Podcast Episodes

Xu Xiake, Traveler

Episode 188

The greatest travel writer in Chinese tradition, the late-Ming figure Xu Xiake.

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1 year, 6 months ago

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Guan Hanqing and the Story of Dou E

Episode 187

Regarding the great Yuan Dynasty playwright and his most famous play.

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1 year, 6 months ago

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Du You and Du Mu, Grandpa and Grandson

Episode 186

Regarding the historian of institutions Du You and his grandson, the poet Du Mu.

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1 year, 6 months ago

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The Cat, the Prince, and the Empress: Empress Liu of Song

Episode 185

The legend of "a dead cat for a prince" and the true story of the career of Empress Dowager Liu of the Song Dynasty.

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1 year, 7 months ago

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Zhu Xi: the Neo-Confucian

Episode 184

On the great Song Dynasty philosopher who redefined Confucian thought.

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1 year, 7 months ago

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Zhang Xuecheng, Historian

Episode 183

Regarding the major Qing Dynasty historian Zhang Xuecheng (1738-1801).

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1 year, 7 months ago

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Robber Zhi from Zhuangzi

Episode 182

A chapter in the Daoist text Zhuangzi that launches a sustained attack on Confucianism, through the mouth of a notorious criminal.

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1 year, 7 months ago

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Huang Zongxi and "Waiting for Dawn": Chinese Democratic Theory

Episode 181

One of the most influential thinkers -- and his most influential work -- in the history of Chinese democratic thought.

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1 year, 8 months ago

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King Li of Zhou and the "Republic" of 841 B.C.

Episode 180

Until the advent of modern scholarship, the earliest definitive date in the chronology of Chinese history was 841 B.C. What happened that year that s…

1 year, 8 months ago

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Zhang Zhongjing, Physician

Episode 179

Regarding the Han Dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing.

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1 year, 8 months ago

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