#77 - Sui 1: Internal Affairs

Today we finish out out look into the reign of the Sui Dynasty’s founding emperor, Wen. We begin first with the military roferms he imposed on his newly reunited state, mirroring those he made to the civil government. Once completed, Sui China will find itself on a footing it has ...  Show more

The second emperor of the Sui Dynasty gets bad rap - his postmortem regnal name means "the Slothful" and he's commonly lumped together with the rest of the "bad-last emperors" as being hedonistic, wasteful, and just generally monstrous. But is this really the case, or was Emperor ...  Show more

1046 - 256 BCE - The longest of all dynasties in Chinese history but certainly not the strongest.  This episode covers the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period with special reference to Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism.

The history of China, as told through 20 lives. This time: The Female Emperor. 

A city in ruins. A dynasty in tatters. An empire in ashes...This episode, we look at the remarkable story of the first empire of ancient China, the Han dynasty. With ancient Chinese poetry, songs and folk music, we look back at the first empire's rise, its remarkable technologica ...  Show more

1750 - 1046 BCE - Plotting the rise and fall of the Shang dynasty where archaeology meets traditional stories.  An incredible bronze age with innovative techniques and the comparison of cultural advances with the rest of the world.