Books

Zheng He and the Old Book Bazaar

JDM050408gjsj2.jpg

Two news bits inexplicably paired together as they make the rounds of news websites:

1. The 25th Annual Old Book Bazaar runs from 9-17 April at Liuli Chang in Beijing (photo is of last year's event). Nearly 10,000 different titles from the late Qing and early Republic, as well as used books from both before and after the revolution.

2. A special bronze tripod (ding 鼎) produced under the supervision of the National Museum was unveiled on the 6th. It commemorates the 600th anniversary of the start of Zheng He's famous voyage through the Indian Ocean, and possibly more distant shores.

Zheng He and his voyages, incidentally, form the subject of several articles in the March issue of Read magazine, which reportedly had been facing insolvency. Since Danwei last reported on those rumors, the magazine has gone on to publish both a January-February combined issue and a March issue. We hereby retract the premature obituary.

Links and Sources:
Original Star Daily article is here (Chinese). Photo from Sina here.
Earlier Danwei post heralding the demise of Read is here.

Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
090609guardian2.png 090609CNN3.png
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
The latest recommended blogs and new media
laomo2010x80.jpg
From 2008
Books on China
The Eurasian Face : Blacksmith Books, a publishing house in Hong Kong, is behind The Eurasian Face, a collection of photographs by Kirsteen Zimmern. Below is an excerpt from the series:
Big in China: An adapted excerpt from Big In China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising A Family, Playing The Blues and Becoming A Star in China, just published this month. Author Alan Paul tells the story of arriving in Beijing as a trailing spouse, starting a blues band, raising kids and trying to make sense of China.
Pallavi Aiyar's Chinese Whiskers: Pallavi Aiyar's first novel, Chinese Whiskers, a modern fable set in contemporary Beijing, will be published in January 2011. Aiyar currently lives in Brussels where she writes about Europe for the Business Standard. Below she gives permissions for an excerpt.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ Korean history doesn't fly on Chinese TV screens (2007.09): SARFT puts the kibbosh on Korean historical dramas.
+ Religion and government in an uneasy mix (2008.03): Phoenix Weekly (凤凰周刊) article from October, 2007, on government influence on religious practice in Tibet.
+ David Moser on Mao impersonators (2004.10): I first became aware of this phenomenon in 1992 when I turned on a Beijing TV variety show and was jolted by the sight of "Mao Zedong" and "Zhou Enlai" playing a game of ping pong. They both gave short, rousing speeches, and then were reverently interviewed by the emcee, who thanked them profusely for taking time off from their governmental duties to appear on the show.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky rsschiclet2.png (on the mainland)
or Feedburner rsschiclet.gif (blocked in China)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Top Links: Links from the top bar
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Jobs: Want ads
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30