The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast

Certain literary figures loom so large in Chinese culture that they substantial define the nature of that culture for all posterity, not to mention live in eternal acclaim.One such figure is Su Shi, also know by his nom de plume Su Dongpo, "Dongpo" meaning "Eastern Slope."Su Shi lived during the Northern Song Dynasty in the 11th century. Though he came from arguably the most distinguished literary family of his time, he suffered disappointment after disappointment in his career as a mandarin.And, in the end, he earned immortality not through his political career but through literature and art, as a poet and an essayist, and (maybe) even through contributions to Chinese cuisine.Support the show

He's known by several different titles: the Marquis of Haihun, the Prince of Changyi, and Emperor Feidi of the Han Dynasty.Sadly for him, "Feidi" means "the abolished emperor."This is the story of the man who sat on the throne for all of 27 days before getting fired. But it's also the story of the famous minister, Huo Guang, who held such sway at court that he could dethrone the emperor at will.Support the show

The time: May, 1645.  The place: the city of Yangzhou, not far northeast of the capital of the surviving Southern Ming government, Nanjing. A year earlier, Manchu cavalry had swept south from Manchuria to take Beijing. As far as history books are concerned, the Qing Dynasty already replaced the Ming. But Ming loyalists still gathered in the south, determined to resist the "barbarians." And now the Qing army has reached Yangzhou.The Minister of Defense of the Southern Ming, a rectitudinous man named Shi Kefa, now personally took command of the Yangzhou's defenses. What followed was a battle--and also a massacre--that will go down in Chinese history as one of the most memorable and infamous.Support the show

One man spearheaded the effort in the early 20th century to modernize the Chinese language. One man revolutionized the study of Chinese literature and philosophy. One man served as the Chinese ambassador to Washington during the pivotal days before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor.The same man. His name was Hu Shih.Support the show

With each example being over 3,000 years old, it's the oldest form of Chinese writing yet discovered. But the "oracle bones" bearing this script went unrecognized through the centuries. It was not until the end of the 19th century when an imperial mandarin finally understood their significance and, in so doing, expanded our understanding of Chinese history.Support the show

Country. State. Nation. English has three different words for three closely related but distinct concepts. Chinese makes do with a single character, 國, pronounced "guo."And historically "guo" has been applied to very different entities: The various Warring States were called "guo," as were fiefdoms and duchies contained within the empire, as were distant foreign countries like Persia.Moreover, particularly in connection with the controversial contemporary question of what is and isn't part of China, it's worth remembering that large swathes of what is now considered China were for centuries their own "guo" of one sort or another. The ancient kingdom of Minyue, for example, occupied more or less present Fujian Province for centuries. And even now memories of its past independence remain as folklore.Support the show

The Parisian life of the man who taught Europeans how to speak Chinese... and inspired Montesquieu. Support the show

Unfortunately for learners of Chinese as a foreign language, it is quite difficult.One major reason for its difficulty is that the language is packed with allusions to the ancient past. These may be in fixed forms as "chengyu" or as quotations or stories from history that one is simply expected to know.Here are a few illustrative examples that I recently encountered.Support the show

News coming out of Mariupol in Ukraine reminds me of an episode from the Second Sino-Japanese War, what eventually became a part of WWII.As the Chinese military was forced to withdraw from Shanghai in the face of a superior Japanese army in October 1937, one regiment stayed behind to guard a strategically located warehouse to cover the retreat. Soon, "the Eight Hundred Brave Warriors" became a rallying cry for the Chinese for the remainder of the war. Even today, their story lives on. But of course it has become more myth than fact, more propaganda than truth. And unfortunate details and tragic codas are largely forgotten.Support the show

“A man loses his horses, and yet who is to say whether it is benefit or bane?”It's a common Chinese proverb, and it refers to a fable contained in Huai Nan Zi, a Han Dynasty book of Daoist thought written by a prince of the imperial family and his group of friends.The fable has had a long and varied life. It has been quoted, or misquoted, in texts and media from the book "The Biggest Bluff" by Maria Konnikova to the film "Charlie Wilson's War" written by Aaron Sorkin. It seems to me to echo the Book of Job in the Bible. It's applicable to the ethical theory of utilitarianism. And it helps us put into perspective all that goes on in the world of politics and policy, from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Support the show