History

The world is concerned that the Chinese people are beginning to lose confidence in China’s future, dampening the prospects for sustainable development. Researcher Wei Da believes that there is little connection between this crisis of confidence and the cyclical boom and bust of the economy, but China’s severe economic problems are ultimately political problems.

Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai muses on how heroes of the past are honoured after their time, recalling that in his youth in Taiwan, the founder of the Turkish republic was lauded as an honourable founding father, next to Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. However, given the similarities in ideals and values, could it be that the high praise for Ataturk was in fact meant to boost the controversial image of Chiang?

A short video series featuring Chinese artefacts in the British Museum has gone viral on social media in China, with viewers being moved by the story of a teapot trying to go home to China. But even as critics highlight the heavy sentiment and patriotism in the series, it has prompted calls by China and other countries for the British Museum to return artefacts to their rightful owners.

Following Japan’s surrender at the end of the Second World War, the horrific military atrocities were brought to light as war criminals were put on trial. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao provides descriptions and images of that period. This article may contain some visually disturbing images.

Given its pluralistic nature, the Chinese language has taken many shapes over the course of history, with its written form and the associated dialects dictated by time and place. Meanwhile, the rise of China and its growing national power have led to the emergence of Chinese as an international language that transcends national borders. Eddie Kuo, Emeritus Professor at NTU, delves into the evolution of the language in the different Chinese-speaking regions.

It is commonly believed that the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty instituted a “four-class system” comprising the Mongols, the Semu, the Han people and the Southerners; they may even have categorised people into ten classes for which Confucian scholars were at the bottom rungs. Taken as truth for centuries, what is the “historical reality” of the matter? Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai examines the issue.

Whether China can prove naysayers wrong and keep up its good national fortunes depends on solving old problems associated with restarting the mechanisms of the Soviet Union model, and tackling new problems arising from successful development.

The Chinese embassy in the UK seems to have missed the appeal deadline against a local council’s decision to block the embassy’s planned relocation to a historic site near the Tower of London. Will this affair mushroom into a larger diplomatic issue warranting reciprocal measures, with the UK government’s silence on the matter further grating on Beijing?

Kazakhstan’s development since gaining independence in 1991 has led it to become a leader in the Central Asia region. With much potential still waiting to be explored in this resource-rich country, Kazakhstan is walking a tightrope to balance its relations with the US, China and Russia. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong shares findings from her visit.