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“Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Part IV”
The final installment of my series for The World of Chinese on the Opium War. Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Part IV In one of the great ironies of history, none of the treaties directly deals with the...
View ArticleImperial Politics, the Lantern Festival, and Yuan Shikai’s Balls
Today is the lantern festival in Beijing, marking the official end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Beijingers celebrate by admiring lanterns, solving riddles, eating tangyuan, and blowing up their...
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“The Secret Sexual Life of Zhou Enlai and the Limits of Historical Knowledge.”
New post at the Los Angeles Review of Books China Blog: “The Secret Sexual Life of Zhou Enlai and the Limits of Historical Knowledge.” Retroactively outing a historical figure remains problematic, not...
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Drinking in History at Great Leap #6
This Sunday Great Leap Brewing is releasing the Hidden General IPA, a beer named after the legendary Hua Mulan. Light bodied and flavorful, we infused this session IPA with dried chrysanthemum flowers...
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In the Footsteps of the Emperors: A Walk and Discussion at the Temple of...
In the Footsteps of the Emperors: A Walk and Discussion at the Temple of Heaven Date: Wednesday, June 2nd Time: 9:00am – 11:30pm Cost: 300 RMB, 260 RMB for members includes entrance tickets to Temple...
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The Ming and the Manchus: A Walk and Discussion at the Forbidden City, June 4
The Ming and the Manchus: A Walk and Discussion at the Forbidden City Date: Saturday, June 4th Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon Cost: 300 RMB, 260 RMB for members (includes all admission tickets and...
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Traditions and Transitions: A Walk and Discussion in the Hutongs of...
Traditions and Transitions: A Walk and Discussion in the Hutongs of Dongcheng Date: Wednesday, June 8th Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Cost: 260 RMB, 220 RMB for members This walk explores the past,...
View ArticleBeijing’s Roadways: Beyond Thunderdome
“The highway’s jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive Everybody’s out on the run tonight, but there’s no place left to hide…” The Boss was writing about New Jersey but he may as well...
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“The Empire Strikes Back: The Battle of Sanyuanli,” Here! Dongguan Magazine
History column in the May issue of Here! Dongguan Magazine: The Empire Strikes Back: The Battle of Sanyuanli It was 175 years ago this month: 60 soldiers from Great Britain and India were wallowing in...
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Myths, Museums, and Modern History: A Walk and Discussion at the National...
Myths, Museums, and Modern History: A Walk and Discussion at the National Museum of China Date: Sunday, June 12th Time: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Cost: 260 RMB, 220 RMB for members includes all entrance...
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From the Archives: Mao and the Marriage Counselor
Ed note: Still one of my favorite posts, a little something from the archives… “People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.” – Somerset Maugham “As a scientific truth, Marxism fears no...
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The Emperor and the Lama: A Walk and Discussion at the Lama Temple and...
The Emperor and the Lama: A walk and discussion at the Lama Temple and Confucian Temple Date: Friday, June 17th Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Cost: 300 RMB, 260 RMB for members includes all entrance...
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Tiananmen and the Making of Modern Beijing: A Walk and Discussion, June 19
Tiananmen and the Making of Modern Beijing: A Walk and Discussion at Tiananmen Square Date: Sunday, June 19th Time: 9:00 am – Noon Cost: 300 RMB, 260 RMB for members includes all entrance tickets....
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Barbarians at the Gate Podcast: A couple of characters talking about Chinese...
For our second episode of Barbarians at the Gate, we have a very special episode. I’m not sure you can have a VSE when it’s only your second installment but when you can get two scholars of the Chinese...
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Interview: “Lakes and canals of historic Haidian,” Beijing Radio International
My conversation with Bruce Connolly of Beijing Radio International on the Summer Palaces and the the waterways of imperial Beijing. Lakes and canals of historic Haidian We look at the Old Summer Palace...
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“The Specter of the Tianjin Massacre,” The World of Chinese
New article for The World of Chinese Magazine… Specter of the Tianjin Massacre In 1870, the city of Tianjin exploded in a day of rage. By nightfall, 21 foreign residents of the city were dead,...
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“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 for his thoughts on the Boxer Uprising… A Boxer on the Boxers Today, the Boxers are celebrated in China as...
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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. Despite Beijing becoming one of the world’s fastest modernising cities it retains some...
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In the Footsteps of the Emperors: A Walk and Discussion at the Temple of...
In the Footsteps of the Emperors: A Walk and Discussion at the Temple of Heaven Date: Sunday, July 3 Time: 9:00am – 11:30pm Cost: 300 RMB, 260 RMB for members includes entrance tickets to Temple of...
View ArticleSunday Jottings…Schnauzers on Steroids, Obsequious Tour Guides, Best Things...
A few random thoughts in no particular order: ************************ Things which are awesome about summer in Beijing: Spending 100 RMB and sitting all day by the pool at the CITIC Hotel out by the...
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