The China History Podcast

After a record-breaking pause in the action, Laszlo is back with one last episode to finish 2013. This time we look at the interesting and amusing history of Chinese cuisine in America, an oft-requested topic here at the China History Podcast. This is a history that goes hand-in-hand with the earliest Chinese immigration to the US. If you're interested to learn more on the subject, I strongly recommend checking out the work of Andrew Coe and Jennifer Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we take a look at the circumstances and times when the brand spanking new nation of the USA came to a calling to China for the very first time. The so-called "Most Important Relationship in the World" had very humble origins indeed. When representatives of the United States first arrived in Canton in August 1783 they really had a lot of explaining to do about who they were and where they came from. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at the Khitan people of the steppes. These people came from the lands between Manchuria and Mongolia. Their most famous son was Yelü Abaoji who took his people to great heights in the early 10th century. His Liao Dynasty in the north of present-day China ran concurrently with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (as well as the Song Dynasty) that resulted after the breakup of the Tang Dynasty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we explore the life and times of Zhuge Liang (181-234 AD). He's a very good example of a well-known name from Chinese history that many have heard of but aren't quite sure why. Zhuge Liang is mostly remembered for his cleverness and many consider him right up there with Sunzi (Sun Tzu) as far as the works of strategy and military science he left behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today after a month-long break the China History Podcast is back with another episode. This time we look at the life and times of Sir Y.K. Pao. In telling the story of Sir Yue-kong Pao (Bao Yugang in Mandarin) we can also relive the periods in China and Hong Kong during the 1960s, 70's and into the '80s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of the Chinese Mexicans is typical in some respects. They came to Mexico either because they wanted to and saw it as a land of opportunity or they came because it was the next best thing to emigrating to the United States. Many stayed in Mexico despite great hardships and the usual racism directed against them. But most either moved on to try their luck in the US or they were forced out by racist and nationalistic anti-Chinese immigration policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this part 4 episode, we conclude our overview of the Chinese Civil War. After the Pingjin Campaign ended in January of 1949 it was time for the Communists to finish off what they started. The victory was imminent but by no means would it be easy and simple. The PLA forces dramatically crossed the Yangzi River in May and their great generals led their forces to a smashing victory, finishing off the KMT forces of Chiang Kai-shek by December 1949. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Part 3 of our overview of the Chinese Civil War. The focus this time will be on the Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin Campaigns that not only grabbed all of north China and Manchuria for the Communists but the heartland and everything north of the Yangzi River as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode focuses mainly on the year 1947. The Americans have now left and the NRA and PLA attack each other with all they got. The years start out well for the Nationalists as they pummel the PLA in Manchuria and in the north. But once the summer offensive begins, it's a steady stream of bad news for Chiang. Ultimately with the conclusion of the bloody Siping Campaign that ended in March 1948, Manchuria was lost for good. Chiang would never be able to win it back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, we begin a multi-part series covering the Chinese Civil War from 1945 to 1949. In China, this is known as the War of Liberation. In this Part 1, we will look at the background leading up to the war as well as failed attempts by the Americans in 1945-1946 to mediate a peace between Mao's Communists and the Nationalists led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode runs way into overtime but at least we're getting through to the end of 1944. The Dixie Mission is in full swing by the end of that year. John Service has established himself in Washington circles as one of the most informed and dynamic China hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode runs way into overtime but at least we're getting through to the end of 1944. The Dixie Mission is in full swing by the end of that year. John Service has established himself in Washington circles as one of the most informed and dynamic China hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this second episode covering the life of John S. Service, we take a look at the general situation and the proliferation of mistrust and bad faith in wartime Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek remains baffled and frustrated with American efforts to cozy up to Mao. He blames the China Hands such as John Service for feeding American officials the CCP propaganda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we explore the life and times of John S. Service. This original "China Hand" was born in China and grew up in Chengdu and Shanghai. He went on to a brilliant career in the State Department serving in China as a Foreign Service officer during the Second Sino-Japanese War and throughout WWII. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode takes a slightly deeper look at the Shang Dynasty and their signature achievement, the oracle bone script. Some of this episode will be a repeat of things covered in Episode 15. Like the oldest parts of the oldest world civilizations a lot of what we "know" is the collective guesswork of the best minds researching the history. From Wang Yirong down to the present generation of scholars, new secrets of the Shang Dynasty oracle bones continue to be revealed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at the Canadian and international hero Dr. Norman Bethune. Bethune is a staple among noted western friends and advisors who came to China in 1938 to help the Communists and the people in their struggle against the Japanese. He was not only a great friend of China but a gifted and brilliant man of medicine as well who had a great impact on thoracic surgery in his day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at a topic many have heard about but aren't familiar with the details. We look at the early origins of the Jewish people in China and the time of the settlement in Kaifeng, Henan. Although you'd be hard-pressed to find a minyan amongst the native Jews in Kaifeng today, there are efforts being made to revive Judaism in that ancient city. It's an interesting story that spans a millennium and offers a look at Chinese history from another angle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we delve back into the mists of ancient times to look at the State of Wu from the Spring & Autumn Period. Although they didn't last long, the Wu State had a major impact on the development of the culture of the Jiangsu/Zhejiang/Shanghai region. There are a number of Wu periods throughout Chinese history, so today we will try to sort them all out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we will conclude our History of Hong Kong overview. We'll look at the years following the 1967 riots and the reforms championed by Governor Murray MacLehose in the 1970s and '80s. We'll close out this series by looking at the dramatic lead up to and the signing of the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, and the handover on July 1, 1997. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, we look at the year 1967 in Hong Kong. The words "riots" and "1967" go hand in hand when talking about Hong Kong history. Although the events that went down between May and December of 1967 caused death, mayhem, and destruction throughout the territory, when it was all over it led to a sea change in labor rights for Hong Kong workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a bit of a break, we pick up after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. The 1950s were a stressful time for Hong Kong with Britain managing a diplomatic balancing act trying to be a good neighbor to the new PRC and to their closest ally, the USA. Thanks to the exodus of Chinese industrialists, from Shanghai mostly, Hong Kong will usher in a manufacturing boom that will transform the economy and the territory's place in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with Part 7 of Laszlo's overview of the History of Hong Kong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this latest installment of the CHP History of Hong Kong overview, we look at the years from Governors Nathan to Peel. The modern age comes to Hong Kong along with plenty of fallout and spillover from the upheavals going on in China in the 1920s and '30s. This was a period when the great pillars of HKL Chinese society rose to fame and fortune: Shouson Chow, Robert Hotung, Kai Ho, Robert Kotewall, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this fifth installment of our Hong Kong history overview, we look at the final couple of decades of the 19th century. Hong Kong's second generation is coming to the fore. They are a better educated and more sophisticated lot than those Chinese who came before them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue this overview series on the history of Hong Kong. This time we pick up right after the Treaty of Nanjing and look at the early efforts to get this colony up and running. The first couple decades of Crown Colony of Hong Kong weren't easy and many considered throwing in the towel early. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Part 3 of Laszlo's overview of the History of Hong Kong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of Laszlo's overview of the history of Hong Kong, we look at the Canton System and the lead-up to hostilities that culminated in the Treaty of Nanjing that ceded Hong Kong in perpetuity to the British crown. In this episode, we'll get as far as the Convention of Chuenpi of January 20, 1841. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laszlo is back after another long delay. In this shorter than usual episode, The China History Podcast presents Part 1 of a multi-part series that will explore the history of Hong Kong. In this introductory episode, Laszlo starts at the very beginning and traces Hong Kong from the Devonian Period all the way up the end of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we introduce American Sidney Rittenberg, 李敦白，known by the title of his 1993 book as "The Man Who Stayed Behind." He arrived in China in his 20's at the end of WWII and witnessed the Chinese Revolution from a front-row seat. When the US pulled out of China after the war, Sidney Rittenberg stayed behind with his dreams of contributing to the building of a new China. He remained in his adoptive country for 35 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this longer than usual episode, we feature the three giants of the Jesuit China Mission of the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition to their work in introducing Catholicism to China, these three men, Matteo Ricci, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and Ferdinand Verbiest made a collective contribution to the scholarship of China that has not been matched to this day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we look at Wang Xizhi, a man of letters who achieved greatness during the Eastern Jin dynasty and is called China's greatest calligrapher. His life and achievements will be explored along with the significance of calligraphy in Chinese culture. We'll also recall those crazy times in the fourth century AD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like Guan Yu in the previous episode 081, Yue Fei of the Southern Song Dynasty was a heroic and legendary military man in Chinese history. He dedicated his life to resisting the aggression of the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty. The Jurchens had booted the Song dynasty out of northern China in 1127. Yue Fei dedicated his short life to win back those northern lands before falling victim to imperial court politics. And this helped to make him a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We close out our three-part series on the amazing life of Admiral Zheng He and his seven voyages. This time the CHP looks at retired submarine commander Gavin Menzies and his take on what Zheng He achieved. He makes some wild claims that have been savagely attacked by educated people around the world. If not for the fact that early Ming China was advanced enough to carry out these voyages, as Menzies said they happened, they'd be very hard to believe. The debate is far from closed on this subject. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue on with the voyages of Zheng He. This time we look at some of the highlights from all seven voyages. Then after the Yong Le and Xuan De emperors pass from the scene, no further emperors are interested to put their seal of approval on any more of these pricey expeditions. With historic consequences, China's focus turns to protection from the west and northwest of the country rather than engaging in diplomacy and further exploration of the seas and distant lands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laszlo is back after more than two weeks on the lam. This time we look at part 1 of a series featuring the great adventurer/explorer/diplomat Zheng He. Zheng He's seven voyages to India, Persia, and the east coast of Africa created a big sensation in the early 15th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back in ancient days again, this time the short period in between the Qin and Han Dynasties when two great leaders, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, contended for the throne left vacant by the deceased first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang. Xiang Yu has gone down in the annals of Chinese history as one of the most ferocious and greatest of generals and strategists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final episode of the Cultural Revolution overview we look at the events that went down in 1976 as well as the massive mopping-up operation that took place after the fall of the Gang of Four. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, we get all the way up to the end of 1975. With Zhou Enlai ailing and Mao Zedong also not long for the world, there is a sudden urgency to find a successor to the chairman. Now more than ever the two opposing camps take every measure to defeat the other. To the victor will go the leadership of the Chinese nation. To the loser, there is a certain loss of power and perhaps of freedom. Everything is building up to the fateful year of 1976. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we finish off 1969, a year that not only saw internal revolt and anarchy but also saw armed border confrontation with the Soviet Union in the freezing northeast. Chairman Mao Zedong pulls out all the stops to quell the violence and rebellion that he himself called for at the outset of the Cultural Revolution. Mao's chosen successor, Lin Biao loses favor with The Great Helmsman. As China enters the 1970's the Cultural Revolution, though tarnished, still has plenty of life left in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fifth installment of our China History Podcast overview of the Cultural Revolution we look at the milestone events of 1967: The February Countercurrent, 8 Point Program, 10 Point Program and the Wuhan Incident. Lots of blood and violence during this difficult year in China. Added to this was no small amount of political, military and social upheavel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second half of 1966 and into 1967 saw some of the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution. In this episode the violence spreads throughout China and anyone with something to hide about their class background is tracked down and forced to endure the most horrible of fates. Mao is liking what he sees and keeps fanning the flames using all the tools at his disposal. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-china-history-podcast/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this third episode of Laszlo's Cultural Revolution Overview, we only advance 18 days in August of 1966. Momentous and shocking events happen one after another, day after day. With the announcement of the 16 Points, now the Cultural Revolution has a purpose and guidelines to follow. Today's episode will show that Mao had anything except an orderly execution of this plan to transform China. He was going to shake up the whole nation, like a snow globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Laszlo takes us up to August 1966 with this Cultural Revolution overview. After a nine-month hiatus down in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan, Mao is now back in Beijing and ready to mount his attack on the party leadership and unleash the Cultural Revolution on the entire country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By popular demand, Laszlo begins to trace the history of the Cultural Revolution. This week's episode looks at the events leading up to the moment in 1966 when Mao called for the people to Bombard the Headquarters and to tear down the government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Firstly, Laszlo apologizes in advance for the horrific pronunciation of all Hindi terms. In this updated version of a very old episode from 2012, we look at the long history of Sino-Indian Relations. Many online writers and in the media like to frame this relationship in rather militaristic terms. There's way more to it than that. And there are limitless online resources available that can teach you about all the details and nuances. If you didn't know much beyond the negative vibes being disseminated, here's a nice big-picture two-thousand-year perspective. No question about it, whatever their differences, China and India are part of a small and elite club of great civilizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Known by many names, Guan Yu, Guan Gong, Guan Di, this great man of loyalty, integrity, and justice lived during the final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei is the stuff of legends and remembered to this very day. Guan Yu was a historical person whose life was so admired, today he is considered a god. In today's episode, we look at his life and his legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at a committed Communist Party leader who played an important role in steering China's economy and financial system from 1949 to 1966 and during the Deng era. Like many other leaders of his generation, Shanxi-born Bo Yibo suffered terribly during the Cultural Revolution. Today he is best remembered as one of the Eight Immortals or Party Elders who made up Deng Xiaoping's "kitchen cabinet" during China's go-go 80's and 90's. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time we look at Missouri-born Carl Crow (1883-1945). Though pretty much forgotten today, Carl Crow lived an amazing life and was a prolific writer. From his front-row seats to many of the historic events in China between 1911-1937, Crow wrote many books about his observations and opinions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this farewell look at the Silk Road, we discuss a few more interesting things and then give the travels and adventures of Marco Polo a once over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another fortnight, another China History Podcast. We return to the Silk Road and focus our attention on the monk Xuanzang. His was an interesting life. Through looking at Xuanzang you can truly gain a sense of the importance of Buddhism in China, India and almost the entirety of Central Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices