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David Spindler is an independent American scholar and an authority [1] on the Great Wall of China. Writing in The New Yorker in 2007, Peter Hessler called him "a leading expert on the Wall’s history and construction." [2] He has made more than 400 trips to the Wall. Spindler's research focuses on the Ming Dynasty, and specifically how the Wall was used at that time in response to China's northern neighbors, the Mongols, who had conquered China once and might do again.[3]
He attended Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, studied as a graduate student at Peking University, and spent two years as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
Contributions
editIn 2010, his research paper "A Twice-Scorned Mongol Woman, the Raid of 1576, and the Building of the Brick Great Wall." was published in the journal Ming Studies, made available online in 2013.
In a review of recent work in the field, the scholar Arthur Waldron explained that Spindler resisted explanations that the Ming was "too weak to fight and too proud to talk," and so the rulers relied on walls that failed to protect them. He likewise resisted the symbolic explanation that the wall represented either xenophobia or chauvinism. Spindler held that in fact the Ming strategy was practical and flexible, using walls where they could be effective, such as around the capital. Waldron, however, add that Spindler does not deal with the various roles that the wall played over the centuries as China changed.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ Betsy Q. Cliff ’00 (Nov–Dec 2010). "On the Wall". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ Hessler, Peter (2007-05-21). "Letter From China: Walking the Wall". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ Margot (2021-02-08). "Interview with Great Wall Expert David Spindler". Journeys Unparalleled. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ Waldron, Arthur (2010), "Chapter One: The Great Wall of China" an Author's Reflections after Twenty Years", in des Froges, Roger (ed.), Chinese Walls in Time and Space: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1942242444
External links
edit- Hessler, Peter (2007-05-21). "Letter From China: Walking the Wall". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- Glionna, John M. (2008-11-28). "An American finds his niche in the Great Wall". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-11-28.[dead link]
- David Spindler's Great Wall
- David Spindler - The Great Wall NBC Today video interview on David Spindler
- Great Wall Photographs and Driftwood Sculptures Inspired by Chinese Scholars Rocks Comprise Inaugural Exhibition
- China: Wall Scholar BY Joe Rubin Frontline video interview with David Spindler. September 17, 2009
- (in Chinese)长城小站
- China's Great Wall: The Forgotten Story USCI
- Inside the Great Wall of China: Facts part 1 Discovery channel video
- Inside the Great Wall of China: Facts part 2 Discovery channel video
- Inside the Great Wall of China: Facts part 3 Discovery channel video
- Inside the Great Wall of China: Facts part 4 Discovery channel video
- Inside the Great Wall of China: Facts part 5 Discovery channel video