Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, a Tally 單 The threnody of the Xi Jinping decade is tedium, something born of the ceaseless oscillations within China’s hermetically sealed system and it signals its deadening presence through reversals and the glum repetition of various tropes of the past.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix IV 闔 In 1999, the restaurateur and cultural impresario Michelle Garnaut opened a new venture in Shanghai. M on the Bund 米氏西餐廳在上海外灘 was located in the Nissin Shipping Building on The Bund 上海外灘日清大樓七樓.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix III 霸 Political power struggles in the People’s Republic of China have an ineluctable rhythm. Every five to ten years the quotidian thrum of wrangling reaches a dramatic crescendo as the contention between individuals, factions and elites is focussed on the spoils of power.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix II 忌   According to the traditional Chinese calendar, the 4th of February 2022 marked the Start of Spring 立春, a time when the earth stirs and early signs of a seasonal change can be detected.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium, Appendix I 捌 ‘Beijing 2022’, the Winter Olympic Games (4- 20 February 2022), is hailed by China’s state media as the concrete expression of the guiding genius of Xi Jinping.… Read

Introducing Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium 瞽 The title of this introductory essay — ‘You Should Look Back’ — is a reference to ‘Don’t Look Up’, a film directed by Adam McKay that was released in December 2021.… Read