Stuck in the Middle Kingdom with You: Recent Episodes
AdamSMKY
This podcast tells the story of a year of an English teacher in China, working in an international school in Changshu, Jiangsu.
It‘s also full of history and culture. We‘ll go back to the imperial days, the revolutionary days, the days of triumph and the days of humiliation. Mostly though, it‘s modern China that I‘ll focus on, as it is the most relevant to understanding China now. China is super fascinating, and it‘s also probably the most important country in the world to understand right now, so this is my contribution to that. It‘s not a chronological history; instead, it kind of matches up to the things that were occuring in my roller-coaster of a year living in Changshu. I‘ve changed the names of the people I that I met when I was in China, except Jess of course. You‘ll meet Jess later. She‘s awesome.
Blog: SMKYpodcast.blogspot.com
It's time to recall the Opium Wars that began China's Century of Humiliation. After the lofty heights of the Ming expeditions with Zheng He's epic fleet, the Chinese lost their ability to rule the waves. This episode details the prelude to the first Opium War, how the British set up their drug trade and why they did it. Next episode, battle commences.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
As Winter Break approaches, I take a trip to the biology department.
And a new guy starts at the school...
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
Today we go back in time to find out about "China's most respectable prostitute", and the winners and losers in the concubine system.
Also, the dramatic end of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing!
And #MeToo in China, or #RiceBunny...
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
As events in the school take a curious turn, we turn to the topic of love, sex and marriage in China. How have the ruptures of the modern age changed this part of life?
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @AdamSMKY
It's time to go back to the school, where the dawning of a new year gives this troubled teacher a chance to reset the clock, and begin afresh with a new positive spirit. Or something.
Meanwhile, one teacher makes an untimely departure, and the prospect of romance is in the air.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: SMKYPodcast
To conclude this two-parter exploring how Mao's ideas manifested outside China, we look to the world of the hippies and stoners and idealists. Why did this strand of Marxist thinking, with its emphasis on the peasantry and anti-imperialism, appeal to the relatively comfy students, activists and thinkers of the developed West?
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYPodcast
Does Maoism really deserve all the criticism that it gets? Er, yes. Yes it does.
For some it was a fad, but for others it became a way of life which endures to this day. Over the next two episodes, we’re going to have a look at Maoism, from the bad to the very bad.
Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com
Twitter: @SMKYPodcast
On the past few episodes of SMKY, we covered some of the challenges in modern China with regard to the competition, guanxi and ruthlessness which infuse the culture. China is indeed a competitive society where relationships matter more than anything, and one-upmanship is the name of the game. But, despite Xi Jinping’s cult of personality, the situation now is nothing when compared to the headiest days of the Mao years, when even for the number 2, Premier Zhou Enlai, things were touch n go.
Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com
In the past few episodes we've been attempting to get our heads around Chinese culture and the pitfalls that foreigners often find themselves in when they go there to teach English. Unlike me, in relatively well-developed Changshu, Tom was teaching way out in the sticks, in a place that he describes as "the real China."
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
Guanxi is the oil the greases the engine of life in China. But when things go wrong, it all comes tumbling down, and fast. This is the story of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai.
And then, back to the school.
It's not always a barrel of laughs for those who find themselves living in the Middle Kingdom – culture shock is real and when it hits, it hits hard. In the first of a two-parter doublepod, we try to make a little sense of some of the cultural cornerstones of Chinese society: guanxi and mianzi, and also status and hierarchy.
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Despondency sets in amongst the foreign teachers as we each find a reason to gripe about the school.
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Teacher Adam's tour of China takes us finally to the hospital. Well, sickness is no fun at the best of times, but at least the management are supportive. Or are they?
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The holiday season is upon us, and all the world unites in a moment of happiness and reflection. Or something.
Meanwhile, at school, the song that I'd picked for a Christmas performance turns out to be more challenging than I'd initially expected.
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Warning – this episode contains descriptions of war crimes
As darkness descends on Nanjing, our trip to the city comes to an end. We look at the rise of Japanese ultranationalism and fascism, their unhinged campaign to take over China, and the most famous atrocity the city is known for.
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The rises and falls and rises and rivalries of China's most famous power-sisters, the Soongs. With a story that spans some 100 years, China's 20th century is nothing without this family.
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Me and teacher friend Jess head to Nanjing with the intention of visiting the Rape of Nanjing Memorial museum. Before that though, a little background of some notable Nanjing moments in history, as China's southern capital, and the founding values of Chinese republicanism and where they went.
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It's time for a school trip to Suzhou, following in Marco Polo's footsteps, to learn the secrets of silk, and muse on China's healthcare.
Like any teacher worth his salt, I attempted to combat the onset of an early winter depression by getting hopelessly drunk and trying to play a piano song to a group of drunks in a bar in the city.
And if that doesn't work, there's always Roland Emmerich movies and bamboo carpentry. One of these things must provide a cure surely.
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There's a bit in most movies called the low point, not long before the end, where it seems that all is lost for the main character. We're not quite at the end of this tale, but in November, all was lost.
Back at the Cradle of Elites, there's a newcomer in town. Jess is from the UK, and we find ourselves in a temple. From there, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to a discussion about religion and spirituality in China, from the ancient belief systems to the modern cults.
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I arranged for one more chat with Spring, and decided not to play so nice this time.
(This was recorded before the British government came up with its "send asylum seekers to Rwanda" policy. This is possibly relevant in the first half of this conversation, when I'm claiming that we respect human rights. Oops.)
This is the first of two chats. We talk about censorship and foreign companies pulling out of China, whether "Taiwan is China!", whether Trump was good or bad for China, the people's trust of the CCP in relation to Covid, and cultural differences in general.
The concluding part of this idiom-inspired doublepod about human rights in China. We start at Tiananmen Square, and weave through the current Shanghai lockdown to troubled, outspoken businessmen and recent events in Hong Kong. And of course, the saint of human rights in China, Liu Xiaobo, makes an appearance.
Scandals and troublemakers in China, and how the authorities react. Featuring appearances from the Gang of Four, Jiang Qing, Chen Mengjia with his Chinese characters, Zhang Zhan exposing Covid-19 failures and Tiananmen Square.
Shanghai's been locked down for weeks now, and China's reputation for dealing well with Covid is being undermined as cases continue to rise. Not only that, but hospital appointments are getting missed and people are running out of food. I chat with one of those on the inside.
I'm grateful to founding editor of @NewBloomMag Brian Hioe for joining me for a chat about the political situation in Taiwan, mainly in regards to the Sunflower Movement, the relationship with China, chances of war...
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New Bloom https://newbloommag.net
Brian @brianhioe
I took a weekend trip to Wuxi, the most notable part of the trip being the discomfort of the transportation and the nice fella who worked in Wuxi's youth hostel. With hushed voices, we covered a number of controversial topics.
Twitter: @SMKYpodcast
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Instead of a regular episode, a few reflections on the way counternarrative-inclined westerners have responded to Russia's aggression, mostly on Twitter.
My twitter @SMKYpodcast
A chat today with Manzhou from Shanghai about Confucianism. And stick around to the end for an email from Teacher Kelly, as some of the staff make a move against the school management.
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Penny rocks up to drag me away from the safety of my apartment, and we go back into Changshu City to find sweatshops, green tea, and an illegal swimmer.
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Back in school, we laowai suffer the stress of an open class. For those unlucky enough to be faced with such a challenge, here are some games and stuff that require minimum planning and are fairly fun too.
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Part two in Shanghai, finding the city's shiny financial centre, the colonial hangover which is the Bund, and one of the city's darkest hours.
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Conflicting personalities in the school combined with some irritating school scheduling crap led to me seeking the city lights of Shanghai. In part one of a two-part extravaganza about the great city, we visit the bars of the French Concession and track down JG Ballard's old home.
Some nice pics here: https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Many challenges come with teaching English abroad: language barriers, cultural differences, unusual teas... and other teachers.
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1) Salaries, savings, visa requirements and a few tips for the budding ESL teacher in China.
2) Classroom discipline, getting to know students, and another tricky meeting with the management…
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Summer is a journalist in Taipei. We discuss journalism and press freedom in taiwan, emotional connections with China, lessons from Hong Kong, chances of war, traveling between Taiwan and China, competition between democratic and Chinese systems, voting in Taiwan
A bit of a travelogue episode, finding Changshu's ancient district and the city's sole mountain.
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On today's podcast, a day in the life at the international school. And the symbols of modern China – flag and anthem – and Mao's tricky Hundred Flowers Campaign.
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Hi thanks for listening to Stuck in the Middle Kingdom with You, the show about teaching in China and Chinese history. Last time, we touched on the Cultural Revolution in relation to one of its victims, Deng Xiaoping, who would later claw his way back into power and remake China. This time, I found myself in the village of Shajiabang, which was the setting of one of the Cultural Revolution's model operas. So that means, we're going back to the 60s, for peak crazy, China-style.
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Today we look at the fall of Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi, and then the rise of Deng Xiaoping and capitalism in China. This covers some of the Cultural Revolution, a topic that we'll come back to next time.
Some nice pics to accompany this episode, found on https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Hi! Thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast, where we delve into all things China, including living and working there.
This little episode picks up after the slightly explosive meeting we laowai had with the Chinese management team. We get to know some colleagues a bit better and take a group trip into town and get hot pot.
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This episode introduces one of Changshu's best brains, Wang Ganchang, which leads into the Great Leap Forward. Yes, that Great Leap Forward.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Hello and thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast. In this episode, I meet most of the other foreign teachers who were to be my colleagues for that year. It was also out first meeting with the Chinese management, and we laowai were ill-prepared for the cultural expectations of such a situation – and it showed.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Hi! Thanks for listening to the SMKY podcast, which is my account of living in China and exploring its history and culture. In this episode I settle into my new apartment which is literally inside the school gates, and talk about the region and the river.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
Hi, you've made it to the Stuck in the Middle Kingdom With You podcast, a story of teaching English in China peppered with tales from Chinese history and culture. This is a preface of sorts.
Laowai: rude and offensive or friendly or neutral? I'll spell it out here, 'cos this word is going to come up a few times.
In this episode, we also mention the foreign tutors of China's last emperor and empress. Now that's a job! Shame that it was under such doomed circumstances.
https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com
This podcast tells the story of a year of an English teacher in China, working in an international school in Changshu, Jiangsu.
It's also full of history and culture. We'll go back to the imperial days, the revolutionary days, the days of triumph and the days of humiliation. Mostly though, it's modern China that I'll focus on, as it is the most relevant to understanding China now. China is super fascinating, and it's also probably the most important country in the world to understand right now, so this is my contribution to that. It's not a chronological history; instead, it kind of matches up to the things that were occuring in my roller-coaster of a year living in Changshu.
I've changed the names of the people I that I met when I was in China, except Jess of course. You'll meet Jess later. She's awesome.
Click here for the blog.