This map is 900 years old – how accurate is it?
Around the year 1136, a map was inscribed in China. It is considered a remarkable example of medieval geography, but how does it fare when tested against modern georeferencing?
New Medieval Books: The King’s Road
‘A Bottom-Up History of Diplomacy’ along the Silk Road between China and Central Asia, this book focuses on the years 850 to 1000. It aims to show the Silk Road was just as important a route for envoys as it was for merchants.
New Medieval Books: Middle Imperial China, 900-1350
An overview of Chinese history during the Song and Yuan dynasties, covering its politics, international relations, religion, economics and more. Offers a look into time when China was deeply interconnected with its neighbours and other parts of the medieval world.
People could live the ‘American Dream’ in Tang Dynasty China, study finds
The Middle Ages are not typically seen as a time when ordinary people could have upward social mobility. However, new research focusing on China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) reveals that men could rise to better careers as if they had lived in the United States during the 1960s.
The 36 Stratagems of Medieval China
A sixth-century essay reveals 36 ways to defeat an enemy. Many readers will be familiar with The Art of War. Sun Tzu’s treatise,…
New Medieval Books: Inked
This is a sad tale of how the government of the Song Dynasty created and maintained a military force using the lower-class populations of medieval China. Millions of Chinese people were subjected to this system, which included tattooing.
New Medieval Books: The World of Wu Zhao
This is a good supplemental piece for those interested in the life and times of Wu Zhao or Tang Dynasty China.
New Medieval Books: A History of Chinese Literature
Although an overview of Chinese literature over the last few thousand years, much of it deals with writings and poetry from the medieval period, with the Tang and Song dynasties getting a lot of the focus.
The Origins of the Gunpowder Age
A look at the invention and innovations of gunpowder weapons in China and Europe during the Middle Ages
8th-century medical text lost for centuries has been rediscovered
Jianshangren’s Secret Prescription, a text of Chinese Traditional Medicine that was brought to Japan in the 8th century, has long been believed to be lost. However, the text has now been published after being passed down through a family for 52 generations.
15th-century Chinese painting expected to fetch up to $2.6 million at auction
A work by one of the most famous painters of the Ming Dynasty will go up for auction next month. ‘A Tranquil Place’, by Shen Zhou (1427–1509) is expected to sell for between $1.5 and $2.6 million US.
Bai Juyi: The Tang dynasty’s baldest poet
The thinning and graying of the hair on one’s head has been a preoccupation of many writers throughout Chinese history, but none more so than the Tang dynasty’s Bai Juyi (772–846).
Beating the heat: Handheld fans in medieval China
The handheld fan has been used as a means to keep cool since time immemorial. But in medieval China, this was just one of its many functions.
Polo Buddies and Rental Cabs: The Donkeys of Tang China and Their Poetic Destinies
The humble donkey was a constant presence across Tang China and a regular feature in the day-to-day business of people from all walks of life. How were these animals remembered by writers of the time?
Medieval Holy Wars
Holy wars have come in all sizes and shapes, but overall they have fallen into four categories: ritual holy wars; holy wars of conquest and conversion; defensive holy wars; and millenarian holy wars.
“Be like the River-Crab” and Other Life Lessons from the Twelfth Century
On a collection of short tips, pointers and ways of thinking about life by a former schoolteacher at the imperial palace of the Song dynasty (960–1279).
Medieval hairstyles: From bianfa to top-knots in Northeast Asia
The importance of hair and hairstyles among Chinese, Mongols and other peoples of northeast Asia during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
“Do you wanna build a snow-lion?”: Fun with snow in medieval China
The annual snowfall across much of medieval China provided various opportunities for fun and games.
How to Guard Your Tang Dynasty Tomb
Let us delve into the surprisingly colorful and cute world of Tang dynasty ‘tomb guardians’.
How volcanic eruptions contributed to the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties
Volcanic eruptions may have triggered abrupt climate changes contributing to the repeated collapse of Chinese dynasties over the past 2,000 years, according to new research.
Salt mafias and rebellion in medieval China
Salt was big business in Tang China, and for certain individuals the vibrant but illegal trade in contraband salt paved the way for grander, imperial ambitions.
Stones into Sheep: The medieval search for a legendary Daoist master
The legend of the Daoist master of Mount Redpine who could turn stones into sheep had fascinated China for centuries. Sometime in the 1200s, one man ventured up the mountain to see if he was still there.
The intriguing world of medieval Chinese ceramic pillows
Pre-modern Chinese pillows were made of hard materials like ceramics and possessed a surprising range of functions beyond simply acting as a headrest.
Medieval Chinese and Inner-Asian Politics
This week’s guest on the Medieval Grad Podcast is Soojung Han, a PhD candidate in East Asian studies at Princeton University. Soojung Han talks with Lucie Laumonier about the Shatuo Turks who rose to power in the ninth century, after the fall of the Tang dynasty.
New book explores how poison shaped medieval Chinese medicine, culture
If poison was medicinal, then what was medicine?