Stuck in the Middle Kingdom with You

And so we are at an end. Summer break was here, relations with the school were in the gutter, but I'd signed a contract for next year and was effectively trapped. The only way out was to concoct a cunning scheme, and that's exactly what I did... *cackle* 谢谢，再见 亚当 Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYPodcast

As I was planning my escape from the Cradle, Lisa was just settling in. How did her experience compare to mine? From her home back in the USA, she told me her story.   Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYPodcast

In this penultimate episode, the foreign teachers meet for one last time at Brew Kettle, and as the booze takes effect a certain clarity appears.   Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

We're almost at the end of this troubled tale and, because few stories end as dramatically as Lin Biao's, I think it's time to revisit the ailing marshal and find out how it all went so wrong. Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

The year end is nigh. School holidays approach. The question to renewing the contract has come. What should a paranoid, anxiety-addled teacher do? Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

We cycle through the wetlands of Jiangnan to the water town of Jinxi, muse a little on the contradicting feelings of restriction and freedom in China, and then get into the story of modern Tibet. Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

It's Easter in Changshu, and an Easter Egg hunt at school goes hopelessly off the rails. Also, the festival of Qingming, and the Chinese story of creation – with a giant rabbit called Pangu. Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast Song: 'I am the Sea' - Epic Pirate Battle Music, supported by #TheROOMnoCopyRMusic

A change in the teacher line-up has been taking place following the surprising dismissal of teacher Tyler. The new clan heads out to a nightclub, where I get some advice about dealing with Dodi. (dubious accent alert) Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast  

In episode 1 of this three-parter, China was alarmed at Soviet attempts to live alongside the Americans; and in part 2 those attempts went into reverse as the Cold War reached its peak temperatures. In the final part, we follow the secret mission of Henry Kissinger as he went to China to make contact after 25 years of silence, and how the new Sino-American relationship shook up the final decades of the Cold War. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

Part 2 of 3 in a Sino-Soviet Split miniseries, and it's time for the hopes for peaceful co-existence between the Americans and the Soviets to be roundly dashed, much to the satisfaction of a certain Chairman over in Beijing. Next time, how the Chinese capitalised on the situation for their own ends. Music in this episode:  Dragon Castle by Makai Symphony Cuba Baion by Kurt Drabek Russians by Sting (guitar cover by Giuseppe Torrisi) Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

If only the two big communist powers had gotten on, perhaps they could have stuck it to the Americans during the Cold War, but it wasn't to be. Personalities and ideologies got in the way. In this first part of an SMKY doublepod, we look at the period leading up to the split in the early 60s. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast  

China might be a big scary communist country to people in the West, but for Neo-Maoists the country has lost its way, and sometimes it seems that communism in China is more of a nostalgic indulgence. Apart from Mao, Lei Feng is the mascot of commie merchandise.  We also take a trip into the Humble Administrator's Garden, and the Suzhou Museum, before a dramatic race for the bus. FYI: Songs that feature in this episode – 1, Without the Communist Party, there is No New China – 2, Learn from Lei Feng's Good Example

As we head back to Suzhou, we look at the story of the ancient city and make sense of all those Wus associated with the area. We then dive into the local tourist hotspot at Shantang Street, it's poetry and nostalgia, for dinner. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

A number of curious phrases have popped up lately in China, as a new internet-native generation join the workforce and find themselves getting knocked about by office politics and social pressures.  In this episode, a Shanghai-based worker joins me to explain these terms. Sang culture - 丧文化 Lying flat - 躺平 Let it rot - 摆烂 Neijuan - 奶卷 Touching fish - 摸鱼  

After visiting the harsh cold countryside for the Lantern Festival, I get back to the school only to be thrown into more office politics. But compared to the Chinese workers, laowai work is pretty tame. Let's explore that a little. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

Having returned from the winter break, I head off into rural Jiangsu to spend the Lantern Festival in Lily's Town. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @AdamSMKY

Picking up at the end of the last episode, today Grade 7 teacher Penny and I travel to the epic Yangtze River, and we get stuck in to the Opium Wars. Not Britain's finest moment, that. And we discover why Penny left a note under my door while I was sick.... Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @AdamSMKY  

It's time to recall the Opium Wars that began China's Century of Humiliation. After the lofty heights of the Ming expeditions with Zheng He's epic fleet, the Chinese lost their ability to rule the waves. This episode details the prelude to the first Opium War, how the British set up their drug trade and why they did it. Next episode, battle commences. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

As Winter Break approaches, I take a trip to the biology department.   And a new guy starts at the school...   Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

Today we go back in time to find out about "China's most respectable prostitute", and the winners and losers in the concubine system.  Also, the dramatic end of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing! And #MeToo in China, or #RiceBunny... Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYpodcast  

As events in the school take a curious turn, we turn to the topic of love, sex and marriage in China. How have the ruptures of the modern age changed this part of life? Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @AdamSMKY

It's time to go back to the school, where the dawning of a new year gives this troubled teacher a chance to reset the clock, and begin afresh with a new positive spirit. Or something. Meanwhile, one teacher makes an untimely departure, and the prospect of romance is in the air. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: SMKYPodcast

To conclude this two-parter exploring how Mao's ideas manifested outside China, we look to the world of the hippies and stoners and idealists. Why did this strand of Marxist thinking, with its emphasis on the peasantry and anti-imperialism, appeal to the relatively comfy students, activists and thinkers of the developed West? Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYPodcast 

Does Maoism really deserve all the criticism that it gets? Er, yes. Yes it does. For some it was a fad, but for others it became a way of life which endures to this day. Over the next two episodes, we're going to have a look at Maoism, from the bad to the very bad. Email: SMKYpodcast@gmx.com Twitter: @SMKYPodcast  

On the past few episodes of SMKY, we covered some of the challenges in modern China with regard to the competition, guanxi and ruthlessness which infuse the culture. China is indeed a competitive society where relationships matter more than anything, and one-upmanship is the name of the game. But, despite Xi Jinping's cult of personality, the situation now is nothing when compared to the headiest days of the Mao years, when even for the number 2, Premier Zhou Enlai, things were touch n go. Email: SMKYPodcast@gmx.com

In the past few episodes we've been attempting to get our heads around Chinese culture and the pitfalls that foreigners often find themselves in when they go there to teach English. Unlike me, in relatively well-developed Changshu, Tom was teaching way out in the sticks, in a place that he describes as "the real China." Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

Guanxi is the oil the greases the engine of life in China. But when things go wrong, it all comes tumbling down, and fast. This is the story of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai. And then, back to the school.

It's not always a barrel of laughs for those who find themselves living in the Middle Kingdom – culture shock is real and when it hits, it hits hard. In the first of a two-parter doublepod, we try to make a little sense of some of the cultural cornerstones of Chinese society: guanxi and mianzi, and also status and hierarchy. Twitter @SMKYpodcast

Despondency sets in amongst the foreign teachers as we each find a reason to gripe about the school. Say hi on Twitter @SMKYpodcast

Teacher Adam's tour of China takes us finally to the hospital. Well, sickness is no fun at the best of times, but at least the management are supportive. Or are they?   Twitter @SMKYpodcast

The holiday season is upon us, and all the world unites in a moment of happiness and reflection. Or something. Meanwhile, at school, the song that I'd picked for a Christmas performance turns out to be more challenging than I'd initially expected.  Twitter: @SMKYpodcast

Warning – this episode contains descriptions of war crimes As darkness descends on Nanjing, our trip to the city comes to an end. We look at the rise of Japanese ultranationalism and fascism, their unhinged campaign to take over China, and the most famous atrocity the city is known for. Twit: @SMKYpodcast

The rises and falls and rises and rivalries of China's most famous power-sisters, the Soongs. With a story that spans some 100 years, China's 20th century is nothing without this family.  Twitter @SMKYpodcast

Me and teacher friend Jess head to Nanjing with the intention of visiting the Rape of Nanjing Memorial museum. Before that though, a little background of some notable Nanjing moments in history, as China's southern capital, and the founding values of Chinese republicanism and where they went. Twitter @SMKYpodcast

Twit: @SMKYPodcast

It's time for a school trip to Suzhou, following in Marco Polo's footsteps, to learn the secrets of silk, and muse on China's healthcare.

Like any teacher worth his salt, I attempted to combat the onset of an early winter depression by getting hopelessly drunk and trying to play a piano song to a group of drunks in a bar in the city. And if that doesn't work, there's always Roland Emmerich movies and bamboo carpentry. One of these things must provide a cure surely. Twitter @SMKYpodcast

There's a bit in most movies called the low point, not long before the end, where it seems that all is lost for the main character. We're not quite at the end of this tale, but in November, all was lost.

Back at the Cradle of Elites, there's a newcomer in town. Jess is from the UK, and we find ourselves in a temple. From there, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to a discussion about religion and spirituality in China, from the ancient belief systems to the modern cults. Twitter @SMKYpodcast

I arranged for one more chat with Spring, and decided not to play so nice this time. (This was recorded before the British government came up with its "send asylum seekers to Rwanda" policy. This is possibly relevant in the first half of this conversation, when I'm claiming that we respect human rights. Oops.)

This is the first of two chats. We talk about censorship and foreign companies pulling out of China, whether "Taiwan is China!", whether Trump was good or bad for China, the people's trust of the CCP in relation to Covid, and cultural differences in general.

The concluding part of this idiom-inspired doublepod about human rights in China. We start at Tiananmen Square, and weave through the current Shanghai lockdown to troubled, outspoken businessmen and recent events in Hong Kong. And of course, the saint of human rights in China, Liu Xiaobo, makes an appearance.

Scandals and troublemakers in China, and how the authorities react. Featuring appearances from the Gang of Four, Jiang Qing, Chen Mengjia with his Chinese characters, Zhang Zhan exposing Covid-19 failures and Tiananmen Square.

Shanghai's been locked down for weeks now, and China's reputation for dealing well with Covid is being undermined as cases continue to rise. Not only that, but hospital appointments are getting missed and people are running out of food. I chat with one of those on the inside.  

I'm grateful to founding editor of @NewBloomMag Brian Hioe for joining me for a chat about the political situation in Taiwan, mainly in regards to the Sunflower Movement, the relationship with China, chances of war...   Twit @SMKYpodcast Blog https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com New Bloom https://newbloommag.net Brian @brianhioe

I took a weekend trip to Wuxi, the most notable part of the trip being the discomfort of the transportation and the nice fella who worked in Wuxi's youth hostel. With hushed voices, we covered a number of controversial topics. Twitter: @SMKYpodcast https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com

Down with Apple

Instead of a regular episode, a few reflections on the way counternarrative-inclined westerners have responded to Russia's aggression, mostly on Twitter. My twitter @SMKYpodcast

A chat today with Manzhou from Shanghai about Confucianism. And stick around to the end for an email from Teacher Kelly, as some of the staff make a move against the school management.   https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com

Penny rocks up to drag me away from the safety of my apartment, and we go back into Changshu City to find sweatshops, green tea, and an illegal swimmer.   https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com

Back in school, we laowai suffer the stress of an open class. For those unlucky enough to be faced with such a challenge, here are some games and stuff that require minimum planning and are fairly fun too.   https://smkypodcast.blogspot.com