The China History Podcast

Written into the ancient histories were the big-name Warring States characters Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Sun Bin, and Pang Juan. Sima Qian and others remarked that these four men were all students of Guiguzi 鬼谷子. He's like a lot of figures from Bronze Age China. Guiguzi's name is mentioned in a few important texts. But that's about it. Just his name and the barest of details. Over the centuries, scholars put some flesh on those bones, but the truth remains, there's not much to sink our teeth into as far as Guiguzi the person is concerned. But the stories associated with Guiguzi are good ones and worth a re-telling. Su Qin and Zhang Yi's Vertical and Horizontal Strategies, and the story of Sun Bin, Pang Juan and Sun Bin's Art of War. The Guiguzi is considered China's first work of rhetoric. It's interesting to see how rhetoric developed in Warring States China at the exact same time as Plato and Aristotle in Greece. Somewhere along the way though, The Guiguzi became better known as a military treatise. Thanks everyone

Lovers of all things Song Dynasty will surely recall the story of Qin Hui. He has top billing in this tale concerning the story behind Shù Dǎo Húsūn Sàn 树倒猢狲散. This one has practical applications these days when we see political and corporate leaders fall from grace. When that happens, we often get to view the spectacle of hangers-on and sycophants scattering and heading for the hills, to search once more for someone to suck up to. This Chinese Saying comes in handy when this happens. We all need someone to lean on. Make sure the one you choose has some staying power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once his past attendance at meetings of the Pasadena Communist Party in 1938 come to light, Qian gets caught up in the Red Scare of the 1950s. In this Part 2 episode, we see how the US government accused Qian of being a communist. Despite everything he had done for America and all the R&D that he might further contribute in the decades to come, Qian was deported back to his homeland. And from 1955 until his death in 2009, he went on to do all kinds of great things for the PRC's missile and space programs. Iris Chang, "Thread of the Silkworm" https://www.amazon.com/Thread-Silkworm-Iris-Chang/dp/0465006787 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again, by popular demand, here's another oft-requested topic. With the recent release of the Oppenheimer film, I thought this story was quite timely. Qian Xuesen is called "The Father of China's Missile and Space Program." What's not as well known is the key role he played in the late 1930s and 40s in the United States rocket and jet propulsion programs. He was there, along with Frank Malina, Weld Arnold, Apollo M.O. Smith, Jack Parsons, and Edward S. Forman, when the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was created. Under the leadership of Theodore von Karman, this team led the effort that launched America's missile and rocket programs. But come 1950 Qian's world will be upended. That's all for Part 2. Iris Chang: Thread of the Silkworm: https://www.amazon.com/Thread-Silkworm-Iris-Chang/dp/0465006787 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again we thank The Grand Historian for giving up another good one. This one's an eight-character chengyu. The story goes back to 206 BC and the famous story of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's meeting at The Banquet at Hongmen. Here, the two contenders for the emperorship of China, meet face to face. Only one of them could sit on that throne and beginning right here, the Chu-Han Contention begins. The chengyu for this time, 项庄舞剑, 意在沛公 Xiàng Zhuāng Wǔ Jiàn, Yì Zài Pèi Gōng comes from this slice of history mentioned in the Record of the Grand Historian from the chapter on Xiang Yu. People who have a lot to lose, especially in the world of politics and government should pay attention to this one. It's a good one to use when describing someone who may appear all nice and pleasant but who has a hidden motive to do you harm. Enjoy! White Vengeance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H3yXEh7KCQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're someone born in the 1940s-50s and 60s, Keye Luke was a familiar name, especially if you watched American TV. As a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, I thought his story might be timely. Set's take a break from the wars, rebellions, and days of yore and enjoy a more light-hearted episode featuring a beloved Chinese American who left his mark on the industry he was part of for more than sixty years. For many of us, this episode will be a nice pleasant trip down memory lane. I hope you enjoy Go check out Timothy Tau’s excellent film on the life and career of Keye Luke:  https://youtu.be/SqUH0-CcvOI  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a cast of characters like the Dukes of Jin and Chu and everyone's favorite exile Chong Er, you're guaranteed a treat. This is the story behind the chengyu: 退避三舍 Tuì Bì Sān Shè. The story of Chong Er, his escape from persecution by his father Duke Xian of Jin, and his triumphant return to Jin in 636 BC is one of the countless unforgettable stories from ancient Chinese history. Before Chong Er became Duke Wen of Jin, he experienced a nineteen-year odyssey that took him throughout the states of the Zhou Dynasty. This story concerns a visit to Chu. Sometimes you gotta know when to make a strategic retreat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's the final episode in the Yunnan history series. In this episode, we pick up in 1875 in the wake of the Margary Affair and take the story through the end of the Qing and into the Warlord and Republican era. Warlords Cai E, Tang Jiyao, Long Yun, and Lu Han, all make appearances. Part 5 runs almost 49 minutes which is 15-20 minutes longer than I like these CHP episodes to be. The series concludes a bit prematurely, a hundred years later in 1975. Sorry to end on such a downer as the Cultural Revolution and the Shadian Incident of 1975. I really don't have enough material to make a Part 6. So let's just leave it at that. I hope it was informative and helpful. For the pure enjoyment of Pu-Erh Tea Laszlo recommends The Bana Tea Company: https://www.banateacompany.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time we're featuring another oldie but goodie, Qīng Chū Yú Lán 青出于蓝. Though Xunzi was the inspiration for the chengyu, the tale behind this Chinese Saying comes from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. The longer version of the saying goes 青出于蓝, 而胜于蓝 but we'll just focus on the front four and that's all you need for most situations where you want to remark about a student or apprentice, surpassing their teacher or master. Don't forget, all the terms for all the episodes can be found at my website at https://teacup.media. Thanks, everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting last year I became a big fan of many of the new shows that have been emerging from Singapore, India, China, the Philippines, and elsewhere in Asia. My buddy at 1UP Media, Yeo Guang Jin is running a multi-part series that looks at the humble rise of Alibaba and how Jack Ma built this into one of the great success stories in global corporate history. I'm sharing Part 3 of the series here on the CHP feed which tells the story of how Jack Ma took on mighty eBay and emerged from the competition with Taobao and TMall. Empires features compelling deep dives into some of the most renowned companies in all of Asia: Ten Cent, Sony, and Samsung to name a few. I heartily recommend this show to any and all lovers of International business. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's Part 4 of my latest effort. This episode examines all the events leading up to, during, and immediately after The Panthay Rebellion, 1856-1872. Since the time of the Mongols, the Hui Chinese had served the dynasties faithfully as civil servants and bureaucrats. But come the mid-Qing, after a massive wave of Han Chinese migration to the southwest of China, including to Yunnan, sparks flew at once between the Hui Chinese who controlled business interests that the new migrants demanding a piece of the action. This was an unfortunate period in Yunnan's history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few days ago, Laszlo sat down with good friend Hao Huang and son, Micah, at Scripps College where Hao is the Bessie and Cecil Frankel Chair in Music. In 2021 they co-produced the Blood on Gold Mountain Podcast. In a pilot episode of a new show dropping Wednesday, July 19 called Iron Horse Road, Hao and Micah explain what the show is about and the trip they took to California's High Sierras that inspired it. They visited locations where more than a century and a half ago railroad workers from Southern Guangdong built these wonders of engineering. This led to a general discussion about these workers and the challenges they faced living far from home and in a land where every day presented a new set of challenges, often life-threatening. The Iron Horse Road Podcast will come out on the Blood on Gold Mountain feed. To subscribe, search for Blood on Gold Mountain or visit their website at https://blood-on-gold-mountain.captivate.fm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to another season of Chinese Sayings. For the Season 8 opener, we open with a well-known and useful chengyu: Yī Zì Qiān Jīn 一字千金. The story behind this classic from The Record of the Grand Historian features the infamous Lü Buwei, Lady Zhao, and the father of the future first emperor of China, King Zhuangxiang. The Qin State and Dynasty yielded up some fantastic chengyu's over the years. And this is sure one of them. Stay cool everyone, especially all ya'lls in Arizona. Thanks as always to Emma in China's capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this latest installment of the Yunnan History series, we take the narrative up to the Qing Dynasty in the 1800s. The province had been relatively peaceful since the late 13th-century Mongol conquest. Then, not so much come the accession of the Yongzheng Emperor. This episode takes a very quick look at Yunnan literary figure Yang Shen followed by a retelling of the story of Wu Sangui and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. Then, the scourge of the local tribal chieftains of Yunnan, Ortai (È’ěrtài 鄂尔泰) is introduced. And in preparation for Part 4 which will focus on the Panthay Rebellion, I'll also explain some background info on the Hui People of Yunnan, beginning with Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari. My thanks to you all for taking the time to listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We pick up after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao Kingdom. The main focus in this Part 2 episode will be the rise and fall of the Dali Kingdom and the Mongol Conquest of Dali in 1253. We'll also take a quick look at the complicated period between the fall of Nanzhao and the founding of the Dali Kingdom. We'll close with the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the aftermath that occurred in Yunnan in the 14th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The response was so positive last time longtime Beijing ex-pat Dr. Jeremiah Jenne appeared on the CHP, we decided to invite him on the program again. Seeing how JJ has called this magnificent city home for the past twenty-odd years, who better is there to introduce the long history of this 6300 sq. mile area located inside the borders of Hebei province? Even before the city officially became Beijing or even Khanbaliq, it was already a historical place. My deep thanks to Jeremiah 君 for taking the time to come on the show. Have a fab weekend everyone! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past year, I've had the great pleasure of working with a talented group of game developers at Paradox Tinto, one of the studios where they design and develop history-based grand strategy games. These Grand Strategy Games are enjoyed all over the world. One member of the team at Paradox Tinto who I had the pleasure to work with, was Barcelona-based Álvaro Sanz. Together we worked on a selection of history-based lectures that accompany the Europa Universalis IV Mandate of Heaven DLC (DLC: Downloadable Content). The time period covered in the game coincides with the Ming and early Qing Dynasties. This series of lectures accompanied the time period of the Mandate of Heaven DLC. And as of June 20th, everything's now available to all players of Europa Universalis IV. This experience of collaborating with the team at Paradox to develop all this new content was also a great learning experience for me. Grand Strategy Games are passionately embraced by enthusiasts the world over. During this past year I have d

In this first episode of a multi-part series, we'll look at Yunnan's ancient beginnings during the Zhou Dynasty and take things up to the end of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the 10th century. The Dian Kingdom, the Cuanman, the beginnings of Nanzhao, and the rocky relationship between Tang Dynasty China, Tibet and Nanzhao. All of that will be looked at in this episode. Then next time in Part 2 we'll begin the Dali Kingdom. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we'll focus on modern China-Cambodia Relations. The rise of the Cambodian communists (Khmer Rouge) will be highlighted, along with how China helped to facilitate their rise and keep them in power. In addition to PRC support for the Khmer Rouge, we'll also look at the aftermath of their fall in 1979 and the complicated PRC-Vietnam-Cambodia triangle. The episode concludes with a look at present-day relations and China's Belt & Road projects in Cambodia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma's been integral to the CSP for a few seasons now. Here's one more nice chengyu that has loads of utility value. This time Emma herself, introduces the story behind the saying 世外桃源 Shì Wài Táo Yuán. This comes straight from the great Eastern Jin literatus Tao Yuanming. Many of us dreamers have thought about getting away from it all to escape to a utopian paradise. I hope you enjoy the story and Emma's telling of it. We'll be back next season with more useful and interesting Chinese Sayings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices