ARTICLES
MASTER OF CHINESE MEDICINE
In this Saturday profile for the New York Times, I talk about the work of Paul Unschuld, probably the West’s most famous scholar of Chinese medicine.
NON-FICTION IN BEIJING
What are the conditions of writing non-fiction in China today? Come join our talk at the Horizon Salon.
“THE SONGS OF BIRDS”
In this essay in The New York Review of Books, I review books of poetry by Liu Xia and look at her life under house arrest.
RICHARD WILHELM’S “THE SOUL OF CHINA”
In this insightful review as a Weixin post, the Chinese Christian author Promise Hsu gives an early review of my book in Chinese. Below, my discussion of it and parallels to Richard Wilhelm's own book on China's soul.
THE PEOPLE IN RETREAT?
In this New York Review of Books interview with the filmmaker Ai Xiaoming, we talk about everything from the lack of public intellectuals to the filmmaker Hu Jie
THE PROPHET AND THE PARTY
China’s sometimes-pragmatic approach toward shariah law: my Q&A in the New York Times with Oxford scholar Matthew Erie. Read it here.
A BLESSING FROM HEAVEN?
While copy-editing my new book on China's religious revival, I came across this photo in my files of a 2011 trip I took to the heart of underground Christianity in Xinyang.
CHINA IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In late August I participated in a very unusual but fascinating conference in Los Angeles.
DOPING AND DISSENT
My New York Times Saturday Profile of Yang Weidong and his quixotic effort to document the soul of China.
TALKIN’ THE DAO
In this Q&A with Terry Kleeman for the NYT’s Sinosphere blog, we talk about the origins of religious Daoism, common western misperceptions of this religion, and how the government still tries to control it.
NEW DOPING NEW GAMES
In this post for the NYR Daily, I specuate on how the Rio doping scandals are further evidence of the rise of new rogue states with no real interest in international laws and norms.
CRIME, RELIGION, AND HISTORY
This should be the title of a very eclectic conference I'll be attending in August.