An essay by Thomas Chen, assistant professor of Chinese, titled "Ai Xiaoming and the Quarantine Counter-Diary," was published in the Los Angeles Review of Books.
In this essay, Chen discusses the resurgence of the diary during quarantine, focusing on Chinese filmmaker Ai Xiaoming's writing.
"Under variously imposed quarantines, people all over the world have turned to self-writing and recording to deal with the unprecedented state of isolation," wrote Chen. "Ai's counter-diary, as I call it, puts the very phenomenon of 'lockdown diaries' into perspective, so that the reader can appreciate not only their content but also their form. Most importantly, Ai illuminates the different meanings — and stakes — of pursuing a public diary versus a private one."
Chen also explores how censorship affects Chinese writers.
"Ai has chosen not to compromise with censorship. And so, in addition to domestic platforms, she distributes her work across overseas venues, all the while documenting the overlooked in contemporary China."
The full essay can be viewed on the Los Angeles Review of Books website.