Jottings from the Granite Studio

On a Sunday morning with thoughts of the role of the media and the power of the press fresh on my mind, I thought it appropriate to note this passage from one of Modern China’s early influential journalists, Liang Qichao. Here Liang is writing in the inaugural issue of his newspaper The Eastern Times (时报), […]

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As the fascinating rapproachment between historical frienemies the KMT and the CCP continues, The China Daily is citing Chiang Kai-shek as proof “Τibet has always been a part of China.”
The papers, co-released by the Hoover Institution, under Stanford University of the United States, and Shanghai’s Fudan University, comprise archival documents and telegrams from T. V. […]

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In response to a comment left on an earlier post, I’ve posted a new essay at The China Beat on western media bias and the ongoing situation in Τibet. (Mainland link)
“It’s true that following the outbreak of unrest on March 14, many in the foreign media dropped the ball, in some cases due to […]

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One of the more persistent myths of Qing dynasty (1644-1912) history is the hoary old story of the Manchu conquerors realizing their inherent inferiority and meekly taking on the culture of their subjects. The essence of the argument is that the success of the Qing in conquering and ruling such a large empire was due […]

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I know, I know…NCAA pool brackets are like children, never talk about them because either people have some of their own (and so don’t care about yours) or they don’t (and so wouldn’t understand anyway.)
Nevertheless in the interest of holding myself up for public ridicule, here goes:
UNC, Tennessee, Kansas, Georgetown, Memphis, Texas, UCLA, and Duke […]

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As regards the situation in Τibet, I’ve said elsewhere that history is a slippery ally when forced into the service of contemporary political disputes.
Let’s set aside the Mongols for a moment. They ruled an empire that stretched from Korea to Kiev, so one could use the Khans to make all kinds of territorial claims. Yuan […]

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In light of recent events these past two weeks and an incredibly tight schedule by your correspondent, I’m posting a few links from the Granite Studio archives.
Tsering Shakya on “Tibet: Does History Matter?”
Ge Jianxiong: “To exaggerate the size of China’s historical territory is not patriotic.”
Images of Tibet and China from 1940
Protests at the […]

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I’m still posting updates on events over at The Peking Duck and there is quite the conversation going on as well. Many sites, including The Opposite End of China and You Tube are down. Obviously journalists and foreigners in general are being denied access to affected areas. Members of the Tibetan community here in […]

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Some notes from Saturday’s Dodgers/Padres game here in Beijing.

Overall, we had a great time. It was a beautiful day for baseball. A little chilly and windy perhaps, but nice sunny skies.

Wukesong Baseball Stadium was not particularly impressive, but suitable for the purpose. It has an obvious “won’t be around in 2009″ feel with temporary […]

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Over at The Peking Duck, we’re trying to track the developments coming out of Lhasa and other ethnic Tibetan areas of China, as you might imagine there’s a lively discussion going on in the comments section. For images, be sure to check out Michael’s montage over at The Opposite End of China.
China Digital Times is […]

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