Reading Round-Up
To start, a few pieces not related to the events in Xinjiang:1. “Edge of the American West,” a history/philosophy academic group blog, ran a piece today by David Silbey titled, “Death Preparatory to...
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Self-Promotion Saturday
By Ken Pomeranz“Self-promotion Saturday?”My mother would be appalled, but times (and media cultures) change, and I do have a few things that might be of interest to China Beat readers.In addition to...
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Shanghai Expo: The US Pavilion is On
Last November, we ran a little preview of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, pointing you to a few readings about this big “coming distraction.” Last week the US finally committed to attend the Expo, prompting a...
View ArticleChina Beatniks Around the Web
After a few weeks of vacation, China Beat is back to posting (though we considered making an 8 percent reduction in our future posts in honor of the UC furlough, we’ll just be back to business as...
View ArticleChina at the World’s Fairs
Five Things to Know about China's Links to World's Fairs and International ExpositionsBy Susan FernsebnerThe city of Shanghai will be the official host to Expo 2010, an international event celebrating...
View ArticleConfucianism in Chinese Academia
By Daniel A. BellOver the last decade or so, there has been a revival of Confucianism. Popular books on Confucianism are best sellers, and official discourse from the government often expresses...
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A Cultural Symbol Passes from the Scene: Ji Xianlin, Not Michael Jackson
By Timothy B. WestonIt’s been moving to watch the response in China to the July 11 death of renowned scholar, Ji Xianlin (1911-2009). While Ji’s unsurprising departure at the ripe old age of 98 has not...
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A Reader: The 2010 Asian Games
The PR folks for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou have added China Beat to their mailing list, so we got their note this week about organizers' plans to seed clouds to prevent rain during the Games....
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Brought to You by the People’s Republic of The Onion
By Haiyan LeeAmerica's finest news source The Onion has a new owner! Since last week, readers have been bombarded with the good tiding, from the modified masthead, logo, and tagline, to news headlines,...
View ArticleRace and Espionage
By Sam GoffmanThe fact that China and the US spy on each other should come as no surprise to anybody. Each country is nervous about the other, and espionage, though it is surely not conducted with the...
View ArticleThe Urumchi Unrest Revisited
The violence in Xinjiang took place almost a month ago, but it continues to generate interesting commentary (see, for example, this thoughtful essay by Pallavi Aiyar). The early July events have also...
View ArticleA Few Reading Recommendations
1. The new Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is out—and all its articles are available for free in PDF at its website. Those of possible interest to CB readers include:“Beijing Bubble, Beijing Bust:...
View ArticleReadings for August 3
1. An important story emerged this weekend in the blogosphere: Chinese legal scholar Xu Zhiyong was taken from his home by police last Wednesday and has not been seen since. From Evan Osnos at The New...
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In Case You Missed It: Cambridge Companion to Modern Chinese Culture
By Miri KimFor scholars of China who are interested in modernity, the looming question seems to be, is 'modernity' a valid and useful analytical category for describing, explaining, and understanding...
View ArticleFilthy Fiction: The Writings of Zhu Wen
By Julia LovellChinese fiction of the 1990s was not short on shock value. If we think of the decade’s cultural tone being set by Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 command to unleash commercial forces, then the...
View ArticleChina Behind the Headlines: Xu Zhiyong
A few days ago we suggested readings about the disappearance of legal scholar and activist Xu Zhiyong in Beijing. There has been more news on the subject here and here. China Beat contributor Susan...
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On the Web: Images of China
China Beat readers looking for cool “new” desktop pictures for their computers might want to think old. More and more archives are digitalizing their collections of photographs and making them...
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Rolling the Dice in Macau
It has been almost a decade now since China regained control of Macau, but the city’s present and future crops up in news coverage much less than Hong Kong, another reclaimed colony. We’re delighted,...
View ArticleChina’s Migrant Workers in the Wake of the Economic Crisis: Unemployed,...
By Robert D. O’BrienAfter growing at double-digit rates for most of the last three decades, the Chinese economy is now in jeopardy of failing to achieve the eight percent GDP expansion benchmark widely...
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Fell Rains
The people of southern Taiwan are suffering the ravages of the worst flooding to hit the island in 50 years. This tragedy was brought about by Typhoon Morakot, which combined with a tropical...
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Readings
There are several recent pieces on China's internet controls that are worth reading if you haven't already looked at them. First, "How China Polices the Internet" at Financial Times, gives an...
View ArticleReadings on Liu Xiaobo and Xu Zhiyong
News came today that legal scholar Xu Zhiyong was formally arrested last week, though he has not yet been charged, according to his lawyer (see recent China Beat posts on Xu Zhiyong here and here). Xu...
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Siaolin Stands Up
Bouncing over ruined roads washed out by Typhoon Morakot (some roadbeds have been transformed into river beds), a group of scholars (including myself) drove to the township of Chia-hsien 甲仙 (Kaohsiung...
View ArticleReadings: Expo Preparation, Food, Music, and Fashion
A variety of readings that piqued our interest this week:1. In a New York Times story, Howard French takes a look at the ongoing preparations in Shanghai as next year’s World Expo grows closer. In...
View ArticleA New Website
The China Beat is moving! Please update your bookmarks for our new website: http://www.thechinabeat.org/.Our new feed can be found at http://www.thechinabeat.org/?feed=rss2. This website will remain...
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