There are no English biographies on Emperor Yongzheng as far as I know. To the uninitiated, he is an unimpressive emperor compared to his father,…
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Tag: United States History (Books)
The King James Bible and King James I – Part 5
Rereading these books, which I bought and read in 2011 for the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, due to my…
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The Fragile Strength of the Qing Dynasty – Part 2
It is a fallacy to think that the Chinese emperors made decisions arbitrarily. Since the time of the Northern Song, the emperors felt compelled to…
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Part 3 – Lincoln and God
Lincoln was steeped in Biblical knowledge. He peppered his speeches with quotes from the Bible. He made poetic allusions to biblical imagery too. In his…
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The Overlooked Spy Master of Mao’s
Kang Sheng. Who is he? In the typical histories of Mao China, one glaring omission is the spy v spy. Other than the Green Gang…
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Fiction vs. Fact: Lust, Caution and the Real-Life Story
Most people assume the 2007 movie Lust, Caution directed by Ang Lee is based on a real- life assassination in World War 2 Shanghai as…
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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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12 days of Christmas
Advent is the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time to prepare spiritually for Christmas. It leads to Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,…
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Dialogues of Plato
“The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates. This is a famous saying apparently uttered by Socrates at his trial for impiety and corrupting…
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The Adventures of Wu: The Life Cycle of a Peking Man
The Adventures of Wu. This is a book that I have pleasure dipping into once every Chinese festival approaches. In 2021 we celebrate the Mid-Autumn…
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