For a long time, allegations that works by Jia Pingwa and his daughter Jia Qianqian contain plagiarized material have been circulating online. The evidence has not faded; it has kept accumulating, and some of it is more damning than earlier claims. Much of the discussion began with individual critics and bloggers—one blog, Lyrical Forest, and critic Tang Xiaolin have been widely cited—but mainstream outlets, including Phoenix, have now begun to cover the controversy. The two writers have said nothing.
To an outsider, that silence looks less like composure than an inability to confront the issue. The plagiarism accusations are hard to dismiss. A defensive, stubborn response would only make matters worse: it would invite another round of mockery and leave an ugly mark on future literary criticism. A sincere apology, however, would trigger consequences beyond the two of them. Writers, poets and critics who built reputations by praising Jia Pingwa's writing and calligraphy, or by producing scholarship around it, would be placed in an awkward position. An admission could threaten their livelihoods and make years of carefully built work look like a house of cards.
In that light, silence may seem the safest option: wait for the storm to pass, then deal with the matter quietly through proper channels. But online frenzies do not necessarily disappear as quickly as people assume. Even if attention fades for a few days, it can return. In the past, criticism could sink into old newspapers and journals because information moved slowly. In the digital age, and especially the AI age, evidence and traces are stored in web pages, videos and images, ready to be retrieved in seconds. Forgetting is no longer something anyone can count on.
Silence, then, is only a painkiller for Jia Pingwa and Jia Qianqian. It may ease the pressure now, but it does not treat the wound. If they do not step forward—rebutting what can be rebutted and apologizing for what cannot—the plagiarism question will remain attached to their names. It will be a burden they carry long after the current controversy has left the front page.