The History of China Podcast

An audio journey through the 5000 year history of one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.

The History of China Podcast is a history podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 368 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The History of China Podcast, a history show with 368 episodes published.

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  The History of China Podcast

  #342 - Taiping 19: Approved In the Margins

  Aug 15, 202651 min

  A man disguised as a peddler stands on the bank of the Yangtze watching a British fleet go past, and tries to hitch a ride to Nanjing. He's been trying to reach the rebel capital for 6 years now, and this is the closest he's gotten. He’s told “no” … again. So he picks himself up once more and just keeps walking. He’ll get there eventually. And once he does, within three weeks he’ll be made the Shield King – the 2nd most powerful man in the Taiping Kingdom… on paper, at least. Time Period Covered: 1858–1859 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Hong Rengan, the Shield King [1822–1864] Chen Yucheng, the Brave King [1837–1862] Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King [1823–1864] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Great Britain: James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin [1811–1863] Thomas Francis Wade, interpreter [1818–1895] Missionaries & Observers: Theodore Hamberg [1819–1854] James Legge [1815–1897] Karl Marx [1818–1883] Great Qing: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861] Magistrate Tan of Huangmei Major Works Cited: Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I, II & III. Oliphant, Laurence. Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan in the Years 1857, '58, '59. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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  The History of China Podcast

  #341 - Taiping 18_ Titles of the Dead

  Aug 8, 202641 min

  In the Heavenly capital of Nanjing, a government that’s now mostly murdered has to be restaffed… somehow. And so their old titles are simply dusted off and re-distributed who whoever’s still left standing. Meanwhile, the men out actually running the war have learned that there’s no use in waiting for the paperwork or permission… neither are coming. They hold their own conference, swear their own oath, and decide to prosecute the war on their own from here on out, regardless of what Nanjing might think about that arrangement. Time Period Covered: 1857–1858 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Chen Yucheng [1837–1862] Li Xiucheng [1823–1864] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861] Li Shixian [1834–1865] Yang Fuqing Wei Jun Lin Qirong, commander of Jiujiang garrison [d. 1858] Wu Dinggui, commander of Sanhe garrison Great Qing: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan [1811–1872] Zeng Guohua [1822–1858] Zeng Guobao Hu Linyi [1812–1861] Zhang Guoliang [1810–1860] Hechun [d. 1860] Dexing'e (Duxing'a) Li Xubin [1818–1858] Major Works Cited: Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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  The History of China Podcast

  #340 - Taiping 17: Out of Kings

  Aug 2, 202648 min

  The Heavenly Kingdom, having recently killed kings three and four of its founding five – and misplaced the fifth – attempts to solve its acute leadership shortage. To that end, the Heavenly King turns to his own blood, promoting his brothers – both military novices – and handing supreme military authority to the upjumped royal harem-staffing administrator. Meanwhile, up his own backwater Jiangxi creek, the one man of Great Qing capable of destroying the rebels is finally handed a paddle by his enemies’ infighting... and promptly goes home to bury his father. Two governments, two indispensable men, and one season in which both of them simply choose to walk away. Time Period Covered: 1856–1857 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Hong Renfa, the Peace King [d. 1864] Hong Renda, the Blessings King [d. 1864] Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861] Chen Yucheng [1837–1862] Li Xiucheng [1823–1864] Yang Xiuqing, the East King [d. 1856] Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856] Nien Zhang Luoxing, Lord of the Alliance [1811–1863] Li Zhaoshou [d. 1881] Qing The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan [1811–1872] Zeng Guohua [1822–1858] Hu Linyi [1812–1861] Major Works Cited: Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.

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  The History of China Podcast

  #337 - Taiping 14: Tears Enough to Swell the River

  Jul 13, 202641 min

  Three months after the biggest win of his life, Zeng Guofan tries to drown himself. Again. His fleet gets ambushed, split in half, & set ablaze by a 23-year-old nobody bothered to worry about – right up until he became the guy everybody worried about. The reward for surviving all that? A "promotion" in-name only... with no province, no funds, no friends, and a bureaucracy that somehow finds the – time mid-civil-war – to mock him personally. He loses his flagship, his files, his seal of command, and even a friend. And all the while, a much bigger disaster is assembling itself in Nanjing, completely without his input... Time Period Covered: Dec. 1854–Apr. 1856 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856] Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Lin Qirong, Taiping commander of Jiujiang Luo Dagang, Taiping commander of Meijiazhou and Hukou Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Taqibu, Manchu commander of the Xiang Army's land forces [d. 1855] Peng Yulin, co-founder of the Xiang Army's naval forces [1816–1890] Hu Linyi, Xiang Army commander, later Governor of Hubei Chen Qimai, Governor of Jiangxi Tao Enpei, Governor of Hubei [d. 1855] Zuo Zongtang [1812–1885] Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Audio Backing Courtesy of: TabletopAudio CLS Productions

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  The History of China Podcast

  #336 - Taiping 13: The Order of Caps and Shoes

  Jul 7, 202640 min

  Zeng Guofan goes to war to defend a fixed universe – and nearly drowns proving how unfixed his own place in it actually is. Across a single year, Hunan's most unlikely general brutally finds out that he is indeed no warrior, and consequentially must rebuild a river fleet from nothing... all while the Taiping's own capital is spared only my a mix-up with the date. By December, the Yangtze has changed hands – and a nervous throne has just learned exactly how dangerous a loyal army, and the man who built it, can become... and exactly how briefly gratitude lasts. Time Period Covered: Feb. – Dec. 1854 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856] Wei Changhui, the North King [1823–1856] Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Taqibu, Manchu commander of the Xiang Army's land forces [d. 1855] Peng Yulin, co-founder of the Xiang Army's naval forces [1816–1890] Zhang Shoulin, aide who pulled Zeng Guofan from the Xiang River at Jinggang Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.

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