Abstract:  Charting the development and identifying the crisis of Chinese discourse on publicity, this article suggests that a proper research on Chinese discourse on publicity should be more based on observation of and reflection upon the internal dynamics of Chinese civilization and tradition, rather than mainly focusing on the influences of modern West. Laying its foundation on the HeavenHuman order and the threedynasty paradigm, the discourse on publicity and conception of publicity in China had arose and flourished since the Song Dynasty. The Chinese character Gonggong for publicity emphasizes practicality, and advocates for collective participation out of public spirits. Since its rise in early modern China, the discourse on publicity had played a part in advancing quasirepublican political model, the respect for established constitution and public laws, the popularity of public consensus and the prosperity of socially autonomous organizations. Later, the flourishing Heavenlyprinciple worldview greatly enhanced and deepened the theoretical quality of this discourse. In contemporary China, however, the discourse underwent a complicated transition which incurred a profound crisis. Heavily influenced by unprecedented radicalized culture and politics, contemporary modern Chinese discourse on publicity experienced a disruption from its traditional counterpart and became flattened and fragmentary. A prophetic and restless image of secularist and absolutist collectivity held and grasped Chinese public perception during waves of ideological struggles in the last century. As a result, the abovementioned discourse encountered its crisis which could be presented by the loss of transcendence and self understanding, the breakdown of established constitution and the decline of multiplecenter governance.