The History of China

While dying emperors, shifting policies, and vindictive princes keep the capital busy, Admiral Zheng He will manage to sneak in on last joy-ride into the sunset aboard his beloved Treasure Fleet...Time Period Covered:1424-1435 CEMajor Historical Figures:The Hongxi Emperor (Zhu Gaochi) [r. 1424-1425]The Xuande Emperor (Zhu Zhanji) [r. 1425-1435]Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han [1380-1426]Zhu Gaosui, the Prince of Zhao [1383-1431]Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zheng He's Treasure Fleet finally arrives on the African coast, and the Yongle Emperor celebrates the apex of his reign with the grand opening of Beijing and the Forbidden City. But dark clouds continue to build, but in the emperor's aged, troubled mind, and literally on the horizon... a storm is coming...Time Period Covered:1416-1424 CEMajor Historical Figures:The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]The Noble Consort Zhaoxian, née Wang [d. ca. 1420]Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435]Mirza Sharukh, Sultan of the Timurid Dynasty [r. 1405-1447]Major Works Cited:Chan, Hok-lam. “The Yung-lo reign” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Pt. I.Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433.Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having laid waste to the once glorious city of Baghdad, Hulegu Ilkhan now sets his sights east of the Euphrates, to the fertile lands of Syria and Egypt beyond. But what's to follow will set of a momentous clash in Galilee, at a spring called Ain Jalut, that will shake the very fundaments of history...Time Period Covered:1258-1260 CEMajor Historical Figures:Mongol Empire:Mongke KhaghanKhubilai IlkhanAriq BokeIlkhanate:Hulegu IlkhanGeneral BaijuGeneral KitbuqaAyyubid Dynasty:al-Muzzam Turanshahal-Malik al-Nasir Yusufal-Azizal-Zayn al-HafiziMamluks:Saif ad-Din QutuzBaybars al Bunduqdari, "The Great Lord Panther"European Christendom:King Louis IX of FranceBohemond V of AntiochBohemond VI of AntiochKing Hethum I of CiliciaMajor Sources Cited:Amitai, Reuven. Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk Ilkhanate War, 1260-1281.Amitai, Reuven. “An Exchange of Letters in Arabic Between Abakha Ilkhan and Sultan Baybars (A.H. 667/A.D. 1268-69)” in Central Asiatic Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1.Gillespie, Alexander. Causes of War, Volume II: 1000 CE to 1400 CE.Grousset, René. Empire of the Steppes: A history of Central Asia.Subani, Hamad. The Secret History of Iran.Richard, Jean. The Crusades, C.1071-1291.Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades, Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades.Tschanz, David W. “History’s Hinge: ‘Ain Jalut” in Saudi Aramco World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The treasure Fleet goes on missions 2-4, resulting in increasingly strange, valuable, and even divine gifts being presented to Great Ming.Time Period Covered:1407-1415 CEMajor Historical FiguresMing:Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]Admiral Zheng He [1371-1435]Commodore Yang Min Ma Huan, translator & chronicler [1380-1460]Kingdom of Malacca:King Parameswara [r. 1402-1414]Major Works Cited:Chan, Hok-lam. “The Yung-lo reign” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Pt. I.Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433.Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Kéramos” in Keramos and Other Poems: A Book of Sonnets, Part II.U.N. Museum. “Nanjing pagoda – Seven wonders of the medieval world.” www.unmuseum.orgHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A live retelling (wart & all) of Genghis Khan's invasion of Khwarazmia ca. 1221, and the doomed flight of all who stood against his wrath... followed by a Q&A. From the 2021 Intelligent Speech Conference! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There once was a fleet that put to seaAll in name of the Imperial MingWith phoenix sterns, & dragon prowsOh go, my baochuan, go!Soon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goCommanded by an admiralSo tall he seem unnaturalHis voice rang out like temple bellTo get those treasures stowedSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goThey sailed the southern seas so vastThey’d catch the wind with all nine mastsAstrologers would watch the skiesFrom Champa to GuangzhouSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goBut on wave-crest a Pirate LordHe spied the fleet and greedily roared“Make ready all your cannon shot,We’ll take all their cargo!”Soon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goThrough flame and smoke they battled onTil in a flash a month was goneThe Pirate Lord would taste defeatHis ships sunk deep belowSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goAt last they came to Indian shoresIn search of spice and jewels and moreThe deal was struck, with solemn vowTo pay all that was owedSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goBut homeward bound the skies grew dimThe winds did howl, their fate seemed grimThe sailors prayed, “Help us, Tianfei!”The masts began to glowSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goThe Goddess heard their earnest pleasShe stilled the waves & calmed the breezeThe sailors gave their sober thanksShe’s spared them from their woeSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & goSoon may the Treasure Fleet moorTo bring ceramics & silk galoreOne day, when the trading is doneThey’ll take our spice & go Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zheng He & Co. have left the station and are sailing out! They leave the safety of the Yangtze River and set their compasses southbound and down, first to Fujian, then to Vietnam, Java, Sri Lanka, and finally all the way to India, all in the name of trade and riches. But the return journey will turn out to be anything but a pleasure-cruise. Between pirate raiders adn deadly storms, they might need a miracle to pull this off...Time Period Covered:1405-1407 CEMajor Historical Figures:Grand Admiral Zheng He [1371-1433/5]Chen Zuyi, Pirate Lord Extraordinaire [d. 1407]Ma Huan, Chinese Muslim translator & chronicler [1380-1460]Major Sources Cited:Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.Pregadio, Fabrizio (2004). The Encyclopedia of Taoism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the aftermath of a massacre entail, on the world stage?CIA Memo 6/10/89 - Begins: 2:25US Beijing Embassy Cable 7/11/89 - Begins: 6:05 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this darkest of timelines, flickers of remembrance are more precious than ever... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Yongle Emperor decides it's time for Great Ming to bust out its swim trunks and its flippy-floppies... because he's going to make the biggest, bestest oceanic fleet of awesomesauce that the world has ever seen! And put in command is his trusted, tried-and-true battle-buddy: the Grand Admiral Zheng He!Time Period Covered:1371-1405 CESignificant Historical Figures:The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) [r. 1402-1424]Grand Admiral Zheng He (né Ma He) [1371-1433]Tianfei, the Goddess of the Sea and Patron Protector of Sailors [eternal]Sources Cited:Chan, Hok-lam. “The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-xi, Hsüan-te Reigns” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part I.Levathes, Louise. The China Ruled the Seas:The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433.Paterson, Erik T. “James Lind, Zheng He and the Prevention of Scurvy” in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices