ChinaTalk

China's Great Power Wars: Lessons from Imperial History for Today

Listen Later

How has Chinese hegemony shaped power relations in East Asia? Why did imperial China conquer Tibet and Xinjiang but not Vietnam or Korea? Can learning from history help maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait?

Today’s interview begins with one shocking truth — while medieval Europe suffered under near-constant war, East Asia’s Middle Ages were defined by great power peace.

To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Professor David C. Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at USC and co-author of Beyond Power Transitions: The Lessons of East Asian History and the Future of U.S.-China Relations.

We discuss…

  • How East Asian nations managed to peacefully coexist for centuries,
  • Why lessons from European history don’t always apply in non-European contexts,
  • Why wars begin and how they can be avoided,
  • How to interpret outbreaks of violence in Asia — including conflicts with the Mongols, China’s meddling in Vietnam, and Japan’s early attempts at empire,
  • State behaviors that cannot be explained by power transition theory alone,
  • Whether the Thucydides trap makes U.S.-China war inevitable,
  • Old school methods for managing cross-strait relations.


    • Co-hosting today is Ilari Mäkelä of the On Humans podcast.

    Outro music: 荒城の月 "The Moon over the Ruined Castle" by 滝廉太郎 Rentarō Taki (Youtube link)

    Cover photo of a Song Dynasty axe-wielding god https://dragonsarmory.blogspot.com/2016/12/song-chinese-armor-in-religious.html

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    ChinaTalkBy Jordan Schneider
    • 4.5
    • 4.5
    • 4.5
    • 4.5
    • 4.5

    4.5

    259 ratings

    More shows like ChinaTalk

    View all
    The Truth of the Matter by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

    The Truth of the Matter

    281 Listeners

    Asia Geopolitics by The Diplomat

    Asia Geopolitics

    318 Listeners

    Sinica Podcast by Kaiser Kuo

    Sinica Podcast

    593 Listeners

    ChinaPower by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

    ChinaPower

    200 Listeners

    The President’s Inbox by Council on Foreign Relations

    The President’s Inbox

    700 Listeners

    The Impossible State by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

    The Impossible State

    86 Listeners

    The Asia Chessboard by Center for Strategic and International Studies

    The Asia Chessboard

    102 Listeners

    Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

    Dwarkesh Podcast

    352 Listeners

    Chinese Whispers by The Spectator

    Chinese Whispers

    12 Listeners

    Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

    Pekingology

    129 Listeners

    China Global by The German Marshall Fund

    China Global

    44 Listeners

    The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

    The Foreign Affairs Interview

    409 Listeners

    China Insider by Hudson Institute

    China Insider

    104 Listeners

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg by Turpentine

    "Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

    145 Listeners

    Face-Off: The U.S. vs China by Airwave Media

    Face-Off: The U.S. vs China

    162 Listeners