Penny For A Photo,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Penny For A Photo
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
“In the Tibetan town of Tagong, Western Sichuan, this local poses enthusiastically for my camera.
Aha Update: Conference On Asian History Luncheon,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Aha Update: Conference On Asian History Luncheon
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
A quick note to call your attention to a scheduling change at this week’s American Historical Association meeting in San Diego:
China Beat At Aha,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
China Beat At Aha
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
For those attending the American Historical Association meeting in San Diego next week:
Mao Fever And The Story Of A Mao Book,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Mao Fever And The Story Of A Mao Book, Ross Terrill
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
No abstract provided.
As China Beat Heads Into Its Third Year…,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
As China Beat Heads Into Its Third Year…, Kate Merkel-Hess
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
In January, we marked the end of our second year online. China Beat has changed a lot during that time, and will be changing more in the coming weeks and months as China Beat’s new editor, Maura Cunningham, takes the helm. It’s been my pleasure to have been founding editor of China Beat, and as I transition to a new role at the blog (I will now join the ranks of the blog’s consulting editors), I wanted to look back at how China Beat has developed since January 2008—for new readers and for readers who have been with us since …
A Seventh Take On Jacques,
2010
University of Oslo
A Seventh Take On Jacques, Harald Bockman
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Since Jeff Wasserstrom posted a round-up of reviews of Martin Jacques’ When China Rules the World, pieces that reference the book have continued to be published, including a column by Robert Samuelson at the Wall Street Journalthat calls Jacques’ book ”masterful.” Jacques, meanwhile, published another op-ed on China and the US last week titled ”Crouching Dragon, Weakened Eagle” in the International Herald Tribune. Below, Harald Bockman raises his concerns about the on-going attention Jacques’ book is receiving, and points out—despite that attention—the weakness in the book that most reviewers are still missing.
Reading Round-Up: Barack Obama And The Dalai Lama,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Reading Round-Up: Barack Obama And The Dalai Lama
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
There have been plenty of news stories recently about today’s meeting between Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. Here are some suggestions for further reading (and viewing):
China Tweetniks,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
China Tweetniks
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Those who follow China Beat on Twitter might have noticed that our long-neglected feed has shown signs of awakening lately.
Another Side Of The Shanghai World Expo: Forum On Ict And Urban Development,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Another Side Of The Shanghai World Expo: Forum On Ict And Urban Development, Susan Brownell
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
This posting marks my return to blogging after a break following my participation in the founding of The China Beat in 2008 with my postings from Beijing leading up to the Olympics. Contacts I made during the Olympics led to an invitation to do some informal work for the Forum Department of the Expo Organizing Bureau, and so I am now in Shanghai and blogging about China’s second mega-event.
Continuing Coverage Of Country Driving,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Continuing Coverage Of Country Driving
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
We’ve reviewed Country Driving, and have been reading what others think of the book as well. Reviews are appearing in a variety of places: just a few we’ve seen are at Urbanatomy, The Boston Globe, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
Peter Hessler At Uci,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Peter Hessler At Uci
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
A few images from today’s “conversation” between Peter Hessler (currently on tour to promote his newest book, Country Driving) and Ken Pomeranz at the University of California, Irvine, with almost 100 in attendance.
Rebuilding,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Rebuilding, Paul Katz
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Just over five months have passed since the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot, and the survivors of the Siaolin Village 小林村 tragedy are coping as best they can with a lot of help from their friends, charitable organizations, and the government. However, the effects of the disaster still linger. Over 400 bodies of victims buried or washed away in the mudslide that followed hours of torrential rains will never be recovered, and there is not a large enough tract of arable land in the unscathed portions of Siaolin, or even all of Chia-hsien Township 甲仙鄉, to rebuild a community sufficient …
What Does China Imagine?,
2010
University of California, Los Angeles
What Does China Imagine?, Guangyi Li
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
One day when I was four, I found an interesting book on the shelf, called A Strange Patient. This anthology starts with an impressive piece of science fiction,Miracle on the World’s Highest Peak by Ye Yonglie. The story describes an investigation of Mount Everest, where, with some Tibetans’ help, scientists find a precious dinosaur egg embedded in amber and preserved intact over time. Unlike their counterparts in Jurassic Park, however, the Chinese scientists don’t extract dinosaur genes and clone this extinguished species. Instead, they hatch a baby dinosaur!
Jia Zhangke Does Shanghai…And Other Notes From The Field,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Jia Zhangke Does Shanghai…And Other Notes From The Field
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
In addition to checking out the Expo (something I’ve blogged about before and will blog about again) and hosting a series of dialogs at M on the Bund’s Glamour Bar (the last of which takes place this Sunday at 2:30 and will find me in conversation about writing for the web and for print with Evan Osnos of the New Yorker magazine and the excellent “Letter from China” blog), I’ve been trying to take advantage of any opportunities that come along in terms of local cultural events. On the whole, I think I’ve been very lucky with my timing.
Me, Wang Hui, And Liberal Wishy-Washy-Ness,
2010
nstitute of Modern History, Academia Sinica.
Me, Wang Hui, And Liberal Wishy-Washy-Ness, Peter Zarrow
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Wang Hui is a cultural historian and critic, and professor at Qinghua University in Beijing. He was for several years editor of Dushu, a serious general interest magazine perhaps roughly — very roughly — equivalent to the Atlantic monthly in the US. He is also known as a leader of the so-called “New Left” intellectuals, who highlight the costs of economic liberalization, global capitalism, and rigid Western-style modernization policies. Early this year, charges of plagiarism began to appear concerning some of some of Wang Hui’s work. He has since been subject to numerous attacks, including ad hominen blog attacks.
Joan Hinton (1921-2010),
2010
Northwestern University
Joan Hinton (1921-2010), Charles W. Hayford
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Joan Hinton died last month in a Beijing hospital at the age of 88. It was surprising that so many mainstream American newspapers ran detailed obituaries. Hinton had lived in China since 1948, mostly running dairy farms, and she didn’t go out of her way to address Americans, as did her brother, William, author of the classic Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village (1967). She did publicly attack American imperialism — in 2006, she displayed a T shirt reading “F—k Bush” in Chinese.
Reading Round-Up, 1/31/2010,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Reading Round-Up, 1/31/2010
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
1. While quite a few writers have discussed the Avatar-versus-Confucius battle currently going on in Chinese cinemas (China Beat posts on the subject can be found here and here), the December 2009 issue of China Heritage Quarterlyincludes a piece by Gloria Davies and M.E. Davies on another attention-getting film, The Founding of a Republic. The authors point out that the movie, released to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the PRC’s founding, is notable for setting forth a new narrative about the events leading up to October 1, 1949:
Google And China: The Analysis Continues,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Google And China: The Analysis Continues
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
Almost three weeks have passed since Google’s January 12 announcement that it would be reconsidering its Chinese operations, and although the company has not yet indicated a final decision about its future in China, the issues raised by this matter have sparked a number of thoughtful analyses. Yesterday, China Beatfeatured a piece by Geremie Barmé on “The Harmonious Evolution of Information in China”; below, some more recent commentaries on the Google and China story that have gotten our attention:
Christ In Pingyao,
2010
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Christ In Pingyao
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
In the old town of Pingyao, right next to the Confucius temple, Christmas banners still hang on a Catholic Church, built 1910. Mr Zhang, housesitting the Church while its priest is away, stands messianically in his room, shortly after his quiet attempts to convert me.
The Harmonious Evolution Of Information In China,
2010
The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
The Harmonious Evolution Of Information In China, Geremie R. Barme
China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012
As the contretemps involving Google’s conflicted presence in the People’s Republic of China unfolds, it is timely to recall one anniversary that passed by all but unnoticed in 2009: that of a covert Cold War-era clash between John Foster Dulles and Mao Zedong in 1959. This overlooked anniversary is worth recalling now, since it is of particular relevance to contextualizing the remarks—and the Chinese response to those remarks—that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made regarding Internet freedom and US policy at the Newseum in Washington on 21 January 2010 (see here for full text of Clinton’s speech).
