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.
The one-child policy, plus the African community in Guangzhou
The extremes of Chinese media, plus Chinese internet humor
Zhao Liang and the South-North Water Diversion Project
Suicides, strikes, and labor unrest in China
Critical media, foreign and domestic
Mao's legacy and foreign self-censorship
Schoolyard violence with Chinese characterisitcs
Dimensions of China's soft power
Huang Guangyu trial and real estate dilemma
The eulogy and the aftershocks
China's gadflies and the mine miracle
Iran and the vaccination scandal
Google China and the Pullout
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