Category: 2025 Entries
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βYou Are My Friend: On Ocean Vuongβs The Emperor of Gladnessβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness, Penguin, 2025. 416 pgs. For Ocean Vuong, the critically acclaimed…
![[REVIEW] βYou Are My Friend: On Ocean Vuongβs πβπ πΈπππππ ππ πΊππππππ π β by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ocean-vuong-the-emperor-of-gladness.jpg?w=992)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βBetween Adaptation and Escapism: Navigating Entrapment in Ling Maβs Severanceβ by Hilda Wong Ling Ma, Severance, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018. 304 pgs. In an era defined by burnout and quiet…
![[REVIEW] βBetween Adaptation and Escapism: Navigating Entrapment in Ling Maβs Severanceβ by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ling-ma-severance2.jpg?w=970)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [Essay] “1000XRESIST and Immunity in the Chinese Diaspora” by Nick Admussen Sunset Visitor (developer), 1000xResist, Fellow Traveller Games. 2024. 1000xRESIST is a 2024 narrative video game created by the Canadian studio…
![[ESSAY] “1000ππ
πΈππΌππ and Immunity in the Chinese Diaspora” by Nick Admussen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/https-www.fellowtraveller.games1000xresist.jpg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAnchors of Memory: Unhomely and Resilience in Jia Zhangkeβs Still Lifeβ by Hilda Wong Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Jia Zhangke Jia Zhangke (director). Still Life, 2006.…
![[REVIEW] βAnchors of Memory: Unhomely and Resilience in Jia Zhangkeβs ππ‘πππ πΏπππβ by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/jia-zhangkes-still-life.jpg?w=714)
-
[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel GaussΒ
[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel Gauss In 2009, Cambodia experienced a rare moment of national pride when Duch, the Khmer Rouge official who oversaw the notorious S-21 prison, was finally brought to…
![[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel GaussΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cambodia_cha.jpg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βRealism and Memory in Chinese Film: CecΓlia Mello’s The Cinema of Jia Zhangkeβ by Tim Murphy Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Jia Zhangke CecΓlia Mello. The Cinema…
![[ESSAY] βRealism and Memory in Chinese Film: CecΓlia Mello’s πβπ πΆπππππ ππ π½ππ πβπππππβ by Tim Murphy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cecilia-mello.-the-cinema-of-jia-zhangke-realism-and-memory-in-chinese-film-bloomsbury-academic.jpg?w=1000)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Twinkle Khanna’s The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad: Making Dignity a Habitβ by Abhinav Tulachan Twinkle Khanna, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, Juggernaut Books, 2016. 233 pgs. It is remarkable how…
![[REVIEW] “Twinkle Khanna’s πβπ πΏπππππ ππ πΏπππ βππ ππππ ππ: Making Dignity a Habitβ by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/the-legend-of-lakshmi-prasad.webp?w=1016)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Personal βIβ and Conflicted Identities: Paritosh Senβs A Tree in My Villageβ by Dustin Pickering Paritosh Sen, A Tree in My Village, CLASSIX, 2025. 79 pgs. Many contemporary texts…
![[REVIEW] βThe Personal βIβ and Conflicted Identities: Paritosh Senβs π΄ ππππ ππ ππ¦ πππππππβ by Dustin Pickering](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/paritosh-sen.jpg?w=765)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: In Chris Songβs essay, James Sheaβs Last Day of My Face (University of Iowa Press, 2025) is read in relation to Hong Kong as both a lived city and…
![[ESSAY] “πΏππ π‘ π·ππ¦ ππ ππ¦ πΉπππ, Past Light of a City: Reading James Shea and Hong Kong” by Chris Song](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/https-uipress.uiowa_.edubookslast-day-my-face.jpg?w=970)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “James Sheaβs Last Day of My Face and the Practice of Not Knowing” by Jennifer Eagleton ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Last Day of My Face. James Shea, The Last Day of…
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βThe Female Researcher and Patriarchal Figures in Hon Lai Chuβs Mending Bodiesβ by Grace En-Yi Ting Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending…
![[ESSAY] βThe Female Researcher and Patriarchal Figures in Hon Lai Chuβs πππππππ π΅πππππ β by Grace En-Yi Ting](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hon-lai-chu-author-jacqueline-leung-translator-mending-bodies-two-lines-press-2025.-240-pgs.jpg?w=938)
-
[ESSAY] βA Woman Named Summer: Rethinking Xu Hongfeiβs Early Sculpture at the Guangzhou Museum of Artβ by Daniel Gauss Xu Hongfei’s Summer, photos by Daniel Gauss Among the many works displayed in the Guangzhou Museum of Art, one marble sculpture…
![[ESSAY] βA Woman Named Summer: Rethinking Xu Hongfeiβs Early Sculpture at the Guangzhou Museum of Artβ by Daniel Gauss](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/img_20251125_110600.jpg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βThe Burden of Representation: Pillion and the BDSM Representation on Screenβ by Hongwei Bao Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Pillion & Box Hill. Editor’s note: Hongwei Bao revisits the conversations prompted…
![[ESSAY] βThe Burden of Representation: πππππππ and the BDSM Representation on Screenβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/pillion-film-review-2025-cha-an-asian-literary-journal-hongwei-bao.png?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βMariko Nagaiβs Imaginary Death: The Genre-Bending Architecture of Wartime Testimonyβ by James AuΒ Kin-Pong Mariko Nagai, Imaginary Death, Punctum Books, 2025. 297 pgs. It is difficult to determine the genre to…
![[REVIEW] βMariko Nagaiβs πΌππππππππ¦ π·πππ‘β: The Genre-Bending Architecture of Wartime Testimonyβ by James Au Kin-Pong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/imaginary-death-mariko-nagai.png?w=600)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βWhen News Breaks: Carol Linβs Memoir of Love and Warβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason Carol Lin, When News Breaks, Third Rail Press, 2025. 284 pgs. Carol Lin came of age in…
![[REVIEW] βπβππ πππ€π π΅πππππ : Carol Linβs Memoir of Love and Warβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/when.png?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βSTEP OUT Studiosβ The Next Movement Blasts Out Futuristic Sounds From the Dancersβ Feetβ by by DawnaΒ Fung Wong Chun-ho (director), Zoe Chan & Cal Tang (artistic directors & choreographers), hirsk…
![[REVIEW] βSTEP OUT Studiosβ πβπ πππ₯π‘ πππ£πππππ‘ Blasts Out Futuristic Sounds From the Dancersβ Feetβ by by Dawna Fung](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/the-next-movement2.jpg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Kokuho: Lee Sang-ilβs Mesmerizing Portrait of Kabuki Mastery” by Jennifer Eagleton Lee Sang-il (director), Kokuho, 2025. 174 min. What makes Lee Sang-ilβs Kokuho special are the tight closeups of onnagata…
![[REVIEW] “πΎπππ’βπ: Lee Sang-ilβs Mesmerizing Portrait of Kabuki Mastery” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/httpsgkids.comfilmskokuho.png?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βThe Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawaβs Mina’s Matchboxβ by Fathima M Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mina’s Matchbox. YΕko Ogawa (author), Stephen B. Snyder (translator), Minaβs Matchbox, Pantheon Books, 2024. 288…
![[REVIEW] βThe Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawaβs ππππβπ πππ‘πβπππ₯β by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/819ycgclrml._sl1500_.jpg?w=940)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, & Teresa Wongβs All Our Ordinary Stories” by Rebekah Chan Teresa Wong, All Our Ordinary Stories, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024. 240 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhere Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, and Teresa Wongβs π΄ππ ππ’π ππππππππ¦ ππ‘πππππ β by Rebekah Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/arsenal-pulp-press-our-ordinary-stories.jpg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEtienne PΓ©rierβs Bridge to the Sun and Extremism Abroadβ by Jeremiah Dutch Etenne PΓ©rier (director), Bridge to the Sun, 1961. 113 min. Living abroad and watching oneβs homeland descend…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEtienne PΓ©rierβs π΅πππππ π‘π π‘βπ ππ’π and Extremism Abroadβ by Jeremiah Dutch](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/bridge-to-the-sun-cha.png?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βLight, Heat, Power: Rescuing the Modern in Leo Ou-fan Leeβs Shanghai Modern: The Flowering of a New Urban Culture in China, 1930-1945” by Victoria Green Leo Lee Ou-fan, Shanghai Modern:…
![[REVIEW] βLight, Heat, Power: Rescuing the Modern in Leo Ou-fan Leeβs πβπππβππ ππππππ: πβπ πΉπππ€πππππ ππ π πππ€ πππππ πΆπ’ππ‘π’ππ ππ πΆβπππ, 1930-1945″ by Victoria Green](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/leo-lee-ou-fan-shanghai-modern-the-flowering-of-a-new-urban-culture-in-china-1.jpg?w=1019)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS Editor’s note: In βE.T. 3 is Lying in a Coffin Outside Wuhan”, Angus Stewart explores Xiaosha Zhangβs 2018 mockumentary My Son Went to an Alien Planet (E.T. Made in China), situating…
![[ESSAY] “E.T. 3 is Lying in a Coffin Outside Wuhan” by Angus Stewart](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/https-mubi.comenbefilmse-t-made-in-china.webp?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βImpossible (Between) Girls: Lilly Huβs One Girl Infiniteβ by Hongwei Bao Lilly Hu (director), One Girl Infinite δΈε―θ½ε₯³ε©, 2025. 102 min. The Chinese title of Lilly Huβs (also known in…
![[REVIEW] βImpossible (Between) Girls: Lilly Huβs πππ πΊπππ πΌππππππ‘πβ by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/one-girl-infinite-e4b88de58fafe883bde5a5b3e5ada9-2025.jpeg?w=1024)
-
θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βWhoβs Afraid of Not Conjoined Bodies?: Hon Lai Chuβs Mending Bodiesβ by Tin Yuet Tam Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mending Bodies. Hon Lai Chu (author), Jacqueline Leung (translator), Mending Bodies,…
-
On a calm Monday evening, I found myself at 14B Hai BΓ TrΖ°ng in Hanoi, drawn to a cosy corner on TrΓ ng Tiα»n that radiated a warm, amber glow. Wong Bar Wine does not shout for attention; it quietly invites…
![[EXCLUSIVE] “Wong Bar Wine: A Cinematic Oasis in Hanoi” by Zalman S. Davis](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/img_20241222_010158-e1761994105173.jpg?w=1024)
Cha 