Jottings from the Granite Studio

We’re back for Part II of the 20^th Asian History Carnival. As one correspondent drolly noted after going through yesterday’s links, there is more to Asia than China and more to China than Beijing.  Really? I dunno. I’m one of those annoying pseudo-Beijingers who feel the world pretty much drops off after the Fourth Ring Road. Even Fengtai should be marked on maps with the warning “Here be Monsters.”

Also…I’ve found even more links than I thought I had found. (Yeesh, who knew 10 hours a day translating Qing documents would leave me unable to write in any language other than “Yogi Berra.”) Anyway, what this means is that we’ll be having a Part III of the Asian History Carnival tomorrow.  That’s right, a three-ring AHC…I. Really. Need. To. Go. Outside. More.

On to the links…

The exploration of the Nanhai I, a sunken treasure ship dating from the Southern Song, has finally been raised from its watery grave in the South China Sea. The wreck will be stored in a water tank which recreates the conditions on the ocean floor but still allow visitors to the Yangjiang, Guangdong municipal museum to watch as archaeologists continue to excavate and study the wreck.

Yeah, I know…more Beijing, but this is still very cool. Local author Eric Abrahamsen is putting the finishing touches on his Beijing by Foot guide. This handy set of cards details over forty walks around the city of Beijing with a fantabulous amount of information on historic buildings and places. Those wishing a sneak peak-and some bonus information not available in the published deck-can check out Eric’s Beijing by Foot blog.

At Frog in a Well, Alan Baumler kicks off a post with provocative statement that “Chinese history sucks…as a profession anyway.” Click here to find out why.

Unsurprisingly, the summer movie hit Kung Fu Panda has sparked mixed reactions here in China. Some commentators, notably Panda-man Zhao Bandi, whose black and white fashion designs take their cue from the bumbling bamboo-munching creature, have slammed the movie for exploiting Chinese culture. (The fact that Steven Spielberg is involved probably doesn’t help its popularity among the fenqing-angry youth-brigade.)  Nevertheless, Sam at The Useless Tree took his daughter to see the film and left the cineplex, as only Sam can, pondering questions about Taoism, Orientalism, and just how it all relates to pandas.

In an op-ed piece published in the International Herald Tribune, Philip Bowring warns that for all the attention paid to popular nationalism among Chinese youth, nationalism in Korea potentially could be just as damaging to regional stability. Further commentary can be found here.

P K Cassel blogs at The China Beat about how to translate “Tiananmen” (天安门), wit ha post that is a real treat for Sinologists and lovers of linguistics.

CCTV has posted a report and online video from Xinzheng, Henan, where two royals tombs have been uncovered by the North-South Water Transfer Project (don’t ask). According to the head of the archeological team, both tombs date to the late Warring States Period of the 3rd century BC.

Ian Lynam has a series of posts Néojaponisme on the subject of Meeting Modernity, inspired by a collection of pictures and documents recently unearthed outside of the city of Sano in Tochigi-ken which captures Japan just as it begins to engage modernity and commercial photography at the turn of the 20^th century. Further examples can be found here, here, here, and here.

Most historians of Asia are familiar with the whimsical ideas of Gavin Menzies. Fewer perhaps have been exposed to humorist Nury Vittachi’s theories on Asia and exploration. Not particularly PC, but a great read nonetheless.

New light is shed on George H.W. Bush’s tenure in Beijing with the publication of The China Diary of George H.W. Bush, edited by Jeffrey E. Engel. James Mann has a review in The New Republic.

The Beijing News has been recycling articles from thirty years ago which provides readers with a fascinating glimpse at life way back in 29 B.O. (Before Olympics). Eric Mu has posted two translations at Danwei: “1978: Choosing students to be sent abroad priority on foreign language skills not political considerations“; and “Big Bowl Tea and days when they were young” from 1979.

Finally, Jonathan Fenby, author of the recently published Penguin History of Modern China, reflects in The Times on thirty years of opening and reform in China, and wonders if the next thirty years might mean a hearkening back to the past.

More tomorrow.