The Context

Today, we’ll talk about Zhang Boju, the legendary art collector who sacrificed his fortune, endured kidnapping, and ultimately preserved some of China’s greatest artistic treasures for future generations.

Today, we’ll talk about the Taibao Ding, a remarkable bronze vessel from the early Zhou dynasty whose story reveals the origins of the ancient state of Yan, the struggles of a frontier kingdom that survived for more than eight centuries, and the early historical roots of the city that would eventually become modern Beijing.

Today, we’ll talk about a 5,000-year-old grave in eastern China and learn about the man with three identities buried inside it: he was an astronomer who measured the solstices with stunning accuracy, a shaman who placed the universe over his own heart, and a warrior who carried a giant stone axe. 

Today, we’ll talk about how a sacred tree in ancient China was deliberately destroyed by its own worshippers, thus marking the end of divine kingship and the rise of secular rule, and contrast that with the ancient history of American theocracies whose world trees fell instead to foreign conquest.

Today, we’ll talk about the Sun and Immortal Bird, a delicate gold ornament that unlocked the secrets of a lost Bronze Age civilization and, in doing so, became a symbol of China’s cultural heritage.

Today, we’ll talk about a 2,000-year-old pottery brick in Shenzhen that preserves an ancient multiplication table and offers a glimpse into how mathematical knowledge spread throughout China.

Today, we’ll talk about Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan’s iconic landmark with a story stretching back 1,800 years. It’s been a military watchtower, the subject of Chinese poetry, it’s even been rebuilt several times, and is now a modern symbol of the city’s history and culture.

Today, we’ll talk about how UNESCO has honored the world’s first porcelain-centered industrial heritage site—keeping the traditional flame alive and allowing it to continue firing new stories for the world to enjoy.

Today, we’ll talk about Shenyang Imperial Palace, a nearly 400-year-old royal complex that witnessed the rise of the Qing Dynasty, revealing through its distinctive architecture, Manchu traditions, and imperial history how a frontier power grew into one of China’s last great dynasties.

Today, we’ll talk about a lively 2,000-year-old pottery performer from the Han Dynasty whose infectious smile, comic pose and love of performance offer a fascinating glimpse into how ancient Chinese people entertained, laughed and enjoyed life.

Today, we’ll talk about a humble 20,000-year-old clay pot from Jiangxi that is helping archaeologists rethink the origins of pottery, agriculture, and humanity’s long journey from hunting and gathering to cultivating rice.

Today, we’ll talk about the Mawangdui Han Tombs, an extraordinary archaeological discovery that has preserved the life, art, beliefs, and remarkable story of an aristocratic family of ancient China going back more than 2,000 years.

Today, we’ll talk about Judge Bao Zheng, a legendary government official during the Northern Song Dynasty whose unwavering integrity has made him an enduring symbol of justice in China for nearly a thousand years.

Today, we’ll talk about one of the largest and most overlooked migrations in modern history, a movement of millions from China’s coast to Southeast Asia that lasted for centuries, driven by hunger, lured by colonial promises, and marked by unimaginable suffering as well as astonishing resilience.

Today, we’ll talk about Luoyang Bridge, a nearly thousand-year-old stone bridge in southeastern China whose ingenious use of oyster reefs, tidal forces, and innovative engineering helped it survive the ravages of the sea and become one of the world’s earliest and most remarkable coastal bridges.

Today, we’ll talk about a famed temple in Quanzhou, a thousand-year-old landmark where legend, maritime exchange, and cultural fusion converge to reveal the enduring openness of China’s ancient coastal civilization.

Today, we’ll talk about Tianyi Post Office, the pioneering remittance and postal agency that connected overseas Chinese communities across Southeast Asia with their families in China, creating a vital network of letters, money, and trust long before the advent of modern banking and communications.

Today, we’ll talk about the Yongle Encyclopedia, a monumental Chinese text dating from the Ming dynasty, and provide you with a fascinating narrative detailing its six-hundred-year journey, tragic dispersal, and ongoing global recovery.

Today, we’ll tell the bittersweet story of Pearl S. Buck, the American Nobel laureate who lived in China for the first half of her life at the turn of the last century and how the complications of a war-torn world made it impossible to return to the home she loved and vociferously advocated.

Today, we’ll talk about a new exhibition at the National Museum of China that tells the story of history’s ‘most spoiled child’, a girl whose tomb was sealed with her grandmother’s curse. And curiously, it seems that curse still held power after a thousand years.

Today, we’ll talk about Li Qingzhao, China’s greatest female poet, whose extraordinary life of love, loss, and resilience inspired some of the most beautiful verses in Chinese literature.

Today, we’ll talk about an American woman who devoted nearly a century building bridges between cultures and preserving the paper gods, folk beliefs, and everyday spiritual life of old Beijing before they disappeared from memory.

Today, we’ll talk about how a Dutch diplomat who first reached China during WWII transformed ancient Chinese courtroom tales into globally popular detective fiction, bridging cultures and reshaping the image of Di Renjie for modern audiences.

Today, we’ll talk about a new museum in the Philippines that brings to life the golden age of trans-Pacific sailing ships and the link to a Chinese port at the heart of this far-reaching maritime network, creating the first true global economy.

Today, we’ll talk about the pioneering educator Zhang Boling and how he built a private education system in modern China while navigating war, politics, and shifting ideologies, leaving behind a complex yet enduring legacy as a patriotic educator.