Jottings from the Granite Studio

A Qing historian reads the newspaper…

Jottings from the Granite Studio header image 4

Bad History: Charles “Chinese” Gordon on NPR

July 28th, 2008 · No Comments

Listening to NPR this evening, today’s installment of the series “China Rising” looks at the China-Africa connection through the life and career of British army officer and adventurer Charles “Chinese” Gordon (1833-1885).  Gordon took over for Frederick Townsend Ward against the Taiping in 1862 and was later killed by the forces of Mahdi Mohammed Ahmed [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Chinese History

Christian Science Monitor Olympic Blog

July 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Shameless promotion….
The Christian Science Monitor has a new blog, Olympic Glory, up and running.  Yeah, I know I’m biased (YJ works for the CSM), but for my money, the Monitor has consistently published interesting stories on China while avoiding some of the sensationalism and bias associated with the ‘foreign media in Beijing.’
Be sure to check [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Recommended Readings

The Historical Record for July 28, 2008: Tangshan

July 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment

At 3:42 local time on July 28, 1976, a massive earthquake struck the Hebei industrial town of Tangshan, destroying the city and damaging buildings in neighboring Beijing and Tianjin.  The official figure issued by the Chinese government (Read: The number the politicians pulled out of their ass) was 242,000 killed.  Other estimates, including initial reports, [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Chinese History