A Biography of Cao Cao
Rafe de Crespigny is an Australian sinologist, now aged 90. He specialises in the history of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. His…
Koh-i-Noor
There are three famous crowns of England. The official Crown of England is the St. Edward’s Crown. This is the Crown with which King Charles…
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The Age of Openness
The Age of Openness – China before Mao explores the Republican era from 1911 to 1949. Frank Dikotter in his long essay of 102 pages…
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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
The end of the Elizabethan era on Sep 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle, Scotland is a momentous event for us all. We have only known…
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The Maisky Diaries
Diaries provide a unique window into the minds and thoughts of their writers. Provided they are not written with a view to later publication. The…
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The Dream of the Red Chamber (Part 4)
Volume IV is translated by John Minford. Not David Hawkes who translated Volume I to III. This Volume clearly identified Gao E as the editor…
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None But the Bold
This first volume of the biography of Lim Kit Siang (2021 ed) sheds much light on a politician who devoted his life to the country.…
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The Dream of the Red Chamber (Part 3)
A title (out of five) that Cao Xueqin considered using for his magnum opus is The Twelve Beauties of Jinling. The 5-volume set by Penguin…
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The Dream of the Red Chamber (Part 2)
Another title (out of five) that Cao Xueqin considered using for his magnum opus is The Twelve Beauties of Jinling. This title is considered because…
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The Dream of the Red Chamber (Part 1)
It is now more or less settled that the author of chapters 1 to 80 of the Dream of the Red Chamber is Cao Xueqin,…
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Chinese art appreciation
To appreciate Chinese paintings, one needs to read widely. The genres are varied and wide. Ranging from landscapes to portraits. The styles also evolved from…
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