The following translations are from a series of posts on WeChat public account 育知录 Yuzhilu—a reference to a quotation from the Great Learning, one of Confucianism’s “Four Books”: 育人先育己，知世先知人 Yù rén xiān yù jǐ, zhī shì xiān zhī rén, or “To educate others, first educate yourself; to know the world, first know others.” Based on evidently bitter personal experience, the author offers advice on getting potentially sensitive topics past WeChat’s pre-publication filters; guidance on handling setbacks; and sympathy when all else fails. Later posts—translated selectively here to avoid repetition—chronicle the subsequent deletion of the author’s own posts on various other topics. In order to escape further deletions, the author employs several common techniques such as the use of homophones, pinyin, foreign languages, and misdirection. Here, these tricks were successful—the posts below remained online as of these translations’ publication. For much more on “sensitive words,” see CDT’s archives.
What Should I Do if I’ve Accidentally Used a Sensitive Word in My WeChat Post? March 18, 2025
“It’s only been a year, and you’re bored of me already. It’s one thing to lose interest, but even sensitive words don’t do it for you anymore!”
“What do you mean, ‘sensitive words’? Has Aunt Flo come to visit?”
Q: What should I do if I’ve accidentally used a sensitive word in my public account post?
A: In a word: delete!
Q: What are “sensitive words”? Is there an exact definition?
A: “Sensitive words” generally refers to terms with sensitive Zheng Zhi orientation (or which oppose the ruling party or Guo Jia), violent tendencies, or an unhealthy or uncivilized tone. Some sites and platforms also compile their own lists of sensitive words according to their own particular circumstances.
[郑智 Zhèng Zhì is the name of a professional soccer manager and former player and a homophone for 政治 zhèngzhì, meaning “politics.” The Chinese word for “political party,” 党 dǎng, is spelled out in Roman script as “dang”. 郭嘉 Guō Jiā, the name of an advisor to the late Han Dynasty warlord Cao Cao, is a near homophone for 国家 guójiā, meaning “country.”]
Q: Can you give a full list of sensitive words, or some specific examples?
A: There is no definitive list. WeChat has never given more than vague indications of which words are sensitive, so many people have broken the rules unintentionally. Some examples appear above [in the previous answer].
“DON’T DISCUSS NATIONAL POLITICS”
Q: What are the most commonly seen types of sensitive words?
A: 1. The most common type of sensitive words is the Zheng Zhi [political] category, so for references to political figures or events, try to use common code words. Some code words are themselves sensitive, so use pinyin or pinyin abbreviations [e.g. “zhengzhi” or “zz”]. If that doesn’t work, you can try English, French, Japanese, etc. Past that point, the best thing is actually just to delete it.
2. Discuss affairs of state little, if at all, and don’t presume to comment on the national political system. Use particular caution if writing about current political affairs, because it’s very common for people to accidentally step on landmines, leading to account suspension or termination.
3. Superstitious, sexually explicit, or profane terms, and illegal or false information, can all easily become sensitive words.
4. Special sensitive words defined and used by sites or platforms based on their own circumstances. Some e-commerce platforms, for example, won’t let you mention the names of their competitors.
Q: What’s your worst experience of stepping on one of these landmines with your public account?
A: There’s no “worst,” only “worse.” Once, a few years ago, I was editing a draft in the account dashboard, and had just finished formatting it and was adding the title when the whole page suddenly went blank, apart from the message at the top: “Content must not violate the platform’s terms of use or relevant laws, regulations, or policies. Please revise.”
F***, hours of hard work wiped out in a flash. It’s enough to drive you nuts, but where would that get you? That’s how I learned the hard way to always back up my drafts in a Word doc first.
[“Fuck,” 肏 cào, is represented here by the isolated character component for grass, 艹 cǎo, another near-homophone.]
“Content must not violate the platform’s terms of use or relevant laws, regulations, or policies. Please revise.”
Q: Anything more recent?
A: Yesterday! Five times I tried to post something, five times it was shot down, and five times I revised it, until finally on the sixth try, I managed to get it through. In this kind of situation, you’ve really just got to delete, however reluctant you might be to pare down your carefully crafted text. The problem is, they don’t actually tell you which words were sensitive, and all you can do is use trial and error. This process of elimination is absolute torture.
“Published yesterday at 19:50: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad …”
“Publication failed yesterday at 19:46: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad problem?”
“Publication failed yesterday at 19:42: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad problem?”
“Publication failed yesterday at 19:31: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad problem?”
“Publication failed yesterday at 19:11: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad problem?”
“Publication failed yesterday at 19:05: 2025 Wish List: Can anyone solve the sanitary pad problem?”
Q: How much of that piece did you cut, in the end?
A: One picture, two paragraphs.
Q: What was the picture of?
A: The picture itself wasn’t important, the issue was that it included a propaganda poster with the slogan, in English: “Having only one child is good, the government will take care of the aged.” [A 1980s family planning slogan on which the government’s position has since reversed.]
Q: And the two paragraphs?
A: The first, which I’ll put here in English [to avoid censorship]: “Don’t rely on men, nor on the government – the government is not omnipotent. If you still have illusions about the government, it can only be said that you are still ‘Too Young, Too Simple.’”
The second, using pinyin [again, to avoid censorship]: Women should be independent! Don’t get mad, don’t complain—it’s no use. It’s not our fault that men fall short, or that our government loves passing the buck
Q: What happens if you keep stumbling on sensitive words in your public-account posts?
A: Traffic and posting restrictions, at best; account suspension or termination, at worst.
Q: What’s your opinion on sensitive words?
A: I have no opinion.
Q: What advice do you have for people who’ve accidentally posted sensitive words on their public accounts?
A: A single word of advice: “delete”
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say?
A: I wish you all successful posting!
What can you do if your public account post is shot down? April 19, 2025
“This content cannot be displayed because of rule violations”
“Following related complaints, this content has been found to violate the Provisions on the Administration of Internet User Public Account Information Services. Click here for more details.”
Q: What can you do if your public account post is shot down?
A: What can you do? Live with it.
It’s already dead and buried, forcibly deleted by the platform.
The dead won’t come back, and neither will those WeChat posts.
Rein in your grief and accept fate.
Q: But can I still access my draft? I hadn’t gotten around to backing it up …
A: Looks like it “cannot be found” … this is why you should back up earlier.
Because (as pictured above) you can’t access the post through the account dashboard, and if you click through to “Further information,” you’ll be redirected to brush up on the Provisions on the Administration of Internet User Public Account Information Services, pictured below:
Q: You say “looks like it ‘cannot be found’” … well, can I find it or not?!
A: You’re a sharp one—nothing gets past you! In fact, the post is still retrievable after all.
Log in to the public account assistant, find the entry for the deleted post, as pictured below, click “…” in the top-right corner, click “edit again,” and you can recover the original text.
“2025/04/11 07:18 – Cannot be displayed”
“The Personal Experience of 38-Year-Old Teacher Ah Qiang: As the China-U.S. Trade War Rages, a Liberal Arts Department Descends Into ‘Verbal Warfare’”
Mug slogan: “To Commemorate Participation in the Reciprocal Tariff War of April, 2025”
Q: So, if I re-edit and publish, how am I supposed to know which sensitive words I should cut out? I didn’t think there was anything sensitive in there …
A: It doesn’t matter what you think—the platform thinks there’s content that’s sensitive or breaks the rules, so you’ve got to cut it.
For more detail on sensitive words, see my modest 2025 guide: “What to do if you’ve stumbled on sensitive words with your public account.”
Q: What if I’ve revised it, cut out some of these so-called “sensitive words,” and it still won’t let me post it? What am I supposed to do then?
A: Keep cutting! If it won’t let you post, it means you haven’t cut enough, so keep going! Keep whittling away until it lets you post.
Of course, this process of cutting and cutting is torture, because there’s really no way to know which word is sensitive, and all you can do is keep trying to guess what to delete.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, and again, and again …
I once had a post that I revised five times, and it got shot down every time until finally, the sixth time was the charm.
It’s a pretty painful process.
To use an inappropriate analogy, it’s like a man castrating himself with a blade: the first cut’s not clean, so he tries again, but that’s not clean either, so he cuts again, and again, and again …
By the end, it’s hard to say if you’re still “a man”, but chances are you’re dead anyway.
“What’s the point in keeping this thing?!”
Anyone who posts to a public account will understand how hard original writing is.
Each painstaking article feels like a beloved son or daughter.
When a piece gets blocked from being posted, or deleted once it’s up, how can you not feel like a grieving parent? How can it not drive you mad?
As the saying goes: one treasures an old, worn broom, and cherishes one’s own humble writing.
If you don’t love your own writing, how can you expect anyone else to?
It’s like a woman who doesn’t love herself—how can she expect love from a man?
Today marks seven days since the death of that post of mine. I solemnly offer this post as its eulogy.
Its title was: “The Personal Experience of 38-Year-Old Teacher Ah Qiang: As the China-U.S. Trade War Rages, a Liberal Arts Department Descends Into ‘Verbal Warfare’”
Q: What’s your opinion on public account posts getting shot down?
A: I have no opinion, and feel nothing but gratitude toward the public account platform.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say?
A: As I once wrote: “Castration is a new beginning; you lose your balls, but win your freedom.” (From my humble piece “Out of Touch With Her Ex for More Than Six Months, Ma Dongmei Celebrated His Birthday Like This.”)
I respectfully submit this piece for our mutual encouragement!
I wish you all successful posting! Long may your excellent posts and good fortune endure!
What can you do if your public account post is shot down? Part 2, August 9, 2025
[…] In the last two weeks, this account has had four posts shot down: about Yang Lanlan [background], Liuzhou debt [background], online censorship, and the accident on July 23 [likely a reference to the 2011 Wenzhou train collision].
Your author felt there was nothing out of the ordinary about these posts of his, but still they were shot down.
Shot down: dead, on ice, over, zeroed, forcibly deleted by the platform.
The dead won’t come back, and neither will those WeChat posts.
Rein in your grief and accept fate!
I humbly offer this sacrifice to their memory!
What can you do if your public account post is shot down? Part 3, August 21, 2025
This account had another three posts shot down:
One was today’s cartoon, “Youth Asks Zen Master: Will Guangdong’s Mosquito Eradication Campaign Succeed?” [background]
The other two were from a month ago: “Why is ‘Seeking Truth From Facts’ So Hard?” and “What to Make of the Tianshui Children’s Lead Poisoning Incident?” [background]
The platform apparently “received complaints” about those two. I wonder who could have sent them?
Don’t speak, don’t argue, just shut up and accept your fate.
Though they were just minor posts that never broke 100 views … still, one treasures an old, worn broom, and cherishes one’s own humble writing.
The dead won’t come back, and neither will those WeChat posts.
Alas, accept my tribute! Accept my tribute!
What can you do if your public account post is shot down? Part 4, August 31, 2025
This account had the following four posts shot down in the past week:
Cartoon | “Seeing the Essence Beneath the Surface: What They Call State-owned Is Official-owned; What They Call ’To Each According to His Need’ Is ‘To Each According to His Power’”
Cartoon | “Eureka Moment for India’s Masses, After Dealing With Lead Poisoning, Sewage-Tainted Tap Water, Official ‘Badge-Flashing,’ and Intrusive ‘Disinfections’ of Their Homes: If Only They’d Pushed Their Kids to Get Government Jobs!” [In an unsuccessful attempt to avoid censorship, the author has used “India’s Masses” as a stand-in for “China’s Masses.”]
Cartoon | “Youth Asks Zen Master: If They Can Enforce Mandatory Social Insurance, Why Not Eight-Hour Days and Overtime Pay, Too?” (The Master’s reply: “Because the latter two can’t be embezzled.”)
Essay | “As the Tiger-head Guillotine Rusts, Why Are We Still Waiting for Our Zhan Zhao and Bao Zheng? A Thousand Years of Challenges to Justice”
[Bao was a virtuous Song Dynasty official, and a symbol of justice; Zhan was his fictional sidekick. Their legendary adventures were the subject of the wuxia novel “The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants” and a number of later screen adaptations. The fictional “tiger-head guillotine” was used for beheading corrupt officials and treacherous ministers; the “dog-head guillotine” and “dragon-head guillotine” were used for executing commoners and imperial relatives, respectively.]
[…] One treasures an old, worn broom, and cherishes one’s own humble writing.
My posts were shot down, alas!
I humbly offer this sacrifice to their memory! [Chinese]
“Post deleted”
“Alas! I humbly offer this sacrifice to their memory!”
