#48 - 16K 1: The Disorder Of The Eight P...

The 19th Century is going to be exceedingly rough on Qing China. So, before we venture down into the chasm that is the "Chinese Century of Humuliation's" opening salvos, let's assess where we - and the Empire - sit as of 1810... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f ... Show More

Back with pt. 2 of autumnal fictions of the spine-tingling variety. This time largely from (where else) Pu Songling, as well as several shorter entries from the Zibuyu.00:01:15 - Friendship Beyond the Grave00:10:25 - Karmic Debts00:12:30 - Spiritual Man Luo Catches the Wrong Demo ... Show More

00:02:09 - "The Scholar & the Headless Ghost" True music fans come in all types. 00:05:37 - "Magical Arts" Let the buyer beware... but sometimes the non-buyer, too! 00:12:37 - "Ruby Jade" Nobody knows you when you're down & out... 00:27:00 - "Examination for the Post of Guardian ... Show More

“And from that moment on, he was addressed as emperor and Augustus!” The coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas Day 800 AD, is one of the landmark moments in all world history. More than three centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the emperors had returned on ... Show More

The Emperor Zeno dies in 491 after trying to appease the monophysites with his 'Henoticon.' Zeno's widow Ariadne then gets to pick his succesor and marries Flavius Anastasius. We have a look at the early years of his reign and the Isaurian War. See acast.com/privacy for privacy a ... Show More

Empress Wu Zetian rose from royal concubine to become the only female ruler in China’s 2,000 years of imperial history. Today she is seen as ruthless, tyrannical and willing to murder her own family to hold onto the throne. However this female leader has suffered from a millenniu ... Show More

Agrippina was the great granddaughter of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus; the grand niece of the second Emperor, Tiberius, the sister of the third, Caligula, wife of the fourth, Claudius and mother of the fifth, Nero. After several personal tragedies, Agrippina became ruthless ... Show More

The inculcation of Buddhism from India as the state religion in China was enabled by the violent rise of China’s only ever woman Emperor. Raised by pious Buddhist parents, Wu Zetian left a trail of bodies in her wake as she charted a path to absolute power. From a lowly ranked co ... Show More

In the third century BC, China was a land fractured by war - a patchwork of rival kingdoms struggling for dominance. Out of this chaos rose a single, extraordinary figure who would reshape the course of history: Chin Shrr Hwong, the First Emperor of China. His achievements were m ... Show More

After victory in China, Genghis Khan goes west and takes on the Khwarezmians, surprising his enemy with a daring assault. He conquers all in his path and now controls the biggest empire the world has ever seen. But whose shoulders are broad enough to become his successor? Listen ... Show More

Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself without a leader. Who then should fill the enormous power vacuum left by the death of an emperor? Should Rome return to a Republic? Then, one overlooked candidate - a scion of the ... Show More