The China History Podcast
Since 2010, The China History Podcast, presented by Laszlo Montgomery presents over two hundred episodes of curated topics from China's antiquity to modern times.
Three of the Four Tigers, Wang Zhi, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian get a once over this time around in Part 4. Many historians agree these guys offered the most generous contribution to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. At least no emperors were captured in battle during their time in the palace. But one emperor did have to hang himself from a tree thanks in no part to one of them.
The story continues. After wrecking the Han and Tang Dynasties, the eunuchs emerge again in the Ming as a particularly destructive force. In this episode we'll also look at the Song Dynasty eunuch general and politician Tong Guan. Then we'll look at the life of the first of the so-called Four Eunuch Dictators of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhen. His greed and avarice almost caused the Ming Dynasty to fall.
This time we look at eunuchs in the Tang from Xuanzong to hapless Emperor Ai. We'll see how it was a long hard downhill slide once Xuanzong let Gao Lishi amass so much power. Subsequent emperors were either too weak or too young to push back against eunuchs who, once given an inch of authority, took a mile more and never let go. They grew in power and venality at the expense of the dynasty's fortunes. Finally they drove it into the ground.
This topic was coming sooner or later. Laszlo offers up another general overview of Chinese history, this time with eunuchs serving as the prism to view it all. In this episode we'll look at the story of the maybe/maybe not eunuch/official from the Qin Dynasty Zhao Gao and his antics trying to cover up the sudden and unexpected death of Qin Shihuang. Then we'll finish off with eunuchs in the Later Han including the rise and fall of the Ten Attendants.
This time Laszlo introduces an outstanding Chinese-American scientist who will be honored in the United States on February 11, 2021 with a new commemorative postage stamp. Dr. C.S. Wu came to America in 1936 and due to circumstances in her homeland, ended up staying in the US for good. She made many contributions in the field of physics and worked on the Manhattan Project. Dr. Wu was role model and tireless campaigner for encouraging young women to study the sciences and for equal rights. Her's was a great American success story.
We bring this light but informative series about the history of the Thai Chinese to a close in this 7th episode. This time we wind things down with events that happened during and after WWII with a patented CHP rush to the finish with Thailand's role in the region as a modern economic powerhouse.
Thanks, everyone for listening. In the years to come, I plan to return to Thai Chinese history and do some deeper dives into some of the people and events.
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Laszlo continues on with this light but a satisfying overview of the Thai-Chinese. With Field Marshal Phibun in charge in Bangkok, the flames of Thai nationalism are being furiously fanned and the ethnic Chinese inhabitants of Siam are feeling the heat.
But with the ultimate defeat of Japan, the Chinese can finally breathe a sigh of relief....or could they?
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We leave the 19th century and focus on the events in Siam during the early 20th century. This time we look at some of the histories that happened during the reigns of the progressive king and friend to the Thai Chinese King Chulalongkorn and his son, the not so friendly to the Thai Chinese King Vajiravudh.
Whenever flames of nationalism are fanned, certain elements of society are bound to get burnt.
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Laszlo continues on with the second half of the 18th century, a prosperous time for the Kingdom of Siam. With all this unprecedented good fortune sloshing around the kingdom thanks to free trade, the demand for labor drew waves of Chinese immigration to this western edge of the South Seas.
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In this 261st episode, we'll take the Thai Chinese history a little further up the timeline to the Thonburi Kingdom of Taksin the Great and into the Chakri Dynasty with King Rama I.
After shaking things up profoundly in China, the Age of Imperialism will now come knocking on Siam's door. As before and in the years to follow, Siam's ethnic Chinese proved to be a formidable force in keeping the ship of state afloat and prospering while colonialism raged across Southeast Asia.
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More 18th-century Thai history. King Phetracha to the end of the Ayudhya Kingdom. The ethnic Chinese contribution to building the foundation of the Thai economy is legendary.
Here's where it all began. During this period China, ruled by the Manchu Qing emperors was on a major roll, and Ayudhyan kings were anxious to be friends with Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. Having the Thai-Chinese around came in handy in a very big way.
In a new series that may or may not take us to the end of 2020, Laszlo looks at the great Kingdom of Thailand and the history of the Chinese immigrants who decided to call that place home.
In this Part 1 episode of the new series, we'll focus on the goings-on in the Chinese community during the Ayudhya Kingdom (1350-1767) up to the time of King Phetracha.
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In this 258th CHP episode, just in time for the guaranteed blockbuster animated movie “Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification” Laszlo brings you an overview of this hero and strategist from ancient Chinese history.
Jiang Ziya’s story takes place during the waning years of the Shang and the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. For non-Chinese speakers, try not to get tripped up with King Zhòu Xīn of the Shang and the Kings Wen, Wu and Duke of the House of Zhōu.
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Not to be confused with Emily Hahn, the voice of Bonnie in Toy Story 3 who got to live happily ever after with Woody and Buzz, Emily Mickey Hahn (1905-1997) was a woman who lived a long and interesting life.
Her writings from her years in China from 1935 to 1943 and the dispatches she sent back to The New Yorker Magazine were essential reading for those hungry to learn about China during a time when the world was becoming smaller and more dangerous.
She experienced first hand the desolation and ravages of Japanese invasion and occupation. Besides her journalistic contributions to the early American understanding of China, she was an early feminist patron saint, living life to its fullest and ignoring the conventions of her day that still demanded women know their place.
With the Xinjiang series behind us, we look at a tragic event from modern Chinese-American history that happened almost four decades ago.
The person we will focus on today, Vincent Chin, was living in Detroit, working as a draftsman, and was soon to be married. But then on June 19, 1982 his life took a violent and tragic turn.
This story from history concerns the life of Vincent Chin whose death inspired a movement.
In this final 12th episode we'll look at Xinjiang from 1885 to 1949. More unrest, well intentions gone wrong, Soviet subterfuge and two East Turkestan Republics.
And after all the events that happened going back to Qianlong, Xinjiang finally goes out with a whimper in 1949 with the Communist PLA takeover. We'll look at the rogue's gallery of Xinjiang governors/warlords who ran the place from 1912 to 1949.
I hope you enjoyed this twelve-part series. If you want to learn more you're in luck. The number of books (including serious academic works), scholarly papers, web resources, and videos that are out there, should be able to satisfy you to no end.
In this penultimate episode of the series Laszlo introduces some of the major happenings in Xinjiang during the waning decades of the Qing Dynasty.
After a brief glance at Yaqub Beg and his time in the limelight during the turbulent 1860's and 1870's. We'll finish off with Zuo Zongtang and the Qing re-conquest of Xinjiang.
Laszlo is back with more History of Xinjiang. The focus this time in Part 10 will be on the Qing Dynasty during the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong.
The rise and fall of the Zunghar Khanate will also be explored, as well as the violent and tragic aftermath following the Zunghars defeat.
In this episode, we'll look at the 13th to 17th centuries, Yuan to Qing. After the final end of the Chagatai Khanate, it's going to be non-stop wars, alliances, and betrayals in this portion of Central Asia.
The Zunghars will emerge as a new power in Xinjiang that posed a threat to the new Qing Dynasty. That will lead to all kinds of trouble that we'll look at the next episode.
After inserting that 10-Year Anniversary special 7-Part program in between the last episode (Part 7) and this one, we're back with more Xinjiang in Part 8.
Lots of action happening during the 9th to 13th centuries. We start off with the great Uyghur diaspora that followed after the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840.
In this episode, we'll see what happened to them after they arrived in Gansu and Xinjiang. We'll also skim the surface to review the Kara-Khanid and Kara-Khitai Khanates who both had such a profound influence on shaping the future development of Central Asia and the spread of Islam.
In this episode we finish off the 1972 visit of Richard Nixon to the PRC. The series finale looks at the exciting meeting between the two leaders, Nixon and Mao and relive "the week that changed the world."
In Part 6 of this CHP 10-Year Anniversary Program looking back at the visit to China in 1972 of Richard Nixon, we're still in October 1971.
Kissinger is deftly trying to get Zhou Enlai to back off on few points. Because the communique could not be finalized General Al Haig was sent back in January to nail down final details for the visit of Nixon in February 1972.
And then the moment happens.
Nixon lands in Beijing and has that magic moment with Zhou Enlai at the steps of Air Force One. Next episode we'll conclude with the actual visit of Nixon and his historic meetings with Mao and Zhou.
The drama continues in this Part 5 episode.
Kissinger is briefing Nixon on his secret visit in July 1971. Not everything was nailed down in this one single visit.
It would take another trip in October to almost but not quite get all the negotiations and preparations taken care of. Nixon announced this breakthrough to the American people in prime time.
The secret was out.
The problem of how to handle Taiwan was still not settled and a lot remained to be discussed. Lots of action going on...including an attempted coup by Lin Biao.
Welcome back to the CHP 10-Year special bonus episodes that review US-China relations from 1969 to 1972. This time in Part 4 we see how the talks in Beijing went between two very smooth operators: Zhou Enlai and Henry A. Kissinger.
We'll close out the episode with Kissinger back in the States giving his boss, the president, the whole skinny on the July 9-11, 1971 visit and the discussions.
Things are really heating up as we start Part 3 of this special 10-Year Anniversary special program. In this episode, we re-live the drama of ping-pong diplomacy and breakthrough in the talks. Zhou Enlai agrees to meet with Henry Kissinger.
The dates of July 9-11, 1971 are agreed upon. And we close this episode with the secret visit to Beijing by Kissinger and the face to face meetings with Zhou Enlai.
Thanks for coming back to Part 2 of this special CHP 10-Year Special Series. The focus is in 1969-1970 with the US and PRC sending signals through their mutual Pakistani, French, and Romanian friends. China is still dealing with a border war with the Soviets.
The Vietnam War was not letting up. Finally, Zhou Enlai sends written word that a presidential envoy is welcome to visit and discuss the subject of Taiwan and other matters of mutual concern.
Back in November 2010 when I started the China History Podcast I presented a two-part series on the visit to China in 1972 of Richard Nixon. Those were the old episodes CHP-008 and 009. I retired those from the back catalog and would like to present this total makeover version instead.
Here is Part 1 of a seven-part series that will come your way over the next 2 weeks. The reason I chose this topic over so many others is this. Looking at the seemingly hopeless state of US-China relations at this time in 2020, it's important to remember we were in similar circumstances before and still found a way to hold our noses and get along with each other all these years.
The US and China are racing along a dangerous path right now and maybe there's something we can learn in looking back at those years between 1969-1972. Admittedly these are vastly different times compared to then. We can work it out.
In Part 1 this time we'll get an overview of just how bad US and PRC relations were between 1949 to 1969.
In this arguably milestone 250th episode we finally get around to the Uyghurs. Their ancient history is discussed and how they rose from one of several tribes in a Turkic confederation to their own Khaganate.
The Tang Dynasty is finished off and a new religion (not Manichaeism, Nestorian Church, Buddhism, or Zoroastrianism) will start knocking on China's door.
We finally make it to the Tang Dynasty and their Protectorate to Pacify the West. Their adventures out in Xinjiang lasted off and on for about a hundred and fifty years.
In this episode, I'll try and sort out the major events and players who made up this high point in the Silk Road trade. The history in Xinjiang was dominated by Tang China, various Turkic tribes, and a very powerful and warlike Tibetan Empire.
The saga continues, and how exciting it's becoming! The Göktürks, the Sui Dynasty, Buddhism galore, and lots of historic times to all starting to happen.
In this Part 5 episode, the plot thickens and Xinjiang is getting a facelift. In a few hundred years you will hardly recognize it.
In this episode, we bid farewell to the Han Dynasty and hello to a long period of a disunited China. The states and kingdoms of the basins of Xinjiang catch a bit of a break. We take a quick look at a few of the kingdoms of the southern Tarim Basin as well as Turpan.
And what episode would be complete without some nomadic bad guys causing the Chinese so much stress? We also look at the Rouran and the Hephthalites.
More Han Dynasty for you in this Part 3 episode with a special focus on the great diplomat and general Ban Chao. Back in those Han Dynasty days, Xinjiang was still considered very far away and not so easy to hold onto.
From the Han till the Tang, as Silk Road riches continue to grow along the trade routes, China will be in and out of the Western regions and face all kinds of competition for the great wealth contained within the Tarim and Turpan basins.
In this Part 2 episode, we leave pre-history behind and look at Xinjiang's importance during the Qin and Han dynasties. Here is where the Han Chinese interaction with these lands far to the west began.
Though a good portion of today's episode doesn't actually take place in Xinjiang, the story of the Yuezhi, Xiongnu, Zhang Qian, and the rise of Han Dynasty China is central to everything that follows later.
In this CHP episode, we start a new multi-part series that looks at the history of the land known today as Xinjiang. This series will cover about 4000 years of history starting in this episode with the Tarim Mummies.
In this final installment introducing the life and death of Kawashima Yoshiko, we look at the last decade and a half of her strange and tragic life. In the last episode, her star was on the rise. But after 1933 it's one long slow steady decline into madness and despair.
We continue on with Part 2 of the strange life of the Manchu Princess, Kawashima Yoshiko. Now she's on her own, in China, without any "adult supervision" and in full sartorial splendor.
The early years of the 1930's are presenting a few opportunities for Yoshiko after making all kinds of new "friends" in Shanghai.
We leave the warlords behind but not the time period. This time, in this first of a three part series, we examine the strange and tragic life of Kawashima Yoshiko.
Born a princess in the Manchu Qing royal family, she went on to have quite an extraordinary life. In this Part 1 episode we'll look at her early days and rehash some old Qing Dynasty history from the 17th century
In this concluding episode, we close the book on this China Warlord Era overview that began in 1916 and lingered on and on until 1930. By the time it was over Japan was on the cusp of their invasion of Manchuria plunging China into another national crisis.
In Part Ten we'll look at Zhang Zongchang's Warlord Rebellion in Northeast Shandong and a special focus on Liu Zhennian, the Red Spears, and the Central Plains War.
As the Northern Expedition ramps up and the Warlord Era starts to wind down, there's still plenty of action and violence to go around. In this episode, we look at the events following the Shanghai Massacre when Chiang and his "ally" Wang Jingwei take the fight to Zhang Zuolin's northern warlord alliance.
The Manchurian Warlords meets his end in this episode. We'll finish off the series next time in Part 10.
Part 8 in this series first presents a brief overview of "The Model Governor" Yan Xishan and his home province of Shanxi. After some daring moves on Chiang Kai-shek's part, he bests his opponents and takes control of the KMT and the National Revolutionary Army.
Under his command, Chiang launches the Northern Expedition. This episode will focus on the fateful years of 1926-1927.
In this Part 7 episode, the decade of battling warlords is coming to an end. Anhui and Zhili, then Zhili and Fengtian...and then Zhili and Fengtian again.
The last of these series of clashes between warlords contending for supremacy in China will be the Anti-Fengtian War (covered in this very episode). After 1925 everyone had had enough with these military governors.
Was anyone going to step up and take them on and deal with the warlords once and for all?
In these final years, it won't be warlords fighting each other as much as they will be fighting for their own survival.
Things were looking on the up and up for Wu Peifu after his defeat of Zhang Zuolin in the First Zhili-Fengtian War. In this episode, we look at the years 1922-24 and the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. And you can't talk about the Second Zhiuli-Fengtian War without also mentioning the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War.
The Christian Warlord Feng Yuxiang is featured in this episode. Besides the old stalwarts, also mentioned in this episode will be Lu Yongxiang, Qi Xieyuan, Sun Chuanfang, and Zhang Zongchang.
Still have a few more major warlords to go before we come to the end of this tale.
In Part 5 Laszlo gives the backstory to the Anhui-Zhili War and introduces another warlord, the famous Zhang Zuolin…The Manchurian Warlord.
With this civil war within the Beiyang Organization, the unity that existed since the time of Yuan Shikai is smashed. We'll look at the very brief war between the forces of Duan Qirui and their Zhili opponents led by Wu Peifu as well as the aftermath up to and including the First Zhili-Fengtian War, 1922-1924.
The saga continues with the splintering of the Beiyang Army into factions or cliques who will battle each other for supremacy of the government.
Hubei military governor Wang Zhanyuan will be examined as one of the textbook examples of how these generals evolved into warlords. Zhili Clique leaders Cao Kun and Wu Peifu will also be introduced.
The saga continues as the demise of Yuan Shikai is followed by the rise of Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang. The Beiyang Military machine begins to crack into two main factions or cliques.
In this episode, we will also hear about the exploits and imperial dreams of the Mafoo Warlord, Zhang Xun. And as the world mainly focused on the Great War in Europe, these two years of 1917-1918 were filled with so many momentous events in Republican China.
We looked at the setup for the Warlord Era last episode. This time in Part 2 we focus on the rise and fall of Yuan Shikai and all the measures he took between 1911-1916.
These all primed the pump for the Warlord Era that followed his sudden death in June 1916.
After years of requests to cover this topic, Laszlo finally gets around to the history of China's Warlord Era that lasted from 1916 to 1928 and into the Nanjing Decade.
In this Part 1 episode, Laszlo gives some background into the historical developments that led to the rise of, who some call, the first warlord, Yuan Shikai.
In this episode, Laszlo introduces one of the great military heroes of the Ming Dynasty. Though rather well-known to Chinese who went through the public school systems of Greater China, little is known of him elsewhere.
Qi Jiguang helped to rid the China coast of pirates (Wōkòu) and through his epic Great Wall restoration engineering project he kept the Mongol menace at bay and preserved the Ming Dynasty for an additional half-century.
His two military treatises were required reading into modern times and he contributed greatly to the introduction of Chinese martial arts into the military as a training regimen.
In this special CHP episode produced in partnership with the 21st Century China Center at the University of California-San Diego, I am honored and privileged to host a discussion with the three editors of the new book "China Tripping - Experiencing the Everyday in the People's Republic."
I hope you will delight in this program brought to you in two parts. It was both riveting and insightful for me to hear Paul Pickowicz, Perry Link and Jeremy Murray speak about the making of the book and listening to their own excerpts that were as brief as they were rich and meaningful.
I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed being the host.
Jeremy A. Murray is an Associate Professor of History at California State University, San Bernardino.
Perry Link is Chancellorial Chair for Teaching Across Disciplines at the University of California, Riverside.
Paul G. Pickowicz is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Chinese Studies at the University of California, San Diego.
In this special CHP Part 2 episode produced in partnership with the 21st Century China Center at the University of California-San Diego, I am honored and privileged to host a discussion with the three editors of the new book "China Tripping - Experiencing the Everyday in the People's Republic."
I hope you will delight in this program brought to you in two parts. It was both riveting and insightful for me to hear Paul Pickowicz, Perry Link and Jeremy Murray speak about the making of the book and listening to their own excerpts that were as brief as they were rich and meaningful.
I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed being the host. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538123690/China-Tripping-Encountering-the-Everyday-in-the-People%E2%80%99s-Republic
Jeremy A. Murray is Associate Professor of History at California State University, San Bernardino.
Perry Link is Chancellorial Chair for Teaching Across Disciplines at the University of California, Riverside.
Paul G. Pickowicz is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Chinese Studies at the University of California, San Diego.
Laszlo finally gets around to one of the most requested topics of all time, the Walled City of Kowloon in Hong Kong.
In this episode, the history behind the Kowloon Walled City is introduced from its humble beginnings starting in the Southern Song to its later demolition during the early 1990's.
We finish off the series on the Seven Great Singing Stars of Shanghai by examining the lives of the three remaining women, Li Xianglan, Yao Li, and Zhou Xuan. Yao Li sadly passed away only a month ago on July 19.
I hope you enjoyed this little three-part overview covering the lives of many of these early 20th century singers and musicians who gave us this amazing sound that's still enjoyed by millions around the world.
Their music is freely available all over the internet and on Spotify.
In this second part of the series Laszlo and special guest Spun Counterguy introduce Bai Hong, Bai Guang, Gong Qiuxia and Wu Yingyin.
These four superstars of that golden era of music and entertainment left behind a string of hits that still inspires feelings of reminiscence for those days gone by.
Yao Li, who sadly passed away recently on July 19, 2019 as well as Li Xianglan and Zhou Xuan will be covered in Part 3.
In this latest CHP installment, Laszlo finally gets around to introducing The Seven Great Singing Stars of old Shanghai whose performing skills on the silver screen and on 78 records provide us with a nostalgic glimpse of long-gone and controversial era.
In this Part 1 episode, we will focus on the one who made it all possible, the talented Li Jinhui. Mr. Spun Counterguy from the "In the Corner Back By the Woodpile" podcast joins Laszlo to assist in telling this story.
Next time in Part 2 we'll look at the first four of these Seven Great Singing Stars of 1930s and 40's Shanghai.
Our eight-part series on the history of Tang Poetry concludes with this episode that looks at the lives of three more poets: Li He, Du Mu, and Li Shangyin. And for an encore, Laszlo will recite poems from all three of these greats.
The Late Tang period of Chinese poetry was marked with all the signs of an imperial house in decline. It was a sad and melancholy time and quite a few Late Tang poems expressed the hopelessness felt during these sorrowful years.
In this seventh installment of the history of Tang poetry we move on to the Middle Tang period. While the poetry might not be as celebrated as that produced during the High Tang, there were still many figures beloved in their own time and all through the centuries. We'll look at three of them in this episode: Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen and Xue Tao. Next episode we'll finish off the series with the Late Tang poets.
Laszlo finishes up the High Tang period of Chinese poetry. Wang Wei and Meng Haoran are showcased in this episode.
This is the Du Fu episode. Along with Li Bai, discussed last episode, he's considered the greatest poet in Chinese history. That's of course a matter of opinion. We'll take a brief look at the rough road Du Fu had to walk most of his years. In addition to looking at his life we'll hear a few of his regulated verse poems.
Li Bai is showcased in this fourth installment of Laszlo's not very deep dive into the history of Tang poetry. We're still in the High Tang period of Chinese poetry. This episode will focus more on Li Bai's story (and legend) rather than an in-depth analysis of his poetry. He, along with several other poets from this time are cultural icons and treasures of the Chinese people. Check the links and resources for other scholarly and biographical info on Li Bai, Du Fu and other great Tang poets. This episode is especially geared towards those CHP listeners who may have never heard these names before.
Finally in this part 3 episode Laszlo gets to the Tang poetry part of the series. After finishing up some of the good stuff that came out of the Six Dynasties, we'll get a first look at the Early and High Tang periods. More poets and more great poetry compilations will also be introduced. A lot of names and titles of works this episode. Feel free to check the terms from the episode and read up on some of them. Plenty of links to translated works of Classical Chinese poetry. If this series is piquing your interest, even a little, there's a whole world out there for you to explore.
In Part 2 Laszlo will finish up an overview of pre-Tang poetry and show where everything went from the Classic of Poetry and Songs of Chu. Fu rhapsodies, Yue Fu poetry and the works from the Jian'an era will be introduced. Tang poetry didn't arise out of nothing. It was the collective genius and creativity of all these pre and post-Qin Chinese literati who built the foundation that the Tang masters built on. Please come back for Part 3 where we'll finally get to the early Tang (maybe).
In this first of a series introducing the history of the development of Chinese poetry, Laszlo focuses on the two most important works from Pre-Qin China. These were the Classic of Poetry and the Songs of Chu. Though we will not get to the Tang Dynasty in this episode, we'll look at what came prior and how each new style impacted newer emerging styles of poetry. The life of Qu Yuan and Chu Kingdom will also be introduced.
Laszlo continues his shallow dive into the Hokkien people with a focus on the history of the Hokkien diaspora who populated many cities and towns throughout Southeast Asia.
We're back in ancient times once again, this time looking at the homeland of the Hokkien people. As we've done with other groups of Southern Chinese (Teochew, Toi San, Hakka) this time Laszlo provides a broad overview of the people from the south of Fujian Province, the Hokkien or Hoklo people.
Before we get into the Qing era diaspora, Laszlo focuses on how Fujian developed from a land populated by Yuè people to a part of Han Dynasty China with a focus on the Minyue Kingdom.
In this longer than expected Part 2 episode, we look at Wellington Koo's role in the Paris Peace Conference and all the drama that surrounded this historic event from one hundred years ago. Then we'll look at the rest of Koo's career as a statesman, diplomat, and later as a judge.
With the centenary of the Paris Peace Conference now upon us this month, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to commemorate the event by introducing the life of Wellington Koo. In this first of a two-part series, we will look at the historical events that shaped his early life and career.
In this Part 1 episode, we will look at the backstory and set up for the Conference.
In this final episode of the series, Laszlo introduces the Shanghai Ghetto, the final years of WWII and the aftermath. Please check the show notes at the web site for all kinds of books and videos from this period.
Thanks to everyone who made it through all six episodes.
The drama continues with the final arrivals of European Jewish refugees into Shanghai, 1941-42. Afterward, the China option, that had previously served as a safety net for Jews seeking refuge far from the Nazi's, was no longer available.
Sugihara Chiune, Tadeusz Romer, Laura Margolis and others are also introduced in this episode. The series will conclude in the next episode.
Laszlo looks at Japanese attitudes towards the Jews and how it affected their treatment in Shanghai. The focus will be on the year 1939 when the greatest wave of Jewish refugees arrived in Shanghai.
Then we will look at a little-known tidbit from history concerning a plan championed by Sun Ke (son of Sun Yat-sen) to rescue Europe's Jews.
This third episode in a series examining the history of the Jewish refugees who found sanctuary on the east coast of China focuses on escalating events in Europe around 1938-1939.
With the consolidation of Hitler's rise, it didn't bode well for many Jews. As the countdown to Kristallnacht gets closer the situation becomes more urgent and Shanghai as a destination becomes more popular.
The great humanitarian He Fengshan (何凤山) will also be introduced.
With the story of the Harbin Jews mostly out of the way, Laszlo moves on to the smaller and less known Jewish community of Tianjin.
Then as the 1930s unfold and after Hitler came to power, our story shifts to the European Jews. In this episode, we'll look at the events leading up to Kristallnacht in November 1938.
In Part 3 we'll focus on 1938 and 1939.
Laszlo is back with a new series that looks at the history of the Jewish refugees who came to China during the first part of the twentieth century.
In this episode, after a long drawn-out intro that examines a bit of background on Jewish history, Laszlo explains how many Jews made their way to China to escape hard times back home. In the next episode, the story will continue with more from Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
All Yiddish and Jewish terms from this episode can be found in the usual list of terms that accompany each episode on the CHP website, teacup.media
In commemoration of the American Labor Day Holiday, Laszlo brings you a rather forgotten tale from the annals of Chinese modern history. As discussed in previous CHP episodes, the Chinese Labour Corps played a thankless but critical role in the allied victory over Germany in WWI.
Who could have predicted the series of events that would happen as a result of the story of these men and the subsequent peace treaty that didn't recognize them or their country? When it was over in early 1919, the Chinese people woke up and took appropriate action.
Happy Labor Day!!!
In this episode, Laszlo introduced the great Nederlander Robert van Gulik. In his relatively short life, van Gulik made a name for himself as a scholar, diplomat, and writer.
His sixteen novels featuring the "stern but fair-minded" Judge Dee offered his worldwide readership a peek into 7th century Tang China society.
Judge Dee was based on the historical person Di Renjie, an important official and minister of state during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian. Van Gulik was fascinated with the Chinese "gong'an" detective novel genre of literature and did a lot to popularize it around the world.
Laszlo presents another story from the annals of Chinese-American history. This one takes place during the Exclusion years and spotlights the Chinese colony of Eastern Oregon.
This is the story of Ing "Doc" Hay and his lifelong friend and business partner Long On, two Toi Son immigrants who built their American dream on the frontier. Ing Hay was a trained Chinese herbal doctor and pulmonologist and he brought this unique skill to the American West.
This isn't your typical American immigrant story but then again, Ing Hay and Long On weren't your typical immigrants.
We continue on from the last episode's overview of the Chinese martial arts history timeline. Today we zero in on the history and (mostly) legends behind the Wing Chun style of king fu. We'll also look at Grandmaster Ip Man and all those Wing Chin greats who came before him going back to the founder Ng Mui (Wu Mei).
I wanted to emphasize that almost all of what we know about Wing Chun today was passed down orally before it was written down late in its history. We only know the names of the great masters mentioned in this episode, through the stories and legends that were told and re-told to successive generations of Wing Chun martial artists.
Thanks to Detroit's attorney and unofficial Wing Chun ambassador Michael Benkstein for all the support and input that went into this series. And thanks also to Peter Söderbaum for his kind comments
Don't be fooled by the title. Wing Chin and Ip Man will be covered next episode. Today's the first in a two-part series that offers up a survey of the development of martial arts in China from the mythical times of the Yellow Emperor to the present day.
Let's look at the China history timeline once more, with feeling, and see how these martial arts embraced by millions and millions around the world slowly developed through the centuries. This will serve as the setup to the next episode when we zero in on one particular style of martial arts and one of its best-known masters.
From Zhao Tuo to the present day, the history of the relations of these two great countries and frenemies is a great story. In this episode we enter the 20th century and explore the end of French domination in Indochina, Vietnam's fight to unify the country and the most recent Sino-Viet history.
All three Indochina Wars will be discussed and the outcomes they produced. Although this six-part series was only a simple 走马看花 overview of the subject, I hope anyone not schooled in the basics of this history is leaving the table satisfied. Cảm ơn đã lắng nghe!
The series picks up in the early part of the Later Lê and finishes off in the 19th century with the arrival of La France and the beginnings of Indochine.
Many heroes from Vietnam history will make appearances in this episode. Be sure to come back next time for the exciting conclusion of this overview of China-Vietnam Relations.
In this landmark 200th episode Laszlo carries the story of China-Vietnam forward, beginning with the three Mongol invasions of Đại Việt during the Trần Dynasty. We'll get as far as the great (Later) Lê Dynasty founding emperor and resistance hero Lê Lợi.
The CHP series covering the history of China-Vietnam Relations continues with Part 3. This episode will take the history all the way up to the Tran Dynasty on the eve of the Mongol invasions from Yuan Dynasty China.
Heroes from Vietnam history making an appearance in this episode include Ngô Quyền, Lê Hoàn, Lý Thái Tổ, Lý Thường Kiệt, and Trần Thái Tông. Sorry about inundating everyone with this deluge of Chinese and Vietnamese names.
I'll keep everything listed in the terms from each episode found on the webpage at teacup.media.
Shi Xie's impact on bringing Chinese culture to the Jiao region is discussed. For most of this period, Vietnam remained under the direct administrative control of China.
Aside from a few quiet moments, there was sustained local unrest to deal with. Either local Viets were rising up against their Chinese overlords or there was a constant battle being fought with Lao, Linyi, Champa, and other tribes, states, and kingdoms that surrounded Vietnam to the west and south.
It was also a period where great Viet national heroes and heroines start getting written into the record. Sorry once again for the wooden sounding Vietnamese pronunciation.
In this first of a multipart series, Laszlo explores the ancient relationship between China and Vietnam. In this episode, the earliest days going back to Zhao Tuo and the Nanyue Kingdom are discussed.
A thousand apologies for the poor editing job splicing the Vietnamese pronunciation. I'm hoping for an A for the effort at least. The remaining episodes will go off more smoothly.
Thank you for your understanding.
Laszlo finishes off this brief overview of The Honorable Company as tea takes center stage in history. It's a very rough landing for the East India Company as their commercial rivals and political enemies gradually put an end to their winning run going back to the 17th century.
In this episode, Laszlo looks at U.S. Immigration during the bad old days of Chinese Exclusion. The subject will be examined through the telling of the stories of three rather plain and non-extraordinary brothers from Haiyang Village in Toi San (Taishan in Mandarin).
These three Moy brothers were featured in Scott Seligman's 2013 book "Three Tough Chinamen" (Earnshaw Books). In addition to the Chinese Exclusion laws, Laszlo briefly introduces the life of another Toisanese, Ng Poon Chew.
And at no extra price, Laszlo also gives the history of the Taishan region a nice neat overview.
In this episode, Laszlo tries something new. This time we look at the life and times of Whitey Smith, an important figure in the context of not only Shanghai Jazz, but the entirety of jazz history.
Laszlo emerges from the post-holiday festivities to finish off the series, picking up from the last episode of the life and work of Wang Yangming.
The differences between the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism is further discussed: the Lu-Wang School of the Mind (Xinxue) and the Cheng-Zhu School of Principle (Lixue). We also saved philosopher Zou Yan and the Five Elements (Wuxing) for last.
And that completes this nine-part set course meal in the History of Chinese Philosophy. If anything spoke to you, you're now armed and ready to do as many deeper dives into all these schools of thought as your heart desires.
This is an all Neo-Confucian episode. The last episode, Laszlo introduced three of the five founders of Neo-Confucianism: Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai.
This time we finish off with the remaining two founders: the Cheng Brothers, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi. And taking this rich harvest to the next level is Zhu Xi.
The basic tenets of Neo-Confucianism are introduced, with a focus on lǐ (principle) and xīn (mind) and how these two concepts caused a great divide in the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism. Qì (life-force) is also examined, and how that fits into the big picture.
The episode closes with an introduction to the extraordinary life of someone getting a lot of press these days in China, Wang Yangming, and his contributions to Neo-Confucianism.
In the late Han Dynasty, philosophy was a lot more complex than in Confucius's time. The focus in this episode is on philosophical thought in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
From the fall of the Han dynasty in 220, all the way through the Six Dynasties, Buddhism had spread quickly throughout the disunited kingdoms of China. By the time the father and son team of Yang Jian and Yang Guang stabilized and united China into a new empire in 589, Buddhism had taken root and appealed to the weary masses and the aristocrats.
Later in the Tang Dynasty, Confucianism reasserted itself, and after the brilliant work of Han Yu, Li Ao, and Liu Zongyuan, it set the stage for the third epoch in Confucianism during the Song dynasty. Laszlo also briefly introduces three of the founding fathers of Neo Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai
Laszlo gives the subject of Daoism, the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi a fresh makeover, covered before in an old China History Podcast episode from days gone by. The history of Daoism is explored as well as its main characters, Laozi and Zhuangzi, and what they called for in those dark Eastern Zhou times.
Daoism is both a philosophy and a religion, but this episode only explores the former. The Xuanxue thinkers Wang Bi, Guo Xiang and Xiang Xiu are also discussed, as well as the Neo-Daoism that evolved in the Han.
As Daoism and Confucianism evolved in China, side by side, there was occasionally some interesting overlap. Confucians from here on out actively explored ways to reconcile their philosophy with the other major contending schools of thought, Daoism and Buddhism.
Legalism takes front and center stage in this episode. After the conquest of the competing Warring States in 221 BCE by Qin Shihuang, a new ideology was embraced by the new Chinese state.
The Legalist philosophers Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, Shen Dao, Han Fei, and Li Si are all introduced as well as their individual and collective contributions in laying the Legalist foundations for what was to follow in the Qin dynasty, and over the next two thousand years of imperial Chinese history.
Laszlo also shows what happened to Legalism right after the Qin Emperor met his untimely end, and how this led to Confucianism's greatest triumph in the Han dynasty thanks to Dong Zhongshu and others.
Laszlo is back on track, picking up where we left off in part two following the death of Master Kong in 479 BCE. A lot happened in the world of Chinese philosophy right after Confucius passed.
He had both disciples who carried on his teachings, and naysayers who pointed to flaws in this Ru School of philosophy and offered an alternative kind of thought.
As the countdown to the milestone year of 221 BCE gets nearer, a hundred schools of thought contended like never before, each offering their solutions to the tumultuous and bloody times of the latter half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty
Although covered before in an old China History Podcast episode, Laszlo takes the Yi Jing (I Ching, sometimes called the ‘Book of Changes’) off the shelf for a total makeover and freshening up.
In this brief detour along the history timeline, Laszlo picks the Yi Jing apart and offers up both a history of this timeless classic as well as a brief intro about how it works and the role it plays in the life of some people.
The Yi Jing is a book with a lot of staying power and has been kept as a handy reference guide for hundreds of millions of people over the millennia. Listen to what it's all about and see for yourself if the Yi Jing can serve you:
In this second helping of Laszlo's overview of the history of Chinese philosophy, the Great Sage himself is the center of focus. Arguably China's most famous citizen of all time, Confucius (and his disciples) created an ideology and political system that had incredible lasting power.
Part two examines the stories surrounding Confucius's life growing up and operating in the State of Lu during the last decades of the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou Dynasty. In addition to the trials and tribulations faced by Master Kong in his day, the basic tenets of Confucianism are introduced.
After the longest break in the action since 2001, The CHP is back with this pleasant little 9-Part overview covering the history of Chinese philosophy.
The series will run from pre-Confucian times clear through to Wang Yangming in the mid-Ming Dynasty, a period stretching for more than two thousand years.
And don't forget to download the free Infographic that will accompany the series. I predict it will do wonders in keeping all the names, dates, philosophies, and texts straight.
Thanks for your patience! I hope you enjoy the series.
Laszlo finishes off the overview of the Rape of Nanking as well as the stories of John Rabe, Robert O. Wilson, Minnie Vautrin, Rev. William Magee, and others who directed the Nanjing Safety Zone during the worst weeks of the atrocities.
The aftermath of the Nanjing Massacre is also examined.
This is a very emotional, controversial, and sensitive subject for a whole lot of reasons. Over the next two episodes, Laszlo will review material from past episodes to discuss the lead-up to the Massacre.
Then in Part 2 the actual event itself as well as the story of the Nanjing Safety Zone and some of the foreigners who became eyewitnesses to the horrors of the Nanjing Massacre, also known as The Rape of Nanking.
At last, the early years of Russia-China relations can see the light of day. As you can see, this is another one of those hour-plus episodes that were not long enough for two episodes and a bit overly long for one.
This episode primarily covers the beginnings back in the late Ming when they first met and mostly in the Qing where all the history happened.
TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Míng Dynasty 明朝 Second to last dynasty in Chinese Imperial history 1368-1644
Lóngqìng 隆庆 Ming Dynasty Emperor (1567-1572)
Wànlì 万里 Son of Longqing Emperor, reigned a long time 1572-1620
Qing Dynasty 清朝 Last imperial dynasty in China 1644-1912
Xīnjiāng 新疆 Autonomous Region in the northwest of China, formerly referred to as Chinese Turkestan
Hēilóng Jiāng 黑龙江 The Black Dragon River (The Amur, and name of Heilongjiang Province)
Shùn Zhì 顺治 First emperor of the Qing Dynasty, 1643-1661
Pǔyí 溥仪 The Last Emperor, a.k.a. The Xuantong Emperor, reigned 1908-1912
Northern Sòng 北宋 The first half of the Song Dynasty, lasted from 960-1126
Kāngxī 康熙 Long reigning Qing Emperor, 1661-1722
Jiāyùguān 嘉峪关 The western terminus of the Great Wall of China
Songgotu (Suǒ'étú) 索额图 Manchu diplomat during the reign of Kangxi
Qiánlóng 乾隆 Another long reigning Qing emperor, 1735-1796
Treaty of Nanjing 南京条约 The marquee "Unequal Treaty" signed in 1842
Hóng Xiùquán 洪秀全 Rebel leader responsible for the Taiping Rebellion
Jīntián, Guangxi 广西金田 Place where the Taiping Rebellion was launched
Tàipíng Rebellion 太平天国运动 A bloody Rebellion and Civil War all in one, 1850-1864
Hēihé 黑河 City in northeast Manchuria (Heilongjiang) formerly known as Aigun
Aìhún 瑷珲 Now called Heihe, formerly called Aigun, site of the signing of the Treaty of Aigun.
Yìshān 奕山 Manchu diplomat who was forced into signing the Treaty of Aigun
Qíshàn 琦善 Manchu diplomat also forced to sign unequal treaties
Lín Zéxú 林则徐 Chinese hero who stood up to the foreign traders and torched their opium
Hǔmén 虎门 Located on "The Bogue" in Guangdong, site where Lin Zexu burned the opium
Guǎngdōng 广东 Southern province in China
Convention of Chuenbi 穿鼻草约 (Chuānbí Cǎoyuē) signed 1841, never ratified.
Ili 伊犁 (Yīlí) Town, valley and river name at the northwest border of Xinjiang - Kazakhstan
Zuǒ Zōngtáng 左宗棠 (1812-1885) Military leader and statesman from Hunan
Li-Lobanov Treaty 中俄密约 (known as the Zhōng É Mìyuē ), signed 1896
Lǐ Hóngzhāng 里鸿章 Co-signer of the Li-Lobanov Treaty), Chinese diplomat and statesman
Liaotung Peninsula 辽东半岛 (Liáodōng Bàndǎo) The tip of peninsular Liaoning Province
Lǚ Dà Zūdì Tiáoyuē 旅大租地条约 Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula at Dalian (大连)
Port Arthur Also known as Lüshunkou (旅顺口), Port located at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula
Qīngdǎo 青岛 Scenic city in Shandong, once a German concession
Wēihǎiwèi 威海卫 Another scenic city in Shandong, once a British concession, today known simply as Weihai 威海
If you'd like to brush up on your Russian History, may I recommend an old stalwart of mine:
MARK SCHAUSS, PRESENTER OF THE RUSSIAN RULERS PODCAST
I call it "The CHP of Russian History"
Many people don't know that the first preaching of Christianity in China pre-dated the Jesuits by more than nine centuries. We'll take a second cursory look at the Jesuits as part of a bigger story that includes Christianity in China during the Tang and Yuan dynasties. We'll see that prior to the arrival of Matteo Ricci, there were two other lesser-known attempts to grow Christianity in China.
Thanks to Carole in Virginia for giving me enough of a push to get this episode finally produced. This might have been one of the first ten topics I came up with when I began writing the original list back in 2010.
The history of silk is really an amazing testament to humankind's ingenuity and the randomness of life since Neolithic times. I hope you enjoy this episode. It turned out to be a much greater story than I was ever aware of.
In part two of this series examining the forgotten life of William Mesny, we hear the second half of his story in China. We're mostly using author David Leffman's 2016 book "The Mercenary Mandarin"
In this first part of a two-part series, we examine the forgotten life of William Mesny. Drawing from author David Leffman's 2016 book "The Mercenary Mandarin," Laszlo discusses an unknown character from the bad old days of late Qing Dynasty China.
Though he never made it to the history books, he nonetheless witnessed and took part in a lot of it. Through Mesny we can once again wander through some of Imperial China's worst years.
In this episode, Laszlo explains a little about the "Gagi Nang", the 自己人, known the world over as the Teochew (Chiu Chow or Chaozhou) people. Like the Hakka people, the Teochew's were originally from the Yellow River Valley and migrated to their present location on the Guangdong coast via Fujian province.
Their language and culture is unique. Their food and Chaozhou culture is celebrated in more places than Chaozhou and not just by the people from that region. There are Chaozhounese people on every continent except maybe Antarctica.
They're a proud group of people with a collective track record that is admirable by any standards of human achievement. The only mentions in this episode were of the Teochew's of South East Asia and the US.
There are plenty of other lesser-known or unknown histories of Teochew's in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, and of course Australia and New Zealand. The great 19th-century Chinese diaspora is filled with stories, legends, and historic events. The Chiu Chow people are a major part of everything that happened. They contributed not only to the society and the economy of their adoptive homelands, they still kept their ties with the eight districts of Chao-Shan.
TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE
Teochew People 潮州人
Gaginang 自己人 What Teochew's call themselves in their dialect ("Our People")
Hakka People 客家人
Chaozhou 潮州 Mandarin pronunciation
Chiu Chow 潮州 Cantonese pronunciation
Chaoshan 潮汕 The term for the Chaozhou-Shantou-Jieyang region
Shantou 汕头 Port city of the Chaoshan region
Swatow 汕头 Shantou in the Teochew dialect
Jieyang 揭阳 The 3rd city to make up the Chaoshan region
Meizhou 梅州 Homeland of the Hakka people, located in Guangdong
Jin Dynasty 晋朝 Dynasty that ran 265-420 CE
Jürchen Jin dynasty 金朝 The dynasty that replaced the Northern Song 1115-1234
Henan 河南 Province of China
Shanxi 山西 Province of China
Han River 韩江 One of the three rivers of Chaoshan
Huanggang River 黃冈河 One of the three rivers of Chaoshan
Rong River 榕江 One of the three rivers of Chaoshan
Wu Hu 五胡 The Five Barbarian tribes
Han Dynasty 汉朝 Ancient dynasty of China 206 BCE - 220 CE
Xiongnu 匈奴 People from the northern steppe of Central Asia
Xianbei 鲜卑 People from the northern steppe of Central Asia
Jie 羯 People from the northern steppe of Central Asia
Qiang 羌 People from the northern steppe of Central Asia (and Tibet)
Di 氐 People from the northern steppe of Central Asia
Jiangnan 江南 South of the Yangzi River (Southern China)
Tang dynasty 唐朝 Dynasty of China 618 - 907
Fujian 福建 Southeast coastal province of China
Quanzhou 泉州 City in southern Fujian
Putian 莆田 City in southern Fujian
Yuan dynasty 元朝 Mongol-run Dynasty of China 1271-1368
Guangdong province 广东 Southernmost province of continental China
Wu 沪 The dialect of Shanghai and the surrounding region
Yue 粤 The Cantonese dialect
Xiang 湘 The Hunanese dialect
Gan 赣 The dialect of the Jiangxi region
Hakka 客家 The dialect of the Hakka people
Min 闽 The dialects of Fujian
Min River 闽江 The main river of Fujian
Minbei 闽北 North of the Min River
Minnan 闽南 South of the Min River
Hokkien 福建 Pronunciation of Fujian in the local dialect (and the people of course)
Xiamen 厦门 Major city in south Fujian
Zhangzhou 漳州 Major city in south Fujian
Hoklo 福佬 Cantonese for Fujian people
Fulao 福佬 The Mandarin pronunciation of Hoklo
He Luo 河洛 (also 河老) Another way of writing Hoklo
Fujian ren 福建人 Someone from Fujian
Hoa Kieu 华侨 Overseas Chinese (Vietnamese)
Qin Shihuang 秦始皇 First emperor of China 220 - 210 BCE
Nanhai Commandery 南海郡 The 郡 or commandery located in southern Guangdong
Zhou dynasty 周朝 Ancient dynasty of China 1046 - 256 BCE
Zhao Tuo 赵陀 Former Qin general who set up the Nanyue Kingdom in Southern China and Northern Vietnam
Nanyue Kingdom 南越国 A kingdom that lasted from 204 - 111 BCE
Han Emperor Wu 汉武帝 Han Dynasty emperor whose forces conquered the Nanyue and reigned 141 - 87 BCE
Sui 隋 Dynasty in China that preceded the Tang 581 - 618 CE
Emperor Wen of Sui 隋文帝 Founding emperor of the Sui
Chao Prefecture 潮州 Set up in 590, where Chaozhou got its name
Zhou 州 An ancient name for a prefecture
Chao’an County 潮安县 Set up during the Republic of China
Wenhua 文化 culture
Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 Qing emperor reigned 1735-1796
Taiping Rebellion 太平天国运动 Violent upheaval in China lasting from 1850-1864
She Youjin 佘有进 Seah Eu Chin 1805 - 1883 - early Singapore Teochew community leader
She 佘 A Chinese surname (rhymes with 蛇）
Yu 余 The Chiense surname Yu......but compare it to the She above.
Liu Song Dynasty 刘宋朝 Dynasty in southern China during the Nanbei Chao 420-479
Nanbei Chao 南北朝 The Southern & Northern Dynasties period
Ngee Ann Kongsi (Yi'an Gongsi) 義安公司 Charitable foundation in Singapore
Chaozhou Bayi Huiguan 潮州八邑会馆 The Singapore Eight Districts Association
Chaoshan cai 潮汕菜 Term used to describe the food of the Chaoshan region
Rougucha 肉骨茶 a kind of a Chaozhou style meat soup
Lushui E 卤水鹅 Fine tasting Chaozhou goose dish....dip it in vinegar...The Ultimate umami!
dongxie 潮州冻蟹 A kind of crab in the shell (of course) eaten cold
Yao Ming 姚明 China basketball great and NBA superstar. Also a major anti-shark's fin soup crusader.
Yulu 鱼露 Nước mắm in Vietnamese, Fish Sauce in English
Shacha Sauce 沙茶醬 made from soybean oil, shallots, dried fish, dried shrimp and a nice kick of chili and garlic. Satay sauce
Chaozhou Guotiao 潮州粿条 hủ tiếu in Vietnamese, often spelled in English "Kway Teow"
Gongfu cha 工夫茶 A kind of tea service and traditional Chaozhou tea custom.
Tieguanyin 铁观音 The preferred tea for Chaozhou style gongfu tea.
Dancong Cha 蚕丛茶 Another kind of tea from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong. Not easy to get.
Chao Ju 潮剧 Chaozhou Opera
Nanxi 南戏 Southern Drama that was popular during the Later Song
Kun Qu 昆曲 Kun opera, the oldest form of Chinese opera
Tan 陈 Teochew for Chen, the #1 most popular Teochew surname
Lim 林 Teochew for Lin, the #2 most popular Teochew surname
Ng 黄 Teochew for Huang, the #3 most popular Teochew surname
Goh 吴 Teochew for Wu, the #4 most popular Teochew surname
Tay 郑 Teochew for Zheng, the #5 most popular Teochew surname
Li 李 Teochew for Li, the #6 most popular Teochew surname
Sir Li Ka-shing 李嘉诚爵士 Featured in CHP episode 13.
Wang Jianlin 王健林 Asia's reigning champion for richest man, founder and chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group.
Guangyuan 广元 Town in northeast Sichuan province
Wu Zetian 武则天 Amazing lady from the Tang dynasty, China's only real true empress
Joseph Lau 劉鑾雄 Boss of Chinese Estates Holdings
Lim Por-yen 林百欣 Lin Baixin... Boss of the Lai Sun Group
Albert Yeung...杨受成 Yang Shoucheng The main guy at the Emperor Group
Vincent Lo... 罗康瑞 Luo Kangrui of Sino Land (who gave us Shanghai's Xintiandi)
Xie Guomin 谢国民 Dhanin Chearavanont - Thailand's richest man and CP Group boss (sorry for mispronouncing his name)
Ma Huateng 马化腾 Pony Ma, founder of Ten Cent (騰訊控股有限公司) who gave us WeChat and QQ
David Tran 陈德 Họ Trần Legendary founder of the company that gave us Sriracha sauce with the green bottle cap.
Huy Fong Foods 汇丰食品公司 David Tran's company, located in Irwindale, California
Zou ma kan hua 走马看花 To look at the flowers while riding a horse....a very superficial view.
Charles Antoine de Rouve and Jerome Scemla directed documentary La Guerre du Thé...Tea Wars
John Pomfret's new book
Amazon link to "The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom"
PLEASE ALSO CHECK OUT:
AND
BOTH ARE NEW SHOWS FROM TEACUP MEDIA
In America, we have Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Hemingway, and so on. In China, Su Dongpo, (also known referred to as Su Shi) would be mentioned when rattling off their best of the best. He was definitely a major guy not only in the Song but in the overall world of Chinese culture as well.
If you're interested to check out some of his poetry, here's an amazon link to a book of his poems translated by Burton Watson: Selected Poems of Su T'ung-P'o
TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE
Ouyang Xiu 欧阳修 1007-1072 Northern Song statesman, historian, calligrapher, literatus extraordinaire
Wang Xizhi 王羲之 Called arguably the greatest Chinese calligrapher
Zhou 周 1046 BCE - 256 BCE Ancient dynasty of China
Han 汉 206 BCE - 220 CE Ancient dynasty of China
Jin 晋 265-420 Ancient dynasty of China
Sui 隋 581-618 Ancient dynasty of China
Tang 唐 618-907 Ancient dynasty of China
Song 宋 960-1279 Ancient dynasty of China
Kaifeng 开封 Capital of the Northern Song dynasty 960-1127
Northern Song 北宋 960-1127
Huizong 徽宗 The Northern Song emperor who "lost China" to the Jürchens
Su Dongpo 苏东坡 1037 - 1101 Our subject in this episode
Su Shi 苏轼 Su Dongpo's birth name
Tang Song Ba Da Jia 唐宋八大家 "Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song Dynasty
Han Yu 韩愈 768-824 - Tang essayist and poet. Major influence in development of Chinese literature
Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 773-819 Tang waster of prose and poetry
Su Xun 苏洵 1009-1066 - Great man of letters and Father of Su Shi and Su Zhe
Su Zhe 苏辙 1039-1112 - Brother of Su Shi, also a great man of letters
Wang Anshi 王安石 1021-1086 - Song statesman and father of far reaching reforms. Also a great literary figure in his day.
Zeng Gong 曾鞏 1019-1083 - Great prose master of the Song
Hangzhou 杭州 Capital of Zhejiang and of dynasties past. Su Dongpo served there twice
Zhejiang 浙江 Province in east China
Meishan 眉山 City south of Chengdu, birthplace of the Three Su's, Su Xun, Su Dongpo and Su Zhe.
Min River 岷江 Yangzi tributary river in Sichuan, famous for the Duijangyan irrigation system
Leshan 乐山 City in Sichuan
Ya'an 雅安 Great tea city near Chengdu in Sichuan
Chengdu 成都 Ancient capital of Shu Kingdom, now capital of Sichuan
jinshi 进士 The highest degree that allowed you to fill the top positions in government
Wang Fu 王弗 1039-1065 - First wife of Su Dongpo
Henan 河南 Province in north China where it all began
doucha 斗茶 "Tea Battles" that were popular during the Song
Wang Runzhi 王闰之 1048-1093 2nd wife of Su Dongpo
Su Di 苏堤 the Su Causeway across West Lake in Hangzhou
Xin Fa 新法 The New Policies championed by the Shenzong Emperor and Wang Anshi
Shenzong 神宗 1048-1085 - Northern Song Emperor and Wang Anshi supporter
Sima Guang 司马光 1019-1086 Conservative Song scholar and official, writer of the Zizhi Tongijan
Luoyang 洛阳 City in Henan and former ancient capital of past dynasties.
Cheng Yi 程颐 One of the pride of Luoyang, Chinese philosopher
Zizhi Tongjian, the "Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance" A monumental historical work covering Chinese history from 403 BCE to 959 CE
Wutai Poem Incident 乌台诗案 In 1079, a poem by Su Shi got him in trouble and exiled fron the capital.
Huangzhou 黄州 Former name of Huanggang, now a district of that city
Hubei 湖北 Central province in China, capital is at Wuhan
Huanggang 黄冈 City just east of Wuhan in Hubei Province
Dongpo 东坡 Eastern slope
Dongpo Jushi 东坡居士 Dongpo, the retired scholar or Buddhist.
Chibi Fu 赤壁赋 Ode to Red Cliffs, famous poem by Su Shi
Hou Chibi Fu 后赤壁赋 The Later Ode to Red Cliffs, famous poem by Su Shi
Nian Nujiao Chibi Huaigu 念奴娇赤壁怀古 Remembering Chibi, Su Shi's third poem in this series about Red Cliffs
Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 Great Shu-Han strategist during Three Kingdoms Period
Lu Su 鲁肃 Politician and general who worked for Sun Quan
Zhou Yu 周瑜 One of Sun Quan's main generals
Cheng Pu 程普 Another of Sun Quan's main generals
Sun Quan 孙权 Emperor of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms
Liu Bei 刘备 Emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms
Cao Cao 曹操 King of Wei, one of the Three Kingdoms
Fu 赋 One of the three main types of Chinese Poetry, like rhymed prose
Ci 词 One of the three main types of Chinese Poetry, like lyric poetry
Han Shi Tie 寒食帖 Su Shi's most famous calligraphic work, now hanging in the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Huang Tingjian 黄庭坚 1045-1105 artist, scholar, official, a great Northern Song Master
Mi Fu 米芾 1051-1107 Great Song painter and calligrapher
Cai Xiang 蔡襄 1012-1067 One of the great calligraphers of the Northern Song
Song Si Jia 宋四家 the Four Great Calligraphers of the Song
Han Shi 寒食 is the holiday that occurs right before Qingming in April
Yan Zhenqing 颜真卿 708-785 Great calligrapher of the Tang and one of the greatest of all time
Zhezong 哲宗 Northern Song emperor, Reigned 1085-1100
Empress Dowager Gao 高太皇后 1032-1093 Empress of Northern Song emperor Yingzong, regent for Zhezong during his minority.
Dongpo Rou 东坡肉 Dongpo Pork
Zuo Zongtang 左宗棠 Hunan-born general from the Qing, the man who brought us General Tso's Chicken
Lou Wai Lou 楼外楼 Not the best restaurant in Hangzhou but one of the most famous. Been around over one hundred fifty years
Ni Zan, the late Yuan-early Ming painter.
Xu Wei, the Ming painter
Yuan Mei, the Qing dynasty scholar and artist.
Yuanyou era 元祐 Conservative era in Emperor Zhezong's reign that lasted 1086 to 1093
Huizhou 惠州 City in Guangdong where Su Dongpo served a stint
Hainan 海南 Island province off the coast of Guangdong
Danzhou 儋州 Coastal city in Hainan just west of Haikou
Haikou 海口 Capital city of Hainan
Dongpo Shuyuan 东坡书院
Wang Zhaoyun 王朝云 1062-1095 - 3rd wife of Su Dongpo
Changzhou 常州 City in Jiangsu
Jiangsu 江苏 Coastal province just north of Zhejiang
Cai Jing 蔡京 Long serving chancellor to Emperor Huizong
Cai Tao 蔡绦 Son of Cai Jing who had the audacity to say something nice about Su Dongpo
Shi 诗 The word meaning all Chinese poetry but also a specific kind as well.
Su Men Si Xueshi 苏门四学士 The Four Scholars at Su Shi's Gate
Zhang Lei 张耒 1054-1114 One of the four scholars famous for being part of Su Shi's gang
Chao Buzhi 晁补之 One of the four scholars famous for being part of Su Shi's gang
Qin Guan 秦观 1049-1100 - Northern Song writer and poet. Also one of the four scholars famous for being part of Su Shi's gang
Jin 金朝 The Jin Dynasty of the Jürchens 1115-1234
In this latest episode, Laszlo finally gets around to the oft-requested subject of piracy in early 19th century China. Pirates had been a fact of life going back to the most olden days. Mid to late Qing Dynasty the amount of trade being plied on the China coast attracted pirates like never before. Zheng Yi Sao ("Zheng Yi's Wife") was a tough woman from the Pearl River Delta who married the most notorious pirate of his day Zheng Yi.
Upon Zheng Yi's death, his widow took control of his massive pirate fleet. With her adopted son, and later husband Cheung Po Tsai, she controlled what as, at the time, the largest pirate fleet that preyed on coastal dwellers and vessels engaged in trade. She later became an inspiration for many characters that appeared in books, movies, video games, and other media.
TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE
Zheng Shi 郑氏 Madame Zheng, Widow Zheng
Zheng Yi Sao 郑一嫂 Zheng Yi Sao, wife of Zheng Yi
haidao 海盗 pirate
Zhejiang 浙江 East coast province of China
Guangdong 广东 Southernmost province of continental China
Tây Sơn Rebellion Major uprising in Vietnam from 1770 to 1802
Binh Dinh Province South central coastal province in Vietnam
Da Nang Vietnam's 3rd largest city
Nha Trang Coastal city in Vietnam
Xishan 西山 West Mountain (Tây Sơn in Vietnamese)
Guangxi 广西 One province over from Guangdong
Shi 石 Common Chinese surname, means stone
Ma 马Another common Chinese surname, means horse
Xu 徐 Common Chinese surname. I always get it mixed up with 许.
Shi Xianggu 石香姑 Zheng Yi Sao's real name
Xinhui 新会 City near Jiangmen
Tanka or Danjia 疍家 The boat dwelling people of south China and Fujian
shuishang ren 水上人 people who live on the water
Zheng Yi 郑一 South Seas pirate who ran the Red Flag Fleet. Married Shi Xianggu
Red Flag Fleet 红旗帮 Hóngqí Bāng.
Cheung Po Tsai 张保仔 Zhang Bâozâi
Jing Hai fen ji 靖海氛记 Charles F. Neumann's "The Pirates who Infested the China Sea from 1807 to 1810.
Jiaqing emperor 嘉庆帝 Qing emperor 1796 - 1820
Daoguang emperor 道光帝 Qing emperor 1820 - 1850
Ming Jiajing Emperor 明嘉靖帝 Ming emperor 1521 - 1567
Lantau 大屿山 Island that is part of the Hong Kong SAR
Cheung Chau - Changzhou 长洲 Island off the coast of Lantau
Humen 虎门 Located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta
Chow Yun-fat 周润发 Great Actor who played Sau Feng, one of the Pirate Lords from Disney's P of the C movie Part 3.
Qiongzhou Strait 琼州海峡 Body of water that separates Hainan from Guangdong
Laszlo offers up the exciting conclusion to the 3-part series introducing the Tong Wars.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, check out the episode page on the CHP website here
Hungry for more Chinatown-War related content? Check out the following resources as a personal recommendation.
"Tong Wars, The Untold Story of Vice, Money and Murder in New York's Chinatown"
Article from Signature Magazine that explains the Turf Wars in NY Chinatown .
In this Part 2 episode the Tong Wars begin in earnest. The first and second Tong Wars are discussed.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, visit the episode page at the CHP website here
Hungry for more Chinatown War-related content? Check out these resources as a personal recommendation.
"Tong Wars, The Untold Story of Vice, Money and Murder in New York's Chinatown"
Article from Signature Magazine that explains the Turf Wars in NY Chinatown
"Wish Lanterns - Young Lives in New China"
Alec Ash - UK Amazon link to Wish Lanterns
21st Century China Program - UC San Diego
In this episode, Laszlo explains the Tong Wars of New York's Chinatown. With the help of Scott Seligman's latest book we go back to late 19th - early 20th century America and focus on New York's Chinatown.
These were terribly unpleasant days for most citizens of Chinese ancestry and especially for those immigrants who either had not begun the process or lived in the shadows illegally.
The Chinese Exclusion Laws tarred these citizens like no other immigrant group in US history. The Tong Wars didn't happen because of these laws but they were certainly part of the story.
With everything Chinese-Americans have done to make America great over the past century, it's interesting to look back at another time when the ordinary law abiding Chinese and the bloodiest tong soldier were equally reviled in society that was loath to accept them. The book is called "Tong Wars, The Untold Story of Vice, Money, and Murder in New York's Chinatown" by Scott D. Seligman.
For a list of terms used in this episode, visit the episode page at the CHP website here
Laszlo finishes up the story of the Yuan Dynasty, founded in 1271. The parts of China not yet conquered were done in by 1276 and the last holdouts went by 1279.
But the Great Yuan didn't last long. This episode takes a nice little overview of the dynasty, its slow demise, and the legacy they left.
In this long-overdue episode with a deceiving title, we don't actually get around to the Yuan Dynasty. However, a nice handy and confusing overview tracing the rise of the Mongol nation is presented which includes a bio on Genghis Khan.
We'll get to the rise of Kublai Khan this time and look at the Yuan Dynasty next episode.
In this bonus one hour plus episode we look at the last six years of Zhou Enlai's life. It was a bittersweet end for Premier Zhou.
In between doing great things for China and guiding the country's general well-being, he was forced to play a central role in some of the worst internecine politics in CCP history.
In this longer than expected seventh episode of the series, the Cultural Revolution gets underway, something that Zhou will have to deal with until his dying day.
Aside from this, China's illustrious premier also has his hands full with a thousand other responsibilities, both foreign and domestic.
More Zhou Enlai again. This time we look at the second half of the 1950s. Zhou was as busy as ever, setting up the government, handling foreign relations, and dealing with Chairman Mao.
This episode will see Zhou during the Gao Gang Affair, Hundred Flowers, Anti-Rightist, San Fan and Wu Fan Campaigns, Land Reform, rapid agricultural collectivization, and the disastrous Great Leap Forward.
Welcome back to Part 5 of our Zhou Enlai series. Today, the focus is on the Korean War and the Geneva Conference. Zhou already enjoyed some degree of international respect from those he had come to know during his Shanghai and Chongqing years.
By 1954 he had established himself as a respected tour de force on the world stage and earned begrudging admiration from those who refused to recognize the country for which he was head of state.
In this Part 4 episode of the CHP Zhou Enlai series Laszlo re-tells the always amusing story of when the Americans came around Yan'an to kick the tires of the CCP and see what they were all about.
This time Zhou again proves his loyalty and devotion to Mao and as always to China. He gets a real workout as far as developing his role as the Communists (and later China's) chief diplomat.
In this Part 3 episode, the story of Zhou Enlai is taken all the way up to the 1943 Yan'an Rectification Campaign. We'll look at the Zunyi Conference, the Long March, the Xian Incident, and finally the ill-fated Second United Front.
At every historic moment, Zhou Enlai was there, playing a lead role.
In this second part of what's shaping up to be a long series, Laszlo picks up at the Zhongshan Gunboat Incident and follows the life of Zhou Enlai through the challenging years of 1926-1934.
In today's Part 1 episode Laszlo explores the early life of Zhou Enlai, growing up in a traditional scholar-officials family that had seen better days. Zhou gets passed from relative to relative.
But each step of the way there were mentors and breaks that he was able to make the most of. We can see through his early years and into his teens how Zhou was perfectly trained and tested for the larger job that lay ahead.
Jack Jones' story is told today in this little snapshot of a little-known organization that operated in 1940's China known as The Friends Ambulance Unit later renamed the Friends Service Unit.
It was a Quaker funded charity that operated ambulances, providing urgent medical care and other charitable services during wartime.
In this episode, Laszlo focuses on the history of Chinese Americans in the early years of Hollywood. The period will focus on the 1920s to the 1950s.
During those years Asian Americans had a rough time in Hollywood trying to break away from stereotypical roles. This episode takes a closer look at the lives of Anna May Wong and Jadin Wong as a window into these times.
This time Laszlo finishes off the Qin in two parts as promised. Apologies for the lopsidedness of it all. In this extra-long episode, Laszlo takes the Qin to their height and examines their legacy. The Qin Dynasty had a spectacular fall lasting only a few years after the early death of its founder Qin Shihuang.
In this first of two episodes, Laszlo gives Qin Shihuang, the subject of the first-ever China History Podcast episode, a total makeover, complete with better sounding audio, and even more information than the first go-around.
In this Part 2 episode, Laszlo continues his intro of Joseph Needham in 1943 right after Needham returned from his perilous adventure to the northwest of China to visit the sights of Dunhuang. We'll conclude the life of Joseph Needham in this episode. He truly was, as Simon Winchester called him, "The Man Who Loved China."
In this long-awaited topic, Laszlo introduces "The Man Who Loved China", Dr. Joseph Needham. A true friend of China for most of his adult life, Needham's contribution was the epic work "Science and Civilization in China".
Today this massive undertaking is spread out over 24 volumes, 17 of which were written in Needham's own lifetime. In this Part 1 episode, we only go up to 1943 and the end of Needham's first expedition in China.
In this shorter than usual episode, Laszlo introduces a little piece of culture taken from the southern portion of Hunan Province. Generations of illiterate women from a single county on the Hunan-Guangxi border, denied education, created their own writing script.
Men never learned it and so it was used by these women to communicate with each other and to record their secret thoughts and inspirations. Almost lost to posterity, Nüshu has made somewhat of a revival and today others are learning it and keeping it alive.
In this episode, Laszlo examines remarks made by distinguished UCLA Professor of Public Policy Mark Kleiman who had commented on Britain's participation in the Opium War. Opium's history in China began centuries before, at least during the Tang and maybe as far back as the Eastern Jin.
The focus of this episode is on opium's history in China prior to the Opium War.
Laszlo finishes off the CHP overview of the story of the AVG in World War II. In this episode, the battle commences on December 20, 1941. From that point forward until the organization was disbanded on July 4, 1942, the Flying Tigers wrote their name into the history books.
In this Part 1 episode, Laszlo provides all the setup and background for the magnificent story of the American Volunteer Group, known more popularly as The Flying Tigers.
Theirs was only an eight-month-long story but their success at a time when all seemed hopeless provided an inspiration to many and showed Japan was not invincible.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CHP website at teacup.media and go to the episode page.
In this milestone 150th CHP episode, Laszlo shines a light on the Hakka people and where they fit in Chinese history. There are no shortages of authoritative sources that all disagree as to their origins and when the Hakka’s migrated from where to where.
Legends and stereotypes surrounded this sub-group of Chinese. But one thing is for sure they have carved an indelible spot in worldwide Chinese culture.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CHP website at teacup.media and go to the episode page.
In this final episode of the CHP’s ten-part History of Tea series Laszlo travels from province to province introducing the more famous of China’s teas.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CHP website at teacup.media and go to the episode page.
In this penultimate episode of the China History Podcast History of Tea series Laszlo finishes off the story of Robert Fortune and introduces Sir Robert J. Lipton. This CHP's long history of Chinese tea started off slow and in this Part 9 fizzles out altogether. Laszlo also introduces a little overview of Pu-erh Tea as an extra bonus
In this 8th installment of the CHP History of Tea series Laszlo introduces the story of Mr. Robert Fortune. With Britain’s East India Company bankrolling him, Fortune played a most key role in breaking China’s millennia-old monopoly of tea manufacturing and export.
In Part 7 of the CHP History of Tea series, we look at what happened after Europeans first came to China and instantly fell in love with tea. The period covered in this episode is the late Ming and the Qing.
For a list of the terms used in this episode, visit our website; teacup.media, and go to the episode page.
The China History Podcast's ten-part History of Tea continues with this sixth episode. The time is now the late Ming and Qing dynasty. Now Western people are getting a nice close look at tea and imagining the possibilities.
For a list of terms used in the episode, visit our website, teacup.media, and go to the episode page.
In this episode, Laszlo looks at tea in the Ming dynasty. This is when loose-leaf tea, Jingdezhen and Yixing teapots hit the big time.
For a list of terms used in the episode, visit the website at teacup.meda
This time in History of Tea Part 4 we continue along the timeline and look at tea in the Song Dynasty. Tea may have been brought to great heights during the Tang but during the Song, it reached a completely new level in terms of popularity, commerce, and recognition.
In Part 3 of our grand ten-part series on the history of tea, we take a closer look at the life of the Tea Saint, Lu Yu and his great work "The Classic of Tea".
Laszlo continues his 10-part series introducing the history of tea in China from ancient times to the modern age. This time the focus is on the 7th to 9th centuries during the Tang Dynasty. Tea by now has been transformed from medicine to an enjoyable and inspirational beverage.
Laszlo is back with a new ten-part CHP series covering the history of tea from its mythical discovery clear through to the 20th century.
In this episode, we will conclude our CHP overview of the life of Sir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd Baronet. In this 3rd part of the series, we’ll look at the last couple of decades of Backhouse’s life. Backhouse remains in Beijing amidst all the turmoil going on during the Japanese invasion and the lead-up to WWII.
In his final years, Backhouse will write a memoir that will engrave his name forever in the footnotes of Chinese history.
Fast on the heels of Part 1 of this CHP overview of the life of the Sinologist Sir Edmund Backhouse, we present Part 2 in this episode.
We’ll look at the years 1911 to 1924, the years that Backhouse committed a litany of frauds and established himself in London and Beijing as someone not to be trusted.
In this episode, we will begin a 3-part series covering the life of Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, 2nd Baronet. He lived from 1873 to 1944, spending more than half his life in Beijing.
Backhouse is best known for the various frauds he committed over the period of his life. In his last year of life, he was urged by Dr. Reinhard Hoeppli to commit his fantastic stories of his life to paper.
Once again after an almost record-setting gap in the action, we look at a great but unknown Chinese American, Wong Chin Foo (王清福).
Though not a well-known person from history, he nonetheless played a major role during the 1880’s and 1890’s fighting against the racist anti-Chinese immigration laws passed by the U.S. Congress.
In this final installment of the history of the life and times of the emperor Huizong, we look at the series of events that followed the Jürchens’ Seige of Kaifeng in 1126-1127. What followed was the Jingkang Incident, which for centuries made the Chinese bow their heads in shame.
The entire Song imperial family was captured and sent north to live out the rest of their lives in the harsh lands far beyond The Great Wall. But the Jin conquerors did not destroy the Song. The Zhao family continued to keep the dynasty alive in the south.
We continue in this episode examining the second decade of Huizong’s reign. The good times lasted about twenty years but all good things can’t go on forever. By 1120 Huizong is going to begin to see the handwriting on the wall. The years we look at today will the years Huizong later on most regrets.
This time in Part 2 of our series we look at Huizong as he attempts to assemble his team and deal with bitter factional strife that was rampant since the Wang Anshi New Reforms. We also look at Huizong the great patron of the arts.
We’re going to begin a new series that will look at political, social, and cultural life in the late Northern Song. The second the last emperor Huizong will serve as our vehicle to examine this period in the late 11th and early 12th century China. University of Washington professor Dr. Patricia Buckley Ebrey has recently published a book entitled Emperor Huizong. I’m going to use this as one of the main sources.
The Song Dynasty was another one of those times when China was the most advanced and economically powerful civilization on earth. The period in which Huizong reigned was one of the high points of the dynasty. But in 1127 the emperor’s world will come crashing down with invasions from the north. Today we begin our look at this emperor.
We’re going to finish off the last 45 years of Morris Two-Gun Cohen’s life in this extra-long episode. With Sun Yat-sen now gone, Morris Cohen worked hard to reinvent himself and remain relevant in the world of Chinese business and politics.
Morris will hit some highs and lows in this episode as he tried to leverage his past association with Sun and his obvious loyalty to the KMT into an ongoing and lucrative career. As you’ll see in this episode, the road was hardly a smooth one.
Today I wanted to introduce a sort of lovable rogue who haunted the hotel lobbies of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, London, and Edmonton. Today’s subject was by no means a historic figure. In fact, I don’t think you can even call him a bit player.
Nonetheless, Morris Abraham Cohen had a China story that deserves a telling. Today’s episode will look at his early life, how he ended up in Canada, and how he got hooked up with the local Chinese Canadians. We’ll get as far as the death of Sun Yat-sen in early 1925.
In this episode, we revisit the founding of the Tang Dynasty and focus on the events leading up to, during, and right after the Incident at Xuanwu Gate. This slice of historic theater took place on July 2, 626.
It resulted in the victory of Li Shimin over his two brothers. Not long afterward Li Shimin was promoted by his father to the emperorship and reigned as Tang Taizong.
After a record-breaking pause in the action, Laszlo is back with one last episode to finish 2013. This time we look at the interesting and amusing history of Chinese cuisine in America, an oft-requested topic here at the China History Podcast.
This is a history that goes hand-in-hand with the earliest Chinese immigration to the US. If you’re interested to learn more on the subject, I strongly recommend checking out the work of Andrew Coe and Jennifer Lee.
In this episode, we take a look at the circumstances and times when the brand spanking new nation of the USA came to a calling to China for the very first time. The so-called “Most Important Relationship in the World” had very humble origins indeed.
When representatives of the United States first arrived in Canton in August 1783 they really had a lot of explaining to do about who they were and where they came from. Repeatedly they had to explain to the Chinese who interacted with them that they weren’t British.
This week we look at the Khitan people of the steppes. These people came from the lands between Manchuria and Mongolia. Their most famous son was Yelü Abaoji who took his people to great heights in the early 10th century.
His Liao Dynasty in the north of present-day China ran concurrently with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (as well as the Song Dynasty) that resulted after the breakup of the Tang Dynasty.
In this episode, we explore the life and times of the historical and cultural icon Zhuge Liang (181-234 AD). He’s a very good example of a well-known name from Chinese history that many have heard of but aren’t quite sure why.
Zhuge Liang is mostly remembered for his cleverness and many consider him right up there with Sunzi (Sun Tzu) as far as the works of strategy and military science he left behind. He was also a statesman and inventor.
He's also immortalized in the Luo Guanzhong novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
The China History Podcast is back with another episode. This time we look at the life and times of a personal favorite of mine., Sir Y.K. Pao. In telling the story of Sir Yue-kong Pao (Bao Yugang in Mandarin) we can also relive the periods in China and Hong Kong during the 1960s, 70’s and into the ’80s.
Through the life of Sir Y.K. Pao, we can also look back on those difficult times between China and Britain that preceded the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in December 1984. Sir Y.K. lived an amazing but all too brief life and was one of the early Hong Kong Chinese to rush to aid China when Deng Xiaoping emerged and began setting China on the path of reform and opening up to the world.
The story of the Chinese Mexicans is typical in some respects. They came to Mexico either because they wanted to and saw it as a land of opportunity or they came because it was the next best thing to emigrating to the United States.
Many stayed in Mexico despite great hardships and the usual racism directed against them. But most either moved on to try their luck in the US or they were forced out by racist and nationalistic anti-Chinese immigration policies.
In this part 4 episode, we conclude our overview of the Chinese Civil War. After the Pingjin Campaign ended in January of 1949 it was time for the Communists to finish off what they started. The victory was imminent but by no means would it be easy and simple.
The PLA forces dramatically crossed the Yangzi River in May and their great generals led their forces to a smashing victory, finishing off the KMT forces of Chiang Kai-shek by December 1949. On December 10, 1949, the Generalissimo boarded a flight to Taiwan, leaving his rival Mao Zedong as the undisputed leader of China.
Welcome back to Part 3 of our overview of the Chinese Civil War. The focus this time will be on the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin Campaigns that not only grabbed all of north China and Manchuria for the Communists but the heartland and everything north of the Yangzi River as well.
By the end of 1948 all treasures, gold bullion, silver, currency, and tangible assets that the KMT could get their hands on were well on their way to Taiwan….just in case. Things had never looked grimmer for Chiang and all supporters of the Nationalist regime.
This week’s episode focuses mainly on the year 1947. The Americans have now left and the NRA and PLA attack each other with all they got. The years start out well for the Nationalists as they pummel the PLA in Manchuria and in the north.
But once the summer offensive begins, it’s a steady stream of bad news for Chiang. Ultimately with the conclusion of the bloody Siping Campaign that ended in March 1948, Manchuria was lost for good.
Chiang would never be able to win it back.
In this week’s episode, we begin a multi-part series covering the Chinese Civil War from 1945 to 1949. In China, this is known as the War of Liberation. In this Part 1, we will look at the background leading up to the war as well as failed attempts by the Americans in 1945-1946 to mediate a peace between Mao’s Communists and the Nationalists led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
This week’s episode runs way into overtime but at least we’re getting through to the end of 1944. The Dixie Mission is in full swing by the end of that year. John Service has established himself in Washington circles as one of the most informed and dynamic China hands.
But there are those who don’t welcome his glowing reports of the Communists and damning news about the Nationalist government. As WWII enters its final year, new battle lines are being drawn that will pit pro-Communist against anti-Communist and this battle will ultimately lead to the Cold War.
This week’s episode runs way into overtime but at least we’re getting through to the end of 1944. The Dixie Mission is in full swing by the end of that year. John Service has established himself in Washington circles as one of the most informed and dynamic China hands.
In this second episode covering the life of John S. Service, we take a look at the general situation and the proliferation of mistrust and bad faith in wartime Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek remains baffled and frustrated with American efforts to cozy up to Mao. He blames the China Hands such as John Service for feeding American officials the CCP propaganda.
It’s a poisonous atmosphere in China and the spectre of civil war keeps growing. Factions within the US government begin to circle their wagons and listen only to each other rather than understand what was happening in front of their eyes. In this episode we continue to watch as these events unfold as told through the life of John Service.
This week we explore the life and times of John S. Service. This original “China Hand” was born in China and grew up in Chengdu and Shanghai. He went on to a brilliant career in the State Department serving in China as a Foreign Service officer during the Second Sino-Japanese War and throughout WWII.
Because of his past association with the Communists in Yan’an and the sympathetic view he had about their policies, Service became a prime target of the anti-Communist witch hunts of the early 1950s.
His career was ruined and he went on to live a life of anonymity and fought for years to clear his name. In this episode, we will look at the early part of his career and examine the lead-up to the Dixie Mission.
This episode takes a slightly deeper look at the Shang Dynasty and their signature achievement, the oracle bone script. Some of this episode will be a repeat of things covered in Episode 15.
Like the oldest parts of the oldest world civilizations a lot of what we “know” is the collective guesswork of the best minds researching the history. From Wang Yirong down to the present generation of scholars, new secrets of the Shang Dynasty oracle bones continue to be revealed.
This week we look at the Canadian and international hero Dr. Norman Bethune. Bethune is a staple among noted western friends and advisors who came to China in 1938 to help the Communists and the people in their struggle against the Japanese.
He was not only a great friend of China, but a gifted and brilliant man of medicine as well who had a great impact on thoracic surgery in his day.
This week we look at a topic many have heard about but aren’t familiar with the details. We look at the early origins of the Jewish people in China and the time of the settlement in Kaifeng, Henan.
Although you’d be hard-pressed to find a minyan amongst the native Jews in Kaifeng today, there are efforts being made to revive Judaism in that ancient city. It’s an interesting story that spans a millennium and offers a look at Chinese history from another angle.
This week we delve back into the mists of ancient times to look at the State of Wu from the Spring & Autumn Period. Although they didn’t last long, the Wu State had a major impact on the development of the culture of the Jiangsu/Zhejiang/Shanghai region. There are a number of Wu periods throughout Chinese history, so today we will try to sort them all out.
In this episode, we will conclude our History of Hong Kong overview. We’ll look at the years following the 1967 riots and the reforms championed by Governor Murray MacLehose in the 1970s and ’80s.
We’ll close out this series by looking at the dramatic lead up to and the signing of the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, and the handover on July 1, 1997.
In this week’s episode, we look at the year 1967 in Hong Kong. The words “riots” and “1967” go hand in hand when talking about Hong Kong history.
Although the events that went down between May and December of 1967 caused death, mayhem, and destruction throughout the territory, when it was all over it led to a sea change in labor rights for Hong Kong workers.
After a bit of a break, we pick up after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. The 1950s were a stressful time for Hong Kong with Britain managing a diplomatic balancing act trying to be a good neighbor to the new PRC and to their closest ally, the USA.
Thanks to the exodus of Chinese industrialists, from Shanghai mostly, Hong Kong will usher in a manufacturing boom that will transform the economy and the territory’s place in the world.
We're back with Part 7 of Laszlo's overview of the History of Hong Kong.
In this latest installment of the CHP History of Hong Kong overview, we look at the years from Governors Nathan to Peel. The modern age comes to Hong Kong along with plenty of fallout and spillover from the upheavals going on in China in the 1920s and ’30s.
This was a period when the great pillars of HKL Chinese society rose to fame and fortune: Shouson Chow, Robert Hotung, Kai Ho, Robert Kotewall, and others.
In this fifth installment of our Hong Kong history overview, we look at the final couple of decades of the 19th century. Hong Kong’s second generation is coming to the fore. They are a better educated and more sophisticated lot than those Chinese who came before them.
This time period saw the governorships of MacDonnell, Kennedy, Hennessy, Bowen, Des Voeux, and Robinson (a different Robinson from before). We close this episode during the time of Governor Sir Henry Arthur Blake. Although the colony would experience a disaster here and a disaster there, progress was being made.
We continue this overview series on the history of Hong Kong. This time we pick up right after the Treaty of Nanjing and look at the early efforts to get this colony up and running. The first couple decades of Crown Colony of Hong Kong weren’t easy and many considered throwing in the towel early.
Welcome back to Part 3 of Laszlo's overview of the History of Hong Kong.
In part two of Laszlo’s overview of the history of Hong Kong, we look at the Canton System and the lead-up to hostilities that culminated in the Treaty of Nanjing that ceded Hong Kong in perpetuity to the British crown. In this episode, we’ll get as far as the Convention of Chuenpi of January 20, 1841.
Laszlo is back after another long delay. In this shorter than usual episode, The China History Podcast presents Part 1 of a multi-part series that will explore the history of Hong Kong.
In this introductory episode, Laszlo starts at the very beginning and traces Hong Kong from the Devonian Period all the way up the end of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century.
In this episode, we introduce American Sidney Rittenberg, 李敦白，known by the title of his 1993 book as “The Man Who Stayed Behind.” He arrived in China in his 20’s at the end of WWII and witnessed the Chinese Revolution from a front-row seat.
When the US pulled out of China after the war, Sidney Rittenberg stayed behind with his dreams of contributing to the building of a new China. He remained in his adoptive country for 35 years.
In this longer than usual episode, we feature the three giants of the Jesuit China Mission of the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition to their work in introducing Catholicism to China, these three men, Matteo Ricci, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and Ferdinand Verbiest made a collective contribution to the scholarship of China that has not been matched to this day.
In this episode, we look at Wang Xizhi, a man of letters who achieved greatness during the Eastern Jin dynasty and is called China’s greatest calligrapher.
His life and achievements will be explored along with the significance of calligraphy in Chinese culture. We’ll also recall those crazy times in the fourth century AD.
Like Guan Yu in the previous episode 081, Yue Fei of the Southern Song Dynasty was a heroic and legendary military man in Chinese history. He dedicated his life to resisting the aggression of the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty.
The Jurchens had booted the Song dynasty out of northern China in 1127. Yue Fei dedicated his short life to win back those northern lands before falling victim to imperial court politics. And this helped to make him a legend.
We close out our three-part series on the amazing life of Admiral Zheng He and his seven voyages. This time the CHP looks at retired submarine commander Gavin Menzies and his take on what Zheng He achieved. He makes some wild claims that have been savagely attacked by educated people around the world.
If not for the fact that early Ming China was advanced enough to carry out these voyages, as Menzies said they happened, they’d be very hard to believe. The debate is far from closed on this subject.
We continue on with the voyages of Zheng He. This time we look at some of the highlights from all seven voyages. Then after the Yong Le and Xuan De emperors pass from the scene, no further emperors are interested to put their seal of approval on any more of these pricey expeditions.
With historic consequences, China’s focus turns to protection from the west and northwest of the country rather than engaging in diplomacy and further exploration of the seas and distant lands.
Laszlo is back after more than two weeks on the lam. This time we look at part 1 of a series featuring the great adventurer/explorer/diplomat Zheng He. Zheng He’s seven voyages to India, Persia, and the east coast of Africa created a big sensation in the early 15th century.
China, at this time, was the richest, most technologically advanced, and most powerful nation on the planet. Zheng He’s sponsor, the emperor Yong Le, was determined, through these voyages, to let the world see for itself all the splendor and richness of China.
We’re back in ancient days again, this time the short period in between the Qin and Han Dynasties when two great leaders, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, contended for the throne left vacant by the deceased first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang.
Xiang Yu has gone down in the annals of Chinese history as one of the most ferocious and greatest of generals and strategists. Between 206 and 202 BC Xiang Yu of Chu and Liu Bang, the King of Han, fought all over Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, and Shaanxi. To the victor of this Chu-Han Contention would go the future destiny of China.
In this final episode of the Cultural Revolution overview we look at the events that went down in 1976 as well as the massive mopping-up operation that took place after the fall of the Gang of Four.
In this week’s episode, we get all the way up to the end of 1975. With Zhou Enlai ailing and Mao Zedong also not long for the world, there is a sudden urgency to find a successor to the chairman. Now more than ever the two opposing camps take every measure to defeat the other.
To the victor will go the leadership of the Chinese nation. To the loser, there is a certain loss of power and perhaps of freedom. Everything is building up to the fateful year of 1976.
In this episode we finish off 1969, a year that not only saw internal revolt and anarchy but also saw armed border confrontation with the Soviet Union in the freezing northeast. Chairman Mao Zedong pulls out all the stops to quell the violence and rebellion that he himself called for at the outset of the Cultural Revolution.
Mao’s chosen successor, Lin Biao loses favor with The Great Helmsman. As China enters the 1970’s the Cultural Revolution, though tarnished, still has plenty of life left in it.
In the fifth installment of our China History Podcast overview of the Cultural Revolution we look at the milestone events of 1967: The February Countercurrent, 8 Point Program, 10 Point Program, and the Wuhan Incident. Lots of blood and violence during this difficult year in China. Added to this was no small amount of political, military, and social upheaval.
The second half of 1966 and into 1967 saw some of the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution. In this episode the violence spreads throughout China and anyone with something to hide about their class background is tracked down and forced to endure the most horrible of fates.
Mao is liking what he sees and keeps fanning the flames using all the tools at his disposal. Opportunists from the CCRG down to the meanest individuals with petty gievences all grab hold of this chance that the Cultural Revolution has given them to get back at their enemies.
Momentous and shocking events happen one after another, day after day. With the announcement of the 16 Points, now the Cultural Revolution has a purpose and guidelines to follow.
Today’s episode will show that Mao had anything except an orderly execution of this plan to transform China. He was going to shake up the whole nation, like a snow globe. Like with the Great Leap Forward, Mao meant well. But this whole idea went awry almost from the very start.
This week Laszlo takes us up to August 1966 with this Cultural Revolution overview. After a nine-month hiatus down in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan, Mao is now back in Beijing and ready to mount his attack on the party leadership and unleash the Cultural Revolution on the entire country.
By popular demand, Laszlo begins to trace the history of the Cultural Revolution. This week’s episode looks at the events leading up to the moment in 1966 when Mao called for the people to Bombard the Headquarters and to tear down the government.
Firstly, Laszlo apologizes in advance for the horrific pronunciation of all terms Hindi. This week the topic is the history behind Sino-Indian relations. This is an extremely emotive, complex, and sometimes incendiary topic, conveniently encapsulated in an easy-to-digest half-hour episode.
Known by many names, Guan Yu, Guan Gong, Guan Di, this great man of loyalty, integrity, and justice lived during the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
His oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei is the stuff of legends and remembered to this very day. Guan Yu was a historical person whose life was so admired, today he is considered a god. In today’s episode, we look at his life and his legend.
This week we look at a committed Communist Party leader who played an important role in steering China’s economy and financial system from 1949 to 1966 and during the Deng era. Like many other leaders of his generation, Shanxi-born Bo Yibo suffered terribly during the Cultural Revolution.
Today he is best remembered as one of the Eight Immortals or Party Elders who made up Deng Xiaoping’s “kitchen cabinet” during China’s go-go 80’s and 90’s.
This time we look at Missouri-born Carl Crow (1883-1945). Though pretty much forgotten today, Carl Crow lived an amazing life and was a prolific writer. From his front-row seats to many of the historic events in China between 1911-1937, Crow wrote many books about his observations and opinions.
In this farewell look at the Silk Road, we discuss a few more interesting things and then give the travels and adventures of Marco Polo a once over.
Another fortnight, another China History Podcast. We return to the Silk Road and focus our attention on the monk Xuanzang. His was an interesting life. Through looking at Xuanzang you can truly gain a sense of the importance of Buddhism in China, India and almost the entirety of Central Asia.
NOTE: This episode was produced PRIOR to President Xi's accession to the Head of the Party (and everything else). Xi Jinping left U.S. soil last night after taking in the Laker game at Staples Center. His visit this week went off without a hitch. Today we look at Xi Jinping’s life in the context of PRC history.
Laszlo’s back from Germany and after a long delay we pick up where we left off. In this episode we reacquaint ourselves with the background and early years of the Silk Road.
The Triads of Hong Kong have an interesting historical past that shaped their development throughout the years. Today we look at their origins and some of the more important historic events that made them the violent international criminal gangs they are today.
Now that we have Deng Xiaoping out of the way, we’re back looking at random topics throughout the ages. This week we look at the great Song Dynasty statesman and sage Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072). In this episode, we’ll review aspects of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and Ouyang Xiu’s place in this amazing age in Chinese history.
Today we conclude our eight-part overview of Dr. Ezra Vogel’s recent biography of Deng Xiaoping. In this installment, we focus on Deng’s dramatic and brilliant Southern Tour of January-February 1992.
After a holiday delay, Laszlo is back with the 7th and almost final episode of our overview of the life of Deng Xiaoping. In this episode we look at the meat and potatoes of the Reform years from 1979 to 1989.
In this sixth installment of the Deng Xiaoping overview, we focus on 1978-1979. In this episode we see Deng return to power a third time. Deng immediately throws all his energy into advancing the cause of modernization in China.
This week’s episode looks at the exciting events that all went down in 1976. Deng Xiaoping is on the defensive thanks to his 1975 policies to revive the nation. But a concatenation of events will happen to start on January 8 and ending on October 6 that will both bring Deng back and rock China.
After a bit of a delay, this week we look again at Deng Xiaoping and his struggles during the Cultural Revolution Years from 1966 to 1975. Seems we still have a long way to go yet. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for a possible new iTunes Feed for the China History Podcast.
Today in Part 3 of our Deng Xiaoping overview we look at The Great One’s life from 1952 after his return from the Southwest Bureau all the way up to the start of the Cultural Revolution.
This time we continue on with our overview of the great leader Deng Xiaoping. We pick up in 1937 with the invasion by Japan, the civil war, and the founding of the PRC. We examine Deng’s achievements all the way up to 1952, the year he left the Southwest Bureau and returned to Beijing.
Laszlo is happily back in Cali with a new episode that looks at the early years of Deng Xiaoping. Most of the narrative is based on passages gleaned from Ezra Vogel’s new biography of The Great One.
This time we take a look at four Westerners who committed their lives to the People’s Republic of China. These four foreigners, Agnes Smedley, Anna Louise Strong, George Hatem, and Israel Epstein were all friends of China and were admired by China’s leaders. Upon their deaths, they were given the honor of internment at China’s Babaoshan cemetery
Today we jump over much of the history of the 1940′s and zero in on the moment when the PRC was officially established on Oct 1, 1949. Today’s podcast episode offers a general overview of the first year of the PRC and some of the multitude of challenges Mao and China’s new leaders faced.
Before we head back to modern times, we look at the mythological beginnings of the Chinese people and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. This period preceded China’s legendary Xia Dynasty and the beginnings of Chinese recorded history in the Shang.
This week we look at the immortal Zhou Gong, the Duke of Zhou. If he isn’t the most revered person from Chinese history, he’s certainly in the top three. He guided the earliest years of the Zhou Dynasty through treacherous times.
This week’s episode runs a little long as there won’t be anything for the following week. Today’s episode looks at the life and interesting career of Sir Robert Hart (赫德), a Ulsterman from Northern Ireland. For most of his life, he lived in China in the employ of the Zongli Yamen.
Mid-Autumn Festival takes place every year on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar. This year that date falls on September 12. The Chinese world will be celebrating the holiday in very much the same way that generations have enjoyed going back to ancient times.
Thanks to RL in Hefei for the inspiration, this week we take a look at China and Japan’s difficult history. We focus on the historical events that led to “2,000 years of friendship and 50 years of confrontation,” as CPCCC member Zhao Qizheng 赵启正 said recently in the People’s Daily.
Today we’re back with more history. We look at the Shanghai Massacre of April 12, 1927. This was the defining moment when Chiang Kai-shek and his allies and supporters made a bloody break with the Communists.
The 1920′s in Republican-era China was anything but quiet and uneventful. In this episode, we focus on the general situation in China during the period of the early 1920′s. This was a time when the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and KMT (Kuomintang) were in the same bed dreaming their different dreams.
We close out our little overview of Daoism by looking at the most powerful and popular Daoist deities. In this episode you will meet the Three Pure Ones and the Eight Immortals with a focus on Lu Dongbin and Zhongli Quan.
More Daoism this week. We look at Zhuangzi and trace the development of Daoism during the classical age from the Han Dynasty to the Tang
In this week’s episode, Laszlo tackles Daoism, a philosophy, religion, and way of life that everyone has heard about but not everyone learned the backstory. This time we look at the history and the times that spawned this most fertile of philosophies.
Today we have some lighter fare than usual. Nine months ago we looked at one great Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ka-Shing. Today we look at another. In this episode, we look at the life and career of entertainment mogul Sir Run Run Shaw and the Shaw Brothers organization.
In this episode, Laszlo examines the origins of the CCP, also known as the Chinese Communist Party.
In this episode, we look at the life of one of the bravest and greatest adventurers of ancient times. Zhang Qian was selected by the Han Dynasty Emperor Wu to make a political alliance with a distant central Asian people, the Yuezhi. Zhang Qian’s thirteen-year journey to the west between 138 BC and 126.
May 4, 1919, was a historic day in modern Chinese history. The demonstration in Beijing and the subsequent movement brought seismic changes to Chinese culture, politics, and literature. All the leaders of modern China who played a founding role in the establishment of the PRC were influenced by the writings and ideas that grew out of this historic moment.
The Qing Dynasty formally came to an end on February 12, 1912, when the last emperor Puyi abdicated. That same year the Republic of China was founded and had a very rocky start. In today’s episode, we look at the immediate aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution.
In an effort to bring some understanding to the recently proposed call for a resolution to formally acknowledge and express regret for banning Chinese immigration and other violated rights of the Chinese settlers, we examine the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
In a special collectors edition of the China History Podcast, we review the Imperial China overviews of the past eight months.
In this episode, we conclude our eight-month overview of Chinese Imperial history from Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty to Puyi of the Qing. After more than half a century of tragedy, upheaval, national humiliation, and plenty of mass death and destruction, the Qing dynasty ends in 1912.
This week we look at China during the Tongzhi Era and part of the reign of Guangxu. This period from 1875 to 1895 is more of the same for China. More humiliation at the hands of foreigners. More scrambling to modernize. More imperial skullduggery. More military defeats.
We’re almost at the end of our Imperial China History Overview. In this segment of the China History Podcast, we look at the continued misfortunes in China during the Xianfeng era, as the country is torn apart by the Taiping and Nian rebellions and revolts in the west.
Here we begin the turbulent, bloody, and historically humiliating 19th century in China. The first half-century sees two emperors, Jiaqing and Daoguang stand by helplessly as China is torn apart by uprisings, anti-Manchu discontent, a financial crisis, opium addiction on a massive scale, foreign invasion, and the usual deadly floods and other natural disasters.
In this episode, we look at the bittersweet reign of the Qianlong emperor. The longest-reigning emperor in Chinese imperial history, the Qianlong era saw the most splendid three decades for the Manchu of the Qing Dynasty. China reached its greatest territorial extent and was still the marvel of the world.
In this episode, we examine the Yongzheng emperor, the second of the three great Qing emperors who reigned during the most golden of times for the Manchu dynasty. A tireless emperor who was a wizard at managing the machine of state, he reigned for only thirteen years before his son later brought the Qing dynasty to greater heights.
In this first episode covering the Qing Dynasty, we look at the Shunzhi emperor and his son, the Kangxi emperor. The 61-year reign of the Kangxi emperor was the longest in imperial Chinese history. The Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong eras saw the Qing dynasty reach its greatest heights and China was economically the wealthiest.
We finish off our overview of the Ming Dynasty in this episode and also trace the rise of the Manchu. The period from the Jiajing emperor to the tragic suicide of the Chongzhen emperor saw a slow and steady decline in the fortunes of the Ming dynasty.
In today’s episode, we look at Ming Dynasty China from the reigns of Xuande to Jiajing. This period in Chinese history was witnessing momentous changes. The dynasty suffers a terrible debacle in 1449. Portugal was becoming a regular visitor and sets up down in Macao. This was also a time when evil self-serving eunuchs spread
In this week’s episode we examine the second great emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Yongle [Yong - Leh] emperor who reigned 1402-1424. This tireless emperor waged campaigns against the Mongols in the north, the Vietnamese in the south and sent sailing expeditions throughout Asia, the subcontinent and the east coast of Africa.
Laszlo is back, finally, after a longer layoff than expected. This week we look at the end of the Yuan dynasty and the founding of the Ming Dynasty. We look at the first emperor Ming Taizu, a.k.a. The Hongwu Emperor.
This week we take a break from the history to look at the background and the traditions surrounding Chinese New Year. Laszlo will be back next time to pick up where we left off after the fall of the Song Dynasty. On behalf of everyone here at the China History Podcast, we wish everyone a Happy New Year!
In this week’s episode, Laszlo finishes off the Song Dynasty after the Jin Empire captures the royal family and sacks the capital in Kaifeng. The Song dynasty continues on with the new capital in the south of China, below the Yangzi River. Despite perilous times with hostile neighbors to the north, the dynasty enjoys continued success.
This week’s episode runs a little longer than usual. In it, we examine the Northern Song Dynasty from 960 to 1127. This was a precarious time for China. Despite three potentially menacing non-Han empires surrounding them to the north and west, China once again had another magnificent great leap forward of brilliance and innovation.
In today’s final installment covering the history of the great Tang Dynasty, we look at its agonizing decline until 907 when it is pushed aside and another period of disunity sets in, the Five Dynasties reign in the north, all short-lived and not spectacular by any means.
Laszlo is back after a holiday illness to continue where we left off in 705 with the passing of Wu Zetian. After an initial golden age during the Taizong emperor, the Tang will reach new heights of glory under Tang Minghuang a.k.a. the Xuanzong emperor.
As the Sui peters out, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, seizes power and establishes the Tang Dynasty in 618. Along with the Song, the Tang Dynasty is considered the pinnacle of China’s long history. In culture, art, poetry, painting, ceramics, science, navigation, diplomacy this was a golden age.
The demise of the Southern & Northern Dynasties brought us a China unified under the Sui emperors Wen and Yang. This ephemeral dynasty laid the groundwork for the splendor of the Tang dynasty. Lasting only 37 years, the Sui Dynasty doesn’t get the limelight enjoyed by the great dynasties such as the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming.
The Southern & Northern Dynasties were a collection of dynasties that lasted 170 years and preceded the time of unification under the Sui Dynasty. North of the Yangzi River you had the Northern Wei, the Northern Qi, and the Northern Zhou.
This week we are back with more Chinese history. We will look at a very confusing but exciting time when there was mostly a period of disunity and China was broken up into contending kingdoms. However this period of chaos brought us some of the richest tales of ancient China filled with amazing battles, events continue reading >>
In this final installment of the Han Dynasty overview, we look at the reign of Wang Mang during the short-lived Xin Dynasty and the Eastern (or Later) Han Dynasty that followed. The Eastern Han was a period of endless skullduggery at the imperial court where the palace eunuchs rose to power and meddled endlessly.
Today we present the second part of the Western Han Dynasty overview where we will look at the great Han emperors Wendi, Jingdi, and perhaps the greatest of them all, Han Wudi. It was a golden age in Chinese history and saw the first indirect contact between the Roman Empire in the west and Han.
In this week’s episode, we look at only the first few decades of the Western Han Dynasty. The Western Han lasted from 202BC to 8AD. We’ll focus on the fall of the Qin and the rise of Liu Bang who went on to found the Han Dynasty. Liu Bang would reign as Emperor Gaozu.
In this episode, we look at the second phase of the Zhou Dynasty. This period was known as the Eastern Zhou. The Eastern Zhou was broken down between the Spring & Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which lasted from 770 to 221BC.
Today we take a 走马看花 look at the 790 year Zhou Dynasty, the longest dynasty in Chinese history. In this episode we will particularly focus on the Western Zhou Period which lasted for 275 years. Next week we will finish the Zhou Dynasty by examining the Eastern Zhou Period.
This week in part two of our dynasty overview, we examine the Shang Dynasty from 1600 BC to 1046 BC. Chinese characters make their appearance for the first time. Artisans cast the most beautiful bronzes. Because of the discovery of archaeological evidence, many consider this China’s first real dynasty.
In this episode, we commence our Chinese imperial dynasty overview. It begins today with the Xia Dynasty 夏朝代. According to historiographer Sima Qian, this was the first dynasty of China. Its origins and its demise and everything in between have all come from sources written many centuries later.
Li Ka-shing is a Hong Kong billionaire tycoon who has played a great role in not only Hong Kong’s prosperity but in China’s as well. He is respected not only for his achievements in business and industry but also for his rise from humble beginnings in Chaozhou, China.
Kang Sheng was a sinister character from modern Chinese history who was both Chairman Mao’s close confidant and creator of China’s Secret Police.
This week we look at the Tang dynasty Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman from Chinese history to rule China as an emperor in her own name.
In this week’s episode, we give an overview of the First Opium War, one of the most humiliating events in modern Chinese history. From this event that culminated in the first of many unequal treaties in 1842, China began a steady downhill slide and suffered a multitude of setbacks and insults from foreign powers eager to capitalize on this conflict.
The Great Leap Forward ( 大跃进) from 1958-1960 caused death and suffering to dozens of millions of people. It sounded like a workable idea but it didn’t turn out like Chairman Mao hoped. When looking back on the life of Mao Zedong, the Great Leap Forward is always viewed as a black mark against his legacy.
Today we look at the Four Great Inventions, the 四大发明, that Lord Francis Bacon hailed as having done more than anything else to transform completely the modern world and mark it off from antiquity and the Middle Ages. The four great inventions were the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing, each important in their own unique way.
A warm welcome to everyone across the world and thank you for listening to the introductory episode of the China History Podcast. Each week we will bring you a different topic taken from the annals of 5,000 years of Chinese history. We’ll look at the dynasties, historical persons, ancient history, modern history and everything in continue reading >>
