With Chinese Characteristics

In the early 1900s, Chinese women were entering the public space and shaping society like never before. At a time when the new Chinese identity was emerging, women activists and leaders had to navigate the shifting sands that was Chinese society at the time. Striking a balance between meeting the expectation of the traditional Confucian ideal of a women’s role and finding their own place in a modern society as a citizen was tricky. 

In this episode, we talked about one such woman, born into the late Qing dynasty, who had a fantastic character arc that impressed many not just at the time, but for years after. Lü Bicheng(吕碧城), the main character in our story today, was an educator, poet, journalist, writer, activist, business women and a buddhist, a woman who wore many hats. Her life story and trajectory reflected China at the time. What did it mean to be a modern Chinese woman living in the early 1900s? What did it mean to be both a feminist and a nationalist? What was a woman’s experience seeking education and better opportunities for herself while challenging the very foundation of a patriarchal society?

Recommended Books and Reading:
1. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume 2. By Sue Wiles, Clara Wing-chung Ho · 1998.
2. "女界"之兴起 - 晚清天津女子教育与女性形象建构 By 秦方
3. Alternative Modernities, or a Classical Woman of Modern China: The Challenging Trajectory of Lü Bicheng's (1883-1943) Life And Song Lyrics. Author: Grace Fong

In this episode we briefly recap the events of the Opium war, before discussing its conclusion.

Both sides desperately wanted to end the conflict, yet neither side had the patience or diplomatic expertise to broker a lasting peace (If such a thing was even possible). 

The 1942 Treat of Nanjing (and those negotiated shortly after), did indeed end the war, but left many questions unanswered, and many problems unsolved. These problems would only grow larger in time, and go on to cause the more dramatic Second Opium war in the late 1850s.

Beyond anything else, the issue of Opium remained unsolved, as the Qing Empire's attempt to end the trade by force had failed, and the British remained too financially dependent on the drug to consider banning it. 

This is our 2022 Lunar New Year special edition. We hope you enjoy this episode and Happy New Year!

Every year around late January or early February, people all over the world celebrate the Lunar New Year according to the traditional lunisolar calendar.

As for the United States, in the 1950th, grand celebrations and American style parades in San Francisco Chinatown brought the concept of the Chinese New Year to the general American public, first to fight against racism and to show loyalty to the United States during the Cold War, as well as to boost Chinatown tourism business, although reinforcing the modal minority myth as well as other racial stereotypes , these public displays of Americanness during Chinese New Years celebrations contributed to a unique identity forward for Chinese Americans as well as for Chinatowns all around North America. Then, in the 1970s, American presidents started wishing the public "Happy Chinese New Year". In the 1980s and 90s, we see the transition from "Chinese New Year" to "Lunar New Year", we see an Asian American and AAPI identity emerging.

Throughout these historical changes, much like the "War on Christmas", for a Chinese celebrity or an international institution, to say "Happy Chinese New Year" or "Happy Lunar New Year" can be seen as a political stance. Was there really a war on Chinese New Year? Or, should we all fight for the Lunar New Year in observance of solidarity as well as intersectionality in today's America as well as the world?

Recommended Books
1. Making an American Festival: Chinese New Year in San Francisco’s Chinatown  By Chiou-ling Yeh
2. The Color of Success, Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority By Ellen D. Wu
3. Scratches on Our Minds: American Images of China and India By Harold R. Isaacs

The American Presidency Project
John Woolley and Gerhard Peters
UC Santa Barbara

Cover Photo Title
Crowd of people watching a dragon at a Chinese New Year Celebration, Los Angeles, [s.d.]
Cover Photo Source
Public Domain. Credit to University of Southern California. Libraries and California Historical Society. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Before the release of Edward Hunter's 1951 book, the term 'Brainwashing' did not exist in the English Language. Originally a translation of a Chinese term for political reeducation (洗腦，or "wash brain"), the term might have remained unknown in the US. However in the the next two years several thousand American (and international) Prisoners would undergo this 'Brain Washing' during the Korean War.  

The fact that this process seemed so effective (23 Americans refused to return to the US, wanting to stay in China) lead to an explosion of interest in Brainwashing and Mind Control, both in fiction and policy.

In this episode we discuss reports of those initial 'Brain Washings', how it was done, how to resist it, and the results it could achieve.  

We also discuss the US's reaction, and the CIA's attempts to compete with its own ambitious brain washing program, and its successes and failures.

Selected Sources:
Brain-Washing in Red China: The Calculated Destruction of Men's Minds (1951),  Edward Hunter
Brainwashing: The Story of Men Who Defied It (1956), Edward Hunter
Maoism: A Global History (2019), Julia Lovell
The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate" (1991), John Marks
The Korean War (1987), Max HAstings

While naturalistic expeditions in the colonial era were cloaked in the mantle of progress and discovery, they often had a more opportunistic motive. Native plants, animals, and techniques which had already long been known to others were 'rediscovered' by Europeans and mass produced across their colonies on an industrial scale.

After the events of the first Opium war, Chinese methods of Tea cultivation eventually became a casualty of this process. 

In this episode we talk about the industrial espionage that lead to the British Empire breaking China's monopoly on tea production, as well as the system of Royal Botanical gardens that facilitated the spread of economically useful plants across the empire.

Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, it has had a special focus on Africa.  Referred to often as 'African Brothers' (非洲兄弟), the PRC sought new markets, new communist comrades, and international recognition, in the emerging continent. 

In order to gain this they freely sent arms, aid and propaganda, hoping to imbue Africa with some Chinese characteristics of its own. In this periodic series, we'll attempt to touch on every major Sino-African relationship, from 1949 to the present day.

In this Episode, we discuss Tanzania, and China's involvement in it, from the Cultural Revolution inspired social movements, to the impressive works of infrastructure development. 

China has always had a piracy problem. However in the early 18th century, Piracy quickly morphed from scattered opportunists, into a massive state-like operation. With hundreds of ships and 10s of thousands of men, they quickly overwhelmed the Qing Naval forces, and were able to extract tribute from Chinese and Foreigners alike.

Much of this was due to the organizational and diplomatic skill of Shi Yang, AKA Ching Shih, who, with her various husbands, forged several fleets into a powerful pirate confederacy.

In this episode we discuss the history of Chinese piracy, how it differed from the west,  how Shi Yang organized this massive confederacy, and why it eventually negotiated for a peaceful settlement with the Qing Empire.

Recommended:
Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810 by Dian H. Murray
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/3149970-pirates-of-the-south-china-coast-1790-1810

Chinese novels on crime, mystery and justice have a long and separate history from crime novels in the west. Often written by retired officials, they are useful both as entertainment, and as a description of how courts, laws, and investigations happened in the Imperial Chinese Justice system.

Today we talk  about Judge Dee（狄仁杰）, a real Tang Dynasty judge and statesman,  subject of countless works. Specifically the 18th century novel that was translated by Robert Van Gulik as 'Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee'. Listen in and learn how magistrates solve crimes, how trials are conducted, and why you never want to find yourself in an Imperial Chinese court (as a victim or a defendant!).  

https://www.amazon.com/Celebrated-Cases-Judge-Detective-Stories/dp/0486233375

After the failures of the Cultural Revolution, and the advent of economic liberalization, the Communist Party needed to refocus its propaganda efforts to stay current.

1997s 'The Opium War' was the country's most expensive film to date. Made partially to commemorate the return of Hong Kong to Chinese control, it attempted to tell a version of the 1st Opium War that aligned to the CCPs narrative of the century of shame.

In this movie we talk the good, the bad, and the funny, going over the movie, and comparing it to the actual historical event.

In July 1840 British forces arrived off the coast of China to begin what would become the 1st Opium War.

Despite an overwhelming military superiority the commander of the British forces, Charles Elliot, seemed unable to break through Qing delaying tactics with diplomacy, and was hesitant to escalate the war by seizing (and looting!) cities and towns en masse. 

The next year would be a series of skirmishes, battles, negotiations and delays, that would accomplish little aside from wasting British time and killing thousands of Qing Soldiers.  Eventually after this lack of success, and perceived 'soft' treatment of the Chinese,  Elliot would follow the fate of Lin Zexu (林則徐) and be replaced.

Alongside the British perspective, we also discuss the observations of Chinese Scholar Wei Yuan,  who was involved with the conflict, and wrote his own opinions on the causes and problems of the war (道光洋艘征撫記).

Some interesting journals:
Narrative on the Expedition to China (Volume 2): John Elliot Bingham
https://books.google.com/books?id=8TGwqgOCFR0C

SELECTIONS FROM LIEUTENANT CHARLES CAMERON'S DIARY DURING THE PERIOD OF THE CHINESE WAR, 1840-41
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44232776?read-now=1&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents