After seizing the all-important city of Nanjing in March 1853 and basking in the afterglow of this victory, the Taiping leadership launches two military expeditions, one to the north to capture the capital, Beijing, and the other to the west. In this episode, we'll see how those two ventures panned out. Then in 1856, comes the first major political crisis that happens at the very top of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leadership. Meanwhile, the foreign powers operating in China, namely Britain and France, scheme to make the best of the Qing Dynasty's bad situation.
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Ep. 282 | The Taiping Rebellion (Part 3)

Since 2010, The China History Podcast, presented by Laszlo Montgomery brings you over 300 episodes of curated topics from China's antiquity to modern times.

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I forgot to upload this one to the CHP feed last week. 不好意思. Here's a good one from the Three Kingdoms Era in which we feature the famous story of Meng Huo, Zhuge Liang, and Qī Qín Mèng Huò 七擒孟获. Some people just can't accept defeat but in the end, they bow to the inevitable. Cao Pi of Wei thought he'd have some fun and employed Meng Huo to harass his enemy in the Kingdom of Han. That didn't go as planned. But Zhuge Liang sure seemed to enjoy it.
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S9E05 | Had enough yet?

Like James Dean, Confucius was much bigger in death than he was in his own lifetime. It wasn't until the Han Dynasty that Confucianism enjoyed a major triumph. This time we'll look at Dong Zhongshu who was so consequential in tying Confucianism and the imperial government into one system. We'll also look at Sima Tan (father of Sima Qian) and the Six Schools, as well as the first explainers of Confucianism: Liu Xin, Wang Chong, and Yang Xiong. I hope you're enjoying this series. Nine more episodes to go. We still have the Yi Jing (Book of Changes), Daoisim, and Song Neo-Confucianism to go yet.
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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 9)

We've already explored the Ru School of Philosophy and the thought of Confucius, Mengzi and Xunzi. This time we look at Legalism and the most important philosophers of this school of thought. We'll look at the lives of Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, Han Fei, and Li Si and how they embraced this controversial political philosophy.
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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 8)

This episode will focus on the life of Mengzi and his philosophy. We'll also introduce Mengzi's legendary mother. Then we'll finish off with another Confucianist great from this era, Xunzi 荀子.
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The History of Chinese Philosophy (Part 7)

I had the great pleasure to interview fellow Earnshaw Books author, Alice Poon recently. The occasion was the official release date of her new book, "The Earthly Blaze" (links below). We first discussed the life and work of Zha Liangyong, also known as Louis Cha. But he is more widely known by his pen name, Jin Yong, whose novels have been read and enjoyed by countless numbers of readers around the world. While I had Alice in the studio I also got her to talk about the greater Wuxia 武侠 genre of Chinese fiction and how it has been received in popular culture.
The Earthly Blaze Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Earthly-Blaze-Sword-Maiden-Moon/dp/9888843680/
The Earthly Blaze BN Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-earthly-blaze-alice-poon/1144936000
The Earthly Blaze at Earnshaw Books: https://earnshawbooks.com/product/the-earthly-blaze/
Alice's Blog: https://alicewaihanpoon.blogspot.com/
A nice recommended resource for further reading about Jin Yong and Wuxia: https://wuxiasociety.com/jin-yong-novels/
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Ep. 282 | The Taiping Rebellion (Part 3)

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