The China History Podcast » Podcast Feed

In this episode we commence our Chinese imperial dynasty overview. It begins today with the Xia Dynasty 夏朝代. According to historiographer Sima Qian, this was the first dynasty of China. It's origins and its demise and everything in between have all come from sources written many centuries later. For this reason and for reasons of lack of archaeological evidence, the Xia is called a "legendary dynasty" of China.

Li Ka-shing is a Hong Kong billionaire tycoon who has played a great role in not only Hong Kong's prosperity but in China’s as well. He is respected not only for his achievements in business and industry but also for his rise from humble beginnings in Chaozhou, China.

This week we take a break from the history. Laszlo answers listener questions concerning Chinese language and history. Listeners are encouraged to send a comment, question or suggestion for a topic.

Kang Sheng 康生 was a sinister character from modern Chinese history who was both Chairman Mao's close confidant and creator of China's Secret Police.

Kublai Khan (忽必烈汗）was a great 13th Century Mongol Khan who also went down in history as one of China's greatest emperors. He ruled during a great golden age in China. It was this warrior and emperor who received Marco Polo at his magnificent palace.

February 1972 "The week that changed the world". We pick up where we left off last week with President Nixon's historic visit to the PRC.

Thirty-eight years ago President Nixon visited Peking, as it was called then, and jump started the normalization of relations between the two great nations of The United States and the People's Republic of China. This was a story that played out over three years and culminated in one of the great geopolitical media events of the 20th century.

This week we look at the Tang dynasty Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman from Chinese history to rule China as an emperor in her own name.