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I had the idea for this episode sometime during mid-summer 2025. Then I became distracted by the big project I'm working on now, then the holidays, sick cats, and the random hassles of life. This one's only 34 minutes long. My deepest apologies for all the mispronunciations of Maori names. This is the story of Choie Sew Hoy 徐肇开 and the times he lived in during the 19th-century Chinese immigrant scene in New Zealand. There was a lot more going on in the history of Chinese New Zealanders. This story is mostly limited to the events surrounding the Otago Gold Rush of the early 1860s. Here are a few YouTube videos about this topic: Journey To Lan Yuan Ep 7 Choie Sew Hoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMYHSRTVo4M Journey To Lan Yuan Ep 8 The S.S. Ventnor. https://youtu.be/Q2EXkSdIGAM?si=cEN3uft5CpyU9Rzd The Mystery of the S.S. Ventnor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg8DB42BkAk Choie Sew Hoy's descendants meet in Dunedin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhDM4pwxHdM Please consider supporting my efforts: Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast/ CHP Premium:  https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Other ways to support: https://teacup.media/support  

This one is more entertaining than anything. Mr. Andrew Shaw mentioned this looting of the eastern Qing Tombs event when I interviewed him earlier in the year. If you recall, he wrote that book called "Spoil." This time, I'm focusing on the events that went down in July 1928 at the Qing Eastern Tombs 清东陵 northeast of Beijing. This all took place in the final moments of the Warlord Era, right after the Central Plains War. This act perpetrated by warlord Sun Dianying 孙殿英 epitomized the venality of these parasites.   To get early access to all the new episodes coming in February 2027, consider Patreon or CHP Premium. Details at the Website: https://teacup.media/support    

This morning, in between recording sessions, I checked out what was headlining on Drudge. And right there was the leading story, "Let Them Eat Steak." You can imagine what the piece was about. This made me think, what a perfect time to post this Chinese Saying podcast episode.  I released this one on Patreon and CHP Premium a while back. It's more or less the Chinese version of this Drudge headline. I know, I know, a lot of you, because you don't speak Chinese, despite how you feel about me, never give this Chinese Sayings Podcast a chance. The thing about these "chengyu" Chinese idioms or proverbs, whether you remember them or not, is that they all have interesting and amusing stories that are all rooted in ancient or classical Chinese history. It's true that if you are a Mandarin speaker, you might appreciate these idioms more. But give it a chance and see if you like it.  This one here, 何不食肉糜 Hébù Shí Ròumí, is regretfully a Chinese Saying that never goes out of style. This one is kind of China's version of Marie Antoinette's famous words never spoken, "Let them eat cake." This is a good one from the late 2nd to early 3rd century. And you can still use it in 2025. And being a betting man, it will most likely work well in 2026 too! Enjoy!

In early 2025, I was approached by Jenny Chan at pacificatrocities.org about interviewing one of their experts in an upcoming CHP episode.  I had a nice interview with Quin Cho, born in my hometown of Chicago. Those who lament that the young generation of today doesn't bother to learn history, here is some relief. When I saw him, I was surprised to see how young Quin was and how much enthusiasm and interest he has for this topic. It's refreshing to hear all this old history we're all familiar with recounted by those born in this century. We focused on the rise and fall of Japan's Kwantung Army 关东军. They've been blamed for the Mukden Incident and a whole cavalcade of atrocities committed against the Chinese people during the 1930s and 40's. In this interview, you'll get a very clear explanation of how everything unfolded. You could have heard this episode months ago (and without commercials). Please consider supporting me at my Patreon or CHP Premium. PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP PREMIUM: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/    Pacific Atrocities Website:  https://www.pacificatrocities.org/books.html Quin Cho Bio: https://www.pacificatrocities.org/quin-cho.html  

Here's something a little different from the usual CHP fare. It concerns a natural substance that's not too well-known outside of Asia, mainly because it's so dang expensive! Chénxiāng 沉香 or Agarwood as it's also known, grows inside the heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees. Chenxiang has a few interesting things about it and is often mentioned in Chinese literature. This episode includes a bunch of poems and a couple of chengyu's that all contain references to chénxiāng. While I was on the subject, I'm also mentioning five other trees that, while nowhere nearly as expensoive as chenxiang, were rare and precious enough to be driven to the brink of extinction. These four are Xiǎoyè Zǐtán 小叶紫檀, Hǎinán Huánghuālí 海南黄花梨, Lǎowō Dàhóng Suānzhī 老挝大红酸枝, Jīchìmù 鸡翅木, and Jīnsī Nánmù 金丝楠木.  You could have heard this episode three months earlier if you subscribed to the Official CHP Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ The Teacup Media Website: https://teacup.media/ Thanks to all of you for listening. Reach out to me anytime at [email protected].        

Hi Everyone, just coming up for air. This is actually one of the several new episodes that have been available on Patreon and CHP Premium since July, three months ago. This is a brief overview of the life and times of Wang Jingwei, the 中国头号大汉奸. Strong words. Why is he so despised? What drove him to make the decisions he did that forever branded him as a traitor to the Chinese people? He's another figure from those early ROC years that everyone has heard of but perhaps not so sure of the role he played in the history of that era. Enjoy. If the FOMO is making you lose sleep at night, consider subscribing below. Thanks!!! Laszlo's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP Premium:     https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Early access to shows. Ad Free. Easy and convenient access to Laszlo. 

Here's a preview of a new podcast, The Chinatown Sting, from our friends at Pushkin Industries. In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan's Chinatown were caught in a massive undercover drug bust. But this bust was just the beginning of an even bigger case. Host Lidia Jean Kott and co-reporter Shuyu Wang interview sources who've never spoken on record before, including witnesses, defendants, and federal prosecutors, to reconstruct a case that still has repercussions today and impacted the history of American Chinatowns themselves, which developed to protect immigrants from a hostile society. Listen to The Chinatown Sting wherever you get podcasts and binge the entire season, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription—sign up on The Chinatown Sting Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.

Here's another quickie for you, only a half hour long. It seems not only are the portions at fast-food chains shrinking, so are the CHP episodes. Thanks to a team of amateur historians, WWII enthusiasts, and survivors, this interesting tale can now be told. It concerns a forgotten man named Mr. Lam Ping Yu 林炳堯, who left behind a WWII diary from 1944 that was rediscovered by chance in 2015. I hope you'll enjoy this story. For more info, you can visit the website: https://www.dday.hk/.  Thanks to Mr. John Mak, Mr. Angus Hui, and Mr. Jackson Chan for telling me about this story in 2024. Photo Credit: Thanks to Mr. Frank Tsou.

This is a rather long episode, running at just about one hour. The Guangxi Massacre is one of those dark chapters from the Cultural Revolution. Down in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, it was particularly dark. I was listening to Stanford Professor of Anthropology Andrew G. Walder on the New Books Network discussing his 2023 book covering this topic. That gave me the initial inspiration. Dr. Walder's book and a few others are very disturbing to read. I didn't dwell on some of the more gory and grotesque parts of this story. Hoowever, the books are all rather free with their descriptions of some of the atrocities committed. There's one excerpt I did include in the Patreon and CHP Premium audio. But I won't be including it in the regular CHP feed. This episode is particularly interesting because it involves a province other than the usual suspects along the coast. And it stars Wei Guoqing 韦国清, someone I'm guessing doesn't ring a bell. Let me know what you think. This was a painful episode to research and present.   Suggested Reading: Zheng Yi, "Scarlet Memorial: Tales Of Cannibalism In Modern China  https://a.co/d/89TkvH6 Andrew G. Walder, "Civil War in Guangxi: The Cultural Revolution on China's Southern Periphery"  https://a.co/d/8XWipif Yang Su, "Collective Killings in Rural China during the Cultural Revolution"  https://a.co/d/5BF7C2R New Books in East Asian Studies Podcast featuring Andrew G. Walder: https://pca.st/gh0p9udt Search for The Secret Archives About the Cultural Revolution in Guangxi《廣西文革機密檔案資料》  

In this episode, we look at the life of Anson Burlingame, a well-known name  in California. During Lincoln's term as president, he was appointed Chief Minister to China, arriving in Beijing in the summer of 1862. Already well-known in the US as a fiery abolitionist and a man who believed everyone should be treated fairly and with all due respect, he sympathized with the Chinese government. When he arrived in post-Opium Wars, post-Treaty of Tianjin/Convention of Beijing China, he used his respected position among the diplomatic community of the treaty powers to fight for a fair deal for China. In a controversial move, he was appointed by the Qing government to lead a mission to the US and the great capitals of Europe to advocate on China's behalf. While in the US, Burlingame championed the signing of a treaty, the first of its kind, that recognized China as an equal sovereign nation. It opened the door to legal Chinese immigration and travel to the US. That ended up becoming the treaty's undoing.

Here's a nice little standalone episode on the life and work of Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles. And you can't mention Herbert Giles without mentioning his son, Lionel Giles. And of course, Robert Morrison must be mentioned as well as all the earliest Western scholars of Sinology going back to Michele Ruggieri. And it wouldn't be fair to only talk about Wade and the two Giles's without giving a nod to their contemporaries elsewhere on the continent and in Asia. So this is a slightly meandering survey of some of the great old sinologists from the 19th century (and early 20th).  

This is only a 2-parter, so this exciting episode will bring the curtain down on Lin Biao and his famous "Incident." We resume the story following the 1970 Lushan Plenum. Lin, or Lin's ambitious manipulators, pushed Chairman Mao just a bit too much at this meeting, and he decided to take immediate action. This whole 913 Incident, as you will hear, was a huge embarrassment to the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, it's not surprising that they circled the wagons and went beyond the call of duty to cover up what could still be covered up. Mao had to be careful. With a history filled with men like Wang Mang, Zhu Wen, Zhao Kuangyin, and Yuan Shikai, he knew he had to watch these generals. So here's all the various fun bits of speculation surrounding the days of September 12-13, 1971. No Beatles references in this episode, though I was tempted to mention that Stella McCartney was born on the exact day of the plane crash that ended Lin Biao's life. Thanks everyone, for listening. This episode was posted to Patreon and CHP Premium back in February. Consider joining. You'd have my everlasting appreciation.

This is Part 1 of a 2-Part series looking at the life of Lin Biao and the actual Lin Biao Incident itself. This bit of history is documented to death. I downloaded a dozen scholarly papers, read a few books, went through my entire library, and gathered as much information as possible. But practically every source ends with "cannot be proved." The Lin Biao Incident is China's version of the Kennedy assassination. So much we know. So much we have no idea. In this Part 1 episode, I cover Lin Biao's early life and how he rose up on Mao's coattails, going back to the Jiangxi Soviet era. I'll take this episode up to the Lushan Plenum of 1970. That was the beginning of the end of Lin Biao. Be looking for Part 2 in a bit. Thanks, everyone.

Just in time for Liberation Day, I'm presenting this timely episode. Back in 1890, with the aim of protecting American companies from foreign competition, tariffs were jacked up significantly.  With all the advances in transport, logistics, and new technologies, world trade was shifting into a higher gear. For a few centuries, the Ming and Qing emperors did their damnedest to regulate the invasion of European traders clamoring to do business with Chinese merchants. The foreigners wanted free, open, and unfettered trade with China. By the 1890's and a few humiliating unequal treaties later, the dream finally came true. That's when the real problems started. Thanks to Dan Stein for this topic idea we discussed over lunch recently. If you'd like to support the China History Podcast and listen ad-free and get new episodes weeks or months early: CHP Premium: https://teacupmedianetwork.supercast.com/,  CHP Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast

This is the second of a two-part mini-series introducing the world of European plant hunting in China. In this episode, we look at some of the more noteworthy names and their accomplishments. After the exploits of Robert Fortune, many other plant hunters followed in his footsteps to China. We'll look at Henry Fletcher Hance, Père David, Augustine Henry, Ernest Wilson, and George Forrest, among others. Thanks to all for for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices