Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Max Weber once observed that the strong lineage system in rural China had impeded the development of entrepreneurial capitalism in China. This paper attempts to reevaluate the old Weber thesis by empirically testing the relationship between kinship networks and the bourgeoning rural industrialization during the reform era. Analysis of village-level data shows that lineage networks, … Read more
Perhaps Love (China, 2005) A director (played by Jacky Cheung), his star (played by Xun Zhou) and her co-star (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) enact a romantic triangle in a film-within-a-film, a musical about the making of a movie which is full of wit, humor, pathos, and heart in Peter Chan’s delightfully devious concoction. Workshop Instructor: … Read more
“Everybody is talking about China. In fact, everybody should be talking about China. According to the Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, China is today experiencing “the most remarkable economic transformation in history.” But this “most remarkable economic transformation in history” has come with its cost, and this cost could be huge. Economists … Read more
China’s domestic political arrangements often fuel misgivings about the rise of China in the West. While liberals are optimistic about the effects of China’s economic change on long-term political liberalization, realists remain skeptical of China’s illiberal political institutions and see aggressive deterrence as the best strategy to confront an ascending China. Central to the perception … Read more
Is it even conceivable that there could be a labor shortage in China? Knowledgeable people have diametrically different views. The question itself operates like a Rorschach inkblot: the answer tells more about the presumptions of the respondents than the reality facing them. But there is a reality and there is an answer, and the implications … Read more
This lecture will explore China’s reception of the celebrated physicist and his theory of relativity between 1917 and 1979. It will introduce the pioneers who introduced and disseminated the revolutionary theory in China; explain why relativity was introduced and swiftly absorbed by the Chinese. The lecture will emphasize the significant role of the May Fourth … Read more