The History of China
By Chris Stewart D
Categories: history
A journey through the 5000 years of history documented by one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
409 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- #352 - Taiping 26: Two Seals and a Coffin
In the summer of 1861, the Xianfeng emperor died at 30, in exile, beyond the Great Wall. He left behind a 5-year-old heir, 8 men to run the empire in the boy’s name… and 2 tiny, little seals out of his personal art collection that are completely unimportant to the rest of this story, so don’t even…
- #351.2 – Strange Tales XI.2: The Body Won’t Behave
It’s one thing to go invading the resting places of the dead and reaping the well-deserved consequences of your own bad choices. But it’s a different kind of horror entirely when you don’t even need a shovel and the dead are perfectly capable of getting up all on their own. Hopping corpses, flying…
- #351 - Strange Tales XI.1: Don't Wake the Grave
The leaves are blood-red once again, the coffee’s back to hot, and somewhere in old China, the dead begin to stir restlessly. Grave robbers, well-diggers, strange hobbyists... plenty of folks out there far too willing to go sticking a spade into dirt it doesn't belong. And, of course, consequences…
- #350 - Taiping 25: Rings Within Rings
In the summer of 1861, the strangest siege of the war took shape on the banks of the Yangtze. As Heaven itself sent forth cosmic signs – of victory or disaster, no one could be quite sure – an imperial army had a rebel city completely surrounded.Only for a different rebel army to surround that…
- #349 - Taiping 24: The Bouncer
By the autumn of 1860, the Qing Dynasty had run out of armies to lose. What was left of its war was being run out of a mountain valley in southern Anhui by a half-blind scholar-official who was, at that very moment, politely refusing a direct order from his emperor.Downriver, the Taiping had a…
- #348 - Arrow War 2: Ashes of Perfect Brightness
For two days in mid-October, ash fell like snow atop Beijing. All that remained of one of the greatest cultural storehouses in all of human history, put to the torch as an extremely personalized punishment... after everything not nailed down inside it had already been looted off, of course.But the…
- #347 - Arrow War 1: The Servants' Entrance
A suspicious ship of dubious registry is boarded by Qing marines off Canton, 12 of her crew are taken captive for piracy, and the British allege their flag was hauled down in the process. That last part, at least, was almost certainly untrue... not that that stops it all from spinning entirely out…
- #346 - Taiping 23: Friends From Afar
The Loyal King does everything right. He writes ahead to Shanghai to announce he's coming – as a friend! And only for the Qing parts of the city! His standing orders: no firing on the foreigners, you get your head chopped off. He even signs off wishing them all good health until he can meet them…
- #345 - Taiping 22: Heaven Below
For a thousand years, Suzhou and Hangzhou stood as synonyms for the next best thing to Heaven itself. Well... that was before 1860. As of now, Hangzhou is a fire-gutted ruin, and Suzhou is next on the target list.But the army that does the most damage… is not the invader. The Taiping arrive to…
- #344 - Taiping 21: Borrowed Things
he stealth troops successfully sneak past the enemy lines in dead men'scoats. The false flags planted on the hillside fool the city guard. The front gate assault diverts, while the sappers around back bring the walls down. I love it when a plan comes together, every single piece locking in like…
- #308.5 - Zheng Yi Sao, Pt. 3: The Tiger's Mouth
#308.5 - Zheng Yi Sao, Pt. 3: The Tiger's Mouth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #343 - Taiping 20: The Guest & the Host
Li Xiucheng thinks the plan is pointless. He said so out loud, to his superiors… and lost. So of course, it’s him tasked with leading it out the gate. He is, after all, the Loyal King. And so 6,000 soldiers cross the river in the dark through the only path still open to them, every one of them…
- #342 - Taiping 19: Approved In the Margins
A man disguised as a peddler stands on the bank of the Yangtze watching a British fleet go past, and tries to hitch a ride to Nanjing. He's been trying to reach the rebel capital for 6 years now, and this is the closest he's gotten. He’s told “no” … again. So he picks himself up once more and just…
- #341 - Taiping 18: Titles of the Dead
In the Heavenly capital of Nanjing, a government that’s now mostly murdered has to be restaffed… somehow. And so their old titles are simply dusted off and re-distributed who whoever’s still left standing. Meanwhile, the men out actually running the war have learned that there’s no use in waiting…
- #340 - Taiping 17: Out of Kings
#340 - Taiping 17: Out of Kings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #339 - Taiping 16: At Sixes & Sevens
#339 - Taiping 16: At Sixes & Sevens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #338 - Taiping 15: The Summer of 10,000 Years
#338 - Taiping 15: The Summer of 10,000 Years Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #337 - Taiping 14: Tears Enough to Swell the River
#337 - Taiping 14: Tears Enough to Swell the River Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #336 - Taiping 13: The Order of Caps and Shoes
#336 - Taiping 13: The Order of Caps and Shoes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #335 - Taiping 12: The Man In Hunan
#335 - Taiping 12: The Man In Hunan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #334 - Taiping 11: The Spear of Heaven and the Winter Wolf
#334 - Taiping 11: The Spear of Heaven and the Winter Wolf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #333 - Taiping 10: All Things In Common
#333 - Taiping 10: All Things In Common Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #332 - Taiping 9: Heaven Is A Place On Earth
#332 - Taiping 9: Heaven Is A Place On Earth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #331 - Taiping 8: Kingdom Come
#331 - Taiping 8: Kingdom Come Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- #330 - Taiping 7: Beneath the Walls of Changsha
The Heavenly Host has arrived at the great provincial capital of Hunan - Changsha. The mighty bastion that will prove to be the first city on the long march north that simply refuses to fall. For two months in late 1852, the largest army the Taiping has yet fielded throws everything it knows at…
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