Latest Posts
Prostitution: A mirror of society – Zhang Lijia
Prostitution is a mirror of society, tells Beijing-based author Zhang Lijia at the BBC. Her book Lotus: A Novel shows some of China’s most urgent problems related to prostitution: migration, the gap between men and women and moral decline.Read More →
Jacky Chan as China’s soft power force – Ben Cavender
Gaining soft power is not an exclusive issue for China’s government. Jacky Chan and Wanda might be equally important for how the world sees China, says branding expert Ben Cavender to the South China Morning Post.Read More →
The future of religion in China – Ian Johnson
Journalist Ian Johnson documented in this book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao how an estimated 350 million Chinese citizens found solace in religion, despite a ambiguous governments. In TimesOut Shanghai he tells how he feels that movement will develop in the future.Read More →
Lotus: a mirror of China’s society – Zhang Lijia
Sarah Mellors reviews for the LA Review of Books Zhang Lijia’s Lotus: A Novel. The novel is a telling story of how China’s society works, she says, and both main characters Lotus and Bing illustrate many issues: rural-urban divide, economic development without political liberalization, the post-Mao moral vacuum and money worshiping, and the tension between so-called traditional Chinese values and modern concerns.Read More →
Hooked on the opium of the people – Ian Johnson
An estimated 350 million Chinese are hooked to different religions, looking for a way to deal with the lack of morality of their current society. The Spectator reviews positively Ian Johnson’s book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, and describes a major change in China’s cultural fabric.Read More →
China: going fully cashless – Ben Cavender
China might have invented the paper money, it is most likely also the first one to go fully cashless, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Motherboard. “People basically run their lives through smartphones in China.”Read More →
China’s search for global power – Howard French
Howard French, author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power explains at the Pulitzer Center how China is searching for power at an international stage, and how the global power might change its relationship with Hong Kong and Taiwan.Read More →
China’s search for happiness – Ian Johnson
Most of China has left poverty behind, but people are still not happy. The search for moral values is now taking over the desire among China’s citizens, says author Ian Johnson of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao in PRI. How turning to religion can change the country.Read More →
Foreign involvement: the red line in China’s spiritual revival – Ian Johnson
Staying away from foreign involvement is key in the massive religious revival China is going through, author Ian Johnson of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao tells NPR. Religion is condoned as long as the new movements stick to a few unwritten rules in its sensitive relations with the Communist Party.Read More →
Sex workers in China: between market economy and filial piety – Zhang Lijia
Twelve year it took author Zhang Lijia of Lotus: A Novel to write her book on prostitution in China. She sits down with Josh Chin of the Wall Street Journal to discuss how women are caught between the country’s market economy and filial piety.Read More →
Now Didi comes after Uber globally – William Bao Bean
China’s ride hailing app Didi Chuxing just raised over US$5 billion, more than it would need for its China operation. After kicking Uber out of China, Didi might be preparing to go after the US company on a global scale, suggests managing director of the Chinaccelerator William Bao Bean to Bloomberg.Read More →
Beijing: the center of spirituality – Ian Johnson
Beijing is regaining its position of China’s spiritual universe, writes author Ian Johnson of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao in the New York Times. While much of its past has been destroyed, the city where Johnson lives is now regaining its position of China’s spiritual capital. A struggle between commerce, communist and traditional values.Read More →