The China History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The History of Toi San and US Immigration Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Laszlo looks at U.S. Immigration during the bad old days of Chinese Exclusion. The subject will be examined through the telling of the stories of three rather plain and non-extraordinary brothers from Haiyang Village in Toi San (Taishan in Mandarin). These three Moy brothers were featured in Scott Seligman's 2013 book "Three Tough Chinamen" (Earnshaw Books). In addition to the Chinese Exclusion laws, Laszlo briefly introduces the life of another Toisanese, Ng Poon Chew.

Whitey Smith and Early Shanghai Jazz Jan 27, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Laszlo tries something new. This time we look at the life and times of Whitey Smith, an important figure in the context of not only Shanghai Jazz, but the entirety of jazz history.

Ep. 183 | The Nanjing Massacre (Part 2) May 11, 2017

Show notes

Laszlo finishes off the overview of the Rape of Nanking as well as the stories of John Rabe, Robert O. Wilson, Minnie Vautrin, Rev. William Magee, and others who directed the Nanjing Safety Zone during the worst weeks of the atrocities. The aftermath of the Nanjing Massacre is also examined.

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The Nanjing Massacre May 11, 2017

Show notes

This is a very emotional, controversial, and sensitive subject for a whole lot of reasons. Laszlo will review material from past episodes to discuss the lead-up to the Massacre and the actual event itself, as well as the story of the Nanjing Safety Zone and some of the foreigners who became eyewitnesses to the horrors of the Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking. The life and deeds of Mr.John Rabe are also discussed.

The Early Years of Sino-Russian Relations Apr 03, 2017

Show notes

At last, the early years of Russia-China relations can see the light of day. As you can see, this is another one of those hour-plus episodes that were not long enough for two episodes and a bit overly long for one. This episode primarily covers the beginnings back in the late Ming when they first met and mostly in the Qing where all the history happened.

The Earliest Years of Christianity in China Feb 20, 2017

Show notes

Many people don't know that the first preaching of Christianity in China pre-dated the Jesuits by more than nine centuries. We'll take a second cursory look at the Jesuits as part of a bigger story that includes Christianity in China during the Tang and Yuan dynasties. We'll see that prior to the arrival of Matteo Ricci, there were two other lesser-known attempts to grow Christianity in China.

The Ancient History of Silk Jan 29, 2017

Show notes

Thanks to Carole in Virginia for giving me enough of a push to get this episode finally produced. This might have been one of the first ten topics I came up with when I began writing the original list back in 2010. The history of silk is really an amazing testament to humankind's ingenuity and the randomness of life since Neolithic times. I hope you enjoy this episode. It turned out to be a much greater story than I was ever aware of.

William Mesny (Part 2) Jan 10, 2017

Show notes

In part two of this series examining the forgotten life of William Mesny, we hear the second half of his story in China. We're mostly using author David Leffman's 2016 book "The Mercenary Mandarin".

William Mesny-The Mercenary Mandarin Jan 10, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, we examine the forgotten life of William Mesny. Drawing from author David Leffman's 2016 book "The Mercenary Mandarin," Laszlo discusses an unknown character from the bad old days of late Qing Dynasty China. Though he never made it to the history books, he nonetheless witnessed and took part in a lot of it. Through Mesny, we can once again wander through some of Imperial China's worst years.

Get David Leffman's book here:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mercenary-Mandarin/David-Leffman/9789881376541

The History of the Teochew People Nov 29, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Laszlo explains a little about the "Gagi Nang", the 自己人 or 家己弄, known the world over as the Teochew (Chiu Chow or Chaozhou) people. Their language and culture are unique. Their food and Chaozhou culture is celebrated in more places than Chaozhou and not just by the people from that region. There are Chaozhounese people on every continent except maybe Antarctica.

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