The Tower of Reading 採菊東籬下
悠然見南山   Tao Yuanming (陶淵明 or 陶潛, ?365-427 CE), recluse, poet and cultural paragon, is one of the most accessible writers in the Chinese tradition. We take advantage of the fact that Tao features in three chapters of Zhong Shuhe’s Tower of Reading to introduce readers to his work, his legendary reputation and the influence he had on other writers.… Read

Intersecting with Eternity 與魏晉兄弟
游唐宋河山   Lao Shu 老樹 is the nom de plume of Liu Shuyong (劉樹勇, 1962-), a Beijing-based artist, writer, critic and professor in communications. His artistic voice is unique and personal, its tenor, whimsy and profundity evoke what for decades we have called The Other China — a cultural noosphere that is as undeniably local as it is universal.… Read

Intersecting with Eternity 形影神 The recluse-poet Tao Yuanming (陶淵明 or 陶潛, 365-427 CE) is famed for having given up service to the state for a life of leisure, writing, drinking, and occasional agricultural pursuits.… Read

Watching China Watching 明   In Watching China Watching we offer essays and reflections on studying the Chinese world and approaches to understanding the Chinese People’s Republic. Our method is underpinned by New Sinology.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium   Our humble bellies have ingested a surfeit of treachery,
eaten their fill of history, wolfed down legends —
and still the banquet goes on, leaving
an unfilled void in an ever-changing structure.… Read

The Other China   Lao Shu 老樹 is the nom de plume of Liu Shuyong (劉樹勇, 1962-), a Beijing-based artist, writer, critic and professor in communications. His artistic voice is unique and personal, its tenor, whimsy and profundity evoke what for decades we have called The Other China — a cultural noosphere that is as undeniably local as it is universal.… Read