After the fall of Beijing and Nanjing, various emperors arose across the remnant of the Ming Empire. Each was determined to hold the Qing at bay and rebuild the glory of the Ming.

We take a look at how Li Zhicheng went about trying to manage Beijing, how the population responded to his capture of the city, how Li was undermined by the actions of one of his generals and how his dreams of being an emperor were dashed by the Ming general Wu Sangui.

On the 25th April, 1644, Beijing fell to the forces of Li Zicheng. Who was he, how did he rise to power and how did he lose the capital in under two months?

A short introduction to what Taiwanese society is like from the perspective of a foreigner.

We look at the second Khan of the Jin Dynasty, some of the changes he makes to his empire and the renaming of the Jin as the Qing Dynasty.

We look at the Nurhaci's Banner System, how policies within the Jin Dynasty began changing as the Jurchen people fell on hard times and the important Battle of Ningyuan or Níngyuǎn Zhī Zhàn.

Nurhaci came from the Jurchen tribes of Manchuria, north east of China. In a parallel of King Phillip II of Macedon, Nurhaci unified his people and reworked them into a devastatingly effective military force.

Zheng Chenggong (known to the West as Koxinga) would play a significant role in Taiwan's history. To understand this character better, it's important that we look at elements of his childhood and the political structure of the world around him.

This is the second half of my interview with Marci in which we discuss being a university student in Taiwan and talk about her experiences of Taiwan.

I'm joined by a lovely young lady called Marci who is from Belize, but studying in Taiwan. This is the first half of her interview in which our focus is mainly upon Belize.