The History of China

Temujin will enlist the aid of his recently-sworn father, To'oril AKA Ong Khan of the Kereyid to rescue his stolen wife, Börte. But his successful rescue of his beloved will only mark the beginning of his remarkable journey from isolated herder, to powerful khan of the steppes. Unfortunately, one of the sacrifices he'll be forced to make along the path to power will be that most-sacred: his sworn...

In spite of difficulties, Ho'elun and her family endeavor to persevere. Temüjin discovers the power of friendship, and the clarity of purpose that comes with true love

High in the wildlands of the Khentii Mountains, a tribe of hunters and scavengers comes into possession of a young and captured bride. Ripped out of her old life, she and the family her new husband create at the edge of the world will have to find a way to survive. Time Period Covered: ca. 1158~1170 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both Song and Jin have a new set of emperors at the helm... it will mean war... and peace... but the riptides of history will ensure that, whatever the outcome of this conflict, very little will remain the same for much longer. Time Period Covered: ~1140-1162 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emperor Gaozong really, *really* wants his dad's coffin. Qin Hui really, *really* wants to give the Jurchen whatever they ask for. The Jurchen really, *really* want the Mongol khan to stop tweaking their emperor's beard. Time Period Covered: 1135-1160 CE Major Works Cited: Allsen, Thomas. “Chapter 4: The rise of the Mongolian empire and Mongolian rule in north China” in Vol. 6, Alien Regimes and B...

General Yue Fei will reach career highs as he strikes back against Jurchen aggression with remarkable success. He'll drive his enemies so fast and hard, that he'll drive the Jin Dynasty close to its breaking point. But on the precipice of victory, ministerial machinations back in Hangzhou will spell the undoing of him and his life's work... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

In this first of a two-part look into the life and legend of this epic Chinese hero, we chronicle Yue Fei's early life and education, his induction into the military to serve his nation with utmost loyalty, his meteoric rise through the ranks, and his stalwart resolve in facing the greatest crisis his country his known in centuries, all while garnering a cult-like following of soldiers, and the pa...

The JURCHEN JIN reigns. Having decimated the Song Dynasty, Emperor Jin Taizong now deploys his merciless legions to seize military control of the Yellow River Valley. Only Prince Zhao Gou and his band of LOYALIST ministers stand against the rising tyranny, certain that the last scion of Zhao can yet restore a spark of hope to the fight. But the Loyalists have been exposed. As the Jin cavalry speed...

The Song Dynasty manages to epically pull defeat from the jaws of victory when it manages to twice goad its nominal ally, the Jurchen Jin, into a border war. The first time, it’s beaten so badly that it has to give up almost half of its northern holdings. But when even that’s not enough to quench Emperor Qinzong’s delusions of grandeur, he and his regime will pay with everything they have… Time Pe...

A very sexy Halloween edition... Stir Fry - 1:45 Steel Skin - 4:15 Silkworm - 5:35 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our third entry of Seasonal Spookiness for your unsettling aural pleasure. From Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊齋志異) by: Pu Songling 1:25 - "The Girl in Green" 8:30 - "A Very Sharp Sword" 10:45 - "He Came Back" 18:25 - "A Transformation" 22:45 - "Mr. Miao" 34:05 - "A Prank" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emperor Huizong’s Song Dynasty’s luck runs dry with a series of epic screw up that throw the whole system in disarray. War with the Tangut Xi Xia goes badly awry – and his generals won’t even tell him about it. And then rebellions start breaking out in the south – on by a millennialist death-cult led by a 12th century Jim Jones: Fang La… and another breaking out in the swamps and marshes of Liangs...

To the north of Song China, sandwiched between Goryeo Korea and the invincible Liao Empire, a new force arises on the banks of the Black and Gold Rivers, that will shake the very foundations of All Under Heaven... Time Period Covered: 1099-1123 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Wang Anshi out of the picture, Emperor Shenzong's ministers find to their horror that theg uy they thought was radicalizing the monarch... had actually be holding him back this whole time. Now there's nothing to stop Shenzong from fulfilling his lifelong ambition to conquer Western Xia... nothing, that is... except the idiocy of the commanders he'll put in charge of the operation. Learn more...

Wang Anshi's heady, glorious dream at last comes crashing into the cold, mechanical reality of imperial bureaucracy, to everyone's chagrin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wang Anshi weilds his newfound power to implement, through his hand-picked Finance Planning Commission, a sweeping series of reforms aids at revitalizing that dynasty's sagging economy. They'll include a government loan program, new tax policies to pay for laborers, a rethink of the state's very relationship with commerce and traders, and a re-formatting of the empire's volunteer self-defense forc...

In this first part of a mini-arc, southern provincial nobody Wang Anshi rises above his station and attracts both the curiosity and the attention of Emperor Shanzong and his court by laying out a bold new vision to lead the Song Dynasty out of its economic malaise before disaster inevitably strikes. But when neither Wang nor his critics are willing to give an inch on their principles, sparks fly.....

"Like milk on a hot day in San Diego, it turned out that Emperor Yingzong was a bad choice." Time Period Covered: 1063-1067 CE Important Historial Figures: Song: Emperor Renzong (Zhao Zhen)[r. 1022-1063] Emperor Yingzong (Zhao Shu)[r. 1063-1067] Emperor Shenzong (Zhao Xu) [r. 1067-1085] Empress Cao [1016-1079] Chancellor Han Qi（韩琦）[1008-1075] Prime Minister Fu Bi Chief Censor Sima Guang [1019-...

Emperor Renzong of Song continues to twiddle his thumbs. Confucianism get a much-needed adrenaline shot to the arm via Daoism. Zhuang superpatriot Nong Zhigao declares simultaneous war on China and Vietnam in the name of his people's liberation. Time Period Covered: 1043-1054 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emperor Renzong of Song isn't exactly... into the whole "rule" thing. He'd much rather wile away his days talking about Confucian philosophy, writing calligraphy, and making love to his concubines. But he'll be forced to uneasily embody the might of Song China when the Tangut state of Western Xia declares its independence, triggering a massive conflict on the borderlands. Time Period Covered: 1033...

When Emperor Renzong of Song takes the throne, he's just a boy of 12 and surely in need of his mother's guidance... but how long until Mom becomes more of a hinderance than a help? ... And what if she's not really his mother? Time Period Covered: 1022-1033 CE Important Historical Figures: Emperor Renzong of Song [Zhao] (r. 1022- Empress Dowager Liu (-1033) Lady Li (-1032) Chancellor Ding Wei Chanc...

A Q&A like this only comes around once in a thousand years! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After feeling forced to sign the costly and humiliating Treaty of Chanyuan with the Liao Dynasty to end the Liao-Song War, Emperor Zhenzong needs a pick-me-up to make himself feel better. He thinks that a ritual that hasn't been performed in 3 centuries might be the way... and that's when the text messages from Heaven start popping up in his inbox... Time Period: 1004-1022 CE Major Historical Figu...

The new Song Emperor, Zhenzong, sits uneasily on the Chinese throne after his father’s untimely death in 997. But court intrigues and attempted coups will only be the tip of the iceberg for this untested and unlikely sovereign, because the Liao Dynasty to the north has its eyes and hearts set on revenge for Chinese slights, and will send a massive force bent on crushing Song resistance to their wi...

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want eat 2,000 of something." - Mitch Hedberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices