Easy Talk China

In this episode, Lily and Mia pick up the brush to explore Chinese characters, the writing system that united an empire. From oracle bone inscriptions and bronze vessels through picture origins, radicals, and stroke order to calligraphy, the civil service examinations, simplified and traditional forms, and typing on modern phones, they ask how thousands of characters work, why they survived when other ancient scripts disappeared, and what they reveal about how China thinks. Next time: The Silk Road — where East met West.

In this episode, Lily and Mia climb into the mountains to explore the Great Wall, more than a wall. From the rival states' early frontier fences and Qin Shi Huang's joining of them into one line, through the Han desert wall and the Ming brick-and-stone military system with its watchtowers and beacon signals, they meet the workers, soldiers, and legends behind the stone, ask what the wall could and could not do, and visit Badaling, Mutianyu, and the wild wall at Jiankou. Next time: Chinese Characters — the writing system that united an empire.

In this episode, Lily and Mia walk through Beijing, a capital through the dynasties. From the ancient settlement of Ji and Kublai Khan's great capital Dadu to the Yongle Emperor and the building of the Forbidden City, they follow the city's Central Axis to Tiananmen and the Temple of Heaven, wander the hutongs and courtyard homes, taste Peking duck, and meet the modern capital of Olympic Games, art districts, and technology startups. Next time: The Great Wall — more than a wall.

In our very first episode, Lily and Mia introduce Easy Talk China with a sweeping tour of the country itself: its vast geography and great rivers, a five-thousand-year story from oracle bones and dynasties to bullet trains and Moon probes, fifty-six ethnic groups, the playful north-south divide, eight great cuisines, and the inventions that changed the world. Next time: Beijing — a capital through the dynasties.