June 2016 - Jottings from the Granite Studio

Barbarians at the Gate Podcast: Keeping up with the Khitans

June 30, 2016

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, James and Jeremiah discuss the history of the Khitans, their empire and their legacy with a little help from the Godfather Trilogy and Dragon Barbie from Game of Thrones. [Read More...]

“The Rise and Fall of the Shit King of Beijing,” World of Chinese Magazine

June 30, 2016

New article for World of Chinese Magazine on the meteoric rise and steep fall of Shi Chuanxiang, the shit king of Beijing. [Read More...]

Interview: “Much to discover in the Forbidden City,” Radio Beijing AM774

June 26, 2016

My conversation with Bruce Connolly of Radio Beijing AM774 on leading walks and discussions at the Forbidden City. [Read More...]

“A Boxer on the Boxers,” The World of Chinese

June 22, 2016

New post for The World of Chinese Magazine in which I call on cinema's most famous boxer, Rocky Balboa for his thoughts on the Boxer Uprising. [Read More...]

“The Specter of the Tianjin Massacre,” The World of Chinese

June 20, 2016

In 1870, the city of Tianjin exploded in a day of rage. By nightfall, 21 foreign residents of the city were dead, including 16 nuns dragged from an orphanage and publicly tortured to death. The still-new network of trans-continental telegraph cable spread word of the outrage around the globe. [Read More...]

Interview: “Lakes and canals of historic Haidian,” Radio Beijing AM774

June 16, 2016

My conversation with Bruce Connolly of Radio Beijing AM774 on the Summer Palaces and the the waterways of imperial Beijing. [Read More...]

“Dens of Iniquity,” Here! Dongguan Magazine

June 14, 2016

Where do you go in Guangdong when you want to hang out and score good drugs? In the 1920s and 1930s, it would have been your friendly neighborhood opium den. [Read More...]

Barbarians at the Gate Podcast: A couple of characters talking about Chinese characters

June 13, 2016

David Moser (Beijing Capital Normal University, Sinica Podcast) and Brendan O'Kane (Paper Republic, University of Pennsylvania) join Jeremiah to discuss David's new book, A Billion Voices, the history of language reform and national unity in China, the best way to learn Chinese, and the debate over whether it's okay to hate on Chinese characters. [Read More...]

From the Archives: Mao and the Marriage Counselor

June 8, 2016

Still one of my favorite posts, a little something from the archives on the Anti-Rightist Movement of 1956-1958. Also known as the 100 Flowers Movement, this era set the stage for the Great Leap Forward and foreshadowed the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. [Read More...]

“The Empire Strikes Back: The Battle of Sanyuanli,” Here! Dongguan Magazine

June 1, 2016

For many, the Battle of Sanyuanli symbolized China's ability to finally stand up to the foreign invaders. [Read More...]