The China History Podcast

In this Part 2 of a 3 part series, we'll look at Duke Xiao's secret weapon: Shang Yang. Shang Yang introduced Legalism to the Qin ruler and all kinds of reforms that took the Qin to the next level. We'll also explore the rulers who all benefited from Shang Yang's political reforms. We'll also look at King Zhaoxiang and his great military advisor Fan Ju. Nobody was laughing at the Qin anymore. By t...

In this first of three episodes, Laszlo offers up a nice easy overview of Qin Shihuang and the Qin State. In Part 1 we'll look at the ancient beginnings of the Qin and how they caught a few lucky breaks, establishing themselves around Gansu and Shaanxi province, after coming to the aid of the Zhou kings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Part 2 episode, Laszlo continues his intro of Joseph Needham in 1943 right after Needham returned from his perilous adventure to the northwest of China to visit the sights of Dunhuang. We'll conclude the life of Joseph Needham in this episode. He truly was, as Simon Winchester called him, "The Man Who Loved China." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this long-awaited topic, Laszlo introduces "The Man Who Loved China", Dr. Joseph Needham. A true friend of China for most of his adult life, Needham's contribution was the epic work "Science and Civilization in China". Today this massive undertaking is spread out over 24 volumes, 17 of which were written in Needham's own lifetime. In this Part 1 episode, we only go up to 1943 and the end of Nee...

In this shorter than usual episode, Laszlo introduces a little piece of culture taken from the southern portion of Hunan Province. Generations of illiterate women from a single county on the Hunan-Guangxi border, denied education, created their own writing script. Men never learned it and so it was used by these women to communicate with each other and to record their secret thoughts and inspirati...

In this episode, Laszlo examines remarks made by distinguished UCLA Professor of Public Policy Mark Kleiman who had commented on Britain's participation in the Opium War. Opium's history in China began centuries before, at least during the Tang and maybe as far back as the Eastern Jin. The focus of this episode is on opium's history in China prior to the Opium War. Learn more about your ad choices...

Laszlo finishes off the CHP overview of the story of the AVG in World War II. In this episode, the battle commences on December 20, 1941. From that point forward until the organization was disbanded on July 4, 1942, the Flying Tigers wrote their name into the history books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Part 1 episode, Laszlo provides all the setup and background for the magnificent story of the American Volunteer Group, known more popularly as The Flying Tigers. Theirs was only an eight-month-long story but their success at a time when all seemed hopeless provided an inspiration to many and showed Japan was not invincible. For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CH...

In this milestone 150th CHP episode, Laszlo shines a light on the Hakka people and where they fit in Chinese history. There are no shortages of authoritative sources that all disagree as to their origins and when the Hakka's migrated from where to where. For a list of the terms used in this episode, please visit the CHP website at teacup.media and go to the episode page. Learn more about your ad c...

That's going to be it for this series, first produced in late 2014 and listened to millions of times on this CHP feed, via the Tea History Podcast feed, and since 2018, fleet-wide on Cathay Pacific Airways. I hope you enjoyed this survey of Chinese tea history. Since this work was first produced seven years ago I've had the great pleasure to meet so many of you and to enjoy tea together. The serie...

Our survey of the Famous Teas of China continues with a tour of more tea-producing provinces. Teas such as Dancong, Tieguanyin, Jinjunmei, and Da Hong Pao are introduced. Various teas from Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan are also mentioned. All of them are conveniently obtainable from your favorite online tea purveyor and local tea shop. Learn more about yo...

To wind down this History of Tea series let's go from province to province and look at a variety of famous teas such as Longjing, Gunpowder, Huangshan Maofeng, Lu'an Guapian, Xinyang Maojian, Taiping Houkui and a few others. All of the teas to be introduced here, all began their brilliant careers as tribute teas sent annually to the emperor. You too can savor these teas fit for an emperor by purch...

In this episode, we focus on the category of tea that is most admired by many tea experts the world over. Pu-Erh tea was introduced sometime during the Ming Dynasty and in time, became the oft-called "King of Teas" for its rich and unique flavor, wholly unlike any other tea produced in China. Here we will look at the story of Pu-Erh tea and why it is considered to be so special among countless tea...

Processing tea leaves was never an intuitive process. That's one reason it took so long for others to figure out how to do it. But as it was with silk, once you saw how it was done, it wasn't a terribly difficult process to master and even improve upon. In this Part 17 episode, we see how Robert Fortune gathered the tea seeds, plants, tools, and experts and got them to the Indian highlands. There,...

The hero who assured Robert Fortune's success was Dr. Nathanial Bagshaw Ward. His life and work is introduced this time. Ward's invention of the terrarium was the one thing that ensured Fortune's hard work in China wouldn't be wasted. We see how Fortune went into China, scored plants and tea seeds from Zhejiang, Anhui, and Fujian, and transported everything safely to India. Learn more about your a...

The mid 19th Century brought another sea change to the tea industry. Demand continued to grow all over Europe and North America. China's tea industry, which depended mainly on countless artisanal tea growers rather than a few large-scale producers, creates bottlenecks and unreliability in the tea supply chain. The demand had become more than China's exporters could handle. This was also due in par...

Midway through the Qing Dynasty trouble is brewing, along with the tens of millions of pounds of tea annually exported to Britain. The Qianlong Emperor rebuffs Britain's envoy and puts a major damper on the prospects of China trade. Britain finds the perfect commodity to trade for tea, Patna Opium from India. This ultimately leads to conflict culminating in the Opium Wars. Why this war is misnamed...

The tea trade transforms into an entire industry and becomes the most important traded commodity of the British East India Company. Twining's emerges onto the scene along with coffeehouse culture where tea was also to be had. Over in the American colonies, the Yanks embrace tea as much as the Brits. Milk and sugar with tea become all the rage. And when the Her Majesty's government starts hitting u...

As tea did everywhere it was introduced to, Europeans were no less enthusiastic than anyone else. It started off with the royals and aristocrats. But once prices came down and the haves and have-nots both got to enjoy it, the demand will become insatiable. The Russian tea caravans are also explored in this episode. Though their tea culture was different from the ways of the Europeans, Russian peop...

During the late 16th century, the Jesuit Fathers become the first Europeans to drink tea. Soon afterward the Portuguese and Dutch traders start poking their noses around China and Japan. They too learn of this amazing beverage and see excellent prospects in their home markets. By the early 17th century The Dutch and British East India Companies are engaging in tea commerce. Though the Chinese at f...

More Ming Dynasty tea history this time. Innovations from China's tea artisans further improved the taste and experience of tea. The famous "zisha" 紫砂 clay teapots and tea ware from Yixing 宜兴 are introduced as well as their role in the Gongfu Tea Ceremony. As the second half of the Ming Dynasty starts to wind down in the late 16th-early 17th century, the Europeans will soon be knocking on Chin...

Tea's epic story continues on the heels of the advances made in tea production and tea culture during the Song. After surviving the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, Camellia sinensis experiences a sea change of improvements beginning with Ming Dynasty founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. Now tea starts to become more familiar to us after this Hongwu Emperor demands that all future tribute teas must be sent in loo...

The loving embrace of tea given by those of the Buddhist faith continues on into the Song Dynasty. Some Chan Buddhist master came up with the term "Tea and Chan Buddhism are one taste" 茶禪一味. There's also more about sad Emperor Huizong, the birth of white tea, and Japan's great Buddhist monk Myōan Eisai. We'll end this eighth installment of the history of tea with an intro to Wulong (Oolong) Te...

The once bitter brew sharing a Chinese character with the one used for a bitter vegetable is now long a thing of the past. Starting around a thousand or more years ago, royals, officials, scholars, and common people are now enjoying tea. The literati of the day (and there were quite a few) write poems and paint paintings, inspired by this beverage that has taken China by storm. We also look at one...

In the post-Lu Yu world, tea starts to take off like a rocket. It will take a little longer for tea to get the needed traction in Japan but during the Tang, Japanese get to see it and appreciate it up close. We'll also look at one of the early "Tea Persons", the poet and recluse Lu Tong, as well as one of his most famous tea poems, "Seven Bowls of Tea". Now that tea had caught on in society, peopl...