The China History Podcast

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The Secret Nüshu Script May 21, 2015

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In this shorter than usual episode, Laszlo introduces a little piece of culture taken from the southern portion of Hunan Province. Generations of illiterate women from a single county on the Hunan-Guangxi border, denied education, created their own writing script. Men never learned it and so it was used by these women to communicate with each other and to record their secret thoughts and inspirations.

The History of Opium in China Apr 27, 2015

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In this episode, Laszlo examines remarks made by distinguished UCLA Professor of Public Policy Mark Kleiman who had commented on Britain's participation in the Opium War. Opium's history in China began centuries before, at least during the Tang and maybe as far back as the Eastern Jin. The focus of this episode is on opium's history in China prior to the Opium War.

The Flying Tigers Apr 03, 2015

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Laszlo provides all the setup and background for the story of the American Volunteer Group, known more popularly as the Flying Tigers. Theirs was only an eight-month-long story, but their success at a time when all seemed hopeless provided inspiration to many and showed that Japan was not invincible. For the AVG and their China allies, the battle commenced on December 20, 1941. From that point forward until the organization was disbanded on July 4, 1942, the Flying Tigers immortalized themselves with their brave deeds.

Ep. 151 | The Flying Tigers (Part 1) Mar 21, 2015

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In this Part 1 episode, Laszlo provides all the setup and background for the magnificent story of the American Volunteer Group, known more popularly as The Flying Tigers. Theirs was only an eight-month-long story but their success at a time when all seemed hopeless provided an inspiration to many and showed Japan was not invincible.

The History of the Hakka People Feb 28, 2015

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In this milestone 150th CHP episode, Laszlo shines a light on the Hakka people and where they fit in Chinese history. There are no shortages of authoritative sources that all disagree as to their origins and when the Hakka's migrated from where to where. For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CHP website at teacup.media and go to the episode page.

History of Tea-Series Recap Jan 30, 2015

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That's going to be it for this series, first produced in late 2014 and listened to millions of times on this CHP feed, via the Tea History Podcast feed, and since 2018, fleet-wide on Cathay Pacific Airways. I hope you enjoyed this survey of Chinese tea history. Since this work was first produced seven years ago I've had the great pleasure to meet so many of you and to enjoy tea together. The series ends here with a brief recap of what was discussed. My deepest thanks to all of you for listening.

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The History of Tea (Part 20) Jan 29, 2015

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Our survey of the Famous Teas of China continues with a tour of more tea-producing provinces. Teas such as Dancong, Tieguanyin, Jinjunmei, and Da Hong Pao are introduced. Various teas from Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan are also mentioned. All of them are conveniently obtainable from your favorite online tea purveyor and local tea shop.

The History of Tea (Part 19) Jan 28, 2015

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To wind down this History of Tea series let's go from province to province and look at a variety of famous teas such as Longjing, Gunpowder, Huangshan Maofeng, Lu'an Guapian, Xinyang Maojian, Taiping Houkui and a few others. All of the teas to be introduced here, all began their brilliant careers as tribute teas sent annually to the emperor. You too can savor these teas fit for an emperor by purchasing them online at any number of online (and offline) tea sellers. There are thousands of different teas in the world. In this episode and in Part 20, we'll look at a few of them.

The History of Tea (Part 18) Jan 27, 2015

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In this episode, we focus on the category of tea that is most admired by many tea experts the world over. Pu-Erh tea was introduced sometime during the Ming Dynasty and in time, became the oft-called "King of Teas" for its rich and unique flavor, wholly unlike any other tea produced in China. Here we will look at the story of Pu-Erh tea and why it is considered to be so special among countless tea experts.

For a good source of Pu-Erh teas, try my friend at https://www.banateacompany.com/

The History of Tea (Part 17) Jan 26, 2015

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Processing tea leaves was never an intuitive process. That's one reason it took so long for others to figure out how to do it. But as it was with silk, once you saw how it was done, it wasn't a terribly difficult process to master and even improve upon. In this Part 17 episode, we see how Robert Fortune gathered the tea seeds, plants, tools, and experts and got them to the Indian highlands. There, a British dream team of botanists and horticulturalists take over the job begun by Robert Fortune. Their hard work helped to launch the tea industry in India. We also look at James Taylor's efforts to plant tea in Ceylon and how his business-savvy partner in this venture brought tea to the world. This partner was Thomas J. Lipton, the one who brought us the ubiquitous Lipton Tea. What a character he was!

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