The History of China

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**The History of China**

A journey through the 5000 years of history documented by one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations. For all the episodes for free, as well as additional content, please subscribe and/or visit http://thehistoryofchina.wordpress.com.

Latest Episodes:

#241 - Ming 28: Wokou! Wokou! A Pirate's Life For Me! Sep 25, 2022

Show notes

We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves.

We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs.

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads,

Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,

Stand up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1521-1550 CE

Sources Cited:

Andrade, Tonio and Xing Hang. “Introduction: The East Asian Maritime Realm in Global History: 1500-1700” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Chin, James K. “Merchants, Smugglers, and Pirates: Multinational Clandestine Trade on the South China Coast, 1520-50” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

Geiss, James. “The Chia-ching reign, 1522-1566” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Laver, Michael. “Neither Here nor There: Trade, Piracy, and the ‘Space Between’ in Early Modern East Asia” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Petrucci, Maria Grazia. “Pirates, Gunpowder, and Christianity in Late Sixteenth-Century Japan” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

Wills, John E. “Maritime China from Wang Chih to Shih Lang: Themes In Peripheral History” in From Ming to Ch’ing: Conquest, Region, and Continuity in Seventeenth-Century China.

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Special - Mid-Autumn: Fly Me to the Moon Sep 10, 2022

Show notes

A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon

In other words, please be true

In other words, I love you.

Sources:

Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.

Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi’” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.

Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology.

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#240 - Ming 27: The Solecism of Power Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

The Jiajing Emperor rounds out the back-half of his interminably long reign by hiding away in his personal palace, and only occasionally coming out to tell everyone what a terrible job they're all doing. The Mongols seize on Ming weakness to basically do whatever they want, and the Ming respond by turtling even harder and building more walls. Without a imperial guiding hand, the ministers are left to their own devices... with predictably selfish and myopic results.

Time Period Covered:

1550-1567 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming Empire:

The Jiajing Emperor (Zhu Houcong) [r. 1521-1567]

Gen. Qiu Ruan [d. 1552]

Grand Secretary Xia Yan [1482-1548]

Grand Secretary Yan Song [1480-1567]

Grand Secretary Xu Jie [1512-1578]

Mongolia:

Altan Khan [1507-1582]

Prince Toghto

Major Works Cited:

Bacon, Francis. “Of empire” in The essays of Francis Bacon (1908).

Geiss, James. “The Chia-ching reign, 1522-1566,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

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Shanghai Update (09/01/22): Lockdown Eternal Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Let the state be small and the people few:

So that the people…

fearing death, will be reluctant to move great distances

and, even if they have boats and carts, will not use them.

So that the people…

Will find their food sweet and their clothes beautiful,

will be content with where they live and happy in their customs.

Though adjoining states be within sight of one another

and cocks crowing and dogs barking in one can be heard in the next,

yet the people of one state will grow old and die without having had any dealings with those of another.

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#239 - Ming 26: Red Lead Prescription Aug 20, 2022

Show notes

The Jianwen Emperor plays shell-games with his dad's spirit tablet, decides Confucius has had it too good for too long, gets gross in his pursuit for immortality, and tries breath-play with his concubines... oh yes, and fire. So, so much fire.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1524-1547 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Jiajing Emperor (Zhu Houcong) [r. 1521-1567]

Empress Dowager Zhang [r. 1505-1541]

Empress Chen [r. 1522-1528]

Empress Zhang [r. 1529-1534]

Empress Fang [r. 1534-1547]

Confucius [551-479 BCE]

Minister Xia Yan

Minister Huo Tao

Major Sources Cited:

Works Cited:

Geiss, James. “The Chia-ching reign, 1522-1566,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Huang, Weibo. “The palace rebellion of ‘Renyin’ and the Jiajing Emperor’s belief in alchemy” in Xiang Chao.

McMahon, Keith. Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing.

Zhang, Tingyu. History of Ming, Vol. 114, Historical Biography 2, Empresses and Concubines 2.

Zhang, Yongchang. “The ‘Renyin’ palace rebellion: palace women sacrifice themselves” in Quanzhou Wenxue.

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#238 - Yuan 19.1: She-Wolf & Cub Jul 31, 2022

Show notes

ca. 1470-1480 CE

Under the tutelage of his queen Mandukhai, Dayan Khan grows from helpless boy to leader of men, learning along the way that vengeance is a dish best served cold.

Part 1 of 2 (whole version available at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchina):

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#237 - Yuan 18: Mandukhai, Warrior Princess Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

The widow-queen of the Mongols, Mandukhai, seizes the reins of her own fate, entreating the spirits of sky and earth to help her in her quest to reunite her broken people and return sovereignty and glory to Mongolia. Oh, and she also marries a 7-year-old, which is a little strange, but makes sense in context.

Time Period Covered:

1470~1480 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mandukhai Khatun [ca. 1449-1510]

Dayan Khan (Batu Mongke) [1462-1543?]

Gen. Une-Bolod [?-?]

Ismayil Taishi [d. 1486]

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#236 - Yuan 17: The Golden Prince & The Warrior Queen Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

In the chaos that grips the steppes in the mid 15th century, anarchy reins. Though there are though who call themselves khans, they were merely figureheads controlled by their own prime ministers, the taishis. The once mighty Borjigin Clan has been bled nearly dry, and usurpers are over every hill crest.

Into this world of destruction and disarray, two children are born on opposite sides of the vast Gobi. The first is one of the last members of the House of Borjigin, a boy called Bayan Möngke, who will in time become the heir to the office of Great Khan of the Mongols. The other a girl of seemingly little significance, Mandukhai, who will be given to the sitting Khan in marriage as his second queen.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1448~1478 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Northern Yuan:

Beg-Arslan Taishi

Ismayil Taishi

Manduul Khan, "The Old Khan" [ca. 1438-1478]

Bayan Möngke Jinong, "The Golden Prince" [ca. 145?-147?]

Yeke Qabar-tu Khatun, "Big Nose" [14??-14??]

Mandukhai Khatun [ca. 1448-1510]

General Une-Bolod [14??-14??]

Siker [144?-14??]

Boroghchin [ca. 14??-147?]

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Special: A Song of Yiti & China - The History of Westeros/History of China Mash-up! Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

Aziz, Ashaya, Sean, and myself have a ball discussing all the things GRRM took - and didn't - from Chinese history when he "created" the mysterious empire of Yi-Ti!

I had an absolute ball, and I hope you will, too!!

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Rebroadcast: 6/4: UK Cable on Tiananmen Square Massacre Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

It isn't over, not really

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