Recommended Listening: Reith Lectures 2008 – China Vista

In many ways the BBC's Reith Lectures are a classic example of the British public broadcaster's penchant for busying itself with the moral improvement and edification of their listeners. Inviting serious intellectuals and public figures to talk about the "big issues" of the day, the lectures often take on a didactic tone. However, this year's series of five lectures, presented by eminent China scholar Jonathan Spence, manages to do a better job of upholding the institution's stated mission of informing, educating and entertaining (though a few people on our forum disagree). The first two lectures in the China Vista series have already been broadcast and are available on the BBC's website here. We especially recommend the second episode, English Lessons, and also the Q and A sessions that follow both of the talks.

Professor Spence is one of the most well-known Sinologists in the English speaking world. He has published many influential works, including The Search of Modern China (you can read the full text selected excerpts here), which, even today, still serves as a popular choice of textbook for undergraduate courses on modern China. His latest work, Return to Dragon Mountain: Memories of a Late Ming Man, is similar to many of his earlier works in that it draws on the writings of a historical figure to offer broader insights into a particular phase of Chinese history. In this case Spence focuses on the writings of essayist and historian Zhang Dai (1597–1689) and uses them to reveal details about the tumultuous period of Chinese history during which the Qing replaced the Ming Dynasty.

Links and Sources
The Official Site of the Reith Lectures
Yale University: Professor Jonathan Spence
Wikipedia: Jonathan Spence
Wikipedia: Reith Lectures
Guardian: Reith Lectures 2008: Chinese Vistas
NYTimes Sunday Book Review: Profile of Spence
NYTimes Sunday Book Review: Born Again (Spence’s review of Mo Yan’s Life And Death Are Wearing Me Out
New York Review of Books: Collection of reviews and articles written by Spence
Foreign Affairs: Review of Return to Dragon Mountain
The Beijinger: Jonathan Spence gives this year's Reith Lectures