China

The elixir of life, a mythical substance from ancient Chinese literature, underpins an enormous industry in modern China. 

Flowers formed from pith paper captured the imagination of British society in the 19th century, sparking a search for the elusive ‘rice paper’ plant.

A tale of two translators, caught between civilisations.

Mao Zedong once said that Taiwan should be independent, but the Chinese Communist Party has since changed its mind on the ‘renegade province’. How Chinese is Taiwan?

Realising the world was changing around them, the Qing government began sending students abroad.

Believing language would unify their struggling nation, Chinese officials began a project to create a national language and define what it meant to speak Chinese. 

Chinese history is dominated by a nationalist interpretation that owes much to British ideas of the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Though horse racing was a symbol of British colonialism, it became a surprisingly inclusive pastime in China’s major International Settlement. 

The Chinese government’s reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic reveals much about its memory of the humiliations of the 19th century.