History of China

“( Beijing ) is one of the driest cities in the world, where the water table sinks a meter every year. The heavens rarely open, and for every drop of rain that does fall, three times as much evaporates from the pale, barren earth. Was a city ever so ready to welcome (September’s) World Water Congress as Beijing ?
Water is the No I problem facing China at the moment,” said Yu Kongjian, a landscape architect and environmental campaigner, on the sidelines of the summit. “If things keep going as they are, in about 20 years China will have to move its capital from Beijing because of the lack of clean water — it’s simply that serious.” Academic Peter Droege, author of The Renewable City — a Comprehensive Guide to a New Urban Revolution, said; “The situation is dire and about to get much worse. Global warming will have an impact but Beijing ’s ... secret is an over-dependence on coal and nuclear power and antiquated ‘flush-and- forget’ water technology. It’s time for Beijing to adapt or die.” --South China Morning Post, Sept. 23, 2006 - and - see this story of Nov 29

2006-11-23 Secretary General of World Council of Churches visits China

2006-11-15 Religion should help boost social harmony

2006-11-15 Role of international aid agencies in China - "why help a rich China?"

2006-11-10 Guangzhou one child parents urged to have two children

2006-11-06 Yellow River in decline

Nov 3: Africa summit in Beijing - must read!

Oct 24: Microcredit for China - a most important article

Oct 23: Archbishop of Canterbury concludes two week tour of China - note the spot-on observation that in China "co-operation comes before dialogue"

Oct 20: "English teachers wanted: who is teaching China's youth?" - must read for anyone thinking of working in China

2006-04-04 (BBC): China & Brazil - USA unreasonableness/jealousy?

2005-08-25: 60 Billion Yuan's worth of food thrown away every year

2004-05-10 Democracy for China??

Jonathan Spence - many excellent books on China - all listed and reviewed here.
The ones I really recommend are:
*** The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (c. 2001) not easy to read, but essential for studying Ricci
**** The Question of Hu (1989) - an embarrassing book if you happen to be a foreigner and a priest
***** Emperor of China: Self-portrait of K'ang Hsi (1988) what an enlightened leader.......Plato's Philosopher-King
***** To Change China: Western Advisers in China (1980) - must read for any foreigner wanting to work in China

John Pollock: ***** Hudson & Maria: Pioneers in China (1996) - must read for any foreigner wanting to work in China

Sterling Seagrave:
***** Dragon Lady (1993) - a must for anyone wanting to understand events around time of Boxer Rebellion.
Shows how popular understanding of Siege of Peking is 90% fiction
***** The Soong Dynasty -(1986) a must for anyone wanting to understand 20th century China

1989-06-04 Tiananmen Square - A Massacre?

Lin Yutang: *** My Country My People (1935) - one of the most important studies ever written about the Chinese mind and character

1583: Matteo Ricci

1421 File ***** featuring Gavin Menzies' claim that Chinese fleets circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan, reached America seventy years before Columbus, and Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook. Hard to put it down....like a thrilling detective story...but....see this file also for critics of Menzies' research

1254: Marco Polo, Kublai Khan & Pope Gregory X