International Relations Commons^™

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).

Lust, Camera, Action: How Ang Lee’S Risqué Thriller Charts A Profitable New Course For Transnational Cinema, Matthew Johnson

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Was it real? While anticipation for the release of Lust, Caution built, one perennial question followed director Ang Lee’s most recent feature: were the sex acts performed by its two stars, Tony Leung and Tang Wei, simulated or full? The parties involved played coy. Lee himself spoke sparingly of the closed sets and skeleton film crew used to film these scenes. While he would later lament the ceaseless focus on his film’s erotic content, however, Lee could hardly be disappointed with the outcome. Lust, Caution reveled in its superstar cast, splashy publicity, and arresting imagery. Released in both edited and …

Report From The Road: Aas Meeting, 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As our regular readers will have noticed, China Beat has been unusually quiet of late. This is mainly because we were out of range of the internet two weeks ago to attend the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (and in recovery from the conference hubbub the following week). The AAS is primarily composed of scholars but is also open to those in other fields who study and think about Asia; it has about 7,000 members, with a few thousand in attendance at this conference.

We took advantage of the largest gathering of China Beat contributors …

Predictions And Timing In An Olympic Year

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Let’s pretend that, twelve months ago, someone had put me in a room with 20 or so other China specialists, handed us each four slips of paper, and asked us to write on each piece a story with a Chinese theme that we predicted would make headlines in 2008, the year when the Beijing Olympics will start on August 8. It’s quite possible that the following would have happened:

1) One or more of us would have written that a headline-grabbing protest would break out. And going into more detail, some of those who made that forecast would have added …

Tibet, 228, And Ta-Pa-Ni: Some Lessons For Us All

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As we struggle to make sense of the maelstrom of violent resistance and its suppression, not to mention cope with our own feelings as concerned observers, it might be useful to consider the following:

*Such outbreaks are invariably sparked by a complex combination of socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious factors.

*The violence is never a case of black and white; it is simply red, with aggressors and their victims far outnumbering any heroes. When tensions boil over, the initial targets tend to be symbols of authority (policemen, officials), but can also include men and women who are stigmatized and persecuted as …

The Politic 2008 Fall, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

“Multi-Track Diplomacy” Through Enhancing Interreligious Understanding: A Case Study In Abrahamic Trialogue Between Jordanian And American Students, Nick Doctor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Interfaith dialogue has become widely acknowledged as a means to enhance interreligious and intercultural sensitivity, complement state-based diplomatic efforts, and attain sustainable conflict resolution. This study is aimed at examining the potential of Multi-Track Diplomacy, demonstrated through interreligious discourse, to develop interreligious and intercultural sensitivity within the young adult, nonprofessional demographic. The data and analysis is based upon research acquired through interviews with interreligious organizations, religious and academic scholars, and Jordanian citizens in spring 2008; and three interfaith trialogue sessions held April-May, 2008 with participants from the three Abrahamic faith traditions. The analysis indicates that mild tension exists between Christian …

Slavery: From Public Crime To Private Wrong, Alison Brysk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The fight against slavery was the first international human rights movement, and the elimination of legalized bondage represented a hallmark of Western civilization. But the persistence and revival of this ancient evil shows that in an era of globalization, a prohibited public crime has morphed into a massive private wrong.

Slavery And "Abuse Regeneration", Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Skinner’s depiction of modern day slavery is graphic and challenging. Anyone viewing prohibitions on slavery, or abolition, as historical anachronism, or requiring reinterpretation for modern-day practices, must think again. Skinner persuades us that slavery in its most old fashioned sense is alive and well and, worse than that–on the rise.

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“A World Enslaved" by E. Benjamin Skinner. Foreign Policy (March/April) 2008.

Forget Me Not: Bodies As Last Colonies Of Capitalism?, Anna M. Agathangelou

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Slavery is one technology of imperialism that serves to generate more profits worldwide. Skinner brings this issue to our attention, arguing that many people think that slavery ended in the 19th century, but the current turning of peoples into slaves proves otherwise. Skinner points out that since 1817, there have been more than a dozen international conventions signed banning the slave trade and yet, the number of people sold as slaves is in the millions. He calls modern day slavery a “monstrous crime” and proceeds to provide us with insights from his research. He begins making his point through what …

Combating The Slave Trade: Why Governments Are Not Good At Governing, Eric A. Heinze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

It is difficult to read Benjamin Skinner’s revealing piece on the international slave trade and not feel revolted that we still live in a world where so many people live in bondage. What is particularly disturbing is that much of the modern-day slave trade takes place with the full knowledge, and even acquiescence of, state governments.

On Their Best Behavior: Good Magazine On Contemporary China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The cover story for the May/June issue of Good Magazine, just hitting newsstands, is “Don’t Be Scared of China.” Living up to their moniker as “media for people who give a damn,” Good’s China issue encourages readers to learn more about China and embrace, not hate, in features like the tongue-in-cheek play on tabloid Us Weekly’s “Stars…They’re Just Like Us” photo spread that declares “They’re Just Like Us…They Like Hip Hop” and “They’re Just Like Us…They Go To Vegas.”

Though this approach at cultural exchange is well-intentioned, it continues a particularly egocentric understanding of China as a recipient of American …

James Miles On Media Coverage Of Tibet

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

James Miles of The Economist was in Tibet when the riots and protests started on March 14. China’s strict limitations on foreign journalists entering Tibet in the following days made Miles one of the few journalists who saw the riots firsthand. With all the attention being now paid to how the international media are covering the events in Tibet, we thought it would be interesting to find out how Miles felt about the questions he got upon returning from the field. Here’s how he answered us via email.

China Beat: Is there any question that you’ve been asked a lot …

Tibet 5: In The Third Week

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

With the crisis in Tibet entering its third week, we continue to sweep the web in search of interesting and/or informative pieces to bring to the attention of our readers. This fifth installment in the series is heavily devoted to retrospective works, which go back in time, either to detail what took place in Tibet in the past or explore historical analogies useful for thinking through the contemporary situation. Still, since the story continues to unfold and take surprising turns, we also include links to pieces that track very recent developments, both on the ground and in the debate over …

The Taelspin On Tibet: The Chinese Response To Foreign Media Coverage Of The 3.14 Unrest

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Foreign media coverage of the demonstrations and riots in Lhasa, Qinghai,Sichuan, and Gansu two weeks ago has sparked a significant backlash here in China. State media continues to release increasingly shrill diatribes against Western media bias as Chinese netizens take to the internet with their own protests sparked by a general perception that coverage of the riots was purposely warped and skewed by anti-China forces in the West. (For a sampling in English, check out the back and forth on this forum hosted by that bastion of journalistic integrity and objectivity: The China Daily.) There’s a whole website devoted to …

Tibet Reading 4

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The coverage and dialogue about the situation in Tibet has continued over the past days, evolving largely (in great part due to foreign media’s lack of access to Tibet and neighboring provinces where unrest has occurred) into a discussion on China’s media clampdown and the way the Tibet riots and subsequent protests are being read in China and abroad. Here are some of the apropos things we’ve been reading in recent days.

1. On Danwei.org, an intriguing short piece on YouTube videos, which asks if this might be “the world’s first international user generated propaganda war?”

2. When the crisis …

Coming Distractions: Wolf Totem, Nicole Barnes

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In just a few days, famed translator Howard Goldblatt’s latest book, Wolf Totem, will be released to eager readers of Chinese literature in English translation. Having proven his mettle as translator of Xiao Hong’s angsty prose and Mo Yan’s morbidly lascivious novels, Goldblatt has now tried his hand at a certain piece of nostalgic drivel that leaked from the pen of Jiang Rong, a newly acclaimed novelist whose original work, Lang Tuteng, appeared in 2004 after more than 30 years of labor and immediately shot to the top of the bestseller lists, selling two million bookstore copies and countless more …

China Travel: Finding The "Real" China, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I recently received two new travel books (of sorts) in my mailbox, one of which I wrote a few short bits for. Beijing Time by Michael Dutton, with Hsiu-ju Stacy Lo and Dong Dong Wu, (due out in May from Harvard University Press) andUrbanatomy: Shanghai 2008, edited by Nick Land (published by China Intercontinental Press in 2007) fall at opposite ends of a rather loosely envisioned “travel book” spectrum, but both promise an on-the-ground look at “new” China.

Beijing Time, by Goldsmiths, University of London Professor of Politics Michael Dutton and independent scholars Hsiu-ju Stacy Lo and Dong Dong Wu …

Tibet: Background On Current Events And Their History

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A third installment of readings on Tibet.

1) This insightful piece on the economic roots of discontent in Tibet by Pankaj Mishra, an Indian intellectual who wrote an illuminating essay in the New Yorker last year about the impact of the new railroad through the Himalayas and recently was in China.

2) A careful day-to-day reconstruction of events, which highlight violence done by both sides on dramatic individual days such as March 14.

3) A fascinating look at the life and thought of the Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer, who has just published a book based on many years of …

It’S Still The Economy, Stupid

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Ma Ying-jeou’s convincing victory in Taiwan’s presidential election shows that the politics of fear are no match for the politics of the pocketbook. While the sight of four KMT legislators trying to force their way into the DPP campaign headquarters raised the specter of a return to the dreaded days of the White Terror, a majority of voters seem to have been convinced by the slew of apologies that followed, and assumed that Ma’s victory would end eight years of government gridlock that had contributed to Taiwan’s economic slowdown. While Ma’s hesitancy to explain whether he had formally renounced his …

The Election In Taiwan: The View From And Implications For The United States, Yong Chen

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As American attention is captivated by the war in Iraq and, more recently, our own upcoming national election, another important event is about to take place on the other side of the Pacific Ocean: the presidential election of Taiwan on March 21 (March 22 local time). This event is of great importance to the United States for a number of reasons. First, there is the economic significance of Taiwan, which has emerged in recent decades as an important player in the global economy, especially in the IT sector. For instance, over 90% of the world’s OEM notebook PCs comes out …

Tibet: Further Reading

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few days ago, we published a handful of links to websites providing good or unique coverage of events or history related to the situation in Tibet. Here are six more.

1) A very timely joint review of two new books (one by noted travel writer Pico Iyer) that place Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s life into perspective have just appeared on the Economist‘s website.

2) An interesting extended look at how the current unrest compares with and is linked to events of the 1950s and 1980s, written by an adviser to the Tibetan government in exile.

3) If …

In Case You Missed It: China Road, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

So many authors and pundits today attempt to predict China’s future by looking at the numbers: GDP, population, military spending, trade surplus, environmental measurements. Taking any combination of these figures, it is easy to declare that China is either a rising superpower, destined for world domination, or a teetering giant, bound only for disaster. The fact that both perspectives can—and have—been argued indicates the complexity of China’s situation and the inability of statistics to predict much of anything.

Rob Gifford, former Beijing correspondent for National Public Radio, took a three thousand mile-long journey along China’s Route 312, from Shanghai to …

Information On The Tibet Situation

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Many of us here at China Beat have been following very closely the story on the recent uprisings in Tibet and neighboring provinces. These are the sources we’ve been reading; if you have other recommendations for solid reporting and commentary on this developing situation, please post them in the comments section.

1. James Miles (Beijing bureau chief for the Economist and the author of The Legacy of Tiananmen: China in Disarray, on China in the aftermath of 1989) is apparently the only Western journalist who is or was in Lhasa. He’s published good reports like this one on the Economist‘s …

Blogging From The China Book Festivals

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For the past week, all over China, writers have been bumping into each other at hotel check-ins, or at breakfast, in taxi queues. They have waved/hugged/air kissed, and asked: “Are you doing Beijing? Shanghai? Suzhou? Chengdu? Hong Kong….?” (In terms of one-upmanship a simple ‘yes’ to each can’t be beaten.)

Who’d have thought it? Book festivals – originally the cultural preserve of western cities – are popping up in several of China’s big urban centers. With one major difference, of course – they are run and largely attended by a rapidly growing population of expatriates. Much of the content is …

I Know, It’S Only Rock’N’Roll (But They Don’T Like It)

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This posting about the politics of pop concerts in Shanghai is mostly about an American duo (Jan and Dean), whose hits included “Surf City,” and the hard-to-categorize Icelandic songstress Bjork, who last week made headlines anddrew the ire of the Chinese state by saying the words “Tibet, Tibet” after performing a song called “Declare Independence” (on the heels of which, there wasapparent tinkering with Harry Connick Jr.’s song list at a recent performance). It still seemed right, though, to give the piece a title adapted from a song by a famous British band. Why? Because the Rolling Stones, like Bjork …