People's History of Ideas Podcast

The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, followed by the first years of the Republic of China. Further reading on the 1911 Revolution:Joseph Esherick and C.X. George Wei, editors, China: How the Empire FellSome names from this episode:Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Revolution and revolutionary communist par excellenceSun Zhongshan/Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Revolutionary AllianceHuang Xing, Vice-President of the Revolutionary Alliance and military leader of the April 1911 uprising in GuangzhouPuyi, child emperor who abdicated his throne at age fivePrince Chun, regent for PuyiYuan Shikai, leader of Beiyang ArmyEmpress Dowager Cixi, power behind the throne who died in 1908Kang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and Qing loyalistGuangxu Emperor, Emperor of China during the Hundred Days Reform of 1898Song Jiaoren, leading Guomindang organizer, assassinated in 1913Zeng Guofan, leader of Qing forces that defeated the Taiping rebelsLi Hongzhang, high level Chinese statesman and advocate of self-strengthening Support the show

In this episode, we explore some of the major voices of revolution from the decade preceding the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912: Zou Rong, Qiu Jin and Sun Yat-sen [Sun Zhongshan].Some names from this episode:Kang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and focus of episode 8Guangxu Emperor, Emperor of China who was put under house arrest by Cixi after attempting to assert his power during the Hundred Days Reform (episode 8)Empress Dowager Cixi, ruler of China during this periodLiang Qichao, disciple of Kang YouweiZou Rong, author of The Revolutionary ArmySubao newspaper, newspaper run by anti-Qing revolutionaries out of the Shanghai International SettlementQiu Jin, China’s first feminist and anti-Qing revolutionarySima Qian, Han dynasty historianMao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Revolution and revolutionary communist par excellenceSun Zhongshan/Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Revolutionary AllianceLi Hongzhang, high level Chinese statesman and advocate of self-strengthening (episode 5)Support the show

In the face of foreign aggression and natural disaster, masses of Chinese people turn to traditional folk religion and martial arts to attempt to throw out the imperialists.A couple sources for reading more, and which I used in preparing this episode:Joseph Esherick, The Origins of the Boxer UprisingPaul Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and MythSome names from this episode:Wang Lun, leader of White Lotus rebellion in the 18th centuryEmpress Dowager Cixi, ruler of China during this periodKang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and focus of last episodeEmperor Guangxu, Emperor of China who was put under house arrest by Cixi after attempting to assert his power during the Hundred Days Reform (last episode)Alphonse Favier, Roman Catholic bishop in Beijing who engaged in looting when the Eight-Nation Army occupied Beijing and crushed the BoxersSupport the show

In the wake of the Sino-Japanese War, Kang Youwei works with the Guangxu Emperor to try to replicate Japan's Meiji reforms, before being crushed by Cixi and other Manchu conservatives.At the beginning of the episode, I talk some about how westerners have written about Chinese history. A good book that goes really deep into this is Paul Cohen's Discovering History in China. If you're into that topic, you may also want to read Fabio Lanza's End of Concern: Maoist China, Activism, and Asian Studies.Some names from this episode:Kang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and Qing loyalistEmperor Guangxu, Emperor of China during this episode, tried to assert his power during Hundred Days ReformEmpress Dowager Cixi, the real power behind the throneIto Hirobumi, senior Japanese statesman whose met with Guangxu while Cixi 'sat behind the curtain'Yuan Shikai, leader of Chinese armyRong Lu, conservative Manchu governor of metropolitan region and Cixi loyalistKang Guangren, Kang Youwei's younger brotherOkuma Shigenobu, Japanese prime minister who offered Kang Youwei aidMao Zedong, leader of the Chinese RevolutionSupport the show

This podcast episode covers the Sino-French and Sino-Japanese Wars in Vietnam and Korea. It explores the tributary system in East Asia, the conflict between China and France in Vietnam, and the rise of Japan and its impact on Korea.

The podcast discusses a new book about the civil war in Peru, criticizing its biased portrayal of the Shining Path guerrilla movement. It explores the revolutionary tactics and gender strategies employed by the Shining Path, and critiques the limitations of vitriolic language in historical analysis. The podcast also delves into the Shining Path's approach to revolution and their challenges in the fight for liberation.

This episode focuses on the 1862-1895 period, when the Empress Dowager Cixi ruled and reformers tried to make China strong enough to stand up to foreign powers by modernizing the military and promoting 'new learning.' Also, a few words on the surge in overseas Chinese migration during this time, and its relationship to revolutionary nationalist movements to overthrow the Qing Empire.The books that I quote from in the episode are:Zheng Yangwen, Ten Lessons in Modern Chinese History (https://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719097737/)Stephen Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/131825/autumn-in-the-heavenly-kingdom-by-stephen-r-platt/9780307472212/)Support the show

The episode wraps up the events of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864) and also deals with the events and outcome of the Second Opium War (1856-1860). The Qing Dynasty is weakened and the British, French, American and Russian powers extract new unequal treaties. Then the British help the Qing to put down a peasant-based revolution.Support the show

The strange story of Christian peasant revolutionaries in 19th century China. This episode is about the origins and early years of the Taiping Revolution (1850-1864). Both the early Nationalist revolutionaries, like Sun Yat-sen, and later Communists, like Mao Zedong, were inspired by the peasant war led by Hong Xiuquan. But the Taipings were more than just a very large peasant rebellion, as their leader, Hong, thought he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ.Good resources for more information:Jonathan Spence, God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan (https://wwnorton.com/books/Gods-Chinese-Son/)Stephen Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/131825/autumn-in-the-heavenly-kingdom-by-stephen-r-platt/9780307472212/)Support the show

This is the first of several episodes which will give broad historical background for our upcoming discussion of the Chinese Revolution and the international spread of ideas related to the Chinese Revolution. This episode focuses on the background to and events of the First Opium War (1839-1842). China's defeat in the First Opium War began the Century of Humiliation at the hands of imperialist powers (Britain, France, Russia, Germany, USA, Japan) that ended with the revolution's victory in 1949.Good resources for more information on these events:Zheng Yangwen, The Social Life of Opium in China (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-life-of-opium-in-china/F5A70808CF5B7621B0E949686E90406C)Stephen Platt, Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/221056/imperial-twilight-by-stephen-r-platt/9780345803023/)Support the show