Paid to Cry: Chinese Professional Wailers at Funeral

ZILING CHEN discusses her original research into the tradition of funeral mourners in China. Professional wailers, or funeral mourners, are performers paid to present the eulogy at a funeral and lament the deceased through weeping and singing. Surprisingly, this seemingly out-of-no-where career has a history dating back 2000 years to the Han dynasty and is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. On one hand, wailers … Continue reading Paid to Cry: Chinese Professional Wailers at Funeral

The Letters of Wang Xiaobo: A New Translation

Discover a new translation of the correspondence of author Wang Xiaobo by XINNING SHAO. Translator’s Note For a long time, my most conspicuous quirk was to watch people sleep: a stranger next to me nodding away on a train, a security guard on night shift, hand-on-chin, giving in to exhaustion, a friend snoring on a sofa amidst booming party music. They curl up and soften, … Continue reading The Letters of Wang Xiaobo: A New Translation

Yes, China Has Philanthropy and It’s Growing

MATT KIRSCHNER discusses the history and development of philanthropy in China. Philanthropy is not new to China. Fan Li (范蠡) served as an advisor to King Gou Jian (勾践) of the state of Yue during China’s Spring and Autumn period (771 – 476 BC). Generations of Chinese remember Fan Li for his work streamlining administration in the state of Yue, building a formidable army, and … Continue reading Yes, China Has Philanthropy and It’s Growing

120th Anniversary of Yale-China: Mao Zedong and Yale-China

AURELIA DOCHNAL explores Mao Zedong’s relationship with Yale-China in the 1900s. In his 1903 search for a base in China, one of Yale-China’s founders, Lawrence Thurston, heard from a local missionary that “Hunan people would be as influential as any people in the Empire.” Beyond influencing the eventual decision for Yale-China to settle in Changsha, the crowded but ambitious capital of Hunan, this observation seems … Continue reading 120th Anniversary of Yale-China: Mao Zedong and Yale-China

120th Anniversary of Yale-China: Pioneering Equal Partnership in Medicine

AURELIA DOCHNAL chronicles medical partnerships pioneered by the Yale-China Association, as part of a feature series on the organization. Two figures in the history of the Yale-China Association, Dr. Edward Hume M.D. and Dr. Yan Fuqing M.D., exemplify the organization’s long-time spirit of equal Chinese-American partnership. These two medical doctors, both Yale-educated, worked together to establish a modern medical practice in Changsha, the first of … Continue reading 120th Anniversary of Yale-China: Pioneering Equal Partnership in Medicine

120th Anniversary of Yale-China: The Beginnings

AURELIA DOCHNAL chronicles the beginnings of the Yale-China Association, as part of a feature series on the organization. Twelve decades ago, on February 10th, 1901, in the building now known as the Yale Visitor Center, a group of young Yale alumni founded what is today the Yale-China Association. Originally the Yale Mission  (soon changed to “Yale-in-China”), the founders and their supporters, which included then-University President … Continue reading 120th Anniversary of Yale-China: The Beginnings

Disney’s Live-Action Mulan: Our Loss of a Defining Story

AMY BROOKS comments on Disney’s live action remake of Mulan and its representation of Asian culture. In Disney’s string of live-action remakes of wildly successful animated movies, Mulan was just next on the list. Both the animated and live-action movies center around a Chinese girl, Hua Mulan, who defies the patriarchal society of ancient China by cross-dressing as a man to join the army in … Continue reading Disney’s Live-Action Mulan: Our Loss of a Defining Story

For Better or Worse: One Extra Step to Divorce

AMY TANG discusses the impact of China’s new cooling-off period on the trend of divorces and domestic violence. On May 28, 2020, the National People’s Congress of China passed its first Civil Code. The Code, as a collection of laws related to civil affairs, is a refined version of what is previously called General Rules of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, includes … Continue reading For Better or Worse: One Extra Step to Divorce

The Cultural Evolution: Tracing Confucius in Modern China

AURELIA DOCHNAL traces the evolution of Confucius’ significance as a cultural icon from imperial China to the present day. Well-known, well-studied Master Kong is an emblem of the millennia-old Chinese intellectual tradition. With over 1,000 Confucius Institutes internationally and Confucian classics dominating state and Party curricula in China, 2,500-year-old Confucius is alive and well both in China and abroad. His axioms are popular throughout East … Continue reading The Cultural Evolution: Tracing Confucius in Modern China

Heroism & Survival: Chinese Food Delivery Workers

DANIEL CHEN investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food delivery workers, bringing attention to the pressing need for reform and regulation of China’s gig economy. On March 21st, 2020, a Chinese delivery man named Mr. Gao was put on the front page of TIME magazine under a heading describing delivery workers in heroic terms.  When the whole country stopped amid the coronavirus pandemic, … Continue reading Heroism & Survival: Chinese Food Delivery Workers