The China History Podcast

For this 301st CHP episode, we cover some more great Overseas Chinese history. Rather than biting off more than I could chew by taking on the bigger story of Chinese emigration to the Caribbean, the focus will be on the island nation of Jamaica. The Chinese Jamaican story is another Hakka story. Contained in this episode is just one sliver of the history of this great and musical nation. I hope this episode piques your interest. If you want to learn more about Jamaica you're in luck. Lots of great resources out there. I hope I can visit there one day and see it for myself. I flipped a coin to decide what pronunciation of "Caribbean" I would use for the episode. Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all fellow Yanks. Roifield Brown’s “How Jamaica Conquered the World”: https://open.spotify.com/show/53GxTOmpv0VLsIY426KYa8?si=f6eacb5b996a40d8&nd=1 Byron Lee and the Dragonaires: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1akUOJhf77cbKJveLHgxpy?si=7vj-VPKAQMyBj0GYXMtPKg&nd=1 VP Records: https://www.vprecords.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prominent figure in the history of Chinese alchemy, Ge Hong, discusses the history of Chinese alchemy, notable alchemists and works, and emperors who died from alchemical poisoning.

Explore the history of Chinese alchemy and its pursuit of immortality. Learn about alchemical furnaces, unintended discoveries, and Emperor Wu's quest for immortality. Discover the involvement of emperors in Han Dynasty alchemy and the production of alchemical gold. Mention of Liu Xiang and a teaser for part two of the episode.

I'm happy to welcome Dr. Brandon Gauthier onto the CHP. His new book, just out, "Before Evil" looks at the early lives of six dictators: Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, and Kim Il-Sung. In this discussion, we'll mainly look at Mao's early life. Despite only focusing on one of the six dictators, this lively chat runs for about an hour. Since I've never presented Mao in a standalone series, this is a nice talk about a topic not covered in any previous CHP episode. Link to purchase "Before Evil": https://www.amazon.com/dp/1948954613/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_X4V152TM2M5EA3N0F1G3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is another listener request. In fact, Homer Lea's been requested regularly throughout the years. He's more of a footnote from history than actual history itself. Homer's story is kind of unique because of the stumbling blocks life threw his way. He didn't live long but in his short life he got to witness a lot and be a sort of "fly on the wall" to some of the great moments in Revolutionary Chinese history that we're all so familiar with. So let's go relive those years from 1908 to 1912 and the walk-on roles Homer Lea got to play as history unfolded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laszlo welcomes Scripps College professor of music Dr. Hao Huang onto the CHP to discuss the stories of Jewish musicians from Germany and Austria who fled Europe and ended up in Shanghai. This is a companion episode to the six-part series on the Jewish Refugees in Shanghai (Episodes 208-213). Professor Huang discusses the trials and tribulations these musicians faced, stories of their survival, and the great legacy many of them left behind in China. GREAT BIG thanks go out to: CINEVISION GLOBAL INC for allowing us to use a sample of the original Chinese version of Rose, Rose I Love You, better known as Shanghai Rose. The Exilarte Center at the MDW - the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna for allowing us to use an audio sample of the Wolfgang Fraenkel, Drei Orchesterlieder / Three Orchestral Songs (1941) that composer Fraenkel wrote while he was in Shanghai Youtube channel Onkel Greifenklau for allowing us to use a sample of violinist Alfred Wittenberg the Allegro molto from Mozart's String Quartet in G Major (Wittenberg-Quartet) Youtube channel Musicprof78 for allowing us to use a sample of Frankie Laine's version of Rose, Rose I Love you.  and Micah Huang for sound production. Check out Michah Huang and Emma Geiss at https://www.theflowerpistilsmusic.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we will finish up this overview of the relations between Rome and China. The Roman Empire in the West ended in 476. In this Part 2 episode, we'll look at relations between the Byzantine Empire and China during the Tang, Song, and Yuan. As you'll soon discover the Nestorians and then later the Catholics led by John of Montecorvino dominated official and unofficial relations between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Empire of China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is sort of a strange topic. In Part 1 we'll look at the early history that took place between the Han Dynasty and the Western Roman Empire. Before we tuck into the chicken ribs that are Sino-Roman Relations, I'll introduce you to the far-out theory that Professor Homer Dubs came up with in the 1950s. A lot of people swear this happened. Then we'll look at the famous Gan Ying mission of 97 AD and take it from there. In Part 2 we'll look at the events that happened mostly during the Byzantine Empire. Don't forget, to hear these episodes nice and early without commercials, sign up for CHP Premium here: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the title sounds familiar, that's because this is a new version of an old episode from 2014 that got pulled from the CHP back catalog. But here it is, newly recorded and enhanced. This episode looks at the Ma family of soldiers and warlords in the northwest provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai. Their story began in the last years of the Dungan Revolt and concluded with the victory of the Chinese Communists in 1949. Please check the website for a cheat sheet that lists all names used in this episode. There are a lot of characters surnamed Ma in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Documentarian and podcaster James Harper of Filter Stories has joined up with history professor Jonathan Morris to produce a nice, short but sweet, six-part series that looks at the history of this aromatic psychoactive seed that, like tea, played no small part in changing the world. If you liked the tea history series, I warmly welcome you to go check this one out from James and Jonathan that examines the impact of the coffee trade on world history.  Behind that goodness that many of us enjoy once or several times daily, there’s a centuries-long history that is both fascinating and at times, quite dark. Like with the history of tea, many people in the first links of the coffee supply chain faced all manners of little-known human suffering. I invite you to listen. Only six episodes. Enjoy it with your morning cuppa. Did you know coffee is also produced in China? Yeah, the PRC is one of the top 20 producers in the world. Almost all the coffee in China is overwhelmingly grown in Yunnan Province, the same place where the original tea gardens existed thousands and thousands of years ago. You can learn all about this too in A History of Coffee. Links to the show can be found in the episode show notes. CHECK "A HISTORY OF COFFEE" OUT IN YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP OR AT THE WEBSITE: HTTPS://FILTERSTORIES.ORG Listen at: https://bit.ly/2NArChO Filter Stories Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-china-history-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices