井底之蛙

As always, stuff for which I don’t give a tip of the hat mostly came from HNN

• Pushing back, archaeology style: 8000 year old writing probably early form of Chinese script, and the northernmost section of the Great Wall. Also, if you are doing naval work on China, The Red Navy’s got your back, because there’s gold in them ‘thar wrecks.
• Speaking of expensive Chinese goods, Elizabeth I’s teakettle sold for over a million pounds
• Tombs: New research on the Qin emperor’s tomb soldiers indicates colorful paints. Also, Henan ancient tombs from the late Han or after.
• Rebuilding: Stilwell’s road from India to China is being paved. World’s tallest pagoda rebuilt to mark Buddhist resurgence (see also Nepalese Buddhist Paintings found). And Chinese philosophers are being ressurected. Philosophically speaking, of course. And you thought all that Confucianism v. Buddhism stuff was a relic? Here it comes again!
• Revisionism?!? New environmental study of the Shang draws on very modern techniques and concerns. And Censorship official loses job for — you guessed it — not censoring enough recent history
• Roderick MacFarquhar’s review of Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan recaps a lot of the Chinese background for their meeting, especially the weakness of Chinese leadership in the midst of the Cultural Revolution and Sino-Soviet tensions, which made them amenable to compromise on Vietnam. I’d never really thought about Chinese reaction to the Brezhnev Doctrine before. [via]
• Speaking of book reviews, there’s a new book about anti-Chinese agitation and activity in the US in the 19th century.
• Also in book news, Edward Behr has passed away. Readers here will probably know him best for his sympathetic study of Pu Yi, The Last Emperor, and for his unsympathetic study of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito
• Big Chinese Cities: Shanghai’s Back! International city, etc., etc….. Oh, and Thatcher says oops about Hong Kong handover.
• The Biggest Chinese City: Say what you like about libertarians, but they take state power seriously, even when the state itself doesn’t seem to. The headline pretty much says it all: Beijing bans scary stories to protect young (when they’re not demolishing hutongs, Qing-era restaurants and old opera houses). Black Market Black Magic lit: You could make a really interesting Dresden Files episode out of that, I’d wager.
• Speaking of cinematic stories: Doomed Romance with Flying Tiger.
• Unromantic: Chiggis Khan ancestor to millions. This isn’t a terribly new story, and the writing of the article is pretty tacky. But it’s great lecture fodder
• Nestorians in China [via] (I recently learned that some people think they made it all the way to Japan!)

Until next time!