China’s opacity brings Pekingology back into vogue

The Economist: “A photograph may be an early signal that something is up and further study is required.” So concluded Roderick MacFarquhar, a late scholar of Maoist China, in an article in 1971 about how to decode Chinese politics. It was the height of the Cold War and of Pekingology, involving scrutiny of wording and images. Half a century later, MacFarquhar’s ideas again have purchase. Elite politics, never renowned for their clarity, have grown more opaque under Xi Jinping, so analysts are dusting off old tools…