Eyebrow Talk

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The featured article for Monday, 26 October 2026, is Eyebrow Talk.

Eyebrow Talk (Chinese: 眉語; pinyin: Méiyǔ) was a Chinese monthly literary magazine published in 18 issues from November 1914 to around April or May 1916. It was among the first literary magazines in China to be marketed towards women and the first to be primarily edited by women. Its founder and editor-in-chief was Gao Jianhua, who worked closely with Xu Xiaotian (her husband and cousin) and a staff of mainly female assistant editors. At least ten different women are confirmed to have written for the magazine, alongside some men who wrote under female pen names. Reaching a claimed circulation of 10,000 by 1915, the magazine was published by the New Learning Society, which mostly published school textbooks.

The magazine featured provocative content in its advertising, covers, pictures, and writings. Although dubbed a "young ladies' fiction monthly", Gao noted that "cultured gentlemen" would enjoy Eyebrow Talk for its many pictures of women. Often nudes or semi-nudes, these pictures were frequently sourced from French postcards (a term for Western erotic postcards). Less risqué images showing romantic couples or scenes of everyday life were also printed, often juxtaposed with poetry and prose fiction about them. Romantic depictions of editors Gao and Xu were also printed, such as love letters and a story by another author about their relationship.

Although avoiding explicit pornography, Eyebrow Talk's libertine content ran afoul of the Ministry of Education's Popular Education Research Association, which supervised and occasionally censored published material. A subcommittee initially led by Lu Xun investigated the magazine and in August 1916 unanimously voted to ban it; after implementation by the Ministry of the Interior the following month, it became the first Chinese magazine to be banned on obscenity charges. Eyebrow Talk had already stopped publication for unclear reasons several months before its ban; it had fallen greatly behind its schedule and its publisher may have preemptively halted it due to the Ministry of Education investigation.

This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:00 UTC on Monday, 26 October 2026.

For the full current version of the article, see Eyebrow Talk on Wikipedia.

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