The Longest Reign in Chinese History When the Qianlong Emperor abdicated in 1796 after six decades on the throne, he […]
The Grand Canal and Yangzhou’s Strategic Importance Yangzhou’s story begins with its privileged position along China’s most vital waterways. Situated […]
The Foundations of Qing Power The Qing Dynasty reached its zenith during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735–1796), building upon […]
A Dynasty at Its Zenith: Kangxi’s Record Reign In the spring of 1722, the 69-year-old Emperor Kangxi celebrated an unprecedented […]
A Mysterious Succession in 17th-Century Tibet The year 1696 marked a pivotal moment in Central Asian history. While Emperor Kangxi […]
The Collapse of the Chahar and the Power Vacuum in Inner Asia The early 17th century witnessed a dramatic shift […]
The Onion Structure of Qing Governance The Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) represented one of history’s most sophisticated multi-ethnic empires, structured like […]
The Collapse of the Ming and the Rise of the Qing The mid-17th century witnessed one of the most dramatic […]
The Weight of Empire: Ming China Under Emperor Wanli The late 16th century marked the beginning of the end for […]
The Geographic Divide Between Two Worlds The eastern edge of the Mongolian Plateau drops sharply into the Manchurian Plain, with […]
The Yuan Dynasty’s Legacy and Early Ming Ambitions The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) inherited the geopolitical worldview of the preceding Yuan […]
The Turbulent Origins of a Mongol Unifier Dayan Khan (1464–1524) emerged during a fractured period in Mongol history, inheriting a […]
Introduction: Reassessing the Fall of the Yuan Dynasty The conventional historical narrative marks 1368 as the year the Yuan Dynasty […]
The Fragile Succession: Jianwen’s Ascent to Power When the formidable Hongwu Emperor died in 1398 after ruling China for three […]
The Humble Origins of a Future Emperor The story of Zhu Yuanzhang, who would become the Hongwu Emperor and founder […]
The Birth of a Multi-Ethnic Empire The modern concept of China as a unified multi-ethnic state traces its origins not […]
The Rise of Zhang Zuolin and Japan’s Manchurian Ambitions The early 20th century witnessed the dramatic ascent of Zhang Zuolin, […]
The Fractured Landscape of 1927 China By mid-1927, China stood at a crossroads. The Northern Expedition, launched the previous year […]
The Collapse of the Beiyang Warlords’ Anti-Revolutionary Plan The dramatic victories of the National Revolutionary Army in southern China and […]
The Divided Battlefield of China’s Northern Expedition While the National Revolutionary Army marched north from Guangdong in 1926, engaging warlords […]
The Rise of Warlordism and the Northern Expedition’s Origins In the turbulent years following the collapse of imperial China, regional […]
The Collapse of Duan Qirui’s Provisional Government On April 20, 1926, Duan Qirui, once a dominant figure in the early […]
