The Context

The Little Pot That Changed the Story of Rice and Civilization

Today, we’ll talk about a humble 20,000-year-old clay pot from Jiangxi that is helping archaeologists rethink the origins of pottery, agriculture, and humanity’s long jou

Mawangdui: A World Preserved for 2,000 Years

Today, we’ll talk about the Mawangdui Han Tombs, an extraordinary archaeological discovery that has preserved the life, art, beliefs, and remarkable story of an aristocra

Bao Zheng: China’s Symbol of Justice

Today, we’ll talk about Judge Bao Zheng, a legendary government official during the Northern Song Dynasty whose unwavering integrity has made him an enduring symbol of ju

The Blood, the Tears, and the Fortune: China’s Southern Exodus

Today, we’ll talk about one of the largest and most overlooked migrations in modern history, a movement of millions from China’s coast to Southeast Asia that lasted for c

Luoyang Bridge: The Ancient Stone Giant That Defied the Tides

Today, we’ll talk about Luoyang Bridge, a nearly thousand-year-old stone bridge in southeastern China whose ingenious use of oyster reefs, tidal forces, and innovative en

A Temple Built on a Miracle: The Living History of Kaiyuan Temple

Today, we’ll talk about a famed temple in Quanzhou, a thousand-year-old landmark where legend, maritime exchange, and cultural fusion converge to reveal the enduring open

Institution Behind Letters: Rise and Fall of Tianyi Post Office

Today, we’ll talk about Tianyi Post Office, the pioneering remittance and postal agency that connected overseas Chinese communities across Southeast Asia with their famil

Yongle Encyclopedia: Six Centuries of Mystery and Survival

Today, we’ll talk about the Yongle Encyclopedia, a monumental Chinese text dating from the Ming dynasty, and provide you with a fascinating narrative detailing its six-hu

Pearl S. Buck: A Bridge Between East and West

Today, we’ll tell the bittersweet story of Pearl S. Buck, the American Nobel laureate who lived in China for the first half of her life at the turn of the last century an

Li Jingxun: The Most Spoiled Child in Chinese History

Today, we’ll talk about a new exhibition at the National Museum of China that tells the story of history’s ‘most spoiled child’, a girl whose tomb was sealed with her gra

She Wrote of Love, Then Watched a Dynasty Fall

Today, we’ll talk about Li Qingzhao, China’s greatest female poet, whose extraordinary life of love, loss, and resilience inspired some of the most beautiful verses in Ch

Anne Swann Goodrich: The American Who Saved Beijing’s Paper Gods

Today, we’ll talk about an American woman who devoted nearly a century building bridges between cultures and preserving the paper gods, folk beliefs, and everyday spiritu

The Dutch Diplomat Who Made a Chinese Detective Famous

Today, we’ll talk about how a Dutch diplomat who first reached China during WWII transformed ancient Chinese courtroom tales into globally popular detective fiction, brid

Manila Galleon: From Silk to Silver

Today, we’ll talk about a new museum in the Philippines that brings to life the golden age of trans-Pacific sailing ships and the link to a Chinese port at the heart of t

Zhang Boling and the Dream of a Chinese University

Today, we’ll talk about the pioneering educator Zhang Boling and how he built a private education system in modern China while navigating war, politics, and shifting ideo

Sanniangzi: The Mongolian Lady of Peace

Today, we’ll talk about an extraordinary stateswoman from the Ming Dynasty whose wisdom and courage ended nearly 200 years of border warfare, and how this remarkable fema

A Shang Dynasty Zoo: What Animal Bones at Yinxu Reveal About Ancient China

Today, we’ll talk about a surprising discovery at Yinxu that suggests Shang dynasty kings may have raised tigers, elephants, and other wild animals in a kind of royal “zo

Beyond the Legend: The Untold Story of the Epang Palace Ruins

Today, we’ll talk about the legendary Epang Palace Ruins and how modern archaeology has revealed that this iconic symbol of imperial excess was likely never completed or

Early US-China Relations: Monumental Gesture

Today, we’ll talk about a Chinese stone tablet that informs readers about early US-China connections, revealing the mutual respect and admiration that bridged oceans long

Mulan: The Invented Hero Who Has Endured for 1,500 Years

Today, we’ll talk about Mulan, a legendary heroine who has inspired the world for over 1,500 years by disguising herself as a man to take her elderly father’s place in th