The China History Podcast

02:14:49

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 6

The China History Podcast ·

2026/09/30

After centuries of division, how did China find its way back to unity? Part 6 follows the Northern and Southern Dynasties through an age of political upheaval, cultural transformation, and the flourishing of Buddhism. In Part 6, we'll also explore how the Xianbei 鲜卑 rulers of Northern Wei 北魏 blended steppe traditions with Chinese institutions, while the southern courts nurtured literature and religious scholarship amid palace intrigue and dynastic collapse.From the reforms of Empress Dowager Feng

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02:06:06

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 5

The China History Podcast ·

2026/09/23

From the flames of Red Cliffs to the turmoil of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Part 5 follows China through an age of legendary heroes, fragile reunification, and renewed division. The episode explores the struggles of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, the strategies and enduring legends of Zhuge Liang, and the rise of the Sima family that brought the Three Kingdoms to an end.But reunification under the Jin dynasty proves short-lived. Palace intrigue and the War of the Eight Princes plunge the empire into

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02:09:35

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 4

The China History Podcast ·

2026/09/16

Thanks for sticking with the program. Twenty-one more episodes to go till the end of the series. This time in part 4, we pick up with the aftermath of Liu Bang's passing in 195BC. This includes the infamous story of Empress Lü. Also covered will be the peak years of the Western Han under Emperors Wen and Jing. There's also an interlude that examines the long life of Zhao Tuo and his Nanyue Kingdom in the south. Then, the life and times of one of China's great emperors, Han Wudi, will be presented

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02:04:47

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 3

The China History Podcast ·

2026/09/09

I hope you’re all enjoying the series so far. We continue on in Part 3 with the Warring State of Qín under their bellicose and long-reigning King Zhaoxiang 秦昭襄王 using all the powerful tools at his disposal to overcome the rival kingdoms. This will be followed by the old family favorite story of the dubious rise of Ying Zheng 嬴政 and the matter of his paternity. All your old favorites from the Records of the Grand Historian will play their bit parts in the historical drama: Lǚ Bùwéi 吕不韦, Zhào Jī 赵姬,

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02:01:29

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 2

The China History Podcast ·

2026/09/02

We’re still in ancient times, picking up from last episode, where we ended with the fall of the Shang. Part 2 will cover the rise of the Ji Clan and the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. We’ll look at the Zhou up through the Spring and Autumn period and a little of the Warring States, up to about 300-400 BC. The rise of the Qin State will also be introduced. The Warring States period will continue on in Part 3, and I’ll take that up to the milestone year of 221 BC. Here's a listing of all Chinese names

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02:09:59

A Concise History of China-Pangu to Puyi - Part 1

The China History Podcast ·

2026/08/26

Sorry to everyone for making you wait this long. Welcome to the inaugural episode of this series, which will offer you a concise overview of Chinese history from mythical times to the time of the last emperor of the last imperial dynasty. We’ll start off with the traditional stories surrounding the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors 三皇五帝 and cover the Xia 夏 and Shang 商 dynasties. The amazing story of the Oracle Bones will also be presented, and how this marked the beginning of recorded Chinese

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05:06

One more word from Laszlo

The China History Podcast ·

2026/08/20

Hi Everyone, the CHP will be returning next week. Here's a brief announcement concerning what to expect for the next several months.

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03:05

A word from Laszlo

The China History Podcast ·

2026/05/07

Nothing to see here. Just a quick announcement on the latest from the CHP. Thanks for your patience. Lots of new stuff coming soon. The CHP Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/

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01:10:40

This Was Funnier in China | Laszlo and Jesse Appell

The China History Podcast ·

2026/02/04

I drove downtown not too long ago to meet with Jesse Appell to talk about his first book, "This was funnier in China" https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Was-Funnier-in-China/Jesse-Appell/9781668087565 Jesse's been performing stand-up comedy and Xiangsheng 相声 for years now. When he isn't engaging in this profession, he's managing and promoting his global tea company, Jesse's Teahouse https://jessesteahouse.com/en-us. This book tells the story of Jesse's experiences engaging with the PRC and

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34:29

Ep. 371 | Choie Sew Hoy and the Sinking of the S.S....

The China History Podcast ·

2026/01/28

I had the idea for this episode sometime during mid-summer 2025. Then I became distracted by the big project I'm working on now, then the holidays, sick cats, and the random hassles of life. This one's only 34 minutes long. My deepest apologies for all the mispronunciations of Maori names. This is the story of Choie Sew Hoy 徐肇开 and the times he lived in during the 19th-century Chinese immigrant scene in New Zealand. There was a lot more going on in the history of Chinese New Zealanders. This story

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38:33

Ep. 370 | The Looting of the Eastern Tombs

The China History Podcast ·

2025/12/18

This one is more entertaining than anything. Mr. Andrew Shaw mentioned this looting of the eastern Qing Tombs event when I interviewed him earlier in the year. If you recall, he wrote that book called "Spoil." This time, I'm focusing on the events that went down in July 1928 at the Qing Eastern Tombs 清东陵 northeast of Beijing. This all took place in the final moments of the Warlord Era, right after the Central Plains War. This act perpetrated by warlord Sun Dianying 孙殿英 epitomized the venality of

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12:40

A Useful Chengyu - Hébù Shí Ròumí 何不食肉糜

The China History Podcast ·

2025/11/09

This morning, in between recording sessions, I checked out what was headlining on Drudge. And right there was the leading story, "Let Them Eat Steak." You can imagine what the piece was about. This made me think, what a perfect time to post this Chinese Saying podcast episode. I released this one on Patreon and CHP Premium a while back. It's more or less the Chinese version of this Drudge headline. I know, I know, a lot of you, because you don't speak Chinese, despite how you feel about me, never

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41:18

WWII Pacific Atrocities | Quin Cho and the Kwantung Army

The China History Podcast ·

2025/11/05

In early 2025, I was approached by Jenny Chan at pacificatrocities.org about interviewing one of their experts in an upcoming CHP episode. I had a nice interview with Quin Cho, born in my hometown of Chicago. Those who lament that the young generation of today doesn't bother to learn history, here is some relief. When I saw him, I was surprised to see how young Quin was and how much enthusiasm and interest he has for this topic. It's refreshing to hear all this old history we're all familiar with

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40:41

Ep. 369 | Chenxiang, Pound for Pound, Costs More than...

The China History Podcast ·

2025/10/23

Here's something a little different from the usual CHP fare. It concerns a natural substance that's not too well-known outside of Asia, mainly because it's so dang expensive! Chénxiāng 沉香 or Agarwood as it's also known, grows inside the heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees. Chenxiang has a few interesting things about it and is often mentioned in Chinese literature. This episode includes a bunch of poems and a couple of chengyu's that all contain references to chénxiāng. While I was on the subject,

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51:14

Ep. 368 | Wang Jingwei

The China History Podcast ·

2025/10/01

Hi Everyone, just coming up for air. This is actually one of the several new episodes that have been available on Patreon and CHP Premium since July, three months ago. This is a brief overview of the life and times of Wang Jingwei, the 中国头号大汉奸. Strong words. Why is he so despised? What drove him to make the decisions he did that forever branded him as a traitor to the Chinese people? He's another figure from those early ROC years that everyone has heard of but perhaps not so sure of the role he

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39:58

Introducing The Chinatown Sting: Lucky Bird

The China History Podcast ·

2025/09/23

Here’s a preview of a new podcast, The Chinatown Sting, from our friends at Pushkin Industries. In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan’s Chinatown were caught in a massive undercover drug bust. But this bust was just the beginning of an even bigger case. Host Lidia Jean Kott and co-reporter Shuyu Wang interview sources who’ve never spoken on record before, including witnesses, defendants, and federal prosecutors, to reconstruct a case that still has

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28:46

Ep. 369 | The Unsung Chinese Heroes of D-Day

The China History Podcast ·

2025/08/05

Here's another quickie for you, only a half hour long. It seems not only are the portions at fast-food chains shrinking, so are the CHP episodes. Thanks to a team of amateur historians, WWII enthusiasts, and survivors, this interesting tale can now be told. It concerns a forgotten man named Mr. Lam Ping Yu 林炳堯, who left behind a WWII diary from 1944 that was rediscovered by chance in 2015. I hope you'll enjoy this story. For more info, you can visit the website: https://www.dday.hk/. Thanks to Mr

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58:44

Ep. 366 | The Guangxi Massacre

The China History Podcast ·

2025/06/12

This is a rather long episode, running at just about one hour. The Guangxi Massacre is one of those dark chapters from the Cultural Revolution. Down in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, it was particularly dark. I was listening to Stanford Professor of Anthropology Andrew G. Walder on the New Books Network discussing his 2023 book covering this topic. That gave me the initial inspiration. Dr. Walder's book and a few others are very disturbing to read. I didn't dwell on some of the more gory

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36:57

Ep. 365 | Anson Burlingame, the 1868 Treaty, and the...

The China History Podcast ·

2025/05/28

In this episode, we look at the life of Anson Burlingame, a well-known name in California. During Lincoln's term as president, he was appointed Chief Minister to China, arriving in Beijing in the summer of 1862. Already well-known in the US as a fiery abolitionist and a man who believed everyone should be treated fairly and with all due respect, he sympathized with the Chinese government. When he arrived in post-Opium Wars, post-Treaty of Tianjin/Convention of Beijing China, he used his respected

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38:30

Ep. 364 | Wade and Giles

The China History Podcast ·

2025/05/14

Here's a nice little standalone episode on the life and work of Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles. And you can't mention Herbert Giles without mentioning his son, Lionel Giles. And of course, Robert Morrison must be mentioned as well as all the earliest Western scholars of Sinology going back to Michele Ruggieri. And it wouldn't be fair to only talk about Wade and the two Giles's without giving a nod to their contemporaries elsewhere on the continent and in Asia. So this is a slightly meandering survey

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