The History of China

A journey through the 5000 years of history documented by one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. For all the episodes for free, as well as additional content, please subscribe and/or visit http://thehistoryofchina.wordpress.com.

History
301
#43 - 3K 2: Ode Of The Hidden Dragon
The state of Cao Wei comes under the pretty-much-permanent regency of the Sima Family and launches a wildly successful blitzkrieg into Shu Han, meanwhile the teenaged Cao Emperor writes angsty poetry about how lonely he is and no one understands him. ...
29 min
302
#42 - 3K 1: The King In The North!
The war between the Three Kingdoms has ground to a bloody stalemate. Hoping to seize the initiative,Cao Wei and Sun Wu will turn their attention to Manchuria and Korea in search of allies to exploit and foes to crush.  See acast.com/priva...
34 min
303
#41 - E. Han 8: A Farewell To Hans
We reach the end of the road for the Han Dynasty... well, sort of... it's complicated. In any case, there will be two emperors and a king by the time this episode is over. The Three Kingdoms are officially here.  See acast.com/priv...
27 min
304
#40 - E. Han 7: The Red Cliffs Of Chibi
The warlord Cao Cao has crushed any rivals to his power in the North, and now turns South to reunify China under his new regime. South of the mighty Yangtze River, the rival lords of Jing Province and Wu Prefecture must put aside their differences and...
29 min
305
#39 - E. Han 6: Warlords, White Wolf, Winter Winds
In the Southeast, the young but ambitious Sun Ce has splintered off to form his own power bloc, but intrigue will leave his legacy in jeopardy. To the Southwest, the thrice defeated Liu Bei has fled to the refuge of Jing Province under his cousin...
27 min
306
#38 - E. Han 5: The Battle Of Guandu
In the aftermath of the tyrant Dong Zhou's death, the two commanders of the former anti-Dong coalition vie for power and legitimacy. Cao Cao will take control of Emperor Xian, prompting his one time ally Yuan Shao to launch an all-out invasion of...
35 min
307
#37 - E. Han 4: Things Fall Apart
Corruption and plutocracy run rampant throughout Han, leading to a religious uprising called the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It's swiftly put down, but the problems are only beginning as we enter the end-phase of the Han and the opening act of the T...
35 min
308
#36 - E. Han 3: Live Fast, Die Young
Coming on the heels of Han's last Golden Age, emperors will begin dropping like flies, opening the Empire up to corruption from its empresses, military commanders, and the newly-empowered eunuch-lords. Also, paper will be invented. &nbsp...
39 min
309
#35 - E. Han 2: Reclamation
It is a Golden Age for the Eastern Han. After decades of tumult, famine, and civil war, the Chinese Empire is poised once again to reclaim its status as preeminent East Asian power. Retaking the abandoned Western Vassal Kingdoms, sending envoys to In...
34 min
310
#34 - E. Han 1: One Han, Two Han, Red Han, True...
In the power vacuum left by the defeated Xin Dynasty's collapse, no fewer than six claimants to the long-vacant Throne of Han will vie for power... one backed by the Lülin Rebels, another by the Red Eyebrow Army, another a northern lord with an a...
38 min
311
#33 - Xin 2: The Red Eyebrow Rebellion
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 i...
34 min
312
#32 - Xin 1: Han, Interrupted
Confucian Wang Mang overthrows Han and sets up his Xin Dynasty to renew the Golden Age of Zhou through land nationalization, wealth redistribution, and currency reform. It seemed like a great idea on paper, but in practice things begin to horribly wron...
35 min
313
#31 - W. Han 9: The Decline Of Han
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 the ...
32 min
314
#30 - W. Han 8: Getting Over Wu
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 who won...
32 min
315
#29 - W. Han 7: Every Direction But The Sea
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 co...
38 min
316
#28 - W. Han 6: The Sino-Xiongnu War
Tensions between the Han and Xiongnu Empires boil over into full-scale war after decades of humiliation at the hands of the northern horse-lords. When the traditional methods of neutralizing Xiongnu power fails, Emperor Wu must turn to a new generatio...
29 min
317
#27 - W. Han 5: Go West, Young Han!
The young Emperor Wu of Han struggles to step out of the shadow of his grandmother and seize power in his own right. Meanwhile, he has sent an emissary behind enemy lines to find what mysterious peoples and empires lie far to the West, but it's u...
31 min
318
#26 - W. Han 4: The Rule Of Wen And Jing
The reigns of Han Emperors Wen and Jing took enormous strides to stabilize the dynasty both within and without. Lowered taxes, more lenient laws, and normalization of international relationships saw life under Wen and Jing greatly improve. But a blun...
31 min
319
#25 - W. Han 3: The Bloody Empress
With Han's first Emperor, Gaozu, dead, his wife the first Empress of China Lü Zhi plans on making a few... *alterations* to the goings on of court life. And she doesn't care who she has cut the arms and legs off of to achieve her goals. ...
29 min
320
#24 - W. Han 2: Xiongnu to the Left of Me, Rebe...
The Han Dynasty is established by Liu Bang, who crowns himself it's first Emperor Gaozu. But though this is the beginning of a golden age for China, it get's off to a rough start, as to the north the steppe tribes have united into the terrif...
34 min
321
#23 - W. Han 1: The Chu-Han Contention
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.  See acas...
35 min
322
#22 - Qin 3: Web Of Deception
Following the First Emperor's "Weekend At Bernie's"-esque death, the Qin Dynasty is thrown into turmoil over who will succeed the Emperor who sought to live forever. But at the heart of this web of intrigue sits the eunuch Zhao Gao...
32 min
323
#21 - Qin 2: One Nation Under Qin
The victor of the Warring States Period has unified China into its first Empire and taken the name Shi Huang Di. Thereafter, he will expand his borders, unify his nation's language, build a Great Wall to the north, and attempt to stave off death ...
37 min
324
#20 - Qin 1: There Can Be Only One
In this final conclusion of the Warring States Period, the King of Qin at last begins his campaign to destroy the other six kingdoms and unify China under a new dynasty. But he'll have to contend with military setbacks, tenacious defenders, and as...
27 min
325
#19 - E. Zhou 8: The End Of Zhou
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.  See acast.com/pr...
23 min