meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Sinica Podcast

While we're here: China stories from a writers' colony

Sinica Podcast

Kaiser Kuo

Culture, China News, Hangzhou, Chinese, International Relations, Chongqing, Beijing, Sichuan, Currentaffairs, China, Politics, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, China Economy, News, China Politics, Business, Film, Shenzhen

4.8676 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2015

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When Ernest Hemingway somewhat presciently referred to Paris as a "moveable feast" ("wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you"), he captured the feelings of many long-term China expats rather concisely. So why exactly does everyone like to compare life here to Paris in the 1920s? And if life is so romantic here, where are the writers in our midst and what are they producing? This week on Sinica, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are delighted to host the editors of While We're Here: China Stories from a Writers' Colony, a compilation of short stories, poems and more, lovingly assembled by Alec Ash and Tom Pellman of The Anthill. Join us to listen to some selections as well as unapologetic gossip about the writers in question. If you want to pick up the book, you can find it for your Kindle here on Amazon or drop by The Bookworm in Beijing for a physical copy. Recommendations: The Anthill http://theanthill.org/ While We Were Here: China Stories from a Writers’ Colony, Edited by Alec Ash and Tom Pellman http://www.amazon.com/While-Were-Here-Stories-Writers-ebook/dp/B019136EXI/ Unsavory Elements http://www.amazon.com/Unsavory-Elements-Stories-Foreigners-Loose/dp/9881616409 How to Dress to Buy Dragonfruit http://www.amazon.com/How-Does-One-Dress-Dragonfruit-ebook/dp/B00K21ZXF4 Alec Ash on "Shanghai Cocktales" http://beijingcream.com/2015/05/shanghai-cocktales-and-the-curse-of-the-expat-memoir/ Incarnations http://www.amazon.com/The-Incarnations-Novel-Susan-Barker/dp/1501106783 Rock Paper Tiger http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Tiger-Ellie-McEnroe-Novel/dp/161695258X/ Up to The Mountains and Down to the Countryside, by Quincy Carol http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Down-Countryside-Quincy-Carroll/dp/1941758452 Radio Lab Episode on CRISPER http://www.radiolab.org/story/antibodies-part-1-crispr/ Alec Ash The Search for a Vanishing Beijing, by M. A. Aldrich http://www.amazon.com/The-Search-Vanishing-Beijing-Capital/dp/9622099394 Voice Map – Walking Guided Tours – Check out the tours of Beijing, by David French and Alex Ash https://voicemap.me/ Tom Pellman Dispatches from Pluto, by Richard Grant http://www.amazon.com/Dispatches-Pluto-Found-Mississippi-Delta-ebook/dp/B00UDCNM82 David Moser 逻辑思维 Logical Thinking – Video Series on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/logictalkshow Kaiser Kuo China’s Bold Push into Genetically Customized Animals, by Christina Larson http://www.nature.com/news/china-s-bold-push-into-genetically-customized-animals-1.18826 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to the Cynica podcast, a weekly discussion of current affairs in China, coming to you from the pop-up Chinese studio here in Beijing.

0:15.6

I'm Kaiser Guo, joined this week by my good friend David Moser, academic director of the CET program here in Beijing,

0:21.7

and how are you on this wintry morning in Beijing?

0:24.4

Yes, blustery.

0:25.8

Is that the word?

0:26.7

Drizzly blustery, yes.

0:28.5

But I'm very happy to be here.

0:29.9

So, David, got a question for you.

0:31.7

So when you finished college back, whatever that was, what was the it city or country for Americans of your generation to head to, you know,

0:40.7

to kind of rusticate for a couple years with that experience of living abroad?

0:44.8

Hmm.

0:45.4

That's interesting.

0:47.1

I don't know.

0:47.8

It seems like at that time China was not yet on the radar.

0:50.7

No, not yet on the radar.

0:52.5

But in terms of overseas, visiting you mean?

0:54.9

Yeah, overseas.

0:56.4

Oh, yes, your generation was still going to Canada.

0:59.2

That's right.

1:01.1

Right, we were escaping things.

1:02.6

Yeah, right, exactly.

1:04.5

So, yeah, I mean, for me, I was maybe tail end of Japan.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kaiser Kuo, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Kaiser Kuo and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.