I used to be a big fan of Mary Kay Magistad when she was The World’s East Asia correspondent, based in Beijing. I was always impressed with her sharp intellect as well as her common human touch. I came across her seven parts radio series called “Young in China”, looking into the coming of age… Continue reading Mary Kay Magistad’s Podcast “Whose Century Is it”
Early this year, a giant gold-painted statue of Chairman Mao was ordered to be removed from a village in central China’s Henan province. This little drama says a lot about the controversy surrounding the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. On the one hand, the authorities stubbornly stick to the vague verdict of… Continue reading thoughts on Mao on the 40th anniversity of his death
I gave a talk at the Beijing America Center about the changing role of chinese women to a small army of more than one hundred chinese audience, followed by heated discussion about women and society. A very rewarding experience!
http://www.takepart.com/feature/2016/07/29/women-china takepart features Holding Up Half the Sky: Women Speak Out on the Status of Feminism in China Signs of progress abound, but many traditions and cultural mores are yet to be overcome. Jul 29, 2016 Shanghai-based Rebecca Kanthor’s work has appeared on PRI’s The World, CBC Radio, CNN, and BBC, and elsewhere. · Bio… Continue reading a piece about feminism in China in which I am feature
I was asked by the Foreign policy magazine to recommend two or three novels that give a sense of place. below is my selection. To Live by Yu Hua The novel chronicles the life of Xu Fugui (the given name, ironically, means ‘fortunate and noble’), filled with tragedies. It opens with Fugui, a son of… Continue reading Chinese novels that give a sense of place
Books Headed to Rio, Paris, or Cape Town this summer? We asked distinguished writers and thinkers to pick their favorite books about 20 of the world’s great cities. BY BRITT PETERSON JULY 1, 2016 Ever wondered what a list of Foreign Policy summer reads would include? Wonks and geeks, look no further. Come for Balzac’s… Continue reading Around the World in 40 Books – compiled by the Foreign Policy magazine
Amitav Ghosh A window into the new China: Lijia Zhang’s ‘Lotus’ Chrestomather | July 3, 2016 in Uncategorized | Comments (0) I first met Lijia Zhang in 2010, at a literary event in Beijing. She had then recently published a memoir (Socialism is Great!’ A Worker’s Memoir of The New China, 2008) about her extraordinary… Continue reading Amitav Gosh’s glowing review of my debut novel ‘Lotus’ in his website
