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

History

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Imperial-Era Tombs Discovered on Site of New Beijing Mega-Airport

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Imperial-Era Tombs Discovered on Site of New Beijing Mega-Airport

Workers building Beijing’s mega-airport of the future have stumbled over a bit of the city’s past.

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

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Postcards From Dashilan: Retracing the Development of Beijing’s Former Commercial Hub

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Postcards From Dashilan: Retracing the Development of Beijing’s Former Commercial Hub

Beijing has seen a lot of changes this year, but is this something new? Beijing has always been in a state of flux.

Changing the Guard

Changing the Guard

Coverage of China has always been a reflection of our own expectations and hopes, cast onto the tabula rasa of the high walls which surround the palace.

Double Ninth Day: Spend Today in the Mountains or With Your Elders (Or Both)

Double Ninth Day: Spend Today in the Mountains or With Your Elders (Or Both)

In Chinese numerology, the number nine is associated with the principal of Yang, the masculine complement of Yin in the Yin/Yang system. Today is the ninth day of the ninth month in the Lunar-Solar calendar (hence the name “Double Yang/Double Brightness”). While Yang is generally considered a good thing, too much of anything can throw a system out of balance. When systems are out of balance, as the 84-year-old auntie who lives on your hutong will remind you every day this winter, people get sick.

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Xi Writes Himself into the Narrative of China’s Modern Rejuvenation

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Xi Writes Himself into the Narrative of China’s Modern Rejuvenation

The Developed West ignores the message emerging from the 19th Party Congress at its own peril

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…

This day in history: The Tianjing Incident, or “Why it’s never a good idea to make all of your subordinates kings”

This day in history: The Tianjing Incident, or “Why it’s never a good idea to make all of your subordinates kings”

A tale of a lunatic populist figurehead given to delusions of grandeur and hallucinations of his messianic nature (sound familiar?)

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Historic Courtyards and Residences That Could (or Should) Be Opened to the Public

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Historic Courtyards and Residences That Could (or Should) Be Opened to the Public

Have you ever walked down a hutong past a grand gate and stopped to wonder just what was hidden behind those high brick walls?

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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.

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Kowtow and get out: How I was almost ejected from the Forbidden City

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Kowtow and get out: How I was almost ejected from the Forbidden City

Demonstrating an imperial ritual for your guests is a good way to get 86'd from The Forbidden City. It almost happened to me.

Telling “The Story of China” in Six Hours is Futile, But Give BBC Credit for Trying

Telling “The Story of China” in Six Hours is Futile, But Give BBC Credit for Trying

It’s hard to fault the producers of the BBC Two documentary “The Story of China” (being broadcast this summer in the US on PBS, viewable online) for perhaps falling into the trap of the old Chinese saying, “走马看花” — to view flowers while racing a horse — i.e. attaining a superficial understanding through cursory observation.

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Beijing's Mystery Canal: Centuries-Old Brook Reimagined in Qianmen Neighborhood

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Beijing's Mystery Canal: Centuries-Old Brook Reimagined in Qianmen Neighborhood

Last month, state media buzzed about the restoration of an ancient brook, a long-lost waterway transformed into a beautiful new park in Beijing. The trouble was, the brook didn’t seem to exist on any historical maps of the city.