With Chinese Characteristics

In this episode Natalie and Cherrie discuss how Christmas stole Confucius's holiday, where the world's holiday decorations are made, and Mao's Korean war holiday party. 

Learn about the history of Christmas in China, and how it has taken on its own set of Chinese Characteristics.

Natalie and Cherrie discuss the highest grossing movie ever in China's box office - Wolf Warrior 2,  a patriotic action blockbuster.

Started as a passion project by director, co-writer, co-producer and Wolf Warrior himself -Wu Jing, the movie's success came as a surprise to him and everyone else. It came at the right time. China's nationalist propaganda is becoming more and more aggressive. Through this movie, we see China's image to its own people, and China through the world's eyes.

Aside from many of its flaws and the re-enacting of the white (now Chinese) savior narrative,  we can say that it's a very entertaining movie.

Follow along in fictional Africa and see how Wolf Warrior carries China and the world on his shoulders. Let us know what you think! 

Chinese families (and asian families in general) have a reputation for being close, and for listening to parents and grandparents well into adulthood.

In China itself however, respect for your ancestors isn't just culture, it's the law! 

Natalie and Cherrie discuss the origin of these filial piety laws, their impact on society, and their net effects. Like most things we talk about, it ends up being Confucius and Mao's fault.

The US Presidential Elections are always a spectacle, but this year interest from China was at an all time high. 

Despite censorship, it has been the most popular topic on the web for weeks, dominating discussion there are much as it does in the US itself.

Join us as we discuss the Chinese Internet's reactions and hot takes, from State Media using it for Propaganda, to Chinese Netizen's championing worker rights. 

In 1949 as a result of the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai Shek (蔣介石) and his Nationalist government had retreated to the Island of Taiwan, and Mao Tse Tung and his Chinese Communist Party funded the new People's Republic of China.

Normally the story ends there, however in reality, Chiang Kai Shek and his Nationalists never considered the civil war to be over.

Using one of the largest navies in Asia, US technology, and bitter determination, they almost brought the new nation of China to its knees, and the rest of the world into nuclear warfare. 

Special thanks to the book: "Taiwan Straits" for giving me the idea for this topic.
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810888906/Taiwan-Straits-Crisis-in-Asia-and-the-Role-of-the-U-S-Navy

In this episode we discuss the history and cultural significance of what is now known as 'The Great Wall of China'. When it was started, what it was for, and what role did it actually take in the defense of China. 

More than that, though, we discuss the concept of the Great Wall, which ended up being more powerful and long lasting than any actual part of the structure. How it defined China both at home and abroad, and how through its age, it became not just a symbol of any particular dynasty, but of China itself. 

Would there even be a China as we know it without the Great Wall? Let us know what you think. 

Natalie and Cherrie discuss the wildly entertaining 1975 CCP Propaganda Film Breaking with Old Ideas. Made at the end of China's Cultural Revolution, the film is a naked justification of both the goals and methods of Maoist education. Come see what the hard line Maoists claimed they wanted in their own words.

The movie can be found online here: https://archive.org/details/Breaking_With_Old_Ideas

So please follow along and learn why universities are bad, private industry is worse, and how your mother will cry if she sees you in leather shoes. If you do end up watching it, please let us know what you think! Are you convinced? Did you take off your leather shoes.

Just 100 years ago in China, concubinage was not an uncommon sight and did not raise many eyebrows. Fast forward to today, from the ending of the last Imperial Dynasty in Chinese history, to the Republic of China, to the People’s Republic of China, Chinese society was turned upside down and with it, the tradition, culture and practice of the institution of Marriages. In this episode, we explore changes in Chinese Marriages in the last 100 years and how Chinese women’s standing in society transforms alongside with the institution of marriage. 

The 1800s were a time of great humiliation and loss for the Chinese people, usually remembered now as the 'Century of Shame'. However among that, resistance to colonial pressure came from the most unlikely of sources.

In this episode, Natalie discusses the life of Liu Yongfu and his Black Flag army. Their origin from rebels and bandits, and their evolution into a guerrilla army that resisted two imperial powers.

Nearly sixty years ago, China declared an all out war on the bird of capitalism: sparrows. In this episode, we discuss the goals, the reality, the hysteria, the environmental impact of the legendary Four Pests Campaign. What started off as a health campaign to combat allegations of American biological warfare quickly evolved into one of the first of Mao's great social mass mobilizations - and the near extinction of sparrows in China. We also discuss the legacy and the historical memory of this event in China, and how it features in the country’s 2020 Coronavirus response.

Each week a Chinese and an American Podcaster discuss events with Chinese Characteristics.