In episode 1, we begin with an introduction to this podcast, followed by a brief overview of what we’ve come to know about early human migration and settlement in the region that will eventually become China. Finally, we’ll delve into the mythological origin story that purports to tell of the three divine Sovereigns who would create and then rule over the Han people.

I’m very excited to be getting this journey underway! Once again welcome, and thank you for listening.

UPDATE:  As of 08/18/2014, this episode has been re-recorded with upgraded sound quality, and a better compression rate.  Enjoy!

#1 - Origins 1: The Mythical Origins Of The Middle Kingdom

This episode, we enter the second half of our gaze into the Chinese origins mythos. Focusing on the Five Emperors descended from the Yellow Emperor, this period marks the beginning of the transformation of the Huaxia People from settled tribe, to dynastic feudal kingdom. There will be betrayal, cataclysmic flooding, bird kingdoms, the Vietnamese, magical earth, and – of course – dragons.

#2 - Origins 2: Five Emperors, Twelve Islands

This week we move into the beginnings of China’s dynastic period where rulers began favoring birthright over merit – and the consequences will be almost immediately apparent.  Beginning with the triumphant reign of the heroic Yu the Great, the Xia’s semi-accidental trip into dynastic succession will swiftly spiral downward, eventually leaving a usurping general in power, and the House of Xia all but exterminated after decades in exile.

#3 - Xia 1: The Xia, China's First Dynasty

This time, we take an in depth look into Shao Kang, the prince born in hiding who would rise from his dynasty's ashes to seek revenge against the Usurper-General Han Zhuo who had ruthlessly pursued him.  Through a combination of skill, luck, and patience, Shao Kang will cobble together a force able to meet Han Zhuo's armies in battle.

#4 - Xia 2: Revenge of the Xia!

This episode we cover our source materials, and then delve into the latter half of the Xia Dynasty post Shao Kang's restoration.  It all ends with the corrupt and cruel Emperor Jie coming face to face with the Army of Shang bearing down on him, intent on ending his reign of terror once and for all.

#5 - Xia 3: The Fall Of The House Of Xia

We take a "time out" from our forward-marching chronology to examine the evidence we have of the Shang state, and how we came to know what we know about his period.

Mostly, it's about what we can learn from reading divine messages off of dragon bones.

#6 - Shang 1: Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Oracle Bones

In this first of two parts, we look at the first half of the Shang Dynasty beginning with the victory and reign of Tang "The Perfect" and leaving off 21 emperors, five capitals, and 400 years later with the amazing reign of Wu Ding and his warrior-priestess wife Lady Fu Hao.  Along the way, there are warlike redheaded Xirong, Demonic Mongols, and Blue Barbarians.

#7 - Shang 2: The Shang Triumphant

05/13/2022

"Relax," said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive."

The History of China

上海 Lockdown Update - Day 43/04: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like

Great Ming is having some problems with its border troops who think orders are actually "suggestions." The Jiajing Emperor is having some problems with his ministers being self-serving twits. Meanwhile, there's some strange happenings going on beyond the wild frontiers...

Time Period Covered:
~1510-1540 CE

#235 - Ming 25: Some Light Treason

The self-proclaimed Kung Wu of Zhou stands triumphant amid the smoking ruins of the Shang Dynasty... but though the war is over, victory is far from assured.  With his premature death, his unready heir will prompt rebellion against the fledgling Zhou Dynasty - not only by the Shang remnant, but also his own uncles!  To cement their hold on power, the Zhou will be forced to construct a new standard of legitimacy: The Mandate of Heaven.

#9 - W. Zhou 1: Heaven Does Not Make Propositions

In the chaos that grips the steppes in the mid 15th century, anarchy reins. Though there are though who call themselves khans, they were merely figureheads controlled by their own prime ministers, the taishis. The once mighty Borjigin Clan has been bled nearly dry, and usurpers are over every hill crest. 

Into this world of destruction and disarray, two children are born on opposite sides of the vast Gobi. The first is one of the last members of the House of Borjigin, a boy called Bayan Möngke, who will in time become the heir to the office of Great Khan of the Mongols. The other a girl of seemingly little significance, Mandukhai, who will be given to the sitting Khan in marriage as his second queen.

Time Period Covered:
ca. 1448~1478 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Northern Yuan:
Beg-Arslan Taishi
Ismayil Taishi
Manduul Khan, "The Old Khan" [ca. 1438-1478]
Bayan Möngke Jinong, "The Golden Prince" [ca. 145?-147?]
Yeke Qabar-tu Khatun, "Queen Big Nose" [14??-14??]
Mandukhai Khatun [ca. 1448-1510]
General Une-Bolod [14??-14??]
Siker [144?-14??]
Boroghchin [ca. 14??-147?]

#236 - Yuan 17: The Golden Prince & The Warrior Queen

This episode, we start at the mid-point of the Western Zhou period, and follow it all the way down to its conclusion with the shattering of Royal authority, the sacking of the capital, and the vengeance of the White Wolf Clans on the Zhou.  By the end of the episode, though a Zhou king will remain on the throne, we've seen the end (for now) of a unified state in anything but name...

#10 - W. Zhou 2: The King Who Cried "Barbarian!"

The Jiajing Emperor rounds out the back-half of his interminably long reign by hiding away in his personal palace, and only occasionally coming out to tell everyone what a terrible job they're all doing. The Mongols seize on Ming weakness to basically do whatever they want, and the Ming respond by turtling even harder and building more walls. Without an imperial guiding hand, the ministers are left to their own devices... with predictably selfish and myopic results.



Time Period Covered:

1550-1567 CE



Major Historical Figures:

Ming Empire:

The Jiajing Emperor (Zhu Houcong) [r. 1521-1567]

Gen. Qiu Ruan [d. 1552]

Grand Secretary Xia Yan [1482-1548]

Grand Secretary Yan Song [1480-1567]

Grand Secretary Xu Jie [1512-1578]



Mongolia:

Altan Khan [1507-1582]

Prince Toghto



Major Works Cited:

Bacon, Francis. “Of empire” in The essays of Francis Bacon (1908).

Geiss, James. “The Chia-ching reign, 1522-1566,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

#240 - Ming 27: The Solecism of Power

Ming China gets down and dirty with a Miao Rebellion in the Southwest, a Mongol(-ish) uprising in the Northwest, and a newly re-unified Japan gettin just a little too big for their britches in Korea.

Time Period Covered: 1587-1600 CE

#248 - Ming 33: Dragon Head, Snake Tail

In the frigid wilds beyond the Great Wall, a young warrior will begin a grand campaign to establish himself as the sovereign of All Under Heaven, and overthrow an ancient rival.

Time Period Covered:
1559-1619 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Ming:
The Wanli Emperor
General Li Chengliang

Aisin-Gioro/Later Jin/Manchu:
Nurhachi, Heavenly Mandated Khan of Jin [1559-1626]
Giocangga [d. 1582]
Surhaci [d. 1611]
Cuyen [d. 1615]
Hong Taiji
Nikan Wilan
Dragon-Tiger General Meggebulu

#249 - Ming 34: Nurhachi, Part 1

With Manchuria all but tapped out, Nurhachi and his Manchus seek to expand in the only direction that makes any sense - south into Ming territory. It's time for the Airing of Grievances! He's got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're gonna hear about it!!

Time Period Covered:
~1618-1626 CE

#250 - Ming 35: Nurhachi, Part 2

We revisit the pivotal Battle of Sarhu of 1619/20, but this time from the Ming perspective. Then we'll finally send the Wanli Emperor into his tomb and take stock of his reign and legacy, before getting into our final few emperors Great Ming has left in the tank.

Time Period Covered:
1619-1621 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Ming:
The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yujin) [r. 1572-1620]
The Taichang Emperor (Zhu Changluo) [r. 1620-1620]
The Tianqi Emperor (Zhu Youjiao) [r. 1620-1627]
Consort Li
Supreme Commander Yang Hao [d. 1629]
General Du Song, "The Madman" [d. 1619]
General Ma Lin [d. 1619]
General Li Rubo [d. 1621]
General Liu Ting [d. 1619]

Manchu/Later Jin:
Nurhachi [r. 1616-1626]
Amba Beile Daisan [1583-1648]
Hong Taiji [1592-1643]

#251 - Ming 36: The Last Showdown

Great Ming's 15th emperor steps up to bat at the tender age of 15, but he's not terribly interested in tackling the challenges facing the empire. He'd rather sit in his room and... build models. As if that weren't enough, things go from already-bad to even-worse when a certain eunuch with a mountain of a chip on his shoulder manages to wrangle the reins of power from the teenage monarch.

Time Period Covered:
1620-1627 CE

Major Historical Figures:
The Tianqi Emperor (Zhu Youjiao) [r. 1620-1627]
Exalted Duke Wei Zhongxian [1568-1627]
Madame Ke [1605-1627]
Minister of War Cui Chengxiu [1571-1627]
Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao [1559-1627]
Minister Liu Zongzhou [1578-1645]
Vice Censor-in-Chief Yang Lian [1572-1625]
Xu Hengru, White Lotus rebel leader [d. 1623]
The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Yujian) [r. 1627-1644]

#252 - Ming 37: The Donglin Debacle

The Chongzhen Emperor takes command of the Ming, but things are not going well... and they're not going to get any better. After purging his government of partisan elements, he find he's now condemned it to hopeless deadlock. Along the southern coasts, pirate fleets and Dutch privateers prowl the water, making trade all but impossible. Economic and currency woes lead, combined with repeated natural catastrophes lead to widespread banditry and rebel factions doing what they must to survive... and through it all, the Manchu threat to the north continue to press its advantage, breaking through the Great Wall, and going so far as to raid around Beijing itself!

Time Period Covered:
1628-1636

Major Historical Figures:
Ming Empire:
The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Yujian) [r. 1628-1644]
General Yuan Conghuan [1584-1630]
Zheng Zhilong, Admiral of the South Seas [1604-1661]
Grand Secretary Wen Tiren [1584-1639]

Qing Dynasty:
Hong Taiji (Emperor Taizong of Qing) [r. 1626-1643]
Amin [1585-1640]
Commander Kong Youde [d. 1562]
Geng Zhongming [1604-1649]

Rebels:
Li Zicheng [1606-1649]

#253 - Ming 38; Manchus, and Pirates, and Rebels, Oh My!

As the newly enthroned Khan of the Manchus, Hong Taiji has a lot of plates to keep spinning. Conquest of Joseon Korea to the east, conquest of the Chahar Mongols to the west, and continuing to pound against the ever-weakening Ming Dynasty to the south. But he still has time for aesthetic considerations, such as the fact that names like "Jurchen" and "Jin" are so passé, while names like "Manchu" and "Qing" are the new hotness.

Time Period Covered:
1626-1643 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Qing:
Hong Taiji (Emperor Taizong of Qing) [r. 1626-1643]
Prince Amin [1585-1640]
Prince Haoge [1609-1648]
Prince Dorgon [1612-1650]
Prince Fulin (The Shunzi Emperor) [r. 1643-1661]

Ming:
Gen. Mao Wenlong [1576-1629]
Gen. Yuan Chonghuan [1584-1630]
Gen. Zu Dashou [d. 1656]
Gen. Hong Chenchou [1593-1665]
Gen. Wu Sangui [1612-1678]

Joseon:
King Injo [r. 1623-1649]

Northern Yuan:
Ligdan Khan [r. 1603-1634]

#254 - Qing 1: Build Me An Army Worthy of Manchu

Manchu occupation of the lands south of the Yangtze River proceed smoothly... right up until Prince Dorgon is convinced by some of his advisors that everyone needs a haircut.

Within Southern Ming, multiple princes vie for power - such as it it - at pretty much the worst possible time to be having a throne-fight.

Time Period Covered:
1645-1646 CE

Major Historical Actors:
Qing:
Prince Dorgon, Regent of Great Qing [1612-1650]
Dodo, Prince of Yu [1614-1649]
Bolo, Prince Duanzhong [1613-1652]
Hong Chengchou [1593-1665]

Southern Ming:
Zhu Yujian, Prince of Tang/Longwu Emperor [1602-1646]
Zhu Yihai, Prince of Lu, Regent of Great Ming [1618-1662]
General Zheng Hongkui [d. 1654]
Zheng Zhilong (Nicholas Iquan Gaspard), Marquis of Tong'an [1604-1661]
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) [1624-1662]


Major Works Cited:
Dennerline, Jerry. "The Shun-chih Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part One: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800

Struve, Lynn A. "The Southern Ming, 1644-1662" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7 The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, part I.

Wakeman, Frederic. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China.

#257 - Qing 3: Lose Your Hair, Or Lose Your Head

Nemo me impune lacessit.
In pace requiescat!

by: Edgar Allen Poe, 1846

Strange Tales VIII.5: The Cask of Amontillado

Pirates!

Headhunters!

Samurai!

The Dutch!

Every day's high-stakes adventure on the island everyone's totally ignored until the 1600s!

#260 - Qing 5: Taiwan Incognita, Pt.1

Events on the high seas and islands alike reach a fevered pitch as the Dutch, Japan, China, and Portugal all vie for profit and supremacy over Taiwan and its lucrative trade. Meanwhile - call them what you will (because it's hard to keep track - but the "independent merchants" or "pirate lords" ... sometimes even turned government agents keep looking to exploit every opportunity to enrich themselves while avoiding the noose.

Take what you can, give nothin' back!

Timeframe Covered:
ca. 1600-1639

Major Historical Figures:
Dutch East India Company/Batavia/Ft. Zeelandia:
Capt. Elie Ripon
Pieter Nuyts, Governor of Formosa [1598-1655]

Catholic Church:
Georgius Candidus [1597-1647]

Independent Traders/Pirates of Taiwan:
Salvador Diaz of Macau
Yan Siqi [d. ~1625]
Li Dan "Captain China" [d. ~1625]
Li Kuiqi ("Quitsicq")
Zhong Bin
Liu Xiang

Ming China:
Chen Di, Ming imperial official [1541-1617]
Xu Xinsu ("Simpsou"), merchant-contact
"Patrolling Admiral" Zheng Zhilong [1604-1661]

Shogunate Japan:
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, "The Great Unifier" [1537-1598]
Suetsugu Heizo Masanao, merchant-lord [1546-1630]
Suetsugu Heizo Masafusa, the scion

Taiwan Aboriginal Groups:
the Sinkan
the Mattau

Major Sources Cited:
Andrade, Tonio (2005). How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Sevententh Century.
Andrade, Tonio (2004). "The Company's Chinese Pirates: How the Dutch East India Company Tried to Lead a Coalition of Pirates to War against China, 1621-1662" in Journal of World History, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Dec., 2004).
Clements, Jonathan (2004). Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty.
Ripon, Elie [Leonard Blussé & Jaap de Moor, trans.] (2016). Captain Ripon’s Maritime Adventures in the East Indies: The Diary of a Mercenary Soldier, 1617-1627.

#261 - Qing 6: Taiwan Incognita, Pt. 2

Though the Japanese bow out of the race for Taiwan with the establishment of the Sakoku "Closed Country" laws, the Spanish set up shot on the northern shore in an effort to stymie Dutch efforts at Ft. Zeelandia in the south.  Of course you realize this means war. And surely the Chinese must be around here somewhere, right? Also, there will be rice... and sugar.

Time Period Covered:
~1630-1643 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Dutch East India Co./ Ft. Zeelandia:
Governor Hans Putmans

Iberian Union/Santissama Trinidad
/Manila:
King Philip II
Luis Perez Dasmariñas, Governor of Manila
Hurtado de Corcuera, Governor-General of the Philippines

Ming Dynasty:
Zheng Zhilong

Other:
Yan Siqi

Aboriginal Factions:
Taparri
Kimaurri
Mattau
Soulang
Baccluan

262 - Qing 7: Triple-Colonization

As the Manchu armies of Great Qing press ever-southward, they put increasing pressure on Ming loyalists seeking either escape or additional lands to feed their war efforts. The warlord of Fujian, Zheng Chenggong, the Lord of the Imperial Surname, will begin eying the holdings of the Dutch East India Co. on Formosa as just such a target.

Time Period Covered:
ca. 1639-1659 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Ming:
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662]

VOC:
Christiaan Beyer, Ft. Zeelandia Surgeon-in-chief

Taiwanese:
Guo Huaiyi, rebel leader [d. 1652]

#263 - Qing 8: Lord of the Imperial Surname

Between the Southern Ming warlord Zheng Chenggong in Fujian, and the Dutch East India Company across the Taiwan Strait in Ft. Zeelandia, a curious figure named He Tingbin serves as the two powers' sole line of communication and diplomacy. But He Tingbin has only one true master - himself. And in his drive to maximize his own gains (and minimize his risk of exposure) he will throw the entire cross-strait dialogue into chaos...

Time Period Covered:
1657-1661 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Southern Ming Loyalists [Xiamen, Fujian]:
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662]
Yang Ying, Court Revenue Officer & Recordkeeper

Dutch East India Co. (VOC) [Ft. Zeelandia, Taiwan]:
He Tingbin, Headman & translator
Cornelius Caesar [Governor, 1651-1656]
Frederick Coyett [Governor, 1656-1662]
Hermanus Clenk van Odesse [Governor-select, dispatched 1662]
Admiral Jan van der Laan

#264 - Qing 9: Koxinga Attacks!

Koxinga takes Taiwan by storm, forcing the Dutch East India Company off the island for good, and heralding the dawn of Chinese rule over that overseas outpost.

Time Period Covered:
1661-1664 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Southern Ming Loyalists [Xiamen, Fujian]:
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), Lord of the Imperial Surname [1624-1662]
Yang Ying, Court Revenue Officer & Recordkeeper

Dutch East India Co. (VOC) [Ft. Zeelandia, Taiwan]:
He Tingbin, Headman & translator
Cornelius Caesar [Governor, 1651-1656]
Frederick Coyett [Governor, 1656-1662]
Hermanus Clenk van Odesse [Governor-select, dispatched 1662]
Admiral Jan van der Laan

#265 - Qing 10: Zeelandia Has Fallen

With the untimely and mysterious death of Prince-Regent Dorgon, the thirteen-year-old Shunzhi Emperor takes personal command of the still unsteady Qing Empire. He's got a lot to do - and it will turn out, not terribly long to do it! From purging prince, to beheading grand secretaries, to winning conquests... to perhaps that hardest of them all: standing up to his own mother, it's Shunzhi in the driver's seat!

Time Period Covered:
1651-1661 CE

Major Historical Figures:
House of Aisin Gioro:
The Shunzhi Emperor (Fulin) [r. 1651-1661]
Prince-Regent Dorgon [1612-1650]
Jirgalang, Prince Zheng of the First Rank [1599-1655]

Qing Imperial Court:
Grand Secretariat Chen Mingxia [1601-1654]
General Tantai of the Plain Yellow Banner [1594-1651]
Grand Academician Feng Chuan [1596-1572]
Grand Academician Ning Wanwo [1593-1665]
General Ren Zhen
Hong Chengchou, Pacifying General of Jiangnan [1593-1665]
Wu Sangui, Prince of Western Pacification [1612-1678]

Southern Ming/Rebels:
Li Dingguo, Prince of Jin [1621-1662]
Zheng Chenggong, Koxinga, Prince of Yanping [1624-1662]

Works Cited:
Dennerline, Jerry. "The Shun-chih Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, part 1: To 1800.
"Records of Emperor Shizuzhang, Vol. 74" in Records of the Qing Dynasty [Qing Shilu].
Wakeman, Frederic Evans. The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China.

#266 - Qing 11: Shunzhi's Personal Rule

After the untimely death of Shunzhi, a regency will be established for the 8-year-old newly-enthroned Kangxi Emperor. These four powerful Manchu lords will each be vying with power for themselves, and the last thing they'll be expecting is a 13-year-old kid to outwit them all.

Time Period Covered:
1661-1669 CE

Major Historical Figures:
The Kangxi Emperor (Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722]
Prince-Regent Oboi of the Gulwagiya Clan [c. 1610-1669]
Prince-Regent Soni of the Heseri Clan [1601-1667]
Prince-Regent Ebilun of the Noihori Clan [d. 1673]
Prince-Regent Suksaha of the Nara Clan [d. 1667]
Grand Empress-Dowager Xiaozhuang [1613-1688]

#267 - Qing12: The Four Regents of Kangxi

Just as the last vestiges of the Ming are being swept away, a new round of wars will erupt to challenge Manchu suzerainty over China. From both within - as in the rebellions led by the three great feudatory lords of the south - and without - as in the challenges coming from Mongolia and Taiwan - the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and the Qing Dynasty itself, will be tested as never before.

Time Period Covered:
~1661-1683 CE

Great Qing:
The Kangxi Emperor (Xuanye) [r. 1654-1722]
Prince Lergiyan
Gyesu, Prince Kang of the First Rank [1645-1697]
Shang Kexi, Prince of Pingnan [1604-1676]

Southern Ming:
Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui [1623-1662]
Gen. Li Dingguo [1621-1662]
Gen. Bo Wenxuan [d. 1662]

Kingdom of Tungning:
Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) [1624-1662]
Zheng Jing [1642-1681]

The Three Feudatories:
Yunnan & Guizhou:
Wu Sangui "Emperor of Wu Zhou" [1612-1678]
Wu Shifan [1663-1681]
Guangdong:
Shang Zhixin "Prince Who Pacifies the South" [1636-1680]
Fujian:
Geng Jingzong, Prince of Jingnan [d. 1682]

Chahar Mongols:
Burni [d. 1675]

#268 - Qing 13: The War of the Three Feudatories

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

#159 - Mongol 1: The Blood Clot

Genghis Khan is old, wracked by pain in his body and heart, and in spite of his best efforts, has come to accept there is one foe he cannot defeat: mortality itself. Thus, even before setting out on his campaign against the Khwarazmian Empire, he will assemble his four sons and together reach a fateful decision - who among them will rule when Genghis is gone?

Note: This is part 1 of the 2-part conclusion to the life of Genghis Khan, with the conclusion available to subscribers!

Time Period Covered:
1220-1227 CE

Major Historical Figures:
Genghis Khan [Temüjin] (1162-1227)
Börte Khatun (c.1161-c.1130)
Jochi (1181-1226)
Chagatai Khan (1183-1242)
Ögedei Khan (c.1186-1241)
Tolui (c.1191-1232)

#171 - Mongol 10.1: The Succession

An audio journey through the 5000 year history of one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.

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