The History of China Podcast

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" an...

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 natura...

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 Peri...

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...

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

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. 16...

Ming China gets down and dirty with a Miao Rebellion in the Southwest, a Mongol(-ish) uprising 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

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] L...

#246 - 2022 Retrospective/Archive: The Mathematician of Heaven by Chris Stewart

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 Hist...

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]

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 Maj...

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...

A man of science and his subject conduct one final experiment in an attempt to stave off death itself... by: Edgar Allen Poe

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

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

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...

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 Rea...

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 Turn...

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 an imperial guiding hand, the ministers are lef...

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 dog...

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] Empres...

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):

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. 1449-15...

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 va...