The Context
Episodes
332 episodes
Li Jingxun: The Most Spoiled Child in Chinese History
Today, we’ll talk about a new exhibition at the National Museum of China that tells the story of history’s ‘most spoiled child’, a girl whose tomb was sealed with her grandmother’s curse. And curiously, it seems that curse still held power ...
She Wrote of Love, Then Watched a Dynasty Fall
Today, we’ll talk about Li Qingzhao, China’s greatest female poet, whose extraordinary life of love, loss, and resilience inspired some of the most beautiful verses in Chinese literature.
Anne Swann Goodrich: The American Who Saved Beijing’s Paper Gods
Today, we’ll talk about an American woman who devoted nearly a century building bridges between cultures and preserving the paper gods, folk beliefs, and everyday spiritual life of old Beijing before they disappeared from memory.
The Dutch Diplomat Who Made a Chinese Detective Famous
Today, we’ll talk about how a Dutch diplomat who first reached China during WWII transformed ancient Chinese courtroom tales into globally popular detective fiction, bridging cultures and reshaping the image of Di Renjie for modern audience...
Manila Galleon: From Silk to Silver
Today, we’ll talk about a new museum in the Philippines that brings to life the golden age of trans-Pacific sailing ships and the link to a Chinese port at the heart of this far-reaching maritime network, creating the first true global econ...
Zhang Boling and the Dream of a Chinese University
Today, we’ll talk about the pioneering educator Zhang Boling and how he built a private education system in modern China while navigating war, politics, and shifting ideologies, leaving behind a complex yet enduring legacy as a patriotic ed...
Sanniangzi: The Mongolian Lady of Peace
Today, we’ll talk about an extraordinary stateswoman from the Ming Dynasty whose wisdom and courage ended nearly 200 years of border warfare, and how this remarkable female leader reveals Chinese values about peace and harmony among various...
A Shang Dynasty Zoo: What Animal Bones at Yinxu Reveal About Ancient China
Today, we’ll talk about a surprising discovery at Yinxu that suggests Shang dynasty kings may have raised tigers, elephants, and other wild animals in a kind of royal “zoo” more than 3,000 years ago.
Beyond the Legend: The Untold Story of the Epang Palace Ruins
Today, we’ll talk about the legendary Epang Palace Ruins and how modern archaeology has revealed that this iconic symbol of imperial excess was likely never completed or burned, thus reshaping our understanding of the rise and fall of the Q...
Early US-China Relations: Monumental Gesture
Today, we’ll talk about a Chinese stone tablet that informs readers about early US-China connections, revealing the mutual respect and admiration that bridged oceans long before the days of official diplomacy.
Mulan: The Invented Hero Who Has Endured for 1,500 Years
Today, we’ll talk about Mulan, a legendary heroine who has inspired the world for over 1,500 years by disguising herself as a man to take her elderly father’s place in the army, rising to become a celebrated general, and ultimately choosing...
When Tigers Ruled the Wild: The Story Behind the Tiger-Devouring-Man Bronze
Today, we’ll talk about a rare bronze ritual vessel from the Shang dynasty decorated with the striking image of a tiger devouring a human, and how this powerful motif reveals ancient Chinese beliefs about nature, sacrifice, shamanism, and t...
One Hundred Horses: An Italian Master in Imperial China
Today, we’ll talk about the Italian Jesuit painter Giuseppe Castiglione, who crossed cultural boundaries to serve three Qing emperors and created a groundbreaking fusion of European realism and Chinese court painting, most famously represen...
A Grain in the Sea: Liu Haisu and the Birth of Modern Art in China
Today, we’ll talk about Liu Haisu, whose life and work over nearly a century helped to pioneer modern art education in China and forge a bold new path that blended Chinese tradition with Western artistic innovation.
A Bronze Beast’s Journey: The Dowry That Traveled a Thousand Miles
Today, we’ll talk about a mysterious 3,000-year-old bronze vessel from China that once traveled as part of a noblewoman’s dowry, revealing how marriage, wealth, and political alliances shaped the lives of families and even states in ancient...
Hall of Mental Cultivation: The Restored Heart of China’s Last Empire
Today, we’ll talk about the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a modest courtyard in Beijing’s Forbidden City that served for nearly two centuries as the living quarters and political nerve center of Qing emperors, where the rise, transformation, ...
Luoyang Museum: Amplifying An Empire’s Eternal Echo
Today, we’ll talk about a newly opened museum that rose from the very earth containing evidence of a complex interplay between military conquest, ethnic integration, and flourishing culture during some of China’s most dynamic historical per...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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.
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...
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...
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...
