In 2024, a wave of violent rampages disrupted China’s carefully cultivated image of stability, exposing underlying tensions often obscured by the country’s tightly controlled narrative. Dubbed “Xianzhong-ology” by netizens—a reference to an infamously bloody Ming rebel Zhang Xianzhong—these “revenge on society” attacks unsettled a nation unaccustomed to such public displays of disorder. Unlike incidents in the past, this spate of violence seemed to reflect deeper fractures within Chinese society, sparking widespread unease and forcing an unusual degree of national introspection—as well as a broader push for greater security by the authorities.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, these attacks represent a profound challenge—not just to governance but to the narrative he has spent his career crafting. Shaped by the tumult of the Cultural Revolution, Xi prizes stability above all else. The 2014 Kunming train station knife attack, attributed to Uyghur separatists, spurred sweeping counterterrorism measures, including a vast surveillance apparatus. But the current wave of violence is different. These are not acts of ideological extremism or organized resistance—they are eruptions of despair. Surveillance cameras and facial recognition software cannot anticipate or address the kind of desperation driving these tragedies.

In 2024, a wave of violent rampages disrupted China’s carefully cultivated image of stability, exposing underlying tensions often obscured by the country’s tightly controlled narrative. Dubbed “Xianzhong-ology” by netizens—a reference to an infamously bloody Ming rebel Zhang Xianzhong—these “revenge on society” attacks unsettled a nation unaccustomed to such public displays of disorder. Unlike incidents in the past, this spate of violence seemed to reflect deeper fractures within Chinese society, sparking widespread unease and forcing an unusual degree of national introspection—as well as a broader push for greater security by the authorities.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, these attacks represent a profound challenge—not just to governance but to the narrative he has spent his career crafting. Shaped by the tumult of the Cultural Revolution, Xi prizes stability above all else. The 2014 Kunming train station knife attack, attributed to Uyghur separatists, spurred sweeping counterterrorism measures, including a vast surveillance apparatus. But the current wave of violence is different. These are not acts of ideological extremism or organized resistance—they are eruptions of despair. Surveillance cameras and facial recognition software cannot anticipate or address the kind of desperation driving these tragedies.

But are these attacks truly on the rise, or has the hyperamplified lens of social media distorted perceptions, making rare events feel omnipresent?

China’s Ministry of Public Security consistently reports that the country remains one of the world’s safest, with homicide rates among the lowest globally. Violent crimes, from theft to fraud, are reported to have decreased significantly since 2019. This narrative is further supported by the 2024 Rule of Law Blue Book, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which paints a picture of a society largely free from widespread criminality. The veracity of these figures is uncertain; criminologist Borge Bakken has argued that the vast majority of crime in China never appears in the official figures.

Whether........

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