The famous sailor and explorer, Zheng He, is mentioned in this episode. I also read a story called Finally Being a Sailor in Stories in Kids in Chinese History (available on our website).

In this episode we talk about the first few emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

Marco Polo was one of Europe’s most famous explorers. We talk about the long trip he took to China and back (he spent 17 years in China on this trip!).

In this episode we talk about two of the major cities in the Yuan Dynasty: Xanadu and Beijing. We also talk about the Grand Canal was restored and used again during this time. A great documentary about Xanadu is in a series called Ancient China from Above.

In this episode, we talk about 2 of the most famous men in the Yuan Dynasty (and just before it): Genghis and Kublai Khan.

Yue Fei is one of the China’s most famous army leaders. I read a story from Chinese History Stories, Volume 2: Stories from the Imperial Era, edited by Renee Ting. in this episode. This is a great book that has stories from China’s history for kids.

The country was once again brought back together as one country under the Song Dynasty. In this podcast we also mention Sima Guang, Yue Fei, and Empress Zhangxian Mingsu.

Even though this time is such a short time, there was a lot of chaos and the country was, once again, divided. This is the time between the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.

Since the Tang Dynasty was so famous for its poetry, we thought it might be fun to have some of the more simple and famous poems read aloud in Chinese. A lot of these poems are poems that kids learn in schools today in China, hundreds of years after they were first written!

Since poetry was so famous for the Tang Dynasty, I thought it might be interesting to read aloud some of the poetry from DuFu, one of the famous poets of this time.

In this episode we talk about the last few emperors and famous people towards the end of the Tang Dynasty.

In this episode I read aloud a short story about Xuanzong, which is also available in “Stories of Kids In China’s History” (called "The Big Parade")

Listen to the first part of a short biography about Emperor XuanZong, one of the most famous emperors of the Tang Dynasty.

Listen to the first part of a short biography about Emperor XuanZong, one of the most famous emperors of the Tang Dynasty.

Chang’an (present day Xi’an) was the capital of the country during the Tang Dynasty. Listen to this episode to hear about the buildings that you can still see today that were from this time period in China.

Emperor Gao Zong and Empress Wu ZeTian are two of the most famous rulers in the Tang Dynasty. Listen to who they were and why they were so famous.

In this episode we talk about the first 2 emperors of the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Gao Zu and Emperor Tai Zong. We mentioned Princess Wencheng in this episode. An autobiography about her is available on our website or on amazon.com.

In this episode, we talk about the Sui Dynasty: the emperors, the great palaces of this time, and the huge canal that was built.

In this episode we talk about the end of the Jin Dynasty and the Period of Division, where the country was broken up into different parts. We also talk about some interesting stories of the kings and leaders of this time period.

This episode talks about the four emperors and other important people of this short dynasty: The Western Jin Dynasty (265-317 AD).

Even though the Three Kingdoms period was short, it’s one of the most famous time periods of Chinese history. In this podcast, hear about this time period and a fun story about Zhuge Liang.

In 184 there was a group of people called the Yellow Turbans who tried to take over the country. Listen to what happened.

One of the biggest inventions during this time was paper. Can you imagine if there were no paper at all?

In this episode we talk about how the Liu Family was able to take back the country and start again the Han Dynasty.