The History of China

Latest Episodes:

#220 - Ming 12: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Gift Them Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

The treasure Fleet goes on missions 2-4, resulting in increasingly strange, valuable, and even divine gifts being presented to Great Ming.

Time Period Covered:

1407-1415 CE

Major Historical Figures

Ming:

Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435]

Commodore Yang Min

Ma Huan, translator & chronicler [1380-1460]

Kingdom of Malacca:

King Parameswara [r. 1402-1414]

Major Works Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Yung-lo reign” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Pt. I.

Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433.

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Kéramos” in Keramos and Other Poems: A Book of Sonnets, Part II.

U.N. Museum. “Nanjing pagoda – Seven wonders of the medieval world.” www.unmuseum.org

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#219 - Intelligent Speech 2021: Escaping the Mongols (Or at Least Trying!) Jun 26, 2021

Show notes

A live retelling (wart & all) of Genghis Khan's invasion of Khwarazmia ca. 1221, and the doomed flight of all who stood against his wrath... followed by a Q&A. From the 2021 Intelligent Speech Conference!

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The Sea Shanty of Zheng He Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

There once was a fleet that put to sea

All in name of the Imperial Ming

With phoenix sterns, & dragon prows

Oh go, my baochuan, go!

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Commanded by an admiral

So tall he seem unnatural

His voice rang out like temple bell

To get those treasures stowed

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

They sailed the southern seas so vast

They’d catch the wind with all nine masts

Astrologers would watch the skies

From Champa to Guangzhou

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

But on wave-crest a Pirate Lord

He spied the fleet and greedily roared

“Make ready all your cannon shot,

We’ll take all their cargo!”

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Through flame and smoke they battled on

Til in a flash a month was gone

The Pirate Lord would taste defeat

His ships sunk deep below

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

At last they came to Indian shores

In search of spice and jewels and more

The deal was struck, with solemn vow

To pay all that was owed

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

But homeward bound the skies grew dim

The winds did howl, their fate seemed grim

The sailors prayed, “Help us, Tianfei!”

The masts began to glow

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

The Goddess heard their earnest pleas

She stilled the waves & calmed the breeze

The sailors gave their sober thanks

She’s spared them from their woe

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

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#218 - Ming 11: Soon May the Treasure Fleet Come Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

Zheng He & Co. have left the station and are sailing out! They leave the safety of the Yangtze River and set their compasses southbound and down, first to Fujian, then to Vietnam, Java, Sri Lanka, and finally all the way to India, all in the name of trade and riches. But the return journey will turn out to be anything but a pleasure-cruise. Between pirate raiders adn deadly storms, they might need a miracle to pull this off...

Time Period Covered:

1405-1407 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433/5]

Chen Zuyi, Pirate Lord Extraordinaire [d. 1407]

Ma Huan, Chinese Muslim translator & chronicler [1380-1460]

Major Sources Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Pregadio, Fabrizio (2004). The Encyclopedia of Taoism.

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05/35: Tiananmen Revisited Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

What does the aftermath of a massacre entail, on the world stage?

CIA Memo 6/10/89 - Begins: 2:25

US Beijing Embassy Cable 7/11/89 - Begins: 6:05

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Rebroadcast: 6/4 UK Cable on the Tiananmen Square Massacre Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

In this darkest of timelines, flickers of remembrance are more precious than ever...

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#217 - Ming 10: I'm On A Boat! May 31, 2021

Show notes

The Yongle Emperor decides it's time for Great Ming to bust out its swim trunks and its flippy-floppies... because he's going to make the biggest, bestest oceanic fleet of awesomesauce that the world has ever seen! And put in command is his trusted, tried-and-true battle-buddy: the Grand Admiral Zheng He!

Time Period Covered:

1371-1405 CE

Significant Historical Figures:

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

Grand Admiral Zheng He (né Ma He) [1371-1433]

Tianfei, the Goddess of the Sea and Patron Protector of Sailors [eternal]

Sources Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Levathes, Louise. The China Ruled the Seas:The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Paterson, Erik T. “James Lind, Zheng He and the Prevention of Scurvy” in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 4.

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#216.2 - Special: Wonders of the World Interview, Pt. 2 - The Forbidden City May 23, 2021

Show notes

We're back with Part 2 of my conversation with Caroline Vahrenkamp of The Wonders of the World Podcast, this tie all about the little city that Yongle built mostly to show his dead dad up - Beijing, and at its heart, the city-within-the-city, the Imperial Purple Palace - The Forbidden City!

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#216 - Special: Interview with Caroline Vahrenkamp of The Wonders of the World Podcast, Pt. 1 May 17, 2021

Show notes

Part 1 of my interview with Caroline Vahrenkamp of "The Wonders of the World Podcast" all about Beijing and it's meteoric rise as (the once and future) capital of China in the early Ming Dynasty!

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#215 - Ming 9: The Good Times Are Killing Me May 09, 2021

Show notes

The Yongle Emperor decides to build a new capital. It goes well!

He also decides to invade both Mongolia and Vietnam. It goes not so well.

Time Period:

1402-1424 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming:

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

General Zhang Fu [1375-1449]

Gen. Mu Sheng [1368-1439]