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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, place the number of casualties as high as 655,000.
China refused international aid and the internal response was hindered by government infighting, bureaucratic incompetence, and the incessant prioritizing of politics over all else. Chairman Mao was on his deathbed that summer, and the political ramifications of a natural disaster striking as the Helsman lay dying were hardly lost on his bevy of lackeys and supporters. It was after all the final years of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Enlai had died that spring, and an impromptu memotial service for the fallen premier grew into a series of massive demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Zhou’s protege Deng Xiaoping, who once again had been removed from power, was biding his time, knowing the political winds were shifting, and waiting for the right moment to stage his umpteenth comeback. Mao’s wife Jiang Qing allegedly said regarding Tangshan: “So what? there
Well after one week of odd/even traffic restrictions, I stood on the pedestrian overpass on Chao Nei Dajie and looked west. On a good day, you can see Xiang Shan and the Western Hills. Today you could see about 200 meters and then the street dissolved into a smog bank so thick it was positively science fiction. On the plus side, the streets have been much more civilized of late with half the cars removed. Traffic flows better and the number of heinous snarls replete with the useless and repetitive blaring of horns has been nicely minimized. While I haven’t seen any noticeable improvement in air quality downtown, taking half the cars off of Beijing’s streets isn’t the worst idea in the world and for what it’s worth I’d be all for making these restrictions permanent. On the subject of traffic, and since nobody asked, making Nanluoguxiang and the streets around Qianhai, Houhai, and Xihai pedestrian-only would be a nice step in improving the quality of those neighborhoods and demonstrating the Beijing government’s progressive attitude to planning an urban space not beholden to the internal combustion engine. YJ won a lottery for Olympic baseball tickets an Olympic baseball ticket.
On this date in 146 A.D., the treacherous Han Dynasty courtier and official Liang Ji (梁冀) poisoned the young Emperor Zhi (Liu Zuan b. 138). Liang Ji was the brother of the Empress Dowager and he used his position to amass considerable wealth, power and political control, making deals with eunuchs, allegedly carrying out homosexual and heterosexual affairs with key people (though his wife Sun Shou was the real player), intimidating upright officials…the standard playbook for usurpers in Chinese history. Even at a tender age, the Emperor Zhi was aware of Liang Ji’s machinations, and called him out at a morning assembly, referring to Liang as an ‘arrogant general.’ On July 26, 146, Liang got his revenge, and had the Emperor’s soup poisoned. Following the death of the Emperor, Liang was able to establish his younger brother-in-law Liu Zhi (132-168) as the Emperor Huan. Ironically, Emperor Huan would ultimately tire of Liang’s activities and ordered his arrest and execution in 159.
Speaking of batshit in-law usurpers, on July 26, 291 A.D., Empress Jia Nanfeng (257-300) took power from her husband, Emperor Hui of the Western Jin (Sima Zhong, 259-307). According to the standard histories, Emperor Hui was…let’s just say that
Today is the birthday of painter Xu Beihong (徐悲鸿), born this date in Yixing, Jiangsu in 1895. Xu studied painting in Shanghai until at the age of 22 he was hired by Cai Yuanpei to teach at Peking University. After a two-year stint at the university, Xu traveled to France where he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and later wandered around Europe, drawing and painting. He returned to China in 1927 teaching at several universities and academies and then organizing one of the first major overseas shows for contemporary Chinese painters which traveled to France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union. During World War II, Xu organized another show in Singapore; the proceeds the show going to aid those suffering as a result of the Japanese invasion. After the founding of the PRC, Xu was named as the first president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Xu’s paintings were immensely popular abroad, especially among the Nanyang Chinese community in Southeast Asia.
He died of a stroke in 1953 at his home in Beijing.
Also on this date in 1864, Zeng Guoquan (曾国荃), the brother of late-Qing überofficial Zeng Guofan (曾国藩), ordered his engineers to blow
Today is the birthday of Aisin-Gioro I Ju, the Xianfeng 咸丰 Emperor, born this day in 1831. He was the last of the Qing Emperors to take the throne after reaching the age of majority, but his short reign was nothing less than disastrous, a perfect embodiment of the Chinese phrase 内乱外患 (internal turmoil, external threats/calamity). Under his watch, the country became embroiled in the Taiping Rebellion which exposed the weakness of the central government to maintain order internally, and the emperor and his court were forced to flee in 1860 when the Anglo-French Expedition invaded the city of Beijing, seizing the capital and razing the palaces at Yuanmingyuan (Coincidentally, Xianfeng’s birthplace).
Xianfeng never returned to the city. He left the mess to be settled by his younger brother Yixin (Prince Gong) while the emperor stayed in the Qing palaces at Chengde, drinking and partying and…by the by…coming down with pneumonia. Xianfeng died in Chengde on August 22, 1861.
If that were all, Xianfeng would still be considered a crappy emperor, but to pile on: the man had terrible taste in women. Xianfeng was besotted by his concubine, the Lady Yehenara, who gave birth to his only son, Zaichun in 1856. Upon the death of Xianfeng, Zaichun was installed as the Tongzhi
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