花崗齋雜記

Jottings from the Granite Studio provides commentary, analysis, and opinion on China and Chinese history. It is written by Jeremiah Jenne, a PhD Candidate at a large public research university in Northern California. Currently, Jeremiah is in Beijing teaching history, doing archival research, and working on his dissertation.

From the Granite Studio Archives

日曆

September 2008
M T W T F S S
« Aug   Oct »
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930  

 Subscribe in a reader

Mainland China Feeds

feedsky
google reader
bloglines
my yahoo
newsgator
netvibes

On railways and history and the railroading of history

The building of railways in China has had a tortured history. Early attempts were foiled by residents who feared the building of tracks would disturb grave sites and upset an area’s natural harmony.  Laborers who made their living driving cart mules or pulling barges naturally felt threatened by competition.  Despite the best efforts of reform-minded officials [...]

September 4th, 2008 | Tags: , , | Category: Chinese History | 7 comments - (Comments are closed)

CSM: “An experiment in democracy leads to fierce resistance”

There are situations where the venality of officials transcends the usual debate over political systems and makes me despair not for any particular locality or government, but for human nature in general. This is just such a case.

From The Christian Science Monitor:

“When Fang Zhaojuan began organizing her neighbors here to impeach village leaders whom she suspected of corruption, she had [...]

September 4th, 2008 | Tags: , , , | Category: Chinese politics | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)