Boulay, a dead-serious explication of the theory that an alien race, the Anunnaki, visited ancient Sumeria and then he began a masterРІР‚в„ўs at Sichuan University, studying under LiР“С” YР“В ochР•В«n Рµв‚¬ВРёР‚Р‚Р¶ВТђ, and then a doctorate at Wuhan University, where he started work on A Chronological History of the Republic of China (Р¶В°вЂРµвЂєР…Р·С”Р„РґС”вЂ№Р¶СљВ¬Р¶СљВ« mР“ВnguР“С– jР“В¬shР“В¬ bР”вЂєnmР“Р†), published in 2013 by Guangxi Normal University Press. Most biographiesР’В begin with a 1974 birth date and his graduation from Huaxi University in 1996, then fast forward through his time with the Public Security Bureau in Urumqi to his early retirement in 2009, he completed a translation of Flying Serpents and Dragons: The Story of MankindРІР‚в„ўs Reptilian PastР’В by R.A. LiuРІР‚в„ўs biography is hard to verify and he has never discussed his early life. The Chinese РІР‚Сљright dogsРІР‚Сњ РµРЏС–Р·вЂ№вЂ” (yР“Р†ugР—вЂ™u) and their battle against the РІР‚Сљwhite leftРІР‚СњР’В Р·в„ўР…РµВ·В¦ (bР“РЋizuР—вЂ™) is basically indistinguishable from similar online reaction on 4chanРІР‚в„ўs /pol/, The Daily Stormer, or the darker corners of Reddit: anti-semitic smears, fear of Islamization, suspicion of liberal democracyРІР‚В¦ This is no coincidence, since plenty of the right dogs have - if they arenРІР‚в„ўt already overseas - jumped the Great Firewall to follow fascist posters in the West.

The parallels with Western reactionaries are clear, though. But it can be harder to gauge what effect the Chinese intellectual dark web has on politics in China and abroad. Liu Zhongjing, arguably, is the forefather of theР’В Chinese intellectual dark web, and currently its most notorious stalwart.Р”Р„ piece on Liu must necessarily begin with an argument as to why he merits serious treatment - if the reader has heard of him, they have likely written him off as just another illiberal crank, and, if the reader is not familiar with Auntie Р№ВС—РµВ§РЃ, as his followers call him, it is a tough job to explain his relevance but perhaps even more difficult to lay out his ideas in a comprehensible and concise way.Р”Р„t this point in history, with the intellectual dark web getting fawning profiles in the New York Times and 4chan being written up in the Washington Post for changing the course of the 2016 American general election, examples of the relevancy of extremely online reactionaries are easy to find. Like Sargon of Akkad or Black Pigeon Speaks, Liu lays a scholarly, scientific veil over ideas far more extreme than anything found in the mainstream. Like their comrades on 4chan, Chinese internet users go looking for stronger stuff, too, and it often leads them to an intellectual and blogger by the name of LiР“С” ZhР“Р†ngjР“В¬ng Рµв‚¬ВРґВ»Р†Р¶вЂўВ¬, who made a name for himself in the early-2000s on social media platforms like Douban РёВ±вЂ Р·вЂњР€ and Zhihu Р·СџТђРґв„–Р‹ (ChinaРІР‚в„ўs version of Quora).

In China, this intellectual dark web, or zhР”В«shifР“РЃnzР—С’ Р“В nwР—Р‹ng Р·СџТђРёР‡вЂ Рµв‚¬вЂ РµВС’Р¶С™вЂ”Р·Р…вЂ, has been embraced by internet usersР’В -Р’В but there are plenty of homegrown figures whose popularity rivals that of Jordan Peterson or Sam Harris. But, as Weiss hinted, despite the intellectual dark web being represented by РІР‚Сљclassical liberalsРІР‚Сњ that had РІР‚Сљrun afoul of the left,РІР‚Сњ below the moderate surface lurked a commentariat with a thirst for stronger stuff: white supremacy, race science, phrenology, conspiracy theories involving elite pedophile ringsРІР‚В¦ Extremist figures like Sargon of Akkad, Stefan Molyneux, and Black Pigeon Speaks all wait in the even deeper shadows of the intellectual dark web, waiting to snare those introduced to milder reactionary politics by Rubin or Peterson.

When New York Times op-ed writer Bari Weiss gave mainstream recognition to the term in her May 2018 piece РІР‚Сљ Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web,РІР‚Сњ she includes the above names as well as others, such as UFC commentator Joe Rogan and Kanye confidante Candace Owens. The group includes the likes of Islamophobic blogger and neuroscientist Sam Harris, former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro, failed libertarian comedian Dave Rubin, and Jungian clean-your-room guy Jordan Peterson.

The term РІР‚Сљintellectual dark webРІР‚Сњ was coined, almost tongue-in-cheek, in early 2018 by Eric Weinstein, a mathematician, manager at Thiel Capital, and op-ed writer, and was meant to recognize a network of РІР‚СљrenegadesРІР‚Сњ in academia and media who reject identity politics in the name of unhindered dialectic (РІР‚Сљfree speechРІР‚Сњ).

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