Foreign Relations & International Law

ChinaTalk: Paul Kennedy's Jonathan Spence Memories

Jordan Schneider
Friday, September 9, 2022, 9:21 AM

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

Prepare a nice cup of tea and put your feet up for a special episode of stories and anecdotes about the late American historian and Sinologist Jonathan Spence, as told by his friend and colleague Paul Kennedy.

He takes us through:

  • Why the worst thing about being stationed in Germany was the drunk British soldiers
  • Conversations about Chinese history with Henry Kissinger
  • How archaeological digs win you contracts with provincial governments
  • Spence's approach to research and scholarship

Click here to listen to ChinaTalk in your favorite podcast app.

Outro Music: 'This Map' from the opera The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (!!!)

Here's a video recording of the whole opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_susz11wE9Q

PLUS I HAVE A NEWSLETTER! Check it out! https://www.chinatalk.media/

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Jordan Schneider is the host of the ChinaTalk podcast and newsletter. He previously worked at Kwai, Bridgewater and the Eurasia Group. His Chinese landscape paintings "show promise."

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