The History of China

After the untimely death of Shunzhi, a regency will be established for the 8-year-old newly-enthroned Kangxi Emperor. These four powerful Manchu lords will each be vying with power for themselves, and the last thing they'll be expecting is a 13-year-old kid to outwit them all. Time Period Covered: 1661-1669 CE Major Historical Figures: The Kangxi Emperor (Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722] Prince-Regent Oboi of the Gulwgiya Clan [c. 1610-1669] Prince-Regent Soni of the Heseri Clan [1601-1667] Prince-Regent Ebilun of the Noihori Clan [d. 1673] Prince-Regent Suksaha of the Nara Clan [d. 1667] Grand Empress-Dowager Xiaozhuang [1613-1688] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the untimely and mysterious death of Prince-Regent Dorgon, the thirteen-year-old Shunzhi Emperor takes personal command of the still unsteady Qing Empire. He's got a lot to do - and it will turn out, not terribly long to do it! From purging prince, to beheading grand secretaries, to winning conquests... to perhaps that hardest of them all: standing up to his own mother, it's Shunzhi in the driver's seat! Time Period Covered: 1651-1661 CE Major Historical Figures: House of Aisin Gioro: The Shunzhi Emperor (Fulin) [r. 1651-1661] Prince-Regent Dorgon [1612-1650] Jirgalang, Prince Zheng of the First Rank [1599-1655] Qing Imperial Court: Grand Secretariat Chen Mingxia [1601-1654] General Tantai of the Plain Yellow Banner [1594-1651] Grand Academician Feng Chuan [1596-1572] Grand Academician Ning Wanwo [1593-1665] General Ren Zhen Hong Chengchou, Pacifying General of Jiangnan [1593-1665] Wu Sangui, Prince of Western Pacification [1612-1678] Southern Ming/Rebels: Li Dingguo, Prince of Jin [1621-1662] Zheng Chenggong, Koxinga, Prince of Yanping [1624-1662] Works Cited: Dennerline, Jerry. "The Shun-chih Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, part 1: To 1800. "Records of Emperor Shizuzhang, Vol. 74" in Records of the Qing Dynasty [Qing Shilu]. Wakeman, Frederic Evans. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genghis Khan leaves the Jin Empire's subjugation to his generals, and makes his way home to Mongolia... only to find that his 5 years of campaigning have left his homeland in a bit of a mess. Siberians in rebellion and old foes cropping up in new places are things he can deal with... but when an unfamiliar warmongering powerhouse to the far West picks a fight, the nearly 60-year-old Great Khan will unleash the wrath of the Eternal Heaven down upon them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Koxinga takes Taiwan by storm, forcing the Dutch East India Company off the island for good, and heralding the dawn of Chinese rule over that overseas outpost. Time Period Covered: 1661-1664 CE Major Historical Figures: Southern Ming Loyalists [Xiamen, Fujian]: Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662] Yang Ying, Court Revenue Officer & Recordkeeper Dutch East India Co. (VOC) [Ft. Zeelandia, Taiwan]: He Tingbin, Headman & translator Cornelius Caesar [Governor, 1651-1656] Frederick Coyett [Governor, 1656-1662] Hermanus Clenk van Odesse [Governor-select, dispatched 1662] Admiral Jan van der Laan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between the Southern Ming warlord Zheng Chenggong in Fujian, and the Dutch East India Company across the Taiwan Strait in Ft. Zeelandia, a curious figure named He Tingbin serves as the two powers' sole line of communication and diplomacy. But He Tingbin has only one true master - himself. And in his drive to maximize his own gains (and minimize his risk of exposure) he will throw the entire cross-strait dialogue into chaos... Time Period Covered: 1657-1661 CE Major Historical Figures: Southern Ming Loyalists [Xiamen, Fujian]: Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662] Yang Ying, Court Revenue Officer & Recordkeeper Dutch East India Co. (VOC) [Ft. Zeelandia, Taiwan]: He Tingbin, Headman & translator Cornelius Caesar [Governor, 1651-1656] Frederick Coyett [Governor, 1656-1662] Hermanus Clenk van Odesse [Governor-select, dispatched 1662] Admiral Jan van der Laan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Manchu armies of Great Qing press ever-southward, they put increasing pressure on Ming loyalists seeking either escape or additional lands to feed their war efforts. The warlord of Fujian, Zheng Chenggong, the Lord of the Imperial Surname, will begin eying the holdings of the Dutch East India Co. on Formosa as just such a target. Time Period Covered: ca. 1639-1659 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662] VOC: Christiaan Beyer, Ft. Zeelandia Surgeon-in-chief Taiwanese: Guo Huaiyi, rebel leader [d. 1652] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

by H.P. Lovecraft Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though the Japanese bow out of the race for Taiwan with the establishment of the Sakoku "Closed Country" laws, the Spanish set up shot on the northern shore in an effort to stymie Dutch efforts at Ft. Zeelandia in the south. Of course you realize this means war. And surely the Chinese must be around here somewhere, right? Also, there will be rice... and sugar. Time Period Covered: ~1630-1643 CE Major Historical Figures: Dutch East India Co./ Ft. Zeelandia: Governor Hans Putmans Iberian Union/Santissama Trinidad /Manila: King Philip II Luis Perez Dasmariñas, Governor of Manila Hurtado de Corcuera, Governor-General of the Philippines Ming Dynasty: Zheng Zhilong Other: Yan Siqi Aboriginal Factions: Taparri Kimaurri Mattau Soulang Baccluan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Events on the high seas and islands alike reach a fevered pitch as the Dutch, Japan, China, and Portugal all vie for profit and supremacy over Taiwan and its lucrative trade. Meanwhile - call them what you will (because it's hard to keep track - but the "independent merchants" or "pirate lords" ... sometimes even turned government agents keep looking to exploit every opportunity to enrich themselves while avoiding the noose. Take what you can, give nothin' back! Timeframe Covered: ca. 1600-1639 Major Historical Figures: Dutch East India Company/Batavia/Ft. Zeelandia: Capt. Elie Ripon Pieter Nuyts, Governor of Formosa [1598-1655] Catholic Church: Georgius Candidus [1597-1647] Independent Traders/Pirates of Taiwan: Salvador Diaz of Macau Yan Siqi [d. ~1625] Li Dan "Captain China" [d. ~1625] Li Kuiqi ("Quitsicq") Zhong Bin Liu Xiang Ming China: Chen Di, Ming imperial official [1541-1617] Xu Xinsu ("Simpsou"), merchant-contact "Patrolling Admiral" Zheng Zhilong [1604-1661] Shogunate Japan: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, "The Great Unifier" [1537-1598] Suetsugu Heizo Masanao, merchant-lord [1546-1630] Suetsugu Heizo Masafusa, the scion Taiwan Aboriginal Groups: the Sinkan the Mattau Major Sources Cited: Andrade, Tonio (2005). How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Sevententh Century. Andrade, Tonio (2004). "The Company's Chinese Pirates: How the Dutch East India Company Tried to Lead a Coalition of Pirates to War against China, 1621-1662" in Journal of World History, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Dec., 2004). Clements, Jonathan (2004). Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty. Ripon, Elie [Leonard Blussé & Jaap de Moor, trans.] (2016). Captain Ripon’s Maritime Adventures in the East Indies: The Diary of a Mercenary Soldier, 1617-1627. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pirates! Headhunters! Samurai! The Dutch! Every day's high-stakes adventure on the island everyone's totally ignored until the 1600s! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nemo me impune lacessit. In pace requiescat! by: Edgar Allen Poe, 1846 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prince Regent Dorgon of Great Qing is riding high, at the height of his majesty, power, and untouchability. Why, he's even starting to think of himself as more of the ruler than the 6-year-old emperor who is his charge. Those are mighty fine wings you've got there, Icarus... Time Period Covered: 1646-1651 CE Major Historical Actors: Qing: The Shunzhi Emperor (Fulin) [r. 1663-1661] Prince Dorgon, Regent of Great Qing [1612-1650] Ajige, Prince Ying of the First Rank [1605-1651] Dodo, Prince of Yu [1614-1649] Bolo, Prince Duanzhong [1613-1652] Hong Chengchou [1593-1665] Jirgalang, Prince Zheng of the First Rank [1599-1655] Haoge, Prince Su [1609-1648] Mandahai, Prince Xunjian of the First Rank [1622-1652] Gen. Tantai of the Plain Yellow Banner [1594-1651] Gen. Wu Sangui, "Prince of Western Pacification" [1612-1678] Southern Ming: Zhu Yujian, Prince of Tang/Longwu Emperor [1602-1646] Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, Regent of Great Ming [1618-1662] General Zheng Hongkui [d. 1654] Zheng Zhilong (Nicholas Iquan Gaspard), Marquis of Tong'an [1604-1661] Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) [1624-1662] Other Rebel Forces: Zhang Xianzhong, "Emperor of Xi" [r.1644-1647] Jin Shenghuan [d. 1649] Mi-la-yin [d. 1650] Major Works Cited: Dennerline, Jerry. "The Shun-chih Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part One: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800. Struve, Lynn A. "The Southern Ming, 1644-1662" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7 The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, part I. Wakeman, Frederic. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A panoply of season spookiness for your yearly, ear-ly shocks and delights! 0:00:44 - "The Secrets of Hanlin Academy" - Old haunts have many mysteries contained within, some best left alone... 0:04:55 - "Meat Vegetables" - You are what you eat... 0:08:30 - "The Appearance of the Sha" - Sometimes they come back... 0:16:10 - "What Qi Becomes" - ... And sometimes they want more than what you're willing to give... 0:21:02 - "That Which Remains" - Justice is swiftly forgotten; injustice frequently lasts beyond the grave... 0:25:05 - "A Conversation With a Friend About the End of Things" - What do we leave behind? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more You are all I long for, all I worship and adore 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Manchu occupation of the lands south of the Yangtze River proceed smoothly... right up until Prince Dorgon is convinced by some of his advisors that everyone needs a haircut. Within Southern Ming, multiple princes vie for power - such as it it - at pretty much the worst possible time to be having a throne-fight. Time Period Covered: 1645-1646 CE Major Historical Actors: Qing: Prince Dorgon, Regent of Great Qing [1612-1650] Dodo, Prince of Yu [1614-1649] Bolo, Prince Duanzhong [1613-1652] Hong Chengchou [1593-1665] Southern Ming: Zhu Yujian, Prince of Tang/Longwu Emperor [1602-1646] Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, Regent of Great Ming [1618-1662] General Zheng Hongkui [d. 1654] Zheng Zhilong (Nicholas Iquan Gaspard), Marquis of Tong'an [1604-1661] Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) [1624-1662] Major Works Cited: Dennerline, Jerry. "The Shun-chih Reiegn" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part One: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800 Struve, Lynn A. "The Southern Ming, 1644-1662" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7 The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, part I. Wakeman, Frederic. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beijing has been brutally captured, with the Ming emperor committing suicide rather than face the bandit army of Li Zicheng. However, before he can get comfortable, the full might of the Qing are on their way to "liberate" the Chinese empire from, well, the Chinese. What follows is as chaotic as it is lightning swift, as the Manchu hordes, chase the fleeing remnants of the fallen Ming court south to what they pray will be a refuge: Nanjing. Time Period Covered: Apr. 1644- Nov. 1645 Major Historical Figures: Qing: The Shunzhi Emperor (Aisin Gyoro Fulin) [r. 1643-1661] Dorgon, Prince Ruizhong [1612-1650] Ajige, Prince Ying [1605-1651] Dodo, Prince Yu [1614-1649] Prime Minister Fan Wencheng [1597-1666] Ming: The Chongzhen Emperor [r. 1627-1644] General Wu Sangui [1612-1678] General Hong Chengchou [1593-1665] General Zuo Liangyu [1599-1645] General Shi Kefa [1601-1645] Bandit: Li Zicheng [d. 1644] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a hot summer, and a long break for me! Let's get back into things with a little extra Mongol action... “The imperial city was ripped open … Zhongdu was not one but four cities. We took each of them in turn, methodically killing and razing everything that dared stand upright under Tenggeri. The palaces and gardens of the King of Gold [Jin] were ransacked, revealing such riches that the tribute paid three seasons before by the Jin emperor now seem derisory and humiliating. “A whole moon was needed to collect the bodies and count them. And the city burned for another moon still, creating such a stench that even the scavengers kept away.” - Jöchi, ca. 1215 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the once-great Ming, the 1630s... suck. Manchus are battering down the creaky northern defenses, foreign silver has dried up, the treasuries are empty, famine, plague and locust swarms are ripping through the populace, and bandit warlords are causing a ruckus in the west... with an increasing eye on the capital itself. Time Period Covered: ca. 1638-1644 CE Major Historical Figures: Great Ming: The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Youjian) [r. 1627-1644] Xiong Wencan, Supreme Commander of Bandit Pacification [d. 1639] General Yang Sichang [d. 1641] General Sun Chuanting [d. 1643] General Wu Sangui [1616-1678] Great Qing: Hong Taiji [1592-1643] Prince Abatai [1589-1646] Prince Dorgon [1612-1650] Rebels/Bandits: Li Zicheng, "The Dashing King" [1606-1645] Zhang Xiangzhong, "The Yellow Tiger" [1606-1647] Major Sources Cited: Atwell, William. "The T'ai-ch'ang, T'ian-ch'i, and Ch'ung-chen reigns" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I. Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We're releasing one from the paid vaults to share with everyone! (Don't worry, there's still plenty more exclusive Mongol content)... consider heading on over to Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina to support the show and catch up with all things steppe-rider! Genghis Khan rules the steppe. Yet before he'll be able to expand beyond its vast, rolling expanse, he'll have to deal with several in-house issues, particularly the ambitions of a powerful shaman named Teb Tengri, who may have designed on Genghis' power and position...   Time Period Covered: 1206-1209CE  Major Historical Figures:  Borjigin: Genghis Khan (Temujin) Börte, Temujin's First Wife Ho'elun, Temujin's Mother Khasar, Temujin's Second Brother Temuge Otchigin, Prince of the Hearth, Temujin's Youngest Brother Chaga, Temujin's 11th Wife  Mongol: Kokhchu Teb Tengri, Shaman Monglik  Jurchen Jin: Emperor Zhangzong of Jin Wanyan Yongji, Prince Shao of Wei Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the newly enthroned Khan of the Manchus, Hong Taiji has a lot of plates to keep spinning. Conquest of Joseon Korea to the east, conquest of the Chahar Mongols to the west, and continuing to pound against the ever-weakening Ming Dynasty to the south. But he still has time for aesthetic considerations, such as the fact that names like "Jurchen" and "Jin" are so passé, while names like "Manchu" and "Qing" are the new hotness. Time Period Covered: 1626-1643 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing: Hong Taiji (Emperor Taizong of Qing) [r. 1626-1643] Prince Amin [1585-1640] Prince Haoge [1609-1648] Prince Dorgon [1612-1650] Prince Fulin (The Shunzi Emperor) [r. 1643-1661] Ming: Gen. Mao Wenlong [1576-1629] Gen. Yuan Chonghuan [1584-1630] Gen. Zu Dashou [d. 1656] Gen. Hong Chenchou [1593-1665] Gen. Wu Sangui [1612-1678] Joseon: King Injo [r. 1623-1649] Northern Yuan: Ligdan Khan [r. 1603-1634] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chongzhen Emperor takes command of the Ming, but things are not going well... and they're not going to get any better. After purging his government of partisan elements, he find he's now condemned it to hopeless deadlock. Along the southern coasts, pirate fleets and Dutch privateers prowl the water, making trade all but impossible. Economic and currency woes lead, combined with repeated natural catastrophes lead to widespread banditry and rebel factions doing what they must to survive... and through it all, the Manchu threat to the north continue to press its advantage, breaking through the Great Wall, and going so far as to raid around Beijing itself! Time Period Covered: 1628-1636 Major Historical Figures: Ming Empire: The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Yujian) [r. 1628-1644] General Yuan Conghuan [1584-1630] Zheng Zhilong, Admiral of the South Seas [1604-1661] Grand Secretary Wen Tiren [1584-1639] Qing Dynasty: Hong Taiji (Emperor Taizong of Qing) [r. 1626-1643] Amin [1585-1640] Commander Kong Youde [d. 1562] Geng Zhongming [1604-1649] Rebels: Li Zicheng [1606-1649] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great Ming's 15th emperor steps up to bat at the tender age of 15, but he's not terribly interested in tackling the challenges facing the empire. He'd rather sit in his room and... build models. As if that weren't enough, things go from already-bad to even-worse when a certain eunuch with a mountain of a chip on his shoulder manages to wrangle the reins of power from the teenage monarch. Time Period Covered: 1620-1627 CE Major Historical Figures: The Tianqi Emperor (Zhu Youjiao) [r. 1620-1627] Exalted Duke Wei Zhongxian [1568-1627] Madame Ke [1605-1627] Minister of War Cui Chengxiu [1571-1627] Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao [1559-1627] Minister Liu Zongzhou [1578-1645] Vice Censor-in-Chief Yang Lian [1572-1625] Xu Hengru, White Lotus rebel leader [d. 1623] The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Yujian) [r. 1627-1644] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WE today join the host of The History Daily Podcast, Lindsay Graham, as he recounts the harrowing 1281 invasion of Japan by the fearsome combined force of Mongols, Chinese, and Koreans. All seems lost for the archipelagic kingdom... until a most unusual wind begins to blow... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please take a few minutes to help out the show by taking the Airwave listener survey! Thank you in advance! www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave  We revisit the pivotal Battle of Sarhu of 1619/20, but this time from the Ming perspective. Then we'll finally send the Wanli Emperor into his tomb and take stock of his reign and legacy, before getting into our final few emperors Great Ming has left in the tank. Time Period Covered: 1619-1621 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yujin) [r. 1572-1620] The Taichang Emperor (Zhu Changluo) [r. 1620-1620] The Tianqi Emperor (Zhu Youjiao) [r. 1620-1627] Consort Li Supreme Commander Yang Hao [d. 1629] General Du Song, "The Madman" [d. 1619] General Ma Lin [d. 1619] General Li Rubo [d. 1621] General Liu Ting [d. 1619] Manchu/Later Jin: Nurhachi [r. 1616-1626] Amba Beile Daisan [1583-1648] Hong Taiji [1592-1643] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Manchuria all but tapped out, Nurhachi and his Manchus seek to expand in the only direction that makes any sense - south into Ming territory. It's time for the Airing of Grievances! He's got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're gonna hear about it!! Time Period Covered: ~1618-1626 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please help support the show by taking this quick survey! Thanks very much! www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave. In the frigid wilds beyond the Great Wall, a young warrior will begin a grand campaign to establish himself as the sovereign of All Under Heaven, and overthrow an ancient rival. Time Period Covered: 1559-1619 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: The Wanli Emperor General Li Chengliang Aisin-Gioro/Later Jin/Manchu: Nurhachi, Heavenly Mandated Khan of Jin [1559-1626] Giocangga [d. 1582] Surhaci [d. 1611] Cuyen [d. 1615] Hong Taiji Nikan Wilan Dragon-Tiger General Meggebulu Check out the French History Podcast by Dr. Gary Girod: http://thefrenchhistorypodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ming China gets down and dirty with a Miao Rebellion the the Southwest, a Mongol(-ish) urprising in the Northwest, and a newly re-unified Japan gettin just a little too big for their britches in Korea. Time Period Covered: 1587-1600 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Ming China enters the 16th century, the Wanli Emperor, his ministers, a new canal, Portuguese & Spanish explorers, the usual gaggle of Chinese neighbors, the Philippines, the Christian Church, The White Lotus, and - of course - the Jesuits all start becoming one another problems... Time Period Covered: ~1600-1617 CE Major Historical Figures: MING: The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yizhun) [r. 1572-1620] Li Zhi, persecuted Neo-Confucian philosopher [1527–1602] Li Rusong, Ming Commander in Chief [d. 1598] Wang Yangming, Master of the "School of the Mind" [1472–1529] Wang Zhicai, politician & assaultee [d. 16??] Zhang Zha, the "Attack With the Club" Intruder [d. 1617] OTHERS: Limahong (Lin Feng), Pirate Leader out of Manila [1499-1574] Wang Wang Gao, Ming Captian/Spanish Liason [15??] Fr. Martin de Rada [1533-1578] Nurhaci, Mysterious Aisin Gyoro Leader [1559- 1626] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First a brief lookback on the crazy, nutso year that was 2022, as our intrepid host deals with an unfortunate year-end bout of COVID... Then, a reach deep into the archives for an oldie, but goodie from a few centuries ago... This short episode covers the life of one of the great mathematicians, astronomers, and engineers of ancient China: Zu Chongzhi. In his life from 429-500 CE, he will re-create an ancient precursor to the compass that had been lost for centuries, calculate the motions of the celestial objects with a degree of accuracy in excess of 99.9%, design a comprehensive new calendar system, and derive the value of π to a degree of accuracy that would not be surpassed the world over for another millennium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being the most powerful person in the empire must be nothing but the good life, right? Well... not so much. And especially with the truly dysfunctional Ming system facing the newly-adult Wanli Emperor, it's a system that promises all the perks, but delivers only drudgery, frustration, and disappointment. Not even 5,000 concubines can make up for that... Time Period Covered: 1582-1600 CE Major Historical Figures: The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yizhun) [r. 1572-1620] Empress Xiaoduan (Wang Xijie) [1564-1620] Noble Consort Wang [1565-1611] Prince Zhu Changluo, "First Imperial Son" [1582-1620] Noble Consort Zheng [1565-1630] Prince Zhu Changxun, "Third Imperial Son" [1586-1641] Grand Secretary Zhang Zhuzheng [d. 1582] Major Sources Cited: Duhalde, Marcelo. “Life inside the Forbidden City: how women were selected for service” in South China Morning Post (July 12, 2018). Huang, Ray. 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline. Huang, Ray. “The L’ung-ch’ing and Wan’li Reigns, 1567-1620” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I. Toshima, Yoriko [Su Chung]. Court Dishes in China.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protests erupt across Chinese cities in perhaps the largest demonstration of public outcry in more than 30 years. Today, we look at some of the major reasons why. [WARNING: Disturbing Content - audio clips of deadly fire, protests, clashes with police] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 29, the weak and ineffectual Longqing Emperor take the Dragon Throne in 1567. But it won't be long before the curse of the House of Zhu strikes him down, leaving Great Ming to his 9-year-old son, Wanli. That means - of course - the government is in the hands of the court ministers and its all-powerful Grand Secretary, the ruthlessly conniving Zhang Juzheng. Time Period Covered: 1567-1582 CE Major Historical Figures: The Longqing Emperor (Zhu Zaihou) [r. 1567-1572] The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yijun) [r. 1567-1620] Grand Secretary Xu Jie [1503-1583] Grand Secretary Gao Gong [1513-1578] Senior Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng [1525-1582] Sources Cited: Huang, Ray. 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty In Decline. Huang, Ray. “Lung-ch’ing and Wan-li Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1. Melvin, Shelia. “China’s Reluctant Emperor” in The New York Times (11/07/2011). Miller, H. State Versus Gentry In Late Ming Dynasty China, 1572-1644. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great Ming has a pirate problem on its hands. Unable to effectively suppress it militarily, the officials in charge turn to wheeling and dealing to get the seabooters to give up their outlaw ways. But when the Jiajing Emperor starts sticking his nose in to such affairs from way up in Beijing, suddenly all bets are off... Time Period Covered: 1549-1567 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: The Jiajing Emperor (Zhu Houcong) [r. 1521-1567] Grand Chancellor Yan Song [1480-1567] Nanjing Minister of War Zhang Jing [d. 1555] Censor Zhao Wenhua [d. 1557] Censor Hu Zongxian [1512-1565] Commander Yu Dayou [1512-1579] Commander Qi Zhiguang [1528-1588] Pirates: Wang Zhi, CEO of the High Seas [d. 1559] Captain Xu Hai [d. 1556] Lord Shimazi of Osumi Province Works 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A man of science and his subject conduct one final experiment in an attempt to stave off death itself... by. Edgar Allen Poe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I am once again locked in at home, things are getting rather touchy on a bridge in Beijing, as well as online, threatening to spoil the Party's Big Party... All due credit to Samuel Wade for excellent episode name idea Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not all ghosts are scary! Some just want to be loved... some just want to write poems... 1:10 - Twenty Years a Dream 20:33 - A Fox Spirit Takes Off the Mask 25:32 - The Fire That Burst Into Flames Far From Where It was Set 29:08 - Yellow Leaf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cremation of Sam McGee By: Robert W. Service (1907) There are strange things done in the Midnight Sun By the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Someone has to be there to switch the projectors at the exact moment that one reel ends and the next one begins. If you look for it, you can see these little dots come into the upper right-hand corner of the screen. In the industry, we call 'em "cigarette burns." That's the cure for a changeover. He flips the projector, the movie keeps right on going, and nobody in the audience has any idea. In which THoC begins a glorious partnership with Airwave Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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): Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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?] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It isn't over, not really Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great Ming is having some problems with its border troops who think orders are actually "suggestions." The Jiajing Emperor is having some problems with his ministers being self-serving twits. Meanwhile, there's some strange happenings going on beyond the wild frontiers... Time Period Covered: ~1510-1540 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

05/13/2022 "Relax," said the night man, "We are programmed to receive." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Zhengde Emperor dead without an heir, the succession is in question and rebellion brewing. Fortunately, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe has planned for this and calls in his backup - the 13-year-old Prince of Xing, Zhengde's younger cousin. He'll come to power as the Jiajing Emperor... but Secretary Yang will very quickly find out that, though young, Jiajing is a spitfire who's here to play the game, not be played. Time Period Covered: 1519-1524 CE Major Historical Figures: Zhu Houcong (The Jiajing Emperor) [r. 1521-1567] Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe [1459-1529] Empress Dowager Zhang [1471-1541] Lady/Empress Dowager Jiang Major Works Cited: Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.” Legge, James. The Chinese Classics, Vol. III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 15 of 4: An overview of individual accounts of the unfolding Covid lockdown situation in Shanghai, the siege-mentality that has set in, and the struggles of day to day existence both on- and offline in a city cut off from the rest of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's trouble brewing in the south. A minor prince with delusions of grandeur gets a bit too big for his britches. Portuguese Pirates plunder peninsular ports before coming to call on Canton. This sounds like a job for the great General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm and Ultimate Party-Boat Enjoyer. Time Period Covered: ~1514-1521 CE Major Historical Figures: The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1505-1521] The Prince of Ning (Zhu Chenhao) [1477-1520] Jiang Bin Qian Ning [d. 1520] Grand Secretary Fei Heng Sun Sui, Governor of Jiangxi [d. 1519] General Wang Yangming [1472-1529] General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm, Duke of Zhenguo [?? -??] Tomé Pires, Portuguese explorer and ambassador [c. 1465-1524? or 40?] Major Works Cited: Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.” Keevak, Michael. Becoming Yellow: A Short History of Racial Thinking. Pires, Tomé, Armando Cortesão & Francisco Rodrigues. The Suma oriental of Tome Pires; and account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515; and, The book of Franciso Rodrigues: Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas: rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack, vol. 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new update with all the new craziness 2 years on before we once again step into Ye Olde Chinese Medicine Shoppe for the tour... Traditional Chinese Medicine – as its name duly implies – has been a part of China for at least 2,500 years. But what does it mean? Where does it come from? How does it work? And does it have a place it modern society? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Zhengde Emperor decides that being the divine sovereign is *boring* and that being a cool war-hero would be way cooler... and... it goes weirdly better than expected. Also, he gives himself a cool nickname, and makes everyone call him that. Time Period Covered: 1510-1518 CE Major Historical Figures: The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1505-1521] Jiang Bin Qian Ning Liu Yun, Eunuch Commander General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm [?? -??] Tibet The Prince of Rin-Sprungs [r. 1512-1544] Mongols: Dayan Khan (Batu Möngke) [r. 1479-1517] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The adolescent Zhengde Emperor sits the throne, but everyone in the know knows that it is the eunuch-lord Liu Jin who truly controls Great Ming. Not everyone's exactly thrilled with this situation, and they're gonna get Liu Jin got... or die trying. Time Period Covered: 1506-1510 CE Major Historical Figures: The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1506-1521] Liu Jin, Director of the Ceremonial [1451-1510] The Prince of Anhua (Zhu Zhifan) [d. 1510] Commander Qiu Yue General Yan Yiqing Inspector-in-Chief Zhang Yong Major Works Cited: Bourgon, Jérôme, Muriel Detrie, & Regis Poulet."Execution in Canton" in Chinese Torture – Supplices Chinois. Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.” Meadows, Thomas Taylor. The Chinese and Their Rebellions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Year of the Tiger! Great Ming decides that it's going to (re-)(re-)Build a Great, Great, Great Wall...and MAKE THE MONGOLS PAY FOR IT!* (*claim disputed by Mongolia) Major Work Cited: Fairbanks, John King. China: A New History, 2nd Edition. Mote, Frederick W. “The Ch’eng-hua and Hung-chih Reigns, 1465-1505” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, Part I. Waldron, Arthur. The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a very rocky start in life, the Chenghua Emperor takes the throne, only to be endlessly shoved around by overbearing mother, manipulative and murderous consorts, and conniving, terrorizing eunuchs. What else would one really expect for a guy with the personality of a west dishrag? Time Period Covered: 1464-1487 CE Major Historical Figures: The Chenghua Emperor (Zhu Jianshen) [r. 1464-1487] The Hongzhi Emperor (Zhu Youcheng) [1470-1505] Noble Consort Wan Zheng'er [1430-1487] Empress Wang Empress Wu Empress Dowager Zhou Empress Dowager Qian Grand Secretary Li Xian Lady Zhi Tangmei Eunuch Zhang Min Spymaster Wang Zhi Notable Works Cited: Mote, Frederick W. “The Ch’eng-hua and Hung-chih Reigns, 1465-1505” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, Part I. Li Shizhen. Bencao Ganmu (The Compendium of Materia Medica) Tsai, Shi-shan Henry. The Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the only thing better than 8 years on the podwaves? 8 years & 10,000,000 downloads, THAT'S WHAT!! In this episode we talk about what the definition of "is" is, Zen masters, *yet more farming history!,* when I plan to shut up, me reading poetry in Mandarin... & then the same poem in *reconstructed Old Chinese from 2k+ yrs ago*, and divination, which includes Nazis, Princess Mononoke, pigs & fish, and fictions within fictions with fictions at the heart of the truth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emperor Yingzong is back on his throne thanks to the conspirators loyal to him. Only they turn out to be not so much loyal to "him," as they are to the idea that they should have more and more power. It all culminates with yet another coup d'etat..真讨厌... Time Period Covered: 1457-1464 CE Major Historical Figures: Emperor Yingzong (Zhu Qizhen) [r. 1435-1449, 1457-1464] Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen [b. 1448] Yu Qian, Minister of War [d. 1457] Xu Yuzhen, Earl of Wugong [?] Shi Heng, Duke of Zhongguo [d. 1459] Cao Zhixiang, Director of Ceremonies [d. 1461] Grand Secretary Li Xian Imperial Guard Commander Lu Gao [d. 1461] General Cao Qin [d. 1461] General Shi Biao [?] General Sun Tang General Ma Ang General Wu Jin General Wu Cong Commander Ma Liang Commissioner Wanzhe Tuliang Vice Commissioner-in-Chief Esen Temur Works Cited: Qi, Dongfang. “Funerary Perception and Ritual Institution of Imperial Tang” in Kaogu Xuebao (tr. Lee Yun-kuen). Robinson, David M. “Politics, Force and Ethnicity in Ming China: Mongols and the Abortive Coup of 1461” in The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 59, No. 1. Stutton, Donald S. “Death Rites and Chinese Culture: Standardization and Variation in Ming and Qing Times” in Modern China, Vol. 33, No. 1. Twitchett, Denis & Tilemann Grimm. "The Cheng-t'ung, Ching-t'ai, and T'ien-shun reigns, 1436-1464" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I. Waldron, Arthur. The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the events at the Tumu Fort, Emperor Yingzong takes an unscheduled sabbatical in Mongolia, the Mongol warlord Esen Taishi attempts to return something lost for a price, Beijing battens down the hatches in preparation for Genghis Khan come anew, and brotherly love reaches its breaking point. Time Period Covered: 1449-1457 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming Dynasty: Zhu Qizhen (Emperor Yingzong) [r. Zhengtong Era: 1435-1449, Tianshun Era: 1457-1464] Zhu Qiyu (the Jingtai Emperor) [r. 1449-1457] Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen [b. 1447] Crown Prince Zhu Jianzhi [1448-1453] Minister Xu Yuzhen Xing An, Head Imperial Eunuch Yu Qian, Minister of War [1398-1457] Northern Yuan/Oirat Mongols: Esen Taishi [1407-1455, (r. as Khaghan of N. Yuan, 1453-1455)] Toghto Bukha (Taisun Khaghan) [r. 1433-1453] Xi Ning, turncoat eunuch [d. 1450] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our annual creepy charcuterie of 4 strange stories from all across Qing China, collected by Ji Yun from Beijing all the way to Urumqi. Today, we have 4 tales to send shivers down your spine: 1) "Professional Notes on the Jiangshi & Other Revenants" (begins @ 2:50) 2) "Checkpoints" (begins @ 19:44) 3) "Yeti Stones" (begins @ 28:43) 4) "Visitors From Beyond" (begins @ 34:37) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"There are black zones of shadow close to our daily paths, and now and then some evil soul breaks a passage through. When that happens, the man who knows must strike before reckoning the consequences." By: H.P. Lovecraft Read By: Chris Stewart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nyarlathotep . . . the crawling chaos . . . I am the last . . . I will tell the audient void. . . . Written By: H.P. Lovecraft Read By: Chris Stewart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A child sits the throne of Great Ming, which goes surprisingly alright… at least for a while. But when the old guard of the imperial regency starts dying off, a combination of naive youthful exuberance and pure political ambition from the power behind the throne will throw everything into chaos on the plains north of Beijing. Time Period Covered: 1435-1449 CE Major Historical Figures: Great Ming: Zhu Qizhen (Emperor Yingzong, the Zhengtong/Tianshun Emperor) [r. 1335-1449, 1457-1464] Grand Empress Dowager Chen [d. 1442] Wang Zhen, Eunuch Lord [d. 1449] Mongol Tribes: Esen, Taishi of the Oirat [d. 1455] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While dying emperors, shifting policies, and vindictive princes keep the capital busy, Admiral Zheng He will manage to sneak in on last joy-ride into the sunset aboard his beloved Treasure Fleet... Time Period Covered: 1424-1435 CE Major Historical Figures: The Hongxi Emperor (Zhu Gaochi) [r. 1424-1425] The Xuande Emperor (Zhu Zhanji) [r. 1425-1435] Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han [1380-1426] Zhu Gaosui, the Prince of Zhao [1383-1431] Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zheng He's Treasure Fleet finally arrives on the African coast, and the Yongle Emperor celebrates the apex of his reign with the grand opening of Beijing and the Forbidden City. But dark clouds continue to build, but in the emperor's aged, troubled mind, and literally on the horizon... a storm is coming... Time Period Covered: 1416-1424 CE Major Historical Figures: The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424] The Noble Consort Zhaoxian, née Wang [d. ca. 1420] Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435] Mirza Sharukh, Sultan of the Timurid Dynasty [r. 1405-1447] 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having laid waste to the once glorious city of Baghdad, Hulegu Ilkhan now sets his sights east of the Euphrates, to the fertile lands of Syria and Egypt beyond. But what's to follow will set of a momentous clash in Galilee, at a spring called Ain Jalut, that will shake the very fundaments of history... Time Period Covered: 1258-1260 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Mongke Khaghan Khubilai Ilkhan Ariq Boke Ilkhanate: Hulegu Ilkhan General Baiju General Kitbuqa Ayyubid Dynasty: al-Muzzam Turanshah al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf al-Aziz al-Zayn al-Hafizi Mamluks: Saif ad-Din Qutuz Baybars al Bunduqdari, "The Great Lord Panther" European Christendom: King Louis IX of France Bohemond V of Antioch Bohemond VI of Antioch King Hethum I of Cilicia Major Sources Cited: Amitai, Reuven. Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk Ilkhanate War, 1260-1281. Amitai, Reuven. “An Exchange of Letters in Arabic Between Abakha Ilkhan and Sultan Baybars (A.H. 667/A.D. 1268-69)” in Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1. Gillespie, Alexander. Causes of War, Volume II: 1000 CE to 1400 CE. Grousset, René. Empire of the Steppes: A history of Central Asia. Subani, Hamad. The Secret History of Iran. Richard, Jean. The Crusades, C.1071-1291. Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades. Tschanz, David W. “History’s Hinge: ‘Ain Jalut” in Saudi Aramco World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this darkest of timelines, flickers of remembrance are more precious than ever... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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] Mongol Khanates: Bunyashiri of the Eastern Tribes [d. 1412] Mahmud of the Oirat [d. 1416] Arughtai of the Oirat [d. 1434] Dai Viet: Ho Qui Ly [1336- ca. 1407] Tran Thien-binh [d. 1406] Tran Nguy [?-?] Tran Qui-khoang (Trung Quang Emperor) [d. 1414] Le Loi [1384-1433] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A great conversation with Alex & Peter of "History's Most" about the worst civil war many have *still* never heard of - the Taiping Rebellion! Check out their great show at: https://historysmost.libsyn.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Yongle Emperor has taken command... and we're in for a really, really, really great time.... Time Period Covered: 1402-1424 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The civil war between the Jianwen Emperor and his uncle, the Prince of Yan, rages on across the realm. Both sides will feel the terror and pain of the fearsome realities combat... but in the end, only one will be left standing. Time Period Covered: 1399-1402 CE Major Historical Figures: The Jianwen Emperor (Zhu Yunwen) [r. 1398-1402] Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424] Minister Huang Zicheng [1350-1402] Minister Qi Tai [d. 1402] Minister Fang Xiaoru [1357-1402] General Geng Bingwen [1334-1403] General Li Jinglong [1369-1424] Major Works Cited: Andrade, Tonio. “How Yongle learned to stop worrying and love the gun” in The Ming World. Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te Reigns, 1399-1435” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1633, Part I. Ditmanson, Peter. “Venerating the Martyrs of the 1402 Usurpation: History and Memory in the Mid and late Ming Dynasty” in T’oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 93. Ditmanson, Peter. “Fang Xiaoru: Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming” in The Human Tradition in Premodern China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Hongwu Emperor's death, his grandson - Zhu Yunwen - will assume command. He's been brought up and trained in the highest of Confucian ethics and morals, and will seek to curb the excesses of his dear grandfather's... more bloodthirsty policies. But not everyone is thrilled at the new leaf being turned in the book of the regime... especially those who stand to lose much more than they could possibly gain. Time Period Covered: 1398-1399 CE Major Historical Figures: The Jianwen Emperor (Zhu Yunwen) [r. 1398-1402] Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424] Minister Huang Zicheng [1350-1402] Minister Qi Tai [d. 1402] Minister Fang Xiaoru [1357-1402] General Geng Bingwen [1334-1403] General Li Jinglong [1369-1424] Major Works Cited: Andrade, Tonio. “How Yongle learned to stop worrying and love the gun” in The Ming World. Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te Reigns, 1399-1435” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1633, Part I. Ditmanson, Peter. “Venerating the Martyrs of the 1402 Usurpation: History and Memory in the Mid and late Ming Dynasty” in T’oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 93. Ditmanson, Peter. “Fang Xiaoru: Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming” in The Human Tradition in Premodern China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hongwu Emperor enters the twilight of his life. But before he's ready to ride off into that long sunset, he's going to take a hell of a lot more people with him... Time Period: 1387-1398 CE Major Historical FIgures: The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398] Crown Prince Zhu Biao [1355-1392] Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen (The Jianwen Emperor) [1377-1402] Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin [1356-1395] Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin [1358-1398] Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424] Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou [1361-1425] General Fu Youde [1327-1394] General Feng Sheng [d. 1395] Major Sources: Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I. Robinson, David M. In the Shadow of the Mongol Empire: Ming China and Eurasia. Sun, Bing. “The burial system of imperial concubines in the Ming Dynasty and the ‘ancestral system’ of the Ming Dynasty.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(NOTE: This is Pt. 1 or 2. The Full Episode & all other bonus content is available via Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina) Mongke has ascended as the Great Khan of the Mongols and set loose his younger brother, Hulegu Ilkhan to bring the Islamic world to heel. The Caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, al-Mustasim, sits ensconced in his citadel city of Baghdad - the jewel of Islam - and believes that Allah above and his loyal subjects beneath will be more than a match for barbarian hordes. He's about to learn a lesson neither he - nor the world - will ever forget... Time Period Covered: 1258-1259 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Hülegü Ilkhan [ca. 1215-1265] General Kitbukha [d. 1260] General Baiju [1201-1260] Abbasid Caliphate: al-Musta’sim-Billah Abu-Ahmad Abdullah bin al-Mustansir  Billah, 37th Caliph [1213-1258] Governor Shahab al Din Sulaiman shah [d. 1258] Vizier Ibn al Alkami [1197-1258] Major Sources Cited: Al-Din, Rashid. Jami al Tararikh (Compendium of Histories). Al-Din, Rashid (tr. John Andrew Boyle). The Successors of Genghis Khan. Chugtai, Mizra Azeem Baig. “The Fall of Baghdad” in The Annal of Urdu Studies. Daftary, Farhad. The Isma’ilis: Their History and Doctrines. Hillenbrand, Robert. “Propaganda in the Mongol ‘World History’” in British Academy Review, issue 17 (March 2011). Hodgson, M. G. S. “The Isma’ili State” in The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Jamal, Nadia Eboo. Surviving the Mongols: Nizari Quhistani and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia. Marozzi, Justin. Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood. Paris, Matthew of (tr. John Allen Giles). Chronica Majora (Matthew Paris’s English History From the Year 1235 to 1273, Volume 1). Saunders, J.J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. van Ruysbroeck, Willem (tr. W. W. Rockhill & Peter Jackson). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian del Carpine. Wiet, Gaston. Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To both the north and south, the armies of Great Ming continue to achieve order from chaos and stability across the realm, in the imperial palace at Nanjing, the Hongwu Emperor sits the Dragon Throne - as mercurial and temperamental as its very namesake... and woe betide anyone who stokes the dragon's wrath. Still, in the name of greater peace (and fewer mass slaughters), many a brave (and often fatally foolish)scholar will tempt fate by trying to tell Hongwu what he's doing wrong. Time Period Covered: 1379-1389 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r.1368-1398] Duke Li Wenzhong [d. 1384] General Fu Youde [d. 1394] General Feng Sheng [?] General Lan Yu [d. 1393] General Mu Ying [d. 1392] Scholar Chen Wenhui [d. 1381] Scholar Li Shilu [d. 1381] Scholar Xie Jin [1369-1415] Yuan/Yunnanese: Toghus Temür Khan [d. 1388] Basalawarmi, the Prince of Liang [d. 1382] General Naghachu [d. 1388] Si Lunfa, Chieftain of Shan [d. 1386?] Major Works Cited: Crossley, Pamela Kyle, et al. Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity and Frontier in Early Modern China. Dillon, Michael. China’s Muslim Hui Community: Migration, Settlements and Sects. Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I. Tsai, Shi-shan Henry. The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.g. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the destruction of the Khwarazmian Empire in 1221, the Mongol Empire's appetite for conquest to the west is whetted. It will take a few Great Khans to kick it off, but with the accession of Möngke to the throne in 1251, the way will be laid bare - to be led by his brother Hülegü Khan. The only thing standing between him and the beating heart of Islam is a ragged band of heretics scattered across the mountain fortresses of northern Persia - a group known as the Nizari Isma'ili... or more infamously: the Assassins. Time Period Covered: 765-1257 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259] Hülegü Ilkhan [r. 1251-1265] General Ket-Buqa (Noyan) [d. 1260] Nizari Isma'ili: Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq [702-765] Hassan-i Sabbah [1050-1124] Imam Jalal al-Din Hassan [1187-1221] Imam Ala al-Din Muhammad III [1211-1255] Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah [1230-1256] Other: Brother Matthew of Paris [1200-1259] Friar William of Rubruck [1220-1293] Ata-Malik Juvayni [1226-1283] Rashid al-Din Hamadani [1247-1318] Major Sources Cited: Al-Din, Rashid (tr. John Andrew Boyle). The Successors of Genghis Khan. Daftary, Farhad. The Isma’ilis: Their History and Doctrines. Hillenbrand, Robert. “Propaganda in the Mongol ‘World History’” in British Academy Review, issue 17 (March 2011). Hodgson, M. G. S. “The Isma’ili State” in The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Jamal, Nadia Eboo. Surviving the Mongols: Nizari Quhistani and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia. Marozzi, Justin. Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood. Paris, Matthew of (tr. John Allen Giles). Chronica Majora (Matthew Paris’s English History From the Year 1235 to 1273, Volume 1). Saunders, J.J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. van Ruysbroeck, Willem (tr. W. W. Rockhill & Peter Jackson). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian del Carpine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor... has got a bit of a trust problem. It starts with him getting upset that his officials are "cutting corners" when it comes to official counts of tribute payments & the stamped documents verifying them. But it quickly spirals into full-blown paranoia that absolutely everyone is out to get them, and the only was he knows how to confront this problem is by getting all of his "enemies" first. Time Period Covered: ca. 1373-1382 CE Major Historical Figures: The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398] Crown Prince Zhu Biao [1355-1392] Zhu Shuang, Prince Min of Qin [1356-1395] Zhu Gang, Prince Gong of Jin [1358-1398] Zhu Di, Prince of Yan [1360-1424] Chancellor Hu Weiyong [d. 1380] Gao Qi [1334-1374] Prefect Ye Boju [d. 1376] Academician Zheng Shili [d. 1376] Sources Cited: Brook, Timothy. The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I. Laozi. Dao De Jing. Luo, Yuming. A Concise History of Chinese Literature. Strassberg, Richard E. Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might not be able to go on a real holiday - but today we take a little audio trip to the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang... famed across the millennia for its beautiful bay, canals, and the famous West Lake. This is no ordinary tourist get-away, though, because we'll be skipping across time, looking at the highlights of its early history. Time Period Covered: ca. 5,000 BCE- ca. 960 CE Major Sources: Cotterell, Arthur. The Imperial Capitals of China – An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. Giles, Lionel (tr.) Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessey. The Cambridge History of Ancient China. Mote, F.W. Imperial China.(900-1800). Rossabi, Morris. China Among Equals: the Middle Kingdom and its Neighbors, 10th-14th centuries. Schmidt, J. D. Within the Human Realm: The Poetry of Huang Zunxian, 1848-1905. Yan, Zi. Famous Temples in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hongwu Emperor officially accedes to the throne as the founding ruler of Great Ming, to as much pomp and circumstance as his ministers can possibly pack in to the ceremony. After the parties are all done and the sacrifices all made, however, the real work of governing an empire that has been ravaged for centuries begins… and not everyone is happy about having a new sovereign sitting atop the dragon throne. Time Period Covered: 1367-1373 CE Major Historical Figures: Great Ming: The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398] Empress Xiaocigao (née Ma Xuying) [1332-1382] Zhu Biao, Crown Prince [1355-1392] Zhu Shuang, Prince of Qin [1356-1395] Zhu Gang, Prince of Jin [1358-1398] Zhu Di, Prince of Yan [1360-1424] Tao Kai, Minister of Rites General Xu Da [1332-1385] General Deng Yu General Fu Youde [1327-1394] Ambassador Zhao Zhi Xia Kingdom (Sichuan): Emperor Ming Yuzhen [r. 1360-1366] Emperor Ming Sheng [r. 1366-1371] Nanchō Japan: Prince Kaneyoshi, the Chinzei Shogun [c. 1329-1383] Monk Sorai Major Works Cited: Chan, Hok-Lam. “Ming Taizu’s Problem With his Sons: Prince Qin’s Criminality and Early Ming Politics” in Asia Major, Third Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (2007). Langlois, John D. “The Hung-wu Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The list of their disasters was much lengthened [...] and whenever they tried to force a way into the borders of the empire, they were beaten back. They were once more confined to the great desert, whence they originally sprang.” “Although I am a woman, I have avenged the vengeance of my husband. When I die, there will be no regret.” Time Period Covered: 1368~1399 CE Major Historical Figures: Yuan/ Northern Yuan: Toghon Temür (Emperor Shun) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1369] Ayurshiridara (Biligtü Khan) [r. 1370-1378] Prince Maidiribala [1338-1378] General Köke Temür [1330-1375] Elbeg Khan [r. 1393-1399] Oljeitu Khatun [d. ~1399] Ming: Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) [r. 1368-1399] Xu Da, "Barbarian-Conquering Generalissimo" [1332-1385] General Li Wenzhong [1339-1383] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You are invited to a very exclusive party. Everyone who's anyone will be there, dressed to the nines. You're sure to have the time of your life, and won't even know where the time's gone... Story by: Edgar Allen Poe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chill of autumn is in the air once again, which can only mean one thing! It’s time for more tales to terrorize & titillate, baffle & bemuse… it’s time to once again venture into the studio of Pu Songling and listen to his strange tales. So gather round the light of the fire… or the iPhone… and get ready for seven strange stories of sly foxes, flights of fancy, monstrous appetites, unusual encounters, otherworldly lessons, tricky traders, and enchanting apparitions... 00:58: The Half-Fox Girl 10:55: The Painted Wall 18:27: The Monster In the Buckwheat 21:48: The Girl From Nanjing 25:45: A Most Exemplary Monk 28:07: Stealing a Peach 33:38: The Hungry Bride 36:07: The Magic Sword & the Magic Bag Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does a peasant, orphan, son of a farmer in the Black Death, made a monk in the middle of a forgotten spot In central Anhui by providence impoverished In squalor, grow up to be a rebel hero, then a monarch? Time Period Covered: 1364-1368 CE Major Historical Figures: Ming: Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) [r. 1368-1398] General Xu Da [1332-1385] General Chang Yuchun [1330-1369] Commander Li Wenzhong [1338-1384] Yuan: Emperor Toghon Temür [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370] Crown Prince Ayushiridara [1340-1378] General Chaghan Temür [d. 1362] General Köke Temür [1330-1375] General Bolod Temür [d. 1364] Wu: Zhang Shicheng (King of Dazhou) [r. 1354-1367] General Li Bosheng Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our 200th(ish) episode! And so we take to the listeners to answer some of their burning questions about... Daoist gods... Islam in China... The Mandate of Heaven... sacrifices! ... the political expedience of murdering Mongol ambassadors... The Duke ... the names of emperors... technology transfers ... Korean empresses... and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don't understand! Chen Youliang coulda had class! He coulda been a contender! He coulda been somebody... instead of a bum, which is what he is after the fiasco on the waters of Lake Poyang. Let's face it. Time Period Covered: 1360-1363 CE Major Historical Figures: State of Ming: Zhu Yuanzhang Commander Hua Yun [d. 1360] Han Lin'er, "Emperor of Song" General Kang Maocai General Xu Da General Hu Dahai [d. 1361] General Shao Rong [d. 1361] State of Han: Emperor Chen Youliang [r. 1360-1363] General Chen Yuren Xu Shouhui, "Emperor" of Tianwan [d. 1360] State of Wu: Zhang Shicheng Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur Prince Chaghan Temur [d. 1361] Köke Temur (Wang Baobao) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ögedei dies in late 1241, the empire must choose a successor before it can move forward. In spite of the late Khan determining in advance that it should be his grandson, his empress has other ideas - namely, installing her own irascible son, Güyük, instead. This raises more than a few eyebrows, especially from the Lord of the Golden Horde (and Güyük's personal nemesis) Batu Khan. He'll spend then next 5 years doing absolutely everything in his power to prevent Güyüks' enthronement. And so, when Güyük is finally installed... is it any surprise that he'll seek to get even on his hated cousin? Their looking showdown on the fields of Dzungaria will set the stage for a truly unpredictable series of events, that will leave the Mongol Empire altered forever... (NOTE: This is Part 1 of a Bonus Episode! Get the rest, and all other bonus content by subscribing via patreon.com/thehistoryofchina Time Period Covered: 1242-1254 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Temuge Otchigin, Genghis Khan's youngest brother, Prince of the Hearth [1168-1246] House Ögedei: *Ögedei Khaghan [r. 1232-1241] Toregene Khatun [r. 1242-1246] Güyük Khaghan [r. 1246-1248] Oghul Khaimish Khatun [r. 1248-1251] Prince Shiremun [d. 1251] Prince Khodan [d. 1246] Lady Fatima [d. 1246] House Tolui: *Tolui Otchigin [1191-1232] Sorkhakhtani Beki [1190-1252] Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259] Prince Khubilai Prince Hulagu Prince Ariq Boke General Menggesar, Noyan Companion of Mongke House Jochi: *Jochi [c. 1182-1225] Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde [1205-1255] Major Sources Cited: De Nicola, Bruno. “Regents and Empresses: Women’s Rule In the Mongols’ World Empire” in Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335. Hamadani, Rashid-al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Dowson, John (tr.) Juvaini, Ata-Malik. History of the World Conqueror. (tr. John Andrew Boyle). Kim, Hodong. “A Reappraisal of Güyüg Khan” in Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomand and the Sedentary World. Man, John. Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China. McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: This Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. Onon, Urgunge (tr.). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. Rockhill, William Woodville (tr.). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian de Carpine. Rossabi, Morris. “The Reigns of Ogodei and Guyug” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Guard-Captain of the Red Turbans, Zhu Yuanzhang sets his sights on the jewel of the southlands: Nanjing. Once that's in his grasp, he'll truly join the ranks of the top-tier warlords of the era... but when you've elbowed you way up to the head table, don't be surprised if those you bump up against take exception to you shoving them aside... Time Period Covered: 1355-1360 CE Major Historical Figures: Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur (Huizong/Shundi) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370] General Shimo Yisun [d. 1360] Red Turban: Emperor of Song, Han Lin'er, the Little Lord of Light [r. 1351-1367] Guo Zixing [d. 1355] Ming: Guard-Captain Zhu Yuanzhang, "Outstanding Hero" [1328-1398] General Xu Da [1332-1385] General Chang Yüchen General Hu Dahai [d. 1362] Minister Song Lian [1310-1381] Han: King Chen Youliang [1320-1363] Wu: Zhang Shicheng, the "Heaven Blessed" King, Salt-Smuggler Extraordinaire [1321-1367] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices