The personal website and archive of Jeremiah Jenne
A collection of jottings, writings, published pieces, and inchoate thoughts
Looking at the trajectory of Xi Jinping, it’s hard not to think of the parallels with la Familia Corleone.*
Yeah, Beijing is a tough mistress, a city that a friend once compared to living in an abusive relationship. He’s now in Bangkok. I’m still here … for as long as they’ll let me stay.
Grant’s was a life lived in many acts: Soldier. Drunk. Failed businessman. Drunk. General. Drunk. President. Failed Businessman again. Tomb. He was also the first US president to visit China.
In his masterful book, Ian Johnson goes in search of Chinese spiritualism—and finds it everywhere
Since mid-November, police and security officials have evicted tens of thousands of migrants from their apartments, and pictures of the newly homeless from all across China sitting outside in the Beijing winter have spread widely on social media. Why did the city government take this step? And what does this mean for the rights of China’s so-called “low-end population”?
A devastating fire which killed 18 migrant workers in Daxing and a child abuse scandal at a kindergarten in an upscale neighborhood expose the fault lines of economic class in China’s capital
Which Chinese dynasty is most like the Sex Pistols? Which rap crew could have soundtracked the Khans? The rogue historian weighs in…
It’s 3:00 in the morning. You are sitting on a stool next to a drinks cart somewhere near “Pub Street” in Siem Reap. Beyond the reptilian core of your brainstem – the part devoted to maintaining respiration and sphincter function – you have a dim recollection of an appointment in three hours with Angkor Wat.
Probably the most commonly asked question in my classes is “What was Mao’s deal?” It’s a tough question to answer, even for folks from China. Approach ten people in a Beijing park, ask them about Mao and be prepared to get ten wildly different answers.
In 2015, The Guardian reported the Pearl River Delta region had overtaken Tokyo to become the world’s largest urban area in both geographic size and population. To find out what that looks like at ground level, I would walk 100 km from Guangzhou East Train Station to Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport.
What George Lucas taught me about the 1912 abdication of the last emperor of China, Puyi
Day five of our trek and I look like I’m a bottle of tequila and two Mexican hookers away from reenacting the last five minutes of “Chris Farley: The E! True Hollywood Story.” The mountain spirits are having their fun with me. I should have bought their damn blessing.
As the Party proceeds to eat the apparatus of government like some unholy cross between the Ouroboros and a human centipede, Xi Jinping steers the ship of state to a new era of "Amazing China."
One theory as to why the name “tangyuan” is more popular than “yuanxiao” today has to do with the perils of imperial politics — and has a special resonance in Beijing today
Qing emperors were no strangers to the curse of bad data—and built their own secret system to avoid it.
Looking at the trajectory of Xi Jinping, it’s hard not to think of the parallels with la Familia Corleone.*
The Ministry of Culture last month announced a crackdown on “obscene, pornographic and vulgar performances” at funerals and weddings after stories of wild send-offs involving naked women groping mourners and pole dancing at rural gatherings made headlines.
Yeah, Beijing is a tough mistress, a city that a friend once compared to living in an abusive relationship. He’s now in Bangkok. I’m still here … for as long as they’ll let me stay.
Even centuries ago, the people of Beijing were willing to help those less fortunate, and throughout the city’s recent history, there have been many institutions providing aid to the poor, the sick, and the displaced.
Zhihua Temple, one of the best-preserved repositories of Ming-era architecture and artifacts in the city, has reopened after extensive renovations.
Bronze animal statues weren’t the only thing looted from the Old Summer Palace when it was put to the torch by British and French troops at the conclusion of the Arrow War in 1860; the imperial kennel was robbed as well
Along the banks of the Lancang (Mekong) River in Yunnan Province, ethnicity is being constructed brick by brick
After years of neglect, the Forbidden City’s Palace Museum is finally being opened up and dragged into the 21st century
On February 1, 1662, Ming loyalist and part-time pirate Zheng Chenggong forced the surrender of the Dutch fort on Taiwan.
Separating fact from legend is always hard in Chinese history, particularly when that figure is one of China’s most famous patriots
I joined Josh Summers for an episode of his excellent new podcast The Expat Entrepreneur to discuss the story behind Beijing by Foot and sharing my passion for Chinese history and culture.
Grant’s was a life lived in many acts: Soldier. Drunk. Failed businessman. Drunk. General. Drunk. President. Failed Businessman again. Tomb. He was also the first US president to visit China.
While some commuters will no doubt rejoice at the increased number of bike lanes and sidewalks, the true test of the municipal government's commitment to green transportation will come from whether restrictions on automobiles and other motorized vehicles using spaces set aside for cyclists and pedestrians are enforced.
A series of controversial social media posts claim the Party is censoring the past to preserve its legitimacy in the present. Why is the Cultural Revolution such a sensitive topic these days?
From governor in Guangzhou to prisoner in India, Ye Mingchen was probably the unluckiest official to ever serve as Governor-General in the Pearl River Delta.
China advances, America retreats. What's really happening in the dance between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump?
In his masterful book, Ian Johnson goes in search of Chinese spiritualism—and finds it everywhere
2017 was a year of change for Beijing, but then again what year since 1421 hasn’t been a year of change for the city?
The Beijing municipal government threatening organizations that assist displaced migrants is bad policy, but official ambivalence toward private charity dates back at least to the imperial era
A review of Alice Poon's historical novel The Green Phoenix, a love triangle set during the time of the Ming-Qing transition
Workers building Beijing’s mega-airport of the future have stumbled over a bit of the city’s past.
The Nanjing Massacre is a poignant example of how history and memory can become contested battlegrounds, even decades later
Beijing has seen a lot of changes this year, but is this something new? Beijing has always been in a state of flux.
That there was a figure in Guangdong history who also shares his name with a famous web-slinger...now, that's just serendipity made in geek heaven.
Since mid-November, police and security officials have evicted tens of thousands of migrants from their apartments, and pictures of the newly homeless from all across China sitting outside in the Beijing winter have spread widely on social media. Why did the city government take this step? And what does this mean for the rights of China’s so-called “low-end population”?