The China History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

S9E10 | Finished behind the last place guy Jun 30, 2024

Show notes

Firstly, hats off to Emma and her 团队 at the CYZ for all their hard work, all season-long. We close out the season 9 with an amusing story from a source, as yet never featured on this long-running educational program, called the Guòtínglù 过庭录. The author was Song literary figure Fàn Gōngchēng 范公偁 who had the misfortune to be born during the exact time when the Northern Song ended and the Southern Song began. In this tale, our young hero Sūn Shān 孙山 heads off to the capital to take the imperial exam. Another villager tagged along who also registered to take the test. One passed the test and the other was Míng Luò Sūn Shān 名落孙山. It's a nice little story infused with some of the best of Chinese culture and a dollop of human decency. That's it for Season 9. I may post a few director's cuts of previous CSP episodes during the off-season. All these CSP episodes will soon be published in the Summer catalog of Earnshaw Books. There will be vocabulary lists, tone marks, and characters. Just sayin. Thanks, everyone and drink plenty of water this summer. Keep yourself hydrated!

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 18) Jun 30, 2024

Show notes

For this 18th and final episode in the series, we'll focus on the rival philosophies of Lu Xiangshan 陆象山 and Zhu Xi 朱熹。 We'll also look at more of the philosophy of Wang Yangming. Then we'll end it with a few loose ends and mentions of The Five Elements and Zou Yan's 邹衍 Alchemy. I'll also recommend a book called "The Path."

My deepest thanks to all of you who endured all 18 episodes. I hope you found that it was useful and beneficial for your own further study of Chinese Philosophy. Onward to all new material next time.

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 17) Jun 23, 2024

Show notes

We're almost at the end. We continue on in Part 17 with Zhu Xi and his philosophy. There will be more discussion about Qi, Han Studies (Han Xue) and the pushback against Neo Confucianism. We begin looking at the final philosopher in this series, Wang Shouren (a.k.a. Wang Yangming). Then we look at the primary difference between the Cheng-Zhu School vs. the Lu-Wang School.

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S9E09 | First Strike Jun 16, 2024

Show notes

Season 9 is starting to wind down. For the ninth chengyu of the season, we take Sima Qian's "Record of the Grand Historian" and open to the chapter on Xiang Yu. This time we look at the story of Xiān Fā Zhì Rén 先发制人. In this well-known story from the fall of the Qin Dynasty, we see Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang seizing the day and the hour to attack Qin forces and bring the dynasty to an end. But before they do that, they first weigh their options by talking with the governor of a local commandery. After one short meeting with this guy, Xiang Liang decides not to wait to see what happens next. He realized 先发制人.

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 16) Jun 16, 2024

Show notes

We'll finish off the Five Founders of Neo Confucianism with the last two, the Cheng Brothers: Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐. Then we'll explore Neo Confucianism through the life of Lu Jiuyuan 陆九渊, also known as Lu Xiangshan 陆象山. and Xin Xue 心学, the School of the Mind. Neo Confucianism also gets a new name: Song Xue 宋学 o Song Studies. We'll also introduce Lu Xiangshan's biggest rival in his day and one of the giants of Confucian philosophy, Zhu Xi 朱熹. In the next episode, we'll examine the life and thought of Zhu Xi.

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 15) Jun 09, 2024

Show notes

In this episode we begin our look at Neo Confucianism. In English, we called it that. But in Chinese it was referred to in other ways, most commonly as Sòngxué 宋学 (Song Studies) since the foundation was poured during this dynasty. The concept of Qi 气 will also be discussed. Then we'll head straight to The Five Founders of Neo Confucianism: Zhou Dunyi 周敦颐, Zhou Dunyi's Taiji Tu 太极图 Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, Shao Yong 邵雍 and Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi 程颐, Cheng Hao 程颢, 张载, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements and the Five Constant Virtues. A lot to cover. Enjoy!

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Introducing "Empires-An Asian Business Podcast" Jun 08, 2024

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For the third time on the CHP, I'm featuring another episode from Empires-An Asian Business Podcast, this time featuring India's watch and jewelry giant, Titan. Empires, from Singapore's 1UpMedia is one of the top shows in that region that explores some of the biggest business empires in Asia and the founders who built them. This time Empires features the story of Xerxes Desai and the Titan Company Ltd. They manufacture fashion accessories like jewelry, watches, eyecare, fragrances, fashion accessories, and Indian dress wear. The Jewelry division is the largest contributor to the group, making up nearly 80% of the business, followed by Watches and Wearables at 8-9%. Titan's products are sold through a combination of direct sales and franchising, with nearly 3,000 stores across over 400 towns in India, covering a retail space equivalent to about 60 football fields.

Check out Empires on your favorite podcast app. There are so many great podcast shows coming out of Asia. And this is one of them. Enjoy!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/titan-in-about-time-1-5/id1674467595?i=1000657648597

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RFFgeGbcpMjWdjNAzhT0l?si=fb96ba282b964a4f

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 14) Jun 02, 2024

Show notes

We pick up with the second part of this overview of Daoism with Zhuangzi and his beloved book, "The Zhuangzi." We'll also move beyond Laozi and Zhuangzi and take a look at the rise of Fangshi's 方士 in society, Daoist Thought and Religion, Xuanxue Dark Learning 玄学, Guo Xiang 郭襄, Xiang Xiu 向秀, and the compilation of the Daozang 道藏. I hope this basic overview gives some of you a good jumping-off point to explore more about Daoism the philosophy 道家 and Daoism, the religion 道教. Enjoy!

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S9E08 | Owned! Jun 02, 2024

Show notes

For our eighth CSP offering this season, we open up the Book of Han once again and hear the story behind Jiāo Bīng Bì Bài 骄兵必败. It doesn't always happen this way but the timeline of history is filled with examples of more powerful military forces being defeated on the field of battle by their weaker opponent. Arrogant soldiers must be defeated. Look what happened in Vietnam between 1954 and 1975. When you look into it, even today in our own time, Jiāo bīng bì bài is still happening. On a geopolitical level, this must be one of the hardest lessons to learn. More pugnacious world leaders should consult the Book of Han and ponder these words. Enjoy!

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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 13) May 26, 2024

Show notes

We've already heard about Confucianism, The Hundred Schools, and the Yi Jing. In this episode, we look at Daoism. The life of Lao Tzu (Laozi) will be introduced along with the book he probably never wrote but which is ascribed to him anyway. This is the Tao Te Ching or Dao De Jing. Laozi was quite a character and by telling his story, it will give you the fundamentals to explore on your own what this philosophic thought is all about. We'll look at the Daoist concept of Wu Wei 无为 and the art of quiescence. We'll close with one of the earliest and greatest interpreters of the Daodejing, Wang Bi. In the History of Chinese Philosophy Part 13, we'll start looking at Zhuangzi and his classic book.

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