China History Podcast

There’s Something About Confucius

Laszlo Montgomery

Part two in the History of Chinese Philosophy podcast series

In this second helping of Laszlo's overview of the history of Chinese philosophy, exclusive to the China Channel for a week before it goes up at the China History Podcast, the Great Sage himself is the center of focus. Arguably China's most famous citizen of all time, Confucius (and his disciples) created an ideology and political system that had incredible lasting power. Part two examines the stories surrounding Confucius's life  growing up and operating in the State of Lu during the last decades of the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou Dynasty. In addition to the trials and tribulations faced by Master Kong in his day, the basic tenets of Confucianism are introduced:

Little Red Podcast

Party Poopers

Louisa Lim

Can art bring down the government? – by Louisa Lim

In late July, after the death of Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, a ghostlike picture materialised on walls around the world in Melbourne, Sydney, Ottawa, New York City, Taiwan, Dublin, and even Beijing. It showed images of Liu Xiaobo floating skywards, hand in hand with his wife Liu Xia, with blank white expanses where their facial features should have been. This was the work of Badiucao, a radical Chinese artist who, like Banksy, hides behind a pseudonym. He keeps his identity secret out of caution: “If you’re spreading negative energy like me, drawing criminals of the state, you become a problem.”

Chinese Corner

Make China Great Again

Liz Carter

China and America’s leaders use similar slogans – by Liz Carter

This week, Donald Trump will visit Beijing, sparking vigorous debate among China watchers. There are a lot of articles talking about how Presidents Xi Jinping and Trump may be at odds, but as they are both nationalists with despotic ambitions, it should come as no surprise that they rely on similar linguistic strategies to consolidate support and intimidate their enemies. Trump vows to “Make America Great Again” (MAGA for short), while Xi invokes “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” (中华民族伟大复兴, Zhōnghuá mínzú wěidà fùxīng).

Let’s compare their parallel slogans in more detail:

Reviews

Speak My Language

Karen Cheung

Hong Kong Voices in Dung Kai-cheung’s Cantonese Love Stories – reviewed by Karen Cheung

The residents of Hong Kong were treated to a range of celebrations in the weeks leading up to the 20th anniversary of the handover last July: road blockages to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping, a fireworks display blurred by rainstorms, and promises of prosperity amid countless clashes between police and protesters. We had no say in the festivities, just as we had no say in the handover.

Around the same time, Penguins Specials released its inaugural series on Hong Kong, including Dung Kai-cheung’s Cantonese Love Stories: Twenty-Five Vignettes of a City. For a book published in conjunction with the anniversary of the handover, it is devoid of references to it. These stories, written in 1998 and 1999 and newly translated from the Cantonese by Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson, portray a post-handover lifestyle, but never outrightly acknowledge this.

Story Club

Finished

Han Song

A modern fable – by Han Song

As with our last story, we invite readers to write to [email protected] before November 21 with questions and comments about the story for us, the editors, to reply and respond to. Feel free to also ask more general questions about Chinese science fiction, a booming and multi-faceted genre in China that this story is just one surreal example of.

It was a dark and gloomy but bright and shining place, like a construction site – the kind of construction site that was just about hell and might just as well be heaven. A bell rang out, sharp and piercing over the clamor of the place, and all was suddenly quiet. Wang Gu nearly jumped in fright. He'd been busy for some time, but now they’d called a halt to work. Which was to say – he had nothing to do. Finally finished! But, suddenly idle, Wang Gu found himself at a loss. Thunderstruck, he felt a cold shiver of fear cut through him, like a knife to the vitals. It was as if he'd awoken unexpectedly from a dream he wasn't meant to ever recover from. What happened? It took him a long time to adjust to it all. And then something welled up from deep within in his chest: Now that I'm finished it’s time to collect my pay.