Viral Ultra-Short Dramas Challenge China’s Memory Politics
The growing popularity of ultra-short war dramas is unsettling China’s official narrative of wartime history and sparking a regulatory response. On 3 September 2025, Tiananmen Square hosted a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This event served as the centerpiece of Beijing’s official commemorations.
However, the emergence of viral mini war dramas online has turned wartime memory into digital entertainment, exposing Beijing’s deeper struggle to maintain both political influence and control over historical narratives.
Historical Context of State-Controlled Memory
The War of Resistance has long been central to the Chinese Communist Party’s legitimacy and collective historical memory. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the CCP intensified its narrative approach by launching a nationwide patriotic education campaign.
- School textbooks were rewritten to emphasize Japan’s wartime atrocities.
- Mandatory patriotic education bases were created across the country.
- The theme of national humiliation was employed as a source of political cohesion.
Through these measures, the Party positioned itself as the leading force of China’s wartime resistance, intertwining patriotism with political loyalty.
The 2025 Commemorative Campaign
The July–September 2025 campaign symbolized the continuation of this long-term effort. The CCP coordinated cultural and memorial events nationwide, including themed exhibitions at war museums and the highly publicized September military parade.
“Beijing’s struggle to keep wartime memory politically useful mirrors its broader effort to manage digital expressions of history.”
The popularity of online war dramas challenges this control, illustrating how digital media can reshape collective memory despite official oversight.
Author’s Summary
Viral ultra-short war dramas reveal China’s fading grip on wartime memory as digital culture reshapes how history is remembered and political legitimacy is reinforced.