China, pt. 1 -- Making the Middle Kingdom

We follow the long struggle to build power, wealth, and lasting harmony on the rich but harsh and unforgiving landscape of China – from early farming villages, to the quasi-legendary early emperors, through dynasties obsessed with ritual and divination, the age of fragmentation and warring states, and finally, the dramatic quest for unification by the ruthless emperor that gave China its name. We learn the causes and contexts for the creation of the first Great Wall, the invention of wet rice farming and hydraulic engineering, the composition of ancient classics like the I Ching and the Art of War, and the appearance of the powerful philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism. Hear my previous lecture on the discovery of the Terracotta Army that guards the tomb of the first Qin emperor: https://www.patreon.com/posts/59523522 Suggested further reading: Li Feng, “Early China”; Yap & Cotterell, “The Early Civilization of China” Image: Bronze ceremonial vessel from Zhou dynasty Please sign up as a patron to hear the next Myth of the Month -- https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632