ZGBriefs | November 9, 2023
A Chinese Jew’s Journey to Israel (November 2, 2023, The World of Chinese) From Kaifeng to Jerusalem—a Chinese Jew tells her story of leaving for the Middle East and reflecting on her dual identity.
ZGBriefs
A weekly roundup of news and analysis to help you follow key developments in China and the Chinese church.
Latest
ZGBriefs | November 2, 2023
Podcast: Rethinking Chinese food with Fuchsia Dunlop (October 30, 2023, Chinese Whispers) China has so much more to offer than what has made across into the West’s Chinese restaurants. Thankfully, that’s changing and quite fast. […] I’m delighted to be joined by her on the podcast today, to mark the publication of her new book, Invitation to a Banquet, which is all about the history, meaning and diversity of Chinese cuisine.
ZGBriefs | October 26, 2023
Are foreign students who study in China still able to form meaningful relationships with their Chinese counterparts, despite a tightening on educational channels? Are these students able to freely pursue their chosen areas of research? Are they experiencing a version of the country that best represents it? And how can China shape a more stable environment for international students and encourage greater student exchange, beyond that of senior scholars?
ZGBriefs | October 19, 2023
Confessions from a Chinese censorship worker (October 16, 2023, Global Voices) A censorship worker dubbed Blowfish Princess (河豚公主) from a major Chinese social media platform has recently revealed details of her everyday work in an interview with prominent Twitter whistle-blower Teacher Li on YouTube. Below is an English excerpt of the interview published on Global Voices with Teacher Li’s permission.
ZGBriefs | October 12, 2023
Creating a Digital Atlas of Buddhism in Hangzhou China. Using the Regional Religious Framework, by Philip Stoker. Mapping Temple Amalgamation with Historical GIS: A Spatial Interpretation of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s Institutional Reform, by Jeffery Wei Liu. Measuring the Prestige Index in a Regional Religious System, by Jiang Wu.
ZGBriefs | October 5, 2023
Will ChatGPT Really Kill the Chinese Translation Industry? (September 30, 2023, The World of Chinese) Four translators and interpreters talk about the impact new technologies like generative AI are having on their work and future career prospects.
ZGBriefs | September 28, 2023
Leading Chinese university becomes first to remove English requirements for students (September 22, 2023, South China Morning Post) Xian Jiaotong University says students will no longer have to pass the College English Test to receive a place or to graduate. There is an ongoing debate about the use of such language tests, with some critics arguing that they are of limited practical value for many people in China.
ZGBriefs | September 21, 2023
The Root of China’s Growing Youth Unemployment Crisis (September 18, 2023, Council on Foreign Relations) Young Chinese look overwhelmingly to the service sector, which employs half the national workforce, for jobs. And so new stimulus-driven opportunities in fields such as carpentry and bricklaying hold no interest for graduates in areas such as literature and computer science.
ZGBriefs | September 14, 2023
From Streets to Pages: Inside the Life of a Beijing Courier (September 13, 2023, Sixth Tone) In his latest book “Beijing Courier,” Hu Anyan recounts challenges and heartwarming encounters from his days working as a courier that helped him discover the true value of life.
ZGBriefs | September 7, 2023
Is China's economy a 'ticking time bomb'? (September 1, 2023, BBC) The past six months has brought a stream of bad news for China's economy: slow growth, record youth unemployment, low foreign investment, weak exports and currency, and a property sector in crisis. US President Joe Biden described the world's second-largest economy as "a ticking time bomb", predicting growing discontent in the country.
ZGBriefs | August 31, 2023
Measuring Religion in China: Christianity (August 30, 2023, Pew Research Center) There is a range of estimates for the number of Christians in China, partly because different researchers use varying sources and methods, and partly because some analyses make adjustments to account for limitations in survey and government data.
ZGBriefs | August 24, 2023
Peter Hessler’s World of Words (August 19, 2023, Sixth Tone) Yet Hessler continues to believe in the importance of nonfiction as a window into the wider world. This spring, he sat down with Sixth Tone for a wide-ranging email interview covering his experiences teaching two very different generations of Chinese, the importance of people-to-people exchanges, and his approach to writing.