“And now, my beauties, something with poison in it, I think. With poison in it, but attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell.” – Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz
At the risk of turning this into an opium blog — and really, Thomas de Quincey aside, where’s the harm in that? — I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention today’s diplomatic row over the power of a flower. As most readers know, it is custom among our British cousins to wear a poppy or poppy substitute on November 11 as a remembrance of those who perished in The Great War. Trouble happens though when you want to wear your ceremonial poppy into the Great Hall of the People; for you see, the Chinese have a different view of Brits bearing buds.* David Cameron and his entourage refused and the matter was dropped, but it presented an interesting clash of symbols. Lest anyone forget, the poppies are for all of the Allies who died in The War, including several thousand Chinese who gave their lives on the fields of Belgium and France.**
Nevertheless, I think most people can appreciate how — from a particular Chinese perspective —
Another week another column for The Global Times. (And in case you’re wondering, my soul feels no less decayed than usual.) This one is on basketball with a little foreign relations thrown in by way of metaphor. Enjoy.
The Founding of the Zhou Dynasty On February 13, 950, Guo Wei founded the Zhou Dynasty, one of the “5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms” that ruled in China between 907 and 960. Guo Wei was a general in the Turkic Han Dynasty (And yes, the short-lived regimes of this period loved to take their names from earlier, more permanent dynasties) who rebelled against the young son of the Han founder, Gaozu. From its capital at Kaifeng, the Zhou ruled north China until 960, when one of their own generals, Zhao Kuangyin, rebelled against the young grandson of Guo Wei. (I’m sensing a trend here.) Zhao, of course, would go on to consolidate his rule in the north before turning south, reunifying China under the Song Dynasty (960-1276).
Li Hongzhang in Japan On this date in 1895, the Qing court appointed Li Hongzhang as its first envoy to Japan, charged with negotiating peace following the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Given the whumping Japan put on China during that conflict, it was supposed to be more of a dictation of terms than an actual negotiation, but–good news for the Qing , not so much for Li–a Japanese nationalist shot Li just below his
This date in 1877, Guo Songtao (郭嵩焘 1818-1891), China’s first permanent overseas ambassador, arrived at his new posting in London. Guo was somewhat an odd fit for this role. He was a classically-trained scholar who reacted to his new appointment by remarking, “How can I, who know no foreign language and am ignorant of world affairs, fill my post competently?”
Basically, nobody wanted the gig and Guo drew the shortest straw. As an official, he had developed a reputation for being (a bit too) sympathetic to the foreign invaders, counseling the court in 1858 that steps be taken to avoid, at all costs, a war the Qing could not win, even if it meant appeasing the imperialist powers.
Why send him to London? Well, in 1875 a British adventurer went and got himself killed in Yunnan. The Qing needed to send a ‘mission of apology’ and it seemed like Guo would be the perfect guy for this somewhat humiliating task. Oh yes, and while he was at it, did Guo mind staying awhile?
He left China in 1876 with a staff of two other officials and a Scottish secretary/advisor. Their ship arrived in London on January 21, 1877 and a
Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seeking to shore up his crumbling base domestically, ripped open old wounds by publicly questioning the accounts of thousands of women forced to work as sex slaves by the Japanese army during World War II. Abe suggested that “no historical proof exisisted” that these women had been coerced into service as these women claimed, despite a 1993 Japanese goverment study and official report that found the women’s stories credible.
Today BBC reports (via HNN):
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has apologized in parliament for the country’s use of women as sex slaves during World War II.
The apology comes after Mr Abe was criticized by Asian neighbors for previous comments casting doubt on whether the women were coerced.
Mr Abe told parliament: “I apologies here and now as prime minister.”
This appears to be part of a concerted bid to reduce the fall-out of earlier comments, a BBC correspondent says.
Mr Abe said, during a debate in parliament’s upper house, that he stood by an official 1993 statement in which Japan acknowledged the imperial army set up and ran brothels for its troops during the war.
“As I frequently say, I
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