Culture

Kassia St Clair’s The Race to the Future (John Murray, 2023) might just be the perfect read for the China history buff and/or “Petrol Head” in your life, telling the incredible story of the 1907 Peking to Paris car race In 1907, some very, very optimistic Europeans — including an Italian Prince, a French racing driver, and a conman or two – gathered in the French Embassy in Beijing to …

Paul French selects ten recent translations of Chinese fiction into English to take to the beach this summer to ponder China more deeply as you work on your tan rather than your business plan… Contemporary Chinese literature is a window into China’s soul. Whether you want to profile your customers, work out who should be your target audience or just understand your friends, neighbours and partners better, reading fiction can …

As she releases her new book, Fortune’s Bazaar, author Vaudine England meets up with Paul French in Hong Kong’s famous Foreign Correspondents’ Club to discuss two centuries of Hong Kong history – from “barren rock” to colony, from handover to today With such uncertainty at present, perhaps it’s a good time to look back on the history of Hong Kong. There have certainly been books about the city’s history before – …

Philip Snow’s ambitious new book – China and Russia: Four Centuries of Conflict and Concord – covers several centuries of history between the great powers, and asks what their current relationship status means for the rest of the world Philip Snow has written a big book about a very big subject – Russia-China relations. It starts in 1689 with the Treaty of Nerchinsk by the Amur River and moves through …

Former diplomat Lord McDonald, who played a key role in the “Golden Age” of UK-China relations, talks to Andy Mok about the ways in which both British businesses and the UK government should be approaching China in 2023. In the summer of 2022, Lord McDonald of Salford’s intervention in the Chris Pincher affair – accusing then Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being less than honest about his knowledge of Deputy …

As TikTok fights for its life in the West, and pundits sling mud at the app’s differing treatment of children at home and abroad – does any of it matter if it ultimately leads to better outcomes for young people using social media? From Liz Truss’ tirade against TikTok as a “threat to children’s safety”, to American senator Richard Blumenthal’s concern that “TikTok’s policies and practices for children and teens …

Paul French recommends some of the best Chinese novels, short stories and poetry translated and published so far in 2023. Each of these works has something vital to say about modern China and can deepen our understanding of the country The interior life of urban China: Ghost Music, An Yu From the acclaimed author of 2020’s Braised Pork comes another novel with a culinary feel – mushrooms and all things …

TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, has a female CEO, and the country is home to two-thirds of the world’s female billionaires. Yet social pressures and media representation still pose challenges for many women in China. Ahead of International Women’s Day, FOCUS showcases 10 women who have overcome these challenges to succeed in China Chinese women are showing that, as Mao once famously said, they do indeed “hold up half the sky”. …

The story of the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) during World War One is both touching and fascinating. As the political climate between China and the West becomes more combative, Clive Harvey –  author of the 2017 book Yang’s War – sheds light on a powerful historical partnership between the major powers that is rarely spoken of … but should be Chinese tenacity runs deep. If you go back, 100 years …

From the importance of good translation to entrepreneurial techniques for surviving China’s uncertainty, these 10 best non-fiction books on China – introduced by author Paul French – offer an insight into what happened in 2022  … and what we can expect to happen in 2023 On the Edge: Life Along the Russia-China Border, Franck Billé and Caroline Humphrey The Russia-China border winds for 2,600 miles through rivers, swamps, and vast …