#3 - Xia 1: The Xia, China's First Dynasty | The History of China Podcast

#2 - Origins 2: Five Emperors, Twelve Islands: 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... by The History of China

29 min listen

#4 - Xia 2: Revenge of the Xia!: 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 pa... by The History of China

22 min listen

#8 - Shang 3: The Shang Vanquished: This episode we chronicle the decline and eventual fall of the once-glorious Shang Dynasty to the same vices and evils that spelled doom for the Xia centuries ago. In the West, a powerful new clan calling itself the Zhou has risen to power, eventually ... by The History of China

29 min listen

#14 - E. Zhou 3: Confucius Says...: This episode we chronicle the life of Master Kong A.K.A. Confucius, as well as detail his socio-political philosophies which would shape the future of China, as well as those of much of the rest of East Asia. Less fighting, more thinking, in the fir... by The History of China

38 min listen

#38 - E. Han 5: The Battle Of Guandu: In the aftermath of the tyrant Dong Zhou's death, the two commanders of the former anti-Dong coalition vie for power and legitimacy. Cao Cao will take control of Emperor Xian, prompting his one time ally Yuan Shao to launch an all-out invasion of... by The History of China

36 min listen

#24 - W. Han 2: Xiongnu to the Left of Me, Rebels to the Right...: The Han Dynasty is established by Liu Bang, who crowns himself it's first Emperor Gaozu. But though this is the beginning of a golden age for China, it get's off to a rough start, as to the north the steppe tribes have united into the terrif... by The History of China

35 min listen

#28 - W. Han 6: The Sino-Xiongnu War: Tensions between the Han and Xiongnu Empires boil over into full-scale war after decades of humiliation at the hands of the northern horse-lords. When the traditional methods of neutralizing Xiongnu power fails, Emperor Wu must turn to a new generatio... by The History of China

29 min listen

#1 - Origins 1: The Mythical Origins Of The Middle Kingdom: 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... by The History of China

32 min listen

#9 - W. Zhou 1: Heaven Does Not Make Propositions: 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 D... by The History of China

34 min listen

#6 - Shang 1: Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Oracle Bones: 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... by The History of China

36 min listen

#22 - Qin 3: Web Of Deception: Following the First Emperor's "Weekend At Bernie's"-esque death, the Qin Dynasty is thrown into turmoil over who will succeed the Emperor who sought to live forever. But at the heart of this web of intrigue sits the eunuch Zhao Gao... by The History of China

32 min listen

#26 - W. Han 4: The Rule Of Wen And Jing: The reigns of Han Emperors Wen and Jing took enormous strides to stabilize the dynasty both within and without. Lowered taxes, more lenient laws, and normalization of international relationships saw life under Wen and Jing greatly improve. But a blun... by The History of China

31 min listen

#7 - Shang 2: The Shang Triumphant: 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 wa... by The History of China

42 min listen

#13 - E. Zhou 2: The Widening Gyre: Spheres of domination, intrafamiliar betrayal, and tangled alliances are the markers of the second portion of the Spring and Autumn period, called the Age of Encroachments. All of this leading to the major powers of the Zhou Empire to engage in decades... by The History of China

32 min listen

#10 - W. Zhou 2: The King Who Cried "Barbarian!": 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 ... by The History of China

40 min listen

#5 - Xia 3: The Fall Of The House Of 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, in... by The History of China

31 min listen

#17 - E. Zhou 6: Qin's Reformation And Ascension: A brief synopsis of Tomb Sweeping Festival, it's traditions and expectations... then onto the state of Qin's early defeats at the hands of a combined Wei and Han. It's Qin's subsequent reforms at the hand of the Legalist Shang Yang,... by The History of China

31 min listen

#3 - Xia 1: The Xia, China's First Dynasty: 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... by The History of China

28 min listen

#11 - Special: Gong Xi Fa Cai!: This Episode, we take a time-out from the historical flow to take advantage of the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. We explore the history, legends, customs, and meaning behind this ancient and storied period of celebration. Happy Year of the Y... by The History of China

37 min listen

#25 - W. Han 3: The Bloody Empress: With Han's first Emperor, Gaozu, dead, his wife the first Empress of China Lü Zhi plans on making a few... *alterations* to the goings on of court life. And she doesn't care who she has cut the arms and legs off of to achieve her goals. For... by The History of China

29 min listen

#21 - Qin 2: One Nation Under Qin: The victor of the Warring States Period has unified China into its first Empire and taken the name Shi Huang Di. Thereafter, he will expand his borders, unify his nation's language, build a Great Wall to the north, and attempt to stave off death ... by The History of China

38 min listen

#16 - E. Zhou 5: The Partition of Jin: The transition from the Spring and Autumn to the Warring States Period is, all in all, an eight decade process. But the major event that would shape the conflict to come is the civil war that would destroy the pre-eminent power of the 6th century BCE ... by The History of China

29 min listen

#20 - Qin 1: There Can Be Only One: In this final conclusion of the Warring States Period, the King of Qin at last begins his campaign to destroy the other six kingdoms and unify China under a new dynasty. But he'll have to contend with military setbacks, tenacious defenders, and as... by The History of China

28 min listen

#12 - E. Zhou 1: The Shattered Empire: King You of Zhou lays headless, the capital a smouldering ruin, and royal authority utterly destroyed. Regional lords exploit the chaos at hand to expand their own domains - and at times declare their own kingdoms - while the new, toothless Eastern Zh... by The History of China

32 min listen

#39 - E. Han 6: Warlords, White Wolf, Winter Winds: In the Southeast, the young but ambitious Sun Ce has splintered off to form his own power bloc, but intrigue will leave his legacy in jeopardy. To the Southwest, the thrice defeated Liu Bei has fled to the refuge of Jing Province under his cousin... by The History of China

27 min listen

#35 - E. Han 2: Reclamation: It is a Golden Age for the Eastern Han. After decades of tumult, famine, and civil war, the Chinese Empire is poised once again to reclaim its status as preeminent East Asian power. Retaking the abandoned Western Vassal Kingdoms, sending envoys to In... by The History of China

34 min listen

#18 - E. Zhou 7: Shifting Loyalties, Uneasy Alliances: Qin's power continues to grow unabated, as the other states struggle to put aside their own differences long enough to deal with this emergent threat to their balance of power. As hastily put together "Vertical Alliance" might have the ... by The History of China

38 min listen

#27 - W. Han 5: Go West, Young Han!: The young Emperor Wu of Han struggles to step out of the shadow of his grandmother and seize power in his own right. Meanwhile, he has sent an emissary behind enemy lines to find what mysterious peoples and empires lie far to the West, but it's u... by The History of China

31 min listen

#34 - E. Han 1: One Han, Two Han, Red Han, True Han: In the power vacuum left by the defeated Xin Dynasty's collapse, no fewer than six claimants to the long-vacant Throne of Han will vie for power... one backed by the Lülin Rebels, another by the Red Eyebrow Army, another a northern lord with an a... by The History of China

39 min listen

#32 - Xin 1: Han, Interrupted: Confucian Wang Mang overthrows Han and sets up his Xin Dynasty to renew the Golden Age of Zhou through land nationalization, wealth redistribution, and currency reform. It seemed like a great idea on paper, but in practice things begin to horribly wron... by The History of China

36 min listen

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

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

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