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Most people are well-aware of the role of Confucius in Chinese philosophy. However, fewer are conscious that the philosopher, who lived from about 550 to 479 BC, was really interpreting an older set of precepts associated with a sort of “philosopher king”, the famous Duke of Zhou or Zhou Gong (周公). The Duke of Zhou…
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I had not intended to write again so soon about Taiwan, but a hoped-for deal between the Kuomintang (國民黨) (“KMT”) and the Taiwan People’s Party (台灣民眾黨) has already collapsed. The deal’s foundering means that William Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party and his new running partner, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), a former ambassador to…
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Kung fu movies are amongst the most successful cultural exports from Greater China, and especially Hong Kong. Many people know how the films produced in Hong Kong from the 1960s on built on the tradition of Cantonese opera, with its slapstick and acrobatics. However, fewer people in the west appreciate that Chinese literature also boasts…
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Reports that People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) property prices fell 0.38% in September 2023, the most in eight years, and that sales numbers have fallen markedly, highlighted again how the sector’s plight threatens the stability of the Chinese financial system. To understand the implications of the property crisis, though, it is necessary to look at…
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A decision by opposition politicians to cooperate in upcoming elections in Taiwan could make the race for president much harder to predict (provided it holds) – with implications for security in the Taiwan Straits and in the western Pacific. An opposition United Front? The Kuomintang’s (國民黨) (“KMT”) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), current Mayor of…
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The return of two pandas on 8 November 2023 from the US to China suggests that structural differences in Sino-American ties will prove hard to surmount, notwithstanding a promised meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”) General Secretary Xi Jinping. Proxy diplomacy The pandas’ departure is important, because the bears have…
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Many people’s favourite treat in Chinese restaurants are xiaolongbao (小笼包), or little basket buns. Truly, xiaolongbao are one of the best bite-sized treats in Chinese cuisine. Eating them is an art. The trick is to place the dumpling on a spoon with chopsticks, nibble a small hole in the wrapper, and then to suck…
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Reports that the flow of foreign direct investment into the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) turned negative in recent weeks have prompted a great deal of soul-searching about the Chinese economy. After all, China had been a huge recipient of foreign investment since joining the World Trade Organisation (“WTO”) in 2001, which went towards turning…
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Over the centuries, historians have sought to tell particular versions of Chinese history, based on certain preconceptions. One contention is geographical, for instance, emerging from the features of the central plans (中原) in China – a triangle running from Xian to Shandong and up to Hebei province, roughly. This area is flat and dusty, but…
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This blog is an effort to make some sense of the world, and in particular of how China’s transformation has altered our lives immeasurably in the last four decades. Living with the Dragon will focus on the key geopolitical and economic shifts that have underpinned changes in China, and examine their impact on the wider…
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