

James Carter
37.8K posts

@jayjamescarter
Historian of Modern China. Latest book CHAMPIONS DAY: The End of Old Shanghai (@WWNorton). #PIP fellow @NCUSCR. This Week in China's History @thechinaproj












1587 is absolutely one of the great books on Chinese history. It is a series of vignettes, each a chapter centered on the life of a single notable individual in a single year during the Ming dynasty’s decline. Actually kind of gives ATLA's "Tales of Ba Sing Se" vibe


I am launching a blog on Chinese political economy. It's my contribution to the conversation on China. "An ancient civilization starting anew, China remains poorly understood by the world. Superficial resemblance to the Soviet Union masks its complex history, distinctive culture, and hybrid economy. Yet the importance of getting China right can hardly be overstated." In the inaugural essay, I recommend six books that serve as the necessary foundation for in-depth understanding of China. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China (2011) by Ezra Vogel 1587, a Year of No Significance (1981) by Ray Huang The Rise of Modern China, 6th Edition (1999) by Immanuel C. Y. Hsu Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang (2009) by Zhao Ziyang The State Strikes Back (2019) by Nicholas Lardy How China Works: An Introduction to China’s State-Led Economic Development (2024) by Lan Xiaohuan


1/ S. Korea's entire media establishment across political spectrum has united in unprecedented editorial consensus expressing profound betrayal, outrage, national humiliation, and fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance re: mass arrest of Korean workers at Hyundai's Georgia plant.







The latest "This Week in China's History" column just dropped. Read historian @jayjamescarter's reflections on how historians deal with supernatural claims. Link in the replies below — read it or listen to my narration.





