August arrives in the dark we are not even asleep and it is here how can it be so late all at once -WS Merwin, Nocturne II from The Shadow of Sirius #everynightapoem

Good half hour summary of China’s 1990s on BBC Radio 4 today, including, of course, Deng Xiaoping’s Southern Tour: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

How Did We Get Here? - No World Order - 2. The View from Beijing - BBC Sounds

The decade in which China reshaped its relationship with the international system.

bbc.co.uk

I did my PhD in the English Dept at Exeter - awful to see staff subjected to this redundancy process, which seems to have been executed with both incompetence and inhumanity.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 5d ago

A deeply destructive and inexpert management consultancy class has emerged whose sole purpose is to shrink Anglosphere universities and to undermine their future - all the better to secure more work. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...

Early 20th C Images from ‘The White Devil in Beijing: Wanderings and Adventures in China’ by the Czech explorer and writer Enrique Vráz.

Another Kangding then-and-now photo series. Jingang monastery in 1925, 1995, 2012 and 2026

‘Shanghae and its vicinity, showing the relative positions of the forces and places, on 4 April 1854. Storming of the entrenched imperialist camps by British and Americans, from the North China Herald. The affair did not occupy two hours of fighting.’ This was known as the Battle of Muddy Flat.

Map of the circular walled city of Shanghai, from from the Shanghai Xianzhi, 1871.

#photography #China 'A persimmon seller and her client' Tanzhe Temple 潭柘寺 , Beijing. Autumn 1980 📷© @gblee.bsky.social

I just discovered that my book is available on Kindle and Google Play at a relatively reasonable price (yep no one told me that and I had to find out myself) there's also free sample to read, in case it could be useful play.google.com/store/books/... www.amazon.co.uk/Easting-West...

Chenchen Zhang 🤦🏻‍♀️@chenchenzhang.net · 3mo ago

Just published! My book, Easting the West: Theorizing the Postliberal Conjuncture from China, is now available online for institutional users with subscription to Oxford Scholarship Online! academic.oup.com/book/62722 The print version will come out next month.

My review of ‘Cultural Mavericks’, Zheng Liu’s new book on independent bookshops in China, in @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/cultural-mav...

“Cultural Mavericks: The Business and Politics of Independent Bookselling in China” by Zheng Liu

The ARB's review of Cultural Mavericks by Zheng Liu, a fascinating and in-depth study of the world of China's independent book stores.

asianreviewofbooks.com

Anna Mary Hotchkis RSA (Scottish, 1885-1984) 'Ma Fang Shan, The Pilgrim's Way, Western Hills near Peking'

Happy birthday to Bruce Chatwin, born May 13th 1940.

Camel train, Peking, early 20th century.

English, Hong Kong-born, Bernard Howell Leach (1887-1979). Attended the Slade and the London School of Art, studied etching under the legendary Frank Brangwyn. Taught and studied art in Japan 1909-1920. In 1918 he visited Peking and produced this soft ground etching of the “Chen mun" (Qianmen) Gate.

‘These fine bronzes were erected by the Jesuits on the walls of the Chinese city about 200 years ago, and although possessing in addition to their scientific uses great merit as works of art, they are quite neglected and unused.’

Tongzhou and environs, ca 1867-79. ‘Travellers to the Capital by the Grand-Canal here leave their Junk and proceed by the paved road to Peking’ 📷: Lai Afong

Coal Hill, Peking, c.1920s

We still have a few tickets available for this weekend's @histfest.bsky.social at the British Library! Day passes are £35 for all four events, AMAZING £12/18 tiers available for students and general youths!!! Discount if you book both days! SO MUCH GOOD HISTORY: events.bl.uk/events/histf...

HistFest 2026 | British Library

From Ancient Greek naval commanders and Egyptian queens to the history of motherhood and LGBTQ+ social histories – this year, we bring you a raft of fascin

events.bl.uk

The poplars (Populus tomentosa) that produce these seed clusters were planted in the 1960s and 70s when Beijing suffered from such severe dust storms the city was on the brink of desertification. The female trees (which vastly outnumber the male) produce about a kilogram of this white fluff.

Stephen McDonell@stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The white fluffies are really attacking the Jing this arvo. #Beijing Spring #China

#China #archive #photography #filmphotography #35mm #monochrome 'Mount Tai engraving of 1954 Mao Zedong quotation'* Taishan 泰山, May 1980 📷© @gblee.bsky.social *The core force leading our cause is the Communist Party of China. The theoretical foundation guiding our thinking is Marxism-Leninism.

It seems the Strait of Hormuz is on its way to becoming the nautical equivalent of Schrödinger’s cat

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4mo ago

Q: As of today, who controls the Strait of Hormuz? LEAVITT: We expect that the strait will be opened immediately Q: Who controls the strait right now? LEAVITT: *refuses to answer*

Cow with a view

On holiday and desperately trying to distract myself from the mad king, I am thoroughly enjoying Michael Dillon’s new book on Shanghai from @yalepress.bsky.social yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

Shanghai - Yale University Press London

A comprehensive new history of Shanghai, revealing its vital place in Chinese history and politics across the centuries   Home to 25 million people, Sha...

yalebooks.co.uk

Losing contact with the Earth for 40 minutes sounds ideal

Trump has now reached the banquet scene stage of Macbeth’s mental derangement, obviously mad whilst others call his insanity but a ‘thing of custom’ For mine own good, All causes shall give way. I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er.

The biggest story in the world right now is that the president of the United States is a demented old man who takes pleasure in torturing and killing people and is committing crimes with impunity. And yet most legacy media outlets are too cowardly to tell it like it is.

Happy Easter from west Wales!

"While Shanghai embodied everything the Communist Party hated — capitalism and imperialism — it also showcased China’s early mastery of modern ways." Andrew Higgins takes a look at preserved and reworked architecture from early 20th-century Shanghai.

‘City of Parasites’ or ‘Glamorous Metropolis’? China’s Cosmopolitan Contradiction.

nytimes.com

My sense was that it hadn’t been a great year for China NF, but this is an excellent shortlist. I recently heard Michael Dobson talk on Shakespeare’s power in Ukraine; Nan Z Da’s book also echoes Jonson’s idea that he was ‘not of an age but for all time’. chinabooksreview.com/2026/04/02/s...

Shortlist: 2025 Nonfiction Award | China Books Review

Announcing the jury’s shortlist of five books for the Baifang Schell Book Prize: Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Book on China or the Sinophone World.

chinabooksreview.com

Sad to see this. My first teapot was a Denby. They’ve been going for over 200 years and employ 500+ people. They’ve launched a #SaveDenby campaign if you want to support or share. www.denbypottery.com/pages/save-d...