Ian Johnson (born July 27, 1962) is a Canadian-born American writer and independent scholar known for his long-time reporting and a series of books on China and Germany. His Chinese name is Zhang Yan (張彦). Johnson writes regularly for ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'' and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
The Journal of Asian Studies
''The Journal of Asian Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies, covering Asian studies, ranging from history, the arts, social sciences, to phil ...
persecution of Falun Gong
The persecution of Falun Gong is the antireligious campaign initiated in 1999 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to eliminate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in China, maintaining a doctrine of state atheism. It is characterized by ...
practitioners in China. His reporting from China was also honored in 2001 by the
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada, Johnson is a naturalized United States citizen who lived in
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China, for more than twenty years. He attended
Chamberlain High School
George D. Chamberlain High School is a public high school in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was opened in 1956 on North Boulevard (on the corner of Busch Boulevard). The school is named in honor of George D. Chamberlain, who served for several ...
in Tampa, Florida. He first visited China as a student in 1984 and later studied Chinese in Taiwan. From 1994 to 1997 he worked in Beijing for ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
'' and from 1997 to 2001 for ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. After working in Berlin, Germany, for nearly eight years he returned to China in 2009.
In 2004, Johnson published ''Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China'' (Pantheon) on grassroots efforts to form
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. He conducted research on the book while on a Nieman fellowship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
In 2017, he published ''The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao'' about China's search for meaning and values. It included a 100-page profile of Early Rain Reformed Church in
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
's support for traditional religions, especially
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, when he was head of
Zhengding County
Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and h ...
in the 1980s. ''The Souls of China'' was voted one of the best books of the year by ''The Economist'' and ''The Christian Science Monitor''.
He has published chapters in three other books: ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China,'' ''Chinese Characters'', and ''My First Trip to China''.
He attended the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, where he studied Asian Studies and Journalis Nieman Watchdog > About Us > Contributor > Ian Johnson He obtained his master's degree in Sinology from the Free University of Berlin.
On February 9, 2006, Johnson delivered congressional testimony on the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. He described the Brotherhood as "an umbrella group that regularly lobbies major international institutions like the EU and the Vatican" and "controls some of the most dynamic, politically active Muslim groups in key European countries, such as Britain, France and Germany." He said the group has schools "to train imams," has funded a "mechanism in the guise of a UK-registered charity," and has a fatwa council to enforce ideological conformity.Muslim Brotherhood in Europe , February 9, 2006, Ian Johnson, Congressional Testimony - published with the AIFD
Johnson left the ''Wall Street Journal'' in 2010 to pursue magazine and book writing on cultural and social affairs.
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
Hengdian World Studios
Hengdian World Studios () is a film studio located in Hengdian, a Chinese town in the city of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the largest film studios in the world. The movie studio is operated by the privately owned Hengdian Group
fo ...
.
*
*
* Ian Johnson, "What Holds China Together?", ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', vol. LXVI, no. 14 (26 September 2019), pp. 14, 16, 18. "The
Manchus
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
... had n 1644conquered the last ethnic Chinese empire, the Mingnd_established_Imperial_China's_last_dynasty,_the_Qing.html" ;"title="Qing.html" ;"title="nd established Imperial China's last dynasty, the Qing">nd established Imperial China's last dynasty, the Qing">Qing.html" ;"title="nd established Imperial China's last dynasty, the Qing">nd established Imperial China's last dynasty, the Qing.. The Manchus expanded the empire's borders northward to include all of Mongolia, and westward to Tibet and Xinjiang." [p. 16.] "China's rulers have no faith that anything but force can keep this sprawling country intact." [p. 18.]