Browsing one of the literature bulletin boards, he came across a serialized novel titled “My Beijing,” published under the pseudonym Drunken Fish. Hao’s depiction of Chengdu’s seedy underbelly became a sensation on forums like Tianya, one of the period’s largest blogging platforms. Once, a colleague recommended the novel to Hao without knowing that he was Murong Xuecun. “From the get-go, he has been completely obsessed with how people are corrupted by the environment in which they live,” says Megan Walsh, author of “The Subplot,” a book about contemporary Chinese literature. Later, at a propaganda meeting, the deputy party secretary of Chengdu criticized Hao’s fiction for damaging the city’s image.

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Persons: Hao, ”, Fish, Murong Xuecun, Wei Da, Wei, Megan Walsh, Li Boqing, Li, Ran Yunfei, ” Ran Organizations: Authorities, Writers ’ Association, International New York Times Locations: Beijing, H.R, Shenzhen, Chengdu, China, North Africa, Weibo