I've long been fascinated with Edmund "The Hermit of Peking" Backhouse. It's time the famous Sinologist received a little love as one of the original hutong hipsters.
In this episode of Barbarians at the Gates, Edward Wong of the New York Times joins David and me to discuss Ed's new book, At the Edge of Empire. We discuss frontiers, what the Qing Dynasty means for China, and the different generational perspectives on China's recent past.