New Books Network
Chinese Studies
Asian Review of Books November 25, 2020

Blockchain Chicken Farm

And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside

Xiaowei Wang

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
Most of our discussions about how “technology will change the world” focus on the global cities that drive the world economy. Even when we talk about China, we focus on …

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History November 23, 2020

In the Dragon's Shadow

Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century

Sebastian Strangio

Hosted by Michael Vann
For centuries Southeast Asia has enjoyed a relatively pleasant relationship with China, its massive neighbor to the north. While Chinese merchants and laborers were common throughout the region, with exception …
Chinese Studies November 20, 2020

Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness

David Chai

Hosted by Alexus McLeod
Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness (SUNY Press, 2018) offers a radical rereading of the Daoist classic Zhuangzi by bringing to light the role of nothingness in grounding the cosmological …
East Asian Studies November 20, 2020

Securing China's Northwest Frontier

Identity and Insecurity in Xinjiang

David Tobin

Hosted by Ed Pulford
Greater interest in what is happening in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang in recent years has generated a proportional need for context, and especially insights into the politics and …
Law November 19, 2020

Making Hong Kong China

The Rollback of Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Michael Davis

Hosted by Jane Richards
“Imagine you live in a freewheeling city like New York or London – one of the world’s leading financial, educational, and cultural centres. Then imagine that one of the …
SSEAC Stories November 12, 2020

Southeast Asian Performance, Ethnic Identity and China’s Soft Power

A Discussion with Dr Josh Stenberg

Josh Stenberg

Hosted by Natali Pearson
From glove puppets of Chinese origin and Hakka religious processions, to wartime political theatre and contemporary choirs and dance groups, the diverse performance practices of ethnic Chinese communities throughout Southeast …
East Asian Studies November 11, 2020

Where Dragon Veins Meet

The Kangxi Emperor and His Estate at Rehe

Stephen H. Whiteman

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
In 1702, the second emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered construction of a new summer palace in Rehe (now Chengde, Hebei) to support his annual tours north among the court’s …
Chinese Studies November 4, 2020

Tea War

A History of Capitalism in China and India

Andrew B. Liu

Hosted by Lukas Rieppel
After water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. It is beloved by consumers in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and it comes in a bewildering …
Chinese Studies October 28, 2020

Has China Won?

The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy

Kishore Mahbubani

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
As China grows into a major regional and global power, there are many questions about what this means for the international system. Does China threaten the United States? Does Washington …
Chinese Studies October 23, 2020

The Chinese Deathscape

Grave Reform in Modern China

Thomas S. Mullaney

Hosted by Luca Scholz
In the past decade alone, more than ten million corpses have been exhumed and reburied across the Chinese landscape. The campaign has transformed China's graveyards into sites of acute personal …
Chinese Studies October 22, 2020

Anxious China

Inner Revolution and Politics of Psychotherapy

Li Zhang

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
The breathless pace of China’s economic reform has brought about deep ruptures in socioeconomic structures and people’s inner landscape. Faced with increasing market-driven competition and profound social changes, more and …
Literary Studies October 20, 2020

A History of Taiwan Literature

Christopher Lupke (trans.)

Hosted by Steven Wills
Ye Shitao was a Taiwanese public intellectual who rose to prominence in the second half of the twentieth century. His encyclopedic A History of Taiwan Literature was published in 1987 …
Chinese Studies October 16, 2020

Critical Reflections on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Alan Chong and Quang Min Pham

Hosted by James M. Dorsey
Political scientists Alan Chong and Quang Min Pham bring with their edited volume, Critical Reflections on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020), originality as well as dimensions and …
Chinese Studies October 15, 2020

China’s National Security

Endangering Hong Kong’s Rule of Law?

Cora Chan and Fiona de Londras

Hosted by Jane Richards
On July 1, 2020, China introduced a National Security Law into Hong Kong partly in an attempt to quell months of civil unrest, as a mechanism to safeguard China’s security …
Chinese Studies September 25, 2020

Unending Capitalism

How Consumerism Negated China's Communist Revolution

Karl Gerth

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos
Karl Gerth’s new book, Unending Capitalism: How Consumerism Negated China's Communist Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2020) details how the state created brands, promoted and advertised particular products, set up department …
Food September 23, 2020

The Chile Pepper in China

A Cultural Biography

Brian R. Dott

Hosted by Joshua Tham
In China, chiles are everywhere. From dried peppers hanging from eaves to Mao’s boast that revolution would be impossible without chiles, Chinese culture and the chile pepper have been intertwined …
Central Asian Studies September 11, 2020

The War on the Uyghurs

China’s Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority

Sean Roberts

Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani
In today’s new episode, we speak with Sean Roberts about his brand new book The War on the Uyghurs: China’s Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority (Princeton University Press, 2020) …
East Asian Studies September 2, 2020

Beijing from Below

Stories of Marginal Lives in the Capital's Center

Harriet Evans

Hosted by Suvi Rautio
Between the early 1950s and the accelerated demolition and construction of Beijing's “old city” in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the residents of Dashalar—one of the capital city's poorest neighborhoods …
Chinese Studies August 31, 2020

Mass Vaccination

Citizens' Bodies and State Power in Modern China

Mary Augusta Brazelton

Hosted by Victoria Oana Lupascu
While the eradication of smallpox has long been documented, not many know the Chinese roots of this historic achievement. In this revelatory study, Mass Vaccination. Citizens' Bodies and State Power …
Chinese Studies August 24, 2020

China's War on Smuggling

Law, Illicit Markets, and State Power on the China Coast

Philip Thai

Hosted by Siobhan Barco
In this episode, Siobhan talks with Philip Thai about his book, China's War on Smuggling: Law, Illicit Markets, and State Power on the China Coast (Columbia University Press, 2018). Thai …