history

The Historian Rewriting China’s Understanding of the World

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

Q & A

Qian Chengdan is one of China’s best-known historians. In a new book, he and his team attempt to produce a comprehensive Marxist history of the world.

Wu Haiyun

The Hungry Dead and the Envoys of Hell: China’s Ghost Festival

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

MULTIMEDIA

Costumed parades in the street, spectral drawings, and religious ceremonies illustrate how the Chinese celebrate Ghost Festival.

Sheng Wenqiang

As Nolan Arrives, Chinese Fans React to ‘Oppenheimer’ Release

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

For devoted Chinese fans of Christopher Nolan, his latest film about the invention of the atomic bomb is another masterpiece. But can the film overcome its controversial subject matter and reach a broad audience in China?

He Qitong

CCTV Report Sparks Outcry Over Heritage Preservation in Gansu

An investigative report exposed inadequate oversight in preserving Ming and Qing dynasty buildings; local authorities announce probe.

Li Xin

‘Chang An’ Reignites Ancient Rivalry Between 2 Chinese Capitals

Luoyang replaced Chang’an, in modern-day Xi’an, as capital several times in Chinese history. However, the hit animated film “Chang An” turns the tables and puts the emphasis on Chang’an, leaving some in Luoyang upset.

Ye Zhanhang

What Makes a Myth?

The head of the China Mythology Society on the “Creation of the Gods” trilogy and the low status of mythological studies in China.

What ‘Chang An’ Gets Right — and Wrong — About China’s Greatest Dynasty

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

VOICES & OPINION

For decades, films set in the Tang dynasty were plagued by Shakespearean pretensions, geisha-inspired makeup, and anachronistic props. ‘Chang An’ dodges those pitfalls, while falling into a few new ones.

Lu Shan

How China’s Greatest Ever Film Was Rescued From Oblivion

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

Fei Mu’s 1948 masterpiece “Spring in a Small Town” was condemned to obscurity for decades after its release. But 75 years later, it has finally won recognition as the best Chinese film ever made and is receiving a new wave of attention.

Mathew Scott

New Musical Honors Shanghai’s Legacy of Welcoming Jewish Refugees

Composed and conducted by award-winning musicians, the oratorio will premiere in Shanghai on Nov. 17 and then embark on a global tour.

Sixth Tone

The Terra-Cotta Army’s Secret Weapon

The ghostly army of China’s first emperor is known for its thousands of clay foot soldiers. But new excavations are revealing that the force was far more diverse — and tactically sophisticated — than previously assumed.

China’s First News and Publication Museum Opens in Shanghai 

The new museum chronicles the earliest and most influential publications in China’s modern history.

Yang Caini

A Chinese Eau de Cologne, By Way of America

It may smell like TCM, but China’s favorite summertime tonic has its roots in a New York pharmacy.

Huang Wei

Chinese Creepy Crawlies: Keeping the Pests of May at Bay

In Chinese folklore, scorpions, snakes, toads, geckos, and centipedes come out in May to harm humans, who have been trying to keep them at bay with herbs, clothing, and paper charms for centuries.

Recovering the Lost Smells of China’s Slow Trains

The overpowering odors of China’s slow trains have gradually given way to the more antiseptic experience of high-speed rail travel.

Cao Yu

What Was China’s First Museum?

According to historian Xu Jian, the answer is more complicated — and more controversial — than you might think.

Villagers Detained for Unauthorized Dragon Boat Racing, Sparks Debate

Local governments have clamped down on privately organized dragon boat racing over safety concerns, but some experts are calling for more space to be given to the celebration of folk traditions.

The Forgotten Story of China’s First Orchestra

In the mid-19th century, a French Jesuit formed modern China’s first Western orchestra. A recent book and museum exhibit tell his story.

Zhang Xiaoyi

He Wrote the Book on Rural China. But First, He Wrote a Novel.

Shortly before publishing his groundbreaking 1939 study of rural China, sociologist Fei Xiaotong wrote a novel about life in his hometown. What can it tell us about his later work?

Sun Jing

The Shanghai Museum Keeping Memories Of Jewish Refugees Alive

Established in 2007, the city’s Jewish Refugee Museum is dedicated to telling the stories of Holocaust survivors.

The Making of Yunnan

Historian Yang Bin shares his thoughts on Yunnanese history, his unique approach to the region, and how border areas shape a state.