Lies My Teacher Told Me: Chinese-Language Preface,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Chinese-Language Preface
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Earlier this week, we published an English translation of the preface that James W. Loewen penned for the Chinese edition of his bestselling book
A Coming Sino-U.S. Currency Battle? Obama Speaks Out About The Renminbi,
2010
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
A Coming Sino-U.S. Currency Battle? Obama Speaks Out About The Renminbi, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
On November 19, 2009, I posted a story here at China Beat that I titled “The Good, the Bad, and the Boring.” The article was a review of Barack Obama’s first presidential visit to China, during which he held a somewhat bland town hall meeting in Shanghai, performed the de rigueur tours of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and met with Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders behind closed doors. All in all, Obama’s trip seemed to be little more than an icebreaker, a quick and innocuous introduction to one of America’s most important strategic partners. But that …
Where To Begin: Five (Or More) Books About Daoism,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Where To Begin: Five (Or More) Books About Daoism, Ian Johnson
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
With all the attention to Confucius and Confucianism, it is easy to forget how important other philosophical and religious traditions have been in shaping China’s past and influencing its present. Ian Johnson helps rectify this imbalance of coverage with “The Rise of the Tao,” a long essay in the latest issue of the New York Times Sunday Magazine that highlights the significance of the Daoist revival and introduces readers to an abbess who is part of this resurgence of belief. As the very first journalist China Beat ever interviewed for the site (and someone who took part in a China …
Queueing,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Queueing
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
“In queue to visit the Indian pavilion at Shanghai’s World Expo, the man in front of me purveys what will be another hour of standing in the drizzle.
China’S Glee,
2010
University of Manchester
China’S Glee, William A. Callahan
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Since mid-2009, China has become much more assertive in world affairs, taking positions that challenge the US and Europe on numerous fronts including climate change, exchange rates, nuclear Iran, cyber security, and human rights. This list of problems came as a surprise to the many experts who for the past decade have been telling us that China’s peaceful rise demonstrates that Beijing has been socialized into the international system as a responsible actor.
Book Tour Updates: Mid-May Talks,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Book Tour Updates: Mid-May Talks
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
When the dust settles from my still-in-progress “book tour for the post-book tour age” (as I’ve taken to calling the series of events relating to China in the 21st Century that I’ve been taking part in, sometimes having the stage to myself, sometimes sharing it with others), I’m going to try to write something about the experience as a whole (though there won’t be any video log of my travels a la theones by Rebecca Skloot I’ve been enjoying: h/t to Mara H. for leading me to them on the web). But for now I’m still too busy accumulating frequent …
Expo Stories: Trying To Keep Up From Afar,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Expo Stories: Trying To Keep Up From Afar
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
When the first World’s Fair, the Crystal Palace Exhibition, took place in 1851, it did so amidst much breathless talk of a new technology of communication that was capable of sending information across vast distances at incredible speed. That then novel but now very old “new media” invention was the telegraph, which inspired commentary much like that we’ve heard recently regarding the Internet. And it is thanks to the wonders of that newest of new media, the Internet, that I have been able to follow the final lead up to and first days of the 2010 World Expo from afar, …
Shanghai Illuminations: 1890-2010,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Shanghai Illuminations: 1890-2010
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
As I’ve noted in previous blog posts, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately giving talks about my new book, China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know. And as followers of my blog posts also know, the 2010 Expo is one of the many topics addressed in that book, where I treat it largely, as an excerpt that went online a week ago illustrates, in terms of its connections to the 2008 Beijing Games. Right now, though, I’m at Yale for a conference and preparing to give a joint presentation with Rebecca Nedostup that focuses on …
In Case You Missed It: Fractured Rebellion,
2010
School of Oriental and African Studies
In Case You Missed It: Fractured Rebellion, John Gittings
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
A group of former Red Guards at Beijing’s Qinghua University, interviewed in spring 1971 about their recent factional struggles, laughed loudly (always a sign of uneasiness) and made their “frank confession”: yes, they had not always behaved in a spirit of proletarian comradeship, they admitted. “We used to sit on either side of the table and agree to make up our differences, but even while we shook hands we were kicking one other under the table!”.
What I Read On My Summer Vacation (Part I),
2010
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
What I Read On My Summer Vacation (Part I), Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
As the end of summer vacation quickly draws near, we at The China Beat have been talking about what we read during our break from the academic grind. The summer provides an opportunity to catch up on books we missed, check out some more eclectic choices, and even read ahead when publishers are nice enough to share advance copies of forthcoming titles. Rather than just keep these conversations in-house, we decided to write up short “book reports” on some of the China-related works, both new and old, we’ve been enjoying during these summer months.
My Cousin,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
My Cousin, Zhang Lijia
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
My cousin died in Nanjing shortly before his 56th birthday this September, killed by multiple myeloma, a rare and nasty form of blood cancer.
A Tale Of Three Mega-Events,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
A Tale Of Three Mega-Events, Jeffrey Wasserstrom
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
What can we learn, about either the People’s Republic of China or India and about what makes the two countries similar to and different from one another, by placing recent mega-events in these two young nation-states side by side? As a China specialist who watched the Beijing Olympics from afar with great interest in 2008, spent a month in Shanghai last summer while it played host to the 2010 World Expo, and is now nearing the end of his first stay in India, which took place in an autumn week that began right after the Commonwealth Games had concluded, I’ve …
Reading Round-Up: October 31, 2010,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Reading Round-Up: October 31, 2010
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Today’s reading round-up is in a somewhat different format from the one we generally use: instead of just listing links, we’ve first grouped our reading recommendations around two broad topics that have been in the news lately, then included some stand-alone stories at the end.
Here, There, And Everywhere: Upcoming Events,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Here, There, And Everywhere: Upcoming Events
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
If you have a bit of free time, check out one of these China-related talks around the world this week and next:
Basketbrawls Past And Present,
2010
Saint Joseph's University
Basketbrawls Past And Present, James Carter
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Many readers have by now heard of the brawl that broke out in the first half of an international basketball match between China and Brazil on October 12 in Henan province. The international “friendly” became increasingly chippy as the Chinese side objected to hard fouls and “dirty” play by the Brazilians. Dissatisfied with the officials’ response, the Chinese team (and its American coach, it should be noted) took matters into its own hands:
China, In Dim Light,
2010
University of California, Irvine
China, In Dim Light, Pierre Fuller
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
On a train moving across north China last year, a girl, blond hair reaching down to her waist, maybe 15, darted past my bottom perch in the hard sleeper. As much as her hair, it was the colorful ankle-length dress she wore that caught my eye, the kind I’d spotted on girls in places like rural Utah and Nevada. I could have sworn I’d seen an apparition, but settled anyway back into my book.
A House Museum Café: Part 1,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
A House Museum Café: Part 1, Leksa Chmielewski
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
In American museums, the museum gift shop or café stands as a constant reminder—before exhibit visits, after them, even in between them—of the dire financial straights in which nonprofits chronically find themselves. Museum gift shops and cafes are multiplying in Chinese museums too, even though the vast majority of Chinese museums are state-affiliated and enjoy full government funding. Chinese academics who work with museums lament that the Chinese museum scene still has much to learn from the American nonprofit-based system—but if that implies budget cuts, layoffs and a proliferation of museum shops selling finger-puppet versions of classic paintings, it’s not …
Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize: Readings And Reactions,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize: Readings And Reactions
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
When we heard of Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel Peace Prize win last week, we quickly reached out to a variety of China Beatniks and asked for either their reactions to the news or links to any writings they had done on Liu in the past. Below are some of the responses we received.
Readings On Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize, Part 2,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Readings On Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize, Part 2
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Many more commentaries about Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Peace Prize have been published since we collected an initial round of readings on Friday. Here’s the latest:
First Reactions: Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
First Reactions: Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Here in California, we woke up early this morning to the news that Liu Xiaobo had indeed been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There’s been an outpouring of coverage in the hours since Liu’s win was announced, which will surely continue in the days to come; at the moment, “Liu Xiaobo” and “Nobel Peace Prize” are also in Twitter’s top-ten trending topics worldwide. We’ve been combing through news stories and tweets and put together this quick list of readings:
