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PODCAST

The History of China Podcast

An audio journey through the 5000 year history of one of the world"s oldest continuous civilizations.

history

All Episodes

00:37:30

#324 - Taiping 1: The Second Son of God

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/04/07

Even in the fallout of the Opium War, dreams endure—but what happens to a dream deferred?In Canton, one young man’s starry-eyed visions of success run headlong into the brutal wall of the Imperial Examination system. And when that dream finally shatters, it neither dries up, nor festers.... it explodes into prophetic visions so awesome and so terrible that they will shake the very foundations of Heaven itself. Time Period Covered: 1827 – 1844 Major Historical Figures: The Daoguang Emperor

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00:42:00

#323 - Opium War 8_ Perfect Equality

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/03/27

The war is over. The treaty is signed, sealed, & delivered. Yet though the smoke has cleared, the haze of uncertainty over what - exactly - just happened... lingers on. And that misunderstanding will echo for the next century. While Qiying writes love letters to Pottinger and the opium clippers resume business at anchorages just outside the new treaty ports, the machine set in motion by the Treaty of Nanjing is only just beginning to roll out.Time Period Covered: Aug. 1842 - c. 1860 Major

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00:45:29

#322 - Opium War 7: The Throat of the Empire

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/03/19

The new envoy from London arrives at Qing's doorstep in August 1842 with a simple mandate: stop allowing Britain to be "humbugged" & finish the war Elliot started. What follows is the British Empire at its most efficient & brutal... and a treaty that, somehow, doesn't mention opium once...Time Period Covered: Aug. 1841–Aug. 1842 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850] Yijing, Imperial Commander [1793–1853] Qiying, Imperial Commissioner

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00:35:38

#321 - Opium War 6: Imperial Ouroboros

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/03/10

The Ransom of Canton.The lame-duck Superintendent watches helplessly as a triumvirate of Qing officials arrives to reverse every compromise his predecessor had wrought... & promptly launches the most ambitious Chinese military operation of the entire war. In the midst of that rain-soaked battlefield, a brief skirmish between British soldiers and peasant militiamen plants the seed of a legend that will haunt Chinese politics for the next century. Time Period Covered: Feb. 1841–Oct. 1841 Major

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00:43:31

#320 - Opium War 5: Bayonets In the Dragon's Teeth

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/02/22

Britain carries the Opium War to Beijing's unready doorstep with steam and iron, moving the crisis from the border frontiers to the heart of the imperial court itself. As imperial defenses strain and diplomacy replaces defiance, the two empires probe each other’s resolve — and discover that both of their understandings of the other have been built on little more than smoke.Time Period Covered: July 1840 – March 1841 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro

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00:39:54

#319 - Opium War 4: Peddling the Drug Peddlers' War

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/02/22

Britain and China both saw the opium crisis clearly enough to know it would end in disaster. Each believed it understood the situation, and the other, well enough to keep events from spinning out of control. And yet... it happened anyway. Time Period Covered: Late 1839 – April 1840 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850] Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of Huguang [1785–1850] The British Empire: Queen Victoria [r

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00:55:21

#318 - Opium War 3: Up In Smoke

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/02/01

Lin Zexu believed moral clarity and the largest drug bust in history could end the opium crisis and avert war. Yet, as his solution drained into Humen Bay, so too did the last hope of peace between China and Britain.Time Period Covered: 1836–June 1839 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850] Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of Huguang [1785–1850] Deng Tingzhen, Governor-General of Liangguang [1776–1846] Huang Juezi,

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00:40:34

#317 - Opium War 2_ Laboriously Vile Barbarian Eye

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/01/18

In 1834, Britain sent a man to China almost perfectly unsuited to the job... only to forbid him from actually doing it. William John Napier, naval officer, socialite, & dilettante with no experience in diplomacy, trade, or China, arrived at Canton convinced he was destined to break open the Qing Empire by force of his will alone. But he would not get quite the war he wanted. Nor the recognition he imagined. Nor the vindication he believed history owed him. Which is not to say he got nothing at

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00:42:29

#316 - Opium War 1: Chasing the Dragon

The History of China Podcast ·

2026/01/10

In this empire business, you gotta make the opium first. Then when you get the opium, you get the silver. Then when you get the silver, then you get the tea.Time Period Covered: ca. 1760-1839 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: The Daoguang Emperor (Minning) [r. 1820–1850] Governor-General of Liangguang, Ruan Yuan [1764–1849] "The Hoppo" (Imperial Superintendent of Maritime Customs), The emperor’s personal revenue agent at Canton Chinese Commercial Interests: "The Cohong" (Gonghang), the

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00:39:02

#315 - Qing 46: Tripping Toward Taiping - Tribes,...

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/12/29

Great Qing begins to buckle under early 19th c. internal pressures. Unrest first erupts not at the imperial core but along its social and geographic margins. This time, we look at three of the early warning shocks: the Miao frontier rebellions, the rise of Triad networks across the southern coastal cities, & the formation of the apocalyptic White Lotus uprising.Time Period Covered: ~1790s-1840s CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: Fu Nai, Qing magistrate Heshen, grand councilor under the

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00:35:38

#314 - Qing 45: The Big Squeeze

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/12/15

The Qing Empire did not collapse because it stopped working. It collapsed because it kept working — just barely — under pressures that compounded faster than reform could relieve them...Time Period Covered: ~1790s-1840s CE Major Works Cited: Jones, Susan Mann and Philip A. Kuhn. “Dynastic Decline and the Roots of Rebellion.” The Cambridge History of China, vol. 10: Late Ch’ing, 1800–1911, Part I Kuhn, Philip A. Rebellion and Its Enemies in Late Imperial China: Militarization and Social

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00:33:46

#311 - Qing 42_ Charting the Collision Course

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/11/11

The 19th Century is going to be exceedingly rough on Qing China. So, before we venture down into the chasm that is the "Chinese Century of Humiliation's" opening salvos, let's assess where we - and the Empire - sit as of 1810...

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00:42:49

310 - Strange Tales X.2: An Unseen Balance

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/10/30

Back with pt. 2 of autumnal fictions of the spine-tingling variety. This time largely from (where else) Pu Songling, as well as several shorter entries from the Zibuyu.00:01:15 - Friendship Beyond the Grave 00:10:25 - Karmic Debts 00:12:30 - Spiritual Man Luo Catches the Wrong Demon 00:16:39 - The Human Prawn 00:18:37 - The Hairy People of Qin 00:21:01 - The Magic Sword

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00:32:27

309 - Strange Tales X.1: Fateful Encounters

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/10/22

00:02:09 - "The Scholar & the Headless Ghost" True music fans come in all types. 00:05:37 - "Magical Arts" Let the buyer beware... but sometimes the non-buyer, too! 00:12:37 - "Ruby Jade" Nobody knows you when you're down & out... 00:27:00 - "Examination for the Post of Guardian Angel" The job offer of a lifetime!

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00:44:21

#308 - Zheng Yi Sao, Pt. 2: Into the Tiger's Mouth

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/10/14

The Pirate Queen’s Red Flag Fleet reigns supreme, but a three-way battle at Tiger’s Mouth tests even her grip on the seas.Time Period Covered: 1807-1844 CE Major Historical Figures: Red Flag Fleet: Zheng Yi Sao (AKA Ching Shih, née Shi Yang), Co-Commander of the Red Flag Confederation [1775-1844] Zhang Baozai, Co-Commander of the Red Flag Fleet, later Qing Navy colonel [1783-1822] Guo Podai, Commander of the Black Flag Fleet [178?-181?] Qing Empire: The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan)

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00:50:48

#307 - Zheng Yi Sao, Pt. 1_ Murders & Acquisitions,...

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/09/25

天高皇帝远"Heaven Is Vast & the Emperor is Far Away" On the far side of the realm from th celestial halls of shining Beijing, an outcast girl born on the fringes of society will scrabble to survive amidt the coastal chaos of the end of the 18th Century. With little more than her looks and wits, she'll have to outwit & outplay freebooter, bandit, and official alike if she is ever going to rise above her station on the boats of Guangdong harbor. Time Period Covered: ca. 1775-1807 CE Major Historical

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00:33:10

#305- Qing 40_ Heshen Must Die!

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/09/07

For nearly a quarter century, Heshen served the Qing Empire - and in the process managed to amass a fortune that nearly rivaled the throne itself. Yet with the death of his patron Qianlong, the one-favored Grand Councilor would find his remaining state tenure as short as the length of silk ultimately left in his cell.Time Period Covered: 1799-1800 CE Major Historical Figures: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796, d. 1799] The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan) [r

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00:18:45

Special 2: To George, From Qianlong...

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/08/31

"O King of Wherever, New Throne Who Dis?" 0:00:00 - Edict of Emperor Qianlong to King George III, 1793 0:06:34 - The Second Edict to George III (in reply to Macartney's note)

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00:13:09

Special 1: To Qianlong, From George...

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/08/31

"Dear Emperor of China, will you be my friend? Check Yes or No..." 0:00:00 - Letter of Credence from King George III to Emperor Qianlong, 1793 CE 0:10:20 - Author's note 0:11:44 - Lord Macartney's Sixfold Proposals for the Improvement of Trade

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00:39:58

#302 - Qing 37: Palace of Mirrors

The History of China Podcast ·

2025/08/31

Qianlong's empire shines as a beacon of both martial might and cultural splendor, yet its mirrored glory hides truths too fragile for celestial ambitions. Time Period Covered: ~1770-1799CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796, d. 1799] Grand Councillor Heshen [1750-1799] Great Britain: Lord George Macartney (1737-1806) Major Sources Cited: Bland, J.O.P. and Lord Edmund Backhouse. Annals and Memoirs of the Court at Peking. Fairbank, John

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258 results

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