Podcast Episodes

Afghanistan: a Threnody

Episode 18

When you've been to a place personally, then that place is no longer theoretical, no longer just an abstract idea that you may hear people mention on…

4 years, 9 months ago

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The Anshi Rebellion, 755 A.D.

Episode 17

Troubling news on the climate front keeps on coming, which makes me think of the Anshi Rebellion. Begun in 755 A.D., the uprising led by An Lushan an…

4 years, 9 months ago

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The Legend of Mulan

Episode 16

Thanks to Hollywood, many of us around the world grew up with the tale of Mulan, and recently a new version by Disney has introduced it to a new gene…

4 years, 9 months ago

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What's So Great About the Great Wall?

Episode 15

The Chinese never called it "great" and still don't. In large part, it was the foreigners who taught the Chinese to elevate the Wall to a national sy…

4 years, 9 months ago

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The Rise of the Han Dynasty

Episode 14

"Even if only three households remain in the Kingdom of Chu, the Chu will still prove to be the death of the Qin." This was the prophecy circulating …

4 years, 10 months ago

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Qin Shi Huang: the End

Episode 13

Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor, did a lot of stuff. He burned books he didn't like and buried their authors alive. He ordered the construction of t…

4 years, 10 months ago

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Jing Ke: The Most Famous Assassin in Chinese History

Episode 12

As the soon-to-be Qin Shi Huang or First Emperor stood on the verge of total conquest of the Six Kingdoms, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Yan mad…

4 years, 10 months ago

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Qin Shi Huang: the Early Years

Episode 11

Today the Chinese Communist Party celebrated the centennial of its own founding. The CCP nowadays often identifies itself with Qin Shi Huang, the Fir…

4 years, 10 months ago

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The Boxer Rebellion, a.k.a. the Invasion of the Eight Allied Nations

Episode 10

To paraphrase a couple of Avengers: You and I remember Beijing very differently. 

Around 1900, a group of kung fu practitioners in China who came to b…

4 years, 10 months ago

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Erotic Fiction in Ancient China

Episode 9

Sex! One of the greatest works of fiction in Chinese literature, "The Plum in the Golden Vase," is also one of the most risqué. We discuss this Ming …

4 years, 10 months ago

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