Tonio Andrade

On Thin Ice: When Dutch Traders Challenged the Qing Empire for Skating Glory

On Thin Ice: When Dutch Traders Challenged the Qing Empire for Skating Glory

Historian Tonio Andrade recalls a mostly forgotten moment of 18th-century Chinese diplomacy and winter sports history

On an Island

On an Island

While there will be considerable fanfare today commemorating the 15th anniversary of the British handover of Hong Kong to the PRC, it’s worth noting that this is also an important anniversary year in the history of another island.  2012 marks 350 years since Zheng Chenggong (better known outside China as ‘Koxinga’) landed on Taiwan and forced a Dutch garrison to surrender control of the island to Zheng and his family.