HistoryQueer as Ancient Folk
By Ernie - Posted on January 31st, 2008
Admit it. When you look at old photographs and portraits from the past, you think the subjects were nothing like you. They had no cars, no Net, and funny hairdos. Tradition-bound, their souls stagnated in a dark world yet to be enlightened by Queen Oprah. Thank goodness for social progress! 
Ya Say Ya Want a Revolution? - China '76
By Ernie - Posted on January 15th, 2008
Ah, 1976, a simpler time. Who amongst you has the fullness of years to remember it? Hair was feathered and bottoms were belled. Barry Manilow was singing about writing the songs that made the world sing. Rocky was inspiring the autistic underdog in all of us, while Mother, Juggs & and Speed gave us race-related fodder for thought. Everything in China was hunky-dory, too. I know. I picked up a copy of “China Pictorial 1976” that says so. Here ya go. You’re welcome. A New Generation In China’s Countryside
Blood Thirsty Boxers and a Real Man
By Ernie - Posted on January 10th, 2008
You and your foreign friends are trapped. A place heretofore friendly and deferential to foreigners, Beijing has suddenly decided that all of you are enemies who should be butchered. The government, not wishing to provoke too much international retribution, creates a giant terrorist army of warriors ready to die for China, but not before killing as many of you as possible.
The Luck of the Chinese - Lucky Kids, Gourds, and Dragons
By Ernie - Posted on December 21st, 2007
Don’t believe in luck? Then you’re not Chinese. The Sons of Han know that good fortune can be cultivated, or carelessly lost. It’s all in the hands of the God of Luck. Lucky Star Originally a giant flaming ball of gas, fu xing [lucky star] flew to earth from the heavens while the great dragon was still a hatchling. According to legend, he eventually took on human form, the aspect of a kindly old man. Frequently he held a child.
Beijing 2010: Everything's Harmonious
By Ernie - Posted on December 19th, 2007
Ya know, sometimes I worry that the good people running Beijing might be facing an insurmountable challenge, what with the rampant growth and environmental degradation, etcetera ad nauseum. Turns out there's a big modern facility called the Beijing Planning Exhibition Center, a modern three-story megalith featuring all sorts of high tech displays about where Beijing's been, and where it's going. We can rest easy - every problem Beijing faces, from transportation to waste-water management, is well in hand. Phew, and to think I had my doubts there for a while...well, if you can put up with the snapshots marred by reflective glass and plastic, you'll pick up some useful tidbits concerning Beijing's future, if you're one of those diehards planning to hang around until 2010. High Contrast Beijing : Same Spots, Different Worlds
By Ernie - Posted on December 17th, 2007
Say what you like about Beijing - it will outlast you. Most of the buildings pictured in black and white were ancient when they were photographed. The people, however, were not. They didn't think of themselves as part of Beijing's tumultuous, fathomless past. Do you? Of course not. But do keep in mind that someday, more than likely, someone will look at a picture of you. And you'll be long gone. History. So will many of the buildings in the color pictures once again be dust. Will it matter? Will you?
Today's Hutong, Tomorrow's History
By Ernie - Posted on November 28th, 2007
Beijing's modern facade is impressive but thin. That's okay though. If you don't come from a farm, what's behind the facade is far more interesting, a rich urban stew of new and old, traditional and experimental, comfortable and squalid. Just behind the mighty LG Twin Towers, two of the many glass and steel titans in the heart of Beijing's commercial district, lies a real slice of Chinese life. While Main Street is for corpocrats and their employees, just behind it are earthy neighborhoods where one may spend hours marveling at the fascinating blend of old and new. These pictures and their comments are an attempt to capture the essence of the blend, for the old will certainly fade away, but the spirit and culture of those who live in the side streets are indelible. The Famed Flying Tigers
By Tom Pellman - Posted on October 1st, 2007
The sky was full of animals in those days. More than sixty years ago, during World War II, Yunnan Province in Southwest China sounded like a mythical place. Flying tigers had shark teeth and dogs fought with Peregrine Falcons. Whales flew back and forth over the “Camel’s Hump.” Yet all of these colorful terms actually described a military struggle emerging on the war’s other front.
A Neighbor and a Hero: An American in China during WWII
By Josh - Posted on October 1st, 2007
For as long as there have been movies, filmmakers have portrayed China as a mysterious and distant land, full of novelty and intrigue. People believe it holds secret medicinal fixes that modern doctors do not understand, and its philosophers can turn the world’s complexities into simple truths. Yet those who have lived here understand that China has many of the same mundane daily difficulties that exist everywhere else. People struggle to succeed, and sometimes fail in the process. It is a place similar to any other, and yet far removed from life in the West.
Hong Kong's Journey into and out of British Colonialism
By Derrick Chang - Posted on July 3rd, 2007
The year 1997 was a special one for millions of people around the world with Hong Kong connections. Some celebrated, while others feared the prospects for Chinese control. However one could argue that in terms of impact on society, the British handover of Hong Kong, much like the overblown anxieties about Y2K building at the same time, was much ado about nothing. For the most part the territory is the same bustling business center that it has been for the last sixty years.
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In 1915, Qianmen Gate saw thousands pass beneath it by the hour.
