ChinaFile Recommends
05.17.18From Folk Singer to International Finance Expert - Liao Min Is a New Face on China’s Trade Team in Washington
South China Morning Post
On the official list of the Beijing delegation that arrived in Washington on Tuesday for trade talks, there is a new name.
Sinica Podcast
12.19.16![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/mcr1_copy.jpg?itok=jhiTWAvK)
Beijing Meets Banjo: Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn
from Sinica Podcast
Wu Fei is a classically trained composer and performer of the guzheng, or traditional Chinese 21-string zither. Abigail Washburn is a Grammy Award–winning American banjo player and fluent speaker of Chinese. They’ve been friends for a decade and are...
ChinaFile Recommends
02.03.14In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’
New York Times
Across China, cultural traditions like the Lei family’s music are under threat. Rapid urbanization means village life, the bedrock of Chinese culture, is rapidly disappearing, and with it, traditions and history.
ChinaFile Recommends
08.21.13Dispatches From Xinjiang: Cultural Appropriation And The Singer Luo Lin, a.k.a. “Dao Lang”
Beijing Cream
Luo Lin has in effect claimed ownership over a whole group of people, a sacred landscape and spiritual practice.
Culture
06.18.13![](https://www.chinafile.com/sites/default/files/styles/system/public/assets/images/article/system/3373-system-photo-options-3.jpg?itok=mzvV2YR_)
The Local Folk
In the liner notes of their 2009 début album, A Tale of Haifeng, Guangzhou-based indie folk band Wu Tiao Ren tinkered with the Communist party slogan “Lizu xiancheng, fangyan quanqiu,” which translates roughly: “See the world from our county’s...