All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French
An evening of Wallis in China, some Macao stories & old China stuff (+ a raffle for a delightful old Macao map), all at the lovely Bookazine Social in Tai Kwun (Hollywood Road, HK) – 6.30, free, quite possibly a glass of wine, good people, some good conversation. Just sign up here for numbers –
My new drama-doc (with Al Smith and Sasha Yevtushenko), The Defectors, is now available on BBC Sounds everywhere….
The Observer – Radio Pick of the Week – ‘this fascinating production recreates the story behind the 2016 defection deputy Ambassador Thae Yong-ho, while also hearing real-life testimonies from those who have fled the regime.’
Daily Telegraph – On My Wavelength – ‘a terrific drama’
The Sunday Times – ‘inspired drama-documentary’
The Sunday Telegraph – ‘an inventive retelling….highly entertaining’
The Times – ‘a cleverly constructed docu-drama…astonishing stories’
Radio Times – ‘atypical drama….a thrilling listen, and the references to North Korea’s sinister Third Floor remain long after it’s over.’
click here to listen
An amazing selection of photos from the former Guardian correspondent John Gittings, taken between 1978–2003 – click here
Some photos from the commemoration of the life and work of Shanghai historian, writer and inspirer Lynn Pan (Pan Ling) at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2025….
YouTube recording of the event held on 5 March 2025, part of the University of Westminster’s Contemporary China Centre’s conference, deconstructed series. The Chinese diaspora in Britain is one of the longest-standing and fastest-growing racially minoritised groups. Over the past few decades, there has been a growing body of literature on these diverse individuals and communities, challenging essentialised and homogenised portrayals of them. This panel continues the “Contemporary China Centre Conference Deconstructed” format, bringing together three early career researchers to share their latest work exploring underrepresented aspects of 20th-century British Chinese history. The three papers will examine this multifaceted history, focusing on agency, grassroots activism, and state intervention. click here….
The SOAS China in Context podcast – Writing Shanghai – a Tribute to Lynn Pan – episode we look at the life and work of Lynn Pan, one of the most imaginative of writers in English about modern China and particularly Shanghai, who died last year, and was commemorated at a special event at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival earlier this month. Her books, including In Search of Old Shanghai, The New Chinese Revolution, Sons of the Yellow Emperor, Shanghai Style and When True Love Came to China, were accessible, often witty, and always deeply researched. Duncan Hewitt discusses her legacy with Paul French, author of Midnight in Peking and Her Lotus Year, Frances Wood, SOAS Research Associate and former curator of Chinese collections at the British Library, and Michelle Garnaut, founder of the Shanghai Literary Festival. With a further contribution from Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor’s Professor of History at University of California, Irvine. Click here to listen…
I’ve blogged about Dymia Hsiung many times before (use the search box if you’re interested), published Diana Yeh’s book The Happy Hsiungs (RAS China/Hong Kong University Press) and made a BBC radio documentary featuring her (and her husband the playwright Shih-I Hsiung) work. Dymia, who lived in London for many years, wrote a memoir/biography called Flowering Exile in the early 1950s. It’s hard to find but secondhand copies can be located.
Marvelously though Hong Kong’s Commercial Press has just translated it into Chinese in a lovely edition….
My new BBC Radio drama-doc, The Defectors, is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 Sunday March 9 and will then be available on the Listen Again web site and for download on the BBC Sounds app. The drama portions were written by Al Smith with my narration and the documentary interviews with North Korean exiles in Britain were done by myself and producer Sasha Yevtushenko. Talking heads included former UK Charge d’Affairs in Pyongyang Jim Hoare, the BBC’s former security correspondent Gordon Corera and the former BBC Seoul correspondent Steve Evans…. The Radio Times had a listen and is enthusiastic!!
