The year was 1895. The (First) Sino-Japanese War was just winding down. And news came out of Shimonoseki in Japan that the peace terms would include the annexation of Taiwan, a.k.a. Formosa.

So what did the Taiwanese do? They issued a declaration of independence, establishing the first democratic republic in East Asian history... 

Even if it would not last very long, the Republic of Taiwan set a fascinating precedent that reverberates until today.

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On May 30, 1626, a screaming came across the sky over Beijing, the imperial capital of Ming Dynasty China. Within moments, thousands of people lay dead, and many more were injured, including within the Forbidden City. Modern estimates puts the force of the event on par with the Hiroshima bomb.

The event shook Ming China to the core. Was it an omen that the "mandate of heaven" might be about to shift to another power?

And what was "it," exactly? An accidental detonation of gunpowder? An earthquake? A tornado? A meteor? 

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Bai Xianyong, or Pai Hsien-yung as his name is spelled in the Wade-Giles style, has been a leading light of Taiwanese literature for decades. His works including "Taipei People" and "The Crystal Boys" have been landmarks of Taiwanese fiction, and in addition he has produced important works of history and criticism.

What is sometimes insufficiently appreciated, particularly outside of Taiwan, is how the writer that Bai Xianyong came to be substantially depended on the man that his father was: General Bai Chongxi, one of the most interesting figures of Republican China, and a forgotten hero of the Second World War...

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When I was a child in Taiwan, I was told a legend about how the Lunar New Year commemorated a monster that used to haunt the Chinese people around this time of the year.

Imagine my reaction upon discovering as an adult that the legend could not be traced back to ancient times.

What, then, is the New Year or "Spring Festival" all about? And how have customs of the holiday developed over the millennia? 

Happy Year of the Tiger!

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Be warned, boys and girls, for this is a gruesome tale.

We previously told the story of the founding of the Han Dynasty and its first emperor, Liu Bang. This is the story of his wife, Empress Lü. 

After being married to Liu by her father, the future Empress Lü stuck by her husband even during his lowest periods, until finally he triumphed over all the other warlords to become emperor.

But he didn't stick by her quite as much. Instead, he picked up a favorite concubine, Lady Qi. And he had sons with both women, half-brothers who were now competitors for the throne. When Liu Bang died in 195 B.C., it was time for Empress Lü to exact her vengeance...

And yet, as the Chinese proverb says: "A praying mantis may capture a cicada, but the finch watches from behind"...

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We've already done several episodes relating to events and personalities from the Tang Dynasty. Retroactively, then, let's set the stage for how the Tang came into being.

The Tang era can boast many achievements. Chinese poetry reached its zenith during this period, never to be surpassed or even equalled subsequently. The Tang Empire was one of the most expansive versions of "China" ever to exist on the face of the earth. The first half of the dynasty at least is often hailed as China's golden age. And the famous Emperor Taizong, whose portrait serves as this podcast's cover art, commanded the obedience and respect of nations from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East.

And yet, the way it began was not necessarily auspicious. Overthrowing the short-lived Sui Dynasty, the Li family that ruled the Tang were actually cousins of the Yang family of the Sui. And as much as Emperor Yangdi of the Sui was guilty of fratricide, Emperor Taizong of the Tang was as though a man in a glass house throwing stones...

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Tsui Hark, that maestro of Hong Kong cinema, has in recent years churned a trilogy of films set in ancient China about one "Detective Dee" who goes around solving strange crimes in the manner of Sherlock Holmes.

In reality, Tsui Hark got this idea for a Chinese Holmes from, of all people, a Dutchman. Robert van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat and Sinologist who was posted in China during WWII, and he took to translating, then rewriting, a Qing Dynasty novel featuring one Di Renjie as a genius criminal investigator.

And who was the real Di Renjie? As is so often the case, the truth is more interesting than the fiction...

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On Christmas Day, Jonathan Spence, the leading light of Western sinology and my former professor, passed away.

Over a long and distinguished career, Professor Spence produced numerous books (not to mention countless essays and articles) on Chinese history. Unlike most other academics, he wrote in a uniquely engaging narrative style that made many of his works highly accessible even to general readers. "The Search for Modern China" in particular became a bestseller. His uncanny ability to empathize with historical figures allowed us readers, vicariously through him, to feel as though we were sitting down with men and women from centuries in the past.

And of course, as a pedagogue, he was responsible for educating entire generations of American students on Chinese culture. But for him, China in all its complexities would seem even more perplexing and alien in Western eyes.

In memory of my teacher: some reflections on the life, work, and influence of Jonathan Spence.

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The Chinese-American sci-fi fantasy writer Ken Liu draws a lot from Chinese tradition. In his short story collection, "The Hidden Girl and Other Stories," between sci-fi stories about the singularity and space exploration, he rewrites a short story from the late-Tang Dynasty called "Nie Yinniang," literally "The Hidden Lady Nie."

For all of its kung fu fighting, though, "Nie Yinniang" is often not the work of Tang fiction considered the founding document of the wuxia or martial arts genre. That honor belongs to "The Man with the Dragon Beard," which has no fight scenes...

So what do we ultimately owe these Tang era authors?

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My friend and special guest calls in from New York, and we reminisce on traveling in China as well as his experiences teaching English in a relatively obscure corner of that country. It was only a few years ago, yet so much has changed between the pandemic and the politics that it feels like reminiscence from another era...

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