The island that got away drives deep passions. Lying tantalizingly close, less than 100 miles from the mainland, this isolated landmass has long been perched within the mainland’s sphere of influence. And yet, it remains separate, a mocking presence over the decades. Governed by a regime anathema to the mainland government, the island is labeled an existential, foreign threat. Seeking control is visceral. The mainland government enforces broad economic sanctions. Its military

“The past is what happened, history is what is written about it.” This favorite quote from James Carter, Professor of modern Chinese history, has weighty implications for society and governance broadly. It also arises in less flashy, if not less important, venues. The questions raised are the same no matter the context. What is the past? Who gets to document this past in our histories for today and tomorrow? Spring Dawn over the Elixir Terrace, Lu Guang, 1369, Metropolitan Mu

“ I will faithfully fulfill my responsibilities bestowed by the Constitution, with the nation’s needs as my mission and the people’s interests my yardstick. ” 1 China today is a reinvigorated successor to its “ Hundred Schools of Thought ” ancestors. Though China defies easy labeling, the melded legacy of the early Confucians and Legalists courses through Chinese society. We see this in statements such as that of Chinese leader Xi Jinping above and his overseeing of strict ru

“‘ The tendency of human nature to do good is like that of water to flow downward .’” 1 This 2,300-year-old statement by Mencius, second only to Confucius in the Confucian pantheon, would have been relatable, yet not, to Daoists Laozi and Zhuangzi who believed that the Way of nature is balanced. This distinction is representative of the freewheeling philosophical “Hundred Schools of Thought” discourse for hearts and minds that blossomed in the Chinese heartland during the hal

“Promote Civility and Cultivate New Social Norms” (Zhengzhou, China) “A successful society is one that is supported by a majority of the people.” This comment during a recent conversation led us down a new path. I would add that a successful society is also one in which the people are proud, confident, and satisfied with their place in the world. By this metric, the People’s Republic of China is currently more successful as a society than the United States of America. In othe

China is a place where the past walks beside the present, receding but never disappearing. Three artifacts that reflect this are dragon screens, pagodas, and city walls. They are not simply physical structures. They form an architecture of Chinese authority, belief, protection, and thus identity. They are symbols that explain a worldview. Dragon Screens Datong Nine Dragon Screen ( www.westchinatour.com ) Dragons are powerful creatures in China. Unlike Western tradition, Chine

Photo by Elaine Kong, Unsplash.com Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to All! A time of family reunion and celebrating harvest bounty. Mooncakes...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 34 A reflection on peaches in Chinese culture, symbolism, and myth and what...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America , Vol. 3, Issue 33 In China, alcohol isn’t just alcohol. It’s a key that unlocks...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America , Vol. 3, Issue 32 Michael Pillsbury’s The Hundred Year Marathon lays out a stark, urgent premise worthy of a John le Carre novel: that China has been quietly and brilliantly executing a long-term, covert strategy to displace the United States as the world’s dominant superpower by 2049. According to Pillsbury, this is not just geopolitical rivalry. It is a methodical, calculated effort rooted in ancient stratagems and cloaked in de

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 30 China has always been molded by its land boundaries. Throughout recorded history, this is where the Han people of China encountered, fought, conquered, were conquered, and co-existed with numerous cultures and civilizations. China’s peripheries are fault lines. Borderlands that have been absorbed, resisted, erased, and reasserted over time. This was as true when a smaller, historic China was centered in the heartla

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 28 A friend and I were discussing the recent temporary tariff pause in the de...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 27 I recently returned from almost a month in China, primarily spent in Henan...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 26 March. Mid-Spring. My exploration of a transcultural appreciation of art...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 25 March is mid-spring on China’s lunar calendar. Winter’s grip has loosened,...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 24 “Another scientist/engineer of Chinese descent, long in America, has...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 23 History. The boring subject school kids dread; the consequential topic that...

Gund Kwok , the only Asian Women Lion & Dragon Dance Troupe in the U.S., ushered in the Year of the Snake with an innovative and...

(image by www.royalmint.com ) The Lunar New Year is today, January 29, 2025. It is the Year of the Snake. This begins Spring Festival...

Andrew Singer Talks About China and America, Vol. 3, Issue 22 Thinking about China. And America. Even when I am not. In today’s issue, a...