Brian Spivey
@bspivey.bsky.social
Historian of modern China, postdoc at CIW @ Australian National University. Writing a book about Maoist environmentalism during the Cultural Revolution. Also ئۇيغۇر and Xinjiang.
UC Irvine History PhD, co-edit China at LAReviewofBooks.
ZLarchives.com
UC Irvine History PhD, co-edit China at LAReviewofBooks.
ZLarchives.com
Pinned
Brian Spivey
@bspivey.bsky.social
· Sep 28
Maoist Environmental Protection in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
YouTube video by Australian Centre on China in the World
www.youtube.com
Here's my recent talk at CIW about how a Maoist approach to "environmental protection" emerged during the Cultural Revolution--an important period wherein many leaders and people began to seriously think about and grapple with the externalities of industrialization.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Huge thanks to @asiasociety.org Orville Schell and @foreignaffairs.com for this long and wonderful new review of my book The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping
www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/mise...
www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/mise...
The Miseducation of Xi Jinping
How a father’s struggle revealed the price of power.
www.foreignaffairs.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Huge thanks to @asiasociety.org Orville Schell and @foreignaffairs.com for this long and wonderful new review of my book The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping
www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/mise...
www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/mise...
Great cover! I’m really delighted to be a part of this, much thanks to @mmuscolino.bsky.social
Our forthcoming volume on the environmental history of China's era of high socialism has a cover.
Paul Pickowicz, who took the photo when he visited China in 1971 as part of a Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars delegation, also contributed the book's epilogue.
Paul Pickowicz, who took the photo when he visited China in 1971 as part of a Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars delegation, also contributed the book's epilogue.
November 7, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Great cover! I’m really delighted to be a part of this, much thanks to @mmuscolino.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Check out the UWP website for more info: uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...
Our forthcoming volume on the environmental history of China's era of high socialism has a cover.
Paul Pickowicz, who took the photo when he visited China in 1971 as part of a Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars delegation, also contributed the book's epilogue.
Paul Pickowicz, who took the photo when he visited China in 1971 as part of a Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars delegation, also contributed the book's epilogue.
November 7, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Check out the UWP website for more info: uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...
lareviewofbooks.org/article/can-... "WE NEED King Lear to understand Chinese history, and we need Chinese history to understand King Lear. This is the bold, opening premise of literary scholar Nan Z. Da’s extraordinary new Princeton University Press book, The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear."
Can Tragedies Transcend Borders? | Los Angeles Review of Books
Amy R. Wong explores Nan Z. Da’s “The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear.”
lareviewofbooks.org
October 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
lareviewofbooks.org/article/can-... "WE NEED King Lear to understand Chinese history, and we need Chinese history to understand King Lear. This is the bold, opening premise of literary scholar Nan Z. Da’s extraordinary new Princeton University Press book, The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear."
Reposted by Brian Spivey
First time I’ve had a book reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com so especially pleased by having this short take on The Milk Tea Alliance www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/milk... to go with earlier ones in Cha, The Inside Story, & @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
October 21, 2025 at 2:03 PM
First time I’ve had a book reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com so especially pleased by having this short take on The Milk Tea Alliance www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/milk... to go with earlier ones in Cha, The Inside Story, & @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Yes, please join! Discord could be really useful for the community
We have a new Sinologist community on Discord - membership has a brief application & isn't *totally* open (it's professional in nature), but if you've been looking for a China group outside of bsky/Facebook/Twitter, this might be the ticket. discord.gg/g6S8WbVW
Join the Sinologists Discord Server!
Sinologists is the Discord community for scholars and professionals working in Chinese studies (broadly defined). | 59 members
discord.gg
October 5, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Yes, please join! Discord could be really useful for the community
Reposted by Brian Spivey
I wrote for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on Palantir, the chip industry, US-China competition, and what tech firms mean when they talk about "defending Western civilization."
Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and the LARB team for the edits!
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and the LARB team for the edits!
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
The Microchip Titans | Los Angeles Review of Books
Mason Wong reviews three books related to US-China tech industries and global competition.
lareviewofbooks.org
September 28, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I wrote for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social on Palantir, the chip industry, US-China competition, and what tech firms mean when they talk about "defending Western civilization."
Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and the LARB team for the edits!
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
Thanks to @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and the LARB team for the edits!
lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
Here's my recent talk at CIW about how a Maoist approach to "environmental protection" emerged during the Cultural Revolution--an important period wherein many leaders and people began to seriously think about and grapple with the externalities of industrialization.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
Maoist Environmental Protection in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
YouTube video by Australian Centre on China in the World
www.youtube.com
September 28, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Here's my recent talk at CIW about how a Maoist approach to "environmental protection" emerged during the Cultural Revolution--an important period wherein many leaders and people began to seriously think about and grapple with the externalities of industrialization.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfpC...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
So grateful to write for @dissentmag.bsky.social's Fall 2025 issue "Authoritarianism and Resistance." I drafted the piece in June with the new school year in mind, as an immigrant scholar severed from her homeland: What can we teach the young about how to exist and persist at this historic juncture?
To Outlive Tyranny - Dissent Magazine
Flesh and blood alone cannot halt the advance of iron and steel. To stop the tanks, we need people to place blocks on the road and throw sand into the gears.
www.dissentmagazine.org
September 8, 2025 at 8:04 PM
So grateful to write for @dissentmag.bsky.social's Fall 2025 issue "Authoritarianism and Resistance." I drafted the piece in June with the new school year in mind, as an immigrant scholar severed from her homeland: What can we teach the young about how to exist and persist at this historic juncture?
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Weekly Wanderings returns after a late-summer hiatus, with new book recommendations, lots of China links, interesting stories from around the world, and Tiya Miles on searching for the right words.
Weekly Wanderings: September 7, 2025
And we’re back! I, of course, thought that taking August “off” would enable me to get completely caught up on life. The books I would read! The closets I would organize! The freezer I would restock…
mauracunningham.org
September 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Weekly Wanderings returns after a late-summer hiatus, with new book recommendations, lots of China links, interesting stories from around the world, and Tiya Miles on searching for the right words.
Reposted by Brian Spivey
From Sanmenxia and Three Gorges to the Yarlung Tsangpo Dam, China has long relied on monumental hydropower to prove state capacity. @zenel25.bsky.social and @pguer.bsky.social show how such projects, while promising development and security, often deepen the very insecurities they claim to resolve.
The Technopolitics of China’s Yarlung Tsangpo Dam Project and the Paradox of Hydropower | Made in China Journal
Three years after announcing their intent to construct a mega-dam along the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River as part of the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan, Chinese officials gave their approval to proce...
madeinchinajournal.com
September 4, 2025 at 11:42 AM
From Sanmenxia and Three Gorges to the Yarlung Tsangpo Dam, China has long relied on monumental hydropower to prove state capacity. @zenel25.bsky.social and @pguer.bsky.social show how such projects, while promising development and security, often deepen the very insecurities they claim to resolve.
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Reposted by Brian Spivey
A new essay from me synthesizing the rich body of media criticism in Japanese focused on the practice of "August journalism" (八月ジャーナリズム): the tendency for rehearsed, compressed, and hollowed-out coverage of war memory each August.
apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman
apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman
“August Journalism” Studies: Lessons in World War II Reporting from Japan’s Season of Remembrance - Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
[…]
apjjf.org
September 2, 2025 at 4:40 PM
A new essay from me synthesizing the rich body of media criticism in Japanese focused on the practice of "August journalism" (八月ジャーナリズム): the tendency for rehearsed, compressed, and hollowed-out coverage of war memory each August.
apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman
apjjf.org/2025/9/fedman
Reposted by Brian Spivey
I've given talks about my new @columbiagr.bsky.social book at various places (including in Culver City at @wendemuseum.bsky.social), but this October 20 dual book launch with Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow at @ucirvine.bsky.social will be my first in Orange County www.humanities.uci.edu/events/art-i...
The Art of the Interview and the Craft of the Profile: A UCI Forum for the Academy and the Public Book Launch
An in-person event, open to the public, no rsvp needed
www.humanities.uci.edu
September 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I've given talks about my new @columbiagr.bsky.social book at various places (including in Culver City at @wendemuseum.bsky.social), but this October 20 dual book launch with Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow at @ucirvine.bsky.social will be my first in Orange County www.humanities.uci.edu/events/art-i...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Looking forward to giving my first talks ever in the Netherlands October 22-24, first link up is for one I'll give in The Hague (sponsored by the University of Leiden's Asia Centre) on the 23rd: leidenasiacentre.nl/event/jeffre... cc @hvistendahl.bsky.social @krishraghav.bsky.social
Jeffrey Wasserstrom on China, Protest and Asia’s Struggle against Autocracy - Leiden Asia Centre
China is changing the world—and the world is responding. In just a few decades, China has gone from isolated state to global powerhouse, reshaping politics, culture, and the fight for democracy across...
leidenasiacentre.nl
August 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Looking forward to giving my first talks ever in the Netherlands October 22-24, first link up is for one I'll give in The Hague (sponsored by the University of Leiden's Asia Centre) on the 23rd: leidenasiacentre.nl/event/jeffre... cc @hvistendahl.bsky.social @krishraghav.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Spivey
🥹 Can't ask for a better review by @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: "A stunning tale of government violence, organized protest, and radical hope... In its depiction of commitment, cowardice, and change, You Must Take Part in Revolution proves both heartbreaking and heartening." 🔗 bit.ly/larb-revolution
August 29, 2025 at 7:02 AM
🥹 Can't ask for a better review by @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social: "A stunning tale of government violence, organized protest, and radical hope... In its depiction of commitment, cowardice, and change, You Must Take Part in Revolution proves both heartbreaking and heartening." 🔗 bit.ly/larb-revolution
What did "environmental protection" 环境保护 mean in the Cultural Revolution? How did revolutionary Maoists approach pollution and other environmental problems caused by industrialization? 🇨🇳 🏭 ♻️
Talking about this on Thu 18 Sept, 4–5:30pm @ CIW (Canberra) (in person, recording later)
shorturl.at/MIDTs
Talking about this on Thu 18 Sept, 4–5:30pm @ CIW (Canberra) (in person, recording later)
shorturl.at/MIDTs
Brian Spivey - "Maoist Environmental Protection in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" | AUSTRALIAN CENTRE ON CHINA IN THE WORLD
This talk examines the emergence of Maoist environmentalism in the People's Republic of China during the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and amid the worldwide awakening to enviro...
ciw.anu.edu.au
August 22, 2025 at 3:55 AM
What did "environmental protection" 环境保护 mean in the Cultural Revolution? How did revolutionary Maoists approach pollution and other environmental problems caused by industrialization? 🇨🇳 🏭 ♻️
Talking about this on Thu 18 Sept, 4–5:30pm @ CIW (Canberra) (in person, recording later)
shorturl.at/MIDTs
Talking about this on Thu 18 Sept, 4–5:30pm @ CIW (Canberra) (in person, recording later)
shorturl.at/MIDTs
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Happy to be recognized as a finalist for the @washingtonmonthly.com's Kukula Ward for my review of @ewong.bsky.social's At the Edge of Empire. Sincere thanks @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
Read the Review 👇
lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...
Read the Review 👇
lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...
Straining Nation or Expansionist Empire? | Los Angeles Review of Books
Benno Weiner reviews Edward Wong’s “At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China.”
lareviewofbooks.org
August 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Happy to be recognized as a finalist for the @washingtonmonthly.com's Kukula Ward for my review of @ewong.bsky.social's At the Edge of Empire. Sincere thanks @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
Read the Review 👇
lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...
Read the Review 👇
lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Love the look of the @cwclub.bsky.social Bookstore, my talk here begins in 20 minutes
July 31, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Love the look of the @cwclub.bsky.social Bookstore, my talk here begins in 20 minutes
CIW is hiring two more multiyear postdocs. I'm loving it here and highly recommend for those interested to apply. Great place with great people and lots of support for research. Deadline is July 30 🦘
jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/postdoc...
jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/postdoc...
Postdoctoral Fellow - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia
Classification: Academic Level ASalary package: $87,135 – $109,369 per annum plus 17% superannuationTerms: 2x Full time, Fixed term (up to 3 years)
Position overview
Based in the nation’s capital, the...
jobs.anu.edu.au
July 16, 2025 at 2:31 AM
CIW is hiring two more multiyear postdocs. I'm loving it here and highly recommend for those interested to apply. Great place with great people and lots of support for research. Deadline is July 30 🦘
jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/postdoc...
jobs.anu.edu.au/jobs/postdoc...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
Was pleased to write this review of the second edition of @jwassers.bsky.social’s “Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong,” published in January. It’s a great book that’s only gained importance since its first publication in 2020. Read the review online here:
chajournal.blog/2025/07/11/v...
chajournal.blog/2025/07/11/v...
[REVIEW] “Memory, Resistance, and Repression: The Enduring Relevance of Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s 𝑉𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙” by David R. Stroup
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Vigil. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil: The Struggle for Ho…
chajournal.blog
July 12, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Was pleased to write this review of the second edition of @jwassers.bsky.social’s “Vigil: The Struggle for Hong Kong,” published in January. It’s a great book that’s only gained importance since its first publication in 2020. Read the review online here:
chajournal.blog/2025/07/11/v...
chajournal.blog/2025/07/11/v...
Reposted by Brian Spivey
On the contingency of history - writing in LA Review of Books.
lareviewofbooks.org/article/ther... @drjanehayward.bsky.social "Finally, at a time when China’s rise must seem, to many, to have been inevitable, both books serve well to remind us of the contingency of history and the opaqueness of the future when viewed from the present."
There Isn’t Going to Be Any Trouble | Los Angeles Review of Books
Jane Hayward reads two recent books on China’s post-Mao reform period.
lareviewofbooks.org
July 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
On the contingency of history - writing in LA Review of Books.