Podcast Episodes
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Episode 88
In 1728, Emperor Yongzheng complained that he couldn't understand officials hailing from the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, where they spoke, res…
3 years, 5 months ago
Sun Yunxuan
Episode 87
How did Taiwan, a small island off the Chinese coast, become by far the most dominant player in the global semiconductor industry? How did a place th…
3 years, 5 months ago
Deterrence Through Cleverness
Episode 86
Deterrence theory is well known in political science and particularly popular during the Cold War.
In the annals of Chinese history, we find examples …
3 years, 5 months ago
The Philosopher, the Carpenter, and Wargames
Episode 85
During the Warring States era, when the genius inventor Lu Ban designs a new siege weapon for the Kingdom of Chu, the king decides to attack the much…
3 years, 6 months ago
The Seven Military Classics
Episode 84
Everyone has heard of Sunzi's "The Art of War." But did you know that it is only one of many treatises on warfare from ancient China?
In fact, Sunzi's…
3 years, 6 months ago
Lin Yutang
Episode 83
In the middle of the 20th century, one Chinese writer began publishing books in English.
It was a truly unusual thing, given that proportionally a lot…
3 years, 6 months ago
Ban Chao
Episode 82
Ban Chao, "the Marquis Who Pacified Faraway Lands," remains a household name today among the Chinese. And he endowed the Chinese language with more t…
3 years, 6 months ago
Battle of Talas
Episode 81
In 751 A.D., the forces of Tang China, led by a Korean general, met a distant foe on a battlefield in what is now Kyrgyzstan: the Muslims of the Abba…
3 years, 7 months ago
Yung Wing
Episode 80
The first Chinese national to graduate from a U.S. university lived a life that was full of disappointments. At the time, Yung Wing was perhaps simpl…
3 years, 7 months ago
The Thousand-Character Essay
Episode 79
The story of the "Thousand-Character Essay," composed in the early 6th century with 1,000 distinct Chinese characters, never repeating a single one. …
3 years, 7 months ago