Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Minneapolis Institute of Arts website Arts of Asia is extensive but not overwhelming in presenting Chinese history with an emphasis on art and culture. The art works are explained and background given, though there is probably more pottery than most students would want.

There are excellent sections of History and Maps for China, Japan, and Korea showing historical development.

The section on Buddhism is especially well done.

Additional Resources includes Teaching the Arts, Further Reading, and Glossary.

Highly recommended to those with an interest in art.

http://www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/introduction/

Chinese Fable Stories in English

Although intended for beginning English readers (pre-school), this series of online reader uses flash technology to incorporate basic animation with story telling. It's a great beginning to learning about Chinese stories and fables.

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/chinese-fables/load.htm?f

The China Beat

A brave new blog: The China Beat, which in its own words "examines media coverage of China, providing context and criticism from China scholars and writers." The first couple of posts show what they're up to: "Five Good Short Books on China," "After the Avalanche," (on the Taiwan elections), and "Anniversaries: The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang" (a controversial figure who usurped the throne 2,000 years ago.)

There you have it: history, items snatched from the headlines, and advice on what to read. What's not to like?

Anniversary of Zhou Enlai's Death

Several bloggers wrote about Zhou on January 8. Jottings from the Granite Studio has a superb piece, This Date in History with excellent illustrations. My own piece, Zhou Enlai and the Chinese Omelette (posted on Frog in a Well) adds some more stories and observations.

China Digital Times Photos

Slide show of photos from China today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/chinadigitaltimes/interesting/show/

CW Hayford, "Don't Toy With China"

I wrote an op-ed piece on the recent flap over Chinese toys which is posted at AsiaMedia :: Don't toy with China (click for the article).

Samurai Baseball?

Is baseball in Japan just "baseball" or is it a unique insight into national character, "samurai baseball"? There is an important debate over this issue between Robert Whiting, a long time student of Japanese baseball and, among others, William Kelly, an anthropologist who studies baseball in Japan. My piece on Frog in a Well goes into these issues: "Samurai Baseball: Off Base or Safe at Home?"

It is also posted, with several nice graphics, at Japan Focus