history

In Shaanxi, a Long-Buried Han Dynasty Tomb Is a Study in Power

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

The tomb of a Han dynasty prime minister, found with gold artifacts and rare clay seals, offers insights into ancient feudal China.

Li Xin

The Forgotten Scholars Who Brought Chinese Laws to the World

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

How do you make Confucian concepts legible to international scholars of law?

Wu Jingjian

One Million Years Later, Yunxian Man Finally Gets a Glow Up 

Using advanced scanning, modeling, and forensic techniques, Chinese scientists have reconstructed the faces of Yunxian Man from million-year-old skulls.

Ding Rui

Writing on the Wall: The Bold, Blocky Print That Scripted Socialism

Spread via handbooks and murals, the blocky, easily legible ‘meishuzi’ characters of the 1950s and ’60s gave Chinese socialism its visual language.

Liu Yuli

Copy Right: The Painstaking Method and Magic of Mastering a Replica

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

Across the country, museums are commissioning recreations of ancient artifacts. But beyond simple replicas, these efforts aim to revive the techniques and craftsmanship that shaped China’s cultural legacy.

Wu Haiyun

A Forgotten Book Gets a Fresh Look

Henri Doré spent his life collecting examples of Chinese folk art. Written off by many of his contemporaries, that collection has become an important window into the country’s past.

Zhang Xiaoyi

Bringing Back Baile

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Wu Huiyuan 

The Secrets of the Shang

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Sometimes called the “holy land” of Chinese archaeology, Yinxu remains a mystery even today.

For China’s Archaeologists, All Roads Lead to Yinxu

Even after nearly a hundred years of excavations, many of the ancient Shang dynasty capital’s secrets remain buried in the earth.

Stunning Tomb Find Sheds New Light on Prehistoric China

The 5,000-year-old burial site suggests that China’s neolithic kingdoms were more sophisticated than previously thought.

Jiang Xinyi

The Puzzling History of China’s Most Controversial Flavoring

Monosodium glutamate, better known as MSG, is a Japanese import that became as Chinese as Kung Pao chicken. But its spread was more historical accident than foreordained.

Liu Shuman

Echoes of War: The Untold Story of the Lisbon Maru

Your questions, answered. In-depth interviews with the minds and makers shaping today’s China.

Q & A

The director of the hit documentary “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru” shares the tears and triumphs he experienced in resurfacing a World War II tragedy.

The Paper

What Would an Asian Pluralism Look Like?

Scholar Song Nianshen on the continent’s need to move past postcolonial theory.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Life in China’s Ancient Capital

Tombs belonging to nobles may contain more artifacts, but new finds are shedding light on what life was like for the Shang Dynasty’s 99%.

Nostalgia in the City: Shanghai in the Booming ’90s 

Shanghai in the 1990s is the subject of much nostalgic yearning. A new photography exhibition transports viewers back to this consequential period of the city’s — and country’s — history.

Wu Dong

The General’s Tomb

What can a 3,000-year-old grave tell us about life during the Shang Dynasty?

Sixth Tone

China’s City of Bicycles

How Shanghai became the capital of China’s two-wheeled craze.

Moonlight Legends: The Rabbits at the Center of Mid-Autumn Festival

Since ancient times, paper decorations depicting the moon-walking Jade Rabbit, as well as figurines of the Rabbit God, have been key components of this traditional Chinese holiday.

Sheng Wenqiang

Fabric of Time: The Group Reproducing China’s Ancient Style

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

A Shanghai lecturer is working with like-minded culture fans to research and replicate traditional Chinese outfits, bringing their beauty into the 21st century.