A China Beat Reader: 6/4

Authors

Date of this Version

4-16-2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

April 16, 2009 in the China Beat http://www.thechinabeat.org/

Comments

Copyright April 16, 2009. Used by permission.

Abstract

Over the past year-plus, China Beat has run several pieces related to the 1989 protests. For readers who may have missed them originally (or wish for a refresher), here is a short list:

1. Par Cassel, “The Gate of Heavenly Pacification” (6/18/08): “Tian’anmen is by no means a peaceful name, but a name rather fitting to a fledging empire that anxiously protected its claims to legitimacy and busied itself with suppressing rebellion and dissent wherever they showed up.”

2. “Liu Si,” looking backward and forward (6/4/08): Two lists of suggested readings, one on the events of 1989 and another on the efforts to commemorate and remember 1989.

3. Tom Mullaney, Interview with Ian Hacking (2/25/08): An interview with Professor Ian Hacking, who was teaching in China in 1989.

4. Lauri Paltemaa, “When the Past Catches Up” (2/9/09): Though not a direct reflection on ’89, Paltemaa explores the legacy of the Democracy Movement in the recent Charter ’08; readers may find some of the issues relevant to the upcoming anniversary.

5. Though this is not a China Beat piece, readers may be interested in this pieceabout the importance of rock n’ roll and individualism to the ’89 protests, written by Jeff Wasserstrom for The Nation in 2002 (unfortunately only a few paragraphs are available to non-subscribers).