The Context
NewsChina explores the perspectives driving today’s China and its people with a deep dive into the histories that shaped them.
Episodes
314 episodes
Niuheliang: The Ancient Discovery That Pushed China’s Civilization Back 1,000 Years
Niuheliang: The Ancient Discovery That Pushed China’s Civilization Back 1,000 YearsToday, we’ll talk about Niuheliang, an ancient remote landscape north of the Great Wall that’s rediscovery transformed our understanding of Chi...
•
15:28
Climate Pressure, Bronze Innovation: The Story of the Lotus and Crane Vessel
Today, we’ll talk about a magnificent bronze artifact from ancient China whose elegant design and innovative casting techniques reveal how craftsmen responded creatively to climate change, resource shortages, and shifting artistic tastes mo...
•
14:57
Crossing the Impossible River: Mao Yisheng and China’s First Modern Bridge
Today, we’ll talk about Mao Yisheng, China’s pioneering bridge engineer, who devoted his life to building bridges that carried a nation toward modernity, and how his most famous bridge over the Qiantang River became a powerful symbol of sci...
•
14:22
Wuwangdun: Rising from Ruin
Today, we’ll talk about artifacts from a Warring States-era royal tomb that reframe the story of a kingdom in decline to one of a magnificent and resilient culture, despite its struggles on the cusp of China’s imperial unity.
•
15:51
Painted on Stone, Scattered Abroad: The Fate of China’s Ancient Cave Murals
Today, we’ll talk about how China’s ancient cave murals were cut from desert walls, scattered across the world, and painstakingly reunited through scholarship, art, and digital restoration.
•
17:04
Sacred Walls, Common Hands: The Art of Pilu Temple
Today, we’ll talk about the little-known murals of Pilu Temple, painted by folk artists in northern China during the Ming dynasty. These murals bring together gods, ghosts, sages, and common folk to create some of the most imaginative visio...
•
15:24
Painted for Eternity: The Murals That Survived Six Centuries
Today, we’ll talk about how the hidden murals of Beijing’s Fahai Temple, created by Ming Dynasty court painters nearly 600 years ago, combine extraordinary craftsmanship, lavish use of gold, and a long history of protection to form one of t...
•
13:21
A Hydraulic Engineer’s Warning: Power and Accountability in Two Horses
Today, we’ll talk about a Yuan dynasty handscroll depicting two contrasting horses that uses artful realism and moral allegory to rebuke corruption and celebrate integrity, while also revealing how Chinese paintings are able to express poli...
•
16:46
A Palace of Paint and Faith: How Yongle’s Murals Defied Time
Today, we’ll talk about how the monumental Daoist murals of Yongle Palace, which were created amid war, transformed Chinese religious art, and later survived an unprecedented relocation to become one of China’s greatest cultural treasures.<...
•
14:22
Yuegang: Crescent of Silver and Silk
Today, we’ll talk about an important Ming Dynasty port that became a cradle of globalization. Yuegang, in Fujian Province, started as a smuggling hub but was later developed into the only legally sanctioned port for private overseas trade d...
•
16:10
Dunhuang’s Murals: Where Time, Faith, and Art Converge
Today, we’ll talk about how Dunhuang’s murals, which are layered with faith, art, and cross-cultural exchange, preserve a thousand-year visual history of China and the Silk Road.
•
17:19
China’s Murals: A Fragile Legacy Painted on Walls
Today, we’ll talk about the walls that once carried China’s greatest paintings, and the long journey of an art form shaped by faith, power, and time.
•
17:24
Siku Quanshu: Lost and Bound
Today, we’ll talk about a digital project that recounts the creation of the most comprehensive book collection in Chinese history and the efforts to protect it from the ravages of war.
•
15:43
Tang Architecture: Modern Science Illuminates Ancient Craftsmanship (II)
Today, we’ll continue to explore modern scientific advances and ongoing research that deepen understanding of Tang-era structures, emphasizing the importance of sustained study and cultural heritage preservation.
•
21:54
Tang Architecture: Modern Science Illuminates Ancient Craftsmanship (I)
In the first installment of what will be a two-part feature, we’ll talk about the historic quest to rediscover and preserve China’s Tang Dynasty wooden architecture, highlighting key discoveries, early investigations, and the challenges pos...
•
20:55
A County’s Pride: Discovering Liao-Era Architectural Masterpiece (II)
In this second half of our feature on Liao-era architecture, we’ll uncover how the lesser-known Gaoyuan Temple and other Liao structures embody cultural continuity, meticulous craftsmanship, and the enduring legacy of China’s architectural ...
•
21:40
A County’s Pride: Discovering Liao-Era Architectural Masterpiece (I)
In the first installment of what will be a two-part feature, we’ll talk about how two very distinct Liao-era temples reveal the ingenuity, grandeur, and spiritual vision of ancient Chinese wooden architecture.
•
20:44
Jiaohe Ruins: The Carved City
Today, we’ll talk about one of the world’s most perfectly preserved settlements, which offers valuable insights into ancient urban planning, construction techniques and the vibrant religious and cultural exchanges along the Silk Road.
•
14:05
Shifting Targets: The Evolution of Archery Rites in Ancient China
Today, we’ll talk about the evolution of archery rites in ancient China that became understood through a bronze artifact in the shape of an arrow-pierced turtle, highlighting how archery transformed from a martial art essential for kings into a...
•
17:59
Houguan Culture: Grounds for Genius
Today, we’ll talk about how a tradition of learning and openness in an ancient county in Fuzhou helped to shape the ideas of key figures in the development of education in modern China.
•
12:45
Xiao Qian: Across Frontlines and Cultures
Today, we’ll talk about the life of Xiao Qian, a Chinese writer, war correspondent, translator and cultural ambassador whose words bridged China and the world across wars, revolutions, and a century of change.
•
14:51
Empire in Exile: Rediscovering Southern Song Burials
Today, we’ll talk about one of the most intriguing archaeological discoveries in recent Chinese history – the long-lost imperial tombs of the Southern Song dynasty, hidden for centuries beneath quiet tea fields in Zhejiang Province...
•
14:05
Zhaozhou Bridge: China’s Timeless Stone Miracle
Today, we’ll talk about the Zhaozhou Bridge, a 1,400-year-old stone arch masterpiece that revolutionized global bridge engineering and withstood floods, earthquakes, and wars to remain a timeless symbol of human ingenuity.
•
14:35