Jottings from the Granite Studio

Journalist and historian Yang Jisheng has published what many inside and outside the PRC are calling the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched account of the horrific famine that took place during the “Great Leap Forward.” The two-volume book, Tombstone 墓碑, is the result of nearly decades spent traversing China, integrating oral histories with previously unreleased [...]

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“Ann Condi” writes at Danwei about participating  in the CCTV gala Bai Nian Yuan Meng, “A One Hundred Year Dream.” Generally, speaking the author’s experience tends to confirm what I’ve always suspected in terms of the micromanagement and addled political thinking that goes into creating one of these spectacles.  Too many good parts to adequately [...]

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