This Episode, we take a time-out from the historical flow to take advantage of the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. We explore the history, legends, customs, and meaning behind this ancient and storied period of celebration. Happy Year of

#7 - Shang 2: The Shang Triumphant

Dec 22nd, 2013 41m 36s

In this first of two parts, we look at the first half of the Shang Dynasty beginning with the victory and reign of Tang "The Perfect" and leaving off 21 emperors, five capitals, and 400 years later with the amazing reign of Wu Ding and his warr

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

Dec 13th, 2013 36m 1s

We take a "time out" from our forward-marching chronology to examine the evidence we have of the Shang state, and how we came to know what we know about his period. Mostly, it's about what we can learn from reading divine messages off of dragon

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

Dec 6th, 2013 30m 31s

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

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

1 Nov 25th, 2013 31m 37s

In episode 1, we begin with an introduction to this podcast, followed by a brief overview of what we’ve come to know about early human migration and settlement in the region that will eventually become China. Finally, we’ll delve into the mytho

#124 - 5D10K 1: Live By the Sword...

Jun 9th, 2017 36m 52s

Zhu Wen has proclaimed the dissolution of the Tang and the formation of Later Liang, with him as its Emperor Taizu... but there are more than a few people ready, willing, and able to object rather strongly to that claim...Learn more about your

#123 - Tang 34: In the Rearview

May 14th, 2017 34m 11s

We take a sweeping look back at all 289 years of the Tang one more time before pressing into the 5 Dynasties and beyond, and also take a look at some of the aspects of 9th centuryChinese society that are more frequently overlooked... like women

#33 - Xin 2: The Red Eyebrow Rebellion

Aug 5th, 2014 34m 31s

All hell breaks loose for Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty when the Yellow River flooding its banks in 11 CE combines with the Xin's own incompetent response, leading to famine, rebellion, and a complete breakdown of the social order and the dynasty its

#32 - Xin 1: Han, Interrupted

Jul 27th, 2014 35m 41s

Confucian Wang Mang overthrows Han and sets up his Xin Dynasty to renew the Golden Age of Zhou through land nationalization, wealth redistribution, and currency reform. It seemed like a great idea on paper, but in practice things begin to horri

#31 - W. Han 9: The Decline Of Han

Jul 20th, 2014 32m 20s

The Han Dynasty has slipped into a malaise that seems difficult to pull out of. Emperor Yuan is an indecisive Confucianist, his successor Cheng an impotent and free-spending hedonist, and Ai a flamboyant grandma's boy who will try to bequeath t

#30 - W. Han 8: Getting Over Wu

Jul 13th, 2014 32m 32s

Following the historically long reign of Emperor Wu, the Han Empire struggles to find a replacement, in light of the designated heir being dead. The first choice will die without ever having tasted real power, the second an incompetent buffoon

#29 - W. Han 7: Every Direction But The Sea

Jul 6th, 2014 38m 26s

In this last of three parts of Wu of Han, with the back of the once-mighty Xiongnu Empire broken, Emperor Wu's Han turns to the South, North, and West to gobble up most of its neighbor states in an orgy of expansion. At home, the aging Wu must

#28 - W. Han 6: The Sino-Xiongnu War

Jun 29th, 2014 29m 22s

Tensions between the Han and Xiongnu Empires boil over into full-scale war after decades of humiliation at the hands of the northern horse-lords. When the traditional methods of neutralizing Xiongnu power fails, Emperor Wu must turn to a new g

#27 - W. Han 5: Go West, Young Han!

Jun 22nd, 2014 31m 10s

The young Emperor Wu of Han struggles to step out of the shadow of his grandmother and seize power in his own right. Meanwhile, he has sent an emissary behind enemy lines to find what mysterious peoples and empires lie far to the West, but it'

#26 - W. Han 4: The Rule Of Wen And Jing

Jun 15th, 2014 31m 6s

The reigns of Han Emperors Wen and Jing took enormous strides to stabilize the dynasty both within and without. Lowered taxes, more lenient laws, and normalization of international relationships saw life under Wen and Jing greatly improve. Bu

#25 - W. Han 3: The Bloody Empress

Jun 8th, 2014 29m 29s

With Han's first Emperor, Gaozu, dead, his wife the first Empress of China Lü Zhi plans on making a few... *alterations* to the goings on of court life. And she doesn't care who she has cut the arms and legs off of to achieve her goals. Hosted

#24 - W. Han 2: Xiongnu to the Left of Me, Rebels to the Right...

Jun 2nd, 2014 34m 39s

The Han Dynasty is established by Liu Bang, who crowns himself it's first Emperor Gaozu. But though this is the beginning of a golden age for China, it get's off to a rough start, as to the north the steppe tribes have united into the terrifyi

#23 - W. Han 1: The Chu-Han Contention

May 25th, 2014 35m 50s

With the Qin Dynasty dead and buried, the victorious rebels turn on one another to establish who will be the next power in China. The Hegemon-King of Chu, Xiang Yu, squares off against his great rival the King of Han, Liu Bang. Hosted on Acast

#22 - Qin 3: Web Of Deception

May 18th, 2014 32m 26s

Following the First Emperor's "Weekend At Bernie's"-esque death, the Qin Dynasty is thrown into turmoil over who will succeed the Emperor who sought to live forever. But at the heart of this web of intrigue sits the eunuch Zhao Gao, pulling th

#21 - Qin 2: One Nation Under Qin

May 8th, 2014 37m 36s

The victor of the Warring States Period has unified China into its first Empire and taken the name Shi Huang Di. Thereafter, he will expand his borders, unify his nation's language, build a Great Wall to the north, and attempt to stave off dea

#20 - Qin 1: There Can Be Only One

Apr 28th, 2014 27m 56s

In this final conclusion of the Warring States Period, the King of Qin at last begins his campaign to destroy the other six kingdoms and unify China under a new dynasty. But he'll have to contend with military setbacks, tenacious defenders, and

#19 - E. Zhou 8: The End Of Zhou

Apr 27th, 2014 23m 19s

In this first of two part exploring the end of the Warring States Period, Qin continues its campaign again the six other fractious kingdoms, decimating Zhao and Yan before putting the Zhou Dynasty itself to rest forever. Hosted on Acast. See ac

#18 - E. Zhou 7: Shifting Loyalties, Uneasy Alliances

Apr 18th, 2014 38m 23s

Qin's power continues to grow unabated, as the other states struggle to put aside their own differences long enough to deal with this emergent threat to their balance of power. As hastily put together "Vertical Alliance" might have the capacit

#16 - E. Zhou 5: The Partition of Jin

Mar 26th, 2014 29m 4s

The transition from the Spring and Autumn to the Warring States Period is, all in all, an eight decade process. But the major event that would shape the conflict to come is the civil war that would destroy the pre-eminent power of the 6th centu

#15 - E. Zhou 4: The Art of War

Mar 18th, 2014 41m 43s

The magnum opus of the legendary general and tactician of the Spring and Autumn Period, Sun Tzu. In this episode, we go over the life of the military genius, as well as an overview of his manual to success on the battlefield, and how it remain