The China Beat: Lost In Translation Edition,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
The China Beat: Lost In Translation Edition
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
1. A trackback on Peter Hessler’s recent China Beat photo essay, “Behind the Wheel, About to Snap” led us to this Spanish-language review of his latest book,Country Driving. If you don’t read Spanish, there’s a button on the page that takes you to a Google translation of the review; while the translation hits a few potholes along the way, it’s a generally good rendition of a perceptive and well-written overview of Hessler’s book.
Five Questions (And Answers) About “Autumn Gem”,
2010
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
Five Questions (And Answers) About “Autumn Gem”, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
At the beginning of March, Rae Chang and Adam Tow came to UC Irvine to show their docudrama about the life of Qiu Jin, Autumn Gem (see here for their blog post about the UCI event, and here for a list of upcoming screenings around the country). The movie traces the life of “China’s first feminist,” Qiu Jin (1875-1907), who was a leader in both the nationalist and women’s movements and was executed at the age of 32 for her involvement in a plot to overthrow the Qing government. Hailed as a revolutionary martyr in China, Qiu Jin is little …
Lusting For Old Shanghai: Andrew Field And Tess Johnston @ Silf 2010,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lusting For Old Shanghai: Andrew Field And Tess Johnston @ Silf 2010, Marta Cooper
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Shanghai is a city where one has to work particularly hard to find simple, unadulterated culture. So, when the blue moon opportunity comes to bask in it for two weeks, I do just that. Most recently, that’s meant heading to the sophisticated Glamour Bar, overlooking the curve of the Bund and the sci-fi lights of Pudong, which has been hosting the 2010 Shanghai International Literary Festival (SILF)this month. The venue has been brimming with excitement, with authors from County Cork to Manila sharing their work with the spoiled audience.
Olympic Fever! From Beijing To Vancouver And Back,
2010
University of British Columbia
Olympic Fever! From Beijing To Vancouver And Back, David Luesink
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are now over, and most of the athletes, media, and tourists have left my home city. If the media (particularly British media) began by focusing primarily on negative issues, the drama of national teams, and individual athletes and overall medal counts seemed to drown out the naysayers, much as in Beijing two years ago. Both host countries came off as excellent hosts, and both host countries carried home unprecedented numbers of medals. If for China their Olympics had been a coming out party, an end to a century of general humiliation, for Canada these games …
China Learns From The Soviet Union: An Interview With Thomas P. Bernstein,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
China Learns From The Soviet Union: An Interview With Thomas P. Bernstein
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Thomas Bernstein, professor emeritus of Government at Columbia University, has recently edited a new book with Hua-yu Li, China Learns from the Soviet Union, 1949-present (Lexington Books, 2010). Below, an interview we conducted with Professor Bernstein via e-mail, exploring the volume’s scope and how it came into being.
How Does China Help Africa?,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
How Does China Help Africa?, Angilee Shah
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
If the headlines are any indication, it’s time for a proper China scare. A sampling from recent news stories on China’s involvement in Africa include: “China throws birthday bash for Zimbabwe’s Mugabe” (Reuters), “Namibia Bans Chinese Investment in Beauty Salons” (Bloomberg), and “China Unicom Denies African Expansion” (Forbes).
Lu Xun, Mao Zedong, Perhaps A Badger,
2010
University of Florida
Lu Xun, Mao Zedong, Perhaps A Badger, Sean Macdonald
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Urbanatomy has been running a series called “Why I Write” for the past several months, and we’ve noticed that when asked for their favorite Chinese author, many interviewees name Lu Xun (though Ian Johnson is a vocal dissenter). It’s likely that Lu Xun’s work will be known to even more non-Chinese speakers in the future, since Julia Lovell’s new translation of his complete fiction has hit bookshelves — read an excerpt from her introduction here, and see Jeff Wasserstrom’s review of the book here. So many decades after his death, why does Lu Xun remain one of China’s best-known authors, …
Behind The Wheel, About To Snap,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Behind The Wheel, About To Snap, Peter Hessler
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
. . . A photo, that is. Below, Peter Hessler shares some of the photographs he took while traveling across China doing research for his latest book, Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory. Read our review of Country Drivinghere; for other takes on the book, check out Jonathan Yardley’s review at theWashington Post, and Adam Daniel Mezei’s write-up at his blog.
International Women’S Day: Readings Around The Web,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
International Women’S Day: Readings Around The Web
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
1. Shanghaiist has a Women’s Day post that includes an interesting Al Jazeera report on Wu Qing, a women’s rights activist and district People’s Congress representative. The video follows Wu Qing as she teaches at Beijing’s Rural Women Training School, instructing village women on their constitutional rights and encouraging them to pursue education and employment opportunities.
Yo! Aas Is Coming To The City Of Brotherly Love,
2010
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
Yo! Aas Is Coming To The City Of Brotherly Love, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
I’d very much like to be in China this month, as several cities are hosting big literary events that feature many authors I’ve followed for the past several years, and whose names are probably familiar to regular China Beat readers. In Beijing, the Bookworm International Literary Festival is welcoming Graham Earnshaw (The Great Walk of China, March 6), Jonathan Tel (The Beijing of Possibilities, March 8; two excerpts are here and here), and Jeremy Goldkorn (Danwei, March 18). The Shanghai International Literary Festival is also boasting a program chock-full of talks I’d love to hear, such as Hyejin Kim on …
In Case You Missed It: An Introduction To Chinese Philosophy,
2010
University of California, Irvine
In Case You Missed It: An Introduction To Chinese Philosophy, Miri Kim
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
In this well written and organized book, Karyn L. Lai lays out the founding personalities, texts, and interventions in the early history of Chinese philosophy. What could easily have been a tortuous path through centuries’ worth of extant materials and a plenitude of voices devoted to their understanding is, rather, a brisk and focused guided tour that covers major developments in Chinese philosophy without eschewing its lesser known – but still important – aspects. An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy does exactly what it promises to do: provide a clear introduction, neither too truncated nor too bogged down in detail, that …
Lantern Festival,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lantern Festival
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
“To the unceasing banging of fireworks, and in the last snow of winter, a child and her grandfather light a sparkler to celebrate lantern festival, or yuanxiaojie.
A Q-And-A With Jeremy Goldkorn Of Danwei.Org,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
A Q-And-A With Jeremy Goldkorn Of Danwei.Org
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham: How did Danwei get started, and what is its primary mission? Has this changed over time?
Readings Around The Web: Fun In The Sun Edition,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Readings Around The Web: Fun In The Sun Edition
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
• Heading for the beach and looking for the perfect book to toss in your tote bag? At Five Books, authors are interviewed and asked to recommend five books on a specific topic. Though the site covers far more than China, several of the features are China-focused and worth a look; check out Rod MacFarquhar on the Cultural Revolution, Isabel Hilton on China’s environmental crisis, and Richard McGregor on the Chinese Communist Party.
An Interview With Richard Mcgregor, Author Of The Party,
2010
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
An Interview With Richard Mcgregor, Author Of The Party, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Richard McGregor is the former Beijing bureau chief for the Financial Times and author of the newly released The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers. I recently conducted the interview below with McGregor via e-mail; you can read excerpts from the book here and here and also find a “Why I Write” profile of McGregor at the Urbanatomy site.
Treat Human Beings As Humans,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Treat Human Beings As Humans, Zhang Lijia
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
The suicides among workers at Foxconn and the ongoing strikes at Honda and other foreign-owned factories are cries for help. Within its Shenzhen plant, Foxconn seems to provide everything its 400,000 workers can hope for: canteens, clinics, a library, entertainment and sports facilities.
Special Report: Thirty Years Of The One-Child Policy,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Special Report: Thirty Years Of The One-Child Policy
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Scott Tong of Marketplace is concluding his three years as the program’s Shanghai bureau chief by taking an in-depth look at the One-Child Policy as it approaches its 30-year anniversary.
Recent And Upcoming Conversations In China,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Recent And Upcoming Conversations In China
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
This post follows up on previous ones, such as those found here and here, that have focused on the way that public conversations about China can complement other kinds of methods for communicating ideas and information about the country, from lectures given by one person to written works ranging from essays to books. One thing that has inspired me to revisit this subject is that I’ve become addicted (and this certainly qualifies as a “positive addiction”) to the Sinica podcasts hosted by Kaiser Kuo.
Expo Watch 2010,
2010
Princeton University
Expo Watch 2010, Shellen Xiao Wu
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
In Shanghai these days it is impossible to avoid the World Expo. Hotels are packed with domestic tourists and school groups; subway and bus televisions show a constant news loop about events at the Expo; and Haibao, the rectangular, blue mascot of the Expo, graces numerous government offices, posters, and official merchandise stalls. To ensure the target of 70 million visitors is met and exceeded for the duration of the Expo from the beginning of May to the end of October, various government offices in Shanghai have handed out Expo “gift packs” of one free ticket per Shanghai resident family. …
Confessions Of A Lifelong China Watcher,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Confessions Of A Lifelong China Watcher, Angilee Shah
The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012
Looking back on China’s dramatic recent history, from the devastation of the Great Leap Forward to today’s exuberant “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” is a fascinating exercise. China Watcher offers the rare opportunity to learn this history as author Richard Baum did — from the front row.
