ARTICLES
THE FAMINE ARCHIPELAGO
In the current issue of the New York Review of Books (clickable here, no paywall) I have the privilege of reviewing Yang Jisheng's "Tombstone," his history of the Great Chinese Famine (published in 2008 in Hong Kong in Chinese, just out now in translation).
CHINA’S HIGH-SPEED RUSH TO THE FUTURE
China's high-speed rail network is now the world's largest but for many Chinese it's become a symbol of the country's development-at-all-costs strategy.
HAN HAN: LIVING THE GOOD LIFE
One of China's most popular bloggers, Han Han can still write zingers but he increasingly seems tired of the fight and more eager to retreat to the good life of being a celebrity.
AN HONEST WRITER SURVIVES IN CHINA
In the Oct. 11 issue of The New York Review of Books, I have an essay on the Chinese writer Yu Hua, recounting a memorable weekend I spent with him in Hangzhou and how he survives in China despite censorship and restrictions.
THE NORTH PEAK
The Asia Society's new website on China, ChinaFile, has published my contribution to Chinese Characters, the new collection of reportage (see box on left of this webpage for more info on it).
THE LOST DECADE?
A while ago, headline like this for a story on China's economy would have seemed outrageous, but I think it's more and more defensible.
“LET’S EXECUTE CONFUCIUS AND LAOZI!”
Yuan Zhiming, who helped create one of the most important TV shows of 1980s China ("River Elegy"), is now one of China's most influential pastors.
WILD GRASS OUT IN CHINESE
It took eight years but my book Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China (Pantheon 2004, Vintage 2005) is out in Chinese.
THE NEW OLYMPICS ARMS RACE
I actually enjoy the Olympics a lot and have spent a fair amount of time in front of the TV over the past 10 days but I can't help notice a worrying trend--that countries are spending absurdly large amounts of money on elite sports in a bid to best others.
YU JIE ON LXB BIO, MEDIA-AI WEIWEI LOVEFEST
Here's the latest installment on the NYRB Blog of my interviews with prominent Chinese authors.
TOWARD A POST-COMMUNIST, POST-CONFUCIAN CHINA
Excerpts from a talk with Harvard Professor Rod MacFarquhar and Asia Society head Orville Schell.
“PRESSURE FOR CHANGE COMES FROM THE GRASSROOTS”
I had a long-ish interview with Chen Guangcheng in the New York Review of Books and focused on his views on what is driving change in society and how he sees this playing out in the coming years.