Audio, History
Jeremiah Jenne
What can the end of the Ming Dynasty tell us ...

Trump's re-election disappointed many in the U.S. and abroad. To help them process, Jeremiah and David talk with literary translator and Pennsylvania voter Brendan O’Kane about Zhang Dai, the Ming-Qing transition, and living through an age of upheaval.

What can the end of the Ming Dynasty tell us about the election of Donald Trump and what comes next
Contemporary China, History, Audio
Jeremiah Jenne
Historical Battles: Rewriting China's Past to ...

Jeffrey Wasserstrom joins Barbarians at the Gate to discuss the legacy of the Hong Kong protests, Xi Jinping’s patriotic education law, and how Beijing’s control over historical narratives is reshaping academic engagement with China.

Historical Battles: Rewriting China's Past to Shape the Future
Audio, History
Jeremiah Jenne
Dan Snow's History Hit The Creation of the ...

How China transitioned from imperial rule to Chinese Socialism and all about the key characters whose opposing visions for China's future created so much chaos along the way.

Dan Snow's History Hit The Creation of the People's Republic of China
Book Reviews, History
Jeremiah Jenne
Philip Kuhn: Sorcery and Bureaucracy in Qing ...

A supernatural crisis pits an anxious autocrat against his own functionaries when a hunt for soul-stealing sorcerers turns into a political witch-hunt among 18th-century China’s “deep state.”

Philip Kuhn: Sorcery and Bureaucracy in Qing China
Audio, History, Travel
Jeremiah Jenne
Edge of Empire with author and journalist ...

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gates, Edward Wong of the New York Times joins David and me to discuss Ed's new book, At the Edge of Empire. We discuss frontiers, what the Qing Dynasty means for China, and the different generational perspectives on China's recent past.

Edge of Empire with author and journalist Edward Wong

Republican Era

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Emily Hahn: China to Me

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Emily Hahn: China to Me

In her memoir of 1930s and 40s China, the New Yorker correspondent brought the country to life while coming down from opium binges in Shanghai and hiding in bomb shelters in Chongqing.

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Ellen La Motte: An American Nurse in Peking

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Ellen La Motte: An American Nurse in Peking

In 1916, an American activist and writer traveled to China from the frontlines of World War I. What she saw in the city delighted her; what she saw in the opium trade appalled her.

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Blood on the Tracks: The Story of China’s Greatest Train Robbery

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Blood on the Tracks: The Story of China’s Greatest Train Robbery

Author James Zimmerman’s new book examines the surprising stories behind the 1923 robbery of the Peking Express, China’s most modern train at the time

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Literary Strolls through Old Peking

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Literary Strolls through Old Peking

Despite the holiday and the beautiful weather this weekend, it might not be the best time for exploring the city. Walking tours and entertainment venues are on Covid hiatus, and most parks and historic sites require a 48-hour test result to even walk through the front gate. But Covid can’t stop the history enthusiast or the intellectually curious from wandering old Peking from the comfort of our couch.

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Barbarians at the Gate: Touring China with historian Yajun Mo

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Barbarians at the Gate: Touring China with historian Yajun Mo

On the latest episode of Barbarians at the Gate, David and I interview Professor Mo Yajun about her book Touring China: A History of Travel Culture, 1912-1949, a fascinating history of the development of China’s travel industry in the Republican period.

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Book Review: Exploring The Soong Sisters, Their Famous Marriages and Getting Their Story Right

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Book Review: Exploring The Soong Sisters, Their Famous Marriages and Getting Their Story Right

Jung Chang's latest book promises a fresh take on the story of the Soong Sisters but ultimately falls short.

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China’s competing legacies on show at National Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei

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China’s competing legacies on show at National Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei

  • The mid-century scramble to stop priceless art and artefacts falling into the wrong hands saw country’s collection of imperial artefacts splinter

  • Nationalists transported their treasures to Taiwan, while newly minted People’s Republic allowed Forbidden City to preserve posterity

The Chinese Doctor Who Beat the Plague

The Chinese Doctor Who Beat the Plague

In October 1910, a mysterious illness appeared in the city of Manzhouli, on the Russian and Chinese border. Meet the doctor who stopped a deadly epidemic from spreading to the rest of Asia and possibly beyond.

The Wire Guide to the 1911 Revolution

The Wire Guide to the 1911 Revolution

You come at the Emperor, you best not miss. Understanding the 1911 Revolution with an assist from the writers and cast of The Wire.

Massacre and Memory: 80 Years Later, the Battle over Nanjing Rages On

Massacre and Memory: 80 Years Later, the Battle over Nanjing Rages On

The Nanjing Massacre is a poignant example of how history and memory can become contested battlegrounds, even decades later

Musical Dynasties: A Band-by-Band Guide to Chinese History

Musical Dynasties: A Band-by-Band Guide to Chinese History

Which Chinese dynasty is most like the Sex Pistols? Which rap crew could have soundtracked the Khans? The rogue historian weighs in…

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Military Ghosts of Modern China

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Military Ghosts of Modern China

The Republic of China Military Academy, better known as the Whampoa Military Academy, only spent six terms on Changzhou Island, but those six terms between 1924 and 1927 were a crucible from which some of China’s most influential 20th-century political and military leaders emerged.