ARTICLES
Chinese Medicine in the Covid Wards
Ever since the 1980s, I’ve been interested in Chinese Medicine as a Chinese cultural practices that is still widely in use today. This probably stems from my having roomed with Nigel Wiseman, who was just starting out on what would become a career as one of the most prolific translators of Chi
Europe’s Changing Consensus on China
In my first piece for Foreign Affairs since joining the Council on Foreign Relations, I look at diplomatic ties between the two countries that I know best: Germany and China. I speculate that the end of the Angela Merkel era will mean a (slightly) more forceful German foreign policy, especiall
Nuclear Subs vs. Trade
Is the deal to sell nuclear subs to Australia a foreign-policy meisterstroke or another example of America’s overreliance on the military to deal with a rising China? My take via the Council on Foreign Relations.
How Will China Deal With The Taliban?
“In some ways, Afghanistan under the Taliban is China’s perfect partner: dysfunctional, dependent, and happy with whatever China can do for it:” In this Q&A with the Council on Foreign Relation’s cfr.org website, I answer questions from the editors on China’s hopes and
Gaming the System?
One common way of looking at China's success at the Olympics is as metaphor for its rise--with the conclusion being that its rise to the top of the medals tables (just like its rise in its global standing) is tainted by too much state interference--that it's done so by a brutal sports machine.
China in One Village
How does rural China recall the past decades of change? One answer is the pathbreaking 2010 book by Liang Hong, China in Liang Village (中国在梁庄), which recounts the history of Liang’s native town, a village near Zhengzhou in central Henan province.
Council on Foreign Relations
Starting July 1, I will be the new senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
REMEMBERING RIK SCHIPPER
In this NYT obituary I recall the life of one of the most influential China scholars of recent years, Kristofer "Rik" Schipper, who died earlier this year in Amsterdam, aged 86.
FORBIDDEN CITY: THE BOOK
Newly published: a new photobook on the Forbidden City that I helped put together with the publisher Assouline. I wrote a 4,000-word introduction, in which I talk about how the Forbidden City has returned to the center of Chinese culture.
WHAT DO CHINESE THINK?
Big question! One answer is to look at what some of the countries thinkers are writing, something that’s been hard for non-Chinese speakers to do. In this article for SupChina I profile David Ownby’s Reading the China Dream translation project.
CHINESE LIBERALS AND U.S. CONSERVATIVES
In this Opinions section piece for The New York Times, I look at a strange phenomenon that’s percolated over the past few years.