Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lu Xun And Translation

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I recently wrote an essay called “China’s Orwell” for the Asian edition of Time Magazine. In the article, I deal with the conundrum of Lu Xun’s enormous influence within China yet continued relative obscurity outside of the Sinophone world. Among other things, I ponder the possibility that an attractive new collection of his complete fiction, which features spirited translations by Julia Lovell and was published as part of the Penguin Classics series (click here for a “Paper Republic” interview with the translator about the book), could help right this imbalance by introducing figures such as Ah-Q to Western readers who …

Obama In China: Final Thoughts

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

President Obama’s trip to China is now in the past, though there might be a postscript when the U.N. Climate Change Conference convenes in Copenhagen next month, as how China and the U.S. would cooperate (or not) in dealing with environmental issues was a major topic during Obama’s meetings with Chinese leaders. As a final look back at Obama’s first trip to China, here are several readings that put his visit in a larger context:

1. Timothy Garton Ash writes about “Two Ways for West to Meet China”, arguing that Western countries could choose between two strategies when dealing with …

China’S Lincolnophilia, Alan Wachman

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Abraham Lincoln’s stance on national unity during the U.S. Civil War and his opposition to the institution of slavery have been summoned up by PRC officials, media, and elites in efforts to explain and legitimate their own response to those they disparage as “separatists” in Taiwan and Tibet.

To Beijing, vigorously opposing separatism and preserving Chinese territorial integrity is a cause no less noble than was Abraham Lincoln’s resort to war as a way of preventing the secession of southern states. In its quest for moral authority, Beijing has recalled the rhetoric and …

Vietnam Blocks Facebook, Caroline Finlay

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Writer Caroline Finlay has written for China Beat in the past about Southeast Asian news stories that have a China angle. Here, she draws parallels between Internet controls in Vietnam and those in China. She’s written about speech issues in Vietnam before, for instance see “Vietnam Youth Given Rare Chance to Protest–Against China” from May 2008.

Facebook users have begun having difficulty logging on to the social networking site, the Associated Press and the Inter Press Service reported on November 17th.

News agencies are citing an unverified document that says it’s from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and states, “For …

“Caijing Is Dead, Long Live Caijing”, Scott Kennedy

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the past few weeks, the coverage of the fall of Caijing and the exodus of its staff has read almost like an obituary. During its eleven years in production, Caijingbenefitted from protection from patrons as well as the deft leadership of its editor, Hu Shuli, who has a sixth sense for knowing where the boundaries of permissibility sit and how to move them. The result was a record of breaking myriad stories of serious corruption and poor governance. Over the years, a couple issues were temporarily held up for “technical” reasons, but Caijing appeared to have regularly escaped the …

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 034, Number 13, November 23, 2009, Grand Valley State University

2009-2010, Volume 34

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 26, November 23, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

The Good, The Bad, And The Boring: Barack Obama’S China Trip In Review, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Barack Obama spent fewer than three days in China, but his first trip there has been a week-long story in the news world, as countless journalists, academics, and pundits have shared their thoughts about what this visit could do for U.S.-China relations. Now that the president has left the PRC, how did it all go? Obama Administration officials are speaking highly of it, claiming that Obama was forceful in private meetings with Hu Jintao and the rest of the Chinese leadership. And perhaps the devil is in the details, as political scientist David Shambaugh says, speaking favorably of the joint …

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 25, November 19, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Around The Web…

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. Many of us around here have been spending time over the last couple of years thinking about the growing number of China-India connections (as well as their historical antecedents), so we’re always pleased to find another blog from an Indian journalist or writer covering China. But “China India Citizens’ Initiative” takes the genre a step further, encouraging people-to-people dialogue between Chinese and Indians. Recent post topics include the role of the Dalai Lama, coverage of the Berlin Wall anniversary, and issues in Chinese-Indian trade.

2. Alec Ash of Six (who also contributes bi-weekly photos to China Beat), drew our …

Coming Distractions: The Wobbling Pivot

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Prominent Qing specialist Pamela Crossley of Dartmouth College has a new book coming out in February, The Wobbling Pivot, China Since 1800: An Interpretive History, which is aimed at general readers and is designed to be suitable as well for classes devoted to modern Chinese history. One theme in the book that is likely to be of special interest to those who follow this blog is her frequent discussion of similarities and differences over time in patterns of unrest and the way that the state and its representatives respond to challenges from below. Focusing largely on tensions and modes of …

Procter Family (Sc 2077), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2077. Genealogical notes and correspondence relating to the Procter, Carson and Dinwiddie families. Includes a certified copy of the will of Evan Shelby, father of Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 034, Number 12, November 16, 2009, Grand Valley State University

2009-2010, Volume 34

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 24, November 16, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Short Takes: More On Obama In China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

All around the internet, China-watchers are commenting on Barack Obama’s inaugural China trip. Some links to check out:

1. At 11:40 PM Eastern Standard Time tonight, President Obama’s town hall meeting with students in Shanghai will go live on the White House website.

2. Ian Johnson of the Wall Street Journal asks “Is Barack Obama Unpopular in China?” Johnson explains that it seems initial enthusiasm for the president has dropped off in recent months:

Internet polls provide anecdotal evidence that China is just not as enamored with the U.S. now as in years past, when the U.S. was seen as …

Marginal Benefit Of Hosting The Summer Olympics: Focusing On Bric Nation Brazil (Rio 2016), Benjamin Mcguirk Wagar

Global Studies Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Stone, Dan Ray, 1921-2007 (Sc 2069), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2069. Correspondence with Kentucky's senators related to advertising of alcoholic beverages on television; application for a retail beer license.

Hodges, Patricia Ann (Morgan), B. 1931 - Letters To (Sc 2065), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2065. Letters from various Kentucky politicians to Patricia and Paul Hodges, Bowling Green, Kentucky, chiefly related to policies concerning same-sex marriage and immigration.

Obama In China: Readings Around The Web

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

President Barack Obama is en route to Asia right now, and though he’ll also be making stops in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, the centerpiece of his trip is the three days he’ll be spending in China. Tours of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City are, of course, on the itinerary, but Obama’s schedule in China isn’t limited to sightseeing; he’ll also be meeting with Chinese leaders in Beijing and Shanghai to discuss a range of issues, including re-evaluation of the renminbi, relations with North Korea, and climate change. We’ve compiled some of this week’s writings around the web …

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 23, November 12, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

The Local Is Global: Broker For Human Rights “Florence Kitchelt, Connecticut Peace Activist And Feminist,” 1920-1961, Danelle L. Moon

Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, I will explore the role of local peace activist and feminist, Florence Ledyard Kitchelt (1874-1961) in supporting social justice, equality, and world peace. In 1924 Kitchelt accepted a paid position with the Connecticut League of Nation’s Association (CLNA), and for nearly twenty years she served as secretary and director of the organization. Working through the CLNA she canvassed the state promoting peace education and to building support for the League of Nations and the World Court. In 1925 she traveled to Geneva to study the League of Nations and attended the Assembly. Between the wars she worked …

798 Faces

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“At Beijing’s 798 art district, I photograph a visitor, who inspects his own photos, while an artwork inspects him. 798 has become a destination for young Chinese to kill time, and shop, in one of the city’s more counter-culture environments.”

“At Beijing’s 798 art district, I photograph a visitor, who inspects his own photos, while an artwork inspects him. 798 has become a destination for young Chinese to kill time, and shop, in one of the city’s more counter-culture environments.”

–Alec Ash

In Case You Missed It: China’S Monetary Challenges, Maura Dykstra

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

When I first left to study in China, I asked around about what presents to bring. I took the advice of a professor, and boarded a plane to Shanghai with two bottles of Johnny Walker and two cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. I had heard tales of men and women in China beseeching their foreign friends to purchase such items at Friendship Stores, and had been reassured that these name-brand products would be eagerly consumed by deprived whiskey-drinkers and smokers on the mainland. I wasn’t in China for more than a week when, stepping into a local convenience store, I was …

Berlin Wall Anniversary And China: Five Readings

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. “What Came Down Was the Wall and What Stood Up Was the People,” by Shi Zhe, a translation of an op-ed from Southern Weekend (hat tip Danwei):

The resurgence of Germany after the war was achieved by each and every person living in a misshaped land. In the end it was regular people that were the main reason West Germany was able to win the peaceful competition between two systems. Their hard work day in and day out the proved themselves to the world, redeeming the dignity of the entire ethnicity. Outsiders usually like to evaluate the Berlin Wall …

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 034, Number 11, November 9, 2009, Grand Valley State University

2009-2010, Volume 34

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 22, November 9, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Bell, Charles Rowan, 1891-1976 (Sc 2064), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2064. Letter, 18 December 1963, from William A. Stevens, Washington, D.C., to Bowling Green, Kentucky lawyer Charles R. Bell with comments on Congressman William H. Natcher and other mutual acquaintances. Also includes information about Bell’s law career.

The Legacy Of Lu Xun: Photos From Shaoxing

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Earlier this week, The China Beat featured an excerpt from the introduction of Julia Lovell’s forthcoming translation, The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun. Urbanatomy has also recently run a piece on Lu Xun and his legacy in Chinese literature, and a story at China Daily discusses Lu Xun’s writings and Lovell’s translation.

I was especially interested, however, in this essay at Urbanatomy by Anna Greenspan (who has also written for The China Beat), as she provides a tour guide to Lu Xun-related sites in Shanghai. While I haven’t visited any …

Looking Back 20 Years: Who Deserves Credit For Ending The Cold War?, Nicholas Hayes

University Chair in Critical Thinking Publications

No abstract provided.

Lanthorn, Vol. 44, No. 21, November 5, 2009, Grand Valley State University

Volume 44, July 8, 2009 - June 7, 2010

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.