In-Between City

Hong Kong has been caught between empires — and narratives — for almost two centuries. The diversity of its early migrants made the city what it is today, a new book shows. But that is changing.

Brave Attempt

A new account tells the story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and their failures, through four individual lives. But we need more unmediated voices to speak for themselves.

From the Archive

Mother Tongues

Yiyun Li, the Chinese-born writer of fiction and memoir, left in 1996 and has moved on to other settings in her work. But can a writer ever fully escape her motherland?

All We Have to Fear

The Western world has held an outsized fear of Chinese power for centuries. But why? A new book argues that alarmism began in the late 1800s, snowballed from there — and is very much alive in Washington today.

China’s Lexicon of Digital Resistance

Netizens on the Chinese internet have been using buzzwords and memes for decades, to express obliquely what they cannot directly. From the “river crab” to the “last generation,” they show how online sentiment and protest has evolved since the early 2000s.

The Reverse Migrants

After decades of urbanization and economic development, a cohort of China's population is seeking rural refuge and personal development instead — moving back to the land to "lie flat."

A Game of Cat and Mouse

In a graphic novel rendition of his life, the acclaimed artist reflects on the Chinese zodiac, its connection to his own family story, and the power games us animals play.