The hottest Chinese History Substack posts right now

Mao’s idea of “continuous revolution” came from a sincere belief that socialism would recreate new hierarchies, so periodic upheaval was needed to prevent a bureaucratic class from forming.
Lin Biao’s flight is ambiguous and not clearly a planned coup; the evidence suggests he may have fled primarily to save himself, leaving his broader intentions unresolved.
Strong leftist support in industrial cities owed as much to the Cultural Revolution’s anti‑hierarchical, liberatory appeal as to elite intrigue, since many workers saw chaos and breakdown of norms as a form of freedom.

The city is built around a large Chinese fortress and adjacent forts that house officials and a garrison, but the fortress is poorly sited and can be easily shelled from the surrounding hills.
The native town is largely Dungan (Chinese Muslim) and there are clear ethnic tensions with the Chinese and Chantuus; Dungan numbers grew after past uprisings, which has made Chinese authorities uneasy.
Trade is lively and mostly run by Dungans while local industry is minimal; the oasis has limited water and agricultural output so grain must be imported, even though nearby mountains hold coal, copper and a petroleum source.

Total solar eclipses can spark or increase rebellions because they act as rare, highly visible public signals (Schelling points) that create common knowledge; studies find areas in totality zones are about 18% more likely to rebel in eclipse years.
Common knowledge — everyone knowing that everyone else knows — is the key hurdle for mass coordination, and dramatic synchronized signals or platforms (like eclipses or social media) solve that problem and help protests spread.
Authorities try to blunt these coordinating signals — historically with appeasing policies like tax cuts and today with internet censorship — and other disasters don’t work the same way because they aren’t simultaneously visible to everyone.

The book explores the complicated life of Xi Zhongxun, who was deeply shaped by his experiences in the Chinese Communist Party. His life reveals important lessons about the nature of authoritarian politics.
One key theme is how suffering can deepen loyalty to the party. Xi Zhongxun's challenges made him more dedicated, raising questions about how different types of suffering can influence people's dedication or alienation.
The biography shows how personal relationships and mentorship shaped political dynamics in the CCP. Xi Zhongxun's connections with powerful figures were crucial for his career and illustrate the importance of these 'surrogate fathers' in navigating the party's politics.

The official "unity-first" reading of the Ming–Qing transition recasts conquest and violence as internal family friction, which smooths over real historical and ethnic fractures.
Differential policies that favour minorities—like education points, legal leniency, or protected cultural practices—are widely perceived by many Han as unfair sacrifices, and those grievances are helping fuel a rising Han-centred nationalism.
Trying to manage unity by silencing debate or weaponising nationalism is risky, because nationalism can escape control; openly addressing underlying inequalities is necessary to prevent deeper social division.

Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Frank Dikötter's works have faced lukewarm feedback from academic peers in Chinese history.
Despite popular success, Dikötter's writing style tends to rely on shocking anecdotes rather than thorough analysis.
Scholarly reviewers have criticized Dikötter for bias, lack of rigor, and ignoring contrary evidence.

China has a long history of unity and division, but future unification can be achieved peacefully if it reflects the people's will, rather than through force.
To maintain national unity, China needs to address issues like ethnic autonomy and democratization, while ensuring local governments have more control.
Resolving territorial disputes is essential, and it requires realistic compromises rather than an insistence on historical claims.

Jiang Ping played a key role in shaping China's legal system, advocating for individual rights, and promoting the rule of law over the ruling of law.
Jiang's life reflected the transition in China from 'rule by law' to 'rule of law,' emphasizing the importance of connecting laws to higher ideals like human rights and democratic governance.
Jiang's passing symbolizes a struggle in China's legal world between the Party's control-oriented legal reforms and the more liberal intellectual strand that aimed for the rule of law.