International and Area Studies Commons^™

All The Cheese In China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

If you pay any attention to developments in Chinese publishing, even if only casually, you have probably come across one or more stories by now aboutcounterfeit sequels to and unauthorized spin-offs to the Harry Potter series. And as I mentioned in my recent post about Wolf Totem, that book, too, has inspiredfake Chinese sequels (Wolf King of the Plains, for example, and not just one but two books unoriginally called Wolf Totem 2, both allegedly but neither actually by Jiang Rong) and spin-offs (a series of novels about Tibetan Mastiffsthat have become best-sellers in their own right, plus non-fiction works …

Taelspin: The Spirit Of May Fourth

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This past week marked the 89th anniversary of the May 4th demonstrations, the defining event of a decade of intellectual vitality and ideological debate as teachers, students, authors and scholars drew on a panoply of ideas to make sense of the world, their nation, and how best to build a strong and vital society.

At the heart of this movement was a true marketplace of ideas. Young intellectuals rushed to read the latest issues of their favorite journals, of which there were hundreds, pages brimming with the back-and-forth of open minds at work.

The question in the hearts of these …

The Fur Is Flying—Or, There’S More Than One Way To Skin A Wolf

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Every once in a while, a book linked to China comes along that garners such widely varying reviews that I begin to wonder if the reviewers all had the same text in front of them. I had this experience last with Mao: The Unknown Story, a book that I reviewed myself (hint as to my take: George W. Bush claimed to think the tome excellent; he and I rarely see things the same way; this instance was no exception). And now, along comes Wolf Totem. And, once again, disagreements are not just about one aspect of the book but about …

Reading Recommendations

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A couple issues have been generating a great deal of media interest lately: continued coverage of the situation in Tibet, and the political views (and demonstrations) of Chinese students. Here are a few recommendations for further reading on those two topics:

1. We referenced this piece in an earlier posting, but just in case you didn’t make the jump that time, we wanted to urge you to do it again. China Digital Times hasthis fascinating translation of a Qinghua student’s description of what happened when several Public Security Bureau officers dropped by his group’s Carrefour protest planning meeting.

2. James …

Vietnam’S Youth Given A Rare Chance To Protest – Against China, Caroline Finlay

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Vietnam’s history has been intertwined with that of China for thousands of years, and it hasn’t all been pretty. Wave after wave of Chinese invaders have controlled Vietnam for more than half of the last two millennia, and the influence on Vietnamese language and culture has been stronger than that of any other neighbouring country. The Vietnamese follow Mahayana Buddhism, and Confucianism continues to influence the education system. The Mon-Khmer roots of the Vietnamese language are all but drowned under the pressure of a massive number of Chinese loan words, the adoption of Chinese tonal pronunciation, and until the Latin …

Top Five Language And Literature Sites:

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Two weeks ago, we published a list of websites that provide lesson plans and other resources for teaching on China. This week, we promised an equally solid list of links for Chinese language and literature resources. Chinese language learning has been increasing in the U.S. in recent years and websites that offer resources for Chinese language learning are also increasing, though American interest in Chinese does not yet match Chinese excitement for English-language learning.

1. Few websites have made Chinese-language learning as approachable (and palatable) as Chinesepod. Its “newbie” to “advanced” podcasts are available for free at its website or …

Torching The Relay, Geremie R. Barme

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

[The following remarks were written in response to a series of questions from writers at Woroni, the paper produced by students at The Australian National University. They were drafted on April 28 and revised on May 3, 2008. I would add that I was travelling in China during the Australian leg of the Olympic Torch Relay. My thanks to Tom Swann of Woroni for inviting me to respond to his questions, and to Jeffrey Wasserstrom for suggesting that China Beat post this material.—GRB]

Q: In general, the article will be asking: why was there such a powerful expression of Chinese …

Critical Han Studies Conference Report

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Last weekend (April 24-27), I and about 70 other students, scholars, and members of the public attended the Critical Han Studies conference held at Stanford University. Organized by Tom Mullaney of Stanford and China Beat, Jim Liebold of La Trobe University, Stéphane Gros of Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Stanford PhD student Eric Vanden Bussche, the conference drew scholars from around the world—China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, England, France, Belgium, Australia, Canada, and the U.S.—and from a wide variety of disciplines: history, anthropology, religious studies, literature, East Asian Studies, etc. Most importantly, it was a lot of fun. …

Beijing Olympic Faq#3: Which Olympic Games Is Most Useful For Understanding The Beijing Olympic Games?

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Due to other commitments I have had no time to blog since February, but I hope to be able to post with more regularity now.

FAQ#3: Which previous Olympic Games provides the most useful historical precedent for understanding the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games?

For multiple reasons, I do not subscribe to the current fad for drawing parallels between the 1936 “Hitler” Games and the 2008 Beijing Games. If one is looking for actual historical connections, then I would argue that the 104-year connection between the U.S. and China through Olympic sports, which dates back to the 1904 St. Louis Olympic …

Boycott Tidbits And Queries: Some News And Views That Didn’T Fit

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1) Some Questions:

How do you say “I’m from Quebec” in Chinese?

When protesters gathered outside of Carrefour stores in China and sang songs (they must have sung something: one photograph shows someone with a guitar), were any of these reworked versions of “Frere Jacques”?

Why hasn’t anyone commenting on the boycotts of 2008 mentioned the one that took place one hundred years ago?

How can focusing on fried chicken alter our sense of the similarities and differences between the Chinese student protests of 1989, 1999, and 2008?

These are some questions that I either started pondering while I was …

Cowboys And Shoguns: The American Western, Japanese Jidaigeki, And Cross-Cultural Exchange, Kyle Keough

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Modern Leonidas: Spartan Military Culture In A Modern American Context, Samantha Henneberry

Senior Honors Projects

His tomb is pointed to with pride, and so are his children, and his children’s children, and afterward all the race that is his. His shining glory is never forgotten, his name is remembered, and he becomes an immortal, though he lies under the ground... (excerpt from Tyrtaeus 12) The Spartan national war-poet Tyrtaeus wrote the above hymn in the seventh century BC as a dedication to the brave hoplites who gave their lives for Sparta. Its words are startlingly relevant to a modern American society currently at war; a society full of families who take great pride in their …

Orthodox Religiosity Among Elite University Students In Russia And Its Relationship To Their Political Views, Irina Papkova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Beginning Of Bulgarian Printing (On The Occasion Of Its 500th Anniversary), Archimandrite Pavel Stefanov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Slovak Churches And Education After The Fall Of Communism, Dana Hanesova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The author of the study focuses on the complexity of the education provided by churches in Slovakia. At first, she analyses the most important factors that have been influencing the present situation in this area (the historical, legal and educational background as well as the religious structure of the population). Then she presents the main residuals from the past that need to be sorted out with the help of the churches, including the progressive education of the younger generation. Some statistical information about church schools in Slovakia is provided. Special attention is paid to the evangelical churches and their Department …

Religious Education Initiatives In Russia: Update And Commentary, Dr. Joseph A. Loya O.S.A.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Book Notes (Short Book Reviews From Glaube In Der 2.Welt [Faith In The 2 World]), Walter Sawatsky

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Response Of The New Testament Church To Material Needs And Materialism, Pavel Hanes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The New Testament church responded to materialism both in philosophical and ethical ways, stressing the spiritual side of poverty or wealth. The answer she was giving to this problem was based on the Old Testament approach to the poor who were not only poor in property but were also poor before the Lord (i.e. humble, godly and obedient). In modern times it is important to reiterate this message because the modern church tends to be preoccupied with the material side of the problem while the core of the problem is spiritual.

“Has not God chosen those who are poor in …

Crossing Borders: Mexican Immigration Into The United States, Ewelina L. Dzieciolowski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Immigration has been one of the major political and economic topics debated by governments in the world. In the United States, migration legislation is debated in the Senate, and impacts every industry throughout the country. Therefore, with further research in this field more answers for why migration occurs can be found. Although various disciplines focus on this phenomenon, each offers reasons specific to the discipline which is searching for an explanation. This thesis acknowledges that economic factors, social aspects, push and pull influences are some of the reasons for immigration, but it also proposes that there are other forces behind …

Where Do We Go From Here?

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

With just three weeks until president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s inauguration, many Taiwanese and their friends and relatives abroad are experiencing a sense of optimism, perhaps best expressed in the frequent utterances of the phrase mashang jiuhao 馬上就好, which can mean either “Everything will ready right away” or “Things will get better as soon as Ma takes power”. At the same time, however, there is also a growing sense of trepidation about some of the challenges facing the in-coming Ma administration:

1. To begin with, much of Taiwan’s non-Mainlander population has yet to be convinced that the new administration will be sensitive …

In Case You Missed It: The China Fantasy, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Though published last year, James Mann’s The China Fantasy takes on renewed relevance in light of the recent Tibetan riots and various responses to them. In this little book (just about 120 pages), Mann argues that the grab bag of American policymakers, business leaders, and academics he calls the “China elites” have convinced Americans that more trade will lead to more freedom in China. Mann asserts that this vision, which he calls the “Soothing Scenario,” has led the United States to overlook human rights abuses it would not otherwise.

Mann is certainly correct in pointing out that the belief that …

Growing Up Han: Reflections On A Xinjiang Childhood, Timothy B. Weston

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The US media rarely covers the regular people who are living in the areas of China with large ethnic minorities. In chatting with a Han Chinese student (Han Chinese are by far the largest ethnic group in China) at the University of Colorado named Leong, I was struck by his nuanced perspective on his experiences growing up in Xinjiang, a province in western China with large populations of Hui (ethnically Chinese Muslims), Uighers (Turkic Muslims), and other ethnic minorities. Given the recent discussions in the Western media—in light of the situation in Tibet—of Chinese policies toward ethnic minorities, I thought …

Follow The Bouncing Torch

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It can become numbing to try to keep up with all the stories about the torch and keep track of where exactly it has been and is going next. Still, it remains fascinating to see how the response to it have varied from place to place. Plus there are some intriguing locales such as Pyongyang are on the horizon. Fortunately, for those who want a quick visual reminder of what’s happened so far, as well as a guide to where the flame is headed, there’s a handy interactive map in the Financial Times.

With a name like the FT’s, clever …

Five Sites For Lesson Plans And Teaching Materials On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Many of us who write for China Beat are also teachers. There are multiple web resources that we use, recommend, and, in some cases, have even contributed to. If you teach about China, or are interested in learning more about how Chinese history is being taught in the United States, take a look at these innovative websites and programs.

1. Asia for Educators: Based at Columbia University, this website provides a variety of background information for educators on Asia history topics like the Song Dynasty, China and Europe comparisons, Chinese religion, and the Mongols. The website includes images, literature selections, …

National Geographic On China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The current issue of National Geographic focuses on China. The photos, in the magazine’s style, are stunning, but the magazine also features pieces by a noted batch of China writers, including two pieces by Peter Hessler (on migration and economic change), Leslie Chang (on the lives of the children of China’s growing middle class), Amy Tan (on village life and traditional singing in Dimen, Guizhou), Ted Fishman (on Beijing’s Olympic construction), and Brook Larmer (on Yellow River pollution). See more at the National Geographic website.

A Weekend Chockfull Of Interesting China Events, Jeff Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Seeking enlightenment on China’s increasing enmeshment in the wider world, trends in Chinese media, human right issues, Chinese films, or the complexities of defining the “Han” ethnicity? If you are, and you happen to be in New York City, Los Angeles, Stanford, or Irvine, California, between April 24 and 27 and have some time to kill, you are in luck. There’ll be an event going on that can answer your questions—or at least give you novel food for thought. And some will include presentations by people who’ve either posted to this blog in the past (yours truly, Tom Mullaney, and …

It’S Not Just 8/8/08: A Year Of Chinese Anniversaries, Kenneth Pomeranz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One thousand years ago (1008 C.E.) The Song Emperor, the goddess of Mt. Tai, and transformations of Chinese religion:

I’ve been waiting awhile to post another “round number anniversary” piece, figuring I’d let discussions of Tibet take precedence while it remains in the news – but it looks like that could be a long while. Meanwhile, choosing this anniversary may be a bit self-indulgent, since I’ve been writing about this goddess off and on for years – but bear with me.

The story starts when Song Zhenzong, the not-very-successful emperor (r. 998-1023), claimed that he had received a Heavenly Letter, …

More Tibet Reading

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

It has been a few weeks since we last posted an installment of recommended reading on the situation in Tibet and neighboring provinces. Here are a few of the interesting or informative things we’ve run across in that time:

1. Historian James Millward’s piece at openDemocracy on how China could right its worldwide public image is insightful–we urge you to read it.

2. A recent (often heated) discussion on the Asian history listserv, H-asia, centered around China’s historical role in Tibet–reflecting questions that have been important in the popular discussions of Tibet as well. For example, Tibet specialist Elliott Sperling …

Frivolous Friday: Remembering The Tokyo Olympics

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This video of the opening ceremony for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games (mislabelled as the winter Olympics at Youtube) seems like an example of how China would like this summer’s games to be remembered.

Branding Through The Romantic Rural

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The following ad for GE, featuring a short love story set in rural China, has been running in the United States. The ad’s soundtrack is the song “In Summer” by Cao Fang (you can hear the complete song here).