The Rise of Modern China 
2018/2023, Artist's book, Artistic Research, Installation

This title is derived from the scholarly historical publication, The Rise of Modern China, first published by Oxford University Press in the United States in 1970. Originally written in English, the book was translated into Traditional Chinese and published in Hong Kong in 2001. It was published in Simplified Chinese in China in 2008. In the Simplified Chinese edition, eleven chapters, or over 200 pages, are erased.

This work republishes the removed pages from the original edition. Most of the content on these pages was eliminated, leaving only year dates, in the system of the Gregorian calendar. This work not only addresses the censorship regime of contemporary China, but is also an attempt to address historiography, and the way national histories are written.

This work not only addresses the censorship regime of contemporary China but also attempts to engage with historiography and the way national histories are written. The book is designed to appear incomplete, as if one fragment has been torn from an intact volume, echoing its concept: a book of erasure. Intentionally, the book does not include any publishing information on its cover, back cover, or spine. In other words, it has no traditional opening or ending, and the cover does not serve its conventional function.

The act of erasing responds to the censorship of the book. Consequently, all contents of the 200 pages were manually erased—each letter and image—using various styles. The missing pages were scanned and reprinted with black toner, which was then altered using a chemical solvent to dissolve the coating.

The artist book was printed in Germany in 2018 (1st edition) and 2023 (2nd edition) and published in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Germany. It was showcased in the following exhibitions:

– An Imperfection Often Concealed at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, the Netherlands.
– On Your Own 2018 at Haagse Kunstkring in The Hague, the Netherlands.
– Burn After Reading at PMQ in Hong Kong.
Book 180 × 265 mm, 200 pages, Edition of 50
First Edition, June 2018
Book 220 × 310mm, 180+4 Folding pages, Edition of 30 Second Edition, November 2023

Printed in Germany,
Hand-bound by the artists
ISBN 978-3-00-061657-0