Chinese History & Mythology

Episodi

• 138.Interesting Chinese Culture——Did Soccer Really Begin in China? 02.07.2026 42min

  Right now, people all over the world are watching the World Cup at the same time. Billions of viewers are sitting in front of their screens. Once the whistle of the World Cup blows, the whole world seems to fall into the same rhythm for a while. Some people stay up late to watch the matches. Some study formations. Some are only waiting for the penalty shootout. And some watch the smooth teamwork of the strongest teams while quietly wondering when their own national team will finally let them prove their love without raising their blood pressure. Today, we are going to talk about the traces of soccer in Chinese history.
• 137.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-18 02.07.2026 1h 25min

  After Lu Xun of Eastern Wu defeated the Shu army at Xiaoting and Yiling, and then successfully forced back the Wei troops, Sun Quan trusted him even more. He appointed Lu Xun as General Who Supports the State, granted him the title Marquis of Jiangling, and also made him Governor of Jingzhou. From then on, almost all real military power in Eastern Wu fell into Lu Xun’s hands.
• 136.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-17(part 2) 30.06.2026 1h 12min

  After the sacrifices were finished, Ma Liang advised, “Now all the enemies have been executed, and the revenge can be considered complete. Eastern Wu has sent Cheng Bing here. They are willing to return Jingzhou, send Lady Sun back, renew the alliance, and attack Wei together. They are still waiting for Your Majesty’s decision.”
• 136.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-17(part 1) 30.06.2026 1h 18min

  After Liu Bei became emperor, he immediately prepared to raise troops for an eastern campaign against Eastern Wu, to avenge Guan Yu. Zhao Yun stepped forward and advised him, “The true traitors to the state are Cao Ren and Cao Pi, not Sun Quan.
• 135.Interesting Chinese Culture——The Secret History of Pandas 25.06.2026 27min

  Black-and-white, fluffy fur, and a vegetarian. Almost everyone would immediately think of the  panda. As China’s national-treasure-level animal, it is not an exaggeration to say that in any country, if a zoo has a panda, it can almost guarantee a steady flow of ticket sales. 
• 134.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-16 25.06.2026 1h 39min

  When Mi Fang heard that Jingzhou had already fallen, he did not know what to do. Suddenly, someone reported that Fu Shiren, the defender of Gong’an, had arrived. Mi Fang quickly invited him into the city and asked what had happened. Fu Shiren said, “It is not that I am disloyal. The situation was truly desperate, and there was simply no way to defend it. I have already surrendered to Eastern Wu. General, you should surrender early as well.”
• 133.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-15 23.06.2026 1h 37min

  Seeing that Huang Zhong was determined to go, Kongming said, “Since you insist on taking this campaign, I will send Fa Zheng with you. Discuss every matter with him before making a decision. I will also arrange reinforcements behind you.” Huang Zhong agreed and set out with Fa Zheng and his troops. Afterward, Kongming said to Liu Bei, “If the old general had not been stirred by this challenge, he might not have achieved much even if he went. Now that he has committed himself, we must secretly support him.” He summoned Zhao Yun and ordered him to take a hidden mountain route with a force of elite troops.
• 132.Interesting Chinese Culture——What Is the Dragon Boat Festival? 18.06.2026 40min

  Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people across China hold dragon boat races, eat zongzi, and follow many other interesting customs. To understand it, we need to start with where it came from. In fact, the Dragon Boat Festival was not connected to one famous person from the very beginning.
• 131.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-14 18.06.2026 1h 4min

  Sun Quan could not stop thinking about Jingzhou. Zhang Zhao offered a plan and said, “The person Liu Bei relies on most now is Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang’s elder brother, Zhuge Jin, serves in Eastern Wu. First, we can place Zhuge Jin’s family under guard. Then send Zhuge Jin to Western Chuan to meet Zhuge Liang and force him to persuade Liu Bei to return Jingzhou. Just tell Zhuge Liang that if Jingzhou is not returned, Zhuge Jin’s family will not be safe. Zhuge Liang values family loyalty and will surely agree.”
• 130.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-13 16.06.2026 1h 45min

  Pang Tong and Fa Zheng continued urging Liu Bei to kill Liu Zhang during the banquet. In their view, Western Shu could then be taken with little effort. But Liu Bei firmly refused. “I have only just arrived in Shu,” he said. “I have not yet earned the people's trust or established my reputation. Such a thing must never be done.” No matter how many times they tried to persuade him, Liu Bei would not agree.
• 129.Interesting Chinese Culture——How did advertising in China slowly take shape? 11.06.2026 30min

  These days, we are so surrounded by ads that we are almost numb to them. You unlock your phone and the first thing you see is a notification. You open a webpage and a pop-up jumps right into the middle of the screen. You scroll through short videos and suddenly one cuts in with, “Friends, you have to buy this.” Even when you just want to sit quietly and listen to some music, before the intro is even over, you can get hit with ads for shampoo, insurance, and during election season, even ninety-second campaign ads. Basically, whatever ads a website wants to throw at you, it just keeps cycling them in front of you. So it is very easy to feel that all of this belongs to the modern commercial world, as if advertising could only exist after factories, assembly lines, neon city lights, television, and the internet came along.
• 128.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-12 11.06.2026 1h 28min

  Zhou Yu had been defeated by the three forces of Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan, which Zhuge Liang had arranged in advance, and Eastern Wu’s navy had also suffered considerable losses. Huang Gai and Han Dang quickly helped Zhou Yu back onto a boat. From a distance, Zhou Yu saw Liu Bei and Lady Sun standing on the mountaintop, watching the battle. Shame and anger surged through him. His arrow wound had not yet healed, and now, with rage attacking his heart, the old injury burst open on the spot. He fainted at once. After the generals revived him, they could only escort him back to Chaisang. Zhuge Liang ordered everyone not to pursue, then returned to Jingzhou with Liu Bei to celebrate and reward the soldiers who had made contributions.
• 127.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-11 09.06.2026 1h 22min

  Just as Kongming was about to execute Guan Yun Chang according to military law, Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and pleaded for mercy. He said, “Back when the three of us swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, we vowed to live and die together. Although Yun Chang has violated military law, I truly cannot bear to break the oath we made in those days. I ask that you record his offense for now and spare his life, so that he may atone for it through future service.” After hearing this, Kongming finally agreed to spare Guan Yu.
• 126.Interesting Chinese Culture——What Was Northeast China Like in the 1980s? 04.06.2026 25min

   If time could move backward and we turned the clock back to the nineteen eighty, what kind of China would you see?
• 125.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-10 04.06.2026 1h 4min

  Now, back to Lu Su. Following Zhou Yu’s orders, he went to visit Kongming on his small boat. The moment Lu Su sat down, Kongming smiled and said, “I was just about to congratulate the Commander.”
• 124.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-9 02.06.2026 1h 14min

  Now, when Guan Yu released the waters from upstream, Zhang Fei charged out from downstream and cut straight into Cao Ren’s defeated army. The two sides clashed in fierce battle, and Zhang Fei soon ran into Xu Chu. He immediately lowered his spear and attacked. Xu Chu did not dare stay and fight for long, and quickly forced his way out and fled.
• 123.Interesting Chinese Culture——Morning Markets & Night Market 28.05.2026 43min

  Today, we are going to talk about a steaming hot topic: morning markets and night markets in China. I believe many of you may have this habit. You open YouTube and watch videos about Chinese food. In the past two years, as China’s morning market and night market culture has become more visible, more and more creators on YouTube have started filming videos in different Chinese cities, walking through morning markets and night markets and recording what they see. Most of these videos do not have English explanations. They simply record Chinese street food, crowded streets full of people moving around, and the sounds of vendors calling out to customers. At this moment, many people may ask, “Where is this?” In fact, almost every city in China has a few streets like this. In the morning, people gather on these streets for a certain period of time, and then the crowds slowly disappear. When night falls, the same kind of street life appears again.
• 122.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-8 28.05.2026 1h 7min

  Liu Bei successfully recovered Fancheng and comforted the people. The county magistrate Liu Mi held a banquet to welcome him. During the banquet, Liu Bei saw a young man standing nearby. His bearing was impressive, so Liu Bei asked about him. Liu Mi answered, “This is my nephew Kou Feng. He was originally the son of the Kou family of Luohou. His parents died early, so he has been raised here with me.” Liu Bei admired his manner and wanted to take him as an adopted son.
• 121.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-7 26.05.2026 1h 12min

  Inside the prison, Tian Feng had already expected his death. He told the prison guards, “Yuan Shao appears broad-minded on the outside, but inwardly he is jealous and suspicious. If he had won, perhaps he might have spared me. But now that he has lost, his shame has turned into anger. He will surely kill me to vent his hatred.”
• 120.Interesting Chinese Culture——Why Did Xi Take President Donald Trump to These Three Places in Beijing? 21.05.2026 42min

  The hidden meaning behind President Donald Trump’s China visit: the Great Hall of the People, the Temple of Heaven, and Zhongnanhai. In mid-May 2026, U.S. President Trump set foot on Chinese soil. As one of the most powerful figures in the world, the schedule of his visit to China carried a strong sense of careful design. During this three-day visit, Xi Jinping took him to three places: the Great Hall of the People, the Temple of Heaven, and Zhongnanhai. These three places represent three different layers of China: the way modern Chinese politics operates, the deepest cosmology of Chinese civilization, and a tradition of state governance that has continued for thousands of years. Behind these places, what kind of civilizational history is hidden, stretching across several millennia? Why would a foreign head of state, after arriving in Beijing, be arranged to enter three completely different places?