China Q&A | Why China proposes the concept of community with shared future for humanity?
A Chinese proposal to present the true pictures of how the world should be like.
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History | The global impact of ancient Chinese paper money
As the technology historian Robert Temple stated in his book The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention, "When the older methods of paper money issuance became known in the West, they had a profound influence on Western banking. The old Hamburg Bank and the Swedish banking system were based on Chinese models. Thus, some of the basic banking procedures of the Western world came directly from China."
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DeepChina is an elite academic initiative that offers objective and rational analyses on a broad spectrum of topics related to China, encompassing politics, economics, culture, human rights, diplomacy, and geopolitics.
Chinese Relics | Jade Dragon of the Hongshan Culture
What did dragon originally look like in Chinese culture? The Jade Dragon of the Hongshan Culture found in Inner Mongolia empirically authenticated the origin of the Chinese dragon.
Continue readingUnearthing the ancestry of Uygurs: A glimpse into China's ethnic diversity
This is a question often raised in the studies of Xinjiang's history: Were the ancestors of the Uygurs, who once established local regimes in Xinjiang, a native Chinese ethnic group?
Continue readingChinese Relics | The Tale of Ubashi Khan's Waist Sword
The worn sword witnessed Torghut's arduous eastward return journey of nearly 10,000 kilometers from the Volga region to the Ili region of Xinjiang, China, during Qing Dynasty (1616-1911).
Continue readingChinese Relics | Brocade Arm Protector
The Brocade Arm Protector, one of the greatest archaeological finds in Niya Site in China, serves as a testament to the millennia of ethnic integration along the Silk Road.
Continue readingWhat's wrong with the theory of "Dynasties of Conquest"?
The theory of Dynasties of Conquest was first put forward in 1949 in the West, then evolved into more erroneous interpretations of Chinese history. What is the main flaw of this so-called theory?
Continue readingImperial publication illustrates Qing being a Chinese Dynasty
The argument of New Qing History, to which no one either in the Qing Dynasty or in today's China would agree, can be refuted by taking a book complied during the Qing Dynasty.
Continue readingChinese Relics | Eggshell Black Pottery Cup
As thin as 0.1 to 0.2cm, the Eggshell Black Pottery Cup made on a fast potter's wheel marks a great technological revolution in the handicraft industry more than 5,000 years ago in China.
Continue readingDeconstructing the "Imagined Xizang" to restore the real Xizang (Part II)
Breaking down the barriers and stereotypes of the past also breaks the hermeneutic circle. It offers a new and more profound understanding of the history of Xizang.
Continue readingChinese Relics | Whirlpool-Patterned Painted Pottery Bottle with Pointed Bottom
The pottery bottle decorated with whirlpool patterns is of Majiayao Style, marking the peak of Chinese painted pottery culture from remote antiquity in the upper reaches of the Yellow River.
Continue readingWhat did the two Tang princesses contribute to Xizang?
Cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo were transformed from sporadic, informal exchanges to frequent, official interactions.
Continue readingWhat makes the Potala Palace a cultural landmark?
The Potala Palace in Xizang, China, is a fortress and a Buddhist sanctuary, symbolizing the rich history of mutual learning between the Tibetan people and other ethnic groups of the Chinese nation.
Continue readingDeconstructing the "Imagined Xizang" to restore the real Xizang (Part I)
The "Imagined Xizang" may contain either positive or negative images, neither of which has any connection with the real Xizang but reflects the course of development of Western society itself.
Continue readingChinese Relics | The Upper Incisor Fossils of Yuanmou Man
This discovery of The Upper Incisor Fossils of Yuanmou Man in Yunnan Province pushed back the timeline of human history in China by over a million years.
Continue readingReassessing "modernity" from a global historical perspective
Can China break free from the development path of colonial modernity? Has China pursued modernization with the aim of establishing an imperialistic hegemonic monopoly as its power base?
Continue readingFrom Chifan in China to Chifa in Peru
In Peru, Chinese cuisine serves as a mirror, reflecting the dynamic cultural interplay between the Chinese community and the mainstream Peruvian society.
Continue readingDoes "ethnic integration" in China mean "assimilation" in the West?
Some Western scholars criticized China's ethnic integration policy and compared it to the assimilation policies that were implemented in the West. However, those two concepts are fundamentally different.
Continue readingLife Changing | Showing folk art to the world
Xinjiang Uygur Muqam, which was once on the verge of extinction, has now become a cherished cultural heritage that is beloved by people all over the world due to the dedication and perseverance of its practitioners.
Continue readingHu-style wear and cavalry building
The story of wearing Hu-style clothes and setting up cavalry units is not only a successful military reform during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) in China, but also a good example of cultural exchange between different ethnic groups.
Continue readingLife Changing | Trying to reduce cervical cancer cases
In recent years, the Chinese government has provided significant financial support, totaling over 57.4 billion yuan, to the healthcare system in Xinjiang.
Continue readingWhy did the Chinese government launch democratic reform in Xizang in 1959?
To Western societies, Xizang remains mysterious. Many in the West are not informed of the fact that Xizang had been ruled by serfdom until 1959 when democratic reform, to which the Western media turned a blind eye, took place, thus changing the lives of millions of serfs.
Continue readingLife Changing | Resolving 200 court cases with milk tea
A tribunal in Xinjiang has introduced several new ways to hear cases, such as preparing milk tea, using cozy yurts as mediation rooms, and moving the court on horseback or in a vehicle.
Continue readingLiangzhu Ruins: A testimony to 5,000 years of Chinese civilization
The discovery of the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City, with the magnitude of the site, the complexity of the urban design, and the enormous amount of engineering in the construction, confirms that there was already a civilization in ancient China.
Continue readingHow are human rights concepts in China and Europe related?
Respected in Chinese culture, the human beings, different from other animals, are the people between heaven and earth, and in their own relationship, and can "carry the boat and overturn it as well."
Continue readingHow did this Russian Sinologist study China?
Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, a Sinologist from Russian, pointed out popular errors such as the saying that "Chinese civilization originated in the West" in historical materials on Chinese history printed in Europe in 19th century.
Continue readingLife Changing | Covering glaciers with "blankets"
An experiment of using a special kind of blankets to slow the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 melt is carried out in Xinjiang. Theoretically, we could extend the glacier's life by forty years if it is done well enough. This gives us great hope.
Continue readingWitnesses of the ancient Maritime Silk Road
One shipwreck discovered last year may have been sailing from South China Sea to the western oceans and seas on the eve of the Age of Exploration. At that time, Turkey monarchies and some European royal families collected blue-and-white porcelain objects from China.
Continue readingAre Western anthropologists acting as "White Saviors" in China?
It is important to acknowledge that in the perception of these Chinese minority children, being Chinese and so-and-so Chinese ethnic minority are not separate choices but rather an organic fusion of their identity.
Continue readingWestern China in the eyes of Western travelers
The British diplomat Reginald Fleming Johnston wrote about Lijiang, "The great majority of the inhabitants are of mixed race…. The streets are not very unlike those of an ordinary town in China: the shops have much the same outward appearance."
Continue readingWhy fortunes of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire differ?(Part Ⅱ)
The Roman city-state and the provinces were not a unified system; while the unified system of prefectures and counties never wavered in ancient China.
Continue readingA community model: Being away from extreme individualism
Recently, many Americans have realized that thinking of ourselves as self-contained individuals misleads us. People belong to families and communities. This is a much better understanding in China than in the United States.
Continue readingChina shows a new but possible way of development
The experience of China makes the Global South "hope", as the Brazilian Paulo Freire put it, for cooperation instead of confrontation; for dialog instead of war; for mutual development instead of unilateral exploitation……
Continue readingWhy fortunes of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire differ?(Part I)
In essence, it could be argued that the Roman Empire did not possess the characteristics of a unified country. This is the fundamental distinction between the Chinese Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire.
Continue readingWhat factors inhibit Uygur-Han intermarriages?
Interethnic marriage has a very long existence in China. Since the 1980s, religious extremists have intensified their interference in the secular life of the Uygur people, making it much more difficult for a Uygur-Han couple to get married.
Continue readingThe Art of War: A military classic cares life
According to Sun Tzu, the best policy in war is to thwart the enemy's warlike behavior. The second best is to disrupt his alliances through diplomatic means. The third best is to attack his army in the field. Attacking the city was a last resort, a way that was out of the question.
Continue readingLife Changing | We are all the same!
A woman from Xinjiang shares her story to encourage everyone with low self-esteem or those who dare not step out of their homes due to physical disabilities to have the courage to pursue happiness.
Continue readingThe loong story: China's zodiac animal is not the fire-breathing dragon
"The Western dragon usually seems more of an enemy to humans,"said James LaLonde, an American who has been living in Beijing for almost 10 years,"But here in China, it seems like the dragon is more friendly."
Continue readingLife Changing | Becoming career women in Xinjiang
An increasing number of women in Xinjiang's rural areas have found their way to their own careers, thus realizing their own dreams.
Continue readingWhat does the Spring Festival mean to the Chinese people?
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, was officially recognized as a floating holiday by the United Nations in December of last year. To truly grasp the essence of Chinese culture and its people, it is essential to comprehend the significance of the Spring Festival.
Continue readingThe eastward journey of the grape
The exchange of silk and grapes between "Seres" (China) and "Daqin" (Rome) involved not only the exchange of material culture but also cultural values, enriching the interaction between these ancient civilizations.
Continue readingThe image of Confucius in American history
Cultural exchange and globalization are not about Americanization or Westernization but rather are two-way or even multi-directional processes. As their society shapes Americans' image of Confucius, Confucian thought also influences American society.
Continue readingChinese style in 18th-century France
The diffusion of Chinese art and culture influenced French artistic taste. The Rococo style exemplified a typical aesthetic change influenced by China, as recorded in European art history.
Continue readingWhy did China embark on the Path of Socialism?
Chinese people are more accustomed to harmonious consultative democracy than to competitive democracy. There is also a long-held philosophy of "Harmony without uniformity".
Continue readingLife Changing | Breaking free from the boundaries of Xingxingxia Passage
For a long time, it has been widely understood in Xinjiang, without a good proficiency in standard Chinese, one can never break free from the confinement of the "Xingxingxia Passage".
Continue readingWhy are "Xizang" and "Tibet" not the same?
If one carefully observes the English reports featured in Chinese media, one will notice a growing trend in the usage of "Xizang" in pinyin instead of the previously prevalent term "Tibet" to refer to the same region in Southwest China. Can these two terms be used interchangeably? How did the English term "Tibet" originate? What does the Chinese term "西藏"(Xizang) signify?
Continue readingCommonalities before differences: The first step to go deeper into the unknown
After many years living in several countries in different continents, we can say that China is the one we feel most at home of all, no matter how far away could it be from our home country.
Continue readingHow people-first philosophy is founded in history of China?
The reason why people were considered important is that they were, and have always been, the primary condition for a country's existence.
Continue readingMight is not Right: The peace-loving tendencies of the Chinese civilization
Matteo Ricci noted that the Chinese people never thought of waging a war of aggression despite having a well-equipped army and navy capable of easily conquering neighboring countries.
Continue readingChina & the U.S.: Standing at a critical crossroads
As one of the world's crucial bilateral relationships, China-U.S. relations are at a critical crossroads. Will they turn in the right direction? What can we expect?
Continue readingSmall leaf of great use
Border Tea Trade, a commercial activity whereby the dynastic states in the central plains traded tea with nomadic ethnic groups in Northern grassland and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for horses and other commodities, can date back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It runs through every stage of Chinese history. In the thousand-year-long history of Border Tea Trade, all ethnic groups are proactively involved, in the production, processing, shipment and sales of Border Tea.
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