Interview: “Much to discover in the Forbidden City,” Radio Beijing AM774
My conversation with Bruce Connolly of Radio Beijing AM774 on leading walks and discussions at the Forbidden City. [Read More...]
Articles by Jeremiah
“A Boxer on the Boxers,” The World of Chinese
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
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
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
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
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
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
For many, the Battle of Sanyuanli symbolized China's ability to finally stand up to the foreign invaders. [Read More...]
Beijing’s Roadways: Beyond Thunderdome
I've seen drivers plow through crowded hutong, barrel down bicycle lanes, and park on sidewalks. I rarely ride my bike anymore, it's too dangerous and I feel for the guys who make a living riding around town delivering food and packages. [Read More...]
Barbarians at the Gate Podcast: The An Lushan Rebellion
Our inaugural episode looks at An Lushan: the outsider who charmed his way into the court of the Tang Dynasty in the eighth century and who almost succeeded in bringing down the empire. It’s a story made for imperial slash fic: The aging emperor, his rotund but sexy concubine, and the foreigner who came between them. [Read More...]
“The Barbarian and the Babe,” The World of Chinese
The story of An Lushan has been told so many times that it qualifies as Tang Dynasty slash fic. There is the aging emperor, his sensual concubine, and the exotic foreign warrior who comes between them. But this story is far more Byzantine than an 8th-century love triangle gone horribly sideways. [Read More...]
“A few days in North Korea,” Here! Dongguan Magazine
I have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in numerous countries, cities, and towns around the world including outdoors on the Appalachian Trail, on the Tibetan Plateau, and one semi-memorable night in which I turned into Shiva Destroyer of Worlds while celebrating at a Holiday Inn in White Plains, New York. I thought I was safe celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the one capital city on Earth without an Irish Pub. [Read More...]
“Walking the Pearl River Delta,” Here! Dongguan Magazine
INTREPID OR INSANE, IT’S HARD TO SAY, BUT HERE!’S ROGUE HISTORIAN DECIDED TO TRAVEL FROM GUANGZHOU TO DONGGUAN TO SHENZHEN…ON FOOT [Read More...]
“The Secret Sexual Life of Zhou Enlai and the Limits of Historical Knowledge,” LA Review of Books China Blog
Retroactively outing a historical figure remains problematic, not because of the sex — Zhou Enlai may well have had erotic relations with other men — but because such studies are often methodologically flawed. Too often, contemporary understandings of romance and sexuality, gay or straight, are read into texts from another time period. But doing so can prejudice the data and lead to shaky conclusions. It is an error of perception when we use present-day standards to judge or categorize evidence of past behavior. [Read More...]
Imperial Politics, the Lantern Festival, and Yuan Shikai’s Balls
How a misunderstanding over the name of a glutinous rice ball panicked a would-be dictator [Read More...]