Tag Archives: history

Can you blame the post-eighties generation?

This is the China Writing Digest, a weekly roundup of recent essays and articles published on the Chinese web, with links to translations on the Marco Polo Project. This week’s digest takes a look at the Chinese Gen Y – generally known … Continue reading

Posted in 1510 Digest, School and Education, Urban Culture and Cities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Can you blame the post-eighties generation?

Impressions of Japan

This is the Thinking China Digest, a weekly roundup of recent essays and articles published on the Chinese web, with links to translations on the Marco Polo Project. After anti-Japanese demonstrations fired off around China, this week’s digest proposes to take a … Continue reading

Posted in 1510 Digest, Traditions, Urban Culture and Cities | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Impressions of Japan

Liu Jing and his comic book history of China

Liu Jing (刘京) is a Beijing-born entrepreneur, designer and cartoonist. He recently published Understanding China Through Comics, a book for iPad and Kindle about Chinese history. Below is a brief Q&A with Liu, followed by an excerpt from his new book. … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Books and Art | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Liu Jing and his comic book history of China

The pipa: How a barbarian lute became a national symbol

‘Playing the pipa behind the back’ is a special kind of Chinese gongfu that expresses flying in heaven at Dunhuang. [See image of pipa player from Mogao caves at Dunhuang] The road to industrialization with Chinese characteristics was taken by Mao Zedong after … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Books and Art | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pipa: How a barbarian lute became a national symbol

Chinese instruments and the creation of a national music

Modern Chinese instruments are a lot like modern China: a disparate patchwork of various Parts forcibly cobbled into a Whole that, to hear some tell it, Always Was and Ever Shall Be. That is a bit of an exaggeration: no … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Books and Art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chinese instruments and the creation of a national music

Chicken blood injections and other health crazes

Zhang Wuben wasn’t the first purveyor of peculiar miracle cures. In the mid-20th Century, Chinese citizens endured fads of chicken blood injections, kombucha, water, and hand-waving.

Continue reading

Posted in Health care and pharmaceuticals | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chicken blood injections and other health crazes

Beijing to merge downtown districts

Chongwen and Xuanwu Districts to disappear, reports The Beijing News. Also, a history of Beijing’s administrative divisions.

Continue reading

Posted in Beijing, Front Page of the Day | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Beijing to merge downtown districts

Restorations at the Summer Palace

Modern pavement around Kunming Lake is being ripped out and replaced with traditional paving materials.

Continue reading

Posted in Front Page of the Day | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Restorations at the Summer Palace

The history lessons of Yuan Tengfei

Yuan Tengfei, who is dubbed the most awesome histoy teacher, recently appeared in a video after two month of silence.

Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , | Comments Off on The history lessons of Yuan Tengfei

Beijing’s famous graves

Places named after graves in Beijing.

Continue reading

Posted in Beijing | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Beijing’s famous graves