PLAY PODCASTS
181. The Dragon Empress: China’s Game of Thrones
Season 7 · Episode 8

181. The Dragon Empress: China’s Game of Thrones

Empire: World History

August 28, 202434m 14s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (pdst.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

The inculcation of Buddhism from India as the state religion in China was enabled by the violent rise of China’s only ever woman Emperor. Raised by pious Buddhist parents, Wu Zetian left a trail of bodies in her wake as she charted a path to absolute power. From a lowly ranked concubine in the imperial harem to the corridors of power, she used Buddhism to legitimise her unprecedented claim to rule. Listen as William and Anita discuss the unstoppable rise of China’s only woman Emperor to rule in her own right, and what this meant for Ancient India’s empire of ideas.


To fill out the survey: survey.empirepoduk.com


To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition



Twitter: @EmpirePodUK

Email: [email protected]

Goalhangerpodcasts.com

Assistant Producers: Anouska Lewis and Evan Green

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices