The Historical Record for March 10, 2009: 50th Anniversary of the Τibetan Uprising and the Six Degrees of the CCP

This is the big story today so I am not going to rehash it, except to say that I very much doubt there will be  widespread unrest; the government is taking no chances, and large areas of Western China are effectively under martial law.  Even in tiny and relatively peaceful Zhongdian (the so-called “Shangri-la County” in Northwest Yunnan) there were several truckloads of soldiers being moved into position while we were there last week.  The airwaves and print media in China are filled with stories emphasizing the Han Chinese version of Τibetan history at the expense of any other possible perspective, and the propaganda machine is hard at work splicing footage of happy, dancing (because in the world according to CCTV, what else can minorities really do except dance?) Τibetans grateful for the blessings bestowed upon them by the Chinese Communist Party.

Some of the Tibetan villagers we stayed with last week had posters of Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping and spoke of the benefits of Chinese modernization, while others secretly displayed photos of the Dalai Lama and wished for his return. Unsurprisingly, given the enormous complexity of this issue, there were a wide range of views even in just

March 10th, 2009

From the Granite Studio Archives: From imperial subjects to national citizens

Ed note: As was the case last year, the issue of Tibet is very much on people’s minds this March.  This is a post from March 2008 that I think best summarizes my view on the subject.  It began as an answer to questions in a class and morphed into a longer essay.  I’m back this weekend, look for new posts starting next week.

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As regards the situation in Τibet, I’ve said elsewhere that history is a slippery ally when forced into the service of contemporary political disputes.

Let’s set aside the Mongols for a moment. They ruled an empire that stretched from Korea to Kiev, so one could use the Khans to make all kinds of territorial claims. Yuan (1279-1368) rule was extremely short in duration anyway, and most of the territories outside China proper were beyond Ming (1368-1644) control for nearly 300 years.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) is a good place to start as the Manchus did maintain garrisons on the Τibetan plateau while administering the region through local elites. The Qing rulers, great patrons of Lamamism, consolidated their rule by maintaining cultural and religious ties with Τibet beyond mere military occupation. They also–generally but not

March 6th, 2009

From the Granite Studio Archives: Tales of Spring Festivals past and and stories told around the dinner table

Ed Note: This is one of my favorite posts, in part because it was such a personal experience to write it. It was written on the third day of the New Year in 2007.

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This past week as we sat down to another of many dinners, I had the pleasure of talking with YJ’s grandmother. “Lao Lao” was born to a well-to-do family and had gone to missionary school in the 1930s and 1940s in Tianjin. (She scared the hell out of me when I first met her a few years ago by suddenly turning to me and requesting, in perfectly enunciated English, to “Please have a seat.”) She told us stories of when the Japanese invaded Tianjin and she and her classmates rushed to the roof of their school to see the troops coming down the road. She told of her mother who used to dress her daughters up in rags and blacken their faces. “Japanese are superstitious and wouldn’t interfere with us (a euphemism for “rape”) because they would be afraid we were ghosts or devils.” She talked of how the KMT soldiers, marching into Tianjin after the Japanese surrendered, were so addicted to opium

March 4th, 2009

From the Granite Studio Archives: Pulp Fiction and Apartment Hunting in Beijing

Ed note: I’ve posted this a couple of times before.  It’s one of my favorites.  Just know, in my defense, that I was pretty much apoplectic when I wrote this and I think it kinda shows.  Anyway, have a laugh at my expense and enjoy, I’ll be back posting new material very soon.

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Yeah, this post is a little out of character and a bit too long but it’s….cathartic.

YJ and I just spent four days in Beijing apartment-hunting. It did not go well. After trying to decide between two apartments (the cozy love nest or the mack daddy shack) we decided to stall a bit and look some more. One of our agents, Miriam, called us on Saturday, the day we were to leave, with news of a great apartment that would be perfect for us. The following series of events takes place over the course of 24 hours and is so banal and yet so twisted and stupefying that I thought I would let the master, Quentin Tarantino, take a crack at scripting what took place:

I’m American, honey. Our names don’t mean shit.

Our agent Miriam was wonderful, sweet, and honest which meant she

March 2nd, 2009
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