2014 - Jottings from the Granite Studio

Confucian Confusion

December 18, 2014

Last week, China named Cuban strongman Fidel Castro the latest recipient of the Confucius Peace Prize, but the Peace Prize isn’t China’s only wholesale commandeering of her most famous sage, known for his philosophy of ethics and morals. [Read More...]

From the Ruins of Empire…arise the nation-state

October 30, 2014

Empires want to be respected. Nation-states need to be loved. It's a simple formula, and one that I share with author and historian of empire Pankaj Mishra. [Read More...]

Censoring History

October 15, 2014

When an American historian tries to translate his latest book into Chinese, wacky hilarity ensues. . [Read More...]

And All My Words Come Back to Me…

October 14, 2014

As police move to take control of Queensway and city workers with power tools are dismantling the barricades, it's worth remembering that the PRC government was not always so threatened by unrest in Hong Kong. When it was Britain’s ox that was getting gored, China actually encouraged it. [Read More...]

Beware of Dog!

August 26, 2014

For whatever reason, a shocking number of people are terrified, actually overcome with fear by....Snickers. [Read More...]

Kennedy’s Aggression is Meeting with Growing Revulsion: 1962 Poster

August 22, 2014

What can a 1962 Xinhua poster tell us about Sino-US Relations during the Cold War? Guest post by author Scott D. Seligman. [Read More...]

Book Review: The Incarnations by Susan Barker

August 21, 2014

How many lifetimes does it take for two souls to truly bond? Susan Barker’s remarkable book The Incarnations is a time-bending fantasy with an unknown (and possible unreliable) narrator sweeping us down the rabbit hole of history. [Read More...]

Scenes from a Forbidden City…

March 29, 2014

Scenes from a Forbidden City....clear skies and heightened security. [Read More...]

Wealth and Power at Capital M

March 22, 2014

Historian John Delury gave an excellent talk at Capital M today about wealth and power as defining recent Chinese history, but how to fit a search for modernity into that equation? [Read More...]

Happy Learn from Lei Feng Day!

March 5, 2014

Just because Lei Feng's diary is about as real as a herd of purple unicorns doesn't take anything away from the central message: It's nice to be nice...and always follow the Chairman! [Read More...]

On cultural hybridity, ambassadors, and other low hanging fruit

March 4, 2014

Chinese media called Amb. Locke a "banana," but Chinese history is filled with those who transcended "identity" http://wp.me/pgK30-1CF [Read More...]

On Lamas in the White House…

February 21, 2014

Obama meets with the Dalai Lama tomorrow. Is China missing an opportunity? [Read More...]

Fatal Firing: The Tragic Story of China’s First Battleship

February 15, 2014

The Dingyuan, flagship of the Beiyang Fleet, was as impressive a ship as sailed in the Western Pacific but she suffered from one catastrophic design flaw. [Read More...]

The Macroregions of China and the Red Sox/Yankee Rivalry

February 14, 2014

Connecticut is a state divided by two competing urban centers (and baseball teams) providing a lesson in why researchers need to look beyond state-defined boundaries. [Read More...]

This Week in History: The end of the Qing and how (not) to get thrown out of a pub quiz

February 13, 2014

It's not easy always being right about history. How the end of the Qing dynasty once got me thrown out of a pub quiz. [Read More...]