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“Kowtow and Get Out: How I Was Almost Ejected from the Forbidden City,” Radii...
Kowtow and Get Out: How I Was Almost Ejected from the Forbidden City In 1793, the British diplomat Lord George Macartney nearly scuttled his trade mission when he famously refused to kowtow to the...
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“Nail ‘Hood,” The World of Chinese
Nail ‘Hood The building of the Great Walls of Gentrification has blocked off—or knocked down—many of the city’s mom-and-pop businesses. Yet while progress marches on, the neighborhood of Huashiying...
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“Hutong Living: Modern Day Life in an Old School Courtyard,” The Beijinger
Hutong Living: Modern Day Life in an Old School Courtyard “You realize the romanticism of courtyard living wore off for me in the first 14 years of my life? Also, the pipes in the bathroom are frozen...
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“Great Expectations: A Review of John Pomfret, ‘The Beautiful Country and the...
Great Expectations: A Review of John Pomfret, “The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China 1776 to the Present” John Pomfret’s highly anticipated new book, The Beautiful Country...
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“Why are international travelers turning away from China?,” Radii China
Why are international travelers turning away from China? If it’s summer, it must be time to wonder why international travelers are staying away from China. Like Wimbledon, the Red Sox, and men...
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“Historic Courtyards and Residences That Could (or Should) Be Opened to the...
Historic Courtyards and Residences That Could (or Should) Be Opened to the Public Have you ever walked down a hutong past a grand gate and stopped to wonder just what was hidden behind those high...
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“New Fronts in the Battle Over Scholarship and Ideology in China,” Radii China
New Fronts in the Battle Over Scholarship and Ideology in China Earlier this month, the Cambridge University Press (CUP), publisher of the China Quarterly, one of the most important journals for...
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See you over at Slow Boats and Caravan Trails
After 11 years and over 1000 posts, I am transitioning away from Jottings at the Granite Studio. It has been fun to write about China and Chinese history, but as I get older my interests have expanded...
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Radii China: “This day in history: The Tianjing Incident, or ‘Why it’s never...
The Tianjing Incident or “Why it’s not a good idea to make all of your subordinates kings” Picture this if you can: The lunatic figurehead of a populist movement, a man given not just to delusions of...
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