April 27,
2015

ISSUE
No. 45

AMS Weekly Newsletter
Supporting the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
Event Tonight in Washington D.C.
J oin us tonight (April 27) at 6pm at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for a talk, in Chinese of course, by Prof. HE Fan of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on the topic of "The Political Economy of the Center-Local Relationship." Prof. HE, this year on sabbatical with the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York, will share his observations on the center-local relationship in Chinese history. Details are on our website .

Weekly Readings

Modern Chinese values are a contentious subject, and the Chinese Communist Party since its inception has tried to shape the answers to the question of "What does it mean to be Chinese?" The party now provides a set of answers under the rubric of "Socialist Core Values." Regardless whether one chooses to disagree with this concept as this week's English-language essay does, Americans cannot avoid engaging with how the party defines China and the Chinese  people today. In this context, Americans would do well to return to Reinhold Niebuhr's essay in the American Scholar "American Pride and Power" (1948).

Social Media Watch

Earth Day got a subdued reception on Weibo this year, and Baidu didn't feature an animation like it did for International Women's Day. But there are homages to the planet you can explore on Lofter, the "Chinese Tumblr" ( lofter.com ). Search the tags "Earth Day" (?????), "environment" (??), and "conservation" (??). You can also browse beautiful photos of the natural world in the Art section. There are even prints and postcards for sale, but so far they only ship to China.
?? in Xi Jinping's  Speeches


 

????

y? b? r?ng c?

 

Meaning: to be one's duty, or to be incumbent upon

 

In a speech on April 7 at the 15th annual China-Vietnam Youth Meeting, which brought together General Secretary Xi and General Secretary Nguyen, Xi Jinping used the phrase ???? when he exhorted the youth of both sides to work together to promote common development and prosperity. 

Original: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-04/08/c_127664786.htm


Documentary of the Week

With so many new U.S. books and reports available on how to deal with China, it seems appropriate to choose this week's documentary based on the Chinese official most adept at dealing with foreign officials. From Nehru to Nixon, Zhou Enlai was Beijing's point man for conversations and negotiations. In addition to his diplomatic skills, Zhou also brought shrewd instincts on how to play his interlocutors honed as China's seniormost intelligence officer.
Job of the Week

What a cool job opportunity...Peace Corps Director for China! Seriously, who wouldn't want to apply?!

Support the American Mandarin Society!

If you appreciate the effort we put into organizing Chinese-language policy events, providing robust language and policy resources on our website, and the kind of content you see in this newsletter, please consider supporting us with a tax-deductible contribution--every bit helps!
The American Mandarin Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.