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Innhold levert av William Han. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av William Han eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
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Squid Game: The Official Podcast
Squid Game is back, and so is Player 456. In the gripping Season 2 premiere, Player 456 returns with a vengeance, leading a covert manhunt for the Recruiter. Hosts Phil Yu and Kiera Please dive into Gi-hun’s transformation from victim to vigilante, the Recruiter’s twisted philosophy on fairness, and the dark experiments that continue to haunt the Squid Game. Plus, we touch on the new characters, the enduring trauma of old ones, and Phil and Kiera go head-to-head in a game of Ddakjji. Finally, our resident mortician, Lauren Bowser is back to drop more truth bombs on all things death. SPOILER ALERT! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 2 Episode 1 before listening on. Let the new games begin! IG - @SquidGameNetflix X (f.k.a. Twitter) - @SquidGame Check out more from Phil Yu @angryasianman , Kiera Please @kieraplease and Lauren Bowser @thebitchinmortician on IG Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts . Squid Game: The Official Podcast is produced by Netflix and The Mash-Up Americans.…
Wei Yuan, Geographer
Manage episode 457597360 series 3403039
Innhold levert av William Han. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av William Han eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
Wei Yuan, the 19th century mandarin and geographer who taught the Chinese to open their eyes to the outside world.
199 episoder
Manage episode 457597360 series 3403039
Innhold levert av William Han. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av William Han eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
Wei Yuan, the 19th century mandarin and geographer who taught the Chinese to open their eyes to the outside world.
199 episoder
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Chinese equivalent of the prophecies of Nostradamus. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the late-Qing businessman and reformist thinker. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Song Dynasty statesman -- and my ancestor -- Han Qi. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Tang Dynasty mandarin and calligrapher. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Wei Yuan, the 19th century mandarin and geographer who taught the Chinese to open their eyes to the outside world. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms figure Qian Liu and his "iron scroll." Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the great 5th century mathematician, astronomer, and engineer. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Han Dynasty policy advisor, party-pooper, and scapegoat. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
About the Jin Dynasty alchemist and author Ge Hong and the text he left us, Baopuzi, which teaches us the way to immortality. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
About one of the most famous disciples of Confucius, the man of action Zilu Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Wang Bo and the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng 17:25
17:25
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17:25Regarding the Tang Dynasty writer and his most famous essay. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The greatest travel writer in Chinese tradition, the late-Ming figure Xu Xiake. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the great Yuan Dynasty playwright and his most famous play. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the historian of institutions Du You and his grandson, the poet Du Mu. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Cat, the Prince, and the Empress: Empress Liu of Song 23:01
23:01
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23:01The legend of "a dead cat for a prince" and the true story of the career of Empress Dowager Liu of the Song Dynasty. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On the great Song Dynasty philosopher who redefined Confucian thought. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the major Qing Dynasty historian Zhang Xuecheng (1738-1801). Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A chapter in the Daoist text Zhuangzi that launches a sustained attack on Confucianism, through the mouth of a notorious criminal. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Huang Zongxi and "Waiting for Dawn": Chinese Democratic Theory 22:15
22:15
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22:15One of the most influential thinkers -- and his most influential work -- in the history of Chinese democratic thought. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 King Li of Zhou and the "Republic" of 841 B.C. 16:46
16:46
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16:46Until the advent of modern scholarship, the earliest definitive date in the chronology of Chinese history was 841 B.C. What happened that year that so marked the calendar? Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Han Dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the Song Dynasty architect and scholar of architecture. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Everyone knows that Shang Yang reformed the laws and institutions of the State of Qin, setting it up for superpower status and paving the way to the Qin Dynasty. But a number of earlier reformers prefigured Shang Yang. Here are two of them. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the deeply influential Ming Dynasty philosopher. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The 6th century B.C. statesman of the State of Zheng promulgated the first published criminal code in Chinese history. Moreover, it is through him that we know how the ancient Chinese understood the nature of the soul. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Chinese Hedonism: the School of Yang Zhu 19:40
19:40
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19:40The hedonist tradition in Chinese philosophy. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The economic conference of 81 B.C. and the book that resulted from it. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Liu Xie and "The Literary Heart and the Carving of Dragons" 17:07
17:07
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17:07On the late-5th and early-6th century work of literary criticism and its author. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the man who made Confucianism the dominant ideology of China. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Chai Rong and the End of the Five Dynasties 18:56
18:56
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18:56On Chai Rong, the second emperor of the Latter Zhou, and how it became the last of the Five Dynasties. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Our only source for many of the stories about the life of Genghis Khan, The Secret History of the Mongols is a crucial document for understanding the Mongol Empire. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On the German scholar of Chinese architecture. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 627 A.D., an elderly shepherd chanced upon ten stone drums bearing ancient inscriptions. Since then, they have gone on a topsy-turvy adventure through the tumultuous course of Chinese history, down to the present day. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Only six emperors in Chinese history are documented to have performed Fengshan, the worship of heaven at earth at the holy Mt. Tai. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing the series on the Five Dynasties, the story of Guo Wei, founder of the Latter Zhou. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The life of the great 20th century historian Qian Mu. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On the 2nd century B.C. courtier, jester, and man of letters Dongfang Shuo, who came to be regarded as the patron saint of "xiangsheng," a traditional form of stand-up comedy. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of an imperial cousin and regent of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The next emperor in our series on the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding Zhuanxu, the second of the so-called "Five Emperors" of China's deep past. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Shi Jingtang, the Man Who Gave Away the Great Wall 21:09
21:09
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21:09Continuing our series on the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: the founder of the Latter Jin Dynasty, Shi Jingtang. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On "The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties," by Professor Timothy Brook, of the imperial China series by Harvard University Press. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On the great Ming Dynasty fantasy-historical novel, "Investiture of the Gods." Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 281 A.D., a tomb raider discovered a lost ancient text, which came to be known as the "Bamboo Annals." It had an explosive effect on the understanding of the Chinese of their own history... Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: the story of Li Siyuan, emperor of the Latter Tang. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of General Hao Bocun. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Li Keyong and Li Cunxu, father and son, were responsible for building the second of the Five Dynasties. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of Zhu Wen, the man who formally ended the Tang Dynasty and began the period in Chinese history known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
About the Song Dynasty official, scholar, and philosopher Zhou Dunyi. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Yan Jiagan, Father of the New Taiwan Dollar 17:37
17:37
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17:37Yan Jiagan is the forgotten president of the Republic of China or Taiwan. He served between 1975 and 1978 but was largely considered a transitional figure. However, before he was president, in 1949, he first rescued Taiwan from economic catastrophe, paving the way for all future developments. For that reason alone, the man deserves to be remembered. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
"The man from Qi worries about the sky" is a Chinese idiom meaning to worry unnecessarily about things that won't happen. It comes from a story found in Liezi, an ancient tract of philosophy. But what was this place called Qi? What does the original fable say? Have we misunderstood it this whole time? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the Ming Dynasty secret police led by eunuchs, the most infamous eunuch among them, and the faction of mandarins who opposed them. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding Gu Yanwu, the 17th century intellectual who has recently been the subject of controversy in Taiwanese politics. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The remarkable Dujiangyan irrigation system in Sichuan was constructed in the 250s B.C. but remains in use today and remains crucial to the Chinese economy. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Sima Guang and the General Mirror on Good Governance 19:13
19:13
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19:13Regarding Zizhi Tongjian, or "General Mirror on Good Governance," and the man who wrote it during the 11th century. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Borges and "Extensive Records of the Taiping Era" 14:55
14:55
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14:55Taiping Guangji or "Extensive Records of the Taiping Era" is an anthology of stories compiled during the early Song Dynasty. Its editors chose to collect the stories under a series of clearly unworkable categories. In so doing, they made Taiping Guangji a perfect illustration of the point made in an essay by the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 1615, the Tokugawa Shogunate made a rule that all Japanese emperors must study "Policy Digests of the Zhen'guan Era," written 900 years earlier in Tang Dynasty China. What is this book and what's important about it? Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Ming Dynasty novel "Journey to the West" ranks among the great classics of Chinese literature. I recently reread it, and I have thoughts. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the somewhat mysterious Tocharian people of Kuche in today's Xinjiang, confusingly named after the Tokharoi of Bactria in modern Afghanistan, from whose language Chinese gets its word for "honey." Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the "Door Gods" and how a pair of Tang Dynasty generals came to serve in that role. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The tale of another short (not to mention poor) man who achieved greatness. Chunyu Kun was a famed "wit" from Warring States era State of Qi. Besides services as a diplomat and political advisor, he was famous for being the sort of party guest you may not allow to leave by evening's end... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A fascinating minority group in the former USSR, chiefly Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, is the people known as the Dungan. Originally Hui Muslims from northwestern China, they migrated into Central Asia in the 19th century. This story is about them, their Chinese-derived language, and one of their most significant cultural figures, Iasyr Shivaza. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Confucian philosopher Zengzi and some of his ideas that became deeply influential in Chinese culture. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Even as I want to finish telling you the story of Wu Zixu, the fact is that his life so intersected with the lives and careers of other major figures that in this second part of his story I must shift the spotlight onto someone else. King Goujian of Yue, initially defeated and kept by his enemy as a hostage, would rise to the status of a hegemon of the Spring and Autumn period. During his career he would duel against his nemesis, King Fuchai of Wu. And his triumph would also be the time for Wu Zixu's downfall. Other major figures like Xishi the beauty and none other than Confucius himself would also play their respective roles. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
One of the most famous personalities from the late-Spring and Autumn period, Wu Zixu was someone I grew up learning about as a commendable character. But, upon revisiting his story, I find him closer to being the hero of a Greek tragedy than a role model. Here we tell the first half of his story and how his life intersected with other major figures like King Helü of Wu and Sunzi, the author of "The Art of War." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Yan Ying, the statesman of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn era, was famously diminutive. But his short stature was only cover for a brilliant intellect. And he went down in Chinese history as a great man. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
"History is written by the victors," so goes the common saying. But Chinese court historians actually usually provided us with honest accounts of events, even if they made the rulers of their times look bad. Why? Why gave them the right, as well as the sense of responsibility, to speak truth to power? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The legend of the "James Bond" of Republican China and how his fictional codename became a household name. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing our series on the hegemons of the Spring and Autumn era: Duke Wen of Jin, who as a prince lived in exile for 19 years. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing our discussion of the hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period, we look at Duke Xiang of Song, whom some consider a hegemon but perhaps shouldn't. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Duke Huan of Qi dominated the politics of Spring and Autumn China from the 680s B.C. until the 640s under the slogan of "respecting the king and suppressing the barbarians." Here is why the role he played was similar to that being played by the United States in the modern international state system. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Helian Bobo and the Capital in the Middle of Nowhere 18:20
18:20
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18:20In 413 A.D., the self-proclaimed king of Daxia or Great Xia, one of the Sixteen "Barbarian" Kingdoms of the age, ordered the construction of a new capital city to be named Tong'wan. The only trouble was, the spot King Helian Bobo chose was in the middle of nowhere... Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 1222, a Daoist priest from eastern China went to Afghanistan to sit down with a man who had already shaken the world to its core: Genghis Khan. This is the story of that priest, whose name, perhaps serendipitously, is widely remembered even today. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms 17:33
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17:33"The Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms," written in the Ming Dynasty, recounts the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States eras. It is considered a novel but is basically nonfiction, so closely as it hews to actual historical records. We discuss the novel, the nature of what a novel is in Chinese tradition, and a key work of history that formed the basis of the "Chronicles": "The Commentary of Zuo." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
You're read about them in the news and read about the area they call home, what the Chinese call Xinjiang. But what do we talk about when we talk about Uyghurs? Where did this people come from? Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Western writers like Kipling produced literature depicting imperial peripheries during the height of the British Empire. Similarly, Chinese poets during the height of the Tang Empire wrote many poems about life and scenery and war on the frontiers. These form a genre in its own right in Chinese literature known as "frontiers poetry." And, as so often happens with imperial writings, they by turns celebrate the glories of empire and question its morality and costs. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On November 27, 1542, shortly after 5 in the morning, a group of palace girls in the Forbidden City gathered at the bedroom of their would-be victim: Emperor Jiajing of Ming China. At a sign, they jumped on him, ready to strangle the life out of him. What transpired was one of the oddest and most notable episodes in history of Chinese imperial harems. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Thoughts on friendship from Montaigne, Aristotle, and the Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi, who advises us all not to be too eager to hang out. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Inspired by recent discussions elsewhere of the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, we take a look at some of the most sought after objects in Chinese tradition: the Nine Cauldrons and the Jade Imperial Seal, both symbols of royal or imperial authority on earth. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On that great leader of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie An, who saved his country in the late-4th century and came to be remembered for his preternatural sangfroid. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The parallel lives of two great physicians who were contemporaries of each other, one in Han Dynasty China and one in the Roman Empire. By extension, a comparison between traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Western medicine. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Sui Dynasty (581-619) doesn't get much respect, largely because it was short-lived. Even so, and perhaps paradoxically, its founder implemented a number of measures that far out-lasted the dynasty itself. This is the story of that man, Yang Jian, Emperor Wendi of Sui. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 King Jie of Xia, King Zhou of Shang, and Queen Daji 20:56
20:56
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20:56Two of the most infamous tyrants from ancient Chinese history, the women who enabled them, and why it all might be the worst libel. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Huo Qubing or Why Nepotism's Not All Bad 26:01
26:01
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26:01Hu Qubing was one of the most remarkable and meteoric military figures in Han Dynasty China during the second century B.C. Meteoric because he rose fast (thanks to nepotism), burned bright, and died young. A kind of soldierly James Dean. But in his brief but brilliant career, he left an indelible mark on Chinese and world history. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Mother Goddess of the West, King Mu of Zhou, and AI 27:40
27:40
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27:40Xiwangmu or the Mother Goddess of the West is one of the most important and familiar deities in the Daoist pantheon. "The Biography of King Mu of Zhou," dug up in 281 A.D. from a royal tomb, gives a euhemerist account of her as the queen or princess of a distant nation, and tells of how King Mu of Zhou visited her in the 10th century B.C. Much more besides, including King Mu's appearance in what amounts to an ancient work of science fiction... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Green Gang and the Emperor of Shanghai 22:12
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22:12In part 2 of our mini-series on the Chinese underworld, we look at the Green Gang, an alleged offshoot of the Heaven and Earth Society, and one of its most notorious members who came to be called "the Emperor of Shanghai." Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Heaven and Earth Society, a.k.a. the Hong Society, is one of the most famous underground organizations in Chinese tradition. But its origin is shrouded in legends and myths, many of which connect it to Taiwan. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the curious and arguably proto-Socialist figure who founded a dynasty so brief that it's often left out when we enumerate Chinese imperial dynasties. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of an expression, from its origin in the 7th century B.C. to the reason it's associated with so many places today in Taiwan. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The bloody tale of the salt merchant, failed scholar, and reasonably good poet who very nearly destroyed the Tang Dynasty. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 499 A.D., a Buddhist monk named Hui Shen walked into the city of Jingzhou and regaled the people there with tales from his recent adventure to a distant country called Fusang. Fusang, according to a number of scholars, was in modern-day Mexico. Was it? What does "The Book of Liang," the original Chinese source for this account, really say about it? Why did some scholars come to this seemingly outlandish conclusion? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A nation under attack by a superior foe. A desperate people suffering through a long season of privation, a time that tries men’s souls, and yet they remain resilient and determined. In their struggle for survival, they rely on that so-called “Arsenal of Democracy,” the United States of America. And, at a critical juncture in the war, a leader of their nation travels to Washington to address a joint session of Congress... I am, of course, talking about the visit by Madame Chiang Kai-shek (better known to the Chinese by her own name, Soong Mei-ling) to Capitol Hill in February 1943. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In my travels around Mainland China, I often heard a saying: "In the sky there is the Nine-Headed Bird, so on earth there is the man from Hubei." What does this saying mean, and where does it come from? It all has to do with the Ming Dynasty statesman Zhang Juzheng... Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A century ago, in December 1922, a New York Times front page article confidently predicted that the next leader of China would be a military officer named Wu Peifu. The Times was wrong about this: General Wu turned out to be little more than a footnote in the great trends of modern Chinese history. But who was he? And how did he get into a position where such a prediction might have seemed plausible in the 1920s? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Uncle v. Nephew: Emperor Chengzu of the Ming 20:58
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20:58It was the Mongols who chose Beijing as the Chinese capital. After the Ming Dynasty overthrow the Mongols, though, the Chinese relocated their capital south to Nanjing. And yet just a few decades later, they moved it back to Beijing. Why? This is a "Game of Thrones" kind of story about fathers and sons and uncles and nephews, in particular the Jianwen Emperor, the nephew, and his uncle the Chengzu Emperor. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Of all the uncertainties and mysterious surrounding China's mythical founder, the Yellow Emperor, one is the name of his father's tribe. Ancient sources tell us it was called "youxiong," literally "have bears." Bears? What bears? What does it mean? Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In 1728, Emperor Yongzheng complained that he couldn't understand officials hailing from the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, where they spoke, respectively, Cantonese and Hokkien. Three hundred years later, we continue to struggle with the question of how dominant the lingua franca of Mandarin should be over more local languages. In the PRC, the current conflict is between Mandarin and Cantonese, and in Taiwan, Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien are spoken side by side. So what is Mandarin? How did it come about? How much does it actually resemble the language of ancient China? To what extent was the modern standardization process artificial? Would it matter if it was? And, finally, can the southern dialects actually claim greater antiquity and prestige? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 that as of the mid-20th century was emphatically an economic backwater gain such a position? Much has been written about Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, the largest of Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturers. But Chang had moved from China to the US in 1949 and enjoyed a life as a high-flying American businessman. How was it that he was persuaded to go to Taiwan to set up TSMC? And who convinced him? The answer is Sun Yunxuan, one of the key architects of Taiwan's economic miracle. This is his story. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Deterrence theory is well known in political science and particularly popular during the Cold War. In the annals of Chinese history, we find examples of a specific type of deterrence: making your enemy refrain from attacking by being clever and displaying your intellect for your enemy to see. Let's look at the famous cases of the Su Brothers, Li Bai, and Lin Xiangru. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Philosopher, the Carpenter, and Wargames 17:43
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17:43During 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 weaker Kingdom of Song. Hearing this, the pacifist philosopher Mozi rushes to the scene to try to persuade the king otherwise. What follows is possibly the earliest recorded table-top wargame in history... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 book has long been considered only the first of a list of seven texts considered required reading for students of warfare... Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 fewer Chinese at the time even could speak English with much competence. But Lin Yutang was no ordinary man. Through his bestselling books that often sought to explain Chinese history and culture to Westerners, in many ways he became the voice of all that was Chinese in the Western world. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Ban Chao, "the Marquis Who Pacified Faraway Lands," remains a household name today among the Chinese. And he endowed the Chinese language with more than one common expression. What made him into a legend was his military and diplomatic career in the late-first century A.D. dealing with the many states of the "Western Lands" (modern Xinjiang) and the fearsome Xiongnu or Hun people behind them. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 Abbasid Caliphate. What resulted was a key turning point in human history, though one seldom appreciated in the Western world. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 simply too much of a rarity. As the Chinese proverb says: "It is difficult to clap with only one palm." But he was a kind of Forrest Gump of Chinese history, turning up at many of the key moments in the second half of the 19th century and into the first years of the 20th. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
It is often said that Taiwan came into the Chinese orbit as far back as the 3rd century. Is that true? How? The story of the Three Kingdoms era exploration of (maybe) Taiwan. Fast forward a few hundred years to the early 7th century, and records show that the Sui Dynasty fought a war against an indigenous kingdom that the chroniclers called "Liuqiu." Today, that name refers to Ryukyu, also known as Okinawa. But could it have meant Taiwan at the time? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Of all the recent feverish discussions on the prospect of war in the Taiwan Strait, no alleged expert that I've come across has talked about the obvious historical precedent: Emperor Kangxi's invasion and conquest of Taiwan in 1683. Let's remedy that. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The late-Ming and early-Qing literary critic Jin Shengtan was quite a character. He never advanced beyond the rank of xiucai, the lowest-level degree in the imperial civil service exam system, but his legacy became far greater than most men who achieved more conventional success. That legacy was in teaching the Chinese how to read and why, in showing them why the great works of Chinese fiction and drama were great. His influence continues to this day. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Chinese culture is stereotypically perceived as authoritarian. Although there is obviously a lot of truth to the cliche, it is by no means the full picture. Indeed, ancient Chinese philosophy already introduced certain ideas that might been called democratic, through the figure of Mencius, the second most important personality in Confucianism... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
It's come to my attention in recent years that a certain portion of Westerners, including people who ought to know better such as academics, believe that the concept of "China" is a modern invention dating only to the early 20th century. Their argument is that the Chinese historically never referred to their country by its modern name, "Zhongguo," in ancient times. For avoidance of doubt, here's an episode setting forth the voluminous evidence as to why they're wrong: the Chinese have been using the term "Zhongguo" since at least around 1,000 B.C. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Cangjie, (Alleged) Father of Chinese Writing 13:42
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13:42By tradition, a man named Cangjie invented the Chinese system of writing that is the bane of so many foreign students trying to acquire the language. Trouble is, Cangjie is supposed to have lived some 26 centuries ago, in the time of the Yellow Emperor, but the earliest texts attesting to his creation of Chinese writing date to the Warring States period over 2,000 years later... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Though largely forgotten in the West, during the First World War, some 140,000 Chinese went to the Western Front to support Britain, France, and the United States. They were not meant to play a combat role but instead to help with logistics and support so that the Allies could free up more soldiers for fighting. Nonetheless, some 2,000 of them ended up buried in northern France and Belgium. This is the story of how they went and why, and how their story and its aftermath indirectly but crucially shaped the course of modern Chinese history. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Bucephalus, the beloved horse belonging to Alexander the Great, brings to mind two famous horses from Chinese history: the Chitu or "Crimson Hare" Horse of Guan Yu from the Three Kingdoms era and the Wuzhui Horse of Xiang Yu from the time of the founding of the Han Dynasty. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi led a largely disappointing political career, but he left us with some of the most memorable expressions of individualism and humanism in Chinese literature. Even today, his most famous work remains required reading and is often quoted even by average people. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A few weeks ago, then out-going Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang (or Su Zhenchang in standard Pinyin) said something that caused quite a stir: "Had Yuan Chonghuan not died, how could the Manchu army have breached the Great Wall?" To understand why this rather curious rhetorical question caused the controversy it did, you obviously have to know who Yuan Chonghuan was. Here, then, is the story of the Cantonese man who, in the waning years of the Ming Dynasty, did perhaps more than anyone else to defend his country against northern invaders. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Completing our series on the other, lesser-known regimes that coexisted with the Song Dynasty, we look at the Kingdom of Dali located in picturesque Yunnan in China's southwest. Led by the Duan family for most of its history, Dali was a minor player in East Asian international relations at the time, and the Song was happy to have a harmless and peaceful kingdom to its rear so that it could focus on threats coming from the north. In the Chinese imagination, though, and for a literary reason, the Duan family of Dali looms larger than you'd expect. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing our series on the lesser known regimes contemporaneous with the Song Dynasty, today we look at the Kingdom of Xixia, or "Western Xia," founded and run by the Tangut people. Smaller than the Liao and the Jin Empires discussed in our recent episodes as well as the Han Chinese regime of the Song, the Xia was nonetheless at one point a true power to be reckoned with. But, sadly, history destined the Xixia to obscurity. In the wake of 20th century excavations and the rediscovery of the Tangut language, scholars have regained a measure of understanding, but even now this fascinating civilization remains largely cloaked in mystery. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Continuing our series on the "other" dynasties and kingdoms and co-existed with the Song Dynasty, which we typically think of as the mainline Chinese regime of this period, we look at the Jin Empire. The Jurchen people rose up against the Khitan Liao Empire in the early 12th century and established their own empire and called it the Jin. But, at every turn, they seemed destined (doomed?) to repeat the drama that the Liao already played out. And yet another nomadic people waited in the wings, almost ready for their moment in the sun... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The period in Chinese history we typically think of as the Song Dynasty was much more complicated than that single dynastic name makes it sound. Multiple regimes co-existed and came upon the stage and exited, fighting each other repeatedly but also engaging in diplomacy and cultural exchanges. Today, we look at one of them: the Liao or Khitan Empire, which gave the Russian language its word for "China"... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Some time in 76 A.D., a band of Chinese soldiers, the last survivors of a garrison, their clothes torn to ribbons and their bodies emaciated so that they barely seemed like living men, stumbled into Yumen Guan or "the Jade Gate Pass," the western terminus of the Han Dynasty Great Wall. We may consider their story in light of episodes from the same period in Roman history. And we may ask: what can it teach us about contemporary Chinese nationalism? What does it mean that many modern Chinese call this story "the ancient Chinese version of 'Saving Private Ryan'"? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The story of the "Thousand-Character Essay," composed in the early 6th century with 1,000 distinct Chinese characters, never repeating a single one. And it rhymes. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom brings to mind a fascinating moment in Chinese history. In the early-20th century, during the final years of empire, the Qing Dynasty attempted to transform itself into a constitutional monarchy not unlike the model in the UK, in Japan, and in a number of other countries. With the advantage of hindsight, we know that the effort was doomed to fail, and maybe it never had much chance of success. But what might have been... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Zhang Xueliang, known as "the Young Marshal," lived one of the most interesting lives of 20th century China. After inheriting Manchuria from his father in his 20s, the young warlord went on to play in a pivotal role in the Xi'an Incident of December 1936. The event, for better or worse, would forever alter the course of Chinese and hence world history. And Zhang would pay for it with the next half century of his life... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Historian Michael McCormick has nominated 536 A.D. as the worst year in history to be alive. It was a "year without a summer," and around the globe strange weather phenomena led to crop failures and famines. Around the globe, including in China. What do the Chinese records from the time say about the strange and terrible events that, modern science has shown, were the results of volcanic activities? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Plagues in Ancient Rome and the Han Dynasty 24:51
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24:51In the previous episode we looked at how climate change in the Roman Empire paralleled climate change in Han Dynasty China and contributed to the rise and fall of both empires. Today, let's examine how pandemic diseases in both ends of Eurasia also coincided to help to bring down both empires. In Rome, the Antonine Plague came in the second century, the Plague of Cyprian in the third, and Plague of Justinian in the sixth. Meanwhile in China, the late-second century pandemic coinciding with the Antonine Plague gave rise to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which kicked off the age of chaos known as Three Kingdoms... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Climate in Ancient Rome and the Han Dynasty 21:25
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21:25In his book, "The Fate of Rome," Prof. Kyle Harper argues that much of the history of the Roman Empire can be attributed to climate: the period known as the "Roman Climate Optimum," around 200 B.C. to 150 A.D., neatly encapsulates the rise of the Roman Republic through its transition into Empire until the beginning of its decline during the age of the Antonines. The Han Dynasty in China follows almost exactly the same timeline from its founding in 202 B.C. to its final collapse in 220 A.D. If climate was a leading cause of Rome's rise to imperium as well as its eventually humbling, and if many of the causal factors of climate change are global, then can it be that similar patterns of climate change led to the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty? To answer this question, we turn to Prof. Zhu Kezhen and his seminal 1972 paper... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, is chiefly remembered in Russia as the iron-willed commander who successfully defended Stalingrad against Nazi assault during WWII. What has been largely forgotten is that Chuikov learned to speak Chinese and spent years in China. Before Stalingrad, he served as a military advisor to none other than Chiang Kai-shek... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, originated in borderlands of southwestern China and what is now Burma. For many centuries, though, people didn't consume tea the way we do it today. Drawing on work by Prof. Miranda Brown, this is the story of Lu Yu, the Tang Dynasty comic actor and author who taught the Chinese literati, and later the whole world, how to drink tea. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Ni Kuang, the hyper-prolific leading light of Hong Kong science fiction, died in early July. This is his improbable legend, from his beginnings as a boy communist in Mainland China to his days as a refugee smuggling himself across the border to his ultimate success and achievements in Hong Kong. It's almost as improbable as the adventures he invented for his protagonists. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Henri Cernuschi, an Italian revolutionary who became a French banker, came to collect East Asian and particularly Chinese artifacts later in life. Today, a walk through the Cernuschi Museum in Paris is amounts to a stroll through Chinese history. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Mogao Caves of Dunhuang Part 2: Foreign Devils on the Silk Road 20:54
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20:54As discussed in the previous episode, the rediscovery of the Mogao Caves at the beginning of the 20th century has immeasurably enriched our understanding of Silk Road history. The story of that discovery itself is full of drama and involves some incredibly fascinating scholar-explorers. Sven Hedin, Aurel Stein, Paul Pelliot, Langdon Warner, Kozui Otani, and Sergey Oldenburg all helped to bring the treasures of Dunhuang to global attention. But at the same time, what they did--buying priceless artifacts from men who didn't understand their value and carting them off mostly to Europe and America--was controversial even then and certainly can seem problematic today. Many Chinese believe their actions were little better than theft. And yet... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
If you ever get a chance, make sure to visit the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang. In today's Gansu Province, the town of Dunhuang, situated on the historic Silk Road, witnessed a thousand years' worth of travelers: merchants and pilgrims, holy men and knaves, and not only Chinese but members of many races speaking many languages. And, starting in 366 A.D., they began to leave in these caves spectacular murals and statues as well as priceless documents. The rediscovery of the Mogao Caves in the early 20th century has since then reshaped and immeasurably enriched our understanding of the past. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Quite likely the greatest female poet in Chinese history, Li Qingzhao might be deemed a Sappho of the East or the Emily Dickinson of China. Living during the Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao came from an extraordinary family background and received the best possible education in imperial China. As a teenager, she already wrote better verses than most of the men who attained the jinshi degree in the civil service examination: the highest level of distinction. She then had the good fortune of a loving marriage. But then tragedies both national and personal struck. The Jurchen invasion in 1127 forced millions of refugees to move from northern China to the south, including Li and her husband. Shortly afterward, he died. In spite of her personal tribulations, or because of them, Li Qingzhao left us with a unique body of work, poems with a distinctly feminine voice that soars above a literary pantheon otherwise full of men. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Authoritarianism of Emperor Yongzheng 19:15
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19:15Two of the longest-reigning emperors in Chinese history ruled during the Qing Dynasty: Kangxi, who sat on the throne from 1662 until 1722, and his grandson Qianlong, who ruled from 1735 until 1799. The figure sandwiched between them was Emperor Yongzheng. Son of Kangxi and father of Qianlong and to some extent eclipsed by both, Yongzheng was in fact an important and highly competent ruler. His competence, though, was substantially dedicated to centralizing imperial authority around his own person. And the Yongzheng era came to be strongly associated with "wenziyu" or "language prison": the practice of imprisoning or executing individuals for writings that angered the emperor. The notorious "Lü Liuliang Case" was particularly egregious. In time, a number of myths grew up around Yongzheng reflecting popular discomfort with his role as the competent totalitarian. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
A handful of women are remembered in Chinese history and popular imagination as the epitome of feminine beauty. One of them is Xishi. Living in the 5th century B.C., Xishi played a key role in the longstanding rivalry between the Kingdoms of Wu and Yue. In the centuries since, though, she has endowed the Chinese language with a number of expressions that we cannot do without. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Sure, we've already done an episode on Three Kingdoms. But so many interesting characters and gripping tales come from that era, both as history and in fictionalized form from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms," that we can easily do a dozen episodes or more. This time, let's focus on the trio of men whose friendship opens the novel and serves as the through line for much of the rest of the book: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Not only that, but the relationship among these three goes on to help define Chinese civilization, its values and its foibles. The peach garden in which the three swear allegiance to one another remains today a symbol of undying friendship. Not to mention their respective individual impacts on Chinese culture: Guan Yu, for one, comes to be deified as the god of war. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Certain literary figures loom so large in Chinese culture that they substantial define the nature of that culture for all posterity, not to mention live in eternal acclaim. One such figure is Su Shi, also know by his nom de plume Su Dongpo, "Dongpo" meaning "Eastern Slope." Su Shi lived during the Northern Song Dynasty in the 11th century. Though he came from arguably the most distinguished literary family of his time, he suffered disappointment after disappointment in his career as a mandarin. And, in the end, he earned immortality not through his political career but through literature and art, as a poet and an essayist, and (maybe) even through contributions to Chinese cuisine. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
He's known by several different titles: the Marquis of Haihun, the Prince of Changyi, and Emperor Feidi of the Han Dynasty. Sadly for him, "Feidi" means "the abolished emperor." This is the story of the man who sat on the throne for all of 27 days before getting fired. But it's also the story of the famous minister, Huo Guang, who held such sway at court that he could dethrone the emperor at will. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The time: May, 1645. The place: the city of Yangzhou, not far northeast of the capital of the surviving Southern Ming government, Nanjing. A year earlier, Manchu cavalry had swept south from Manchuria to take Beijing. As far as history books are concerned, the Qing Dynasty already replaced the Ming. But Ming loyalists still gathered in the south, determined to resist the "barbarians." And now the Qing army has reached Yangzhou. The Minister of Defense of the Southern Ming, a rectitudinous man named Shi Kefa, now personally took command of the Yangzhou's defenses. What followed was a battle--and also a massacre--that will go down in Chinese history as one of the most memorable and infamous. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
One man spearheaded the effort in the early 20th century to modernize the Chinese language. One man revolutionized the study of Chinese literature and philosophy. One man served as the Chinese ambassador to Washington during the pivotal days before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The same man. His name was Hu Shih. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
With each example being over 3,000 years old, it's the oldest form of Chinese writing yet discovered. But the "oracle bones" bearing this script went unrecognized through the centuries. It was not until the end of the 19th century when an imperial mandarin finally understood their significance and, in so doing, expanded our understanding of Chinese history. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Country. State. Nation. English has three different words for three closely related but distinct concepts. Chinese makes do with a single character, 國, pronounced "guo." And historically "guo" has been applied to very different entities: The various Warring States were called "guo," as were fiefdoms and duchies contained within the empire, as were distant foreign countries like Persia. Moreover, particularly in connection with the controversial contemporary question of what is and isn't part of China, it's worth remembering that large swathes of what is now considered China were for centuries their own "guo" of one sort or another. The ancient kingdom of Minyue, for example, occupied more or less present Fujian Province for centuries. And even now memories of its past independence remain as folklore. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Parisian life of the man who taught Europeans how to speak Chinese... and inspired Montesquieu. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Unfortunately for learners of Chinese as a foreign language, it is quite difficult. One major reason for its difficulty is that the language is packed with allusions to the ancient past. These may be in fixed forms as "chengyu" or as quotations or stories from history that one is simply expected to know. Here are a few illustrative examples that I recently encountered. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
News coming out of Mariupol in Ukraine reminds me of an episode from the Second Sino-Japanese War, what eventually became a part of WWII. As the Chinese military was forced to withdraw from Shanghai in the face of a superior Japanese army in October 1937, one regiment stayed behind to guard a strategically located warehouse to cover the retreat. Soon, "the Eight Hundred Brave Warriors" became a rallying cry for the Chinese for the remainder of the war. Even today, their story lives on. But of course it has become more myth than fact, more propaganda than truth. And unfortunate details and tragic codas are largely forgotten. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
“A man loses his horses, and yet who is to say whether it is benefit or bane?” It's a common Chinese proverb, and it refers to a fable contained in Huai Nan Zi , a Han Dynasty book of Daoist thought written by a prince of the imperial family and his group of friends. The fable has had a long and varied life. It has been quoted, or misquoted, in texts and media from the book "The Biggest Bluff" by Maria Konnikova to the film "Charlie Wilson's War" written by Aaron Sorkin. It seems to me to echo the Book of Job in the Bible. It's applicable to the ethical theory of utilitarianism. And it helps us put into perspective all that goes on in the world of politics and policy, from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
This past Tuesday was the Qing Ming or Tomb-Sweeping Festival, one of the major holidays of Chinese tradition. What is it? When? And Why? Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Outside of East Asia, the impression many have of Chinese culture is that Confucianism is its dominant school of thought and essential organizing principle. But, in truth, Confucianism was only one school among many in its time, and even today it remains only one of several major philosophical traditions that shape the Chinese soul. Daoism, or Taoism, for one, has been at least equally influential. And one of Daoism's founding thinkers was Zhuangzi (369-286 B.C.). Humorous, irreverent, skeptical, and obviously brilliant, Zhuangzi left us with a single volume of his philosophy which remains a fount of wisdom which many of us return to when we can use some of it. Above all, whereas Confucianism preached the primacy of ethical strictures, Zhuangzi taught us to seek a state of absolute and radical freedom... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Everyone knows his name by now. The law graduate who became a comic actor, the actor who became president, the president who became a wartime commander-in-chief. What has been relatively unremarked upon is Zelenskyy's apparent appreciation for history, particularly ancient history. And he seems to understand history in a way that makes the antique past a source of strength for him. He seems to understand history in away that is rather "Chinese." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Ming Dynasty novel "Water Margin," a.k.a. "All Men Are Brothers," a.k.a. "Outlaws of the Marsh," ranks among the greatest works of prose fiction in Chinese literature. But much about the book remains uncertain: Wrote it? When? What constitutes the definitive edition and how long is it? And finally, what is its moral message? What is beyond doubt is that "Water Margin" has endured as one of the best loved and most impactful works ever produced in Chinese literature. It's one of the texts that you must know if you hope to understand Chinese culture. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Let's continue our previous episode's theme of Russia. The nationalist narrative of recent Chinese history often emphasizes the so-called "Century of Humiliation" from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, during which Western imperial powers as well as Japan foisted many "unequal treaties" upon China. But the same narrative often notes one exception: the one modern treaty that Qing Dynasty China entered into that the Chinese do not regard as "unequal." It was the Treaty of Nerchinsk concluded in 1689 between the Qing Court of Emperor Kangxi and the Russian Empire under Tsar Peter the Great, two giant figures of world history who probably would've been good friends if they'd only had a chance to meet. The treaty demarcated the border between Russia and China for the next 170 years or so and was a remarkable example of cross-cultural negotiations. And, as we now live in a time when we all ought to try our best to understand both of those countries, it was a fascinating episode in the history of their interactions with each other. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the story of the 13th century invasion of the Slavic lands by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and his Golden Horde. The Mongols destroyed (the then minor town) Moscow as well as the metropolis of Kyiv, subjecting the principalities of Kievan Rus as vassals. The Mongols went on invade Central-Eastern Europe, finally laying siege to Vienna. They would rule the land of the Rus for over two centuries. And among their vassals was one most interesting personality who would become canonized as a saint, whose story even now tells us a great deal about Russia: Alexander Nevsky... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The year was 1895. The (First) Sino-Japanese War was just winding down. And news came out of Shimonoseki in Japan that the peace terms would include the annexation of Taiwan, a.k.a. Formosa. So what did the Taiwanese do? They issued a declaration of independence, establishing the first democratic republic in East Asian history... Even if it would not last very long, the Republic of Taiwan set a fascinating precedent that reverberates until today. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On May 30, 1626, a screaming came across the sky over Beijing, the imperial capital of Ming Dynasty China. Within moments, thousands of people lay dead, and many more were injured, including within the Forbidden City. Modern estimates puts the force of the event on par with the Hiroshima bomb. The event shook Ming China to the core. Was it an omen that the "mandate of heaven" might be about to shift to another power? And what was "it," exactly? An accidental detonation of gunpowder? An earthquake? A tornado? A meteor? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Bai Xianyong, or Pai Hsien-yung as his name is spelled in the Wade-Giles style, has been a leading light of Taiwanese literature for decades. His works including "Taipei People" and "The Crystal Boys" have been landmarks of Taiwanese fiction, and in addition he has produced important works of history and criticism. What is sometimes insufficiently appreciated, particularly outside of Taiwan, is how the writer that Bai Xianyong came to be substantially depended on the man that his father was: General Bai Chongxi, one of the most interesting figures of Republican China, and a forgotten hero of the Second World War... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
When I was a child in Taiwan, I was told a legend about how the Lunar New Year commemorated a monster that used to haunt the Chinese people around this time of the year. Imagine my reaction upon discovering as an adult that the legend could not be traced back to ancient times. What, then, is the New Year or "Spring Festival" all about? And how have customs of the holiday developed over the millennia? Happy Year of the Tiger! Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Be warned, boys and girls, for this is a gruesome tale. We previously told the story of the founding of the Han Dynasty and its first emperor, Liu Bang. This is the story of his wife, Empress Lü. After being married to Liu by her father, the future Empress Lü stuck by her husband even during his lowest periods, until finally he triumphed over all the other warlords to become emperor. But he didn't stick by her quite as much. Instead, he picked up a favorite concubine, Lady Qi. And he had sons with both women, half-brothers who were now competitors for the throne. When Liu Bang died in 195 B.C., it was time for Empress Lü to exact her vengeance... And yet, as the Chinese proverb says: "A praying mantis may capture a cicada, but the finch watches from behind"... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
We've already done several episodes relating to events and personalities from the Tang Dynasty. Retroactively, then, let's set the stage for how the Tang came into being. The Tang era can boast many achievements. Chinese poetry reached its zenith during this period, never to be surpassed or even equalled subsequently. The Tang Empire was one of the most expansive versions of "China" ever to exist on the face of the earth. The first half of the dynasty at least is often hailed as China's golden age. And the famous Emperor Taizong, whose portrait serves as this podcast's cover art, commanded the obedience and respect of nations from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East. And yet, the way it began was not necessarily auspicious. Overthrowing the short-lived Sui Dynasty, the Li family that ruled the Tang were actually cousins of the Yang family of the Sui. And as much as Emperor Yangdi of the Sui was guilty of fratricide, Emperor Taizong of the Tang was as though a man in a glass house throwing stones... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Detective Dee and the Curious Case of the Dutch Sinologist 18:54
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18:54Tsui Hark, that maestro of Hong Kong cinema, has in recent years churned a trilogy of films set in ancient China about one "Detective Dee" who goes around solving strange crimes in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. In reality, Tsui Hark got this idea for a Chinese Holmes from, of all people, a Dutchman. Robert van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat and Sinologist who was posted in China during WWII, and he took to translating, then rewriting, a Qing Dynasty novel featuring one Di Renjie as a genius criminal investigator. And who was the real Di Renjie? As is so often the case, the truth is more interesting than the fiction... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
On Christmas Day, Jonathan Spence, the leading light of Western sinology and my former professor, passed away. Over a long and distinguished career, Professor Spence produced numerous books (not to mention countless essays and articles) on Chinese history. Unlike most other academics, he wrote in a uniquely engaging narrative style that made many of his works highly accessible even to general readers. "The Search for Modern China" in particular became a bestseller. His uncanny ability to empathize with historical figures allowed us readers, vicariously through him, to feel as though we were sitting down with men and women from centuries in the past. And of course, as a pedagogue, he was responsible for educating entire generations of American students on Chinese culture. But for him, China in all its complexities would seem even more perplexing and alien in Western eyes. In memory of my teacher: some reflections on the life, work, and influence of Jonathan Spence. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 From Tang Dynasty Fiction to Contemporary Sci-Fi Fantasy 20:14
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20:14The Chinese-American sci-fi fantasy writer Ken Liu draws a lot from Chinese tradition. In his short story collection, "The Hidden Girl and Other Stories," between sci-fi stories about the singularity and space exploration, he rewrites a short story from the late-Tang Dynasty called "Nie Yinniang," literally "The Hidden Lady Nie." For all of its kung fu fighting, though, "Nie Yinniang" is often not the work of Tang fiction considered the founding document of the wuxia or martial arts genre. That honor belongs to "The Man with the Dragon Beard," which has no fight scenes... So what do we ultimately owe these Tang era authors? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
My friend and special guest calls in from New York, and we reminisce on traveling in China as well as his experiences teaching English in a relatively obscure corner of that country. It was only a few years ago, yet so much has changed between the pandemic and the politics that it feels like reminiscence from another era... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The orange was originally indigenous to China, and the great poet Qu Yuan wrote an ode to the orange tree back in 314 B.C. Since its earliest cultivation in China, the fruit has become ubiquitous around the world. And the various names that different languages have for it can tell us a surprising amount about history. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 A White Horse Is Not a Horse; It Might Be a Stag 20:01
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20:01Current events remind me of two stories from ancient China. First, a philosophical argument from an ancient Chinese equivalent of a Sophist from the Warring States Era reasoning that "a white horse is not a horse." Second, a notorious incident from the Qin Dynasty during which a chancellor displayed his total power by demanding others to pretend that a stag was in fact a horse. Why does the news make me think of these stories? That's up to you. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
As another example of our common human culture, here's a compendium of Chinese and Tibetan folk stories that just may share sources with their Western counterparts. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Culminating our series on Chinese national heroes, we tell the history-changing story of Zheng Chenggong, known in Western sources as "Koxinga," literally "Lord Imperial Surname." Born in 1624 to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father who happened to be the greatest pirate in the Pacific, Koxinga was just old enough to stand and be counted when, in 1644, the Ming Dynasty began collapsing all around him. With the Chongzhen Emperor dead in Beijing and the Manchu cavalry having breached the Great Wall, what remained of the Ming regime withdrew to southern China and fought desperately for survival. Amidst the chaos, after the Manchus killed his mother and imprisoned his father, Koxinga swore eternal vengeance against the Manchus and undying loyalty to the Ming. An energetic military leader, he soon became the Ming's last best hope for restoration, at one point retaking a large swath of central China. By 1661, though, Koxinga had concluded that the areas he controlled on China's southeastern coast were insufficient for his purposes, and his position on the Mainland had grown untenable. He needed a new base, and he looked eastward to Taiwan, at this time administered by Dutch colonists. His landing outside the city of Tainan and his victory over the Dutch are now often considered Taiwan's founding moment, when the island inexorably began a new historical path leading to today... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In our continuing series on Chinese historical figures regarded as national heroes, we look at the life of the 13th century statesman Wen Tianxiang. Born in 1236 into a beleaguered Southern Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang enjoyed early recognition for his keen intellect and a rapid rise through the Song bureaucracy eventually to become chancellor. Unfortunately for him, during that same time, the Mongol Empire expanded from Mongolia all the way to Europe. Although it held out against the Mongols for a remarkably long time, by 1279 the Song had completely collapsed. After leading an unsuccessful last-ditch struggle against the Mongols, Wen Tianxiang found himself their prisoner. But Kublai Khan had adopted a policy of amnesty for former Song officials, many of whom he eagerly hired to help him administer his new territory. The top man Kublai wanted working for him was none other than Wen Tianxiang. But Wen proved to be another exemplar of that Confucian virtue of undying fidelity. Over four years of imprisonment, despite Kublai's repeated offers of the highest of positions and a life of luxury, Wen Tianxiang refused to serve the Mongols, asking only death. After Wen had written some of the most moving poetry of Chinese literature from his prison cell, and after Kublai finally exhausted his patience, the Mongols granted him his wish. And Wen Tianxiang won his place in the pantheon of Chinese national heroes. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Over the centuries, Chinese civilization has produced a number of figures who have entered the pantheon of national heroes. Perhaps none is more famous than Yue Fei (1103-42). As the great defender of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei repeatedly beat back the Jurchen or Jin invaders who swept down from the north. As a notable poet, he left Chinese literature with arguably its most resonant statement on patriotism. Finally, Yue Fei is remembered as an embodiment of the Confucian virtue of undying fidelity. When corrupt Song courtiers conspired with the Jurchens and convinced the Song emperor that his greatest general intended treason, the emperor urgently recalled Yue Fei. Even knowing that the recall was the product of treachery and that to return was to accept execution, Yue Fei welcomed his fate, because his emperor willed it so. In the centuries since, Yue Fei has secured an unshakeable place in the Chinese imagination as the paragon of patriotism and loyalty. The people have mythologized him as an epic hero, and in some temples they even worship him like a god. And his example has served as the template for heroes to come. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Red and the Yellow: China's Foundation Myth 25:42
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25:42"The Children of the Red and the Yellow" is a phrase one stumbles upon from time to time when listening to the Chinese talk about themselves, particularly since the construction of modern Chinese nationalism starting in the late 19th century. The phrase refers to China's foundation myth. Some 4,700 years ago, so the story goes, the Red Emperor, the leader of a confederation of ancient tribes, bowed to the Yellow Emperor, the leader of another confederation. The new combined group of tribes under the Yellow Emperor then fought yet another group led by a great warrior called Chi You. The Yellow Emperor's triumph and Chi You's defeat is often remembered as a sort of founding moment for the civilization that became China. It's what Chinese people are referring to when they brag about their country's "5,000 years of history." In the millennia since then, different ethnic groups in the vast area roughly corresponding to China have variously traced their origins to these mythic figures. The Han Chinese say they're children of the Red Emperor and the Yellow Emperor, but so did the Khitan people who ruled northern China from the 10th to the early 12th centuries. The Miao, a minority group stretching from southern China into Southeast Asia and including the Hmong, claim descent from Chi You. Is there any truth to the ancient myth? Who knows. And does it really matter? As long as people believe in a myth, it leaves its imprint on the reality of our world, doesn't it? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Jin Yong, sometimes known by his English name Louis Cha, was the most popular and influential "wuxia" or martial arts fantasy author who ever lived. Indeed, he was one of the bestselling author in any language of all time. But his books are almost entirely unknown outside of the Chinese-reading world. Part of that is due to the extreme difficulty of translation: although he wrote in the 1950s and '60s, most of his novels have not been translated into English. A second problem is that, despite the wuxia label, his novels are also generally historical fiction. Typically, a fictional protagonist moves through a specific period in Chinese history interacting with both other fictional characters and real historical figures. Readers unfamiliar with that history are much less likely to understand or enjoy the narrative. Here we discuss two of his novels in particular: "The Condor Heroes," three out of four volumes of which now have a good, modern English translation; and "The Book and the Sword," Jin Yong's debut novel set in the mid-18th century that just so happens to be about Uyghur Muslims resisting an oppressive central Chinese government in the Empire's northwestern periphery... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
"Tang ping" or "lying flat" is a new social phenomenon from China that has now spread to America. Young people feel that striving in the socio-economic system in which they find themselves is pointless, so they opt instead to do the opposite of striving: lie flat. It's a phenomenon that the Chinese government now tries to combat, and it mean seem contrary to our typical image of the hardworking Asian. But in fact the art of not working is a venerable Chinese tradition that goes back nearly 2,000 years to a group known as "The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest"... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The stories of the various flags that have represented modern China, from the Yellow Dragon of the Qing Empire to the contemporary flag of the PRC. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
October 10, "Double Ten," is the National Day or Independence Day of the Republic of China, now Taiwan. October 10, 1911, is a date indelibly engraved in Chinese history. But what exactly happened back then? This is the story of the 1911 Revolution. We discuss the decades leading up to it; Sun Yat-sen, the individual most responsible for bringing it about, and his partly American upbringing; and the fateful events on October 9-10 that ended all the millennia of monarchy in China. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
We further discuss the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. How Christian was it really? Or did it rather belong in the Chinese tradition of armed religious movements such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion that nearly destroyed the Han Dynasty? We look at Christianity in China more broadly, from the introduction of Nestorian Christianity in the 7th century to the Jesuit missionaries of the 16th and 17th centuries. How do traditional Chinese religious views differ from Christian assumptions? And what are Christian assumptions and attitudes, anyway? Many apparently secular ideas trace their origins to Christianity. Marxism may be deemed an offshoot of it. And Catholic canon lawyers coined the term "human rights." Western society's urge to cast down the mighty and raise up the humble and meek is clearly Christian-derived. To what extent are difficulties between the West and contemporary China the result of the latter not being Christianized in its outlook? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In part one of two discussing Christianity in China, we look at the elephant in the room when it comes to this subject: the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1850-64). It's no big deal, just the third most destructive war in all of human history, behind only the two World Wars. And it began when a disappointed scholar, in a vulnerable moment, came across some Christian missionary literature. Reading it, he decided that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, charged by his Heavenly Father with establishing a Christian theocracy in China. Obviously. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Regarding the history, myths, and traditions associated with the Mid-Autumn or Lunar Festival. Of course we end with a recitation of one the most famous poems ever by the great Su Dongpo, written in the 11th century. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 What Does Emperor Huidi of the Jin Have to Do with Taiwanese Politics? 15:44
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15:44Recently, one Taiwanese politician compared another to Emperor Huidi of the Jin Dynasty, as a term of abuse. Huidi of the Jin (r. 290-307 A.D.) was notorious for his stupidity. And his mismanagement of imperial affairs substantially ensured the brevity of the Western Jin regime and the long chaos of the period known as the Wei-Jin North and South Dynasties. We discuss Huidi's lamentable career as well as (by way of Jefferson and Lincoln) what it means for Taiwanese politicians on both sides of the aisle to invoke figures from ancient Chinese history. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Mythological Creatures 16:46
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16:46If you caught the latest Marvel release over the weekend, you might have wondered about the Chinese mythological creatures depicted therein. They mostly come out of Shan Hai Jing, "The Book of Mountains and Seas," an anonymous ancient tract describing world geography as well as fauna that might or might not have been real. Here is a spoiler-free run-down of the fanciful creatures, with digressions to Afghanistan, medieval England, the Arctic, and the works of Kafka and Borges. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Xiongnu or the Hun? From China to Rome to Ancient Egypt 30:27
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30:27In the previous episode we discussed the many wars that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty fought against the Xiongnu, or the Hun, a nomadic people who occupied China's northern borderlands for centuries. But were the "Xiongnu" described in Chinese sources truly the same people as the "Hun" that Roman sources later reported as ravaging Europe? French scholar Joseph de Guignes proposed this identification in 1757, and Edward Gibbon adopted it in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," making it into the mainstream view. But in fact, scholars continue to debate whether de Guignes was correct. And what else did de Guignes suggest? That the founders of Chinese civilization were colonists from ancient Egypt, of course... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The third-longest reigning emperor in Chinese history, Wudi (meaning "the Martial Emperor") of the Han Dynasty (r. 141-87 B.C.) sent legendary generals sallying forth from the Chinese heartland for the sake of conquest. Their campaigns and his heavy-handed imperialist policies vastly expanded China's territories. But the wars were terribly costly in both human and economic terms. And although some conquered territories became inseparable parts of China, many other victories proved ephemeral. Wudi's influential reign, then, raises an Eastern version of that fraught and complicated question: Imperialism--what's it good for? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
What does the First Opium War in China have to do with the First Anglo-Afghan War and the disastrous British retreat from Kabul? Everything. Here is a story about the scarlet thread that runs through history. Support the show
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 the news. Travel has a way of making the world both real and personal. In 2015, I traveled through Afghanistan, visiting Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul, and Herat. Recent news about its now all-but-certain fall to the Taliban makes me reminisce about that beautiful country and to reflect upon the course of history. A "special episode." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 and Shi Siming, two Sogdian (modern Afghan) men in the service of the Tang Empire, brought an end to China's golden age. Emperor Xuanzong himself became a refugee. And according to census data from the period, the war killed two-thirds of the Chinese population. Steven Pinker at Harvard deemed the Rebellion the greatest atrocity in human history. But, nearly 13 centuries on, is it with a measure of optimism that I note that my ancestors survived this event? And so did their culture? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 generation. Everyone knows the basic plot: When war comes, and the emperor orders every family to provide one man to serve in the army, Mulan, a young woman, disguises herself as a man and enters the service instead of her aging father, ultimately rising to be a great hero. But what was the original legend? The literary source is "The Ballad of Mulan," most likely written in the 5th century A.D. during the North and South Dynasties. This was a period of disunion in China and saw the mass migration into the country of many ethnic groups at the time considered "barbarians." Mulan belonged to one such ethnic group, the Xianbei. Indeed, the "Ballad" tells us as much: in it, it is not the "Emperor" who decrees that every family should supply one man; it is the "Khan." The war in question was most likely the one began in 429 A.D. between the Xianbei kingdom called Northern Wei and the race known as the Rouran. And by the end of Mulan's adventures, the Khan offers her the position of a cabinet minister. She turns him down and asks simply to go home. So in her own time, Mulan might well not have been considered "Chinese." But, 16 centuries on, the Mulan legend is indisputably a part of Chinese tradition. Who decides which story is "ours" to tell and which isn't? Does Disney have just as much right to take liberties with it as the many Chinese authors who have done so over the centuries? Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 symbol and object of pride. But should it be? Throughout Chinese history, since the First Emperor ordered the construction of what we now see as the first iteration of it, the Wall has been a Janus-like symbol representing both strength and tyranny. Perhaps that is simply the nature of walls: a contraption that keeps outsiders out must in some ways also constrain those within, whether physically or spiritually and intellectually, so that nowadays we speak of the "Great Firewall" of China. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
"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 around China during the last years of the Qin Dynasty. A brilliant cast of characters were about to put that prophecy to the test: Xiang Yu, the dashing young hero and greatest warrior of his generation; Lady Yu, his faithful wife and the most beautiful woman in China; Liu Bang, the middle-aged small-time crook who seemingly had done little with his life and yet possessed the gift of leadership; Han Xin, the impoverished young man desperate to prove that he could be somebody; Zhang Liang, the son of displaced aristocrats whom others often mistook for a woman but who might have been the wisest of them all... This episode immediately follows the previous one on the end of Qin Shi Huang. And it is the story of how one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history came to be. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 the Great Wall. He standardized the Chinese language. And he sought the elixir of immortality, believing that his dynasty ought to last for a thousand years. But in the end, death comes for us all, even emperors and empires... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Jing Ke: The Most Famous Assassin in Chinese History 25:33
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25:33As 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 made a last ditch effort to stop him. He recruited a most unusual man and entrusted him with the mission of assassinating the would-be ruler of all that was under heaven. In the over 2,200 years since this most celebrated of assassination attempts, Jing Ke has become legend: one man with a dagger standing against the might of an empire. In the Chinese imagination, Jing Ke represents freedom from tyranny, even if tyranny ultimately won... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Today the Chinese Communist Party celebrated the centennial of its own founding. The CCP nowadays often identifies itself with Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor, for his record of reunifying China after a prolonged period of division. Never mind that his dynasty lasted all of 15 years; never mind that he is mostly remembered as a brutal tyrant. Moreover, although everyone knows that Qin Shi Huang reunified China in 221 B.C., no one is certain whether he was even his own father's son. And that was just one of the many scandals and palace intrigues of the Qin court during this period... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Boxer Rebellion, a.k.a. the Invasion of the Eight Allied Nations 22:04
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22:04To 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 be known as "the Boxers" began assaulting just about any foreigners they could find. In response, an alliance of eight countries send expeditionary armies to China, where they in turn killed a good many and destroyed a great deal. Today, the event is painfully remembered in China but all but forgotten internationally. It's not even known by the same name in the Chinese-speaking world and outside of it. Yet you cannot understand modern China without knowing about it. And it is no coincidence that the membership of the alliance of the Eight Nations in 1900 is almost identical to the G7 in 2021... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
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 Dynasty novel alongside other works of erotic fiction, with comparisons to the Marquis de Sade (and references to China in his novel "Justine"), as well as James Joyce's maxim that true art hangs in suspension between didacticism and pornography. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In the early months of 1644, everything seemed to be crashing down upon Chongzhen. Fated to hang himself from a tree, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty faced a massive domestic rebellion led by a proto-communist (and future role model for Chairman Mao) as well as invasion by the Manchus. Though an earnest man who tried his best, Chongzhen was simply not equipped to handle all of these challenges. And, as a 17th century man, he could not have possibly understood that behind many of his troubles lay the problem of global climate change... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Religion in Chinese culture contrasts sharply with religions in other civilizations. For one thing, many Chinese gods were flesh-and-blood human beings who came to be deified, unlike most ancient gods of Europe or the Middle East or Egypt. Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, is one example. And today she is becoming the patron goddess of Taiwan. Alice tells us about the reporting she did this year on the annual Mazu Festival, which 300,000 Taiwanese attended. Another notable phenomenon is the historical belief that certain personalities, such as the poet Li Bai, might have been avatars of gods. But do people genuinely believe? We discuss the use of religion in politics. In contemporary Taiwan, politicians still sometimes claim to receive signs from Mazu. Historically, a general in the Song Dynasty who was thought to be a god's avatar happily exploited his troops' faith for his own purpose. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 Kangxi and Louis XIV, or How a Child Plotted a Coup 20:30
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20:30During his years on the throne, Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, longed to make the acquaintance of Emperor Kangxi of China. The two men had a great deal in common: they both acceded to the throne as young children, both for a time had no real power, and both went on to rule their respective countries well and for many decades. But whereas Louis waited for his chief minister to die of his own accord before assuming full control, a 14-year-old Kangxi plotted against his own regent, announcing to all the world what kind of emperor he would become... Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
1 The Battle of Changping; the Siege of Handan 38:03
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38:03Students of Chinese history know that Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor and the founder of the Qin Dynasty, ended the Warring States Era and unified China in 221 B.C. But unification by the Kingdom of Qin could have, would have, and maybe should have happened four decades earlier. After launching a massive campaign in 262 B.C. against the neighboring Kingdom of Zhao, the Qin laid siege to the Zhao capital. It was poised to win dominion over the Central Plains. But, in that moment, three men--a butcher, a doorman, and a prince--faced the inexorable tide of history and said: "Not today." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
Did a 3,000-year-old Chinese book of divination anticipate modern computer science? When a Jesuit missionary brought him a copy of the I Ching, or more properly Yi Jing, "The Book of Changes," the German mathematician Leibniz was deeply amazed. Some of his own work seemed already represented in its mysterious pages. And Leibniz was an era-defining genius in his own right. It would be nearly another three centuries before we were able to fully implement Leibniz's work, in these little machines that we now call "computers." Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In the years immediately before and after 1,000 A.D., three generations of the Yang family, men and women, defended the northern borders of Song Dynasty China. Their (surprisingly feminist) legends have grown deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. And one story resonates particularly deeply among people of Taiwan of a particular generation and background. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
The Three Kingdoms era following the collapse of the Han Dynasty was a pivotal period in Chinese history. Many Chinese traditions date to this time. And the many heroes that rose up like a rushing spring in this age of chaos are still revered. Indeed, names like Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are still household names in East Asia just as names like Odysseus and Achilles are still known across Western culture. In this episode, I discuss why the parallels between the Three Kingdoms (and the 14th century novel that narrates that history) and Homer's Iliad are more than a coincidence. Support the show…
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The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast
In the 4th century B.C., a reclusive master of all trades and his four students shaped China's destiny. Support the show
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