Vol 4 Ep 66 - China: Song Dynasty

Reflections on Volume 4 and looking forward to Volume 5, including the big announcement about the name of the volume and our usual review of listener messages. 

1200 - 1449 - Step into the fourteenth century, a world caught between collapse and rebirth. As the Mongol Empire fractures, new powers rise across Europe, Asia and Africa. From the birth of the Ming dynasty to the brilliance of Mali and the devastation of the Black Death, this e ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion.In 1850 a Chinese Christian convert, Hong Xiuquan, proclaimed himself leader of a new dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He and his followers marched against the ruling Qing dynasty, gathering huge support as they went ...  Show more

The Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest. Through the ages, word "horde" has entered the English lexicon with a negative connotation, conjuring up images of warriors on horseback, sweeping across the plain--a virtual human flood destroying everything in its path and t ...  Show more

After uniting the Mongol tribes in 1206, Genghis Khan used his military prowess to assert dominance over the Ottoman Empire and the Chinese Jin Dynasty. By 1222, his empire spanned from the Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas attributed to Sun Tzu (544-496BC, according to tradition), a legendary figure from the beginning of the Iron Age in China, around the time of Confucius. He may have been the historical figure Sun Wu, a military adviser at the court of Kin ...  Show more