Both Song and Jin have a new set of emperors at the helm... it will mean war... and peace... but the riptides of history will ensure that, whatever the outcome of this conflict, very little will remain the same for much longer.Time Period Covered: ~...

Emperor Gaozong really, *really* wants his dad's coffin.Qin Hui really, *really* wants to give the Jurchen whatever they ask for.The Jurchen really, *really* want the Mongol khan to stop tweaking their emperor's beard.Time Period Covered...

General Yue Fei will reach career highs as he strikes back against Jurchen aggression with remarkable success. He'll drive his enemies so fast and hard, that he'll drive the Jin Dynasty close to its breaking point. But on the precipice of vic...

In this first of a two-part look into the life and legend of this epic Chinese hero, we chronicle Yue Fei's early life and education, his induction into the military to serve his nation with utmost loyalty, his meteoric rise through the ranks, and...

The JURCHEN JIN reigns. Having decimated the Song Dynasty, Emperor Jin Taizong now deploys his merciless legions to seize military control of the Yellow River Valley.Only Prince Zhao Gou and his band of LOYALIST ministers stand against the ...

The Song Dynasty manages to epically pull defeat from the jaws of victory when it manages to twice goad its nominal ally, the Jurchen Jin, into a border war. The first time, it’s beaten so badly that it has to give up almost half of its northern holdin...

A very sexy Halloween edition...Stir Fry - 1:45Steel Skin - 4:15Silkworm - 5:35

Our third entry of Seasonal Spookiness for your unsettling aural pleasure.From Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊齋志異) by: Pu Songling1:25 - "The Girl in Green"8:30 - "A Very Sharp Sword"10:45 - "He Came Back"18:...

Emperor Huizong’s Song Dynasty’s luck runs dry with a series of epic screw up that throw the whole system in disarray. War with the Tangut Xi Xia goes badly awry – and his generals won’t even tell him about it. And then rebellions start breaking out in...

To the north of Song China, sandwiched between Goryeo Korea and the invincible Liao Empire, a new force arises on the banks of the Black and Gold Rivers, that will shake the very foundations of All Under Heaven...Time Period Covered:1099-1123 CE

With Wang Anshi out of the picture, Emperor Shenzong's ministers find to their horror that theg uy they thought was radicalizing the monarch... had actually be holding him back this whole time. Now there's nothing to stop Shenzong from fulfil...

Wang Anshi's heady, glorious dream at last comes crashing into the cold, mechanical reality of imperial bureaucracy, to everyone's chagrin.

Wang Anshi weilds his newfound power to implement, through his hand-picked Finance Planning Commission, a sweeping series of reforms aids at revitalizing that dynasty's sagging economy. They'll include a government loan program, new tax polic...

In this first part of a mini-arc, southern provincial nobody Wang Anshi rises above his station and attracts both the curiosity and the attention of Emperor Shanzong and his court by laying out a bold new vision to lead the Song Dynasty out of its econ...

"Like milk on a hot day in San Diego, it turned out that Emperor Yingzong was a bad choice."Time Period Covered: 1063-1067 CEImportant Historial Figures:Song:Emperor Renzong (Zhao Zhen)[r. 1022-1063]Emperor Yingzong (Zhao Shu)[r. 106...

Emperor Renzong of Song continues to twiddle his thumbs. Confucianism get a much-needed adrenaline shot to the arm via Daoism. Zhuang superpatriot Nong Zhigao declares simultaneous war on China and Vietnam in the name of his people's liberation....

Emperor Renzong of Song isn't exactly... into the whole "rule" thing. He'd much rather wile away his days talking about Confucian philosophy, writing calligraphy, and making love to his concubines. But he'll be forced to uneasi...

When Emperor Renzong of Song takes the throne, he's just a boy of 12 and surely in need of his mother's guidance... but how long until Mom becomes more of a hinderance than a help? ... And what if she's not really his mother?Time Peri...

A Q&A like this only comes around once in a thousand years!

After feeling forced to sign the costly and humiliating Treaty of Chanyuan with the Liao Dynasty to end the Liao-Song War, Emperor Zhenzong needs a pick-me-up to make himself feel better. He thinks that a ritual that hasn't been performed in 3 cen...

The new Song Emperor, Zhenzong, sits uneasily on the Chinese throne after his father’s untimely death in 997. But court intrigues and attempted coups will only be the tip of the iceberg for this untested and unlikely sovereign, because the Liao Dynasty...

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want eat 2,000 of something." - Mitch Hedberg

To the Northwest of the Song Empire, a group of non-Chinese known as the Tanguts have long been subject to the whims and subjugations of their greater neighbors. But with the Chinese focused on their struggle against the Khitan Liao, and the Tibetans a...

Song's second emperor, Taizong, wants to achieve the heights of Chinese glory, power, and territory just like the Tang and Han before him. But aspirations are easier than results, and he's going to have to contend with neighbor states on all ...

Zhao Kuangyin has seized the north and now aims to reunify China under his new Song Dynasty by smashing the south. And it’s super effective! But when a strange order of succession leaves question mark surrounding his legacy, it’s anyone’s guess as to w...