The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast

Renowned Western sinologist and author on Chinese history, Jonathan Spence, is fondly remembered. Topics discussed include understanding China's past to comprehend the present, comparison between Jonathan Spence and French sinologist Jacques Pompano, China's cultural achievements in the late 16th century, and delving into 'Journey to the West' and other significant works in Chinese history.

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?Support the show

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...Support the show

The orange was originally indigenous to China, and the great poet Qu Yuan wrote an ode to the orange tree back in 314 B.C. Since its earliest cultivation in China, the fruit has become ubiquitous around the world. And the various names that different languages have for it can tell us a surprising amount about history.Support the show

Current events remind me of two stories from ancient China.First, a philosophical argument from an ancient Chinese equivalent of a Sophist from the Warring States Era reasoning that "a white horse is not a horse."Second, a notorious incident from the Qin Dynasty during which a chancellor displayed his total power by demanding others to pretend that a stag was in fact a horse.Why does the news make me think of these stories? That's up to you.Support the show

As another example of our common human culture, here's a compendium of Chinese and Tibetan folk stories that just may share sources with their Western counterparts.Support the show

Culminating our series on Chinese national heroes, we tell the history-changing story of Zheng Chenggong, known in Western sources as "Koxinga," literally "Lord Imperial Surname."Born in 1624 to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father who happened to be the greatest pirate in the Pacific, Koxinga was just old enough to stand and be counted when, in 1644, the Ming Dynasty began collapsing all around him. With the Chongzhen Emperor dead in Beijing and the Manchu cavalry having breached the Great Wall, what remained of the Ming regime withdrew to southern China and fought desperately for survival. Amidst the chaos, after the Manchus killed his mother and imprisoned his father, Koxinga swore eternal vengeance against the Manchus and undying loyalty to the Ming. An energetic military leader, he soon became the Ming's last best hope for restoration, at one point retaking a large swath of central China.By 1661, though, Koxinga had concluded that the areas he controlled on China's southeastern coast were insufficient for his purposes, and his position on the Mainland had grown untenable. He needed a new base, and he looked eastward to Taiwan, at this time administered by Dutch colonists. His landing outside the city of Tainan and his victory over the Dutch are now often considered Taiwan's founding moment, when the island inexorably began a new historical path leading to today...Support the show

In our continuing series on Chinese historical figures regarded as national heroes, we look at the life of the 13th century statesman Wen Tianxiang.Born in 1236 into a beleaguered Southern Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang enjoyed early recognition for his keen intellect and a rapid rise through the Song bureaucracy eventually to become chancellor. Unfortunately for him, during that same time, the Mongol Empire expanded from Mongolia all the way to Europe. Although it held out against the Mongols for a remarkably long time, by 1279 the Song had completely collapsed.After leading an unsuccessful last-ditch struggle against the Mongols, Wen Tianxiang found himself their prisoner. But Kublai Khan had adopted a policy of amnesty for former Song officials, many of whom he eagerly hired to help him administer his new territory. The top man Kublai wanted working for him was none other than Wen Tianxiang.But Wen proved to be another exemplar of that Confucian virtue of undying fidelity. Over four years of imprisonment, despite Kublai's repeated offers of the highest of positions and a life of luxury, Wen Tianxiang refused to serve the Mongols, asking only death. After Wen had written some of the most moving poetry of Chinese literature from his prison cell, and after Kublai finally exhausted his patience, the Mongols granted him his wish. And Wen Tianxiang won his place in the pantheon of Chinese national heroes.Support the show

Over the centuries, Chinese civilization has produced a number of figures who have entered the pantheon of national heroes. Perhaps none is more famous than Yue Fei (1103-42).As the great defender of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei repeatedly beat back the Jurchen or Jin invaders who swept down from the north. As a notable poet, he left Chinese literature with arguably its most resonant statement on patriotism.Finally, Yue Fei is remembered as an embodiment of the Confucian virtue of undying fidelity. When corrupt Song courtiers conspired with the Jurchens and convinced the Song emperor that his greatest general intended treason, the emperor urgently recalled Yue Fei. Even knowing that the recall was the product of treachery and that to return was to accept execution, Yue Fei welcomed his fate, because his emperor willed it so.In the centuries since, Yue Fei has secured an unshakeable place in the Chinese imagination as the paragon of patriotism and loyalty. The people have mythologized him as an epic hero, and in some temples they even worship him like a god. And his example has served as the template for heroes to come.Support the show

"The Children of the Red and the Yellow" is a phrase one stumbles upon from time to time when listening to the Chinese talk about themselves, particularly since the construction of modern Chinese nationalism starting in the late 19th century.The phrase refers to China's foundation myth. Some 4,700 years ago, so the story goes, the Red Emperor, the leader of a confederation of ancient tribes, bowed to the Yellow Emperor, the leader of another confederation. The new combined group of tribes under the Yellow Emperor then fought yet another group led by a great warrior called Chi You. The Yellow Emperor's triumph and Chi You's defeat is often remembered as a sort of founding moment for the civilization that became China. It's what Chinese people are referring to when they brag about their country's "5,000 years of history."In the millennia since then, different ethnic groups in the vast area roughly corresponding to China have variously traced their origins to these mythic figures. The Han Chinese say they're children of the Red Emperor and the Yellow Emperor, but so did the Khitan people who ruled northern China from the 10th to the early 12th centuries. The Miao, a minority group stretching from southern China into Southeast Asia and including the Hmong, claim descent from Chi You.Is there any truth to the ancient myth? Who knows. And does it really matter? As long as people believe in a myth, it leaves its imprint on the reality of our world, doesn't it?Support the show