“More captivating than a day at the races, James Carter offers a sweeping ride through Shanghai’s tumultuous history.”
— Helen Zia, author of Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution
How a single day revealed the history and foreshadowed the future of Shanghai.
AVAILABLE NOW from W.W. Norton!
A Conversation Between China and the West
I first visited China in 1992. Studying in the Manchurian city of Harbin, I saw a grim, post-industrial present but a remarkably vibrant past that opened windows onto the ways that Chinese and western cultures had influenced one another to create something unique.
SupChina: This Week in China’s History
Every week, at SupChina.com, I highlight an event that happened in China’s history. Sometimes they are well known, and other times they are obscure…but whether they seem profound or trivial, I find some meaning in what went before.
The legacy of Yuan Shikai, China’s disastrous first president
Yuan Shikai was one of the most significant men in the last decades of the Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic. He served as China’s first president, but his career ended ignominiously. His legacy has not aged well, either.
This week in 1900 — What the Boxers can tell us about our world today
“The foreigners have been aggressive toward us, infringed upon our territorial integrity….. The common people suffer greatly at their hands, and each one of them is vengeful.”
史30 “An emperor reveals his guts.” SupChina Dec. 23, 2020.
史29 “How Kublai Khan’s Yuan complicates the notion of ‘China’.” SupChina Dec. 16, 2020.
史28 “The legacy of Yuan Shikai, China’s disastrous first president.” SupChina Dec. 9, 2020.
史27 “America’s first giant panda and China’s most popular export.” SupChina Dec. 2, 2020
史26 “Justice during imperial China: Reexamining the ‘Lady Hughes’ affair of 1784.” SupChina Nov. 25, 2020.
史25 “China archives are being erased. Much is at risk of being lost.” SupChina Nov. 18, 2020.
史24 “A final day at the races and the end of old Shanghai.” SupChina Nov. 11, 2020.
史23 “Electoral politics and a call for change – in China, circa 1911.” SupChina Nov 3, 2020.
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