Hi everyone. I want to let you know that I have posted the first episodes of Investiture of the Gods on the Chinese Lore Podcast. If you are not yet subscribed to that show, go to chineselore.com. You will find links to the show on various podcast platforms and on YouTube, as well as links to find me on social media and to review and support the show. If you like the podcast, a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts would be much appreciated. As always, thanks for listening!

Hi everyone. I want to let you know that on May 24, I will be part of a panel of Asian podcasters on Podbean’s Storytelling Podcast Week Live show. It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this live show will be highlighting AAPI podcasters. We will be discussing our podcasts, the stories behind our stories, and our experiences as podcasters. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you will tune in as well. The show will be live on May 24 at 3 p.m. eastern time. I have...

Check out my recent conversation with Jeremy Bai, a translator and writer focusing on Chinese fantasy genres.

I recently did two interviews on other podcasts. The first is the Mandarin Slang Guide podcast, where we talked about some common Chinese expressions that had their roots in the characters and stories of the Three Kingdoms era. The second one is Journey to the West: The Podcast, where we had a long chat about classic Chinese novels and their cultural significance, including the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Water Margin, and of course, Journey to the West. Have a listen, and also check...

If you have questions about the how's and why's of this podcast, or my thoughts on podcasting in general, post them at the Ask Me Anything hosted by WhatPods on December 16 at https://whatpods.com/show-development/ama/john-zhu.

I recently collaborated with the YouTube channel Invicta History on three videos about Three Kingdoms warlords. The videos were sponsored by Creative Assembly as part of the promotion for its new game Total War: Three Kingdoms. My role in the project was to provide research and record the narration for the videos. We covered Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei. It was a fun project. All three videos are out now, so have a look.

Back in February, I took part in a podcast conversation on the Invicta History YouTube channel with the host, Julien, and Peter Stewart, a writer from the team producing the coming “Total War: Three Kingdoms” game. We chatted for more than an hour, geeking out over the history of the Three Kingdoms period, the novel based on it, and how all of that is handled in the game. It was a fun conversation, and it was interesting for me to hear how the team worked to capture the essence of the story...

An announcement about my new podcast project, and an update on a couple things I’ve been doing with the Three Kingdoms Podcast. * Transcript* Water Margin Podcast website* Internet Archive collection of the Three Kingdoms Podcast audio files* The Three Kingdoms-themed marble panels at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology Transcript PDFDownload Hey everyone. Happy New Year! Welcome to 2019, and I just want to drop a short update on this...

An announcement about my new podcast project, and an update on a couple things I've been doing with the Three Kingdoms Podcast.

A reflection on this four-year ride, and a glimpse of things to come. * Transcript Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 154. So, here we are, the end of a journey that started on April 9, 2014, when I hit Publish on the first episode of this podcast — an episode that I foolishly numbered episode zero, creating all sorts of metadata annoyances for myself for the next 154 episodes). I had no idea what kind of audience would be...

A reflection on this four-year ride, and a glimpse of things to come.

A rapid-fire look at a bunch of supporting players in the novel. * Transcript Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is a supplemental episode. So from time to time, listeners would write in and ask if I can do a supplemental episode on this or that side character. Alas, the answer in most cases is that I just don’t have enough historical material about those characters, or their historical lives do not differ enough from their...

A rapid-fire look at a bunch of supporting players in the novel.

One hundred and fifty-three episodes later, we have finally reached the “long divided, must unite” part of the novel. * Transcript * Map of Key Locations * Graph of Key Characters and Relationships Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 153. Last time, after many delays and postponements, the kingdom of Jin finally decided to march South. Its army was cutting through Wu territory like a hot knife through butter, or if you...

One hundred and fifty-three episodes later, we have finally reached the “long divided, must unite” part of the novel.

A look at what they ate and drank during the Three Kingdoms era. * Transcript * Video: A Bite of China: The Story of Staple Foods Feast! Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is a supplemental episode. In this episode, we’re going to take a look at food during the Three Kingdoms era. As we have seen throughout the podcast, food plays a significant role in the novel. It seems like every other scene we’re having a feast or a banquet for...

A look at what they ate and drank during the Three Kingdoms era.

While their respective states are sizing each other up for conquest, the Jin and Wu commanders at the borders are getting along famously. * Transcript * Map of Key Locations * Graph of Key Characters and Relationships Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 152. Last time, we left off with the kingdom of Jin (4), aka the kingdom formerly known as Wei, sizing up the kingdom of Wu with hungry eyes. But far from worried, the...

While their respective states are sizing each other up for conquest, the Jin and Wu commanders at the borders are getting along famously.

Sure I just lost my kingdom, but look at all the fun stuff they have in the Wei capital! * Transcript * Map of Key Locations * Graph of Key Characters and Relationships Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 151. Last time, the last flicker of hope for the kingdom of Shu died with Jiang Wei, who killed himself after a failed coup that also claimed the lives of the Wei commanders Zhong Hui and Deng Ai. After order was restored,...

Sure I just lost my kingdom, but look at all the fun stuff they have in the Wei capital!

We look at the architect of the Sima clan’s rise to power. Transcript Sima Yi (Source: Wikipedia) Transcript PDF version Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is a supplemental episode. In this episode, we will take a look at the real life Sima Yi, the architect of the Sima clan’s rise to power in the Wei court. Sima Yi was unceremoniously introduced in the novel. In episode 48 of our podcast, he appeared in a passing mention where he was one of several guys...

We look at the architect of the Sima clan's rise to power.