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The Context

NewsChina

NewsChina explores the perspectives driving today’s China and its people with a deep dive into the histories that shaped them.

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  • 25 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 16 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Yesterday · 16 min

    Jingdezhen: Glaze of Glory

    Today, we’ll talk about how UNESCO has honored the world’s first porcelain-centered industrial heritage site—keeping the traditional flame alive and allowing it to continue firing new stories for the world to enjoy.

    • Transcript
  • September 15 · 17 min

    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 journey from hunting and gathering to cultivating rice.

    • Transcript
  • September 8 · 17 min

    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 aristocratic family of ancient China going back more than 2,000 years.

    • Transcript
  • September 1 · 17 min

    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 justice in China for nearly a thousand years.

    • Transcript
  • August 25 · 15 min

    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 centuries, driven by hunger, lured by colonial promises, and marked by unimaginable suffering as well as astonishing resilience.

    • Transcript
  • August 18 · 15 min

    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 engineering helped it survive the ravages of the sea and become one of the world’s earliest and most remarkable coastal bridges.

    • Transcript
  • August 4 · 18 min

    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 families in China, creating a vital network of letters, money, and trust long before the advent of modern banking and communications.

    • Transcript
  • July 28 · 16 min

    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-hundred-year journey, tragic dispersal, and ongoing global recovery.

    • Transcript
  • July 21 · 16 min

    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 and how the complications of a war-torn world made it impossible to return to the home she loved and vociferously advocated.

    • Transcript
  • July 14 · 16 min

    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 grandmother’s curse. And curiously, it seems that curse still held power after a thousand years.

    • Transcript
  • July 7 · 18 min

    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 Chinese literature.

    • Transcript
  • June 23 · 15 min

    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, bridging cultures and reshaping the image of Di Renjie for modern audiences.

    • Transcript
  • June 16 · 18 min

    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 this far-reaching maritime network, creating the first true global economy.

    • Transcript
  • June 9 · 17 min

    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 ideologies, leaving behind a complex yet enduring legacy as a patriotic educator.

    • Transcript
  • June 2 · 18 min

    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 female leader reveals Chinese values about peace and harmony among various ethnic groups.

    • Transcript
  • May 19 · 13 min

    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 burned, thus reshaping our understanding of the rise and fall of the Qin dynasty.

    • Transcript
  • May 15 · 15 min

    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 before the days of official diplomacy.

    • Transcript
Showing 1–20 of 25 episodes