#324 - Taiping 1: The Second Son of God

Amidst the ashes of the Opium War, a new flame is beginning to kindle – not in the halls of power, but in the distant, forgotten hills and mountains. While the would-be prophet Hong Xiuquan returns home, his closest friend vanishes into the wilds of Guangxi – a world of ethnic te ...  Show more

The God-Worshippers of Thistle Mountain, under the dual leadership of Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan, had gone from being a quirky, backwater oddity... to, by 1847, a real local headache. When they get bold enough to deface a local temple, the law finally takes action to end their ...  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.