Last month Caixin Online, part of a media group known for pushing boundaries, published an article about the 1911 Wuchang Uprising discussing how "princelings," in this case privileged members of the Manchu elite who took charge after the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1908, had stubbornly clung to power while helping their networks of toadies and supplicants enrich themselves at the expense of infrastructure projects and through a system of "officially supervised, merchant managed" enterprises.

And just in case that was too subtle, the article concludes: "As then, a large part of the elite now realize the system is ineffective. Finding disturbing parallels 100 years ago only deepens their anxiety. History is not a feel-good business."