James Carter is Professor of History and part of the Nealis Program in Asian Studies at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He is the author of three books on China’s modern history, most recently Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai.
In 2014, Ilham Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of separatism, despite his relatively moderate stance on questions of Uyghur autonomy. But his truth was too blasphemous — intolerable for China's gatekeepers of history.
In 1926, a youth basketball game — the championship of a citywide tournament in the northeastern city of Harbin — between Chinese and Russian players ended in controversy. It was a microcosm of the times: A country on the rise reckoning with the remnants of colonialism.
In popular understanding, the Qianlong Emperor's rejection of Lord Macartney and King George III was an act of hubris, a failure to recognize the military might of Britain and the West, the last prideful act of a waning empire before a "century of humiliation." But what if our understanding is all wrong?
Before the Cuban Missile Crisis, there was real fear during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1954 that nukes might be deployed. The conflict — including an eight-month bombardment of Nationalist-controlled Jinmen Island — is largely a footnote in contemporary cross-strait relations, though it hasn't been forgotten by the residents who lived through it.
This week, we look back to 1931, when maybe the worst of China's recent floods inundated an area the size of New England, affecting up to 50 million people.
Who was Ma Xinyi? A governor-general born to a Muslim family and one the most powerful officials in the realm, Ma coordinated the exchange of technology and methods from Western advisers to the Qing army. On the morning of August 22, he was assassinated in Nanjing — for reasons that remain unconfirmed to this day.
"Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768," by the late Philip A. Kuhn, tells of a hoax gone wrong in the spring of 1768. The Qianlong emperor, believing that rumors of witchcraft were an existential threat to his rule, ordered his bureaucrats to root out sorcerers using any means possible. Much torture and death ensued.
In China, Matteo Ricci is known for his efforts in promoting mutual understanding. Sadly, his arrival to Macau was the result of the most shameful aspect of Europe's global trade: slavery.
The Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming Dynasty, came to power amid violence. His reign was yet fragile in 1372 when he was gifted two conjoined melons as a symbol of Heaven's blessing. But much suffering would befall those around him.
The Battle of the Talas River is often presented as a major watershed in world history, the “high water mark” of Chinese power. On either the fourth or fifth day of the fight, the battle turned — on treachery and betrayal.