This Week in History: The end of the Qing and how (not) to get thrown out of a pub quiz
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...]
The Historical Record
The Historical Record January 1, 1912: Sun Yat-sen named president of Republic of China
On this date in 1912, Sun Yat-sen was named the new president of the new Republic of China. Wacky hilarity then ensued. [Read More...]
What is Mao Zedong’s Legacy 120 Years Later?
December 26 is the birthday of Mao Zedong, the portly gentleman from Hunan who, for 70% better and 30% ill, led China from 1949 until his death in 1976. [Read More...]
Nanjing
On December 13, 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army stormed the city of Nanjing, setting off a month of looting and killing that still shocks the world. But what is truly being remembered 76 years later? [Read More...]
Zhou Enlai, the Qingming Festival, and the spring demonstrations of 1976
Is our lasting image of Zhou Enlai to be the smooth, urbane diplomat showing up for talks in Geneva in a tailored-suit, silk tie, and a fedora, exchanging quips about the French Revolution? Or will it be the Zhou Enlai standing on top of Tiananmen with a red armband and a little red book, screeching in a high-pitched hysterical frenzy, “Long Live Chairman Mao!” as hordes of fanatical teenagers chant in the square and the Chairman looks on in approval? [Read More...]
The Burning of the Yuanmingyuan: 150 Years Later
150 years ago this month, troops from an [Read More...]
On Memories of Violence, Part 3: Opium and the Education of Patriots
This is the last of an informal three-part series [Read More...]
On Memories of Violence, Part 2: Chinese textbooks and questions about the Korean War 60 years later
A 1950 Chinese propaganda poster showing a [Read More...]
The 10-year anniversary of Macau’s handover and the politics of history
If the British takeover of Hong Kong was the [Read More...]
The Historical Record for April 15, 2009: The Death of Hu Yaobang
Today marks 20 years since the death of Hu [Read More...]
The Historical Record for November 14, 2008: Arsenic and the Old Buddha
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of [Read More...]
Liu Shaoqi, Birthdays, and Cruel Irony
It’s one of those wacky days in Chinese [Read More...]
45 Years of Lei Feng
On this date in 1963, Mao Zedong launched the [Read More...]
The Historical Record for March 1: Zhang Heng’s Seismometer
Zhang Heng (78-139) was quite the Han dynasty [Read More...]
Mao and the Marriage Counselor: The Hundred Flowers Movement of 1957
“People ask for criticism, but they only [Read More...]