The History of China

天高皇帝远 "Heaven Is Vast & the Emperor is Far Away" On the far side of the realm from th celestial halls of shining Beijing, an outcast girl born on the fringes of society will scrabble to survive amidt the coastal chaos of the end of the 18th Century. With little more than her looks and wits, she'll have to outwit & outplay freebooter, bandit, and official alike if she is ever going to rise abo...

Piracy in Great Qing surges to a "golden age" during the Qianlong & Jiaqing eras. Corsair Confederations like Zheng Yi Sao’s vast-beyond-reckoning Red Flag Fleet, backed by the likes of Vietnam’s Tay Son rebels, dominating the South China Sea through organized plunder and shadow economies. Jiaqing’s shift to accomodation, while necessary, may expose Qing naval vulnerabilities, paving the way for f...

For nearly a quarter century, Heshen served the Qing Empire - and in the process managed to amass a fortune that nearly rivaled the throne itself. Yet with the death of his patron Qianlong, the once-favored Grand Councilor would find his remaining state tenure as short as the length of silk ultimately left in his cell. Time Period Covered: 1799-1800 CE Major Historical Figures: The Qianlong Empero...

As both the Qianlong Emperor's extensive reign and the Eighteenth Century itself comes to a close, the Qing Empire faces - in spite of its outward posturing of timeless grandeur and invulnerability - an ever more uncertain future. By this time his successor, the Jiaqing Emperor, assumes power in fact, the winds of historic change have already begun to blow. Time Period Covered: ~1735-1800 Major Hi...

From London’s harbors to Canton’s bustling hongs and the Qianlong Emperor’s Dragon Throne, Lord George Macartney’s 1792-94 mission to Great Qing unveils profound cultural divides, shaping centuries of Sino-Western relations. This series explores a pivotal diplomatic clash that redefined global history. Time Period Covered: 1792-1794 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: The Qianlong Emperor (A...

Qianlong's empire shines as a beacon of both martial might and cultural splendor, yet its mirrored glory hides truths too fragile for celestial ambitions. Time Period Covered: ~1770-1799CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796, d. 1799] Grand Councillor Heshen [1750-1799] Great Britain: Lord George Macartney (1737-1806) Major Sources Cited:...

"O King of Wherever, New Throne Who Dis?" 0:00:00 - Edict of Emperor Qianlong to King George III, 1793 0:06:34 - The Second Edict to George III (in reply to Macartney's note) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Dear Emperor of China, will you be my friend? Check Yes or No..." 0:00:00 - Letter of Credence from King George III to Emperor Qianlong, 1793 CE 0:10:20 - Author's note 0:11:44 - Lord Macartney's Sixfold Proposals for the Improvement of Trade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of military victory, Qianlong turns inward—launching literary purges, rewriting history, and curating an image of himself as the enlightened ruler of a Confucian empire. Through censorship, spectacle, and the manipulation of memory, the Qing court fights a new kind of war: one for cultural supremacy and imperial legitimacy. Time Period Covered: ~ 1735–1760 CE Major Historical Figures:...

What does it take to hold an empire together when conquest alone isn’t enough? In this sweeping episode, we explore how the Qianlong Emperor fused culture, coercion, and Confucian performance to stabilize a multiethnic empire—crafting an imperial image as powerful as his armies. Time Period Covered: ~ 1735–1760 CE Major Historical Figures: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735-1796] G...

This was no peace borne of reconciliation; this was silence, enforced by amnesia. Time Period Covered: ~ 1739-1759 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796] Minister Fuheng General Bandi [d. 1755] General Yongchang Khalka Mongols: Prince Erinchindorj [d. 1756] Prince Chingünjav [d. 1757] Dzungar Mongols: Amursana [d. 1757] Major Sources Cite...

The story of the last great nomadic empire’s fall - and the Qing’s ruthless imperial vision for a New Frontier. Time Period Covered: 1739-1759 CE Major Historical Figures: The Great Qing Empire: The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796] General Bandi [d. 1755] Hojs, Hakim Beg of Ush Dzungar Khanate: Galdan Tseren [r. 1727–1745] Tsewang Dorji Namjal [blinded 1750] Lama Darja [r. 1750...

The "Old Man of 10 Victories" crows to the Heavens in words of stone of his crushing of the once-mighty Khanate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Qing conquest of Dzungaria did not begin with any kind of cannon-fire or musketry. Instead, it began like many wars end: with a funeral. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As his era of rule over Great Qing drows to a close, the Yongzheng Emperor spares neither expense nor detail to reform the empire he inherited and modernize it for the one who will inherit it from him. But this is no idle fancy - he has a definite purpose. Though no great warrior himself, he is nevertheless fully in-line with the century-long grand objective of his father and son: the absolute des...

The Yongzheng Emperor seeks to capitalize on his father's greatness abroad - but cautiously. He wants to exterminate the barbarians... but delicately. He wants to build better worlds... no matter how many he has to destroy in the process. He's riding for a fall. Time Period Covered: ~1725-1731 CE Major Historical Figures: Qing Empire: Kangxi Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722] Yongzheng Em...

Doc 1: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, A Student Demonstration of Sorts in Tiananmen Square (11/21/85) Doc 2: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, Government Arrests Student Demonstrators (11/25/85) Doc 3: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, More Student Demonstrations (12/23/85) Doc 4: From: U.S....

While the Yongzheng Emperor attempts to get his domestic policy ducks in a row from the Forbidden City, out on the Western Frontiers, change is the only constant. Between squabbling Tibetan lamas, restless Kokonor Khans, and the ever-dangerous Dzungar Empire still on the loose out there, the new successor of the late, great Kangxi Emperor has some very big combat-boots to fill... Time Period Cover...

Leaving behind the imperial court of Beijing, we return to the far frontiers of the northwest, where China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Russia all converge and vie for power. Glory and riches to the victors, subjugation or death for those destined to lose. Into this mix, we follow the travels of three emissaries as they cross deserts, mountains, words, and wits to ensure their sovereign emerges on top. T...

The Yongzheng Emperor brings Peace, Justice, & Security to his new Empire. Time Period Covered: 1723-1728 CE Major Works Cited: Perdue, Peter C. China marches west: the Qing conquest of Central Eurasia. Qin, Han Tang (秦漢唐). 不同於戲裡說的雍正皇帝 [A different Yongzheng from the work of fiction]  Rowe, William T. China's last empire: the great Qing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

The Yongzheng Emperor's stylings: https://bsky.app/profile/thoc.bsky.social/post/3lnvmogqntk2g Please sign up to support the show at: Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina With the passing of his titan of a father, the Kangxi Emperor's 4th curviving son Prince Yinzheng, will assume the Dragon Throne amidst a tumultuous succession. Amid betrayals and backstabbings, this unlikely monarch will ultimately fin...

I'm on with Trae Crowder & Cory Ryan Forrester to talk wild & crazy stories about China. Please forgive the tech difficulties!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVpUmzGr8o Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beginning in Beijing, and then expanding out all the way to the "New Frontier" of Dzungaria, we take a survey-altitude view of the final decade-ish of the Kangxi Emperor's life & reign over the Qing Empire Time Period Covered: ~1700-1722 CE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original publication: 03/21/2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Kangxi Emperor's flawless victory + fatality of Galdan Khan, he erects his own definitive version of "The Way Things Happened" - five stone stelae monuments as an everlasting tribute to his greatness, and his side of the story literally written in stone. But even one so mighty as the Lord of Great Qing is not above the twist of fate's knife. For he has been receiving highly dist...