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The Wuhan Lockdown
A metropolis with a population of about 11 million, Wuhan sits at the crossroads of China. It was here that in the last days of 2019, the first reports of a mysterious new form of pneumonia emerged. Before long, an abrupt and unprecedented lockdown was declared—the first of many such responses to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.This book tells the dramatic story of the Wuhan lockdown in the voices of the city’s own people. Using a vast archive of more than 6,000 diaries, the sociologist Guobin Yang vividly depicts how the city coped during the crisis. He analyzes how the state managed—or mismanaged—the lockdown and explores how Wuhan’s residents responded by taking on increasingly active roles. Yang demonstrates that citizen engagement—whether public action or the civic inaction of staying at home—was essential in the effort to fight the pandemic. The book features compelling stories of citizens and civic groups in their struggle against physicians, patients, volunteers, government officials, feminist organizers, social media commentators, and even aunties loudly swearing at party officials. These snapshots from the lockdown capture China at a critical moment, revealing the intricacies of politics, citizenship, morality, community, and digital technology. Presenting the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people, The Wuhan Lockdown is an unparalleled account of the first moments of the crisis that would define the age.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 27, 2021
A book titled 'The Wuhan Lockdown' can't slip unnoticed when the whole world is still affected by COVID-19. Knowledge about the origins of the virus and the official response to the first alarms by Chinese authorities combined with diaries of ordinary (and not ordinary) people; the book by Guobin Yang, the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, provides a detailed account for truth-seeking readers. The Professor examined more than 6,000 Wuhanese diaries on various Chinese social platforms, dissecting social conflicts and personal encrypted from censorship emotions to give a complete picture of what was happening in the locked city. The book goes far beyond the mere retelling of the diaries. It also singles out deeply rooted causes of the initial misinformation and mishandling of the first COVID cases.
The chronology in the book is not based on day-to-day principles. Instead, each chapter highlights one aspect of the lockdown from the sociological viewpoint: censorship and protests against it, xenophobia and nationalism inside and outside China, etc. Using his twenty-year experience in the research of Chinese cyberspace, the author goes into great detail about the popular cyberculture and its peculiarities, unfamiliar for foreigners. The author's meticulousness, however, turns into the book's main weakness.
The author squeezes into the book as many facts as possible. I would name the constant jumps from the personal level of the diaries to the general Chinese history and then to the current social circumstances rabbit holes. While moving through the levels, the author's writing style also changes, from informal and emotional, with rhetoric questions to a reader, to academic and formal. Multi-faceted research creates an eagle view of the situation, placing the pandemic into the bigger picture but complicates the reading process. For example, the author uses the Chinese term 'wolf warrior.' He explains the origins and connotations of the term, traces changes in the use of the word, names all political figures nicknamed 'wolf warriors,' and examines their behavior during the pandemic to show the reasons for public support.
A Chinese name on the book cover partly conditioned my choice. I haven't encountered a book on China that wouldn't have an apparent anti-Chinese character. So it was a surprise to find the author's same anti-Chinese stance at the beginning of the book. More surprising, throughout the book, there are several comparisons between the authoritarian Chinese regime and the US democracy in manipulating public opinions and handling the health care system's crisis during the pandemic; the comparison isn't in the US favor. At the end of the book, the author's anti-Chinese position looks solid and argumentive.
I'd highly recommend the book for its informativeness and thoroughness. The book covers not only the description of the Wuhan lockdown but modern China politics as well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The chronology in the book is not based on day-to-day principles. Instead, each chapter highlights one aspect of the lockdown from the sociological viewpoint: censorship and protests against it, xenophobia and nationalism inside and outside China, etc. Using his twenty-year experience in the research of Chinese cyberspace, the author goes into great detail about the popular cyberculture and its peculiarities, unfamiliar for foreigners. The author's meticulousness, however, turns into the book's main weakness.
The author squeezes into the book as many facts as possible. I would name the constant jumps from the personal level of the diaries to the general Chinese history and then to the current social circumstances rabbit holes. While moving through the levels, the author's writing style also changes, from informal and emotional, with rhetoric questions to a reader, to academic and formal. Multi-faceted research creates an eagle view of the situation, placing the pandemic into the bigger picture but complicates the reading process. For example, the author uses the Chinese term 'wolf warrior.' He explains the origins and connotations of the term, traces changes in the use of the word, names all political figures nicknamed 'wolf warriors,' and examines their behavior during the pandemic to show the reasons for public support.
A Chinese name on the book cover partly conditioned my choice. I haven't encountered a book on China that wouldn't have an apparent anti-Chinese character. So it was a surprise to find the author's same anti-Chinese stance at the beginning of the book. More surprising, throughout the book, there are several comparisons between the authoritarian Chinese regime and the US democracy in manipulating public opinions and handling the health care system's crisis during the pandemic; the comparison isn't in the US favor. At the end of the book, the author's anti-Chinese position looks solid and argumentive.
I'd highly recommend the book for its informativeness and thoroughness. The book covers not only the description of the Wuhan lockdown but modern China politics as well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 3, 2021
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
As I start typing this review, my city is still under a mask mandate, among other things. To say this history of the Wuhan Lockdown is still hitting a bit close would be an understatement.
Yang’s overview and discussion of the Wuhan Lockdown focuses mostly on the societal and aspects of the lockdown – what were the various responses, how various aspects of society acted and so on. There is also a quick overview of the Chinese government so those of us who are not experts will not get confused and can understand the context.
I particularly found the sections about the use of language and translations (as well as the manipulation of how text appears, not just in terms of characters, but the overall presentation) to be absolutely fascinating, for it showed a variety of responses as well as how, in some cases, information or views were able to slip by censors.
Yet it is a bit strange that in a book that makes a good deal about the diaries that Wuhan residents kept in various forms, there aren’t more quotes from them. Don’t get me wrong, Yang does cite from the various diaries and media, but there are sections, overly long sections where facts and descriptions are presented but by third person instead of first person quotes. While it is clear the reason for this is the needed for brevity to cover the large amount of material, it also can make those sections lag a little. Also sometimes there are too much that seems to be too much off topic, or too much time spent explaining things that could be dealt in a smoother and shorter way – for instance in the discussion about nationalism, it feels like too much time is spent discussing the nationalism that occurred in countries like the UK or US whose mention is needed because of Chinese reaction to it, but the depth of detail seems to shift the focus for too long to those other countries (it also moves into a discussion about Chinese media, that while interesting, doesn’t really need to be that detailed).
However, sometimes those little factual details and the discussion surrounding them are needed. An example of this would be when Yang discusses the international relief supplies that were sent to Wuhan. Yang discusses the reaction of residents to the Japanese supplies that included messages. In this case, it is possible to argue that Yang spends too much space on a detail, but he takes the time to present the detail in context for people to understand the importance. It is this rather small detail that illustrates larger and more important points.
Considering the largely simplified view of what happened in Wuhan by the Western (and perhaps all non Chinese press), this book is a must read for those trying to understand and develop a knowledge about what happened during the start of the outbreak. Yang does an excellent job relating the various day to day concerns of residents and the measures that were taken as well as reactions to those measures. He presents a far more detailed and nuanced view than the US media ever did, allowing those of us would limited knowledge about China and the Chinese lockdown to have a greater and clearer understanding of what happened.
As I start typing this review, my city is still under a mask mandate, among other things. To say this history of the Wuhan Lockdown is still hitting a bit close would be an understatement.
Yang’s overview and discussion of the Wuhan Lockdown focuses mostly on the societal and aspects of the lockdown – what were the various responses, how various aspects of society acted and so on. There is also a quick overview of the Chinese government so those of us who are not experts will not get confused and can understand the context.
I particularly found the sections about the use of language and translations (as well as the manipulation of how text appears, not just in terms of characters, but the overall presentation) to be absolutely fascinating, for it showed a variety of responses as well as how, in some cases, information or views were able to slip by censors.
Yet it is a bit strange that in a book that makes a good deal about the diaries that Wuhan residents kept in various forms, there aren’t more quotes from them. Don’t get me wrong, Yang does cite from the various diaries and media, but there are sections, overly long sections where facts and descriptions are presented but by third person instead of first person quotes. While it is clear the reason for this is the needed for brevity to cover the large amount of material, it also can make those sections lag a little. Also sometimes there are too much that seems to be too much off topic, or too much time spent explaining things that could be dealt in a smoother and shorter way – for instance in the discussion about nationalism, it feels like too much time is spent discussing the nationalism that occurred in countries like the UK or US whose mention is needed because of Chinese reaction to it, but the depth of detail seems to shift the focus for too long to those other countries (it also moves into a discussion about Chinese media, that while interesting, doesn’t really need to be that detailed).
However, sometimes those little factual details and the discussion surrounding them are needed. An example of this would be when Yang discusses the international relief supplies that were sent to Wuhan. Yang discusses the reaction of residents to the Japanese supplies that included messages. In this case, it is possible to argue that Yang spends too much space on a detail, but he takes the time to present the detail in context for people to understand the importance. It is this rather small detail that illustrates larger and more important points.
Considering the largely simplified view of what happened in Wuhan by the Western (and perhaps all non Chinese press), this book is a must read for those trying to understand and develop a knowledge about what happened during the start of the outbreak. Yang does an excellent job relating the various day to day concerns of residents and the measures that were taken as well as reactions to those measures. He presents a far more detailed and nuanced view than the US media ever did, allowing those of us would limited knowledge about China and the Chinese lockdown to have a greater and clearer understanding of what happened.
November 30, 2023
This was a fascinating journey of various diaries posted during early Covid 2020 from Wuhan. I was able to remember where I was in certain months and compare it to their postings. I would highly recommend it.
March 7, 2022
Really interesting!
October 14, 2021
This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I thought this was going to illustrate life on the ground during the Wuhan lockdown as seen through online diaries of those who were there. I kept a journal during our lockdown myself so I was intrigued. It is actually an exhaustive examination of the history of activism in China and how the internet and social media have affected it, while providing a lot of cultural context and explanation. Most of this was very interesting. The context helped, as I am not familiar with Chinese culture. However, it was a bit too long and detailed. I found myself struggling to stay engaged.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
January 3, 2022
♥ Don't settle for less than what you consider the best.
June 25, 2022
Covid finally caught up to me after two years of trying to avoid it. Fear crept into my mind when I saw two lines on my ART. This was quickly followed by a sense of relief. Relief that I no longer have to live in anxiety on when I will get it. Reading this while isolating really brings a whole new meaning to how Covid has affected all of us.
I am slowly losing my memory of what life was like before Covid. I cannot imagine leaving the house without a mask. Even as we slowly gain normalcy around us, it is clear how much Covid has taken a toll on us, mentally and physically.
Although this book was fairly short, it takes us back to when it all started. Ground Zero, Wuhan. I remembered watching this on the news in the comfort of my own home thinking how horrible it must be for people in Wuhan. Never did it cross my mind that it would be a pandemic or that our lives were about to change.
Yang focuses on how the people of Wuhan coped with living in lockdown through the diary entries they kept. It is interesting to note how people were motivated to keep a dairy in the first place. Yang also wrote about the social aspect and how they responded to these diary entries which was quite heartwarming to read. Yang also included how the government is able to restrict and censor what people are posting in order to maintain order and it is fascinating to know how society retaliate to that.
I love all the little diary entries that were presented here but I wished there were more of it to balance out all the research Yang has done to make it less dry and academic. I love how Yang emphasised the importance of social media in bringing people together during difficult times and it really shows how empathetic and resourceful people in Wuhan were during lockdown.
Thank you Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the arc.
I am slowly losing my memory of what life was like before Covid. I cannot imagine leaving the house without a mask. Even as we slowly gain normalcy around us, it is clear how much Covid has taken a toll on us, mentally and physically.
Although this book was fairly short, it takes us back to when it all started. Ground Zero, Wuhan. I remembered watching this on the news in the comfort of my own home thinking how horrible it must be for people in Wuhan. Never did it cross my mind that it would be a pandemic or that our lives were about to change.
Yang focuses on how the people of Wuhan coped with living in lockdown through the diary entries they kept. It is interesting to note how people were motivated to keep a dairy in the first place. Yang also wrote about the social aspect and how they responded to these diary entries which was quite heartwarming to read. Yang also included how the government is able to restrict and censor what people are posting in order to maintain order and it is fascinating to know how society retaliate to that.
I love all the little diary entries that were presented here but I wished there were more of it to balance out all the research Yang has done to make it less dry and academic. I love how Yang emphasised the importance of social media in bringing people together during difficult times and it really shows how empathetic and resourceful people in Wuhan were during lockdown.
Thank you Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the arc.
June 23, 2025
“ This book tells the dramatic story of the Wuhan lockdown in the voices of the cities people. Using a vast archive of online lockdown diaries and social media data Guobin Yang vividly depicts how the city coped during the crisis against the broader context of Chinese politics and society.”
this is what drew me to the book initially but as many other reviews have stated, it was just not the case. Most of the book is written in a dry, academic manner with a *make point and provide evidence but said evidence was a diary entry only ~25% of the time* structure.
and also like others have said, that made this book just not as interesting as it could have been. was pretty difficult for me to finish.
this is what drew me to the book initially but as many other reviews have stated, it was just not the case. Most of the book is written in a dry, academic manner with a *make point and provide evidence but said evidence was a diary entry only ~25% of the time* structure.
and also like others have said, that made this book just not as interesting as it could have been. was pretty difficult for me to finish.
March 25, 2022
The title of the book made me curious and I've requested it,since this is recent events and so many things are still unknown about the outbreak of covid 19.
O have to point out that it's a difficult read,I understand the author is a sociologist so he did good at the numerical part or analitical,but poorly at the literature side of this book, it's a masive document of numbers and notions,so probably you need a trained eye to be able to break through.i appreciate the effort considering that do fat we have not so many materials about the events of 2019. But it is a difficult book so as for the content I'll give a 3 star rating
O have to point out that it's a difficult read,I understand the author is a sociologist so he did good at the numerical part or analitical,but poorly at the literature side of this book, it's a masive document of numbers and notions,so probably you need a trained eye to be able to break through.i appreciate the effort considering that do fat we have not so many materials about the events of 2019. But it is a difficult book so as for the content I'll give a 3 star rating
December 24, 2024
slightly underwhelming, after reading the preface i expected there to be more journal entries. Additionally I expected there to be more discussion on the affects of the propaganda used. I did like the insight the excerpts provided but perhaps just reading the journal would be better as the commentary did not feel satisfactory.
October 16, 2021
Hard going a lot of the time, too much dry academia not enough meat
October 29, 2021
This was a difficult book to get into. I had a hard time finishing it. It was not what I was expecting, and maybe would be interesting for some people I just didn't love it.
June 16, 2023
This book was a very in-depth look into what happened and how people reacted. I would almost put a trigger warning on this one just due to what everyone went through during that time period.
March 20, 2022
* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *
Guobin Yang has written a very insightful and affecting account of the lives of the people caught in the extended lockdown of Wuhan, a city of 8 million people. Guobin sets the scene by giving some background on CCP party policies, social media usage in China and other germane matters. Most of the material in the book is gathered from social media diaries written by people directly involved in the lockdown, and the reactions to what they wrote.
One thing that struck me the most was that, in our own extended lockdown here in Australia, pretty much the same issues came up. The key difference was that we tended to blame the government and demand that "they" do something about it, whereas the Chinese people took it on themselves to solve problems such as getting essentials to locked-down people, caring for abandoned pets, providing professional mental health support, raising money to support the Wuhan people, and so on. Guobin describes how vital the role of social media was in accomplishing this, despite having to resort to some clever tactics to beat the official censors.
I got a lot out of this book, but felt that it ran out of steam at the end, as the author tried to draw some sociological conclusions from the various stories discussed, rather than just let them speak for themselves. The dry academic discussion that the book ends in weakens its impact and takes away from the stories of the Wuhan people.
Guobin Yang has written a very insightful and affecting account of the lives of the people caught in the extended lockdown of Wuhan, a city of 8 million people. Guobin sets the scene by giving some background on CCP party policies, social media usage in China and other germane matters. Most of the material in the book is gathered from social media diaries written by people directly involved in the lockdown, and the reactions to what they wrote.
One thing that struck me the most was that, in our own extended lockdown here in Australia, pretty much the same issues came up. The key difference was that we tended to blame the government and demand that "they" do something about it, whereas the Chinese people took it on themselves to solve problems such as getting essentials to locked-down people, caring for abandoned pets, providing professional mental health support, raising money to support the Wuhan people, and so on. Guobin describes how vital the role of social media was in accomplishing this, despite having to resort to some clever tactics to beat the official censors.
I got a lot out of this book, but felt that it ran out of steam at the end, as the author tried to draw some sociological conclusions from the various stories discussed, rather than just let them speak for themselves. The dry academic discussion that the book ends in weakens its impact and takes away from the stories of the Wuhan people.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews