The History of China

It's our 200th(ish) episode! And so we we take to the listeners to answer some of their burning questions about... Daoist gods... Islam in China... The Mandate of Heaven... sacrifices! ... the political expedience of murdering Mongol ambassadors... The Duke ... the names of emperors... technology transfers ... Korean empresses... and more!

It's our 200th(ish) episode! And so we take to the listeners to answer some of their burning questions about... Daoist gods... Islam in China... The Mandate of Heaven... sacrifices! ... the political expedience of murdering Mongol ambassadors... The Duke ... the names of emperors... technology transfers ... Korean empresses... and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don't understand! Chen Youliang coulda had class! He coulda been a contender! He coulda been somebody... instead of a bum, which is what he is after the fiasco on the waters of Lake Poyang. Let's face it. Time Period Covered: 1360-1363 CE Major Historical Figures: State of Ming: Zhu Yuanzhang Commander Hua Yun [d. 1360] Han Lin'er, "Emperor of Song" General Kang Maocai General Xu Da General Hu Dahai [d. 1361] General Shao Rong [d. 1361] State of Han: Emperor Chen Youliang [r. 1360-1363] General Chen Yuren Xu Shouhui, "Emperor" of Tianwan [d. 1360] State of Wu: Zhang Shicheng Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur Prince Chaghan Temur [d. 1361] Köke Temur (Wang Baobao) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don't understand! Chen Youliang coulda had class! He coulda been a contender! He coulda been somebody... instead of a bum, which is what he is after the fiasco on the waters of Lake Poyang. Let's face it. Time Period Covered: 1360-1363 CE Major Historical Figures: State of Ming: Zhu Yuanzhang Commander Hua Yun [d. 1360] Han Lin'er, "Emperor of Song" General Kang Maocai General Xu Da General Hu Dahai [d. 1361] General Shao Rong [d. 1361] State of Han: Emperor Chen Youliang [r. 1360-1363] General Chen Yuren Xu Shouhui, "Emperor" of Tianwan [d. 1360] State of Wu: Zhang Shicheng Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur Prince Chaghan Temur [d. 1361] Köke Temur (Wang Baobao)

When Ögedei dies in late 1241, the empire must choose a successor before it can move forward. In spite of the late Khan determining in advance that it should be his grandson, his empress has other ideas - namely, installing her own irascible son, Güyük, instead. This raises more than a few eyebrows, especially from the Lord of the Golden Horde (and Güyük's personal nemesis) Batu Khan. He'll spend then next 5 years doing absolutely everything in his power to prevent Güyüks' enthronement. And so, when Güyük is finally installed... is it any surprise that he'll seek to get even on his hated cousin? Their looking showdown on the fields of Dzungaria will set the stage for a truly unpredictable series of events, that will leave the Mongol Empire altered forever... (NOTE: This is Part 1 of a Bonus Episode! Get the rest, and all other bonus content by subscribing via patreon.com/thehistoryofchina Time Period Covered: 1242-1254 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Temuge Otchigin, Genghis Khan's youngest brother, Prince of the Hearth [1168-1246] House Ögedei: *Ögedei Khaghan [r. 1232-1241] Toregene Khatun [r. 1242-1246] Güyük Khaghan [r. 1246-1248] Oghul Khaimish Khatun [r. 1248-1251] Prince Shiremun [d. 1251] Prince Khodan [d. 1246] Lady Fatima [d. 1246] House Tolui: *Tolui Otchigin [1191-1232] Sorkhakhtani Beki [1190-1252] Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259] Prince Khubilai Prince Hulagu Prince Ariq Boke General Menggesar, Noyan Companion of Mongke House Jochi: *Jochi [c. 1182-1225] Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde [1205-1255] Major Sources Cited: De Nicola, Bruno. “Regents and Empresses: Women’s Rule In the Mongols’ World Empire” in Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335. Hamadani, Rashid-al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Dowson, John (tr.) Juvaini, Ata-Malik. History of the World Conqueror. (tr. John Andrew Boyle). Kim, Hodong. “A Reappraisal of Güyüg Khan” in Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomand and the Sedentary World. Man, John. Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China. McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: This Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. Onon, Urgunge (tr.). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. Rockhill, William Woodville (tr.). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian de Carpine. Rossabi, Morris. “The Reigns of Ogodei and Guyug” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

When Ögedei dies in late 1241, the empire must choose a successor before it can move forward. In spite of the late Khan determining in advance that it should be his grandson, his empress has other ideas - namely, installing her own irascible son, Güyük, instead. This raises more than a few eyebrows, especially from the Lord of the Golden Horde (and Güyük's personal nemesis) Batu Khan. He'll spend then next 5 years doing absolutely everything in his power to prevent Güyüks' enthronement. And so, when Güyük is finally installed... is it any surprise that he'll seek to get even on his hated cousin? Their looking showdown on the fields of Dzungaria will set the stage for a truly unpredictable series of events, that will leave the Mongol Empire altered forever... (NOTE: This is Part 1 of a Bonus Episode! Get the rest, and all other bonus content by subscribing via patreon.com/thehistoryofchina Time Period Covered: 1242-1254 CE Major Historical Figures: Mongol Empire: Temuge Otchigin, Genghis Khan's youngest brother, Prince of the Hearth [1168-1246] House Ögedei: *Ögedei Khaghan [r. 1232-1241] Toregene Khatun [r. 1242-1246] Güyük Khaghan [r. 1246-1248] Oghul Khaimish Khatun [r. 1248-1251] Prince Shiremun [d. 1251] Prince Khodan [d. 1246] Lady Fatima [d. 1246] House Tolui: *Tolui Otchigin [1191-1232] Sorkhakhtani Beki [1190-1252] Möngke Khaghan [r. 1251-1259] Prince Khubilai Prince Hulagu Prince Ariq Boke General Menggesar, Noyan Companion of Mongke House Jochi: *Jochi [c. 1182-1225] Batu, Khan of the Golden Horde [1205-1255] Major Sources Cited: De Nicola, Bruno. “Regents and Empresses: Women’s Rule In the Mongols’ World Empire” in Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335. Hamadani, Rashid-al-Din. Compendium of Chronicles. Dowson, John (tr.) Juvaini, Ata-Malik. History of the World Conqueror. (tr. John Andrew Boyle). Kim, Hodong. “A Reappraisal of Güyüg Khan” in Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomand and the Sedentary World. Man, John. Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China. McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: This Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. Onon, Urgunge (tr.). The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. Rockhill, William Woodville (tr.). The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55, as narrated by himself, with two accounts of the earlier journey of John of Pian de Carpine. Rossabi, Morris. “The Reigns of Ogodei and Guyug” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368. Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Guard-Captain of the Red Turbans, Zhu Yuanzhang sets his sights on the jewel of the southlands: Nanjing. Once that's in his grasp, he'll truly join the ranks of the top-tier warlords of the era... but when you've elbowed you way up to the head table, don't be surprised if those you bump up against take exception to you shoving them aside... Time Period Covered: 1355-1360 CE Major Historical Figures: Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur (Huizong/Shundi) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370] General Shimo Yisun [d. 1360] Red Turban: Emperor of Song, Han Lin'er, the Little Lord of Light [r. 1351-1367] Guo Zixing [d. 1355] Ming: Guard-Captain Zhu Yuanzhang, "Outstanding Hero" [1328-1398] General Xu Da [1332-1385] General Chang Yüchen General Hu Dahai [d. 1362] Minister Song Lian [1310-1381] Han: King Chen Youliang [1320-1363] Wu: Zhang Shicheng, the "Heaven Blessed" King, Salt-Smuggler Extraordinaire [1321-1367] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Guard-Captain of the Red Turbans, Zhu Yuanzhang sets his sights on the jewel of the southlands: Nanjing. Once that's in his grasp, he'll truly join the ranks of the top-tier warlords of the era... but when you've elbowed you way up to the head table, don't be surprised if those you bump up against take exception to you shoving them aside... Time Period Covered: 1355-1360 CE Major Historical Figures: Yuan Dynasty: Emperor Toghon Temur (Huizong/Shundi) [r. 1333-1368, 1368-1370] General Shimo Yisun [d. 1360] Red Turban: Emperor of Song, Han Lin'er, the Little Lord of Light [r. 1351-1367] Guo Zixing [d. 1355] Ming: Guard-Captain Zhu Yuanzhang, "Outstanding Hero" [1328-1398] General Xu Da [1332-1385] General Chang Yüchen General Hu Dahai [d. 1362] Minister Song Lian [1310-1381] Han: King Chen Youliang [1320-1363] Wu: Zhang Shicheng, the "Heaven Blessed" King, Salt-Smuggler Extraordinaire [1321-1367]

My long-lost conversation with the hosts of the excellent ReConsider Podcast, Xander Snyder & Eric Fogg... now... *Finally* delivered to you!

My long-lost conversation with the hosts of the excellent ReConsider Podcast, Xander and Eric... now *finally* delivered to you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the cataclysmic decade of the 1340s rolls in to the 1350s a planned rerouting of the Yellow River will trigger a massive uprising by what the Yuan authorities call the Red Turban Rebels. But who are they really? What do they believe? Why are they fighting? And how do they tie in with the eventual overthrow of the Mongols from their hegemony over China? Major Historical Figures: Maitreya Buddha, Successor to Gautama Buddha [???] Mani the Last, Prophet of Manichaeism [ca. 216-277 CE] Red Turbans: Peng Yingyu, Buddhist Monk, "Father" of the Red Turbans [d. ca. 1348-1358] Northern: Han Shantong, Lord of Light [d. 1351] Han Lin'er, the Young Lord of Light [1340-1367] General Liu Futong (AKA "Liu Guangshi") [1321-1363] Guo Zixing, Leader of Red Turban Army, Lord of Haozhou [d. 1355] Zhu Yuanzhang, Buddhist mendicant monk, Guard Commander of the Red Turbans [1328-1398] Southern: Xu Shouhui, cloth-merchant, Emperor of Tianwan Kingdom, Maitreya Incarnate [1320-1360] Qing Dynasty: Huang Yupian, Qing Dynasty Magistrate and White Lotus Hunter [mid-19th century] Major Sources Cited: Brook, Timothy. The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Buckley Ebrey, Patricia and Anne Walthall. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I. Chao, Wei-pang. “Secret Religious Societies in North China in the Ming Dynasty” in Folklore Studies, Vol. 7. Farmer, Edward L. Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society following the Era of Mongol Rule. Flower, Theresa. “Millenarian Themes of the White Lotus Society.” Hung, Hing Ming. From the Mongols to the Ming Dynasty: How a Begging Monk Became Emperor of China, Zhu Yuan Zhang. Lin, Wushu. “A Study On Equivalent Names of Manichaeism in Chinese” in Popular Religion and Shamanism. Lin, Wushu. Manichaeism and its Dissemination in the East. Ma, Xisha. “The Syncretism of Maitreyan Belief and Manichaeism in Chinese History” in Popular Religion and Shamanism. Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China: 900-1800. Mote, Frederick W. “The Rise of the Ming Dynasty, 1330-1367” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty. Overmeier, Daniel L. “Folk-Buddhist Religion: Creation and Eschatology in Medieval China” in History of Religions, Vol. 12, No. 1. Shek, Richard. “Religious Dissenters in Ming-Qing China” in Religion and the Early Modern State: Views from China, Russia, and the West. Tan, Chung. Across the Himalayan Gap: An Indian Quest for Understanding China. Ter Haar, B.J. The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History. Wang, Kristen. “Scandalous Tales Behind Nanjing’s 70 Ancient Names” in The Nanjinger, 07/04/2019. Waterson, James. Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars, 1209-1370.

As the cataclysmic decade of the 1340s rolls in to the 1350s a planned rerouting of the Yellow River will trigger a massive uprising by what the Yuan authorities call the Red Turban Rebels. But who are they really? What do they believe? Why are they fighting? And how do they tie in with the eventual overthrow of the Mongols from their hegemony over China? Major Historical Figures: Maitreya Buddha, Successor to Gautama Buddha [???] Mani the Last, Prophet of Manichaeism [ca. 216-277 CE] Red Turbans: Peng Yingyu, Buddhist Monk, "Father" of the Red Turbans [d. ca. 1348-1358] Northern: Han Shantong, Lord of Light [d. 1351] Han Lin'er, the Young Lord of Light [1340-1367] General Liu Futong (AKA "Liu Fangshi") [1321-1363] Guo Zixing, Leader of Red Turban Army, Lord of Haozhou [d. 1355] Zhu Yuanzhang, Buddhist mendicant monk, Guard Commander of the Red Turbans [1328-1398] Southern: Xu Shouhui, cloth-merchant, Emperor of Tianwan Kingdom, Maitreya Incarnate [1320-1360] Qing Dynasty: Huang Yupian, Qing Dynasty Magistrate and White Lotus Hunter [mid-19th century] Major Sources Cited: Brook, Timothy. The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Buckley Ebrey, Patricia and Anne Walthall. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I. Chao, Wei-pang. “Secret Religious Societies in North China in the Ming Dynasty” in Folklore Studies, Vol. 7. Farmer, Edward L. Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society following the Era of Mongol Rule. Flower, Theresa. “Millenarian Themes of the White Lotus Society.” Hung, Hing Ming. From the Mongols to the Ming Dynasty: How a Begging Monk Became Emperor of China, Zhu Yuan Zhang. Lin, Wushu. “A Study On Equivalent Names of Manichaeism in Chinese” in Popular Religion and Shamanism. Lin, Wushu. Manichaeism and its Dissemination in the East. Ma, Xisha. “The Syncretism of Maitreyan Belief and Manichaeism in Chinese History” in Popular Religion and Shamanism. Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China: 900-1800. Mote, Frederick W. “The Rise of the Ming Dynasty, 1330-1367” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty. Overmeier, Daniel L. “Folk-Buddhist Religion: Creation and Eschatology in Medieval China” in History of Religions, Vol. 12, No. 1. Shek, Richard. “Religious Dissenters in Ming-Qing China” in Religion and the Early Modern State: Views from China, Russia, and the West. Tan, Chung. Across the Himalayan Gap: An Indian Quest for Understanding China. Ter Haar, B.J. The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History. Wang, Kristen. “Scandalous Tales Behind Nanjing’s 70 Ancient Names” in The Nanjinger, 07/04/2019. Waterson, James. Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars, 1209-1370. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My presentation to the 2020 Intelligent Speech Convention, on Women, Minorities, and reading between the bamboo scrolls of history to find the hidden stories. Also with a Q&A session after. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My presentation to the 2020 Intelligent Speech Convention, on Women, Minorities, and reading between the bamboo scrolls of history to find the hidden stories. Also with a Q&A session after.

As Toghon Temur - the eleventh and final Great Khan of the Yuan, takes the throne - the dam holding back the near century of bad decisions back begins to buckle. Things are not helps by a dramatic climate shift, or the outbreak of one of the worst pandemics in human history, either... can we really blame the apocalyptic cults that spring up for thinking it's the end of the world? Time Period Covered: 1333~1344 CE Major Historical Figures: Toghon Temur Khaghan [r. 1333-1368, 1370] Grand Chancellor Bayan Ba'atur of the Merkid [1280-1340] Zhu Yuanzhang [1328-1398]