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A beautiful waterfront. Historic bund. World-class hotels. Why Ningbo deserves to be more than just Shanghai's quiet rival. A report on my recent research trip to one of the original Qing dynasty treaty ports. jeremiahjenne.substack.com/p/shanghais-...

jeremiahjenne.substack.com

Shanghai's Quiet Rival: A History Walk Along Ningbo's Old Bund

A historian's walking guide to one of the original treaty ports turned tourist destination

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 30/09/2026

One of my favorite Qing Dynasty...memoirs? Love stories? Eyewitness account of the rot at the end of the High Qing? No matter what, Shen Fu gives us a fantastic, candid account of a scholar-aesthete and his amazing wife who decide to bag the struggle for success, lie flat, and embrace life.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 28/09/2026

On the latest episode of By Their Own Compass, we do a deep dive into 3 missionaries, their backgrounds, and the influence they had on the places they visited. Listen in wherever you get your podcasts. www.bytheirowncompass.com/p/historys-m...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 24/09/2026

Chairman? President? General Secretary? In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, David Moser and I discuss why people care so much about the titles of Chinese leaders. jeremiahjenne.substack.com/p/chairmen-c...

jeremiahjenne.substack.com

Chairmen, China, and the Tricky Translations of Political Terms in the PRC

Donald Trump welcomes Xi Jinping to Washington this week, but who is he meeting? China’s president? Chairman? General Secretary? Does it even really matter?

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 23/09/2026

In the latest episode of By Their Own Compass, Sarah and Jeremiah discuss the complex legacy of missionaries such as Mary Slessor, whose work in Africa placed her at the heart of British colonial rule, even as she strongly opposed it.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 21/09/2026

In this recently re-released episode of Dan Snow's History Hit, Dan and I dish about the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty. It's Monarchs. Mongols. Manchus. Eunuchs and more. shows.acast.com/dansnowshist...

shows.acast.com

The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty | Dan Snow's History Hit

At its height, Ming China was one of the most powerful states on Earth. So how did it come to an end?

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 18/09/2026

When travel meets a higher power. The new episode of By Their Own Compass examines the awkward position of missionaries who journeyed far from home to pursue their calling. Maps in China, an angry Scot versus a territorial hippo, and Dartmouth College. www.bytheirowncompass.com/p/historys-m...

bytheirowncompass.com

History’s Most Ambitious Missionaries

Matteo Ricci, Mary Slessor, and Samson Occom’s world-changing travels in the name of Christianity

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Paul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Traces of Sir Reginald Johnston at SOAS - Last week I was delighted to be invited by London University’s SOAS & The Meridian Society to view artifacts & books linked to Reginald Johnston & last emperor Puyi held in their library archives paulfrench.substack.com/p/september-...

paulfrench.substack.com

September 11 2026 - ChinaRhyming - Traces of Sir Reginald Johnston at SOAS

Last week I was delighted to be invited by London University’s SOAS & The Meridian Society to view artifacts & books linked to Reginald Johnston & last emperor Puyi held in their library archives....

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 11/09/2026

New episode of Barbarians at the Gate with me and @davidmoserbeijing.bsky.social discussing what we did on our summer vacations and, of course, the 50th anniversary of the death of Chairman Mao. jeremiahjenne.substack.com/p/mao-more-t...

jeremiahjenne.substack.com

Mao, More Than Ever

A revolutionary general who never made the leap to running a state. Plus David's hundred-day ankle and the question every modern China historian dreads.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 09/09/2026

Ella Maillart is one of my favorite travel writers. I've long been fascinated by her book The Cruel Way, about a road trip in a Ford with her companion, the journalist Annemarie Schwarzenbach, from Geneva to Afghanistan in the months before the world descended into war.

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𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥 @thoc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The virgin liberal looks at the US attacking Canada and is baffled by an ally attacking an ally for no reason. The chad Legalist understands the stratagem of befriending far (North Korea, Russia), while attacking near (Canada, Greenland, Minneapolis) is the True wisdom.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 21/08/2026

What do Anthropic's hunger for training data, an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas, and the possible loss of thousands of documents related to the history of USAID have to do with the Qianlong Emperor? Link in the reply below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 06/08/2026

At breakfast today in Shanghai, I saw this translation and immediately had thoughts of @bokane.org and the hills upon which we choose to fight and die.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 03/08/2026

MAGA embraces the long-standing CCP policy of "Patriotic Education for the Masses" (爱国教育） www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/o...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 03/08/2026

Morning hike up Baoshi Hill in Hangzhou. The Baochu Pagoda site dates to the 960s.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 31/07/2026

Nellie Bly saw her race around the world as a competition against time, Jules Verne’s fictional Phileas Fogg, and society’s notions about what a woman could or couldn’t do. New York City newspapers saw it differently. Listen to the full episode here: www.bytheirowncompass.com/p/nellie-bly...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 30/07/2026

Morning walk in Suzhou on the Baodai Bridge. 53 arches constructed in the 9th century so barge pullers (job description = position title) could tow cargoes across the mouth of Dantai Lake. The steel monstrosity behind it is the younger, hotter replacement with far less charm and grace.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 30/07/2026

Somerset Maugham's On a Chinese Screen was written over a century ago. So why do so many of the expat archetypes Maugham collected in his travels still feel so relevant today? Alexander Boyd of @chinabooksreview.com joins me to discuss on the latest episode of Barbarians at the Gate. Link below.

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Benjamin Balthaser @blbalthaser.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Every classics scholar watching Nolan’s Odyssey rn

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 29/07/2026

Nellie Bly faked insanity to expose the horrors of a 19th-century asylum. Sarah subjected herself to industrial quantities of hairspray and make-up to infiltrate a budget airline. Learn more about Nellie Bly’s amazing story and her epic journey around the world at By Their Own Compass. Link below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 28/07/2026

Crusading reporter. Feminist icon. World traveler. And somebody who never backed down from a challenge. Nellie Bly was a legend. This is her story. www.bytheirowncompass.com/p/nellie-bly...

bytheirowncompass.com

Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Race Around the World

Listen now | How a gutsy undercover reporter beat Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days – and became a global sensation

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 22/07/2026

The state intervenes in the market to avoid setting off a panic and to promote social stability. Maybe it's just me, but whenever I see the "National Team" buying the dip in the Chinese stock market, I can't help but think of the Qing-era Ever Normal Granaries hooked up to a Bloomberg terminal.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 21/07/2026

Maugham's On a Chinese Screen is the author's setting board, upon which he pins missionaries, consular officials, fellow tourists, and the occasional Chinese scholar. My latest column for @chinabooksreview.com chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/16/w...

chinabooksreview.com

W. Somerset Maugham: On a Chinese Screen | China Books Review

Over a century after it came out, Maugham's travelogue of his trip to China in 1919–20 reveals less about China itself, more about the foreigners who lived there.

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Trump's war in Iran has made gas unaffordable and I am suffering from explosive diarrhea I contracted from a parasite that RFK Jr. said was good for you. But my liberal neighbor won't stop saying "Odysseus" with this weird ancient Greek accent. I have never felt more politically homeless.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 17/07/2026

"A racist law that inspired more racist laws and was literally named after its racism is definitely not racist. At least according to the Trump administration." MAGA's version of "Patriotic Education" (爱国教育) finds ever deeper depths of dumb. www.thebulwark.com/p/racist-law...

thebulwark.com

Racist Law From 1882 Is Not That Racist, Trump Says

Buried in the White House’s broadside against the Smithsonian is a bizarre—and revealing—claim about the Chinese Exclusion Act.

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China Books Review @chinabooksreview.com · 16/07/2026

A century after it came out, Maugham's travelogue of his trip to China in 1919–20 reveals less about China itself, more about the foreigners who lived there. Read Jeremiah Jenne's latest Archive Pick now: chinabooksreview.com/2026/07/16/w...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 16/07/2026

The World Cup final is Sunday, and the latest episode from By Their Own Compass looks back at one of the most improbable journeys in World Cup history. Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours (183 visits to the DPRK and counting!) joins to discuss. Link to the full episode below.

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The technical term for getting beaten soundly by Belgium in soccer is “getting waffle housed.”

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The US men's soccer team suffered an embarrassing defeat after Donald Trump had a bizarre interaction with FIFA. So why does it feel like Joe Biden is the one who had Folarin Balogun's red card rescinded?

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𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥 @thoc.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

This has literally always been the case, you blithering dipshit.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 01/07/2026

On our latest episode celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66, I want to talk about highways, but Sarah has a more basic question: Sure, America has great roads…but why doesn’t it have a decent train system?

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 30/06/2026

Nothing says freedom like the open road. This year is not only the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, but also marks the 100th anniversary of the most iconic highway in America – Route 66. Listen to the latest episode of By Their Own Compass on Substack, Apple, or Spotify.

bytheirowncompass.substack.com

Route 66: Cowboys, Cadillacs and Nat King Cole

Listen now | A true embodiment of the American dream, or US exceptionalism at its finest?

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 19/06/2026

Did Chinese admiral Zheng He discover America? What’s the evidence, and what do historians make of Gavin Menzies ’ best-selling book 1421? Listen to the latest episode of By Their Own Compass on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 18/06/2026

Zheng He was a eunuch and a badass commander of an armada. Listen to the latest episode of By Their Own Compass for more about why historians haven't always been fair to eunuchs in Chinese history. For more, listen to the latest episode of By Their Own Compass (link below)

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 12/06/2026

China built the world's biggest armada, sailed it across the Indian Ocean seven times, and then just... stopped. Why? New episode on Zheng He, the eunuch admiral who commanded it. Link to the full episode below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 04/06/2026

Li Zhisui's memoir The Private Life of Chairman Mao is more than just the personal scandals of a dying leader, but that's what most people remember. Alexander Boyd from @chinabooksreview.com joins me to discuss on the latest episode of Barbarians at the Gate. open.substack.com/pub/jeremiah...

open.substack.com

China Books Review x Barbarians at the Gate: The Private Life of Chairman Mao

In his controversial 1994 memoir, Li Zhisui dished about Mao Zedong's sex life and other private scandals.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 22/04/2026

What do burgers and food festivals tell us about the state of China's commercial real estate sector? Apparently quite a bit. Michael Wester joins me on the latest episode of Barbarians at the Gate to talk burger fests and business. Hope you're hungry! Link to the episode below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 17/04/2026

How did a Muslim diplomat from Fez end up a prisoner in the Vatican, the namesake of a Medici pope, and the author of the book that defined Africa for Europeans for three centuries? New episode of By Their Own Compass is out. open.substack.com/pub/bytheiro...

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 10/04/2026

Hemingway's characters are drinking in the lobby of the Hôtel de Crillon. Orwell is in the basement washing their dishes. Jean Rhys is outside trying to figure out who will let her in. Same Paris. Same era. Three completely different cities. New episode of By Their Own Compass. Link below.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 03/04/2026

The Mongols Discovered Europe. Marco Polo Got the Book Deal. Historian Nicola Di Cosmo on Mongol diplomacy, Venice versus Genoa, and all of the things "The Travels of Marco Polo" failed to mention.

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 02/04/2026

Was Marco Polo a sexpat?! We address this and everything else you always wanted to know about the famous medieval traveler but were too afraid to ask...all in the latest episode of By Their Own Compass. Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts! 🗺️ 🎧

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 31/03/2026

"I can't be perfect and funny at the same time." Da Shan spent decades as China's most famous foreigner, but when every skit ends with "Your Chinese is so good," it's hard to find the funny...or the inspiration. New episode from Barbarians at the Gate 🎙️

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 26/03/2026

New episode of By Their Own Compass: Marco Polo spent 17 years in China and never mentioned tea, the Great Wall, or chopsticks. Did he really go? Did he make it all up? Pioneering Sinologist or Prototype Sex Pat? Sarah and I dig into the evidence and tell the story of Marco and the Khan.

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𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥 @thoc.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

“Lord Mengde, my analysis is that Red Cliffs could easily be forded if Sun Quan & Liu Bei would but allow your crossing.” - Imperial Minister of Cao Wei, Lord 小马口

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Jeremiah Jenne @jeremiahjenne.com · 24/03/2026

New episode: David Moser talks with Mark Rowswell (大山) in Beijing about 38 years of re-invention from xiangsheng to viral poetry videos to performing with the Toronto Symphony to playing Red in a Mandarin Shawshank Redemption with an all-foreign cast. open.substack.com/pub/jeremiah...

open.substack.com

The Many Lives of Da Shan: Mark Rowswell on Chinese Poetry, Performing Live, and Staging Shawshank in Mandarin

Mark Rowswell sits down with David Moser to look back at 38 years as a pioneering entertainment figure in China and what the future holds for Da Shan 4.0.

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