china – Manchester Historian

Dubbed ‘the bloodiest war in history’, the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) shook China, its scars both present and still healing today. In 1843, Hong Xiuquan was converted to Protestantism by Western missionaries and founded a God-worshipping society.

Five years ago, Luo Huazhong made an important discovery: he loved doing nothing. After quitting his factory job in Sichuan Province, he biked over 1,000 miles to Tibet and found he was able to survive on odd jobs and his savings of $60 a month.

Why do very few people, in this country at least, seem not to know nor even to have heard of the May Fourth Movement (1919) in China? Coverage of China is ubiquitous in Western media; China’s geopolitical manoeuvres, fluctuating economic growth, and unique political ideology are a source of profound intrigue and criticism amongst social commentators.

In the aftermath of the Leveson debate and the heavily publicised phone hacking scandal in 2011, the freedom enjoyed by the British press has been subjected to relentless criticism. Contrastingly, China maintains an iron grip upon the reigns of its media, arguably using censorship to conceal the affairs of government from the public. Does China’s Continue Reading

Charlotte Johnson interviews public historian and new staff member in the History Department, Professor Michael Wood.