Ancient Teeth Found in China Challenge Modern Human Migration Theory
Scientists in southern China have discovered human teeth dating back at least 80,000 years.
The Chinese Oscar Winner that Wasn’t
Wolf Totem is a spectacular film, but its soul is missing. That's just how Beijing wants it.
Mao and Other Cultural Inspirations
“An army without culture is a dull-witted army,” Mao Zedong wrote, “and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.”
China Burnishes Xi Jinping’s Legend With TV Drama of His Years in Rural Hamlet
Chinese bloggers label 45-part drama called Liangjiahe as latest homage to omnipotent ‘Big Daddy Xi’.
Lenin’s Chinese Heirs
For Xi, Politics Comes First and Economy Second.
Survivors Tell the Camera the Hidden Tale of China's Great Famine
When Li Yaqin was 16, she ate what her family could scavenge.
'Hunting' for China at the Democratic Debate
Jim Webb wanted to talk China.The rest of the candidates? Not so much.
Japan May Halt Funds for UNESCO Over Nanjing Row With China
Japan's military aggression before and during World War Two still haunts ties between Asia's two biggest economies.
Top China Paper Says U.S., Russia Playing Cold War Game in Syria
The United States and Russia seemed to be using Syria as a proxy for diplomatic and military competition, as during the Cold War.
A Land China Loves and Hates
The Chinese hostility to America is first and foremost the result of government propaganda.
When Palace Museum Meets Creativity
In the minds of most people, Emperor and his concubines lived their lives solemnly.
China Turns Firepower to Soft Power to Try to Win Tiny Taiwan-held Island
"In Kinmen, we can do what Taiwan can't, what Taiwan doesn't dare do."
Media
10.07.15
An International Victory, Forged in China’s Tumultuous Past
On October 5, a share of this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine went to 84-year-...
Conversation
10.06.15
What Will the TPP Mean for China?
On Monday, the U.S., Japan, and ten other countries concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—the largest regional trade accord in history. If approved, the agreement will set new terms for the nearly $28 trillion in trade...
Caixin Media
10.06.15
Authorities Should Do More to Protect China’s Lawyers
A Communist Party group led by General Secretary Xi Jinping that was established to spearhead reform efforts finished a document on September 15 addressing the plight of lawyers. A day later, top judicial authorities, including...
A Painting of China’s First Lady, Before a Rise to Stardom
On the exhibition notes, the painting of Peng Liyuan by Jin Shangyi is identified only as “a well-known singer.”
Sinica Podcast
10.05.15
Edmund Backhouse in the Long View of History
from Sinica PodcastEdmund Backhouse, the 20th century Sinologist, long-time Beijing resident, and occasional con-artist, is perhaps best known for his incendiary memoirs, which not only distorted Western understanding of Chinese history for more than 50 years, but...
Culture
10.02.15
In Zhang Yimou’s ‘Coming Home’ History is Muted But Not Silent
Coming Home, directed by the celebrated Zhang Yimou and released in the U.S. last week, begins as a man escapes a labor camp in China’s northwest and tries to return home. But he is captured when he and his wife attempt...
Conversation
09.30.15
The Future of Autonomy in Hong Kong
Yesterday, the governing board of Hong Kong University, one of the territory’s most esteemed institutions of higher education, voted to reject the promotion of Johannes Chan, a former law school dean, over the objections of the faculty and...
China Says Arrests Two Japanese for Spying
Japan's Asahi newspaper said one man was taken into custody in China's northeast province of Liaoning near the border with North Korea and the other in the eastern province of Zhejiang near a military facility.
The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War?
In 12 of 16 past cases in which a rising power has confronted a ruling power, the result has been bloodshed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Arrive At The UN Armed With A List Of Things He Wants Changed
Xi Jinping will make his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Top Hong Kong Judges Defend Rule of Law in Face of China Pressure
Two top Hong Kong judges on Friday defended the rule of law in an apparent rebuke of China's top official.
Cultural Revolution Shaped Xi Jinping, From Schoolboy to Survivor
When the pandemonium of the Cultural Revolution erupted, he was a 13-year-old who loved classical Chinese poetry. Two years later, adrift in a city torn apart by warring Red Guards, Xi Jinping had hardened into a combative street survivor.
Hybrid Warfare With Chinese Characteristics
From Sun Tzu to Xi Jinping: Russia isn’t the only one who knows hybrid warfare.
Conversation
09.22.15
Can the U.S. & China Make Peace in Cyberspace?
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States today on his first state visit. Xi will address a group of American business leadersin Seattle. High on their list of concerns about trade with China is cyber hacking, cyber espionage and...
Respect Your Elders: Confucian Kindergartens Catch On in China
The Party is now introducing traditional culture classes in state-run kindergartens and other levels of schooling.
Japan's 'Profound' New American Military Ties Are All About China: Q&A
Japan's parliament passes the most sweeping changes to Japan's defense policy since World War II.
The Missing Piece of US-China Relations: Trust
“U.S. antipathy to China is rooted in angst about its rise and the prospect of American decline.”
Obama and China: Trying to Play Well With A Close Frenemy
Obama plans to welcome Xi with the highest level of diplomatic pageantry for a foreign leader.
China Teaching Troops Folk Dances to Make Friends in Xinjiang
China's military tries to improve relations with the minority people who live there.
Sinica Podcast
09.14.15
Parading Around China’s Military Legacy
from Sinica PodcastThe interpretation of history is an inherently political act in China, and the struggle for control of the narrative of the War of Resistance Against Japan—World War II—has heated up during the approach to the September 3 parade commemorating the...
Culture
09.11.15
French Director’s Chinese Movie Balances Freedom With Compromise
In 2012, French movie director Jean-Jacques Annaud got a warm welcome in China after more than a dozen years as persona non grata there for having offended official Chinese Communist Party history with his 1997 film ...
China: Through the Looking Glass
Orientalism is generally understood as a bad thing. What the “Through the Looking Glass” exhibit designers attempted to do was reclaim Orientalism, demonstrating that Western designers might only have a superficial understanding of China, but...
The Important Anniversary China Won’t Celebrate in 2016
May 16, 1966 marked the start of the Cultural Revolution—but don’t except China to publicize the anniversary.
Caixin Media
09.08.15
Amnesty As a Stepping Stone to Rule of Law
A recent amnesty declaration affecting convicted criminals deemed no threat to society was a poignant reminder of China’s tradition of prudent punishment, support for human rights, and progress toward of rule of law.
The recent decision by...
Photo Zines That Explore Singapore’s Identity
In 1949, Sim Chi Yin’s grandfather, Shen Huansheng, a school principal and chief editor for the leftist Ipoh Daily newspaper, became a “Communist martyr.” A monument in Gaoshang with the inscription, “The tomb of martyr Shen Huansheng” proves it...
Seoul to Begin Discussions with Beijing on Unification
Park Gyun-hye said that Kim Jong-un is expected to take provocative actions in the future and it is important to deter them.
Viewpoint
09.04.15
Flying Tiger: Why I Turned Down an Invitation to China’s Victory Parade
I was invited to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-fascist War and the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese war this September, as a guest of a government that wanted me to represent...
Media
09.03.15
Who Is Xi Jinping? Introducing the Asia Society Podcast
from Asia BlogThree years after Xi Jinping took control of China’s Communist Party and assumed the country’s leadership, he has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful people. But his tenure has also raised uncomfortable questions. Is he a reformer bent on...
China to Trim Military by 300,000
One of the world's largest militaries undergoes reforms to make it more effective.
Environment
09.03.15
The Yellow River: A History of China’s Water Crisis
from chinadialogueDuring the hot, dry month of August 1992, the farmers of Baishan village in Hebei province and Panyang village in Henan came to blows. Residents from each village hurled insults and rudimentary explosives at the other across the Zhang River—the...
Viewpoint
09.03.15
The U.S. Was the True Mainstay in the Fight Against Japan in World War II
from China Change“When the Chinese people and the Chinese nation were in peril, the United States came to the rescue and asked for nothing in return. The U.S. never occupied a single inch of Chinese territory, never reaped any particular reward.”...
Five Chinese Navy Ships Are Operating in Bering Sea Off Alaska Coast
Chinese naval presence off Alaskan coast appears to be a first.
Features
09.02.15
Parading the People’s Republic
from China Heritage QuarterlyIn light of the September 3, 2015, mega military parade held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing both to mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945 and to acclaim the achievements of Xi Jinping, China’s Chairman...
Conversation
09.02.15
What Is China’s Big Parade All About?
On September 3, China will mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory over Japan with a massive parade involving thousands of Chinese troops and an arsenal of tanks, planes, and missiles in a tightly choreographed march across...
As Economy Falters, Military Parade Offers Chance to Burnish China’s Image
China celebrates a new national holiday to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Media
08.31.15
Netanyahu, Shanghai, and the Communist Party’s Forbidden History
On August 26, the Israeli Embassy in China posted a one-minute video to its official account on Weibo, China’s huge microblogging platform,...
Rethinking the Obama-Xi Summit
How the U.S. might use the summit for a new “new model of great power relations.”
China’s Stocks Cap Biggest Selloff Since 2008 on Rescue Doubts
Bearish options market bets climbed as traders weighed level of state support before a World War II parade this week.
China Punishes Nearly 200 Over ‘Rumors’ About Stocks, Blasts and Parade
The moves indicate the political sensitivities aggravated in recent weeks by several volatile issues.
Donald Trump Meet the Chinese American Cook and the Father of ‘Birthright Citizenship’
All born or naturalized in the US and subject to jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the state where they reside.
U.S., China Stress Positives Ahead of Xi Trip
The world's two largest economies have mutual interests, like trying to rein in North Korea's nuclear program, sevear deep disagreements exist.
A Mainstay of Presidential Campaigning: China-bashing
Presidential candidates Trump, Walker, Rubio, Clinton and others are making politcal hay out of pitting the U.S. against China.
Books
08.27.15
China’s Disruptors
In September 2014, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba raised $25 billion in the world’s biggest-ever initial public offering. Since then, millions of investors and managers worldwide have pondered a fundamental question: What’s really going on with the new wave of China’s disruptors?
China’s Complexity Problem
The challenge for Xi Jinping is to prioritize plentiful political will in a way that keeps China on the course of reform and rebalancing.
Scott Walker Calls on Obama to Cancel Chinese State Visit
Amid rising tension, a Republican calls to end a diplomatic courtesy.
Great Fall of China Sinks World Stocks, Dollar
A near 9-percent dive in China shares and a sharp drop in the dollar and major commodities sent investors rushing for the exit.