prepared a lot of auxiliary countermeasures, hoping to make the full version of Mo Dao Zu Shi under the premise of safety first. However, the recent situation is more severe than expected”.³⁰
The fact that Shuo Jianmeng refers to this as a personal record leaves no doubt as to its legality. The date of postponement is also noteworthy, because December 21, 2017 was one day after the announcement of Shenhai’s arrest for illegal publishing. I think it’s safe to conclude that the “well-known reasons” that are “more severe than expected” are precisely the news of Shenhai’s arrest, perhaps compounded by the Tianyi rumors from the month prior.
A look further back at their 2017 Weibo posts reveals that Shuo Jianmeng did indeed sell copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System starting in June 2017.³¹ The last batch was announced at the end of September 2017, with the last leftovers announced October 24, 2017.³ Moreover, comparing the covers, these books are not the official, legal Pinsin Studios print version.
(Now, you may be asking: why print an illegal version if there is already a legal version? Well, Pinsin Studios is based in Taiwan, where publishing standards are less strict than Mainland China, so it’s easier to publish there. However, there’s a catch: books from Pinsin Studios are printed in the traditional Chinese characters common to Taiwan, as opposed to the simplified characters more common on Mainland China. A person from mainland China may have difficulty reading traditional characters, and vice versa).
Still, I must reiterate that the existence of a personal record for The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System doesn’t prove MXTX is Yuan Moumou. It’s simply another concerning point (a term that will appear often in this article).
It’s worth mentioning that once the 3.28 case was announced, a connection between the closed Shuo Jianmeng and Yuan Moumou was made on Zhihu, a question-and-answer website comparable to Quora. A screenshot was posted of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System³³ sold at a price (¥112) that, if a little over 4000 copies were sold, would result a profit of over ¥500,000 — the same value cited in the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office announcement.¹⁹ However, this screenshot was originally posted by a Weibo user whose account no longer exists, so there’s no way to find out any more information, like if they were an anti, a fan, etc. I personally think it seems a little strange to have saved a screenshot of a purchase from 2017 for two years, but that being said, it does look real (ads and other irrelevant pieces are also captured in the shot). Even so, it is not direct proof.
The same Zhihu answer also claimed that Shuo Jianmeng was located in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province where Yuan Moumou was detained. Still, the respondent provided no evidence for Shuo Jianmeng’s location, not even a screenshot.³³ Unfortunately, I could not find more information on this, due to the shop being closed. So on Shuo Jianmeng’s location, we are left with hearsay only. I don’t find hearsay particularly reliable.
And still, even if I dismiss the Hangzhou hearsay and the screenshot of the The Scum Villain’s Self Saving System price, the seemingly sudden closure of the Taobao shop in spring 2019, the fact that Shuo Jianmeng did sell seemingly unofficial copies The Scum Villain’s Self Saving System at all, and the hiding of its Weibo posts raises some serious concerns.
What did MXTX’s Real-Life Friends Have to Say?
Part I: Chongyang
It’s a common saying in the English fandom that MXTX’s real-life friends said she was fine; she was just taking a break from the Internet to work on her fourth novel. But this is not quite accurate.
This sentiment is commonly attributed to Chongyang, an artist who has done many illustrations for the Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama. I could not find any such statement on MXTX’s well-being. The closest I could find was his timely Weibo comment on August 21, 2019 that MXTX’s side account had been unused for months before then. A fan responded to this statement by asking him to confirm the arrest or not, and Chongyang did not respond. However, the first person to respond to that fan said that a different friend, Brackets-Jun, had indeed refuted the rumors.³⁴
Two days earlier, Chongyang also provided a story regarding a donation MXTX made to The Thousand Buddha Caves (千佛洞), a historical site. This story also details how social media attacks distressed MXTX to the point of disrupting her sleep and affecting her happiness.³⁵
Analysis:
So… no real-life friend said “MXTX is fine, she is just taking a break and working on her fourth novel.” That level of specificity was either never said, or it is not easy to find after many months of searching.
Moreover, Chongyang did not deny MXTX’s arrest. Still, his lack of response to the fan’s question is not particularly meaningful, since another fan mentioned Brackets-Jun’s denial. Overall, Chongyang’s statements say nothing about her arrest or lack thereof.
However, if MXTX was so distressed by social media attacks at one point that it disrupted her sleep and more, that is certainly a potential motive for an extended break. Of course, Chongyang’s story is not evidence that she is free either. It merely provides a potential reason for her silence.
Part II: Brackets-Jun
Brackets-Jun (括号君, ‘Jun’ is an honorific somewhat analogous to ‘Gentleman’) was a producer of the Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama.
In a screenshot of what appears to be a Weibo message, a worried fan asks Brackets-Jun if she can “contact her [MXTX] directly,” and Brackets-Jun responds with: “There is no issue, rest assured.”³⁶
I will also mention that according to her Weibo, Brackets-Jun lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.³⁷
Analysis:
Brackets-Jun’s statement is a denial. Yes, it is less specific than what was rumored, but it is there.
Now, half of the fan’s question is blurred out, so we cannot know what else was said. It is also true that the question “can you contact her directly” is not as, er, direct as “has she actually been arrested?” That being said, given human nature and the seriousness of the issue, it seems unlikely Brackets-Jun was responding to anything else.
Whilst I cannot confirm the veracity of the screenshot, to my knowledge Brackets-Jun has never refuted that she said this, and it’s unlikely that a fan would fake a screenshot with blurred information — it’s extra work and the blurred portions actually render Brackets-Jun’s statement slightly less certain, not more.
The Hangzhou location is pertinent because since MXTX knows Brackets-Jun in person, it may suggest MXTX also lives in Zhejiang Province — the same location as Yuan Moumou. Still, more evidence is needed on that point.
The question also remains of whether Brackets-Jun was telling the truth or protecting her friend, and I’m not in a position to answer that.
Part III: Shaonian A
Shaonian A (少年A, literally Youth/Young Adult A) was a fan who frequently interacted with MXTX. Like MXTX, she also seems to have lost contact with the public in the late spring of 2019.³³
You see, there are Weibo posts of a friend who knew Shaonian A from at least 2017³³ commenting on a Weibo post from Shaonian A’s side account, Dark Fire (微暗之火). Shaonian A posted under Dark Fire on May 14, 2019, and on June 18th, the friend comments: “Where did you go? Can’t get in touch with you” (去哪儿了?联系不到你 ).³³
About two weeks later, the same seemingly worried friend tags both Shaonian A’s main and side account to say the following: “What’s the situation? Contact me” (什么情況看到联系我@少年A@微暗之火).³³
In addition, sometime between then and June 2021, Shaonian A’s posts on her main accounts were either hidden or deleted in a similar manner to Shuo Jianmeng,³⁸ and her side account appears have been deleted. I was able to retrieve both account posts via the same website I used for Shuo Jianmeng, which revealed that Shaonian A last posted on her main account on May 10, 2019,³⁹ and last updated her side account on May 15, 2019.⁴⁰
Moreover, Shaonian A lists her location as Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.³⁸
Analysis:
Shaonian A was located in the same province as the 3.28 case, and her apparent vanishing is important because according to Chinese law, only close family and lawyers are able to contact someone who has been detained.⁴¹ Her friends, therefore, might not know and be worried.
Could Shaonian A be one of the two people detained alongside Yuan Moumou? It’s possible, but there’s not enough to say for sure. If she’s not, however, we’re beginning to build up a lot of coincidences.
Now, it should be mentioned that the screenshots of Shaonian A’s friend’s accounts came from the same Zhihu answer I looked into before.³³ Due to the respondent’s protection of the friend’s username, I could not look up their account myself. Moreover, due to the Weibo-saving website’s inability to retrieve comments, I could not see the friend’s comment to Shaonian A’s May 14th post. Hence I have no way to verify the worried friend, but the retrieval website did confirm that the May 14th post exists, so I don’t see any reason to believe they were faked.
Whatever happened to cause Shaonian A to vanish, I hope she is okay.
Why do People Claim MXTX was Arrested in May 2019?
Let’s backtrack from August to May, the rumored time of MXTX’s imprisonment. On May 23, 2019, JJWXC was raided by the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office as part of their crackdown. In the aftermath, the company had to close for 15 days and shut down both one historical and one fantasy danmei section.⁴² ⁴³
Although MXTX’s Weibo had been silent since February,⁴⁴ she supposedly posted her last public statement to JJWXC the same day as the raid — I say supposedly because although this date is mentioned in a number of articles, I have not found a timestamp for concrete proof.⁴⁵ ⁴⁶
The note reads: “In seclusion, please do not worry or conjecture too much” (闭关，请大家不要过多的猜测或担心啦).⁴⁷ “Seclusion” is a wuxia term (the Daoist-inspired fantasy genre MXTX often wrote) wherein someone withdraws from the world to improve their skill. MXTX’s message was thus inferred by fans to mean she was withdrawing to work on writing.
(Also… I’m sorry, MXTX, I am worrying when you said not to ( ɵ̥̥‸ɵ̥̥)).
That same day, Tianya Entertainment’s gossip blogger, a man who goes by the pseudonym 吃瓜群众CJ (literally “Masses Eating Melons CJ” — melon is slang for gossip) posted the following on Weibo:
“Mo Xiang (MXTX)was really caught, let’s hope Jinjiang and Chen Qing Ling will not be affected” (墨香铜臭真被抓了，希望晋江和陈情令不受影响吧 ).⁴⁸
Analysis:
Now, I saw plenty of speculation that JJWXC was raided because of MXTX, but I see no evidence for this. After all, none of her works were affected by the sections JJWXC was forced to close. The raid was likely just another portion of the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office’s crackdown, as mentioned during their announcement in August 2019.¹⁹
Second, is MXTX’s update on JJWXC proof that she was not arrested? Unfortunately, not necessarily, since a friend could potentially be behind it. Recall that Shenhai’s friends used her Weibo on the Valentine’s Day after her arrest.
As for Masses Eating Melons CJ, his hope for Chen Qing Ling not to be affected indicates that he’s probably not an anti taking advantage of the JJWXC incident to spread malicious rumors. But that doesn’t mean the JJWXC incident could not have influenced him to believe that MXTX was “really caught,” leading him to post out of worry or something else.
Since he provided no further evidence for his claim, we are left with gossip only.
Basically, there’s a lot of rumors about MXTX’s May 2019 imprisonment, but nothing concrete. This doesn’t mean it’s not true, but merely that we lack any evidence.
Did Anyone Else Hear from Her After May 2019?
Part I: The Thousand Buddha Caves Issue
In August 2019, in the midst of the “MXTX is Yuan Moumou” speculation, rumors began to spread that MXTX donated ¥1,000,000 to the restoration of the Thousand Buddha Caves under the names of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, her main characters from Tian Guan Ci Fu. On August 23, the Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau responded to these rumors by confirming that she had done so, and they added the following:
“During the period, due to changes in the progress of the project, the Guazhou County Cultural Heritage Bureau took the initiative to contact the donor to report the progress of the project, but they were unable to contact them” (因该项目工程进度有所变动，瓜州县文物局主动联系捐款者汇报该 项目进展情况，但都未能联系上).⁴⁹
However, just one day later (August 24), the Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau responded to a similar inquiry with the following:
“The construction drawing design plan (intensified design) was improved and submitted for review until a reply letter was approved for construction in July this year. As a result, the project could not be implemented as scheduled in the donation agreement. This situation has been notified to the donor, and the donor also expressed full understanding” (捐踣方也表示完全理解).⁵⁰
Analysis:
If we had only the first statement or only the second statement by the Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau to go on, this analysis would be clear cut. The first statement implies that MXTX could not be contacted up until August 23. The second states that she was reachable in July 2019, and being in prison means one is not reachable.
The differing statements cannot be attributed to an initial failed contact followed by a successful one, as both Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau statements came in August, and the successful contact is implied to occur in July. Clearly there was a miscommunication, but which statement is true? We have no way to know.
To be frank, other than proving MXTX is a generous woman, there’s not much that can be ascertained from these contradicting statements.
Part II: Teacher Zhang Zhen
On July 12, 2019, the audio sharing platform Himalaya FM launched an audio book of Mo Dao Zu Shi. The novel was read by the renowned actor Zhang Zhen (who also voiced the character Jiang Fengmian in the audio drama).⁵¹ Reports claimed that MXTX had personally asked him to do the reading.
A fan reached out to Himalaya FM on what appears to be Weibo. The fan asked if it was really true that the original author had asked “Teacher Zhang Zhen” personally (这个是真的吗,是原著作者出面邀请的吗?) and Himalaya FM replied that it was true. The fan then asked if they could tell them the month, and the response was “around July” (大约在 7月).³⁶
Analysis:
There’s no reason to disbelieve that MXTX asked Zhang Zhen personally. The one issue is that the audio book began uploading on July 12, 2019,⁵² which does not leave a lot of time for Zhang Zhen to accept and to produce the first few chapters. So it seems reasonable that her request was earlier than July, though it could still be around this time.
While it’s likely that whomever runs Himalaya FM’s Weibo does not have first-hand knowledge of the situation, there is no reason for them to lie either. The employee could have simply asked those who would know, or stated what they’d heard through the company. I find the latter scenario most likely, since the screenshots indicate it was a quick conversation: the reply from Himalaya FM began around 15:13 and the screenshots were taken at 15:19. Still, it is evidence that MXTX may have been available late spring or early summer 2019.
There’s one caveat: the fan asks the month, but they don’t specify that they’re asking the month that MXTX contacted Zhang Zhan. Since the audio book began uploading in early July, we cannot dismiss the possibility that the Himalaya FM employee misinterpreted the question. Between this and the timing issue, I don’t see this as sufficient proof that MXTX is free.
Once again, I cannot confirm the veracity of the screenshot, but Himalaya FM has not denied it either. In addition, the fact that they randomly advertise during the exchange (the text after ❤) seems like something a fan would not bother faking.
Part III: The Korean Award
In February 2020, Mo Dao Zu Shi was announced to have been selected for a “Rising Star Award” (뉴 스타상) by Ridibooks, the novel’s publisher in South Korea. Of the 30 novels selected, Mo Dao Zu Shi was the only foreign work selected. The blogger who made the announcement displayed a picture of the trophy and claimed that it would be delivered to the author.⁵³
Analysis:
“It will be delivered to the author” is not the same thing as “the author went to a ceremony to receive it, where they were seen in person.” This offers no evidence for her freedom or imprisonment.
Part IV: The Copyright Case of JJWXC vs. Jianbo Library
This January 2020 case was uploaded to China Judgments Online in April 2020, and it is the same case that proves MXTX does indeed have the name Yuan Yimei. It is a civil case involving JJWXC versus Jianbo Library, which infringed on copyright by pirating Mo Dao Zu Shi and other works.⁷ There are several facts that need to be discussed:
First, Jianbo Library’s defense for piracy was that Mo Dao Zu Shi was pornographic and that MXTX was suspected to be in jail. Their evidence included the Yuan Moumou case. According to JJWXC’s Weibo, this evidence was “not recognized by the court.”⁵⁴ However, while it is true the court itself reviewed Mo Dao Zu Shi and did not find it to be pornographic, a look at the judgment reveals that the court did not rule one way or another on the freedom of the author. The court merely lists the evidence provided by Jianbo Library, and ultimately sides with JJWXC that Jianbo Library did infringe on copyright.⁷
Second, the court had this to say about the signature of MXTX on the unnotarized “Power of Attorney” (to say that JJWXC could represent her in court) compared to her signature on the “Film and Game Authorized Adaptation Contract” (signed October 31, 2015) and “The Power of Attorney for Film and Games” (signed May 15, 2016):
“The signatures are significantly different, and the power of attorney obviously lacks the necessary requirements such as rights, obligations, and consideration; Jinjiang Company [JJWXC] claimed that Yuan Yimei was its signatory but failed to provide evidence such as the author’s ID card and the signing agreement. The plaintiff presented a screenshot of the work involved in the case on Jinjiang Literature City. After investigation, Mo Dao Zu Shi is locked in Jinjiang Literature City. The plaintiff did not explain the reasons for locking the work involved in the case and the relevant facts. In summary, the court believes that the relationship between the rights and obligations of Jinjiang Company and Yuan Yimei on Mo Dao Zu Shi has changed, and there are defects in the authorization chain of Mo Dao Zu Shi.⁷
Third, when the judgment was first uploaded in April 2020, rumors began to spread once the signature issue was noticed. JJWXC subsequently published a Weibo announcing that despite winning the case, they had appealed this ruling in February in an effort to erase rumors against MXTX and their company. They insisted that they never signed in MXTX’s place, and that the Power of Attorney was an attachment to the other agreement signed October 31, 2015, when Mo Dao Zu Shi began serializing. They claimed that during their appeal, they provided supplemental evidence for MXTX signing the 2015 and 2016 contract.⁵⁴ The judgment of JJWXC’s appeal (the “second-instance” judgment) has yet to be published.
On the same Weibo,⁵⁴ JJWXC pointed out two other errors in the judgment: 1) the misidentification of Beijing Xinpai Media Co., Ltd. (北京新湃传媒有限公司, the company that made Chen Qing Ling) as Beijing “Peng”pai Media Co., Ltd. (北京澎湃传媒有限公司), and 2) the mixing up of the May 2016 media contract with the original October 2015 contract between MXTX and JJWXC.
Analysis:
On the surface, Mo Dao Zu Shi being ruled not pornographic in a civil case may seem like good evidence that Yuan Moumou is not MXTX. But 1) the illegal work mentioned in Yuan Moumou’s case could be The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, not Mo Dao Zu Shi, although sex is not a significant portion of either novel. And 2) an illegal business charge is not the same as a dissemination of obscene materials charge. It is also pertinent to remember that Shenhai was originally arrested for publishing obscene materials too, but after her works were declared not obscene, her case centered solely on illegal business. It could very well be the same for Yuan Moumou.
And yet, none of this is evidence that MXTX is Yuan Moumou. The civil court’s finding is just insufficient proof that Yuan Moumou is not MXTX.
The signature issue is more problematic. Now, the explanation for “significantly different” signatures from the Power of Attorney to the contracts signed in 2015 and 2016 could be something as innocent as MXTX experimenting with her signature and the judge having poor eyesight. It could be as nefarious as JJWXC signing in MXTX’s place for profit while she is in prison. Or it could be that her attorney or someone else authorized signed in her place, that she is away taking a much-needed mental health break after seeing her name dragged through the mud over and over, etc. However, the fact that the signature is unnotarized—when the notarization process specifically ascertains that the person signing is who they say they are—further raises concerns.
Now, there were two obvious errors in the judgment. First, there’s a one character difference in the misnamed media company, so this seems likely to be a careless typo. Second, the 2015 contract is originally described correctly, and then incorrectly conflated with the 2016 adaptation contract signed by MXTX, JJWXC, and Beijing “Peng”pai Media Co., Ltd. But while these mix-ups point to a lack of proofreading, I’m not sure they cast enough doubt on the judge’s competence to examine a signature.
Until the second-instance judgment comes out, the unnotarized and different signature remains a serious point of concern — no more and no less.
Part V: Tian Guan Ci Fu Unlocking and Adaptations
Chapter 82 of Tian Guan Ci Fu was locked on March 12, 2020 and unlocked the next day. JJWXC responded to a fan’s inquiry to confirm that only the author could request a review to unlock it,⁵⁵ which could not occur if MXTX was detained.
Furthermore, according to JJWXC, authors like MXTX must authorize their company in writing to pursue adaptations.⁵⁶ The Japanese version of the Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama⁵⁷ and the anime,⁵⁸ along with the Tian Guan Ci Fu live action,⁵⁹ were announced in late 2019 or 2020, during the time of MXTX’s alleged detention.
Analysis:
First, the Japanese versions. According to a JJWXC contract I viewed, the author’s signature is needed for an adaptation, but not a translation. Translations do not change a work, so JJWXC may approve translations without first consulting the author — because it will only benefit the author and the company financially:
“For the purpose of promoting the author’s work and expanding the author’s income, during the validity period of this agreement, the website has the exclusive right to directly translate all contracted works into any Chinese or foreign language version or by means of cooperation with a third party without the author’s consent.” (如为了推广作者作品，扩大作者收益，在本协议有效期内网站可以独家全权不经作者同意直接将所有的签约作品自己或通过与第三方合作的方式翻译成中外任何语种版本或改编为中外任何语种).⁶⁰
How this works with translations of adaptations, I am not sure; as it stands, the only adaptation announced after May 2019 was the Tian Guan Ci Fu live action. Also, this is a JJWXC contract, not the MXTX-JJWXC contract — it is possible that MXTX’s contract is different.
Basically, whether one finds these developments convincing proof of MXTX’s freedom depends solely on how much trust one has in JJWXC. Until the second-instance judgment comes out regarding the copyright case and we have a second ruling on the signature issue, it’s premature to draw any conclusion based on this evidence.
In addition, it’s worth noting that on one hand, although Tian Guan Ci Fu was unlocked, The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Mo Dao Zu Shi still have yet to be unlocked two years later, when MXTX had previously said she would make the necessary changes. That is concerning.
On the other hand, JJWXC blocked access to all of the works by the confirmed-to-be-arrested Shenhai, but they did not do the same for MXTX. One could also question if JJWXC’s profit from MXTX was simply the reason why JJWXC kept her most popular novel open for years and remained evasive on her whereabouts. But while I think it’s fair to ask the question, we don’t have a ready answer.
The Judgment
Part I: The Court Case
On November 10, 2020, China Judgments Online uploaded a September 9, 2020 judgment entitled “First-Instance Criminal Verdict of Yang Yang and Yuan Yimei for Illegal Business Operations”(杨旸、袁依楣非法经营一审刑事判决书) from the Hangzhou People’s Court of Shangcheng District, located in Zhejiang Province. The verdict and other details were not disclosed due to “other circumstances that the people’s court deems inappropriate to publish on the Internet.”⁶¹
I’m not linking to the self-righteous mob here, but Weibo erupted, with many antis declaring that MXTX had been found guilty and was going to prison.
Let’s analyze the case itself first before we examine other relevant facts and responses.
Analysis:
First of all, the non-disclosure means it is impossible to know if this Yuan Yimei was convicted, much less if she was sentenced to prison. Still, China’s conviction rate was 99.965% in 2019,⁶² so her acquittal is, statistically, highly unlikely. That being said — say it with me — this fact is irrelevant to whether this Yuan Yimei is MXTX.
As for the case: the charges match an illegal business case involving a person with the same name as MXTX, and the same surname and location as the Yuan Moumou mentioned in the 3.28 case. Moreover, the friend who also disappeared around the same time, Shaonian A, was definitely living in Hangzhou.
Still, these pieces do not inherently mean that MXTX is this Yuan Yimei and Yuan Moumou, and there is one very notable inconsistency.
Yuan Moumou’s case involved three people. There are only two people mentioned in this case name. Now, one thing I noticed while searching court cases is that more people may be tried than are mentioned in the case name. In addition, the third person could have been tried separately, had charges dropped, passed away, etc.
But for what it is worth regarding a separate trial for this third person: I only found one other 2020 illegal business case with undisclosed judgment through the Hangzhou People’s Court of Shangcheng District, and it involved two people, not one.⁶³ A broader review of every criminal case from March 28, 2019 to late January 2021 did not yield any single person judged with details matching the Yuan Moumou case.⁶⁴
But this isn’t the only basic people’s court in Zhejiang province. Far from it.
Zhejiang Province has 90⁶⁵ basic people’s courts.⁶⁶ Most of which handle hundreds to thousands of criminal cases a year. So we’re talking tens of thousands of cases.
But if one could search through all those cases and find a Yuan judged for illegal business and/or disseminating pornography during the right time period with details matching the 3.28 case, that could rule out the idea that this Yuan Yimei is Yuan Moumou.
…
So, um, I did that.⁶⁷ Searched for the case, I mean, because I a̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶a̶n̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶h̶y̶p̶e̶r̶f̶i̶x̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ wanted to be thorough and find proof that my favorite author isn’t in prison. Just to be safe, I searched from present day to March 28, 2019, even though that is the date the case was opened and thus too early for a trial.
During this time period, there were numerous Yuans convicted of illegal business and one of disseminating obscene materials. Most of these Yuans were easy to dismiss by reading the case details. There were only two cases that I could not rule out. Not because the details matched the Yuan Moumou case, but because the details for illegal business were not disclosed. One involved many people, and one happened to involve three people.
And yet, while this latter case could be the actual Yuan Moumou case, it is unlikely for the following reason: this judgment took place on June 19, 2019, less than two months after the opening of the 3.28 case. The case with many people likewise was in early April 2019, less than a month after the opening of the 3.28 case.
(In fact, given that the announcement by the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office occurred on August 14, 2019, I should have stopped looking after that date. Why? Because the 3.28 case is announced as resulting in detainment, while Shenhai’s case is announced as “settled.” The wording by the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office implies August 14, 2019 is the earliest possible date for judgment of the 3.28 case. My methods were flawed).
In summary, I couldn’t find any case in Zhejiang’s courts to disprove that the Yuan Yimei in the November 10th case is Yuan Moumou.
Still, please take this with a heavy dose of salt.
- Searching China Judgments Online is somewhat finicky. For example, entering ‘Yuan Yimei’ under ‘party’ or ‘illegal business’ under ‘cause’ will not even bring up the existing Yuan Yimei case! To find the case, you must either search the case name, or search ‘criminal cases’ and the court name. Moreover, there were cases I could not even find, including the Tianyi case, despite knowing the case number, court, parties, and dates involved. What this means is… it’s possible (probable) that some cases were missed in this analysis.
- There’s also the possibility that Yuan Moumou could have been tried in an intermediate court (ranked above a basic people’s court),⁶⁶ although this is unlikely given that the larger Shenhai and Tianyi cases both went through basic people’s courts.
- And to sound like a broken record: My inability to find a case matching Yuan Moumou does not mean Yuan Yimei must be Yuan Moumou, nor does it mean this Yuan Yimei is MXTX. A lack of evidence is not evidence in itself. Yuan Moumou may not have been tried yet (unlikely, but still possible), or her initial judgment may not be uploaded to China Judgments Online yet for reasons such as appeal, workload, etc.⁶⁸
And then there’s the elephant in the room: presuming for analysis’s sake this Yuan Yimei is MXTX, what are we to make of the non-disclosure of judgment? As per China Justice Observer, a website dedicated to illuminating the Chinese court system to English-speakers:
“The online publication of judgment documents should be based on the principle of openness, with non-publicity as an exception. Judicial documents involving national security, juvenile delinquency, divorce proceedings, support or guardianship of minor children, etc., shall not be made public. In public judgment documents, information concerning personal privacy, trade secrets, etc., other than the names of the parties, shall also be deleted from the document.”⁶⁹
The Zhejiang’s Higher People’s Court provides examples of “other circumstances deemed inappropriate,” including:
“the disclosure of documents that affect the rights and interests of the parties, the judgment documents have lost their public significance after the deletion of case information, or the failure to issue judgment documents for oral withdrawal of a lawsuit.”⁷⁰
I cannot imagine that illegal danmei publishing jeopardizes national security or a minor’s privacy. The question is whether “rights and interests of parties” could mean something like JJWXC, Tencent, and other adaptation companies’ financial jackpot in MXTX. I’ve found no precedent for such a measure, but given that these rulings inherently mean a lack of information, that is unsurprising. There’s a lot of questions and no real answers here.
Part II: The Screenshots
Someone, somewhere, allegedly leaked screenshots of the undisclosed judgment and posted them to Weibo. According to the text, Yuan Yimei is indeed MXTX. She was detained on May 16, 2019 and will be released May 15, 2022, with a fine of ¥400,000. The judgment was made in accordance with sentencing laws on illegal business, restitution for illegal income, voluntary surrender, and negligent crimes (in this case, “negligent” means a crime not intended to disrupt market order).⁷¹
The crime was as follows: from June to November 2017, MXTX sold ~4000 copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System with an extra sex scene through Yang Yang’s Hangzhou Taobao shop, Shuo Jianmeng, for a profit of ¥465,794. At some point in the process of this transaction, Yang Yang used her mother’s Alipay account to transfer funds, and her mother’s name is listed.
Analysis:
First of all, I can’t find the original source of the screenshots. This may be because, to my understanding, it is illegal to leak the sealed judgment — but this doesn’t mean someone didn’t.
Still, look at them. They’re not photographs. It’s… very easy to fake black text on a white screen. I could write an entire judgment against my cat for attempted murder and format it to resemble an official Chinese court document.
So, is there any way to verify these? No. Proof would be the court judgment properly released, or JJWXC or her friends and family confirming it, and that has not occurred.
But we can examine the details included in the judgment to see if this yields any pertinent information — perhaps a discrepancy by which we can discount them.
Unfortunately, the June to November 2017 dates for copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System are entirely consistent with the dates in Shuo Jianmeng’s June 17 to October 24, 2017 advertisements on Weibo. Moreover, Yang Yang could very well be Shaonian A, who lived in Hangzhou, and the detail about Yang Yang’s mother’s Alipay account is very specific, to the level that I personally am not sure a fake would have included that. Third, the ¥465,794 profit is actually slightly less than the estimation provided in the Yuan Moumou announcement, which would probably not be the case if it were faked. Lastly, the fact that the cited sentencing laws include a voluntary surrender and a lack of ill-intent⁷¹ does not sound like something an anti would fake.
But while the timing is consistent enough to be concerning, and the details provided are specific, none these issues are proof of the veracity of the screenshotted judgment.
It is also worth countering that as Shuo Jianmeng was one of the official MXTX shops, someone could have simply taken advantage of the shop’s closure to add it to their fake judgment. After all, it’s not likely a closed shop will sue for libel. This person could have also used the dates for selling The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System to add more details to their fake judgment. Keep in mind that someone was literally willing to feign suicide to hurt MXTX in 2018; faking a court document because the name ‘Yuan Yimei’ appeared in a judgment is really not a stretch for the depths of human depravity.
Without the actual judgment disclosed or MXTX coming out to refute the rumors, there’s no way to be certain.
Part III: Other Notable Responses
After the Weibo furor, uncertainty spread again. We will limit our discussion to the most notable responses and arguments.
In terms of news, the most prominent outlet I could find to report the news was Sina. Sina Entertainment’s Weibo claimed that Yuan Yimei was MXTX based on their “investigation,”⁷² and another blurb was posted in Sina Finance, claiming their conclusion was based on “public information.”⁷³ In contrast to this case, the similar Shenhai case was reported in-depth by the prominent news outlets Caixin Global and People’s Daily, and multiple articles interviewed Shenhai’s own father.
Higga, an artist for many of MXTX’s works, spoke out the following day to condemn the “malice” of the mob, and added this:
“Mo Xiang Tong Xiu has never done marketing, nor has she plagiarized, nor has she done anything bad. This is not to clarify, but to state the facts that I know.”⁷⁴
Other verified real-life friends like Brackets-Jun⁷⁵ and Chongyang⁷⁶ ⁷⁷ remained silent on Weibo.
Analysis:
Sina claimed that their “investigation” and “public information” indicate that Yuan Yimei is MXTX. However, they don’t give any information on what this investigation involved. Was it merely the names matching? Was it the fact that the location matched the 3.28 case? If so, that is still only circumstantial evidence. And without Sina Entertainment providing details on their investigation, there’s no way to know if they found anything more concrete.
Now, a lack of prominent, in-depth articles is not evidence against this Yuan Yimei being MXTX; it simply means significantly less was reported on this Yuan Yimei. Moreover, Sina is a major outlet, so I find it puzzling that JJWXC did not refute their report if it was untrue.
Higga’s statement does not contradict MXTX being Yuan Yimei; it is merely a defense of MXTX’s character. For English speakers like myself: “marketing” does not refer to illegal business, but to the anti accusation that Mo Dao Zu Shi did not get popular without employing backhanded means like data manipulation.
The silence of real-life friends does not inherently tell us anything. An anti will argue that their silence is proof, but a fan will counter that after Brackets-Jun refuted it once, they see no point in refuting it again.
Has Anyone Heard from MXTX Since?
Part I: Spring 2021 Publications
In 2021, there were two publishing developments that were alleged by fans to be contact from MXTX.
On October 21, 2019, South Korean publisher BLab announced they had copyright to Tian Guan Ci Fu and planned to wait for the revised version to publish.⁷⁸ However, in April 2021 BLab announced that they were publishing the web version because MXTX was still working on the revised version.⁷⁹
In June 2019, the Thailand-based publisher Sense Book announced they had the exclusive copyright to Tian Guan Ci Fu in Thai. They planned to publish the revised version in March 2021, and claimed that JJWXC would send them the files in June 2020.⁸⁰ When March 2021 arrived, the novel was indeed released for pre-order and sent out in April 2021, but it is presumably the web version because the revised version has not been released.⁸¹
Of more note, however, is that the novel includes a preface by MXTX addressed to the Thai fans. She describes how she was in a bad headspace whilst writing Tian Guan Ci Fu, and how sweet and refreshing Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s relationship was to her during that time.⁸² (Although it is a trivial point, this message is not an afterword as reported by English-speaking fans — it is actually a preface).⁸³
In May 2021, Weibo user Wanyin Jasmine (晚吟的茉莉, Wanyin de Moli; Wanyin means Night Chant, but it is also the courtesy name of the popular character Jiang Cheng) posted a conversation with Sense Book confirming the preface was received in February 2021.⁸⁴
Analysis:
BLab stated the status quo that MXTX is still working on Tian Guan Ci Fu, which is not the same as hearing from MXTX directly. The fact that BLab decided to go ahead and publish the unrevised version rather than wait implies it will not be finished anytime soon. It’s certainly possible MXTX just told them to go ahead and publish it because it’s going to take so long and she wants fans not to have to wait to have the… imperfect version… But as a writer, in my opinion, that is rather unusual to say the least.
In fact, at least three publishers (Pinsin Studios in traditional Chinese was the first⁸⁵) decided to go ahead and publish the unedited version this spring rather than wait for the edited copy. That is more than unusual — it implies they do not expect it to be completed anytime soon. I find this development more alarming than not.
The Thai translation is, however, a very different case. First, the details MXTX provided about her headspace align closely with Chongyang’s account and could explain her continued silence.
More importantly, if MXTX were in prison, she would not be able to communicate with JJWXC to write a preface. So it is likely that if the preface dates later than June 2019, as indicated by Wanyin Jasmine, MXTX is free.
Wanyin Jasmine seems to be a devout MXTX fan, but there’s no reason to think it is faked. The comments below her post show that she originally posted merely that she had asked Sense Book without knowing their answer, and kept her followers updated as she waited for them to reply.⁸⁴
I must point out that that “we got her extra script… in February 2021” is not the same as “we spoke to her in February 2021.” I reached out to Sense Book to confirm and ask if they had direct contact with MXTX, or if they simply received the preface from JJWXC. The wording of their response seems to imply that it was not direct contact to me, but as you can see below, that question was not answered directly:
All this being said, this preface may at last provide reasonable evidence that MXTX was free around February 2021. Sure, JJWXC could have plagiarized the preface, but there’s zero evidence for this.
Now, this preface does not refute MXTX being the November 10th Yuan Yimei or Yuan Moumou. It simply 1) raises more doubts about the three years mentioned in the inherently unconfirmable screenshot judgment and 2) offers actual evidence that MXTX could have communicated with someone around February 2021.
Part II: Summer 2021 Publications
On August 4 2021, Seven Seas Publications announced that all three of MXTX’s works would be published in English (very exciting).⁸⁶
Analysis:
Again, JJWXC doesn’t need MXTX’s permission for translations.⁶⁰ This is not proof of anything.
As to whether it supports the author in the worst case scenario of her freedom, I don’t know Chinese law well enough to say if she can be compensated. But support is not limited to finances. At the very least, keeping her masterpieces relevant and popular is support. So purchase away if you can afford it!
Part III: China Digital Times
China Digital Times is a California-based website dedicated to news in China, often in the form of “combating” censorship.⁸⁷ In a discussion of China’s crackdown on the WeChat of a LGBTQ+ publication, MXTX and Tianyi were both mentioned as examples of illegal publishing arrests centering on LGBTQ+ publications. China Digital Times correctly noted that MXTX’s sealed judgment meant no one could determine her sentence.⁸⁸
Analysis:
I was unfamiliar with China Digital Times, but according to fact-checks, they have failed no fact checks in 5 years, so they are a reliable news organization... to an extent. Their mission shows that they are obviously biased against the Chinese government, as noted by the fact-checkers.⁸⁷ Overall, China Digital Times’ mention of MXTX provides another example that reputable news publications consider the MXTX = Yuan Yimei = Yuan Moumou rumors to be true. Nothing more, nothing less.
Part IV: The Lockdown of Popular Danmei Titles
Yeah, the entirety of Tian Guan Ci Fu and other multiple popular danmei novels were locked on JJWXC on October 29 2021, much in the same manner as The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Mo Dao Zu Shi in January 2019.⁸⁹
Analysis:
It’s terrible, but meaningless in terms of her arrest. The lockings also affect Priest and Meatbun Doesn’t Eat Meat,⁸⁹ two other danmei novelists who are #1 and #43 on JJWXC’s list of most popular authors, respectively.³ As there is no reason to think those two are arrested, the locking is irrelevant to MXTX’s alleged arrest.
Common Counterarguments
First, there’s certainly cause to believe that a woman who has been harassed by Internet mobs accusing her of plagiarism and much worse, who had 2 of 3 works locked in January 2019 — while she was still editing the very-long Tian Guan Ci Fu and writing her fourth novel — may just need a mental health break and more time to write. That is four works that need her attention. Two years may not be entirely unreasonable. Moreover, when MXTX returned from a six month social media hiatus in fall 2018 to respond to the feigned suicide, she wrote that she had uninstalled Weibo for months to focus on writing.⁹⁰ Her silence today could simply be because she desires to focus on writing.
Second, during the same fall 2018 post, MXTX added that she did not think readers should try to clarify most rumors, as they may face attacks. The one time she attempted to help, her intentions were badly distorted.⁹⁰ In other words, she may believe the refutation of rumors is not worth the effort.
Finally, fans often claim that if MXTX was Yuan Moumou, a verdict ought to have been given before September 2020 (16 months after the investigation began).
Analysis:
To the first potential reason: if her silence is due to writing, why does the revised Tian Guan Ci Fu seem to have no completion date in sight despite this two-year retreat, to the extent that three publishing companies altered course and published the unedited version this spring? That seems highly unusual. Of course, the silence could be due to mental health as well, and we’ve already covered some evidence for this.
To the second: while MXTX did say that clarifying rumors may not be worth it in many contexts, she also said the following: “Except for malicious rumors and personal attacks, I have never refuted a single sentence.” (除了恶意造谣和人身攻击以外的负面评论，我不曾反驳过一句).⁹⁰
The implication is that she does find it necessary to clarify malicious rumors and personal attacks. I find it difficult to understand how rumors of one’s arrest trending on Weibo every time a specific court case arises would not be considered a malicious rumor and a personal attack. Of course, perhaps MXTX has changed her mind and now thinks all rumors are not worth refuting, but we have no evidence for this.
As for the timeline: the Shenhai case actually had a longer timeline than the alleged Yuan Moumou case (22 months from detention to verdict versus 16 months). This casts significant doubt on fan arguments that too much time had passed between alleged arrest and judgment.
Initial Conclusion
Is MXTX is the person surnamed ‘Yuan’ (袁) who was arrested in the 3.28 case concerning pornography and illegal business? Was she arrested in May 2019, with rumors surfacing with an official announcement in August 2019, and the judgment released on November 10, 2020?
Well, the May 2019 date of arrest is lacking in evidence.
Moreover, it’s true that there is no direct proof on any point. Neither friends nor family nor JJWXC have confirmed it, so we cannot confirm that the Yuan Yimei from November 10, 2020 is the Yuan Moumou of the 3.28 case, let alone that they are MXTX. The Yuan Yimei from November 10th is almost certainly convicted, but even that cannot be proven.
But…
See, direct proof is helpful, but there’s a reason circumstantial evidence is still considered evidence. And there’s… an awful lot of it here. Shuo Jianmeng, which did sell copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System back in 2017, shut down shortly before MXTX vanished. Multiple real-life friends lived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, which happens to be the location of Yuan Moumou and the court case in question, and one of those friends also vanished around the same time. Yuan Moumou was supposedly very popular at JJWXC, just like MXTX. JJWXC has been continually evasive on her whereabouts when they could easily say the rumors are untrue, and a civil court called their use of MXTX’s signature into question. Most of the supposed contact with MXTX over the last two years ranges from dubious to unconfirmed.
All we have to counter this is one friend’s word, a potential reason for continued silence… and that Thai preface. And as for the preface, Sense Book receiving a preface in 2021 may provide hope she was free then, but it has no bearing on the rest of the evidence.
There’s certainly doubt to be had, but how reasonable is it? How many coincidences need to occur to explain all the circumstantial evidence away?
I hate this.
I didn’t want to reach the conclusion that it’s beyond dispute that MXTX is Yuan Moumou, and is the Yuan Yimei whose case was closed on November 10th. But not wanting to believe something doesn’t make it any less true.
Of course, you are free to disagree with my conclusion. In fact, if you do, I would welcome comments pointing out situations, arguments, ideas I missed. I’d happily change conclusions if that’s where your evidence and reasoning leads. (I was very excited when a commenter provided the Thai preface information!).
But regardless of your opinions, above all, let’s please keep in mind that MXTX is a human being who deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. In fact, everyone involved in these cases — from her real-life friends to JJWXC’s CEO to the family and friends of the arrested authors — are people. They do not deserve invasive questions, harassment, or smug self-righteous slacktivists going off on them. Please.
I’ll end with this quote from MXTX upon the locking of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Mo Dao Zu Shi:
“Writing is one of my greatest passions in life. I will persist no matter what happens. Everyone, don’t be afraid. I will keep writing as long as I can” (写文是我人生中最大的兴趣之一，不管发生什么事情我都会加油的，大家也不要怕，只要力所能及，我都会一直写下去的。).⁶
I certainly hope that MXTX returns to her passion of writing, because in my opinion she is a rare genius.
Final Conclusion: Parole Announcement
Much like court cases, the parole of prisoners in China is made public online on the province’s official judicial website. On October 29 2021, the Zhejiang Women’s Prison announced the release of many parolees, including one Yuan Yimei, jailed for illegal business operations for an initial sentence of three years. This Yuan Yimei will receive eight months of parole instead of serving the rest of her initial 3 year sentence.⁹¹
Analysis:
The name, the location, and the crime match the November 11 Yuan Yimei and, as we have already discussed, are entirely consistent with the arrested JJWXC author. For what it is worth, the length of initial sentence in the parole announcement matches the unverifiable but detailed screenshot judgement, as well as the news reports.
In addition, one Yang Yang (杨旸) convicted for illegal business operations and sentenced to 3 years was also listed as paroled for 8 months.⁹¹ This is a common name from what I have found, but it is the same name as the other individual involved in the Yuan Yimei case. As Yang Yang was sentenced to the same 3 years and granted the same 8 month probation period, it seems likely this is the November 11 Yang Yang.
Overall, perhaps in May 2019 two popular writers with the same surname vanished. One happened to withdraw to work on a novel, while the other went to prison and has not been missed despite their popularity. Perhaps these two writers simply happened to have identical names at a company that employs 46,639 writers. Or if their first names were different, it just so happens that during the exact same time period, someone with the first and last name of the first author was imprisoned for the same crime as the second author, at the same location.
I don’t think it’s likely.
In addition, MXTX’s Weibo seems to have finally become active November 4, 2021, which is entirely consistent with parole.⁹² There are those who say it is simply a bug, but again, it’s a pretty hefty coincidence to have someone with her name receive parole and within days her Weibo is active… after years of inactivity. And if it’s a bug that makes accounts follow it automatically, shouldn’t her Weibo have automatically followed other accounts during the years? Shouldn’t others report an experience of this bug?
The last we know is that a virtual hearing on Yuan Yimei’s parole was scheduled for 9:30 am on December 3, 2021, in the 17th courtroom of the Zhejiang Province’s Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, with video from the Zhejiang Women’s Prison.⁹³
I am sad and angry this happened, but I exult that she is now free. I hope MXTX earns enough compensation for her amazing novels to support herself and her parents and her friends, and I wish her all the happiness and peace in the world.
And of course, I hope she keeps writing, too, because whatever and whenever she writes in the future, I will read.
References and Footnotes
- Origin of MXTX’s pseudonym: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av28962911?from=search&seid=6667881808626574761
- Fourth novel: https://www.weibo.com/6049110380/G7RfoEcj9?type=comment
- Author ranking: http://www.jjwxc.net/signauthorlist.php Screen shot also provided in case ranking changes (obtained June 2021):
4. If you’re wondering why some titles are translated and some remain in pinyin, I am referring to her novels by the titles most commonly used in the English fandom. The pinyin is more popular for Mo Dao Zu Shi and Tian Guan Ci Fu, and the English translation is more popular for The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System.
5. Brief summary of the feigned suicide: http://www.qzcns.com/qznews/2018/0905/546069.html
6. MXTX’s response to the locking of ⅔ of her works. I am also providing screenshots of Weibo due to the very deletable nature of social media. https://weibo.com/5907302111/HceIRevNE?from=page_1005055907302111_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614208256.7952&type=comment
7. I am providing screenshots of China Judgments Online, as you need to sign up for an account to see the cases. But you are welcome to look this up for yourself: Go to https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/ and under 案件名称 (case name), type 北京晋江原创网络科技有限公司与厦门市简帛图书馆著作权权属、侵权纠纷一审民事判决书.
8. Legal definitions of obscene and pornographic works: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2311/200012/25439ecd140a44c3b55cc4e63fa48c8b.shtml
9. Discussion of illegal publishing and arrests: https://ishare.ifeng.com/c/s/7moDZcQIh8X
10. The Guardian’s article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/20/chinese-writer-tianyi-sentenced-to-decade-in-prison-for-gay-erotic-novel
11. CNN’s article: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/china/chinese-erotic-fiction-writer-prison-intl/index.html
12. The New York Times’ article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/world/asia/tianyi-china-erotic-novels-prison.html
13. The Southern Weekend’s in-depth coverage: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/YpCL49hvdx6BRdbzwAYlkA
14. Tianyi’s Weibo appears to have been deleted by the time I searched for it in June 2021. The source of these claims is a journal article, Reference 15.
15. Journal article that details Tianyi’s past: https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2021.1912805
16. Beijing News’ in-depth coverage: http://www.bjnews.com.cn/inside/2019/01/04/536523.html
17. Editorial by professor: http://www.bjnews.com.cn/opinion/2018/11/22/523977.html
18. Interview with Shenhai’s family and friends: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uKIM370CvYq05nW1tz9DIw
19. Statement on multiple cases from the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Activities Office: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404405213111910418#_0
20. Shenhai’s Weibo update after her arrest: https://weibo.com/2063810487/G2Zh6CnEc?from=page_1005052063810487_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1622740572.0279&type=comment
21. Fans “proving” Shenhai was fine, dated December 21, 2017: https://www.zhihu.com/question/264409890
22. A very brief overview of the Shenhai case and verdict: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-05-21/novelist-known-for-gay-content-sentenced-for-illegal-publishing-101418063.html
23. http://www.jjwxc.net/search.php?kw=%CF%C8%C9%FA%C9%EE%BA%A3&t=1
24. Huang Yanming’s comments: http://www.bjnews.com.cn/finance/2019/08/19/617029.html
25. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames
26. How many writers there are at JJWXC: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4068462
27. Evidence that Shuo Jianmeng was closed as early as May 6, 2019:
28. Shuo Jianmeng’s Weibo: https://weibo.com/crossswords?ssl_rnd=1614548790.0615&is_all=1
29. The hidden posts of Shuo Jianmeng can be found here: http://peachring.com/weibo/user/6049110380/ I will provide screenshots as well; the last two posts are here:
30. The announcement that personal record versions of Mo Dao Zu Shi would not be sold for “well-known” reasons: https://peachring.com/weibo/user/6049110380/?next=4218649809757322
31. Copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System first sold June 2017:
32. Remaining copies of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System announced September 2017, and a few leftovers announced October 24, 2017:
33. The 2019 Zhihu answer : https://www.zhihu.com/question/325754159/answer/790229882
34. Chongyang’s remarks on social media, including the relevant fan question (bottom, highlight mine): https://weibo.com/6775134089/I3gAImPCa?filter=hot&root_comment_id=4407801210024328&ssl_rnd=1612395655.7202&type=comment
35. Chongyang’s story that mentions social media attacks distressing MXTX: https://weibo.com/6775134089/I2XS4FHde?from=page_1005056775134089_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614962156.8428&type=comment#_rnd1614962159082 (Highlights mine).
36. Source of screenshots: https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv4564132?from=1004
37. Brackets-Jun’s location, highlighted on the left.
38. Shaonian A’s hidden posts. Her location can be seen on the left column:
39. Shaonian A’s last Weibo on May 10, 2019: https://peachring.com/weibo/user/1765818561/
40. Shaonian A’s side account retrieved, with last post on May 15, 2019 and the May 14 post matching Reference 33: https://peachring.com/weibo/user/1582486572/
41. Communication in Chinese prisons: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%8E%E4%BA%BA%E6%B0%91%E5%85%B1%E5%92%8C%E5%9B%BD%E7%9C%8B%E5%AE%88%E6%89%80%E6%9D%A1%E4%BE%8B%E5%AE%9E%E6%96%BD%E5%8A%9E%E6%B3%95#%E7%AC%AC%E5%85%AD%E7%AB%A0_%E4%BC%9A%E8%A7%81%E3%80%81%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1
42. JJWXC’s statement on the raid: https://bbs.jjwxc.net/showmsg.php?board=17&id=827397
43. Twitter thread on JJWXC raid by a reporter: https://twitter.com/Lindadalew/status/1131587208362651648
44. MXTX’s last Weibo: https://weibo.com/5907302111/Hf8XVlwqm?from=page_1005055907302111_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1623001187.0092&type=comment#_rnd1623001189021
45. May 23, 2019 Report on MXTX’s update and arrest: https://kuaibao.qq.com/s/20190523AZLEUC00?refer=spider
46. Report of MXTX’s update, with the top comment noting it was not like this two days prior: https://m.weibo.cn/status/4375185647931319?sourceType=qq&from=10A1295010&wm=9847_0002&featurecode=newtitle%20%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85%EF%BC%9A%E6%A2%A8%E8%95%8A%E6%A2%85%E9%AD%82%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bilibili.com%2Fread%2Fcv4564132%2F%20%E5%87%BA%E5%A4%84%EF%BC%9A%20bilibili
47. MXTX’s update for your own view (highlight mine): http://www.jjwxc.net/oneauthor.php?authorid=1322620
48. Masses Eating Melons CJ’s Post: https://weibo.com/1885688010/HvxAZ83mb?from=page_1005051885688010_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614543733.4172&type=comment
49. The Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau’s claim that they did not communicate with MXTX in 2019:
50. The Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau’s response that they did communicate in July 2019:
51. The audiobook: https://www.ximalaya.com/youshengshu/25069034/
52. The July 12 opening date: https://www.ximalaya.com/youshengshu/25069034/197143721
53. The blogger’s announcement of the Korean award: https://weibo.com/1627499760/IsOa1fPd4?from=page_1005051627499760_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614372192.0021&type=comment#_rnd1614372194274
54. JJWXC’s statement on the copyright case and relevant follow-up comments: https://weibo.com/1732420735/IFxKZ190K?filter=hot&root_comment_id=4499012939603144&ssl_rnd=1613083993.1167&type=comment
55. JJWXC’s confirmation that only the author MXTX could request a review of Tian Guan Ci Fu Chapter 82:
56. JJWXC’s declaration that they require an author’s written affirmation for adaptation contracts: https://weibo.com/1732420735/IuD2jh4xl?from=page_1006061732420735_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614719049.287&type=comment#_rnd1614719052377
57. The Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama in Japanese began in January 2020: https://twitter.com/mimifm11/status/1217391009153204224
58. The Mo Dao Zu Shi anime only joined Twitter in May 2020, and began in 2021: https://twitter.com/mdzsjp
59. The Tian Guan Ci Fu live-action announcement on December 9, 2020: https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/160748666115618.html
60. A JJWXC contract:
61. A screenshot of the case provided by China Judgments Online. If you wish to search, under 案件名称 (case name), type 杨旸、袁依楣非法经营一审刑事判决书. Do not search 袁依楣 under ‘party;’ the case will not show up.
62. Chinese conviction rate statistics: https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/what-is-the-conviction-rate-in-china
63. Search terms for China Judgments Online: under 法院名称 (court name), type “杭州市上城区人民法院”. Search. On the left sidebar that appears, under 案件类型 (type of case), select “刑事案件” (criminal) and under 裁判年份 (year) select 2019 or 2020. Ctrl+F for “[不公开理由]” (reason for non-disclosure).
64. Search terms for China Judgments Online: under 法院名称 (court name), type “杭州市上城区人民法院”. Search. On the left sidebar that appears, under 案件类型 (type of case), select “刑事案件” (criminal) and under 裁判年份 (year) select 2019 or 2020. Use Google Chrome or another translator to translate every case into English if necessary. Read.
65. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_administrative_divisions_of_Zhejiang
66. A very basic overview of the Chinese court system: https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/magnificent-four-level-pyramid-chinas-court-system
67. Under court name, write every subdivision listed in Reference 64, followed by 人民法院 (People’s Court). Search. On the left sidebar, under 案件类型 (type of case), select “刑事案件” (criminal) and under 裁判年份 (year) select 2019 or 2020. Ctrl+F for 袁 (Yuan). Read case details. Repeat until complete.
68. My correspondence with China Justice Observer on appeals (and struggling to find a judgment on China Judgments Online):
69. Why judgments can be withheld: https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/you-can-view-almost-all-the-chinese-court-judgments-online-for-free
70. Zhejiang Higher People’s Court on the publishing regulations of court judgments: http://court.sxyc.gov.cn/art/2019/7/12/art_1656909_35537733.html
71. Chinese laws cited in the alleged judgment are Articles 15, 64, 67, and 225, which can be found here: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cgvienna/eng/dbtyw/jdwt/crimelaw/t209043.htm
72. Sina Entertainment’s post: https://weibo.com/1642591402/JtmXorB4l?from=page_1002061642591402_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614535894.5814&type=comment#_rnd1614535896854
73. Sina Finance blurb: https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2020-11-11/doc-iiznctke0789301.shtml
74. Higga’s statement is no longer available, nor could I retrieve it, but this was the original link back in January 2021: https://weibo.com/3916811892/Jtr0bsp9N?from=page_1005053916811892_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1613272406.2074&type=comment
75. Brackets-Jun’s Weibo for November 2020: https://weibo.com/brackets?is_all=1&stat_date=202011#feedtop
76. Chongyang’s first Weibo: https://weibo.com/u/6775134089?ssl_rnd=1614962031.7443&is_all=1 Last post was February 7, 2020.
77. Chongyang’s second Weibo for November 2020: https://weibo.com/u/2459871273?is_all=1&stat_date=202011#feedtop
78. BLab’s 2019 announcement: https://twitter.com/B_lab_BL/status/1186182093627252736
79. BLab’s 2021 announcement: https://twitter.com/B_lab_BL/status/1382521475861651457
80. Sense Book’s 2019 announcement:
81. Sense Book’s 2021 announcement:
82. English translation of the preface: https://twitter.com/yummysuika/status/1392147427520663555?s=20
83. Chinese translation that specifies it as a preface: https://share.api.weibo.cn/share/221460542.html?weibo_id=4635645950296711
84. Weibo post of Wanyin Jasmine’s conversation with Sense Book: https://weibo.com/3515858844/KfsIjhyAu
85. Pinsin Studios announced Tian Guan Ci Fu publication on December 30, 2020:
86. Seven Seas announces publication of all 3 MXTX novels in English: https://twitter.com/gomanga/status/1423017875036688387
87. The China Digital Times article mentioning MXTX: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/08/lgbtq-sites-wechat-account-shuttered-after-report-on-homophobic-backlash-against-hostel/
88. Fact-checking and bias of China Digital Times: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/china-digital-times-cdt/
89. Locking of many popular danmei novels: https://twitter.com/atanalerectida/status/1454014694168039426
90. MXTX’s Fall 2018 post: https://weibo.com/5907302111/GxTjborqR?from=page_1005055907302111_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&ssl_rnd=1614627010.6547&type=comment
91. The parole announcement: http://www.zjsfgkw.cn/art/2021/10/29/art_424_4838.html. Yuan Yimei is 6223 (middle, third image), Yang Yang is 6231 (top, fourth image).
92. Twitter post screenshotting her activity on Weibo:
93. http://www.zjcourt.cn/art/2021/11/25/art_454_25234.html Zhejiang Court announcement of her Parole Case Hearing on December 3, 2021.
