Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

New this week: my review for the China Quarterly journal of Shanghai Tai Chi: The Art of Being Ruled in Mao’s China, by historian Hanchao Lu. Lu’s first book, Beyond the Neon Lights, was one of the works that set me off on the path of studying Shanghai’s history, so it was exciting to read and review this sort-of sequel.

The review is paywalled, but I’m happy to share a PDF with anyone who would like one—just email me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Recommendations

China Stories

David Bandurski and Dalia Parete, “Red Renaissance”
Robert Barnett and Tsering Woeser, “Tibet’s Cultural Revolution”
Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, with photographs by Lam Yik Fei, “Noisy, Gaudy and Spiritual: Young Pilgrims Embrace an Ancient Goddess”
Alex Colville, “Telling Better China Stories”
Nectar Gan, “Chinese tech exec’s fiery endorsement of toxic workplace culture sparks backlash — and costs her job”
Amy Hawkins, “Number of writers jailed in China exceeds 100 for first time, says report”
Lucy Hornby, “Who Tells the Stories of Chinese Leaders? On Two New Biographies”
Gish Jen, “This Isn’t the China I Remember”
Jessie Lau, “China erases memory of ‘white paper’ protests in further threat to journalism”
Grady McGregor, “The Divine Disruptor” — profile of Bob Fu, “America’s most politically-connected Chinese pastor”
Liyan Qi, “How China Sees U.S. Campus Protests”

Florida’s law, which went into effect in July, is among the furthest reaching. In addition to barring Chinese entities from buying agricultural land, it effectively prohibits most Chinese individuals without a green card from purchasing residential property. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure just before launching his Republican presidential campaign, warning voters that China represented the biggest threat to the United States.

Amy Qin and Patricia Mazzei, “When Buying a Home Is Treated as a National Security Threat”

Christian Shepherd and Vic Chiang, “China’s latest wellness trend? Marathons. But good luck getting a spot.”
Alexandra Stevenson, “In China, Ruled by Men, Women Quietly Find a Powerful Voice”
Rory Truex, “Let’s All Take a Deep Breath About China”
Claire Wang, “Is America’s oldest Chinese restaurant in a tiny suburb of Sacramento? Historians investigate”
Lingling Wei, “Beijing Braces for a Rematch of Trump vs. China”
Chun Han Wong, “Two Men Persecuted in Xi’s China Tried to Escape. Only One Succeeded.”

Wanderings Around the World

Gavin Blair, “Akiya houses: why Japan has nine million empty homes”

When the apartheid government was toppled in South Africa, ending white minority rule, people around the world shared in the excitement and optimism that a more just society would emerge. A generation later, the country’s journey provides a broader lesson: It is far easier to rally for an end to racism than it is to undo entrenched inequities and to govern a complicated country.

John Eligon, Lynsey Chutel, and Lauren Leatherby, with photographs by Joao Silva, “Has South Africa Truly Defeated Apartheid?”

Amy Elliott Bragg, “Why doesn’t Detroit have a natural history museum?”
Devin Thomas O’Shea, “Walt Disney Presents Manifest Destiny”

Standout Story

Haaland grew up hearing about St. Catherine’s not only from her grandmother but also from her mother, who was sent there as well. Each generation had stories of hardship and separation. Now Haaland has made listening to similar stories a central part of her job. In the summer of 2021, just months after being sworn in as Secretary of the Interior, she launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to investigate the schools—at the time, there was not so much as a comprehensive list of them, let alone a full roster of students—and to consult with tribes about how to make amends for the harm that the schools caused. After releasing an initial report, in 2022, Haaland decided that archival research and internal investigations were not enough, and began convening listening sessions in Native communities around the country so that survivors and descendants could share testimony. Each session opened with Haaland acknowledging a bitter irony: “My ancestors endured the horrors of the Indian boarding-school assimilation policies carried out by the same department that I now lead.”

Casey Cep, “Deb Haaland Confronts the Legacy of the Federal Agency She Leads”

Featured photo: James Scott Memorial Fountain, Belle Isle State Park, Detroit, Michigan, May 12, 2024.