The History of China

Across the trackless expanses of the northwestern frontier zones, far beyond the final vestiges of Great Qing sovereignty or protection, independent, oasis trade hubs survive and even thrive across central Asia during the chaos of the 16th & 17th centuries. They and their denizens, though largely cut off from the rest of the wider world, nevertheless serve a vital – though fragile – linkage between east and west. Here, north of the Taklamakan Desert, the Oirat Mongols continue to live much as they have these past several centuries… until a group known as the Dzungars under a rising leader called Batur Hong Taiji will start dreaming bigger: an Albany Plan of Union… with Mongol characteristics…

Time Period Covered:

~1680 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Four Oirat/Dzungar Mongols:

Baibagas Khan [r. 1585-1640]

Chechen Khan (Ochirtu) [r. 1640~1670]

Zaya Pandita [d. 1662]

Khara Khula [d. 1634]

Batur Hongtaiji [r. 1634-1653]

Sengge [r. 1653-1671]

Queen Anu of the Khoshuts [~1653-1696]

Boshoghtu Khan (Galdan) [1644-1697, r. 1671-97]

Other Mongols:

Altan Khan of the Golden Horde

Jasaku Khan of the Khalkhas

Dge-lugs-pa Tibetan Buddhist Sect:

The 5th Dalai Lama (Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso] [1617-1682]

Great Qing:

The Kangxi Emperor (Aisin Gioro Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722]

Major Work Cited:

Amitai-Preiss, Reuven & David O. Morgan (eds.) The Mongol Empire & its Legacy.

Halkovic, Jr., Stephen A. The Mongols of the West.

Miyawaki, Junko. “The Chinggisid Principle In Russia” in The Frontier In Russian History, Vol. 19, No. 1/4.

Perdue, Peter C. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.

Taupier, Richard. “Yeke Caaji, the Mongol-Oyirod Great Code of 1640: Innovation In Eurasian State Formation” in Asian Literature and Translation, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2018.

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With border disputes and foreign affair emergencies levelling off, the Kangxi Emperor is able to turn his attentions inward toward the domestic, the home and hearth. But it's not all bbqs and pickleball there, either - there's the questions of succession, for one... who will be next when Kangxi is no more? And an heir there is... but... does something seem a little *off* about the crown-prince??

Time Period Covered:

~1660-1722 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Kangxi Emperor (Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722]

Yunreng, Heir-apparent [1674-1725]

Prime Minister Songgotu [1636-1703]

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A set of short fever dreams from Chinese folklore to beat the summer heat...

• 1:25 - A Pipa Competition, by: Li Zhi
• 4:45 - The "Magical" Pear Tree, by: Pu Songling
• 8:15 - Real Life In the Capital, by: Ji Yun
• 13:55 - The Realness of Paintings & Demons, by: Pu Songling

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Doc 1: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, A Student Demonstration of Sorts in Tiananmen Square (11/21/85)

Doc 2: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, Government Arrests Student Demonstrators (11/25/85)

Doc 3: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, More Student Demonstrations (12/23/85)

Doc 4: From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, Student Demonstrations Update (12/24/86)

Doc 5: IPAC Daily Intelligence Summary 1-87, China: Student Demonstrations (01/02/87)

Doc 6: IPAC Daily Intelligence Summary 10-87, China: Hu Yaobang Resigns (01/17/87)

Doc 7: Memorandum of Conversation, [George Bush] Meeting with Wan Li, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Member of the Politburo, People’s Republic of China (05/23/89)

Doc 8: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/0289, China: Stalemate Continues

Doc 9: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/03/89, China: Police Use Tear Gas on Crowds

Doc 10: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 27: Martial Law with Chinese Characteristics (06/03/89)

Doc 11: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 28: Ten to Fifteen Thousand Armed Troops Stopped at City Perimeter by Human and Bus Barricades (06/03/89)

Doc 12: Cable, From: Department of State, Wash DC, To: U.S. Embassy Beijing, and All Diplomatic and Consular Posts, TFCHO1: SITREP 1, 1700 EDT (06/03/89)

Doc 13: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/04/89, China: Troops Open Fire

Doc 14: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 32 (06/04/89)

Doc 15: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 33 (06/04/89)

Doc 16: Cable, From: Department of State, Wash DC, To: U.S. Embassy Beijing, China Task Force Situation Report No. 3 (06/04/89)

Doc 17: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/05/89, China: After the Bloodbath

Doc 18: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 35 (06/05/89)

Doc 19: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/06/89, China: Descent into Chaos

Doc 20: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, TFCH01--SITREP No. 37 (06/06/89)

Doc 21: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/07/89, China: Tense Standoff Continues

Doc 22: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, TFCH01--SITREP No. 38 (06/07/89)

Doc 23: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/9/89, China: Uneasy Calm

Doc 24: Department of State Intelligence Brief, "Current Situation in China: Background and Prospects" (Ca. 06/10/89)

Doc 25: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/10/89, China: Mixed Signals on Purge

Doc 26: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, SITREP No. 49, (06/11/89)

Doc 27: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/14/89, China: Back to Business, But Crackdown Continues

Doc 28: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/15/89, China: Accusation over Fang Lizhi

Doc 29: Secretary of State's Morning Summary for 06/21/89, China: Swift Justice

Doc 30: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, Eyewitness Account of June 4 PLA Tank Crushing 11 Students and Related Early Morning Events in Tiananmen Square (06/22/89)

Doc 31: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, What Happened on the Night of June 3/4? (06/22/89)

Doc 32: Cable, From: U.S. Embassy Beijing, To: Department of State, Wash DC, TFCH01: SITREP No. 65 (06/27/89)

Doc 33: State Department document entitled "Themes" (06/29/89)

Doc 34: State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, "Status Report on Situation in China as of 07/ 26/89"

Doc 35: State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, "China: Aftermath of the Crisis" (07/27/89)

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As he feels the inevitable passage of time take its toll on his body and soul, Genghis Khan looks for answers - about how to extend his rule and his life, perhaps even how to gain life everlasting. Thus, when word reaches him on the eve of his Khwarazmian campaign of a Daoist Immortal living in the mountains of Shandong, he will seek this master out in order to gain his wisdom. But this supposed immortal isn't quite what he claims to be...

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1219-1224 CE

Major Figures:

Genghis Khan (Temüjin)

Master Changchun, Leader of the Daoist Quanzhen Sect (Qiu Chuji)

Temuge-otchigin, Hearthkeeper of Mongolia

Liu Wen, alchemist, arrow-maker, caravan-leader

Yelu Chu Chi, brother of the Governor of Samarkand, translator for the Great Khan

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Be sure to check out Airwave Media's list of 100 Best podcasts! ThoC is #69 (Nice!):

https://blog.feedspot.com/airwave_media_podcasts/

The Kangxi Emperor squashes his beef with the three rebellious feudatories of the south by squashing their traitorous lords, only to have to pivot northward once again to face down... who? The Russians? And the Mongols?! And Tibetans?! And the Catholic Church?!

Time Period Covered:

1670-1722 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Great Qing:

The Kangxi Emperor [r. 1661-1722]

Crown-Prince Yunreng [1674-1725]

Grand Secretary Songgotu [1636-1703]

Fan Chengmo, Governor-General of Fujian [1624-1676]

Nian Gengyao, Viceroy of Sichuan and Tibet [1679-1726]

Mei Wending, mathematician [1633-1721]

Tsarist Russia:

Tsar Alexis Romanov, "The Quietest" [r. 1645-1676]

Tsar Feodor III [r. 1676-1682]

Tsar Ivan V [r. 1682-1696]

Tsar/Emperor Peter I, "the Great" [r. 1682-1725]

Izmailov

Roman Catholic Church:

Pope Clement XI [1649-1721]

Cardinal Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon [1668-1710]

Jesuit Missionaires:

Fr. Jean-François Gerbillon [1654-1707]

Fr. Tomé Pereira [1645-1708]

Fr. Joachim Bouvet [1656-1730]

Ö

löd/Mongol/Dzungar Khanate:

Erdeniin Galdan, Boshugtu Khan [r. 1671-1697]

Tsewang Araptan [r. 1697-1727]

General Chereng Dondub the Elder [d. 1737]

Major Works Cited:

Perdue, Peter C. (2009). China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.

Spence, Jonathan D. "The K'ang-Hsi Reign" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, Part 1: To 1800.

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

Wakeman, Frederic Evans. "Romantics,Stoics, and Martyrs In Seventeenth Century China" in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 43, No. 4.

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The Excellent Adventure:

In the course of their pursuit of the fleeing Khwarazmian Amir, Genghis Khan’s two top commanders have reached the shores of the Caspian Sea, and heard some of the strangest tales about what – and who – lay beyond. When the Great Khan gives his go-ahead to scout it out, they’ll launch a three-year trek that will remake the world in their bloody image.

The Bogus Journey:

Reaching the far side of the Caucuses Mountains, Subotai and Jebe have a surprise in store. But the true wonders, riches, and opportunities still lie ahead among the forests and winding rivers north of the Black Sea.

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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]

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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 Gulwgiya 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]

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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.

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Genghis Khan leaves the Jin Empire's subjugation to his generals, and makes his way home to Mongolia... only to find that his 5 years of campaigning have left his homeland in a bit of a mess. Siberians in rebellion and old foes cropping up in new places are things he can deal with... but when an unfamiliar warmongering powerhouse to the far West picks a fight, the nearly 60-year-old Great Khan will unleash the wrath of the Eternal Heaven down upon them.

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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

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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

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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]

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by H.P. Lovecraft

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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

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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.

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Pirates!

Headhunters!

Samurai!

The Dutch!

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

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Nemo me impune lacessit.

In pace requiescat!

by: Edgar Allen Poe, 1846

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Prince Regent Dorgon of Great Qing is riding high, at the height of his majesty, power, and untouchability. Why, he's even starting to think of himself as more of the ruler than the 6-year-old emperor who is his charge. Those are mighty fine wings you've got there, Icarus...

Time Period Covered:

1646-1651 CE

Major Historical Actors:

Qing:

The Shunzhi Emperor (Fulin) [r. 1663-1661]

Prince Dorgon, Regent of Great Qing [1612-1650]

Ajige, Prince Ying of the First Rank [1605-1651]

Dodo, Prince of Yu [1614-1649]

Bolo, Prince Duanzhong [1613-1652]

Hong Chengchou [1593-1665]

Jirgalang, Prince Zheng of the First Rank [1599-1655]

Haoge, Prince Su [1609-1648]

Mandahai, Prince Xunjian of the First Rank [1622-1652]

Gen. Tantai of the Plain Yellow Banner [1594-1651]

Gen. Wu Sangui, "Prince of Western Pacification" [1612-1678]

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]

Other Rebel Forces:

Zhang Xianzhong, "Emperor of Xi" [r.1644-1647]

Jin Shenghuan [d. 1649]

Mi-la-yin [d. 1650]

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.

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A panoply of season spookiness for your yearly, ear-ly shocks and delights!

0:00:44 - "The Secrets of Hanlin Academy" - Old haunts have many mysteries contained within, some best left alone...

0:04:55 - "Meat Vegetables" - You are what you eat...

0:08:30 - "The Appearance of the Sha" - Sometimes they come back...

0:16:10 - "What Qi Becomes" - ... And sometimes they want more than what you're willing to give...

0:21:02 - "That Which Remains" - Justice is swiftly forgotten; injustice frequently lasts beyond the grave...

0:25:05 - "A Conversation With a Friend About the End of Things" - What do we leave behind?

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A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon

Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more

You are all I long for, all I worship and adore

Sources:

Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.

Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi’” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.

Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology.

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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 Reiegn" 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.

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Beijing has been brutally captured, with the Ming emperor committing suicide rather than face the bandit army of Li Zicheng. However, before he can get comfortable, the full might of the Qing are on their way to "liberate" the Chinese empire from, well, the Chinese. What follows is as chaotic as it is lightning swift, as the Manchu hordes, chase the fleeing remnants of the fallen Ming court south to what they pray will be a refuge: Nanjing.

Time Period Covered:

Apr. 1644- Nov. 1645

Major Historical Figures:

Qing:

The Shunzhi Emperor (Aisin Gyoro Fulin) [r. 1643-1661]

Dorgon, Prince Ruizhong [1612-1650]

Ajige, Prince Ying [1605-1651]

Dodo, Prince Yu [1614-1649]

Prime Minister Fan Wencheng [1597-1666]

Ming:

The Chongzhen Emperor [r. 1627-1644]

General Wu Sangui [1612-1678]

General Hong Chengchou [1593-1665]

General Zuo Liangyu [1599-1645]

General Shi Kefa [1601-1645]

Bandit:

Li Zicheng [d. 1644]

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It's been a hot summer, and a long break for me! Let's get back into things with a little extra Mongol action...

“The imperial city was ripped open … Zhongdu was not one but four cities. We took each of them in turn, methodically killing and razing everything that dared stand upright under Tenggeri. The palaces and gardens of the King of Gold [Jin] were ransacked, revealing such riches that the tribute paid three seasons before by the Jin emperor now seem derisory and humiliating.

“A whole moon was needed to collect the bodies and count them. And the city burned for another moon still, creating such a stench that even the scavengers kept away.”

- Jöchi, ca. 1215

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For the once-great Ming, the 1630s... suck. Manchus are battering down the creaky northern defenses, foreign silver has dried up, the treasuries are empty, famine, plague and locust swarms are ripping through the populace, and bandit warlords are causing a ruckus in the west... with an increasing eye on the capital itself.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1638-1644 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Great Ming:

The Chongzhen Emperor (Zhu Youjian) [r. 1627-1644]

Xiong Wencan, Supreme Commander of Bandit Pacification [d. 1639]

General Yang Sichang [d. 1641]

General Sun Chuanting [d. 1643]

General Wu Sangui [1616-1678]

Great Qing:

Hong Taiji [1592-1643]

Prince Abatai [1589-1646]

Prince Dorgon [1612-1650]

Rebels/Bandits:

Li Zicheng, "The Dashing King" [1606-1645]

Zhang Xiangzhong, "The Yellow Tiger" [1606-1647]

Major Sources Cited:

Atwell, William. "The T'ai-ch'ang, T'ian-ch'i, and Ch'ung-chen reigns" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

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What does the aftermath of a massacre entail, on the world stage?

CIA Memo 6/10/89 - Begins: 2:25

US Beijing Embassy Cable 7/11/89 - Begins: 6:05

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We're releasing one from the paid vaults to share with everyone! (Don't worry, there's still plenty more exclusive Mongol content)... consider heading on over to Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina to support the show and catch up with all things steppe-rider!

Genghis Khan rules the steppe. Yet before he'll be able to expand beyond its vast, rolling expanse, he'll have to deal with several in-house issues, particularly the ambitions of a powerful shaman named Teb Tengri, who may have designed on Genghis' power and position...  

Time Period Covered: 1206-1209CE 

Major Historical Figures: 

Borjigin:

Genghis Khan (Temujin)

Börte, Temujin's First Wife

Ho'elun, Temujin's Mother

Khasar, Temujin's Second Brother

Temuge Otchigin, Prince of the Hearth, Temujin's Youngest Brother

Chaga, Temujin's 11th Wife 

Mongol:

Kokhchu Teb Tengri, Shaman

Monglik 

Jurchen Jin:

Emperor Zhangzong of Jin

Wanyan Yongji, Prince Shao of Wei

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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]

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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]

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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]

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WE today join the host of The History Daily Podcast, Lindsay Graham, as he recounts the harrowing 1281 invasion of Japan by the fearsome combined force of Mongols, Chinese, and Koreans. All seems lost for the archipelagic kingdom... until a most unusual wind begins to blow...

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Please take a few minutes to help out the show by taking the Airwave listener survey! Thank you in advance!

www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave 

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]

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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

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Please help support the show by taking this quick survey! Thanks very much!

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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

Check out the French History Podcast by Dr. Gary Girod:

http://thefrenchhistorypodcast.com

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Ming China gets down and dirty with a Miao Rebellion the the Southwest, a Mongol(-ish) urprising 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

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As Ming China enters the 16th century, the Wanli Emperor, his ministers, a new canal, Portuguese & Spanish explorers, the usual gaggle of Chinese neighbors, the Philippines, the Christian Church, The White Lotus, and - of course - the Jesuits all start becoming one another problems...

Time Period Covered:

~1600-1617 CE

Major Historical Figures:

MING:

The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yizhun) [r. 1572-1620]

Li Zhi, persecuted Neo-Confucian philosopher [1527–1602]

Li Rusong, Ming Commander in Chief [d. 1598]

Wang Yangming, Master of the "School of the Mind" [1472–1529]

Wang Zhicai, politician & assaultee [d. 16??]

Zhang Zha, the "Attack With the Club" Intruder [d. 1617]

OTHERS:

Limahong (Lin Feng), Pirate Leader out of Manila [1499-1574]

Wang Wang Gao, Ming Captian/Spanish Liason [15??]

Fr. Martin de Rada [1533-1578]

Nurhaci, Mysterious Aisin Gyoro Leader [1559- 1626]

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First a brief lookback on the crazy, nutso year that was 2022, as our intrepid host deals with an unfortunate year-end bout of COVID... Then, a reach deep into the archives for an oldie, but goodie from a few centuries ago...

This short episode covers the life of one of the great mathematicians, astronomers, and engineers of ancient China: Zu Chongzhi. In his life from 429-500 CE, he will re-create an ancient precursor to the compass that had been lost for centuries, calculate the motions of the celestial objects with a degree of accuracy in excess of 99.9%, design a comprehensive new calendar system, and derive the value of π to a degree of accuracy that would not be surpassed the world over for another millennium.

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Being the most powerful person in the empire must be nothing but the good life, right? Well... not so much. And especially with the truly dysfunctional Ming system facing the newly-adult Wanli Emperor, it's a system that promises all the perks, but delivers only drudgery, frustration, and disappointment. Not even 5,000 concubines can make up for that...

Time Period Covered:

1582-1600 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yizhun) [r. 1572-1620]

Empress Xiaoduan (Wang Xijie) [1564-1620]

Noble Consort Wang [1565-1611]

Prince Zhu Changluo, "First Imperial Son" [1582-1620]

Noble Consort Zheng [1565-1630]

Prince Zhu Changxun, "Third Imperial Son" [1586-1641]

Grand Secretary Zhang Zhuzheng [d. 1582]

Major Sources Cited:

Duhalde, Marcelo. “Life inside the Forbidden City: how women were selected for service” in South China Morning Post (July 12, 2018).

Huang, Ray. 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline.

Huang, Ray. “The L’ung-ch’ing and Wan’li Reigns, 1567-1620” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Toshima, Yoriko [Su Chung]. Court Dishes in China. 

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Protests erupt across Chinese cities in perhaps the largest demonstration of public outcry in more than 30 years. Today, we look at some of the major reasons why.

[WARNING: Disturbing Content - audio clips of deadly fire, protests, clashes with police]

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At 29, the weak and ineffectual Longqing Emperor take the Dragon Throne in 1567. But it won't be long before the curse of the House of Zhu strikes him down, leaving Great Ming to his 9-year-old son, Wanli. That means - of course - the government is in the hands of the court ministers and its all-powerful Grand Secretary, the ruthlessly conniving Zhang Juzheng.

Time Period Covered:

1567-1582 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Longqing Emperor (Zhu Zaihou) [r. 1567-1572]

The Wanli Emperor (Zhu Yijun) [r. 1567-1620]

Grand Secretary Xu Jie [1503-1583]

Grand Secretary Gao Gong [1513-1578]

Senior Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng [1525-1582]

Sources Cited:

Huang, Ray. 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty In Decline.

Huang, Ray. “Lung-ch’ing and Wan-li Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1.

Melvin, Shelia. “China’s Reluctant Emperor” in The New York Times (11/07/2011).

Miller, H. State Versus Gentry In Late Ming Dynasty China, 1572-1644.

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Great Ming has a pirate problem on its hands. Unable to effectively suppress it militarily, the officials in charge turn to wheeling and dealing to get the seabooters to give up their outlaw ways. But when the Jiajing Emperor starts sticking his nose in to such affairs from way up in Beijing, suddenly all bets are off...

Time Period Covered:

1549-1567 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming:

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

Grand Chancellor Yan Song [1480-1567]

Nanjing Minister of War Zhang Jing [d. 1555]

Censor Zhao Wenhua [d. 1557]

Censor Hu Zongxian [1512-1565]

Commander Yu Dayou [1512-1579]

Commander Qi Zhiguang [1528-1588]

Pirates:

Wang Zhi, CEO of the High Seas [d. 1559]

Captain Xu Hai [d. 1556]

Lord Shimazi of Osumi Province

Works Cited:

Andrade, Tonio and Xing Hang. “Introduction: The East Asian Maritime Realm in Global History: 1500-1700” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Chin, James K. “Merchants, Smugglers, and Pirates: Multinational Clandestine Trade on the South China Coast, 1520-50” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

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

Laver, Michael. “Neither Here nor There: Trade, Piracy, and the ‘Space Between’ in Early Modern East Asia” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Petrucci, Maria Grazia. “Pirates, Gunpowder, and Christianity in Late Sixteenth-Century Japan” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

Wills, John E. “Maritime China from Wang Chih to Shih Lang: Themes In Peripheral History” in From Ming to Ch’ing: Conquest, Region, and Continuity in Seventeenth-Century China.

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A man of science and his subject conduct one final experiment in an attempt to stave off death itself...

by. Edgar Allen Poe

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As I am once again locked in at home, things are getting rather touchy on a bridge in Beijing, as well as online, threatening to spoil the Party's Big Party...

All due credit to Samuel Wade for excellent episode name idea

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Not all ghosts are scary! Some just want to be loved... some just want to write poems...

1:10 - Twenty Years a Dream

20:33 - A Fox Spirit Takes Off the Mask

25:32 - The Fire That Burst Into Flames Far From Where It was Set

29:08 - Yellow Leaf

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 The Cremation of Sam McGee

By: Robert W. Service (1907)

There are strange things done in the Midnight Sun

By the men who moil for gold.

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold...

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Someone has to be there to switch the projectors at the exact moment that one reel ends and the next one begins. If you look for it, you can see these little dots come into the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

In the industry, we call 'em "cigarette burns."

That's the cure for a changeover. He flips the projector, the movie keeps right on going, and nobody in the audience has any idea.

In which THoC begins a glorious partnership with Airwave Media.

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We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves.

We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs.

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads,

Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,

Stand up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1521-1550 CE

Sources Cited:

Andrade, Tonio and Xing Hang. “Introduction: The East Asian Maritime Realm in Global History: 1500-1700” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Chin, James K. “Merchants, Smugglers, and Pirates: Multinational Clandestine Trade on the South China Coast, 1520-50” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

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

Laver, Michael. “Neither Here nor There: Trade, Piracy, and the ‘Space Between’ in Early Modern East Asia” in Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai: Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1500-1700.

Petrucci, Maria Grazia. “Pirates, Gunpowder, and Christianity in Late Sixteenth-Century Japan” in Elusive pirates, pervasive smugglers: violence and clandestine trade in the Greater China Seas.

Wills, John E. “Maritime China from Wang Chih to Shih Lang: Themes In Peripheral History” in From Ming to Ch’ing: Conquest, Region, and Continuity in Seventeenth-Century China.

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A brief history of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the tale of Hou Yi the Archer & the Ten Suns, and Chang'e & the Moon

In other words, please be true

In other words, I love you.

Sources:

Barlett, Scarlett. The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.

Masaka, Mori. “Restoring the ‘Epic of Hou Yi’” in Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 52, no. 5.

Yang, Lihui, Demin An, and Jessica Anderson Turner. Handbook of Chinese Mythology.

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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 a 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.

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Let the state be small and the people few:

So that the people…

fearing death, will be reluctant to move great distances

and, even if they have boats and carts, will not use them.

So that the people…

Will find their food sweet and their clothes beautiful,

will be content with where they live and happy in their customs.

Though adjoining states be within sight of one another

and cocks crowing and dogs barking in one can be heard in the next,

yet the people of one state will grow old and die without having had any dealings with those of another.

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The Jianwen Emperor plays shell-games with his dad's spirit tablet, decides Confucius has had it too good for too long, gets gross in his pursuit for immortality, and tries breath-play with his concubines... oh yes, and fire. So, so much fire.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1524-1547 CE

Major Historical Figures:

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

Empress Dowager Zhang [r. 1505-1541]

Empress Chen [r. 1522-1528]

Empress Zhang [r. 1529-1534]

Empress Fang [r. 1534-1547]

Confucius [551-479 BCE]

Minister Xia Yan

Minister Huo Tao

Major Sources Cited:

Works Cited:

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

Huang, Weibo. “The palace rebellion of ‘Renyin’ and the Jiajing Emperor’s belief in alchemy” in Xiang Chao.

McMahon, Keith. Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing.

Zhang, Tingyu. History of Ming, Vol. 114, Historical Biography 2, Empresses and Concubines 2.

Zhang, Yongchang. “The ‘Renyin’ palace rebellion: palace women sacrifice themselves” in Quanzhou Wenxue.

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ca. 1470-1480 CE

Under the tutelage of his queen Mandukhai, Dayan Khan grows from helpless boy to leader of men, learning along the way that vengeance is a dish best served cold.

Part 1 of 2 (whole version available at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchina):

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The widow-queen of the Mongols, Mandukhai, seizes the reins of her own fate, entreating the spirits of sky and earth to help her in her quest to reunite her broken people and return sovereignty and glory to Mongolia. Oh, and she also marries a 7-year-old, which is a little strange, but makes sense in context.

Time Period Covered:

1470~1480 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mandukhai Khatun [ca. 1449-1510]

Dayan Khan (Batu Mongke) [1462-1543?]

Gen. Une-Bolod [?-?]

Ismayil Taishi [d. 1486]

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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, "Big Nose" [14??-14??]

Mandukhai Khatun [ca. 1448-1510]

General Une-Bolod [14??-14??]

Siker [144?-14??]

Boroghchin [ca. 14??-147?]

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Aziz, Ashaya, Sean, and myself have a ball discussing all the things GRRM took - and didn't - from Chinese history when he "created" the mysterious empire of Yi-Ti!

I had an absolute ball, and I hope you will, too!!

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It isn't over, not really

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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

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05/13/2022

"Relax," said the night man,

"We are programmed to receive."

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With the Zhengde Emperor dead without an heir, the succession is in question and rebellion brewing. Fortunately, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe has planned for this and calls in his backup - the 13-year-old Prince of Xing, Zhengde's younger cousin. He'll come to power as the Jiajing Emperor... but Secretary Yang will very quickly find out that, though young, Jiajing is a spitfire who's here to play the game, not be played.

Time Period Covered:

1519-1524 CE

Major Historical Figures:

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

Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe [1459-1529]

Empress Dowager Zhang [1471-1541]

Lady/Empress Dowager Jiang

Major Works Cited:

Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.”

Legge, James. The Chinese Classics, Vol. III.

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Day 15 of 4: An overview of individual accounts of the unfolding Covid lockdown situation in Shanghai, the siege-mentality that has set in, and the struggles of day to day existence both on- and offline in a city cut off from the rest of the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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There's trouble brewing in the south. A minor prince with delusions of grandeur gets a bit too big for his britches. Portuguese Pirates plunder peninsular ports before coming to call on Canton. This sounds like a job for the great General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm and Ultimate Party-Boat Enjoyer.

Time Period Covered:

~1514-1521 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1505-1521]

The Prince of Ning (Zhu Chenhao) [1477-1520]

Jiang Bin

Qian Ning [d. 1520]

Grand Secretary Fei Heng

Sun Sui, Governor of Jiangxi [d. 1519]

General Wang Yangming [1472-1529]

General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm, Duke of Zhenguo [?? -??]

Tomé Pires, Portuguese explorer and ambassador [c. 1465-1524? or 40?]

Major Works Cited:

Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.”

Keevak, Michael. Becoming Yellow: A Short History of Racial Thinking.

Pires, Tomé, Armando Cortesão & Francisco Rodrigues. The Suma oriental of Tome Pires; and account of the East, from the Red Sea to China, written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515; and, The book of Franciso Rodrigues: Pilot-Major of the armada that discovered Banda and the Moluccas: rutter of a voyage in the red sea, nautical rules, almanack, vol. 1.

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A new update with all the new craziness 2 years on before we once again step into Ye Olde Chinese Medicine Shoppe for the tour...

Traditional Chinese Medicine – as its name duly implies – has been a part of China for at least 2,500 years. But what does it mean? Where does it come from? How does it work? And does it have a place it modern society?

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The Zhengde Emperor decides that being the divine sovereign is *boring* and that being a cool war-hero would be way cooler... and... it goes weirdly better than expected. Also, he gives himself a cool nickname, and makes everyone call him that.

Time Period Covered:

1510-1518 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1505-1521]

Jiang Bin

Qian Ning

Liu Yun, Eunuch Commander

General Zhu Shou, Heroic Defender of the Realm [?? -??]

Tibet

The Prince of Rin-Sprungs [r. 1512-1544]

Mongols:

Dayan Khan (Batu Möngke) [r. 1479-1517]

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The adolescent Zhengde Emperor sits the throne, but everyone in the know knows that it is the eunuch-lord Liu Jin who truly controls Great Ming. Not everyone's exactly thrilled with this situation, and they're gonna get Liu Jin got... or die trying.

Time Period Covered:

1506-1510 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Zhengde Emperor (Zhu Houzhao) [r. 1506-1521]

Liu Jin, Director of the Ceremonial [1451-1510]

The Prince of Anhua (Zhu Zhifan) [d. 1510]

Commander Qiu Yue

General Yan Yiqing

Inspector-in-Chief Zhang Yong

Major Works Cited:

Bourgon, Jérôme, Muriel Detrie, & Regis Poulet."Execution in Canton" in Chinese Torture – Supplices Chinois.

Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

Geiss, James. “The Cheng-te reign, 1506-1521” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.”

Meadows, Thomas Taylor. The Chinese and Their Rebellions

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Happy Year of the Tiger!

Great Ming decides that it's going to (re-)(re-)Build a Great, Great, Great Wall...and MAKE THE MONGOLS PAY FOR IT!*

(*claim disputed by Mongolia)

Major Work Cited:

Fairbanks, John King. China: A New History, 2nd Edition.

Mote, Frederick W. “The Ch’eng-hua and Hung-chih Reigns, 1465-1505” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, Part I.

Waldron, Arthur. The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth.

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After a very rocky start in life, the Chenghua Emperor takes the throne, only to be endlessly shoved around by overbearing mother, manipulative and murderous consorts, and conniving, terrorizing eunuchs. What else would one really expect for a guy with the personality of a west dishrag?

Time Period Covered:

1464-1487 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Chenghua Emperor (Zhu Jianshen) [r. 1464-1487]

The Hongzhi Emperor (Zhu Youcheng) [1470-1505]

Noble Consort Wan Zheng'er [1430-1487]

Empress Wang

Empress Wu

Empress Dowager Zhou

Empress Dowager Qian

Grand Secretary Li Xian

Lady Zhi Tangmei

Eunuch Zhang Min

Spymaster Wang Zhi

Notable Works Cited:

Mote, Frederick W. “The Ch’eng-hua and Hung-chih Reigns, 1465-1505” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, Part I.

Li Shizhen. Bencao Ganmu (The Compendium of Materia Medica)

Tsai, Shi-shan Henry. The Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty.

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What the only thing better than 8 years on the podwaves? 8 years & 10,000,000 downloads, THAT'S WHAT!!

In this episode we talk about what the definition of "is" is, Zen masters, *yet more farming history!,* when I plan to shut up, me reading poetry in Mandarin... & then the same poem in *reconstructed Old Chinese from 2k+ yrs ago*, and divination, which includes Nazis, Princess Mononoke, pigs & fish, and fictions within fictions with fictions at the heart of the truth!

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Emperor Yingzong is back on his throne thanks to the conspirators loyal to him. Only they turn out to be not so much loyal to "him," as they are to the idea that they should have more and more power. It all culminates with yet another coup d'etat..真讨厌...

Time Period Covered:

1457-1464 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Emperor Yingzong (Zhu Qizhen) [r. 1435-1449, 1457-1464]

Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen [b. 1448]

Yu Qian, Minister of War [d. 1457]

Xu Yuzhen, Earl of Wugong [?]

Shi Heng, Duke of Zhongguo [d. 1459]

Cao Zhixiang, Director of Ceremonies [d. 1461]

Grand Secretary Li Xian

Imperial Guard Commander Lu Gao [d. 1461]

General Cao Qin [d. 1461]

General Shi Biao [?]

General Sun Tang

General Ma Ang

General Wu Jin

General Wu Cong

Commander Ma Liang

Commissioner Wanzhe Tuliang

Vice Commissioner-in-Chief Esen Temur

Works Cited:

Qi, Dongfang. “Funerary Perception and Ritual Institution of Imperial Tang” in Kaogu Xuebao (tr. Lee Yun-kuen).

Robinson, David M. “Politics, Force and Ethnicity in Ming China: Mongols and the Abortive Coup of 1461” in The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 59, No. 1.

Stutton, Donald S. “Death Rites and Chinese Culture: Standardization and Variation in Ming and Qing Times” in Modern China, Vol. 33, No. 1.

Twitchett, Denis & Tilemann Grimm. "The Cheng-t'ung, Ching-t'ai, and T'ien-shun reigns, 1436-1464" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Waldron, Arthur. The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth.

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Following the events at the Tumu Fort, Emperor Yingzong takes an unscheduled sabbatical in Mongolia, the Mongol warlord Esen Taishi attempts to return something lost for a price, Beijing battens down the hatches in preparation for Genghis Khan come anew, and brotherly love reaches its breaking point.

Time Period Covered:

1449-1457 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming Dynasty:

Zhu Qizhen (Emperor Yingzong) [r. Zhengtong Era: 1435-1449, Tianshun Era: 1457-1464]

Zhu Qiyu (the Jingtai Emperor) [r. 1449-1457]

Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen [b. 1447]

Crown Prince Zhu Jianzhi [1448-1453]

Minister Xu Yuzhen

Xing An, Head Imperial Eunuch

Yu Qian, Minister of War [1398-1457]

Northern Yuan/Oirat Mongols:

Esen Taishi [1407-1455, (r. as Khaghan of N. Yuan, 1453-1455)]

Toghto Bukha (Taisun Khaghan) [r. 1433-1453]

Xi Ning, turncoat eunuch [d. 1450]

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Our annual creepy charcuterie of 4 strange stories from all across Qing China, collected by Ji Yun from Beijing all the way to Urumqi.

Today, we have 4 tales to send shivers down your spine:

1) "Professional Notes on the Jiangshi & Other Revenants" (begins @ 2:50)

2) "Checkpoints" (begins @ 19:44)

3) "Yeti Stones" (begins @ 28:43)

4) "Visitors From Beyond" (begins @ 34:37)

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"There are black zones of shadow close to our daily paths, and now and then some evil soul breaks a passage through. When that happens, the man who knows must strike before reckoning the consequences."

By: H.P. Lovecraft

Read By: Chris Stewart

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Nyarlathotep . . . the crawling chaos . . . I am the last . . . I will tell the audient void. . . .

Written By: H.P. Lovecraft

Read By: Chris Stewart

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A child sits the throne of Great Ming, which goes surprisingly alright… at least for a while. But when the old guard of the imperial regency starts dying off, a combination of naive youthful exuberance and pure political ambition from the power behind the throne will throw everything into chaos on the plains north of Beijing.

Time Period Covered:

1435-1449 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Great Ming:

Zhu Qizhen (Emperor Yingzong, the Zhengtong/Tianshun Emperor) [r. 1335-1449, 1457-1464]

Grand Empress Dowager Chen [d. 1442]

Wang Zhen, Eunuch Lord [d. 1449]

Mongol Tribes:

Esen, Taishi of the Oirat [d. 1455]

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While dying emperors, shifting policies, and vindictive princes keep the capital busy, Admiral Zheng He will manage to sneak in on last joy-ride into the sunset aboard his beloved Treasure Fleet...

Time Period Covered:

1424-1435 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Hongxi Emperor (Zhu Gaochi) [r. 1424-1425]

The Xuande Emperor (Zhu Zhanji) [r. 1425-1435]

Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han [1380-1426]

Zhu Gaosui, the Prince of Zhao [1383-1431]

Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433]

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Zheng He's Treasure Fleet finally arrives on the African coast, and the Yongle Emperor celebrates the apex of his reign with the grand opening of Beijing and the Forbidden City. But dark clouds continue to build, but in the emperor's aged, troubled mind, and literally on the horizon... a storm is coming...

Time Period Covered:

1416-1424 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

The Noble Consort Zhaoxian, née Wang [d. ca. 1420]

Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435]

Mirza Sharukh, Sultan of the Timurid Dynasty [r. 1405-1447]

Major Works Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Yung-lo reign” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Pt. I.

Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433.

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

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Having laid waste to the once glorious city of Baghdad, Hulegu Ilkhan now sets his sights east of the Euphrates, to the fertile lands of Syria and Egypt beyond. But what's to follow will set of a momentous clash in Galilee, at a spring called Ain Jalut, that will shake the very fundaments of history...

Time Period Covered:

1258-1260 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Empire:

Mongke Khaghan

Khubilai Ilkhan

Ariq Boke

Ilkhanate:

Hulegu Ilkhan

General Baiju

General Kitbuqa

Ayyubid Dynasty:

al-Muzzam Turanshah

al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf

al-Aziz

al-Zayn al-Hafizi

Mamluks:

Saif ad-Din Qutuz

Baybars al Bunduqdari, "The Great Lord Panther"

European Christendom:

King Louis IX of France

Bohemond V of Antioch

Bohemond VI of Antioch

King Hethum I of Cilicia

Major Sources Cited:

Amitai, Reuven. Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk Ilkhanate War, 1260-1281.

Amitai, Reuven. “An Exchange of Letters in Arabic Between Abakha Ilkhan and Sultan Baybars (A.H. 667/A.D. 1268-69)” in Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1.

Gillespie, Alexander. Causes of War, Volume II: 1000 CE to 1400 CE.

Grousset, René. Empire of the Steppes: A history of Central Asia.

Subani, Hamad. The Secret History of Iran.

Richard, Jean. The Crusades, C.1071-1291.

Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades.

Tschanz, David W. “History’s Hinge: ‘Ain Jalut” in Saudi Aramco World.

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The treasure Fleet goes on missions 2-4, resulting in increasingly strange, valuable, and even divine gifts being presented to Great Ming.

Time Period Covered:

1407-1415 CE

Major Historical Figures

Ming:

Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435]

Commodore Yang Min 

Ma Huan, translator & chronicler [1380-1460]

Kingdom of Malacca:

King Parameswara [r. 1402-1414]

Major Works Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Yung-lo reign” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Pt. I.

Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433.

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Kéramos” in Keramos and Other Poems: A Book of Sonnets, Part II.

U.N. Museum. “Nanjing pagoda – Seven wonders of the medieval world.” www.unmuseum.org

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A live retelling (wart & all) of Genghis Khan's invasion of Khwarazmia ca. 1221, and the doomed flight of all who stood against his wrath... followed by a Q&A. From the 2021 Intelligent Speech Conference!

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There once was a fleet that put to sea

All in name of the Imperial Ming

With phoenix sterns, & dragon prows

Oh go, my baochuan, go!

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Commanded by an admiral

So tall he seem unnatural

His voice rang out like temple bell

To get those treasures stowed

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

They sailed the southern seas so vast

They’d catch the wind with all nine masts

Astrologers would watch the skies

From Champa to Guangzhou

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

But on wave-crest a Pirate Lord

He spied the fleet and greedily roared

“Make ready all your cannon shot,

We’ll take all their cargo!”

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Through flame and smoke they battled on

Til in a flash a month was gone

The Pirate Lord would taste defeat

His ships sunk deep below

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

At last they came to Indian shores

In search of spice and jewels and more

The deal was struck, with solemn vow

To pay all that was owed

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

But homeward bound the skies grew dim

The winds did howl, their fate seemed grim

The sailors prayed, “Help us, Tianfei!”

The masts began to glow

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

The Goddess heard their earnest pleas

She stilled the waves & calmed the breeze

The sailors gave their sober thanks

She’s spared them from their woe

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

Soon may the Treasure Fleet moor

To bring ceramics & silk galore

One day, when the trading is done

They’ll take our spice & go

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Zheng He & Co. have left the station and are sailing out! They leave the safety of the Yangtze River and set their compasses southbound and down, first to Fujian, then to Vietnam, Java, Sri Lanka, and finally all the way to India, all in the name of trade and riches. But the return journey will turn out to be anything but a pleasure-cruise. Between pirate raiders adn deadly storms, they might need a miracle to pull this off...

Time Period Covered:

1405-1407 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433/5]

Chen Zuyi, Pirate Lord Extraordinaire [d. 1407]

Ma Huan, Chinese Muslim translator & chronicler [1380-1460]

Major Sources Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Pregadio, Fabrizio (2004). The Encyclopedia of Taoism.

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What does the aftermath of a massacre entail, on the world stage?

CIA Memo 6/10/89 - Begins: 2:25

US Beijing Embassy Cable 7/11/89 - Begins: 6:05

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In this darkest of timelines, flickers of remembrance are more precious than ever...

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The Yongle Emperor decides it's time for Great Ming to bust out its swim trunks and its flippy-floppies... because he's going to make the biggest, bestest oceanic fleet of awesomesauce that the world has ever seen! And put in command is his trusted, tried-and-true battle-buddy: the Grand Admiral Zheng He!

Time Period Covered:

1371-1405 CE

Significant Historical Figures:

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

Grand Admiral Zheng He (né Ma He) [1371-1433]

Tianfei, the Goddess of the Sea and Patron Protector of Sailors [eternal]

Sources Cited:

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.

Levathes, Louise. The China Ruled the Seas:The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.

Paterson, Erik T. “James Lind, Zheng He and the Prevention of Scurvy” in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 4.

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We're back with Part 2 of my conversation with Caroline Vahrenkamp of The Wonders of the World Podcast, this tie all about the little city that Yongle built mostly to show his dead dad up - Beijing, and at its heart, the city-within-the-city, the Imperial Purple Palace - The Forbidden City!

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Part 1 of my interview with Caroline Vahrenkamp of "The Wonders of the World Podcast" all about Beijing and it's meteoric rise as (the once and future) capital of China in the early Ming Dynasty!

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The Yongle Emperor decides to build a new capital. It goes well!

He also decides to invade both Mongolia and Vietnam. It goes not so well.

Time Period:

1402-1424 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming:

The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]

General Zhang Fu [1375-1449]

Gen. Mu Sheng [1368-1439]

Mongol Khanates:

Bunyashiri of the Eastern Tribes [d. 1412]

Mahmud of the Oirat [d. 1416]

Arughtai of the Oirat [d. 1434]

Dai Viet:

Ho Qui Ly [1336- ca. 1407]

Tran Thien-binh [d. 1406]

Tran Nguy [?-?]

Tran Qui-khoang (Trung Quang Emperor) [d. 1414]

Le Loi [1384-1433]

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A great conversation with Alex & Peter of "History's Most" about the worst civil war many have *still* never heard of - the Taiping Rebellion!

Check out their great show at:

https://historysmost.libsyn.com/

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The Yongle Emperor has taken command... and we're in for a really, really, really great time....

Time Period Covered: 1402-1424 CE

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The civil war between the Jianwen Emperor and his uncle, the Prince of Yan, rages on across the realm. Both sides will feel the terror and pain of the fearsome realities combat... but in the end, only one will be left standing.

Time Period Covered:

1399-1402 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Jianwen Emperor (Zhu Yunwen) [r. 1398-1402]

Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424]

Minister Huang Zicheng [1350-1402]

Minister Qi Tai [d. 1402]

Minister Fang Xiaoru [1357-1402]

General Geng Bingwen [1334-1403]

General Li Jinglong [1369-1424]

Major Works Cited:

Andrade, Tonio. “How Yongle learned to stop worrying and love the gun” in The Ming World.

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te Reigns, 1399-1435” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1633, Part I.

Ditmanson, Peter. “Venerating the Martyrs of the 1402 Usurpation: History and Memory in the Mid and late Ming Dynasty” in T’oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 93.

Ditmanson, Peter. “Fang Xiaoru: Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming” in The Human Tradition in Premodern China.

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In the wake of the Hongwu Emperor's death, his grandson - Zhu Yunwen - will assume command. He's been brought up and trained in the highest of Confucian ethics and morals, and will seek to curb the excesses of his dear grandfather's... more bloodthirsty policies. But not everyone is thrilled at the new leaf being turned in the book of the regime... especially those who stand to lose much more than they could possibly gain.

Time Period Covered:

1398-1399 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Jianwen Emperor (Zhu Yunwen) [r. 1398-1402]

Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424]

Minister Huang Zicheng [1350-1402]

Minister Qi Tai [d. 1402]

Minister Fang Xiaoru [1357-1402]

General Geng Bingwen [1334-1403]

General Li Jinglong [1369-1424]

Major Works Cited:

Andrade, Tonio. “How Yongle learned to stop worrying and love the gun” in The Ming World.

Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te Reigns, 1399-1435” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1633, Part I.

Ditmanson, Peter. “Venerating the Martyrs of the 1402 Usurpation: History and Memory in the Mid and late Ming Dynasty” in T’oung Pao, Second Series, Vol. 93.

Ditmanson, Peter. “Fang Xiaoru: Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming” in The Human Tradition in Premodern China.

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The Hongwu Emperor enters the twilight of his life. But before he's ready to ride off into that long sunset, he's going to take a hell of a lot more people with him...

Time Period:

1387-1398 CE

Major Historical FIgures:

The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398]

Crown Prince Zhu Biao [1355-1392]

Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen (The Jianwen Emperor) [1377-1402]

Zhu Shuang, the Prince of Qin [1356-1395]

Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin [1358-1398]

Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan [1360-1424]

Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou [1361-1425]

General Fu Youde [1327-1394]

General Feng Sheng [d. 1395]

Major Sources:

Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I.

Robinson, David M. In the Shadow of the Mongol Empire: Ming China and Eurasia.

Sun, Bing. “The burial system of imperial concubines in the Ming Dynasty and the ‘ancestral system’ of the Ming Dynasty.”

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(NOTE: This is Pt. 1 or 2. The Full Episode & all other bonus content is available via Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina)

Mongke has ascended as the Great Khan of the Mongols and set loose his younger brother, Hulegu Ilkhan to bring the Islamic world to heel. The Caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, al-Mustasim, sits ensconced in his citadel city of Baghdad - the jewel of Islam - and believes that Allah above and his loyal subjects beneath will be more than a match for barbarian hordes.

He's about to learn a lesson neither he - nor the world - will ever forget...

Time Period Covered:

1258-1259 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Empire:

Hülegü Ilkhan [ca. 1215-1265]

General Kitbukha [d. 1260]

General Baiju [1201-1260]

Abbasid Caliphate:

al-Musta’sim-Billah Abu-Ahmad Abdullah bin al-Mustansir 

Billah, 37th Caliph [1213-1258]

Governor Shahab al Din Sulaiman shah [d. 1258]

Vizier Ibn al Alkami [1197-1258]

Major Sources Cited:

Al-Din, Rashid. Jami al Tararikh (Compendium of Histories).

Al-Din, Rashid (tr. John Andrew Boyle). The Successors of Genghis Khan.

Chugtai, Mizra Azeem Baig. “The Fall of Baghdad” in The Annal of Urdu Studies.

Daftary, Farhad. The Isma’ilis: Their History and Doctrines.

Hillenbrand, Robert. “Propaganda in the Mongol ‘World History’” in British Academy Review, issue 17 (March 2011).

Hodgson, M. G. S. “The Isma’ili State” in The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods.

Jamal, Nadia Eboo. Surviving the Mongols: Nizari Quhistani and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia.

Marozzi, Justin. Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood.

Paris, Matthew of (tr. John Allen Giles). Chronica Majora (Matthew Paris’s English History From the Year 1235 to 1273, Volume 1).

Saunders, J.J. The History of the Mongol Conquests.

van Ruysbroeck, Willem (tr. W. W. Rockhill & Peter Jackson). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian del Carpine.

Wiet, Gaston. Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate.

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To both the north and south, the armies of Great Ming continue to achieve order from chaos and stability across the realm, in the imperial palace at Nanjing, the Hongwu Emperor sits the Dragon Throne - as mercurial and temperamental as its very namesake... and woe betide anyone who stokes the dragon's wrath. Still, in the name of greater peace (and fewer mass slaughters), many a brave (and often fatally foolish)scholar will tempt fate by trying to tell Hongwu what he's doing wrong.

Time Period Covered:

1379-1389 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming:

The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r.1368-1398]

Duke Li Wenzhong [d. 1384]

General Fu Youde [d. 1394]

General Feng Sheng [?]

General Lan Yu [d. 1393]

General Mu Ying [d. 1392]

Scholar Chen Wenhui [d. 1381]

Scholar Li Shilu [d. 1381]

Scholar Xie Jin [1369-1415]

Yuan/Yunnanese:

Toghus Temür Khan [d. 1388]

Basalawarmi, the Prince of Liang [d. 1382]

General Naghachu [d. 1388]

Si Lunfa, Chieftain of Shan [d. 1386?]

Major Works Cited:

Crossley, Pamela Kyle, et al. Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity and Frontier in Early Modern China.

Dillon, Michael. China’s Muslim Hui Community: Migration, Settlements and Sects.

Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I.

Tsai, Shi-shan Henry. The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.g.

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Following the destruction of the Khwarazmian Empire in 1221, the Mongol Empire's appetite for conquest to the west is whetted. It will take a few Great Khans to kick it off, but with the accession of Möngke to the throne in 1251, the way will be laid bare - to be led by his brother Hülegü Khan.

The only thing standing between him and the beating heart of Islam is a ragged band of heretics scattered across the mountain fortresses of northern Persia - a group known as the Nizari Isma'ili... or more infamously: the Assassins.

Time Period Covered:

765-1257 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Empire:

Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259]

Hülegü Ilkhan [r. 1251-1265]

General Ket-Buqa (Noyan) [d. 1260]

Nizari Isma'ili:

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq [702-765]

Hassan-i Sabbah [1050-1124]

Imam Jalal al-Din Hassan [1187-1221]

Imam Ala al-Din Muhammad III [1211-1255]

Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah [1230-1256]

Other:

Brother Matthew of Paris [1200-1259]

Friar William of Rubruck [1220-1293]

Ata-Malik Juvayni [1226-1283]

Rashid al-Din Hamadani [1247-1318]

Major Sources Cited:

Al-Din, Rashid (tr. John Andrew Boyle). The Successors of Genghis Khan.

Daftary, Farhad. The Isma’ilis: Their History and Doctrines.

Hillenbrand, Robert. “Propaganda in the Mongol ‘World History’” in British Academy Review, issue 17 (March 2011).

Hodgson, M. G. S. “The Isma’ili State” in The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods.

Jamal, Nadia Eboo. Surviving the Mongols: Nizari Quhistani and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia.

Marozzi, Justin. Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood.

Paris, Matthew of (tr. John Allen Giles). Chronica Majora (Matthew Paris’s English History From the Year 1235 to 1273, Volume 1).

Saunders, J.J. The History of the Mongol Conquests.

van Ruysbroeck, Willem (tr. W. W. Rockhill & Peter Jackson). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian del Carpine.

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The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor... has got a bit of a trust problem. It starts with him getting upset that his officials are "cutting corners" when it comes to official counts of tribute payments & the stamped documents verifying them. But it quickly spirals into full-blown paranoia that absolutely everyone is out to get them, and the only was he knows how to confront this problem is by getting all of his "enemies" first.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1373-1382 CE

Major Historical Figures:

The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398]

Crown Prince Zhu Biao [1355-1392]

Zhu Shuang, Prince Min of Qin [1356-1395]

Zhu Gang, Prince Gong of Jin [1358-1398]

Zhu Di, Prince of Yan [1360-1424]

Chancellor Hu Weiyong [d. 1380]

Gao Qi [1334-1374]

Prefect Ye Boju [d. 1376]

Academician Zheng Shili [d. 1376]

Sources Cited:

Brook, Timothy. The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China.

Langlois, John D., Jr. “The Hung-Wu-Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 13698-1644m Part I.

Laozi. Dao De Jing.

Luo, Yuming. A Concise History of Chinese Literature.

Strassberg, Richard E. Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China.

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You might not be able to go on a real holiday - but today we take a little audio trip to the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang... famed across the millennia for its beautiful bay, canals, and the famous West Lake.

This is no ordinary tourist get-away, though, because we'll be skipping across time, looking at the highlights of its early history.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 5,000 BCE- ca. 960 CE

Major Sources:

Cotterell, Arthur. The Imperial Capitals of China – An Inside View of the Celestial Empire.

Giles, Lionel (tr.) Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessey. The Cambridge History of Ancient China.

Mote, F.W. Imperial China.(900-1800).

Rossabi, Morris. China Among Equals: the Middle Kingdom and its Neighbors, 10th-14th centuries.

Schmidt, J. D. Within the Human Realm: The Poetry of Huang Zunxian, 1848-1905.

Yan, Zi. Famous Temples in China.

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The Hongwu Emperor officially accedes to the throne as the founding ruler of Great Ming, to as much pomp and circumstance as his ministers can possibly pack in to the ceremony. After the parties are all done and the sacrifices all made, however, the real work of governing an empire that has been ravaged for centuries begins… and not everyone is happy about having a new sovereign sitting atop the dragon throne.

Time Period Covered:

1367-1373 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Great Ming:

The Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) [r. 1368-1398]

Empress Xiaocigao (née Ma Xuying) [1332-1382]

Zhu Biao, Crown Prince [1355-1392]

Zhu Shuang, Prince of Qin [1356-1395]

Zhu Gang, Prince of Jin [1358-1398]

Zhu Di, Prince of Yan [1360-1424]

Tao Kai, Minister of Rites

General Xu Da [1332-1385]

General Deng Yu

General Fu Youde [1327-1394]

Ambassador Zhao Zhi

Xia Kingdom (Sichuan):

Emperor Ming Yuzhen [r. 1360-1366]

Emperor Ming Sheng [r. 1366-1371]

Nanchō Japan:

Prince Kaneyoshi, the Chinzei Shogun [c. 1329-1383]

Monk Sorai

Major Works Cited:

Chan, Hok-Lam. “Ming Taizu’s Problem With his Sons: Prince Qin’s Criminality and Early Ming Politics” in Asia Major, Third Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (2007).

Langlois, John D. “The Hung-wu Reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1.

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"The list of their disasters was much lengthened [...] and whenever they tried to force a way into the borders of the empire, they were beaten back. They were once more confined to the great desert, whence they originally sprang.”

“Although I am a woman, I have avenged the vengeance of my husband. When I die, there will be no regret.”

Time Period Covered:

1368~1399 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Yuan/ Northern Yuan:

Toghon Temür (Emperor Shun) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1369]

Ayurshiridara (Biligtü Khan) [r. 1370-1378]

Prince Maidiribala [1338-1378]

General Köke Temür [1330-1375]

Elbeg Khan [r. 1393-1399]

Oljeitu Khatun [d. ~1399]

Ming:

Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) [r. 1368-1399]

Xu Da, "Barbarian-Conquering Generalissimo" [1332-1385]

General Li Wenzhong [1339-1383]

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You are invited to a very exclusive party. Everyone who's anyone will be there, dressed to the nines. You're sure to have the time of your life, and won't even know where the time's gone...

Story by: Edgar Allen Poe

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The chill of autumn is in the air once again, which can only mean one thing! It’s time for more tales to terrorize & titillate, baffle & bemuse… it’s time to once again venture into the studio of Pu Songling and listen to his strange tales. So gather round the light of the fire… or the iPhone… and get ready for seven strange stories of sly foxes, flights of fancy, monstrous appetites, unusual encounters, otherworldly lessons, tricky traders, and enchanting apparitions...

00:58: The Half-Fox Girl

10:55: The Painted Wall

18:27: The Monster In the Buckwheat

21:48: The Girl From Nanjing

25:45: A Most Exemplary Monk

28:07: Stealing a Peach

33:38: The Hungry Bride

36:07: The Magic Sword & the Magic Bag

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How does a peasant, orphan, son of a farmer

in the Black Death, made a monk in the middle of a forgotten spot

In central Anhui by providence impoverished

In squalor, grow up to be a rebel hero, then a monarch?

Time Period Covered:

1364-1368 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ming:

Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) [r. 1368-1398]

General Xu Da [1332-1385]

General Chang Yuchun [1330-1369]

Commander Li Wenzhong [1338-1384]

Yuan:

Emperor Toghon Temür [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370]

Crown Prince Ayushiridara [1340-1378]

General Chaghan Temür [d. 1362]

General Köke Temür [1330-1375]

General Bolod Temür [d. 1364]

Wu:

Zhang Shicheng (King of Dazhou) [r. 1354-1367]

General Li Bosheng

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It's our 200th(ish) episode!

And so we take to the listeners to answer some of their burning questions about... Daoist gods... Islam in China... The Mandate of Heaven... sacrifices! ... the political expedience of murdering Mongol ambassadors... The Duke ... the names of emperors... technology transfers ... Korean empresses... and more!

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You don't understand! Chen Youliang coulda had class! He coulda been a contender! He coulda been somebody... instead of a bum, which is what he is after the fiasco on the waters of Lake Poyang. Let's face it.

Time Period Covered:

1360-1363 CE

Major Historical Figures:

State of Ming:

Zhu Yuanzhang

Commander Hua Yun [d. 1360]

Han Lin'er, "Emperor of Song"

General Kang Maocai

General Xu Da

General Hu Dahai [d. 1361]

General Shao Rong [d. 1361]

State of Han:

Emperor Chen Youliang [r. 1360-1363]

General Chen Yuren

Xu Shouhui, "Emperor" of Tianwan [d. 1360]

State of Wu:

Zhang Shicheng

Yuan Dynasty:

Emperor Toghon Temur

Prince Chaghan Temur [d. 1361]

Köke Temur (Wang Baobao)

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When Ögedei dies in late 1241, the empire must choose a successor before it can move forward. In spite of the late Khan determining in advance that it should be his grandson, his empress has other ideas - namely, installing her own irascible son, Güyük, instead. This raises more than a few eyebrows, especially from the Lord of the Golden Horde (and Güyük's personal nemesis) Batu Khan. He'll spend then next 5 years doing absolutely everything in his power to prevent Güyüks' enthronement. And so, when Güyük is finally installed... is it any surprise that he'll seek to get even on his hated cousin? Their looking showdown on the fields of Dzungaria will set the stage for a truly unpredictable series of events, that will leave the Mongol Empire altered forever...

(NOTE: This is Part 1 of a Bonus Episode! Get the rest, and all other bonus content by subscribing via patreon.com/thehistoryofchina

Time Period Covered:

1242-1254 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Empire:

Temuge Otchigin, Genghis Khan's youngest brother, Prince of the Hearth [1168-1246]

House Ögedei:

*Ögedei Khaghan [r. 1232-1241]

Toregene Khatun [r. 1242-1246]

Güyük Khaghan [r. 1246-1248]

Oghul Khaimish Khatun [r. 1248-1251]

Prince Shiremun [d. 1251]

Prince Khodan [d. 1246]

Lady Fatima [d. 1246]

House Tolui:

*Tolui Otchigin [1191-1232]

Sorkhakhtani Beki [1190-1252]

Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259]

Prince Khubilai

Prince Hulagu

Prince Ariq Boke

General Menggesar, Noyan Companion of Mongke

House Jochi:

*Jochi [c. 1182-1225]

Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde [1205-1255]

Major Sources Cited:

• De Nicola, Bruno. “Regents and Empresses: Women’s Rule In the Mongols’ World Empire” in Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335.
• Hamadani, Rashid-al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Dowson, John (tr.)
• Juvaini, Ata-Malik. History of the World Conqueror. (tr. John Andrew Boyle).
• Kim, Hodong. “A Reappraisal of Güyüg Khan” in Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomand and the Sedentary World.
• Man, John. Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China.
• McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: This Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy.
• Onon, Urgunge (tr.). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan.
• Rockhill, William Woodville (tr.). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian de Carpine.
• Rossabi, Morris. “The Reigns of Ogodei and Guyug” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368.
• Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

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As Guard-Captain of the Red Turbans, Zhu Yuanzhang sets his sights on the jewel of the southlands: Nanjing. Once that's in his grasp, he'll truly join the ranks of the top-tier warlords of the era... but when you've elbowed you way up to the head table, don't be surprised if those you bump up against take exception to you shoving them aside...

Time Period Covered:

1355-1360 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Yuan Dynasty:

Emperor Toghon Temur (Huizong/Shundi) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370]

General Shimo Yisun [d. 1360]

Red Turban:

Emperor of Song, Han Lin'er, the Little Lord of Light [r. 1351-1367]

Guo Zixing [d. 1355]

Ming:

Guard-Captain Zhu Yuanzhang, "Outstanding Hero" [1328-1398]

General Xu Da [1332-1385]

General Chang Yüchen

General Hu Dahai [d. 1362]

Minister Song Lian [1310-1381]

Han:

King Chen Youliang [1320-1363]

Wu:

Zhang Shicheng, the "Heaven Blessed" King, Salt-Smuggler Extraordinaire [1321-1367]

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My long-lost conversation with the hosts of the excellent ReConsider Podcast, Xander and Eric... now *finally* delivered to you!

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As the cataclysmic decade of the 1340s rolls in to the 1350s a planned rerouting of the Yellow River will trigger a massive uprising by what the Yuan authorities call the Red Turban Rebels. But who are they really? What do they believe? Why are they fighting? And how do they tie in with the eventual overthrow of the Mongols from their hegemony over China?

Major Historical Figures:

Maitreya Buddha, Successor to Gautama Buddha [???]

Mani the Last, Prophet of Manichaeism [ca. 216-277 CE]

Red Turbans:

Peng Yingyu, Buddhist Monk, "Father" of the Red Turbans [d. ca. 1348-1358]

Northern:

Han Shantong, Lord of Light [d. 1351]

Han Lin'er, the Young Lord of Light [1340-1367]

General Liu Futong (AKA "Liu Fangshi") [1321-1363]

Guo Zixing, Leader of Red Turban Army, Lord of Haozhou [d. 1355]

Zhu Yuanzhang, Buddhist mendicant monk, Guard Commander of the Red Turbans [1328-1398]

Southern:

Xu Shouhui, cloth-merchant, Emperor of Tianwan Kingdom, Maitreya Incarnate [1320-1360]

Qing Dynasty:

Huang Yupian, Qing Dynasty Magistrate and White Lotus Hunter [mid-19th century]

Major Sources Cited:

Brook, Timothy. The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China.

Buckley Ebrey, Patricia and Anne Walthall. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I.

Chao, Wei-pang. “Secret Religious Societies in North China in the Ming Dynasty” in Folklore Studies, Vol. 7.

Farmer, Edward L. Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society following the Era of Mongol Rule.

Flower, Theresa. “Millenarian Themes of the White Lotus Society.”

Hung, Hing Ming. From the Mongols to the Ming Dynasty: How a Begging Monk Became Emperor of China, Zhu Yuan Zhang.

Lin, Wushu. “A Study On Equivalent Names of Manichaeism in Chinese” in Popular Religion and Shamanism.

Lin, Wushu. Manichaeism and its Dissemination in the East.

Ma, Xisha. “The Syncretism of Maitreyan Belief and Manichaeism in Chinese History” in Popular Religion and Shamanism.

Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China: 900-1800.

Mote, Frederick W. “The Rise of the Ming Dynasty, 1330-1367” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty.

Overmeier, Daniel L. “Folk-Buddhist Religion: Creation and Eschatology in Medieval China” in History of Religions, Vol. 12, No. 1.

Shek, Richard. “Religious Dissenters in Ming-Qing China” in Religion and the Early Modern State: Views from China, Russia, and the West.

Tan, Chung. Across the Himalayan Gap: An Indian Quest for Understanding China.

Ter Haar, B.J. The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History.

Wang, Kristen. “Scandalous Tales Behind Nanjing’s 70 Ancient Names” in The Nanjinger, 07/04/2019.

Waterson, James. Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars, 1209-1370.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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As Toghon Temur - the eleventh and final Great Khan of the Yuan, takes the throne - the dam holding back the near century of bad decisions back begins to buckle. Things are not helps by a dramatic climate shift, or the outbreak of one of the worst pandemics in human history, either... can we really blame the apocalyptic cults that spring up for thinking it's the end of the world?

Time Period Covered:

1333~1344 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Toghon Temur Khaghan [r. 1333-1368, 1370]

Grand Chancellor Bayan Ba'atur of the Merkid [1280-1340]

Zhu Yuanzhang [1328-1398]

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31 years later,

To forget is to risk it all happening anew...

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In the aftermath of the Golden Horde's devastating strike into Eastern Europe, Christendom reels. As apocalyptic as the assaults were, the great enemy's sudden and inexplicable evaporation offers no comfort, and only more questions.

In order to get some answers, the Holy See will dispatch an unlikely candidate to make his way across the whole of Eurasia in an attempt to first find, and then meet with, the King of the Tartars - whoever, and wherever he may be...

Time Period Covered:

1245-1247 CE

Major Historical Figures:

European Christendom:

Pope Innocent IV [r. 1243-1254]

Friar Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (John of Plano Carpini) [ca. 1185-1252]

Friar Benedict of Poland [ca. 1200-ca. 1280]

Friar Stephen of Bohemia

Konrad I, High Duke of Krakow [ca. 1187-1247]

Prince Daniel Romanovich of Galacia [1201-1264]

Grand Prince Vasilko (Basil) Romanovich of Kiev [1203-1269]

Grand Prince Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich of Vladimir [1191-1246]

Mongol Empire:

Guyük Khaghan [r. 1246-1248]

Toregene Khatun [r. 1241-1246]

Batu Khan of the Golden Horde [ca. 1205-1255]

Grand Secretary Chinqai of Khwarazm

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My interview with Beijing-based author and journalist Michael Schuman about China's history, present, future, and food... and of course about his upcoming book, "Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World," available on June 9th, 2020.

Find Michael on Twitter under the handle @michaelschuman

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We start today in the aftermath of the murder of the 9th Great Mongol Khan and the 5th Emperor of Yuan. We end a decade later, at the beginning of the 15th Great Khan and 11th Yuan Emperor... coincidentally (or not) the last of both. The treachery, assassinations, wars, and power-plays that get us from that start to that end will threaten to split the very soul of the empire in two. Also, there's a lot of Temürs along the way... like, a *lot,* a lot!

Time Period Covered:

1323-1333 CE

Major Events:

* Coup at Nanpo [Sept. 4, 1323] - Outcome: assassination of Shidebala Khaghan, accession of Yesün Temür Khaghan

* War of the Two Capitals [Aug. 1328-Nov. 14, 1328 (sporadic resistance thru 1332)] - Outcome: Khaishan Restorationist victory/ Shangdu Loyalist defeat, overthrow of Aragibagh & enthronement of Jayaatu Khaghan

* Incident at Ongghochatu [Aug. 26-30, 1329] - Outcome: assassination of Khoshila, restoration of Togh Temur Khaghan to the throne

Relevant Historical Figures:

Great Yuan:

Shidebala (Gegeen Khaghan/Yuan Yingzong) [r. 1320-1323]

Yesün Temür (Khaghan/Yuan Taiding) [r. 1323-1328]

Aragibagh (Khaghan/Yuan Tianshun) [r. Oct.-Nov. 1328]

Togh Temür (Jayaatu Khaghan/Yuan Wenzong) [r. Oct. 1328-Apr. 1329, Sept. 1329- Sept. 1332]

Khoshila (Khutughtu Khaghan/Yuan Mingzong) [r. Feb. 1329-Aug. 1329]

Rinchinbal (Khaghan/Yuan Ningzong) [r. Oct. 29, 1332-Dec. 14, 1332]

Toghon Temür (Ukhaghatu Khaghan/Yuan Huizong) [r. 1333-1368]

Empress Budashiri [1307-1340]

Crown Prince Aradnadara [d. 1330]

Prince El Tegüs [c. 1329-c. 1340]

Daula-shah, Grand Councilor of the Right [d. 1228]

El Temür, General & Grand Councillor of the Right [d. 1333]

Bayan of the Merkids, General & Grand Councillor of the Left [d. 1340]

Chagatai Khanate:

Esen Bukha I, Khan [r. 1310-1318]

Eljigidey Khan [r. 1326-1329]

Golden Horde:

Öz Beg Khan [r. 1313-1341]

Ilkhanate:

Abu Sa'id (Bahadur Khan) [r. 1316-1335]

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Temur Khan's death without an heir sparks a power vacuum within the Yuan court - two brothers will come to power together, but only one will be able to sit the throne at a time, who will succeed? Meanwhile, as money issues continue to plague the empire, the Mongol nobility get more and more fed-up with the Yuan Borjigins' continual shift toward Chinese-style reforms.

Time Period Covered:

1307-1323 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Khaishan (Külüg Khaghan/Emperor Wuzong) [r. 1307-1311]

Ayurbarwada (Buyantu Khaghan/Emperor Renzong) [r. 1311-1320]

Shidebala (Gegeen Khaghan/Emperor Yingzong) [r.1320-1323]

Grand Empress Dowager Targi [d. 1322]

Empress Bulukhan [d. 1307]

Khosila, Prince of Zhou

Prince Ananda [d. 1307]

Grand Councilor of the Right, Harghasun [d. 1307]

Grand Councilor of the Right, Temüder [d. 1322]

Grand Councilor of the Left/Right, Baiju [d.1323】

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King Bela IV of Hungary has a bit of a barbarian problem. You see, he let in some Cumans, but now some different barbarians are demanding that he give them back. So Bela does the sensible thing: he kills the Mongol emissaries. Batu Khan and General Subotai are less than pleased...

Time Period Covered:

c. 1239-1242 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Empire:

Batu Khan [c. 1205-1255]

General Subotai Ba'atur ("the Valiant") [c. 1175-1248]

General Khadan [d. 125?]

General Shiban [d. 1266]

Kingdom of Greater Hungary:

King Bela III [r. 1172-1196]

King Andrew II [r. 1205-1235]

King Bela IV [r. 1235-1265]

Duke Coloman of Slavonia [d. 1241]

Archbishop Ugolin of Kaolocsa [d. 1241]

Duke Palatine of Hungary [d. 1241]

Bishop Benedict of Oradea [d. 1241]

Templar Master Rembald de Voczon [d. 1241]

Archdeacon Thomas of Spalato [1200-1268]

Master Roger of Torre Maggiore, Archdeacon of Varad [1205-1266]

Cuman Tribes:

Chieftain Khotan [d. 1140]

Austria:

Duke Frederick of Austria "the Quarrelsome" [d. 1245]

Holy Roman Empire:

Emperor Frederick II [r. 1220-1250]

Conrad IV, King of Italy, Germany, the Romans, and Jerusalem [r. 1228-1254]

Roman Catholic Church:

Pope Gregory IX [r. 1227-1241]

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Olziyet Temur - the Blessed Iron Khan - takes the throne as the Yuan Dynasty's second emperor, Changzong "The Preserver." He has taken it upon himself to uphold and protect his grandfather Khubilai's glorious legacy... but granddad sure left a bit of a mess for him to try to clear up.

Time Period Covered:

1294-1307 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Olziyet Temur Khan (Emperor Changzong of Yuan) [r. 1294-1307 CE]

Empress Bulukhan

Crown Prince Deshou [d. 1306]

Empress-Dowager Kököchin

Gammala, Prince of Jin

Öljei, Grand Councilor of the Right [d. 1303]

Sayyid Boyan al-Dīn, Finance Minister

Khaidu Khan of House Ögedei [d. 1301]

Du'a Khan of House Chagatai 

Öljeitu, Ilkhan of House Hülegü

General Bayan of the Barin, "Hundred Eyes"

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Khubilai is ancient, pained, and sick... but he still has more Mongol justice to mete out before he joins the Eternal Sky. Still, some campaigns will go better than others.

Period Covered:

ca. 1287-1294 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Yuan Dynasty:

Khubilai (Emperor Shizu) [r. 1260-1294]

Crown Prince Olziit Temur (Emperor Chengzong) [r. 1294-1307]

Prince Esen Temur

Prince Temur Bukha

General Shibi

General Gao Xing

Admiral Yike Musi

Ambassador Meng Qi

Phagspa Lama, Imperial Preceptor of Tibet [1235-1280]

Imperial Preceptor Dharmapalarasita

Kingdom of Pagan (Burma):

King Narathihapate [r. 1256-1287]

Kingdom of Singhasari (Java):

King Kertanagara [d. 1292]

Prince Raden Vijaya [r. 1293-1309]

Duke Jayakatwang of Kediri [d. 1293]

Mongol Khanates:

Du'a Khan of the Chagatids

Khaidu Khan of the Ögedeids [d. 1301]

Prince Nayan [d. 1287]

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Traditional Chinese Medicine - as its name duly implies - has been a part of China for at least 2,500 years. But what does it mean? Where does it come from? How does it work? And does it have a place it modern society?

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Khubilai Khan has led a pretty blessed existence as of the year 1279. But fate has a way of balancing things out in starkly brutal fashion...

Time Period Covered:

~1279-1287 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Yuan Dynasty:

Emperor Khubilai

Empress Chabi (d. 1281)

Crown Prince Zhenjin (1242-1285)

Prince Toghon, Prince of Suppression of the South

Finance Minister Ahmad Fanakati (d. 1282)

Finance Minister Lu Shijing (d. 1285)

Admiral Hong Tau

General Fan Wenhu

General Xindu

General Nasir al-Din

Commander Sodu (d. 1285)

Commander Arigh Khaya

Japanese Shogunate:

Hojo Tokimune, Regent of the Shogun

Kingdom of Pagan:

King Narathihapate

Kingdom of Champa:

King Jaya Indravarman VI

Kingdom of Dai-Viet:

Emperor Tran Than-Tong

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Khubilai Khan is a man astride multiple worlds - trying to be both the Khan of the Great Mongol Nation, and the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. This will take quite a bit of accommodation, and between Mongolian shamanism, Chinese Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, and Christianity... more than a little behaving like a cultural chameleon to square those civilizational circles.

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Jochi was tasked with subduing the Cuman tribes of the western steppes. Jochi failed. Now, under the second Great Khan Ögedei, it will fall to his successor, Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde, to finish what his father could not. He won't be going alone, though. In addition to his invincible tumens, he'll bring with him a host of imperial princes, as well as the greatest commander to ever mount a steed - Subotai the Valiant, now returns to the Western expanses to finish what he began 15 years ago...

Note: this is part 1 of an extended bonus episode! Find the full episode and all other Bonus Episodes by become a patron at patreon.com/thehistoryofchina

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1235-1240 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol Khanate:

Ögedei Khaghan (1186-1241)

Subotai Ba'atuur, The Last Orlok (ca. 1176-1248)

General Uriyangkhadai (1201-1272)

House Ogedeid:

Guyuk (1206-1248)

Khadan (?)

Khaidu (c. 1230-1301)

House Jochi (Golden Horde):

Batu Khan (ca. 1205-1255)

House Tolui:

Möngke (1209-1259)

Bujek (?)

House Chagatai:

Baidar(?)

Buri (d. 1252)

Kipchak-Cuman Confederacy:

Bachman Khan (d. 1237)

Khoten Khan (d. 1241)

Russian Principalities:

Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir (1188-1238)

Prince Roman of Vladimir (d. 1238)

Prince Michael of Chernigov (1179-1246)

Dmitri, Voivode of Kiev (?)

Kingdom of Hungary:

King Béla IV (1206-1270)

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It's finally time to give holiday thanks and - of course - submit myself before the high inquisitors pelting me with questions day and night!

Topics this year ranged far and wide:

1. How wide-ranging was Genghis Khan's last command in Western Xia?

2. How do I keep my loud mouth out of trouble with the PRC?

3. How "good" were the good times of dynasties for the normies?

4. Which Khan has got it goin' on?

5. Were there plagues in ancient China? How were they dealt with?

6. Did the Mongols trigger anti-foreign conservatism in the Ming?

7. Where should we divide "Chinese" history from "non-Chinese" history?

8. Just how incompetent was the Song Dynasty?

9. Why does THoC be like it do?

10. How did the Mongols relay orders over long distances before writing?

11. How much was opium to blame versus other factors in the decline and fall of the Qing Dynasty?

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While his armies have been keeping busy in every direction on both offense and defense, Emperor Khubilai had been hard at work re-organizing the mess his family made in China and reformatting it into a stable, lawful Yuan Dynasty. And Grandpa Genghis was right: it's was a *lot* more work to run an empire, than to conquer one...

Period Covered:

ca. 1261-1290

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Khubilai must face off against his most potent threat - his own traditionalist cousin, Khaidu. Meanwhile, Khaidu frets over his daughter Khutulun - a girl as desirable as she is formidable, and will brook no husband who cannot best her at wrestling.

Time Period Covered: ca. 1265-1306 CE

Notable Historical Figures:

Yuan Dynasty:

Khubilai Khan

Prince Zhenjin

Prince Nomukhan

Prince Kokochu

Prime Minister of the Right Antong

General Bayan

Chagatai Khanate:

Khaidu Khan

Princess Khutulun

Rebel Princes:

Togh Timur

Shiregi

Yobukhur

Melik Timur

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The armies of Great Yuan sweep across the east, destroying and conquering all who would stand against them. Goryeo Korea eventually sees the writing on the wall and cuts a deal with the Great Khan. Khubilai will then turn his sights out over the waters of the Pacific, to the Land of the Rising Sun... and send its monarch a friend request.

Time Period Covered:

ca. 1257-1275 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Yuan Dynasty:

Khubilai, Great Khan of Mongolia, Emperor of Yuan

Princess Hutulun Jielimishi

Zhao Liangbi, Yuan Emissary to Japan

Goryeo Korea:

Choi Ui, Warlord of Korea [d. 1257]

King Wonjong [r. 1260-1274]

Im Yon, Warlord [d. ca. 1271]

Pan Pu, Yuan Emissary to Japan

Kamakura Japan:

Hojo Tokimune, Regent of the Shogun (Shikken, de facto ruler of Japan)

Shoni Sukeyoshi, Magistrate of Chikuzen City

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With the untimely death of Möngke Khaghan outside the walls of Chongqing, the Mongol Empire will be fore to choose for a new emperor for the 5th time in just three decades. Unlike the first four conclaves, however, this will result in not one, but two khuriltais, and two who would be Great Khan. Möngke’s brothers, Khubilai and Ariq Böke, will duel it out across Central Asia to determine who will rule all under the Eternal Blue Sky.

Time Period Covered:

1259-1266 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Toluids:

Möngke Khaghan [d.1259]

Khubilai’s Supporters:

Khubilai Khaghan [r. 1260-1289]

Chabi Khatun [1225-1281]

Hulegu Ilkhan [d. 1265]

General Ked Bukha [d. 1260]

King Hethum I of Armenia [r. 1226-1270]

Ariq Böke Supporters:

Ariq Böke Khaghan [r. 1260-1264, d. 1266]

Berke Khan (Golden Horde/Jochid) [d. 1266]

Alghu Khan (Chagatids) [d. 1265]

Jumukhur (Ilkhanate)

Urung Tang (Möngke Toluid)

General Alandar [d. 1262]

General Durchi

Mamluk Sultanate:

Sultan Saif ad-Din Qutuz [r. 1259-1260]

Sultan Baibars [r. 1260-1277]

Song Dynasty:

Chancellor Jia Sidao [d. 1273]

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Confucius talked about a *lot* ... but there were certain things about which even the Master dare not speak. Today we break that ancient taboo with 4 stories of spooky strangeness...

2:01 - "A Karmic Meal"

5:30 - "The Concubine's Revenge"

20:22 - "Too Poor to Be Haunted"

24:26 - "A Hell of a Trial"

Adapted from:

Zibuyu "What the Master Would Not Discuss" by Yuan Mei

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Genghis Khan is dead, and his 3rd son Ögedei has ben selected to lead the Mongol Empire into an uncertain future. Once he is confirmed on the throne, he'll strike on in every direction against every foe at once. On the way, there will be virgin sacrifices, talking wolves, free money, mass enslavement, Persian princes, Assassins, poison, angry water spirits, battle-mages, cannibalism... and that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Note: This is part 1 of the 2-part conclusion to the life of Genghis Khan, with the conclusion available to subscribers via: www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchina 

Time Period Covered:

1227-1234 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Ogedeids:

Ogedei Khaghan

Subotai the Valiant

General Chormakhan

Minister Yelu Chu Cai

Toluids:

Tolui Khan

Sorkhakhtani Beki Khatun

Chagatids:

Chagatai Khan

Khwarazmia:

Jalal al-Din

Kingdom of Georgia:

Queen Rusudan

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The people throughout China have been plunged into bitter suffering and tribulations since the Chiang Kai-shek Kuomintang reactionary government betrayed the fatherland, colluded with imperialists, and launched the counter-revolutionary war. Fortunately our People's Liberation Army, backed by the whole nation, has been fighting heroically and selflessly to defend the territorial sovereignty of our homeland, to protect the people's lives and property, to relieve the people of their sufferings, and to struggle for their rights, and it eventually wiped out the reactionary troops and overthrew the reactionary rule of the Nationalist government. 

Now, the People's War of Liberation has been basically won, and the majority of the people in the country have been liberated. On this foundation, the first session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference , composed of delegates of all the democratic parties and people's organization of China, the People's Liberation Army, the various regions and nationalities of the country, and the overseas Chinese and other patriotic elements, has been convened. Representing the will of the whole nation, [this session of the conference] has enacted the organic law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, elected Mao Zedong as chairman of the Central People's Government; and Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Song Qingling, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, and Gao Gang as vice chairmen [of the Central People's Government]; and Chen Yi, He Long, Li Lisan, Lin Boqu, Ye Jianying, He Xiangning, Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, Wu Yuzhang, Xu Xiangqian, Peng Zhen, Bo Yibo, Nie Rongzhen, Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Seypidin, Rao Shushi, Tan Kah-kee [Chen Jiageng], Luo Ronghuan, Deng Zihui, Ulanhu, Xu Deli, Cai Chang, Liu Geping, Ma Yinchu, Chen Yun, Kang Sheng, Lin Feng, Ma Xulun, Guo Moruo, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Xiaoping, Gao Chongmin, Shen Junru, Shen Yanbing, Chen Shutong, Szeto Mei-tong [Situ Meitang], Li Xijiu, Huang Yanpei, Cai Tingkai, Xi Zhongxun, Peng Zemin, Zhang Zhizhong, Fu Zuoyi, Li Zhuchen, Li Zhangda, Zhang Nanxian, Liu Yazi, Zhang Dongsun, and Long Yun as council members to form the Central People's Government Council, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China and decided on Beijing as the capital of the People's Republic of China. 

The Central People's Government Council of the People's Republic of China took office today in the capital and unanimously made the following decisions: to proclaim the establishment of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China; to adopt the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as the policy of the government; to elect Lin Boqu from among the council members as secretary general of the Central People's Government Council; to appoint Zhou Enlai as premier of the Government Adminstration Council of the Central People's Government and concurrently minister of Foreign Affairs, Mao Zedong as chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government, Zhu De as commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army, Shen Junru as president of the Supreme People's Court of the Central People's Government, and Luo Ronghuan as procurator general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the Central People's Government, and to charge them with the task of the speedy formation of the various organs of the government to carry out the work of the government. 

At the same time, the Central People's Government Council decided to declare to the governments of all other countries that this government is the sole legal government representing all the people of the People's Republic of China. This government is willing to establish diplomatic relations with any foreign government that is willing to observe the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Mao Zedong

Chairman

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You know it’s hard out there for a prince. The fourth sons of a fourth son, Khubilai of the Borjigin will grow up little recognized, and bound for a life of little more than comfortable obscurity. But between his mother’s machinations, his wife’s guidance, his own skills… and a healthy smattering of good fortune, he’ll find himself suddenly thrust into the spotlight and tasked with overseeing the conquest of the Mongols’ oldest foe.

Time Period Covered:

1215-1259 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Mongol:

Tolui [c. 1191-1232] – 4th son of Genghis Khan, Khubilai’s father

Sorkhokhtani Beki [c. 1190-1252] – Khubilai’s mother, Nestorian Christian

Möngke Khaghan [1209-1259] – Tolui’s eldest son, 4th Great Khan of the Mongols

Khubilai, Ilkhan of the Left [1215-1289] – favored grandson of Genghis

Hulagu, Ilkhan of the Right [1218-1265] – 3rd son of Tolui and Sorkhokhtani

Ariq Böke [1219-1266] – youngest son of Tolui, Otchigin “Hearthkeeper”

Chabi Khatun [1225-1281] – Khubilai’s 2nd wife & only love, Tibetan Buddhist

North China:

Minister Yao Shu

Liu Bingzhong, Buddhist Monk, Adviser & Architect of Kaiping/Shangdu city

The Phagspa Lama [1235-1280]

Dali Kingdom:

King Duan Xingzhi [r. 1251-1254, 1256-1260 (as Maharaja)]

Prime Minister Gao Taixiang [d. 1253]

Major Sources:

Atwood, Christopher P. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire.

Broadbridge, Anne F. Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire.

Clements, Jonathan. A Brief History of Khubilai Khan: Lord of Xanadu, Founder of the Yuan.

May, Timothy (ed.). The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia, vol. 1.

McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy.

Rossabi, Morris. “The Reign of Khubilai Khan” in The Cambridge History of China, v. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368.

Weatherford, Jack. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens.

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Kubla Khan

BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE

Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

   Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground

With walls and towers were girdled round;

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,

Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

And here were forests ancient as the hills,

Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!

A savage place! as holy and enchanted

As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted

By woman wailing for her demon-lover!

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,

A mighty fountain momently was forced:

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,

Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:

And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

It flung up momently the sacred river.

Five miles meandering with a mazy motion

Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;

And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far

Ancestral voices prophesying war!

   The shadow of the dome of pleasure

   Floated midway on the waves;

   Where was heard the mingled measure

   From the fountain and the caves.

It was a miracle of rare device,

A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

   A damsel with a dulcimer

   In a vision once I saw:

   It was an Abyssinian maid

   And on her dulcimer she played,

   Singing of Mount Abora.

   Could I revive within me

   Her symphony and song,

   To such a deep delight ’twould win me,

That with music loud and long,

I would build that dome in air,

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

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Hangzhou is surrounded by the Mongol Yuan army, and is soon to fall. When the child-emperor and the Empress Dowager are taken captive, it will fall to the last two princes of House Zhao to flee to the islands and archipelagos of the Deep South, if they’re to stand any chance at all of keeping the flame of the Song from guttering out forever.

Time Period Covered:

1275-1279 CE

Southern Song:

Grand Empress Dowager Xie

Empress Dowager Chuan

Emperor Zhao Xian (Gong of Song) [r.1274-1276, d. 1323]

Emperor Zhao Shi (Duanzong) [r. 1276-1278]

Emperor Zhao Bing [r. 1278-1279]

Chancellor Chen Yizhong

Mongol Yuan Dynasty:

Khubilai, Mongol Khan & Emperor of Yuan

General Bayan, Commander of the Southern Campaign

General Atzuhan

Admiral Dong Wenping

Lt. Menkhutai

Lt. Fan Wenhu

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Mongolia is gripped in a civil war of its own, meaning the Song Empire has a chance to breathe. But with the immediate threat allayed for now, other problems become apparent. And when the new Great Khan, Khubilai, returns his attention to the land south of the Yangtze, China will find out whether it was a decade well spent in preparation for the coming assault, on one utterly squandered.

Time Period Covered:

1259-1275 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Song Empire:

Emperor Lizong (Zhao Yun) [r. 1221-1264]

Emperor Duzong (Zhao Qi) [r. 1264 -1274]

Grand Empress Dowager Xie [1210-1283]

Chancellor Jia Sidao [1213-1275]

Mongolia:

Möngke [1209-1259]

Khubilai [1215-1294]

Ariq Böke [1219-1264]

General Aju [1227-1287]

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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)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Mongol Khanate is on the warpath against all who would stand against it... until several unexpected system errors for the whole system to reboot. How will Song China deal with these unexpected years of preparatory time?

Time Period Covered:

1241-1260 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Song Dynasty:

Emperor Lizong

Chancellor Jia Sidao

Mongol Empire:

Ögedei Khan

Toregene Khatun

Guyuk Khan

Oghul Khaimish Khatun

Sorkhokhtani Beki

Möngke Khan

Khubilai Ilkhan

General Uriyangkhadai

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Just off of the heady victory over the Jin Dynasty with their new BFFs, the Mongols, a first-in-a-century visit to the Imperial Tombs gives the Song court a brilliant idea - what if we just took them back without asking? What's the worst that could happen?

Time Period Covered: 1234-1241 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Song Dynasty:

Emperor Lizong

Chancellor Zheng Qingzhi

Chancellor Shi Miyuan [d. 1233]

General Zhao Kui

General Quan Zicai

Mongol Khanate:

Ögedei Khaghan

Töregene Khatun

Prince Khödan

Prince Khöchu

Ambassador Wang Qi

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In the course of their pursuit of the fleeing Khwarazmian Amir, Genghis Khan's two top commanders have reached the shores of the Caspian Sea, and heard some of the strangest tales about what - and who - lay beyond. When the Great Khan gives his go-ahead to scout it out, they'll launch a three-year trek that will remake the world in their bloody image.

Time Period Covered:

1220-1221 CE

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The Jin Dynasty is surrounded on all sides. It cannot get out. Soon enough, the Mongol stranglehold around Kaifeng will signal the Empire of Black & Gold's death-knell.

Time Period Covered:

1224-1234 CE

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With enemies on all sides, and the Mongol sledgehammer poised to strike its crushing blow against them, the Jin Dynasty seeks an out by plunging southward, only to find that the Song defenses have become the anvil on which they rest. Exhausted, they’ll seek peace at any cost… but will it be enough to save the tatters of their empire?

Time Period Covered:

1217-1225 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Song:

Emperor Ningzong (Zhao Kuo) [r. 1194-1224]

Emperor Lizong (Zhao Yun) [r. 1224-1264]

Empress Yang [1162-1232]

Chancellor Shi Miyuan [1164-1233]

Crown Prince Zhao Xun [1194-1220]

Prince Zhao Hong [1207-1225]

General Zhao Fang

An Bing, Commandant of Sichuan

Jin:

Emperor Xuanzong (Wudubu/Wanyan Xun) [r. 1213-1224]

Emperor Aizong (Ningjiasu/ Wanyan Shouxu) [r.1224-1234]

Mongol:

Genghis Khan (Temüjin) [r. 1206-1227]

General Mukhali [1170-1223]

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Even after 30 years...

When you're ordered to forget, to remember becomes an act of defiance.

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The Jin Empire is all at once ripped apart from 4 different directions all at once: Shandong rebels from the east, Khitan from the northeast, Mongols from the northwest, and Tanguts from the West. So they decide to go the only direction left… and invade Southern Song.

Time Period Covered:

1208-1217 CE

Relevant Historical Figures:

Song:

Emperor Ningzong

Chancellor Shi Miyuan

Minister Zhen Dexiu

Jin:

Prince Wei

Emperor Xuanzong

Commander Hesheli Zhizhong

Councilor Zhuhele Guoleqi

Mongol:

Genghis Khan

Red Jacket Rebels:

Yang the Saddler

Khitan:

Yelu Liuge, puppet-Emperor of Liao

Dazhen Kingdom:

Heavenly King Puxian Wannu

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