Chinese state media seems to have censored itself after taking down a video that was supposed to advertise the host metropolis of this month's Asian Games.

The People's Daily hoped to indicate literary hyperlinks to Hangzhou, however one poem by Lin Sheng precipitated a little bit of a stir.

Dating again to the twelfth century, the piece of labor is believed to criticise Song Dynasty rulers for being corrupt and ignoring the wants of regular individuals.

Posted on Weibo, it quickly attracted the eye of eagle-eyed members of the general public.

One particular person posted that the poem's theme was to criticise and mock "the corruption and incompetence of rulers, and the indulgence of high-ranking officials".

According to China Digital Times, the video additionally included one other poem utilized by activists to get round censorship of the Tiananmen Square bloodbath on 4 June 1989.

The video containing the poems was speedily taken down by The People's Daily - however not earlier than being seen greater than 130,000 occasions.

And it'll have had a considerably wider viewers after being shared on the social media website by different official accounts.