In my fifth year in Beijing, I moved into a one-story brick house beside the Confucius Temple, a seven-hundred-year-old shrine to China's most important philosopher. Evan Osnos beijingbrickchina Change image and share on social
Over the centuries, Chinese bureaucrats perfected the dark arts of emptiness to such an extent that when they deliver speeches these days, they often recite verbatim speeches that they have previously delivered, with the sparest of adjustments. Evan Osnos adjustmentartbureaucrat share on social
When Richard Nixon came to Beijing in the winter of 1972, China was still in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, so it had a limited array of entertainment to provide. Evan Osnos arraybeijingchina Change image and share on social
To my surprise, the more I searched about Qi Xiangfu, the more I found of a life lived partly online. He once wrote a short memoir in which he described himself in the third person, with the formality usually reserved for China's most famous writers. Evan Osnos chinafamousfind share on social
Confucius, who was born in the sixth century B.C., traditionally had a stature in China akin to that of Socrates in the West. Evan Osnos akinbearcentury Change image and share on social
In Beijing, we talk about air purifiers the way that teenage boys talk about cars. Evan Osnos airbeijingboy Change image and share on social
Walking, it turns out, is a sublime way to get to know people in China. They're used to meeting strangers on the road. Many here understand what it feels like to walk a long way. Evan Osnos chinafeltlong Change image and share on social
China's Communist Party is wary of independent-minded movements. Evan Osnos chinacommunistindependent Change image and share on social
I think there's a tendency, and it's an understandable tendency, to imagine that China makes decisions out of a grand strategy. The reality is that I think China today is operating, most of all, based on its domestic needs. Evan Osnos basechinadecision share on social
Confucius - or Kongzi, which means Master Kong - was not born to power, but his idiosyncrasies and ideas made him the Zelig of the Chinese classics. Evan Osnos bearchineseclassic Change image and share on social
