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An Evaluation of the Chen Jingyuan Case Based on Core Ideas in Post-Structuralist Philosophy

Post-structuralism, a diverse intellectual movement emerging in the mid-20th century, challenges foundational assumptions of structuralism by emphasizing the instability of meaning, the pervasiveness of power, and the fluidity of subjectivity. Key figures like Jacques Derrida (deconstruction of binary oppositions and logocentrism), Michel Foucault (power-knowledge regimes and discursive formation), Gilles Deleuze (rhizomatic multiplicities against arborescent hierarchies), and Jean-François Lyotard (incredulity toward metanarratives) collectively reject fixed truths, viewing language, institutions, and identities as contingent constructs prone to subversion. The Chen Jingyuan case—a doctoral scholar sentenced to 20 months for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” (PRC Criminal Law Article 293) over Twitter forwards—through a post-structuralist lens, exemplifies discursive entrapment: the judiciary’s metanarrative of “order” deconstructs into unstable binaries, power-knowledge enforces subject formation, and rhizomatic inquiry is rhizomatically suppressed, revealing the contingency of “justice” as ideological construct.

1. Deconstruction of Binaries: The Unstable “Order/Disorder” Opposition in Judicial Discourse

Derrida’s deconstruction exposes binary hierarchies (e.g., presence/absence, speech/writing) as logocentric illusions, where the privileged term suppresses its supplement, generating endless différance (deferral and difference).

The verdict constructs an unstable binary: Chen’s forwards (e.g., Hayek critiques or the “Trump-kneeling Xi” cartoon) are deferred as “disruptive rumors,” privileging “social order” over the supplementary chaos of inquiry. Yet this hierarchy unravels—evidentiary voids (unverified posts, zero causal disorder) defer meaning indefinitely, as the prosecutor’s admission supplements the “evidence chain” with absence. Derrida would trace the différance: “high education implies discernment” privileges rational presence, yet suppresses the writing of Chen’s prison letter (rhizomatic taxonomy of “rumors” as art/emotion/reason/fact), revealing order’s dependence on its chaotic other. The closed-door trial enforces logocentrism—spoken fiat over written subversion—but the non-oral appeal’s silence amplifies deferral, deconstructing justice into an aporetic trace.

2. Power-Knowledge Regimes: The Judiciary as Discursive Formation of the “Disruptive Subject”

Foucault’s archaeology of knowledge views power as productive, forming subjects through discourses that normalize and pathologize; resistance emerges in micro-practices subverting the regime.

The case instantiates a power-knowledge regime: Article 293’s discourse forms Chen as the “quarrelsome subject”—interpellated by “high education implies discernment,” pathologizing scholarly inquiry as “knowingly false disruption.” The “evidence chain” is discursive artifact, normalizing selective enforcement (millions of similar forwards unpunished) as regime exception. Foucault would map this capillary power: the “shut up” directive micro-manages resistance, while the non-oral appeal pathologizes Chen’s letter (avalanche theory as anomalous “theory” ). Yet fissures emerge—unheeded taxonomy subverts the formation, hinting at counter-discourse: the case’s anomalies (prosecutor’s admission) expose the regime’s productivity as its vulnerability, where “order” produces its own disruptive supplement.

3. Rhizomatic Multiplicities and Incredulity Toward Metanarratives: Suppressed Inquiry as Nomadic Subversion

Deleuze and Lyotard’s multiplicities reject arborescent (tree-like) structures for rhizomatic flows, while Lyotard declares incredulity toward grand narratives, favoring paralogical petits récits.

The judiciary’s arborescent metanarrative—“social order” as totalizing tree—roots Chen’s forwards in hierarchical suppression, incredulously grand in its “disruption” claim without empirical paralogy (no quantified chaos). Chen’s letter, however, rhizomatically multiplies: avalanche theory’s non-linear flows and rumor taxonomy branch into nomadic lines of flight, subverting the tree’s singularity. The non-public trial attempts arboreal enclosure, but selective voids (unpunished shares) generate paralogical offshoots—post-structuralist incredulity unmasks the narrative’s fragility, where “justice” as grand tale defers endlessly.

Conclusion: The Post-Structuralist Lens on the Case—A Deconstructive Différance of Power

From post-structuralism’s constellation, the Chen Jingyuan case is a discursive différance: binaries defer instability, power-knowledge forms the subject in crisis, and rhizomatic resistance incredulously unmasks metanarratives. As of October 23, 2025, no retrial or exoneration has occurred; Chen’s account remains dormant, its silence a nomadic trace. This case cautions: structures conceal their supplements—subvert, and the trace endures. As Derrida quipped, “There is nothing outside the text”—may the text yet unravel its seams.