Can eating your sons be morally justified? Stratagems of the Warring States is a collection of stories compiled during the Han dynasty about the many states that fought for control of all under heaven in the Warring States Period between the fifth and third centuries BC.

Featuring tales of hostages, statecraft, assassinations and throwing shade on princelings, in this special episode of ChinaTalk, voice actors Jacob Guenther and Chara Lin perform excerpts of Jennifer Dodgson's translation into English, while Dodgson herself discusses each piece.

Check out Jennifer's website hosting her translations here.

Performances include

• Qin recruits troops and advances on Zhou to demand the nine cauldrons
• East Zhou wishes to grow rice
• Gong Ta defects from West Zhou
• Zhang Yi runs out of money in Chu
• An attack on Zhongshan
• The Queen Dowager of Zhao takes over the running of state affairs

Outtro music: Prince Qin Breaking Through the Enemy Array, traditional Tang-era music performed by Hubei Chime Bells Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvTul5_js_A&list=RDadcGeuTMmBA&index=8

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