The Chinese Revolution

The history of 19th century and 20th century China, leading up to the Chinese Revolutions, the Republic of China and then the People's Republic of China.

This podcast was inspired by Mike Duncan's Revolutions. This podcast follows him by telling the stories leading to the Chinese Revolutions.

The episodes cover the Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellion, foreign treaties and concessions bringing trade and Christianity to China, the Boxer Rebellion, China's 1911 Revolution, the Warlord Period, the KMT and the rise of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese United Fronts are discussed. Personalities like the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Qing emperors, Earl Li Hongzhang, Kang Youwei, Sun Yat-sen, Yuan Shikai, Wu Peifu, Wang Jingwei, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Mao Zedong are featured. The experiences of Chinese working overseas, including in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and the United States of America are also brought to life. We have looked at stories from the late Qing Dynasty. Now we are looking at the stories of the Republic of China, the Communist International (Comintern)'s interest in exporting world revolution to China and the United Fronts, including the Second Sino-Japanese War.

For more information, sources and content see: https://chineserevolution.substack.com

Or enjoy The Chinese Revolution YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCOjBYMNC_3xjQXKv6ab9YA?sub_confirmation=1

The Chinese Revolution podcast has charted as a top history podcast in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Ghana, Great Britain, Hungary, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

The Chinese Revolution podcast has been listened to in over 120 countries.

You can support this show through Buy me a coffee. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thechineserevolution

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Episodes

Episode 6 - Whales and Crocodiles

Lin Zexu's destruction of British opium causes debate in London. But the Whig government has plenty of other crises. Lord Palmerston makes demands of China and sends warships in spite of reluctance at home. Opposition to a war with China is debated in Parliament. The British use newly seized Hong Kong as a base, battle with the Chinese by Guangzhou and bombard and then make an amphibious assault on Zhoushan Island by Shanghai. The sail as far as Tianjin. The Daoguang Emperor receives Lord Palmer...

Feb 03, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Episode 5 - Introducing the Opium War

An introduction to the Opium War between Great Britain and the Qing Empire, including introductions of major characters. The Opium War was considered the beginning of China's Century of Humiliations. Lu Kun and William Napier do battle outside Guangzhou. Lin Zexu seizes 20,000 chests of British opium and destroys them. The British seize Hong Kong and Lin then cuts off British food and water. War is coming. Image: "The Opium War Museum Humen Dongguan" by dcmaster is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Y...

Jan 27, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Episode 4- The Examination System

An introductory episode about the Examination System and corruption of officials during the Qing Dynasty. The three sets of examinations required before entry into Chinese government leadership were grueling. Candidates rarely passed the examinations. The Manchu elite benefited from an alternative, easier examination system. Unsuccessful examination candidates often began rebellions. As a result, corruption, patronage and resentment were part of the Qing Empire. Image: "Qing Court Return, The Em...

Jan 25, 2023•4 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Episode 3- Silver during the Qing Dynasty

In this introductory episode, the disruption of silver coins to the Qing Dynasty is discussed. The Qing collected taxes in silver but did not control silver supply or minting. As a result, Latin American revolutions impacted silver coins, changed trade flows and created economic disturbances in the Qing Dynasty just before the Opium War. Image: "BOLIVIA, 1855 ---HALF DOLLAR SIZED SILVER COIN,UNSURE OF DENOMINATION b" by woody1778a is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. You can support this show through...

Jan 24, 2023•7 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Episode 2- The Great Qing

An introduction to the Great Qing State. The Qing replaced the Great Ming and ruled from 1644 until 1911. The vast empire ruled over 400 million subjects under Manchu leadership. When the Qing met the Europeans arriving by sea, they saw no reason to change. But owing to a focus on Confucius and classical education, Qing officials were developing more slowly than the new arrivals. This became clear with the Opium War and the reverberations then spread throughout the Qing territories. When the Qin...

Jan 22, 2023•5 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Episode 1 - Introduction

Welcome to the first episode of the Chinese Revolution podcast. This is a podcast series for those who believe that understanding China and its history is important. This show is about the Chinese Revolutions and the events leading up to them. I was inspired by Mike Duncan’s excellent podcast series called Revolutions. A big thank you to him. Mike’s final revolution was the Russian Revolution. Since he did not continue his series, this podcast is meant to follow Revolutions with a detailed look ...

Jan 22, 2023•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Update End of April 2023

Recorded at the end of April, 2023, this recording summarizes the episodes to date and what to expect in the coming episodes as we transition from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. Image: "File:Consorts of Tongzhi and Guangxu.jpg" by Anonymous Court Photographer is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 21, 2023•2 min

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