Leftover Women and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

Susan Blumberg-Kason reviews Leta Hong Fincher Leftover Women (in my Bloomsbury Asian Arguments series) and Barbara Demick’s new Daughters of the Bamboo Grove in the Los Angeles Review of Books… click here to read…

Heinz von Perckhamer’s Peking, 1928

Photographer Heinz von Perckhammer, Peking, 1928, Published by Albertus-Verlag GmbH of Berlin with a foreword by Arthur Holitscher (Hungarian playwright, novelist, essayist and travel writer)….

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Carl Crow’s China Takes Her Place with a Shanghai Bund Cover

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this US cover for Carl Crow’s China Takes Her Place (first published 1938) with a slice of the Shanghai Bund included….

The Tale of the Man Who Escaped from Oklahoma Penitentiary with “Lucky” Jack Riley of Old Shanghai

Baseball writer and historian Gary Cieradkowski has fleshed out the story of Roy Counts, who was the other imprisoned baseball player who escaped from prison in America with Jack Riley (from my book City of Devils) – Riley of course headed off to Shanghai, Counts went in a different direction… click here…

Raymond Spencer Millard’s Scenes of Hong Kong, 1970s/1980s

Raymond Spencer Millard (1920-1997) was originally from Derbyshire and was a specialist on road building who worked throughout the UK and the colonies. The following four paintings are of Hong Kong and begun and finished in the 1970s and 1980s. Millard obviously took some time as he records that most were started in 1976/1977, but the final painting of Shun Wan Harbour was begun in 1977 and only completed in 1987.

Wallis Returns to Felixstowe – 28/6/25

You may not know this but Wallis Simpson stayed in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in 1936 while she was awaiting her divorce from her second husband, Ernest Simpson. And now she’s returning – at least in some slides as I’m talking about her China years at this year’s Felixstowe Book Festival. Tickets and details here

RAS Beijing Zoom – Frank Dorn, the Mysterious Mapmaker of Beiping – 18/6/25

Frank Dorn, the Mysterious Mapmaker of Beiping (Beijing)” by Lar Ulrik Thom (online), co-organized by RASBJ and Beijing Postcards

June 18, Wednesday, from 7:00-8:00 PM Beijing Time

In 1936 Frank Dorn made one of the most fascinating and popular maps of old Beijing. Cartoon in style, Dorn’s map is a unique window into old Beijing. Surprisingly little is known publicly about the mysterious mapmaker, even though the man is as fascinating as his map. In Beijing (then Beiping), he befriended some of the most knowledgeable foreign experts on China including Owen Lattimore, Sven Hedin and L.C Arlington. Dorn worked on a movie script with the first Hollywood star of Chinese origin, Anna May Wong. In 1938 after war broke out between China and Japan, Dorn met and befriended a young Zhou Enlai. And later, when the US entered the war against Japan, Dorn was promoted to the rank of general and witnessed at close quarters some of the heated disagreements between key players of the time, such as Chiang Kai-shek and the founder of the Flying Tigers Claire Chennault. Both the map and its maker offer unique perspectives on China’s late Republican era.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Lars Ulrik Thom has been dedicated to Beijing history for the past 20 years. As the founder of Beijing Postcards, he’s been leading projects, conducting archival research, collecting oral histories, and sharing this knowledge through themed walks, talks, exhibitions and historical souvenirs.

HOW MUCH: Admission to this collaboration between RASBJ and Beijing Postards is RMB 50 for members of RASBJ, the Beijing Postcards community, and partner RAS branches (London, Shanghai, and Hong Kong). RMB 100 for non-members. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.org/membership/

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click “Register” or “I will Attend” no later than noon on June 16 and follow the instructions. After successful registration you’ll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. You may find paying via Alipay easier than paying by Wechat; you can also use international credit cards.

MEMBERS OF PARTNER RAS BRANCHES: Please register at least 72 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification. You’ll receive several emails from RASBJ confirming registration/payment. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.

Her Lotus Year: Wallis’s Marines in Shanghai

During her time in Shanghai in autumn 1924 Wallis would have seen the US 4th Marines stationed there out and about. Here they are marching on the racecourse along Bubbling Well Road. You can spot the China United Building (now on Nanjing West Road) behind….

Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties and the Making of Wallis Simpson is available everywhere in hardback, e-book and audiobook now…