The China History Podcast

First off, let me apologize for the less-than-optimal audio quality. This is a very informative interview. And for those of you who missed my very old episode from 2013 or thereabouts covering this to...

13 Sep 202447min

This is surprisingly not very well-known and certainly wasn't taught in my US history classes. Here's a story for you that many might find hard to believe. Perhaps you're already familiar with the his...

1 Sep 202435min

In this episode, I'm presenting a simple but still informative overview of not only the Grand Canal but also the bigger subject of canals in China. The history of the Grand Canal isn't one clean linea...

18 Aug 202435min

Here's another CHP Special Episode. Not too long ago I had the chance to chat with Yokohama-based Scott Crawford, author of "Silk Road Centurian", "The Han-Xiongnu Wars", and a new one coming out any ...

15 Aug 20241h 12min

Here's a reading of an article recently published in the South China Morning Post, written by travel writer David Leffman. On his most recent trip to Yunnan to work on his upcoming book on the 1875 Ma...

11 Aug 202419min

This is the third time the history and traditions behind a Chinese holiday is being introduced. The history behind the Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival were both presented back in the days whe...

4 Aug 202426min

Once dubbed "the richest man in the world" back in his day, the first half of the 19th century, Wu Bingjian 伍秉鉴 was a leading figure in the pre-Opium War world of foreign trade. He's best known as som...

21 Jul 202443min

It must have been three or four years ago that I started bouncing this idea off Janie about a discussion regarding historical fiction rooted in Chinese history. Janie, being a successful writer of thi...

14 Jul 202442min