"Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern" by Jing Tsu

By Joe Donahue

Published January 18, 2022 at 11:32 AM EST

After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to leave them behind. Jing Tsu, a Yale professor and world-renowned authority on East Asian languages joins us to discuss her new book, "Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern."

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Joe Donahue

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.

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