Historian Tonio Andrade recalls a mostly forgotten moment of 18th century Chinese diplomacy and winter sports history
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are not the first time the city of Beijing has seen international teams competing for glory in winter sports. Over 200 years ago, a most unusual skating party took place on a frozen lake in the heart of the capital, with flying arrows, crashing skaters, and two countries competing for national pride on the ice.
Jeremiah Jenne is a writer and historian based in Beijing since 2002. He earned his PhD from the University of California, Davis, and has taught Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History for over 15 years. His essays and articles on China have appeared in The Economist, the South China Morning Post, The Journal of Asian Studies, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The World of Chinese. His writings can also be found in China in “2008: A Year of Great Significance,” “The Insider’s Guide to Beijing,” and the 2015 collection “While We’re Here: China Stories from a Writer’s Colony.” Jeremiah frequent speaks and leads workshops on history, culture, and cultural adaptation for students, embassies, companies, and community groups. Along with David Moser, Jeremiah also hosts the podcast Barbarians at the Gate.
