On Politics

Qiushi  (“seeking truth”) – is a publication from the CCP Central Committee.  In English and Chinese.  It is companion to People’s Daily, but more focused on CCP members and Marxist theory.    Qiushi

Caixin  – the somewhat freer news site that keeps on going.  Hu Shuli, the founder and editor, must have seriously good guanxi at the top levels.  Caixin is able to publish stories that other media might not be able to do, while skirting quite carefully around what is permitted to say and what is not.    Caixin

Global Times – Another perspective.    Global Times

China Daily -  The iconic reference.  I like the masthead addition of a daily feature, Xi’s Moments, highlighting the words and actions of the dear leader.  Makes the newspaper more of a personal effort on Mr. Xi’s part.    China Daily

NPC Observer - Covering the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee.   NPC Observer

News of the Communist Party of China -   People’s Daily Online.  Not really useful – not updated often, some English language articles from 2013.  One of the pictures show CCP general secretary Hu Jintao.   CCP News

Jiang Shigong - on ‘Philosophy and History: Interpreting the “Xi Jinping Era” through Xi’s Report to the Nineteenth National Congress of the CCP’.  Gloria Davies, May 11, 2018.   This is an authoritative perspective on the future that Mr. Xi plans for the world and for China.   Introduction to the article by David Ownby and Timothy Cheek.  Owenby translation.   Interpreting the "Xi Jinping Era"

China Leadership Monitor – from the Hoover Institution.  Perspective on people and politics.   China Leadership Monitor

Xinhuanet – focus on China in the world   Xinhuanet

Jing Daily –  "The Business of Luxury in China"   Sample work -–  Exclusive: Burberry Launches 2 Handbags Just for China on First WeChat Mini-Program    Burberry Launches 2 Handbags

A listing of main media sites in China – Main Media Sites

Political Reference Documents

The 18^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party, 2012.    CCP Constitution

Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, with revisions to 1982.  PRC Constitution

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.  San Min Chu I: The Three Principles of the People, trans. Frank W. Price, ed. L. T. Chen (Shanghai, China: China Committee, Institute of Pacific Relations, 1927). Three Principles

Unknown.  A Proverb -  

“The Center is our benefactor, the province is our relative, the county is a good person, the township is an evil person and the village is our enemy” 

Chinese Communist Party.  The CCP pledge, that all members must take upon formal initiation -

"It is my will to join the Communist Party of China, uphold the Party's program, observe the provisions of the Party constitution, fulfill a Party member's duties, carry out the Party's decisions, strictly observe Party discipline, guard Party secrets, be loyal to the Party, work hard, fight for communism throughout my life, be ready at all times to sacrifice my all for the Party and the people, and never betray the Party."

Philosophy, Daoist and Confucian Studies

Isaiah Berlin -  The Russian-British philosopher and political thinker.  Though not writing about China, Berlin cuts through the enthusiasm for meritocracy as a determinant of ability to govern.  On Political Judgment.  New York Review of Books, October 3, 1996.  On Political Judgment

Lucian W. Pye – Political scientist, taught at MIT.  Known for political psychology, using history and culture to inform domestic and foreign policy.  Sample work -  China: Erratic State, Frustrated Society.  Foreign Affairs Magazine, Fall 1990.    Erratic State, Frustrated Society  and  International Relations in Asia: Culture, Nation, and State.  Sigur Center for Asian Studies,  George Washington University,  July, 1998  International Relations in Asia   and  Civility, Social Capital, and Civil Society: Three Powerful Concepts for Explaining Asia.  Journal of Interdisciplinary History XXIX:4 (Spring, 1999)  Civility, Social Capital, and Civil Society  and  The Spirit of Chinese Politics.  Harvard University Press, 1992.

David Hall and Roger Ames – Individually and together, authors of primary reference works on Confucianism and Chinese philosophy.  Roger Ames is professor of philosophy at the University of Hawaii.  David Hall is professor of philosophy at the University of Texas.  Chinese thinking as ars contextualis.  Some sample work –Section 1 in Chinese Philosophy.  Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  Routledge

David Hall and Roger Ames.  Anticipating China:  Thinking Through the Narratives of Chinese and Western Culture.    SUNY Press, 1995. 

David Hall and Roger Ames.  Chinese Philosophy.  Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  Article Summary  Routledge Summary

Useless Tree – Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life - Sam Crane's Blog – A wonderful site for serious thought about Taoism and Confucianism in China and the US, now and long ago. Sam also writes at the Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel   Sample work – The Continuing Decline of Filiality.  Useless Tree blog, at Decline of Filiality  September 09, 2011    and  Further to a Critique of "The China Model."  Useless Tree blog, December 9, 2015.  Further to a Critique of "The China Model"

Warp, Weft, and Way – A group blog addressing Chinese and  comparative philosophy, managed by Stephen Angle and Manyul Im.   Warp, Weft, and Way

Tu Weiming – Tu is probably the best known Confucian scholar in the US.  He has written and lectured extensively in the US.  Certainly the most recognized current thinker on New Confucianism.  Articles, books, and videos are readily available and easily readable.  Tu Weiming.net   Sample work -   Confucianism and Liberal Education for a Global Era, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University, October 1, 2013  Berkley lecture  and   Confucian Humanism as a Spiritual Resource for Global Ethics, Peace and Conflict Studies, 16:1, August 1, 2009   Confucian Humanism

Stephen Angle – Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University    University site   Sample work - Pluralism in Practice: Incommensurability and Constraints on Change in Ethical Discourses. Varieties of Ethical Reflection, Michael Barnhart, ed.  Lexington, 2002.   Abstract

Ci Jiwei – Ci does not have a personal blog or web site, but he is an very influential writer on political philosophy in China.    Many of his papers can be found at  Ci Jiwei papers   Sample work –

What is in the Cloud?  A Critical Engagement with Thomas Metzger on “The Clash Between Chinese and Western Political Theories.”  Boundary 2, 34:3(2007)  Ci-Metzger

His book Moral China in the Age of Reform, Cambridge University Press, 2015 is the indispensable source for understanding moral freedom and its lack in China.   Moral China in the Age of Reform

Joseph Chan – Chan does not have a personal blog or web site.  He teaches at Hong Kong University.  His recent book, Confucian Perfectionism, is a must read for applying Confucian ideas to western culture.  University CV   Confucian Perfectionism

Haiyan Lee – Professor of languages and literature at Stanford.  Further discussion of moral lacunae in current day China.  The Stranger and the Chinese Moral Imagination.  Stanford University Press, 2014   The Stranger

Guy Alitto – Professor of history and east Asian languages at University of Chicago.  Further work on moral freedom.  Sample work - The Meaning of Freedom:  Yan Fu and the Origins of Chinese Liberalism (review).  China Review International 18:2, September 19, 2011.  Available at  Chinese Liberalism

Michael Sandel - Sandel teaches the famous Justice course at Harvard.  He does not claim to be a Confucian or a communitarian, but he is certainly a fellow traveler in virtue ethics.  Sample work – all the videos of the Justice course are available at Justice course lectures, starting with lecture 1 from 2015.  Starts with the trolley car story.

George Orwell.  1984.  Signet Classic, 1961. Origin of doublethink and related.  Available at Orwell 1984

Thomas A. Metzger  - Metzger taught philosophy at the University of California – San Diego for many years.   Sample work – The Western Concept of the Civil Society in the  Context of Chinese History. Hoover Essays, Book 21.  Hoover Institution Press, 1998.   Western Concept of Civil Society

His 2005 book, A Cloud Across the Pacific : Essays on the Clash between Chinese and Western Political Theories Today explains quite clearly the how and why of political differences between China and the west.  A key distinction is that between Asian epistemological optimism and faith in leaders, and western epistemological pessimism and belief in the Lord Acton provision. The Amazon source -  A Cloud Across the Pacific

Wm. Theodore de Bary – scholar of Confucian studies at Columbia; died 2017.   National Endowment for the Humanities Medal   Sample work - The Great Civilized Conversation: Education for a World Community (CUP, 2013)  and

Asian Values and Human Rights: A Confucian Communitarian Perspective. Harvard University Press (2000)  and  The Trouble with Confucianism, (Harvard University Press, 1991)  Lecture format  Tanner Lecture

Contemporary Economics, Governance, and Law

Michael Pettis – blogs at China Financial Markets – Michael teaches in the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University. His are the clearest-eyed western views on China macroeconomics. In particular, he argues for the importance of balance sheet considerations in thinking about GDP growth. Two big ideas – investment that cannot earn a return is a waste, and at some point, subtracts from GDP as a loss; and very high Chinese household savings is largely a function of low household share of GDP, rather than some superior ability in restraint. Most of Pettis’ ideas are available in wonderfully written blog posts, available now from his Carnegie Endowment site.

Stein Ringen - Professor emeritus at University of Oxford. Blog here   Sample work, his new book- The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century  Interview podcast is available here

Dali Yang - Professor of political science at University of Chicago, focuses on politics and political science in China   Personal blog   University site    Sample work - China’s Troubled Quest for Order: Leadership, Organization and the Contradictions of the Stability Maintenance Regime. Journal of Contemporary China. Volume 26, 2017 - Issue 103, Pages 35-53, Published online: September 5, 2016   China's Troubled Quest for Order

China Law Blog – the go-to site for avoiding being scammed, cheated, or driven out of business by your partner. Nothing better.   China Law Blog Sample posts –

Dan Harris. China Hostage Situation. Now IS A Good Time To Pay Your Debts. China Law Blog, July 22, 2009.  Now Is a Good Time to Pay Your Debts
Steve Dickinson. China Product Defects, Lawsuits, Hostage Taking and Exit Ban: Please, Please, Please Read This! . Please, Please Read This!   China law Blog, March 4, 2018

Dan Harris. How Not To Get Kidnapped In China, Part 2. Resolve Your Debt Problems Before You Go. China Law Blog, January 29, 2011.  How Not to Get Kidnapped in China

Wikipedia - Death of Shane Todd. This story describes the mysterious death of an American scientist, apparently unwilling to turn over stolen intellectual property to his Chinese company - Death of Shane Todd

Elizabeth Economy - Star senior fellow and Director for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Writes on environmental and governance issues.  Her CV  Latest book The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, Oxford University Press, 2018 

Elizabeth Perry - scholar of Chinese history and politics at Harvard and director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute Harvard-Yenching Institute   Sample work - Chinese Conceptions of “Rights”: From Mencius to Mao – and Now. Perspectives on Politics, 6:1 March, 2008  Chinese Conceptions of 'Rights'

Carl Minzner – Professor of law at Fordham University. His expertise is in Chinese law and governance.  University site  Sample work –

China’s Turn Against Law American Journal of Comparative Law, 2011 Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-03-01  China's Turn Against Law
And an excerpt from his book, End of an Era: How China’s Authoritarian Revival is Undermining its Rise China File, March 8, 2018    End of an Era

 The China Collection - International lawyers with interest in Chinese law and developments.  Carl Minzner, Don Clarke, Ling Li, Yu-Jie Chen among others.  https://thechinacollection.org/about/ 

Economic and Cultural History - Interpretation

another short list -

Yuri Pines – Professor of Chinese history at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Many papers are available at  Academia site - Yuri Pines  Author of The Everlasting Empire: the Political Culture of Ancient China and its Imperial Legacy  Everlasting Empire

Walter Scheidel - Professor of humanities and classics at Stanford.   Author of Rome and China: comparative perspectives on ancient world empires.   University site    Working papers are at  Scheidel working papers  Sample work - The Xiongnu and the comparative study of empire   Version 1.0. Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, September 2010;   and    The First Great Divergence.  Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics.  Version 1.0  October, 2007.   I know these are working papers;  but published versions are blocked in China.   and  Walter Scheidel, ed.  Rome and China – Comparative Perspectives on Ancient World Empires.  Oxford University Press, 2009. Rome and China

Peter Turchin – developed theory of large state formation at borders of Asian steppe - A Theory for Formation of Large Empires.  Journal of Global History, 2009:4, pages 191-217.  Available   Large Empires

Joel Mokyr – Robert Strotz Professor of economic history at Northwestern.  Prolific author, known mostly for describing the intellectual and institutional factors in economic growth and technological change.  The big idea for our purposes is the Republic of Letters, the informal associations that flourished in Europe in the Enlightenment and did not do so in Ming or Qing China. 

University site   Latest book – A Culture of Growth – The Origins of the Modern Economy Culture of Growth

 Mark Elvin – Professor emeritus at Australian National University  University site  Noted for the concept of the high level equilibrium trap to explain lack of modern Chinese development.  Sample work - The Pattern of the Chinese Past, Stanford University Press, 1973  Pattern of the Chinese Past   On the trap - High Level Equilibrium Trap

Avner Greif -   Professor of Economics at Stanford.  Perhaps best known for work on generalized and particularized trust in trade, a la the Maghribi traders.  Student of Joel Mokyr’s.   Sample work – (with Guido Tabellini) The Clan and the City: Sustaining Cooperation in China and Europe. Most papers available on his web site, Greif Papers

Kenneth Pomeranz –   Professor of modern Chinese history at University of Chicago.  Sample work - The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy Great Divergence   and  The Great Himalayan Watershed- Agrarian Crisis, Mega-Dams and the Environment.  New Left Review 58, July-August 2009  Himalayan Watershed

Andre Gunder Frank – Economic historian and sociologist, writer on world systems theory.  A prolific author, but probably best known in the US for  ReOrient:  Global Economy in the Asian Age   Reorient

David Landes – Professor of economics and history at Harvard University.   Sample work - The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. W.W. Norton, 1998.

Angus Maddison – economist at University of Groningen, noted for calculations of GDP and GDP per capital in countries in the world over centuries.  Sample work -  Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run.   Development Center Studies, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1998   Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run

Martin King Whyte  University site  Known for series of surveys of Chinese documenting attitudes toward inequality and justice.  Clarified the “social volcano” theory of CCP decline to reflect injustice rather than simple wealth gap.  Social Volcano  Sample work - Sub-optimal Institutions but Superior Growth: The Puzzle of China's Economic Boom." In China's Economic Dynamics: A Beijing Consensus in the Making?, eds. J. Li and L. M. Wang, 15-47. London: Routledge, 2014. Available Suboptimal Institutions

R. Bin Wong – Distinguished Professor of History at UCLA and former director of the Asia Institute. Comparative political and economic history.  Author of China Transformed – Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience  University site

Kent Deng – Associate Professor at the London School of Economics.     University site   Describes the relation of Chinese public to private in micro and macro terms throughout dynastic history.  Sample work -Nation, State and the Economy in History.  London: LSE Research Online, 2003.  Nation, State, and the Economy   Latest book - Mapping China’s Growth and Development in the Long Run, 221 BC to 2020   Mapping China's Growth

Victoria Tin-bor Hui -  Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Notre Dame.   Sample popular work -   How China Was Ruled.  The American Interest,   3:4 ,  March 1, 2008, Available at How China Was Ruled   School web page  University site   Her blog about the Hong Kong umbrella movement is at Hong Kong Umbrella movement

Debin Ma – Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics.  Concentration in economics in the Qing dynasty.  University site  Sample work - Rock, Scissors, Paper  and    Political Institutions and Long Run Economic Trajectory: Some Lessons from Two Millennia of Chinese Civilization.  Center for Economic Policy Research, Discussion Paper Series No. 8791.  January, 2012.  Lessons from Two Millennia

Peter Bol – Bol has taught Chinese intellectual history at Harvard for many years and is one of the teachers of the popular ChinaX course on the HarvardX site. University site

Nathan Sivin - taught history of science in China and made significant contributions to the Joseph Needham multi-volume, multi-decade series, Science and Civilization in China.   Sample work -  Comparing Greek and Chinese Philosophy and Science.  Chapter 1 in Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in Ancient China. Variorum, 1995.  Reprinted online at  Science and Civ - chapter 1

Barry Naughton - Chair of Chinese International Relations at University of California-San Diego.  University site  Author of The Chinese Economy – Transition and Growth, an excellent introduction to modern China.  A new edition is available.  Sample work - Economic Policy in the Aftermath of the 19th Party Congress.  China Leadership Monitor, Winter, 2018.  Aftermath of 19th Party Congress  

David Shambaugh - Professor of Political Science at George Washington University.  Author of China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation, the best description of the internal workings of CCP.  

Chris Buckley interview with Shambaugh at Sinocism -

Shannon Tiezzi interview with Shambaugh at the Diplomat -

Richard McGregor – former Beijing and Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times.  Author of The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers, HarperCollins, 2010

River Elegy - A six-part documentary on the decline of traditional Chinese culture.  China Central Television, June, 1988. Presented with English subtitles by Deep Dish Satellite TV Network.  Highlights at River Elegy youtube   Wiki - River Elegy wiki

Work on contemporary China, mostly in the popular media

• If they write it, you should read it
• (b) mostly organizations

China Digital Times - CDT is an independent bilingual media source.  CDT translates pertinent information from Chinese social media and some leaked government directives, particularly those from the Propaganda Ministry. Very useful. A standard disclaimer - Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.   China Digital Times

Sixth Tone – Writers from within China and outside, with stories of everyday Chinese that illustrate life, policy, economy.  Offices in Shanghai.  Modern stories that tell the truth but avoid too much politics.  State funded, so not too much that would offend.  David Bandurski on The Paper, the sister publication – “old wine, new bottle.”  Still, worth a look   Sixth Tone    Sample work – How China’s Middle Class Moms Became Their Kids’ “Agents”  Agent Moms

Macropolo -  publication from the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago  Macropolo  Thoughtful analysis of China economic conditions.  The best understanding of both ends of the term political economy.   Sample work - Data and Analysis of the fallout from the debt overhang and  Footprint of Chinese in US Education

China File – Published by the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society.  Orville Schell is the masthead publisher. Original reporting and articles from hundreds of contributors on every topic.  From the About, on their Chinese name, zhongcanguan - Like the country we cover, our name contains multitudes and can be interpreted in many ways.

Our Chinese name was conceived and rendered graphically by Sun Yunfan. It contains the following Chinese characters:
中 (zhong), which means “central,” is the first character of the word for China. It can also mean neutral.
参 (can) means to join or to participate in, to refer, to consult, to reference, or to archive.
馆 (guan) is a word for a physical structure that appears in words for guest accommodations, libraries, museums, archives, and restaurants.

Put these characters together and, in addition to the many meanings suggested by their combination, they are a homophone for Chinese restaurant (中餐馆).

So, whether you see ChinaFile as a place for organizing and finding information, a tool for shaping and smoothing your views, or an establishment with a large menu and fare to suit a variety of tastes, we invite you to visit us often.   China File

21^st Century China Research Center - at University of California at San Diego.  Susan Shirk, Barry Naughton, Victor Shih, and many others.  The politics, public protest, and civil society papers available at SSRN -   UCSD China Research Center

Los Angeles Review of Book China Channel   Mostly longer form  news, history, interpretation.  Very useful. LARB   Sample post – Philosopher King, by Sam Crane  November 17, 2017   LARB China

Chublic Opinion - monthly digest of opinion by an anonymous Shanghai native.   Great Writing   Sample work -  Soft Power, Hard Sell  September 18, 2017    and  Anatomy of an (Alleged) Online Scam  December 18, 2016.

Jamestown Foundation – self-described right wing think tank focused on American foreign affairs, features indepth writing by former military and defense industry professionals.  China Brief features Willy Lam, who teaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and whose work focuses on Chinese politics.  Jamestown Foundation    He was the second person I know to publicly suggest in 2015 that Mr. Xi might not retire in 2022.

Mercator Institute for China Studies – Mercator is a Berlin-based research institute on China economics, public policy, and foreign relations.  https://www.merics.org/en/   Sample work – China Owns the Stage in Africa   https://www.merics.org/en/blog/china-owns-stage-africa   and an interview with Rogier Creemers,   The social credit system: China’s tool for moral education https://www.merics.org/en/blog/social-credit-system-chinas-tool-moral-education , August 21, 2018 

Tea Leaf Nation - The China blog of Foreign Policy magazine.    Tea Leaf Nation   Good coverage in many areas of China watching.   Sample work -  Beijing Deals Another Blow to Hong Kong’s Autonomy  End of Hong Kong Autonomy   and   Is Beijing Getting Scared of Homeschooled Confucian Activists?  (Sam Crane) Confucian activists?

Lowy Institute – Australian think tank focused on Australia’s role in the world, obviously balancing between the US and China.  Lowy Institute

China Smack – is now suspended, I think, but retains some good daily life stories from a few years ago.  China Smack

Nikkei Asian Review   Nikkei Asian Review   Business, politics, opinion stories.  Sample work - Huawei unveils world's most advanced chip to counter Apple.  September 1, 2018  Huawei-Apple

Caixin – the other magazine established by Hu Shuli, this one in 2010.  Now paywalled.  More insightful than Caijing and able to report news that other media shun.  Zhejiang Daily Press Group, a state owned newspaper conglomerate, is a large investor.  Their stake was purchased by China Media Capital in 2013, a central government media investment fund,  along with Tencent (owner of QQ, the message service, and WeChat).   As with many such magazines, the content in Chinese is different from that in English.   Caixin

Caijing -   News on business and finance.  Fortnightly, since 1998.  Has annual forecast and strategy edition.  Caijing

Southern Metropolis Daily – A daily newspaper published in Guangzhou, with circulation mostly in the Pearl River delta region.   In Chinese, but widely translated and reviewed. Sister to Southern Daily, which is the Guangdong CCP newspaper, and Southern Weekend, China’s most influential and still somewhat liberal newspaper.  But the “Guangzhou-based family of papers are known to possess superior reporting and higher level of frankness than many PRC mainstream press outlets.”  Southern Metropolis

South China Morning Post – venerable daily newspaper, now owned by Alibaba.  Known for independence, but that is obviously in question now.  Paywall was removed, making all content free access, and opening the way for SCMP to become a paper of record for China in Africa and the middle east.    SCMP

Hong Kong Free Press – non-profit, English language news source, begun in 2015 as a response to loss of press freedom in Hong Kong.  Looks very useful, for as long as it lasts.    HKFP   Sample work, describing another beginning of the end for Hong Kong freedoms - HKFP Mainland Rail

More Hangzhou – one of the China city magazines.  Useful for expats, and a good perspective on what is happening locally.   More Hangzhou

Jing Daily – the business of consumer luxury in China.  Market trends, brand news, travel, how to spend money.  Industry sectors – Art & Auction; Beauty & Health; Fashion; Food; Wine & Spirits; Investment & Real Estate; Watches & Jewelry.  Jing Daily    Sample work - Will Bottega Veneta’s Celeb Spokesman Jackson Yee Be Worth His Weight in Gold?  August 28, 2018   Jing Daily Bottega-Veneta

NEW in 2018 -   PandaPawDragonClaw – from their About - This blog is started by those who aspire to tell a better story about China’s involvement beyond its borders. We are journalists, campaigners, analysts, scholars and practitioners with years of experience navigating Chinese politics, bureaucracy, finance and their ramifications overseas.   PandaPawDragonClaw    Sample work - Letter from Ghana: Africa embraces its China partnership reluctantly,  August 22, 2018   and  a review of the Belt and Road, at five -  BRI at five