We continue our brief foray into Mithraism by looking at the role of the Roman emperors, the stars and the tauroctony in the spiritual life of mithraic practitioners. We also address the "Seven Levels" of Mithraism in relation to Shamanism. The episode is introduced with a comparison of passages from the Gospel of Luke with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

We take a short break from China to explore Mithraism, a secret society within the Roman Empire, and its close relationship with Christianity.

We come at last to the great general Yue Fei's greatest victories, and ultimate betrayal and death - at the hands of corrupt officials on his own side.

In part 3 of our series on Xing Yi, we look at how the Li movement influenced Yue Fei and other Song generals in formulating effective strategies for use against the Jin, and how they managed to challenge the previously unbeatable dominance of the Jin cavalry. We also discuss the rise to power of chancellor Chin Hui in the regime of Emperor Gaozong.

In this episode the look at the early life of Yue Fei, some of the factors that link him to the Li Movement, the meaning of some of the symbolism surrounding him, and the reasons for the transition between the Northern Song and Southern Song Dynasties.

In this episode we discuss significant events that occur between the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, in particular highlighting issues that form the background to the life of the famous Song Dynasty general, Yue Fei, who has traditionally been attributed as a progenitor of Xing Yi and other martial arts.

In our final look at the Han Dynasty we see the arrival of Buddhism in China, the opening up of the Silk Road, the rise to power of the eunuchs, the invention of paper, and the reasons for the eventual decline of the dynasty.

Mongolian Wrestling is one of the three warrior arts of the Naadam that originated from Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. In this episode we explore the history, techniques and links with Shamanism of this surprisingly extensive and complex art which has produced both Sumo grand champions and Judo gold medalists.

Was the Han Empire bigger than the Roman Empire? Did Roman legionaries reach China before 0AD? Was the Xin Dynasty of Emperor Wang Mang "more Han than the Han"? Does Confucianism always lead to corruption? What effect did Daoism and Confucianism have on the world's largest empire? These questions and others are examined in this episode.

The Han Dynasty was the making of China, and was contemporary with the Roman Empire, which it equalled in size and power. In this episode we look at the life of its founder, Liu Bang and his vicious wife Empress Lu, as well as the dynasty's most influential emperor, the famous Wu Di.