Take a quick look around the world and it becomes obvious that every country plays a careful balancing act between what is allowed and what isn’t. French cheese is illegal in the United States, killing a swan is against the law in the UK, Turkey a country where 95% of the country is Muslim, bans its women from wearing headscarves in public places and even mullets are against the law in Iran. China is in many ways just like any other country, albeit in an extraordinary and unprecedented situation. However, in recent years, the number of contraband practices and items has started to decrease in the Middle Kingdom, signalling a new chapter in China’s history. While we all know that Facebook, Youtube and other popular sites have been banned in China for years already, the items in the list below may surprise you.

1) Mahjong
Despite its apparent popularity today, mahjong, the traditional Chinese game, was in fact once banned along with many other forms of gambling when the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. Perceived as a symbol of capitalist corruption, which the new government was taking a stand against, it wasn’t until after the Cultural Revolution that mahjong was welcomed back to its homeland in 1985. It’s been a mere 30 years since the revival of this quintessential Chinese game, yet the number of people, both old and young, at makeshift mahjong tables across China is growing.

2) Dogs                                 
Walk down any street and the number of dogs (especially small toy sized ones) is high. Keeping dogs as pets has taken over the country, becoming a fashionable pastime for the urban population. The number of registered dogs in Beijing is well over a million and growing at ten percent year on year, with the countless numbers of unregistered dogs swelling their ranks further. Yet, keeping dogs as pets was reserved for the country’s elite centuries ago, when the Pekingese was made the official palace dog. In fact, anyone who stole one of these royal dogs would be executed. Even after the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the end of 2000 years of imperial rule, dogs were seen simply as workers and a bourgeois luxury, often used in herding or as guard dogs.

Today, dogs are viewed as a welcome break from the stresses of life in modern China, with some people claiming that dogs have grown in popularity due to the one-child policy. Acting as a companion for a single child at home or even taking the place of a child, keeping dogs as pets in China has grown exponentially.

3) Fireworks
Little is known outside of China regarding the country’s relationship with fireworks. First documented in the 7th century in China – their place of origin – they are a staple of Chinese culture, and are used in festivals such as the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Despite their place in Chinese society, fireworks were banned for over a decade, with many people in China saying Spring Festival lost its atmosphere during the ban. When fireworks made their comeback, it coincided with the government’s decision in 2008 to reintroduce more public holidays (Duanwu – Dragon Boat Festival and Qingming – Tomb Sweeping Day), the first time they had been celebrated since the 1940s. Despite a call to make fireworks illegal again (presumably to avoid noise pollution and accidents; one famous landmark in Beijing apparently caught fire due to the use of fireworks), this ban has so far not been reintroduced.

4) Chinese language
Surprisingly, given its apparent popularity today, teaching Chinese to foreigners was in fact once banned. Until as recently as 200 years ago, this was an illegal practice due to the belief in the purity of the Chinese language and its inherent and important cultural significance. This obviously had a massive impact on the spread of the language around the world as the numbers of second language speakers remained extremely low. With the growing army of Confucius institutes around the world teaching Chinese and the importance of China’s economy spurring people to learn the language, the concept that it was once illegal to teach or learn it seems almost alien.

5) Confucius
Confucius needs no introduction; the ancient Chinese philosopher is arguably the most famous ancient Chinese person outside of the country. Not only did he shape the minds of the country he lived in some 2,500 years ago, but his teachings continued to dictate Chinese society for millennia. In Mainland China, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the official stance shifted from one of reverence to one of viewing him as a representation of feudalist beliefs that held the people in subservience to the aristocracy. As such any related rites or ceremonies were thus banned in the country marking the end of over 2,500 years of Confucian influence in society. Decades later, ceremonies commemorating his birth resumed in the 1990s, acknowledging Chinese history and tradition once again.

6) Game Consoles        
At present, China has a ban on all game consoles in an attempt to prevent Chinese youth from wasting countless hours of their lives. However, the growth of PCs, laptops and Smartphones in the country has allowed people to bypass this ban and rendered it an almost futile act. Earlier this year, rumours were flying that the 13 year ban on game consoles might be lifted after an unknown government source told China Daily that this might be the case. Since the news was released other sources have disputed the claim, clouding the matter further. However, upon hearing the original news both Sony and Nintendo’s shares spiked.
 

Related links
Keep it Legal: China’s 10 Strangest Rules and Laws
10 Ridiculous Reports Published by Chinese Media Recently
4 Ridiculous New Health Threats in China

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Keywords: banned in China