Banned books refer to books that are forbidden to read or spread, usually because they violate some political, religious, moral or legal provisions. These books may have a bad influence on individuals or society, so publication, sale or dissemination are prohibited.
The appearance of banned books can be traced back to ancient times. For example, during the Qin Dynasty in China, burning books and burying Confucianism was a large-scale ban on books. In the Western Middle Ages, the church severely censored and suppressed many heretical ideas, and even some books were banned.
In modern society, the reasons for banning books may be more complicated and diverse. On the one hand, some books may contain content that is too violent and pornographic, or be considered inflammatory or endanger public safety. On the other hand, some books may involve intellectual property issues, such as plagiarism or piracy, so publication or dissemination is prohibited.
The existence of banned books is not necessarily a bad thing. For those books that contain harmful contents, banning their publication and dissemination can protect the public from adverse effects. At the same time, prohibiting the publication and dissemination of books that infringe intellectual property rights can promote the rights and interests of the original authors and encourage their creation.
Others think that banning books is a restriction on freedom of speech. They believe that people have the right to read and disseminate any book freely. In this case, lifting some banned books is also a manifestation of freedom of speech. Banning books is a complex issue, which needs to weigh different factors and interests.
The event of banning books in the history of China;
1, Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism: After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, in order to strengthen centralization, he ordered the burning of books except official books, resulting in a large number of precious ancient books being burned. At the same time, he also ordered the killing of Confucian scholars to eliminate the threat of dissidents and ideology.
2. Literary inquisition in the Qing Dynasty: In order to strengthen ideological control, the Qing Dynasty implemented a strict literary inquisition policy. Many literati were arrested and imprisoned because their works were considered to have problems with the emperor or the Qing Dynasty. One of the most famous is the "Ming History Case" during the reign of Kangxi, in which a group of people were executed for stating history.
3. Twain of Dacheng to Shenggao in Ming Dynasty was banned: During Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, the emperor ordered the publication and dissemination of Twain of Dacheng to Shenggao because he thought it misled Confucius.
4. The event of banning books during the revision of Sikuquanshu in Qing Dynasty: During the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, the government organized the compilation of Sikuquanshu, but during the compilation process, many books were banned from publication or dissemination because of their sensitive contents, and some were completely destroyed.