Long Peace Street: A Walk along China’s Most Important Street
Dr Jonathan Chatwin will talk about his book ‘Long Peace Street: A Walk in Modern China’. Across the centre of Beijing, Long Peace Street cuts an arrow-straight, 20 mile line. At its midpoint, the so-called ‘Number One Street of China’ divides the Forbidden City, home to generations of Chinese emperors, and Tiananmen Square, the vast granite square constructed to glorify a new China under Communist rule. It is a storied stretch of the Middle Kingdom, littered with physical and architectural reminders of the seemingly unrelenting drama of China’s recent past: national cemeteries, communist party boltholes and high-security military sites, as well as ministries, museums and leadership compounds. In 2016, Jonathan walked its length from west to east, a journey related in his travelogue, Long Peace Street. Using archival and modern photographs, Jonathan’s talk takes the audience with him on a journey through China’s capital – but also through the China’s twentieth century, from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the modern day, excavating some of the fascinating stories Long Peace Street has to tell.
Date:
12 February 2020, 17:00 (Wednesday, 4th week, Hilary 2020)
Venue:
Dickson Poon Building, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
Venue Details:
Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre
Speaker:
Dr Jonathan Chatwin
Organising department:
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Organiser contact email address:
clare.orchard@orinst.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Rana Mitter
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Clare Orchard
