Jonathan Dresner, Pittsburg State University, Department of History
The NYT Obituary explains how John DeFrancis helped explain and popularize the study of Chinese in the US, and develop some of the first electronic dictionaries.
On a lighter note, the Shaolin monks who were featured in the Olympic opening ceremonies are on tour in the US
Xiao Ke has died. A veteran of the Northern Expedition, the Long March, one of the first generals named by the PLA, purged from the military in 1959, ruralized in 1969, brought back by Deng Xiaoping in the ’70s and named to high posts in the ’80s, but removed after opposing the use of the PLA against Tiananmen demonstrators in 1989, shifted to cultural and historical publication in his 80s, but suffered ill health over the last decade. The obituary by Ed Jocelyn is well worth reading.
Scientists using x-rays and chemical analysis have conclusively shown that the Guangxu emperor was poisoned in 1908. Almost as interesting as the science is the reactions from descendants of the imperial family, who are still out there:
The popular view of the dowager empress as a tyrannical ogre whose cruel and eccentric rule fatally weakened China and allowed it to fall under the influence of western powers is a key part of Communist Party propaganda.
The alternative view, that she was manipulated by a secretive, ultra-conservative and xenophobic clique who would stop at nothing to prevent liberal reform, is rarely discussed.
Views of the dowager empress and her relationship with her nephew even divide surviving members of the royal family, some of whom believe she has been traduced by history.
But Jin Yuzhang, a nephew of the last emperor, stands by the traditional account. “I have not yet studied these findings,” Mr Jin, who has renounced his claim to the throne, told The Daily Telegraph.
“I think the downfall of the Qing dynasty was a historical inevitability. But the dowager empress cannot escape responsibility for some of these events.
“It was during her period in power that China’s decline happened.”
That last line is a classic example of bad historical reasoning, but there’s enough other evidence pointing at her responsibility to cover it.
Jeff Wasserstrom has a roundup of visual sources for Cultural Revolution history
Two interesting articles on China’s 20th century history:
