If only the two big communist powers had gotten on, perhaps they could have stuck it to the Americans during the Cold War, but it wasn't to be. Personalities and ideologies got in the way. In this first part of an SMKY doublepod, we look at the period leading up to the split in the early 60s.

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China might be a big scary communist country to people in the West, but for Neo-Maoists the country has lost its way, and sometimes it seems that communism in China is more of a nostalgic indulgence. Apart from Mao, Lei Feng is the mascot of commie merchandise. 

We also take a trip into the Humble Administrator's Garden, and the Suzhou Museum, before a dramatic race for the bus.

FYI: Songs that feature in this episode – 1, Without the Communist Party, there is No New China – 2, Learn from Lei Feng's Good Example

As we head back to Suzhou, we look at the story of the ancient city and make sense of all those Wus associated with the area.

We then dive into the local tourist hotspot at Shantang Street, it's poetry and nostalgia, for dinner.

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A number of curious phrases have popped up lately in China, as a new internet-native generation join the workforce and find themselves getting knocked about by office politics and social pressures. 

In this episode, a Shanghai-based worker joins me to explain these terms.

Sang culture - 丧文化

Lying flat - 躺平

Let it rot - 摆烂

Neijuan - 奶卷

Touching fish - 摸鱼

After visiting the harsh cold countryside for the Lantern Festival, I get back to the school only to be thrown into more office politics. But compared to the Chinese workers, laowai work is pretty tame. Let's explore that a little.

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Having returned from the winter break, I head off into rural Jiangsu to spend the Lantern Festival in Lily's Town.

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Picking up at the end of the last episode, today Grade 7 teacher Penny and I travel to the epic Yangtze River, and we get stuck in to the Opium Wars. Not Britain's finest moment, that.

And we discover why Penny left a note under my door while I was sick....

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It's time to recall the Opium Wars that began China's Century of Humiliation. After the lofty heights of the Ming expeditions with Zheng He's epic fleet, the Chinese lost their ability to rule the waves. This episode details the prelude to the first Opium War, how the British set up their drug trade and why they did it. Next episode, battle commences.

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As Winter Break approaches, I take a trip to the biology department.

And a new guy starts at the school...

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Today we go back in time to find out about "China's most respectable prostitute", and the winners and losers in the concubine system. 

Also, the dramatic end of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing!

And #MeToo in China, or #RiceBunny...

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Twitter: @SMKYpodcast