Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium Appendix XXXIX 鴨架湯 It is five years since we introduced readers to the film Peking Duck Soup in our series Watching China Watching. As the Two Sessions of legislative theatre in Beijing draw to a close in an atmosphere of authoritarian nostalgia, it seems like an ideal moment to refresh the stale memories of the old and excite the imagination of the young by reprinting the review of Peking Duck Soup that Simon Leys published in 1977, along with links to the film itself.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium Appendix XXXVIII 白茫茫大地真乾淨   On 10 March 2023, the 2,952 delegates attending the first session of the Fourteenth National People’s Congress in Beijing voted unanimously to endorse Xi Jinping candidature to be China’s president for a third time.… Read

The Other China 禽獸食祿   In my twenties, my circle of friends referred to the synchronised annual meetings of China’s pro forma legislative bodies in Beijing as ‘The Walking-Stick People’s Congress’ 拐杖人大 and ‘The Wheel-chair Consultative Congress’ 輪椅政協.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium Appendix XXXVII 萬變不離其宗   This is a joint contribution to two series in China Heritage: Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium and Spectres & Souls. Below, we offer a series of works that contribute to the 2023 season of political theatre in both Beijing and Washington.… Read

Xi Jinping’s Empire of Tedium Appendix XXXVI 你儂我儂   In early March 2023, the ‘dual congresses’ representing China’s civilian government are convened in Beijing. Known by the shorthand expression the ‘Two Sessions’ 兩會 liǎng huì they are the annual plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress and of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.… Read

The Other China 山川之美   This addition to our series The Other China was inspired by a calligraphic work by Liu Chan 劉蟾, artist, editor and educator, written for a friend by the name of Zhu Maoyuan 朱茂元.… Read