A 1930s novel of manners with evocative descriptions of Old Beijing offers surprisingly timeless observations about what it means to be an expat in China.
In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, we talk with Emily Feng about her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China.
In 1935, the Chinese author Lin Yutang offered Westerners an insider’s guide to China's society. It endures today despite his own cultural contradictions.
In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, Jeremiah and Chris Stewart of The History of China Podcast ask the question, "Is this America's Cultural Revolution moment?"
Our latest episode explores jazz in China—from its revival in 1980s Beijing to today's talented performers. David Moser discusses how musicians with limited recordings mastered the medium and laid the groundwork for generations of skilled jazz players from China.
While “The Brickening” has so far mostly affected commercial properties, including wiping out many well-known and beloved food and beverage institutions, the next phase in Beijing’s ongoing urban rejuvenation will start to affect residents of areas designated as historical and cultural conservation zones. These areas are mostly located within the Second Ring Road north of the Forbidden City.
It sometimes seems like the dominant color in Beijing is “Socialist Taupe.” The streets. The bricks. The roads. Getting away from the gray and the beige is hard.
That wasn’t always the case. In imperial times, builders and architects relied on five colors to add life to their creations: red, yellow, blue, white, and (yes) gray
Nothing is more annoying than the uncritical writer who arrives at a destination and proceeds to gush over the local culture. So when I say I love Taiwan, I do so with the full expectation that I may be simply exorcizing the accumulated demons of a life lived in Beijing. But you know what… I absolutely love Taiwan and let me tell you why.
