After the failure of the Great Leap forward, Mao needed to divert attention from his internal failings to external threats. So, what did Mao do? Well, he pretty much ticked every one of his neighbors off and very nearly got into a nuclear war.

The 60's were a period of geo-political conflict for the Chinese, they had a border war with India, had relations with Vietnam rapidly deteriorate and nearly get into a nuclear conflict with the USSR. On this week's episode we discuss these events, why they occurred and how they ended up forcing China to make a sharp diplomatic pivot to a more Pro-US stance. 

If you want to know about Chinese and American relations, you have to know the history...

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistory

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

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Did you know the Cuban Missile Crisis wasn't the only time the US was on the verge of Nuclear War? In 1954 the US came very close to using tactical nuclear weapons to fight the People's Republic of China. 

Shortly after the Korean War ended, the PRC attempted to invade the island of Formosa now known as Taiwan. The remnants of the KMT had fled to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War, and the PRC wanted to re-unify China. In 1954, the US sent the 7th fleet due to fears of a "Domino Effect" and to enforce its policy of containment.  Because of these actions, the US successfully prevented the PRC from invading Taiwan. This was one of two crises that occurred in the strait that nearly saw the use of nuclear warheads and a conflict with China. 

This week J and Collin discuss the significance of these events and why it is relevant to US and Chinese relations today.  

If you want to know about Chinese and American relations, you have to know the history...

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistoryInstagram: @loins_of_history Facebook: @loinsofhistory Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory

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After the US and Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II, only one enemy remained, commies. From 1945 to 1950 the western and communist worlds became increasingly hostile to one another, until Communist North Korea and Kim Il Sung launched a surprise attack on South Korea and drug both the United States and Communist China into war.

This week we continue our series on Chinese and US relations by looking at the Korean War, examining the US policy of containment, and analyzing if it was successful. We also ask questions like, why didn’t the United States better prepare for the Chinese entry into the war, and what lessons did Mao and the Communist Chinese Party take away from fighting a war with the US?

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistoryInstagram: @loins_of_history Facebook: @loinsofhistory Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory

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After Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949 Republicans and Democrats immediately began pointing a finger at one another. The debate that ensued is known as the "Loss of China", with Republicans like Senator Joe McCarthy and later General Douglas MacArthur blaming the Truman Administration for losing China to the Communists, but Democrats like Dean Acheson and Truman blamed it on the incompetence of Chaing Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang. Still others, like Chinese scholars more recently, claim that America never lost China because it never had it in the first place, and that the Chinese people wanted communism. 

This week we break down this debate and examine it from its many sides. How could the United States prevented the Chinese Communist Party from winning the Chinese Civil War? Had communist spies infiltrated the US government and tipped the balance in Mao Zedong's favor? What role did the Soviet Union play? Was Senator Joseph McCarthy right in claiming that insidious forces were at work? Listen to this episode and find out. 

Instagram: @loins_of_history

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Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory

Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Japan invaded China in 1937 due to the belief that the benefits of escalation, war, and further expansion in China outweighed the consequences that could be levied by the Chinese and international community. Likewise, Russia escalated its war in Ukraine in 2022 due to its belief that it could weather economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation placed on it by Europe and the US. In both situations, Japan and Russia correctly assumed that foreign military intervention would not happen, and therefore placed their nations on the path of war. 

This week we continue looking at the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), how it impacted WWII, and what the implications are for today. We also discuss the question of 'Who deserves credit for winning WWII?' by looking at the historical lack of emphasis placed on Chinese and Russian contributions. We hope this episode leaves you with a better understanding of how China and the US view WWII and the lessons learned from it. 

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Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory

Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Did you know that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in WWII because of America's China policy? 

This week we discuss the beginning of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War and how it relates to the story of US-Chinese relations. Prior to 1937 the Open Door Policy was just a statement of intentions, but President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took it to the next level after Japan attacked China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. From 1937 to 1941 the US continued to sanction Japan, trying to pressure them to withdraw their military from China, until FDR signed an executive order that froze all Japanese assets in the US, preventing Japan from buying US oil and threatening to grind their war machine in China to a halt. Admiral Yamamoto knew that the only way Japan had a hope of victory was to wipe out the American Pacific Fleet out at Pearl Harbor. 

As always, there's also some interesting anecdotes about why no war ends quickly, how history can be used to prevent future wars, and why the Rape of Nanking is still a touchy subject today. 

Instagram: @loins_of_history 

Facebook: @loinsofhistory 

Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory 

Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

You may have heard about the Chinese Civil War, but do you know why it happened and its historical context? Continuing our series on US-Chinese relations, this week we tell the story of the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communists, but we also discuss how foreign actors, primarily the Soviets and Japanese, tried to influence each side. The Chinese Civil War is to China what the American Revolution is to the United States, so if you want to understand China you have to know about the key event that brought Mao Zedong to power and set the stage for WWII.

If you want to know about Chinese and American relations, you have to know the history...

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistoryInstagram: @loins_of_history Facebook: @loinsofhistory Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory

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The Loins of History is creating Podcasts | Patreon

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“Hi China, America here. I know things haven’t always been easy for us, but remember that time  during WWI, I had your back against Japan when it was going through its angry phase? We really had this beautiful thing going. I thought we could really be something. I love you China. Your current boyfriend is just in it for himself, and he looks like Winnie the Pooh anyway.”

If you want to know about Chinese and American relations, you have to know the history...

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistoryInstagram: @loins_of_history Facebook: @loinsofhistory Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory

Patreon

The Loins of History is creating Podcasts | Patreon

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Why did the US not support democratic leaders in China after the fall of the Qing?

When the last Qing Emperor Pu Yi abdicated in 1912, strongman Yuan Shi-Kai became military dictator in Beijing, but after his death in 1916 the country fractured under his successor generals, similar to Alexander the Great. This began the Warlord Era of modern China, and in this episode we talk about how the US largely stayed out of the internal Chinese conflict, choosing to focus more on the conflagration engulfing Europe (WWI) and managing the rise of Imperial Japan. Did the US miss a key opportunity to prevent the Communists to coming to power? Or was the US longstanding policy of isolationism to blame?

If you want to know about Chinese and American relations, you have to know the history...

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory or https://www.patreon.com/theloinsofhistoryInstagram: @loins_of_history Facebook: @loinsofhistory Twitter: @JLoinsofHistory @loinsofhistory Our opinions are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of our employers.

Anchor

The Loins of History • A podcast on Anchor

Current events lack historical context. We’re here to fix that. Each week we’ll dig deeper than the 24 hour news cycle to bring you the history behind the headlines. Covering economics, politics, religion, culture, war, and more, listening to this podcast will help you understand the context behind current events. Listen in and find out how today came from the Loins of History. Our opinions are our own and do not reflect the opinions or policy of our employers.

https://anchor.fm/theloinsofhistory

Patreon

The Loins of History is creating Podcasts | Patreon

Become a patron of The Loins of History today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.