Designing Public Secrecy: Kongfz.com and the Digital Trade in Cultural Revolution Objects

Abstract The Chinese e-commerce platform Kongfuzi Second-hand Book Website (Kongfz.com) supports a thriving trade in objects from China’s historically contentious Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) period. This article examines the design of Kongfz.com as a digital artifact to explore how the platform mediates between users and Cultural Revolution objects. Building on the work of Margaret Hillenbrand, I demonstrate that studying Kongfz.com’s design exposes the spectral practices of “public secrecy” that enmesh Cultural Revolution objects. I argue that the design of the platform reminds users that Cultural Revolution objects are more than just commodities, highlighting their status as politically contentious historical artifacts. Outlining the design of the website’s regulatory structures, I show that the platform requires sellers to evaluate the political implications of Cultural Revolution ephemera. Exploring Kongfz.com’s classificatory schema and browsing and search functions, I reveal how ‘obfuscatory tactics’ embedded in the website’s front-end interface complicate the process of finding Cultural Revolution artifacts on the platform, drawing users’ attention to the political sensitivities of these items as they navigate around blockages to discover listings. Through an analysis of how Kongfz.com mediates between users and Cultural Revolution material culture, this article demonstrates that studying digital artifacts can reveal otherwise invisible cultural practices that envelope historical objects.