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PODCAST

The History of China

A journey through the 5000 years of history documented by one of the world"s oldest continuous civilizations. For all the episodes for free, as well as additional content, please subscribe and/or visit http://thehistoryofchina.wordpress.com.

history

All Episodes

40:37

Intelligent Speech 2026 - Nemesis, Mine

The History of China ·

2026/03/31

TheKangxi Emperor’s Obsessive Pursuit ofGaldan Khanto the Endsof the EarthPresented: 02/28/2026audio-only cut (this is from my mic pick-up, so the host's audio is low... apologies... I'll replace it with a better final version once it's released!)~20:00 - presentation~20:00 - audience Q&A Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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43:45

#323 - Opium War 8: Perfect Equality

The History of China ·

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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47:14

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

The History of China ·

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. 1842Major 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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37:23

#321 - Opium War 6: Imperial Ouroboros

The History of China ·

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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45:16

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

The History of China ·

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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36:56

Re'cast: #11 - Special: Gong Xi Fa Cai! (OG: 2014)

The History of China ·

2026/02/20

It's been 12 years since this initially was 'casted out - which means that the Year of the Horse is back, baby! Now it's the Fire Horse, but Happy Happy to Everyone!马年快乐! 🔥🐎🧧 This Episode, we take a time-out from the historical flow to take advantage of the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. We explore the history, legends, customs, and meaning behind this ancient and storied period of celebration. Happy Year of the Yang Wood Horse! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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41:39

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

The History of China ·

2026/02/09

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 1840Major 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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57:06

#318 - Opium War 3: Up In Smoke

The History of China ·

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 1839Major 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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17:49

To: Queen Victoria, From: Lin Zexu (1839)

The History of China ·

2026/01/31

Letter to the queen of England, from the high Imperial Commissioner Lin, and his colleagues. From the Canton press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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42:19

#317 - Opium War 2: Laboriously Vile Barbarian Eye

The History of China ·

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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44:14

#316 - Opium War 1: Chasing the Dragon

The History of China ·

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 CEMajor 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 CantonChinese Commercial Interests:"The Cohong" (Gonghang), the licensed

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40:47

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

The History of China ·

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 CEMajor Historical Figures:Qing Empire:Fu Nai, Qing magistrateHeshen, grand councilor under the Qianlong

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37:23

#314 - Qing 45: The Big Squeeze

The History of China ·

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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57:42

#313 - Qing 44: Frontiers, Pt. 2: The Vastness...

The History of China ·

2025/12/04

From the koan chants of monasteries tucked between Himalayan peaks, to wending caravan paths stretching endlessly across the arid expanses of the Taklamakan & trackless steppes of Dzungaria, we finish out our look at the four primary frontier regions of the Qing Empire as of 1800, where they'd come from, how they were operated, & the imperial tonnage of headaches for Beijing that came with both.Tibet - 00:01:21Xinjiang - 00:22:08Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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51:26

#312 - Qing 42: Frontiers, Pt. 1: The Vastness...

The History of China ·

2025/11/27

The world is coming to Qing's doorstep, but it has a whole other set of problems along its own frontiers...Less chronologically tied-down than most of our episodes, today we look at two of the Qing Empire's four major "inner frontier zones" and how they - in spite of often getting upstaged by the "flashier" elements of the 1800s & Qings clashes with the wider world, many have played an even larger part in its imperial decay than the British East India Co. could've ever hoped to achieve. We start

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35:31

#311 - Qing 42: Charting the Collision Course

The History of China ·

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 Humuliation's" opening salvos, let's assess where we - and the Empire - sit as of 1810...Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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44:34

#310 - Strange Tales X.2: An Unseen Balance

The History of China ·

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 Grave00:10:25 - Karmic Debts00:12:30 - Spiritual Man Luo Catches the Wrong Demon00:16:39 - The Human Prawn00:18:37 - The Hairy People of Qin00:21:01 - The Magic SwordLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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34:12

309 - Strange Tales X.1: Fateful Encounters

The History of China ·

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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46:06

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

The History of China ·

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

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13:37

Special - Mid-Autumn: Fly Me to the Moon

The History of China ·

2025/10/07

A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang’e & the MoonIn other words, please be trueIn other words, I love you. Sources:Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi’” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology. (initially broadcast in 2022) Learn more about your ad choices

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