A Reign in the Shadows The year 1667 marked a pivotal moment in the early Qing dynasty, when the formidable […]
A Precarious Inheritance When the Shunzhi Emperor died in 1661, he bequeathed to his seven-year-old son Kangxi an empire both […]
A Beloved Emperor Faces His Mortality Johann Adam Schall von Bell, the German Jesuit missionary, enjoyed unwavering favor throughout Emperor […]
A Jesuit Astronomer at the Fall of the Ming In the tumultuous year of 1644, as Beijing’s Ming dynasty collapsed […]
Introduction: A Monument in Beijing’s Ancient Observatory At Beijing’s Ancient Observatory stands a statue commemorating Johann Adam Schall von Bell […]
An Unlikely Partnership Forms in Exile The year 1845 found one of Qing China’s most distinguished officials traversing the most […]
A Diplomatic Departure from Turpan The morning air hung crisp over the desert oasis as Commissioner Lin Zexu completed his […]
An Arrival from the Capital In the remote frontier region of Yili, a long-awaited imperial edict finally arrived, bearing news […]
A New Year’s Day of Ceremonies and Discomfort On the first morning of the lunar new year, the aging statesman […]
The Ancient Western Regions Long before becoming known as Xinjiang, this vast territory bore the historical designation of Western Regions. […]
An Uneasy Peace in Nanjing In the summer of 1842, as the dust settled on the Treaty of Nanjing negotiations, […]
A Fateful Afternoon Meeting The clock had just struck two in the afternoon when Mu Zhang’a finally received the visitor […]
A Fateful Reunion in Luoyang The dust rose in gentle clouds beneath the official procession moving steadily toward Luoyang. Inside […]
The Fateful Day at the Dragon Gate On that bitterly cold winter day, the air crackled with tension along the […]
A City Under Water In the early 19th century, China’s Yellow River frequently overflowed its banks, creating catastrophic floods that […]
A Reprieve Amid National Crisis In the autumn of 1841, as British warships threatened China’s coastal cities, a different kind […]
A Controversial Retreat from the Pearl River In the sweltering summer of 1841, British forces under Superintendent Charles Elliot faced […]
A Statesman’s Perilous Journey In the sweltering summer of 1841, a distinguished Chinese official embarked on a critical journey that […]
The Shifting Imperial Policy In the early 1840s, the Qing Dynasty found itself at a critical crossroads in its conflict […]
An Empire at the Crossroads The year 1841 found the Qing Empire facing unprecedented challenges from Western powers, particularly Great […]
An Unusual Gathering on Lunar New Year’s Eve On the last afternoon of the twentieth year of the Daoguang Emperor’s […]
The Stranded Patrol Boat On a mid-October night in 1840, three patrol vessels from the Guangdong Naval Fleet conducted routine […]
