Jim Millward is one of the world’s leading scholars on Xinjiang and Central Asia, and the author of many books and articles, including Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864, and The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction, published by Oxford.
In this week’s Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy talk to Jim about the myths and histories of the Silk Road and a continent’s worth of related subjects: Xi Jinping's signature effort to revive the Silk Road through the One Belt, One Road initiative; the mythological bird associated with Central Asia known as the Dapeng (大鹏), or Roc; the argument over the connection of extremism in Xinjiang to global jihadism; the Chinese policy on ethnic minorities; and academic debates over "New Qing History" and a number of other issues that are putting Central Asia back into its formerly central place in the story of the world's past.
This episode also features a special outro tune played by Jim and Kaiser.
Recommendations:
Jeremy — books by Peter Fleming:
One’s Company – A Journey to China News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir The Siege at PekingJim:
Rian Thum: The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History David Brophy: Uyghur Nation: Reform and Revolution on the Russia-China Frontier Justin Jacobs: Xinjiang and the Modern Chinese State Kwangmin Kim: Borderland Capitalism: Turkestan Produce, Qing Silver, and the Birth of an Eastern Market Judd Kinzley: Staking Claims to China’s Borderland: Oil, Ores, and State-building in Xinjiang Province, 1893-1964 (book forthcoming) and a review of the dissertation Music video: Silk Road Tour 11 – Urumqi – Abigail Washburn & The VillageKaiser: The Chinese immigrant hub of Flushing, Queens, in New York, as a subject of anthropological or cultural studies inquiry.
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