WHAT: "A Lifeline for China: Building Wartime Connectivity along the Burma Road (1938-1942)," a Zoom talk by Prof. Andres Rodriguez

WHEN: 7-8 PM Beijing Time, Wednesday 28th January (online)

ABOUT THE EVENT: China's Burma Road (1938-1942) acted as a channel for wartime material to move between British Burma and China during the initial years of the Sino-Japanese War. Prof. Rodriguez will examine how the development of this lifeline for China forged a powerful wartime narrative that helped consolidate support among Western nations to counter Japan's invasion. The Burma Road gave rise to new ideas of connectivity that positioned China's southwest region as a vital hub connecting the nation with Southeast Asia, India, and the rest of the world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Andres Rodriguez (PhD Oxford) is Senior Lecturer in Modern Chinese History at the University of Sydney. He is the author of "Frontier Fieldwork. Building a Nation in China's Borderlands, 1919-1945" (University of British Columbia Press 2022).

ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Cao Yin is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Peking University. He works on infrastructures, multispecies ecologies, technological circulation, and state formation in South and Southeast Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is the author of "Chinese Sojourners in Wartime Raj, 1942–45" (Oxford University Press, 2022) and "From Policemen to Revolutionaries: A Sikh Diaspora in Global Shanghai, 1885–1945" (Brill, 2018).

HOW MUCH: Free for members of RASBJ; 50 RMB for members of RAS branches in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong. 100 RMB for non-members. Alipay may be an easier payment method than WeChat. You can also pay by credit card. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships/​

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Those who want to attend should click "Register" or "I will attend" and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event online. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. Members of partner RAS Branches: Please register 72 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification. You'll receive three emails from us: the first confirming receipt of your registration request, the second requesting payment, and the third confirming receipt of your payment, with a link to join the event online. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.

REFUND POLICY: If the event is cancelled by RASBJ, registrants will be refunded in full.