“They’ve seized land the size of Zhejiang Province, you know?”
Of course I know. I know exactly what my Chinese husband has been looking at — the border dispute between China and India, one of many John obsesses over in the hours between his studies and dissertation proposals.
Years ago, I didn’t know much of anything about modern border disputes. Even as I had seen the borders of empires and countries wax and wane throughout history, and in my youth, I still imagined those boundary lines as permanent and fixed as the black ink used to print them in the atlas.
Then I went to China and, as I leafed through my first copy of the Lonely Planet China guide, found this disclaimer in tiny italicized print:
The external boundaries of India on this map have not been authenticated and may not be correct.
Borders not authenticated? Not correct? Continue reading “My Chinese Husband, My China Border Disputes”