Writing on the Great Walls

Hidden Transcripts of Radical Graffiti in China

Abstract

This article challenges popular perceptions of graffiti in China, which depict the practice as non-subversive, apolitical, and widely tolerated by authorities. Against this perspective, which we label “discontinuity thesis,” we argue that Chinese graffiti remains tied to its global counterparts through its (subversive) constitutive link with the law. Our argument develops in two stages. First, we provide a methodological critique of existing studies that rely heavily on interviews. We argue that such approaches systematically obscure what James C. Scott refers to as the “hidden transcripts” of resistance. Drawing on immersive fieldwork and “deep hanging out,” we highlight stories from Chinese writers that reveal a clandestine world of risk, secrecy, and legal entanglements, which contradicts the sanitized accounts typically given in public. These narratives underscore graffiti’s persistent identity as an illicit activity, upheld by informal codes of silence and fueled by defiance. Secondly, we provide a legal analysis of the frameworks governing graffiti in China. While no statute specifically addresses graffiti, broad provisions such as Articles 275 and 293 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, as well as Article 17 of the Regulations on the Administration of City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation, provide ample legal grounds for prosecution. By examining an exemplary case, we demonstrate that, far from being in a legal grey area, doing graffiti in China can result in severe penalties, including criminal charges. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that radical graffiti in China persists—not as a separate, benign practice, but as part of the global continuity of writing defined by its subversive core.