Professor Jiang

In 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca of Carthage defeated Rome at the Battle of Cannae. After three devastating defeats to Hannibal, Rome had lost twenty percent of its adult male population, and one-third of its Senate. The Roman Republic chose to continue fighting, and eventually it triumphed in the Second Punic War.

Professor Jiang Xueqin examines the life and times of Julius Caesar. What motivated him? What made him so successful? Why was he assassinated? In 100 BCE, Julius Caesar was born into the "Imperial Republic" of Rome, a contradiction that led to inequality, corruption, and division. He came to believe he was a man of destiny who would restore the unity, stability, and prosperity of the Rom...

In 44 BCE, an eighteen-year old Octavian arrived in Rome without an army and without political alliances, and seventeen years later he became Rome’s first emperor. How did he do it? Professor Jiang Xueqin explores and explains the birth of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar saw himself as a man of destiny who would save the Roman Republic, a myth that was met with much skepticism in Rome. After he wa...

Professor Jiang Xueqin explains why Vergil's "The Aeneid" is such brilliant propaganda. In 27 BCE, the Roman Senate declared Octavian "Augustus," making him effectively the first emperor. But Augustus Caesar still had three problems. First, he needed to establish his legitimacy and authority. To do so, he promoted the myth that his Julii family were descendants of Aeneas, a...

For thousands of years, the Great Pyramid of Giza has captivated and captured the imagination of the world. Why was it built? Professor Jiang Xueqin argues against the mainstream theory that the Great Pyramid was built as a grand tomb for the Pharaoh. He argues that the Great Pyramid was Ancient Egypt’s Manhattan Project, an attempt to unravel the secrets of the universe and channel the power of G...

Professor vJiang Xueqin explains why Mesopotamia became the cradle of civilization. He explains that geography determined the destinies and mythologies of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Protected by natural boundaries and nurtured by the bountiful Nile, Egypt believed in benevolent Gods. Mesopotamia had no natural boundaries and its two rivers -- the Euphrates and Tigris -- were mercurial and chaotic, whi...

Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley were the three great civilizations of the Bronze Age. What made the Indus Valley Civilization distinct? Why did they decline? What is their legacy? Professor Jiang Xueqin explains that the Indus Valley Civilization (also known as the Harappan Civilization) was mainly a peaceful and egalitarian society, which prospered because of its global trade networks. T...

Professor Jiang Xueqin argues that the Bible was originally written as an apology for King David of Israel to establish his legitimacy and authority. The Bronze Age Collapse altered the geo-political landscape of the Levant, and with the retreat of the Egyptians and Hittites new political entities emerged. Threatened by the Philistines, the Israelites elected Saul to be their king. With the death...

Professor Jiang Xueqin explains the power and beauty of the Book of Genesis. The chronology of the Pentateuch is confusing and contradictory. Archaeologists and historians have failed to discover any concrete evidence that Noah or Abraham or Moses ever existed. Jiang Xueqin argues that the Bible is not a chronology, but a cosmology designed to accomplish three major objectives:1. To legitimize Kin...

Professor Jiang Xueqin explains the influence of Zoroastrianism on the development of the Hebrew Bible. After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, he enabled the Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the Second Temple. Ezra oversaw major religious reforms, including the creation and redaction of what we know today as the Hebrew Bible. Because of the influence of Zoroastrianism, the Bible began to emp...

Professor Jiang Xueqin argues that Jesus was a unique religious genius who synthesized the major global religions of his day to create a new religion, which we today refer to as Gnosticism. Like other great religious leaders, Jesus had a three-tier gospel. To the public, he taught that true faith demanded compassion. To his disciples, he taught that true faith demanded self-sacrifice. Then there w...

Why are the teachings of Jesus and his apostle Paul so different? Jesus preached compassion and mercy towards all, while Paul preached that Jesus was the son of God who atoned for our sins with his sacrifice. Professor Jiang Xueqin presents a unique perspective on Paul’s motivations. He argues that Paul was an agent of the Roman empire who wanted to use Jesus to combat messianic Judaism. The Roman...

Professor Jiang Xueqin argues that the idea of monotheism launched modernity. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, the bishops of the Roman Empire had to decide on the relationship between God and Jesus. They established the Godhead as orthodoxy, and rejected Arianism as heresy. The Holy Trinity marked a radical intellectual revolution that would eventually give birth to capitalism, science, and th...

Professor Jiang Xueqin explains why Europe experienced the Dark Ages. After Rome was sacked in 410 CE, Europe experienced a crisis of faith. Were the Pagan Gods taking vengeance? Did Christianity preach a religion of meekness? In response, the Catholic theologian Augustine wrote "The City of God," in which he proposed to take the Catholic Church "out of history." From now on, k...

Who was the historical Muhammad? How did Islam triumph over both the Byzantine and Sasanian empires? In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Professor Jiang Xueqin argues that Islam was the first global revolution. While the Byzantine and Sasanian empires appeared to be superpowers, they were weak and fragile due to decades of plague, war, and succession struggles. The Arabian peninsula...

Professor Jiang Xueqin explains that Dante's Divine Comedy was the intellectual blueprint for the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution. In a previous lecture, we explored how Augustine's writings would pave the way for Europe's Dark Ages. In his treatise "City of God," Augustine argued that we were born in sin, and we can commit only more sin...

Professor Jiang explains the enduring influence of Dante. Dante recognized that if he is to succeed in birthing a new European mind he must displace Vergil's Aeneid. To do this, Dante makes Vergil into his guide, and Vergil reveals that he is an unreliable narrator. At the beginning of their epic journey, Vergil insists to Dante that only the baptized can enter Heaven. Those who were virtuous...

Traditionally, we have understood historical movement as either a line or a circle. We are either progressing towards the truth, or trapped in an endless loop. In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Professor Jiang proposes a new theory, which he calls "the oceanic currents of history."When we examine the fall and decline of global empires, a pattern emerges. As the empire exp...

How was Rome able to defeat all its powerful enemies in the Mediterranean world? Why did Rome decline and fall? What is Rome's influence on the world today? What lessons can we learn from it? Professor Jiang argues that it was Rome's distinct cultural system (which focused on liberty, public virtue, and piety) which permitted it to triumph over its rivals. But after Rome became an empire,...

The Byzantine empire saw itself as the continuation of the Roman empire. Professor Jiang argues that Constantinople and Rome had opposing cultural systems. Rome was a pagan Latin republic, and Constantinople was a Christian multicultural empire.

Voltaire once wrote: "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” Professor argues that Voltaire was right, and the Holy Roman Empire was a useful fiction created to legitimize the rule of Charlemagne and his successors.

We have understood Western civilization to be composed of four major traditions -- that of the Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians. In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that the Viking legacy is just as important for the development of Western civilization. During the Viking Age (793 - 1066 CE), the Vikings would interact with and influence the regions from which...

What was the Viking worldview? What was their value system? Why did they venture out into the world? Unfortunately, the Vikings maintained an oral tradition, most of which was lost after they converted to Christianity. What we do know about the Vikings comes from archaeology and the Norse mythology that was written down in the Poetic and Prose Edda. In this talk to his Chinese high school students...

The Abbasid Caliphate was considered the Golden Age of Islam. Before the Mongolian conquest, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad was the global center of learning and literacy. Muslim scientists and mathematicians were respected and influential even in Europe. Why did the Islamic world enter its Golden Age, while Europe was stuck in its Dark Ages? Why did this Golden Age come to an end? Why did Christi...

Why did China stop being creative after the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE)? In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that it's because the Ming and Qing dynasties achieved a level of national unity that was not possible in the past. While this national unity ensured the longevity of the emperor and his imperial bureaucracy, it made the nation insular and stagnant. Th...