China Underground

China Underground
Author: Zachary Mexico
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2010-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1458792218

In the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine a place more exciting than China. The country's economy is growing by more than ten percent per year. The lives of Chinese citizens in every stratum of society are changing--indeed, the very rules that define the parameters of their lives are changing. Over a billion people are simultaneously hustling, trying to decipher the rules, carving a place out for themselves in the new China. Predictably, the result is a glorious mess. Westerners are fascinated with news coming out of China, but in general, most such reporting focuses on the country's economy (growth rates, infrastructure, trade deficits, currency valuation, globalization, etc.), social issues (human rights, income inequality, diseases such as avian flu, SARS, and HIV/Aids, the traditional Chinese culture, mainstream social trends, etc.), and the current government (the workings of the CCP, its response to social unrest, etc.). Westerners hear much about China's booming economy and its role as the next global superpower from the mainstream media, but they know less about the young people who make up China's varied and fascinating subcultures. In China Underground, Mexico introduces young western readers to their Chinese counterparts, highlighting an unfamiliar side of China: today's varied youth cultures, which are both fascinating and under-exposed. Readers are introduced to a wannabe rock star from the desert of Xinjiang, trying to make it big in Shanghai; a disillusioned journalist; a budding screenwriter; a vagabond ladies' man; a straight-A student at China's best university; a Chinese mafia kingpin; a punk band trying their best to stay relevant; a prostitute; the world's most polluted city; Beijing's drug-fueled club scene, and many others.

Urban Underground Space Design in China

Urban Underground Space Design in China
Author: Gideon Golany
Publisher: University of Delaware Press
Total Pages: 172
Release: 1989
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780874133455

Urban Underground Space Design in China introduces both the accomplishment of the vernacular and the evaluation of modern, nonresidential below-ground space facilities in China. Gideon S. Golany not only describes the traditional uses of subterranean spaces for food, grain storage, and the tomb of kings and nobles, but also their diverse utilizations today that include developments in the larger cities for underground shopping centeres, theaters, dance halls, restaurents and hospitals. Golany's book is the first of its kind in the English language, and it treats its subject thoroughly and comprehensively. The volume includes ninety-six drawings and photographs, tables a glossary, bibliography, index, and other useful and absorbing information.

Underground Front

Underground Front
Author: Christine Loh
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2018-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9888455737

Underground Front is a pioneering examination of the role that the Chinese Communist Party has played in Hong Kong since the creation of the party in 1921, through to the present day. The second edition goes into greater depth on the party’s view on “one country, two systems”, “patriotism”, and “elections”. The introduction has been extensively revised and the concluding chapter has been completely rewritten in order to give a thorough account of the post-1997 governance and political system in Hong Kong, and where challenges lie. Christine Loh endeavours to keep the data and the materials up to date and to include the discussion of some recent events in Hong Kong. The appendices on the key targets of the party’s united front activities also make the book an especially useful read for all who are interested in Hong Kong history and politics, and the history of modern China. ‘Although the author calls herself an “outsider”, this book provides such a distinctly incisive analysis that even an “insider” will pale by comparison. Christine Loh’s exposition of the Communist Party’s co-optation and persuasion is particularly revealing for anyone not versed in communist-speak. A must-read for anyone who cares for Hong Kong—simply because the Communist Party in Hong Kong is a heavyweight player in shaping our future.’ —Ching Cheong ‘Authoritative, thoroughly researched and lucidly written, Christine Loh’s work must be read by everyone who wants to make sense of the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda in Hong Kong. This book is remarkable for its fair-mindedness in evaluating the party’s record. She provides an absorbing account of its leaders’ hard-headed pragmatism in tolerating this outpost of colonial and capitalism during the Cold War and the Cultural Revolution. Her analysis of the party’s involvement in contemporary Hong Kong is an impressive contribution to our understanding of Beijing’s expanding involvement in Hong Kong affairs. The author has achieved a notable breakthrough with this fascinating study of a political organisation whose role and influence in Hong Kong have hitherto been shrouded in secrecy.’ —Leo Goodstadt

China Unbound

China Unbound
Author: Joanna Chiu
Publisher: House of Anansi
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 148700768X

While the United States stumbles, an award-winning foreign correspondent chronicles China’s dramatic moves to become a dominant power. As the world’s second-largest economy, China is extending its influence across the globe with the complicity of democratic nations. Joanna Chiu has spent a decade tracking China’s propulsive rise, from the political aspects of the multi-billion-dollar “New Silk Road” global investment project to a growing sway on foreign countries and multilateral institutions through “United Front” efforts. Chiu offers readers background on the protests in Hong Kong, underground churches in Beijing, and exile Uyghur communities in Turkey, and exposes Beijing’s high-tech surveillance and aggressive measures that result in human rights violations against those who challenge its power. The new world disorder documented in China Unbound lays out the disturbing implications for global stability, prosperity, and civil rights everywhere.

From Underground to Independent

From Underground to Independent
Author: Paul Pickowicz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2006
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780742554382

This groundbreaking book presents a critical introduction to the cultural and political dimensions of contemporary Chinese cinema. Leading Western and Chinese scholars trace the changing dynamics of Chinese film culture since the early 1990s as it moves away from underground and toward independence in the new century. Yet as the rich case studies illustrate, the sheer variety of alternative film culture itself provides sufficient opportunities for different--at times contradictory--configurations of cinematic products. Drawing on vigorous interdisciplinary scholarship, the book investigates the objects of its study from various methodological perspectives, ranging from historical and literary to sociological and ethnographic. In addition to offering critical readings of specific texts, this book explores alternative film culture through personal interviews, on-site observations, and media interrogations, from traditional print media to the visual media of film, television, and video, including the new digital media of the Internet. The contributors also consider the flourishing independent documentary filmmaking scene, highlighting a crucial part of alternative film that has been previously obscured by an almost exclusive attention on the fifth- and sixth-generation directors of fictional movies. With its fresh and knowledgeable analysis of Chinese underground and independent filmmaking, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in a society caught between socialism and global currents. Contributions by: Chris Berry, Jim Cheng, Valerie Jaffee, Matthew David Johnson, Tonglin Lu, Chen Mo, Seio Nakajima, Paul G. Pickowicz, Zhiwei Xiao, and Yingjin Zhang.

This Suffering Is My Joy

This Suffering Is My Joy
Author: D. E. Mungello
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2021-03-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1538150301

Tracing the little-known history of the first underground Catholic church in China, noted scholar D. E. Mungello illuminates the period between the imperial expulsion of foreign Christian missionaries in 1724 and their return with European colonialism in the 1800s. Few realize that this was the first time in which Chinese, rather than Europeans, came to control their own church as Chinese clergy and lay leaders maintained communities of clandestine Catholics. Mungello follows the church in a time of persecution, focusing in particular on the role of Chinese clergy and lay leaders in maintaining communities of clandestine Catholics during the eighteenth century. He highlights the parallels between the 1724 and 1951 expulsions of missionaries from China, the first driven by a Chinese imperial system and the second by a revolutionary Communist government. The two periods also reflected foreign bias against the Chinese priests and laity and questions about their spiritual depth and constancy. However, Mungello shows that the historical record of incarcerated and interrogated Christians reveals a spiritually inspired resistance to government oppression and a willingness to suffer, often to the point of martyrdom.

Blaming China

Blaming China
Author: Benjamin Shobert
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2018-09-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1612349951

American society is angrier, more fragmented, and more polarized than at any time since the Civil War. We harbor deep insecurities about our economic future, our place in the world, our response to terrorism, and our deeply dysfunctional government. Over the next several years, Benjamin Shobert says, these four insecurities will be perverted and projected onto China in an attempt to shift blame for errors entirely of our own making. These misdirections will be satisfying in the short term but will eventually destabilize the global world that businesses, consumers, and governments have taken for granted for the last forty years and will usher in an age of geopolitical uncertainty characterized by regional conflict and increasing economic dislocation. Shobert, a senior associate at the National Bureau of Asian Research, explores how America’s attitudes toward China have changed and how our economic anxieties and political dysfunction have laid the foundation for turning our collective frustrations away from acknowledging the consequences of our own poor decisions. Shobert argues that unless we address these problems, a disastrous chapter in American life is right around the corner, one in which Americans will decide that conflict with China is the only sensible option. After framing how the American public thinks about China, Shobert offers two alternative paths forward. He proposes steps that businesses, governments, and individuals can take to potentially stop and reverse America’s path to a dystopian future.

Ancient Underground Opening and Preservation

Ancient Underground Opening and Preservation
Author: Zhifa Yang
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2015-10-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1315647109

Ancient Underground Opening and Preservation contains 59 papers presented at the International Symposium on Scientific Problems and Long-term Preservation of Largescale Ancient Underground Engineering (Longyou, China, 23-26 October 2015). The contributions focus on scientific and technical issues related to long-term preservation of large-scale anc

The Underground Church

The Underground Church
Author: Eugene Bach
Publisher: Whitaker House
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2014-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1629111589

The Chinese house church is one of the most misunderstood and controversial subjects in Christian world missions today. Questions about it abound, such as… How did it start? How does it work? How is it led? Why does it continue to experience revival? Is it necessary, now that China has extended religious freedoms? Much of the confusion is caused by the Chinese government, which deceives journalists and foreign missionaries with promises of religious freedom that are never kept. The truth is, the house churches of China are growing at a phenomenal rate. Never in the history of the world have so many people in such a short time left one belief system for another without a hostile revolution. Lives in China are being transformed daily by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the display of His miraculous power. The Underground Church demystifies the Chinese house church movement, with real-life examples and personal testimonies from Chinese Christians. The movement’s unique characteristics—both good and bad—are addressed, as well as how they have led to the church’s astonishing growth. Read and be amazed at what God is doing in China!

China Tomorrow

China Tomorrow
Author: Jean-Pierre Cabestan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2019-06-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1538129590

Arguing against conventional wisdom, this important book makes a compelling case for the continuing strength of China’s one-party system. Many analysts have predicted that China’s unprecedented economic development and middle-class expansion would lead to a liberalization of its political regime and a move toward democracy. Instead, leading scholar Jean-Pierre Cabestan contends that the Chinese Communist Party will continue to adapt and prosper in the coming decades, representing a growing challenge to all democracies. Influenced by China’s traditional culture and even more so by the regime’s Soviet ideology, institutions, and modus operandi, most Chinese are not pushing for democracy, choosing security, stability and prosperity over political freedoms and participation.