Chinese Revolutions: A History Podcast

Definition of Revolution We'll Be Using

Here, we’re going to discuss the definition of “revolution.” It’s too easy to look at the CPC and think that’s what the revolution produced. No, there were other Chinese revolutions, and before we look at what THOSE were, we’ll look at what revolutions are.

Inspiration for this Podcast

Before I get away into my own program too much, I owe a debt of inspiration to the Revolutions podcast by Mi...

Chinese Revolutionary Forerunners

We’re going to go back into history and look at some of the precursors to revolutions that we’ll be covering in our podcast. It wasn’t like somebody woke up one day and decided to throw a nice revolution and the whole nation came, there are precedents in Chinese history for revolution.

About the "Mandate of Heaven"

In this podcast, we're just going to call it "political legitimacy." If a government...

Setting the Stage for Chinese Revolutions

We’re going to set the stage, explore a little of the world that is to change, when the revolutionary fun gets going.

Geography of China and Chinese History

Chinese geography shaped what connections with the outside world were possible. When the British and other Europeans roll up on the Chinese coast, it's pretty much the one place they were likely to meet.

Chinese Land Barriers

• Tibeta...

Books Behind the Podcast

I'm going to introduce some of the books that gave me the foundational ideas and impressions for this podcast.

Also, in this podcast, the intro and outro music is the anthem "China Heroically Stands in the Universe" because it's the best-sounding of Chinese revolutionary anthems that I could find in the era before the founding of the PRC.

Books on American Connections to China Stilwell and the American Expe...

Before the Opium War: The Beginning of Trouble

If you’re asking, “Why are things like this?” it’s too late to understand. Let’s do better than that.

Starting with some stories of incidents to illustrate what’s in play as the Qing Dynasty loses its “homeostasis.”

We’re going to start with looking at the Flint Affair of 1759 and the Macartney Mission of 1793—at or near the peak of Qing power and the British still trying to go through...

The East India Company

In this episode, we are answering why the British government was in a position to be sending military force to China in 1839.

The short answer: the East India Company and trade with the East vital to British national security.

Founding of the East India Company and Monopoly

Francis Drake and other English adventurers discovered possibilities when they went out raiding the Spanish and Portuguese. In 1599, Quee...

Foreign Trade at Canton and the Foreign Settlement

As we get up to the Taiping Rebellion, we're looking at the Opium Wars as the historical background. In this episode, pay attention to the ordinary Chinese in and around foreign traders.

Portuguese Macau

In 1554, the Portuguese formally rented Macau from the Ming Dynasty. It was the foreign foothold right on the Chinese coast, the one place that held up in the transition from the M...

Chinese Historical Context: So What Changes in All These Revolutions?

This episode is a Wikipedia-fueled survey of traditional Chinese structures being changed by the revolutions we're about to cover. Today we cover three main things:

• Chinese imperial system
• Confucian examination system
• Chinese economy

Chinese imperial system

Qin Shihuang, the "first emperor of China" set the precedent in traceable history for a unified C...

The Macartney Expedition

On this episode, we talk about the Macartney Expedition, a diplomatic mission from Britain that reached China in 1793.

Last week I appeared on the Man Tools Podcast to talk about living in China and some thoughts about Chinese history. The guys behind the podcast, Eric Madrid and Trevor Lane, were great to talk to. Check them out! Exact link to the episode I was on: https://mantoolsmedia.com/chinese-revolut...

The Macartney Expedition, Part Two

In this episode, we get to see how it actually went, when Macartney's embassy made it to China. Because of a lot of "lost in translation" and incongruent notions about how diplomacy is supposed to go, it went down in flames.

What the British Brought

The British brought an array of scientific and military technology to show off their advances to try to impress the Chinese. They sent their cutting e...

The Opium Trade

In this episode, we look at the opium trade into China. It's drug trade, pure and simple. How one of the first multinational corporations was bound up in it partly led to the First Opium War.

This episode draws heavily from Imperial Twilight by Stephen Platt.

Origins of East India Company Involvement

Occupying India drained EIC finances, and the China trade was the last profitable part of EIC operations. The opium t...

Chinese Scholarly Discussion of Foreign Trade, Before the Opium Wars

In this episode, we look at how Chinese scholars examined trade with foreign countries, prior to the First Opium War (1839-1842).

Chinese academia was extremely sophisticated, but it was aimed toward passing exams for the traditional Confucian civil service in China.

Bao Shichen (1775-1855)

One of the key scholars examining foreign trade was Bao Shichen, from Anhu...

Protestant Missionaries Going to China, 1 of 2

In this episode, we look at one of the key parties playing a part in the Taiping Rebellion: foreign Protestant Christian missionaries. Christianity is a universal faith (it means you too!) with a message revolutionary in magnitude. Though it isn't the main player, it's a critical background player.

Quick Rundown of Church History

Christianity was founded by Christ. All of the ancient c...

Protestant Missionaries Going to China 2 of 2

In this episode, we look a bit more at the work that Protestant missionaries are trying to do and why they spend so much time trying to learn the language and culture. We look at how this paved the way for the Taiping Rebellion to emerge.

What Missionaries Try to Do

Protestant missionary work in China started with translating the Bible into Chinese. The critical work went into things li...

Prelude to the Opium War

In this episode, we directly pick up the main track of this podcast. Here, we're looking at EXACTLY what came before the Opium War. Next episode will be about the precise incident that set the British wheels in motion to send a naval expedition against China.

Charles Elliot, the official in charge of British trade at Canton

The British sent Charles Elliot to see to the safety of British subjects doing trade...

Lin Zexu Cracks Down on the Opium Trade

In today's episode, we look at exactly the inciting incident for the Opium War. The British official on the scene, Charles Elliot, wanted to protect British subjects but also keep good relations between Chinese and British subjects. Chinese officials in Canton wanted to avoid direct conflict, but Beijing wanted to suppress the opium trade.

Increasing Measures Taken Against Foreigners

In Decem...

The Opium War: War Because Drugs

This week, we talk about the Opium War and cracking China open for revolution. We won't go into great detail about the war itself, but we'll look at how it made things possible for revolution in China.

Our narrative relies for just one more episode on Imperial Twilight by Stephen Platt.

Actually Doing the Crackdown

Even though Charles Elliot promised to turn 20,000 chests of opium over to the Chines...

The Taiping Rebellion: Introducing Hong Xiuquan

In this episode, we introduce the founder of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan.

The books we are relying on:

God’s Chinese Son by Jonathan D. Spence

Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Stephen R. Platt

Historical Context of Taiping Rebellion

Because the Taiping Rebellion kicks off in the aftermath of the First Opium War (1839-1842), our coverage of the Taiping Rebellion will intertwin...

The Taiping Rebellion and the First Visions of Hong Xiuquan

In this episode, we look at the influences working on Hong Xiuquan, founder of the movement behind the Taiping Rebellion and look at his beginning visions.

We look briefly at the Jade Record, a Buddhist/Daoist tact functioning like a Dante's Inferno associating wicked deeds on earth with punishments in hell. We also look at the book Good Words to Admonish the Age by Liang ...