Season 1
100 episodes · Jan 21, 2013
This 100-part season traces the development of Chinese civilization from prehistoric communities and the earliest dynasties through the fall of the Qing Empire, examining the rulers, institutions, ideas, conflicts and cultural achievements that shaped China’s history.
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S1E1China Road
Jan 21, 201345mAn introduction to the long development of Chinese civilization, tracing the ideas, institutions, cultural traditions and historical forces that shaped China’s distinctive path from antiquity to the end of imperial rule.
S1E2The Earliest Chinese
Jan 21, 201345mArchaeological discoveries reveal the prehistoric peoples who lived across ancient China and the gradual formation of communities, cultures and shared traditions that would contribute to later Chinese civilization.
S1E3The Rise of Agriculture
Jan 21, 201345mThe episode explores the origins of farming in ancient China, including the domestication of millet and rice, the growth of settled communities and the social changes produced by agricultural life.
S1E4The Origins of Civilization
Jan 21, 201345mEarly cities, ritual centers, crafts and systems of social organization illuminate the transition from Neolithic cultures to complex civilization in the lands that became China.
S1E5The Age of Early States
Jan 21, 201345mCompeting regional societies developed fortified settlements, political hierarchies and ritual authority, laying the foundations for the earliest states recorded in Chinese history.
S1E6The Xia Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mArchaeology and ancient texts are examined in the search for the Xia, traditionally regarded as China’s first dynasty, with particular attention to the Erlitou culture and debates over its identity.
S1E7The Rise and Fall of the Shang Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mThe Shang dynasty emerges as a powerful Bronze Age kingdom before internal weakness and military defeat bring its rule to an end at the hands of the Zhou.
S1E8Shang Civilization
Jan 21, 201345mOracle bones, bronze vessels, royal tombs and sacrificial practices reveal the political order, religious beliefs, warfare and artistic achievements of Shang civilization.
S1E9King Wu's Conquest of Shang
Jan 21, 201345mThe Zhou campaign against the last Shang king culminates in the Battle of Muye, establishing a new dynasty and introducing the enduring political idea of the Mandate of Heaven.
S1E10The Regency of the Duke of Zhou
Jan 21, 201345mServing as regent for the young King Cheng, the Duke of Zhou suppresses rebellion, consolidates Zhou rule and helps shape political and ritual institutions revered by later generations.
S1E11The Decline of the Zhou Royal House
Jan 21, 201345mThe authority of the Zhou kings weakens as regional lords grow more powerful, leading to the fall of the Western Zhou and the fragmented political order of the Eastern Zhou.
S1E12The Struggle for Supremacy in the Spring and Autumn Period
Jan 21, 201345mPowerful states and ambitious rulers compete for leadership while alliances, reforms and warfare transform the political landscape of the Spring and Autumn period.
S1E13Confucius
Jan 21, 201345mThe life and teachings of Confucius are explored, from his search for ethical government to the development of ideas about ritual, virtue, education and social responsibility.
S1E14Reforms Among the Warring States
Jan 21, 201345mRival states adopt sweeping military, administrative and economic reforms as rulers seek stronger governments and armies during an age of intensifying competition.
S1E15The Seven Warring States
Jan 21, 201345mThe seven major powers struggle for survival and supremacy through diplomacy, strategy and mass warfare, setting the stage for Qin’s eventual conquest of its rivals.
S1E16The Hundred Schools of Thought
Jan 21, 201345mPhilosophers including Confucians, Daoists, Mohists and Legalists offer competing answers to the disorder of their age, creating a rich intellectual legacy for Chinese civilization.
S1E17The Rise of the State of Qin
Jan 21, 201345mPhilosophers including Confucians, Daoists, Mohists and Legalists offer competing answers to the disorder of their age, creating a rich intellectual legacy for Chinese civilization.
S1E18Qin Shi Huang Unifies China
Jan 21, 201345mThe king of Qin conquers the rival states, becomes China’s First Emperor and imposes far-reaching systems of administration, law, measurement, writing and imperial control.
S1E19The Chu-Han Contention
Jan 21, 201345mAfter the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang battle for control of China in a dramatic civil war that ends with the founding of the Han dynasty.
S1E20The Parallel System of Commanderies and Kingdoms
Jan 21, 201345mThe early Han balances centrally administered commanderies with semi-autonomous kingdoms, creating tensions that test the new dynasty’s ability to maintain unity.
S1E21The Rule of Wen and Jing
Jan 21, 201345mEmperors Wen and Jing reduce taxes and state burdens, encourage recovery and strengthen the Han through cautious government, producing an era remembered for stability and prosperity.
S1E22Emperor Wu of Han
Jan 21, 201345mEmperor Wu expands Han power, confronts the Xiongnu, centralizes authority and promotes Confucian state ideology, while the costs of warfare place heavy demands on the empire.
S1E23Confucian Learning During the Two Han Dynasties
Jan 21, 201345mConfucian classics become central to education, scholarship and government as Han thinkers interpret ancient texts and establish traditions that influence imperial China for centuries.
S1E24The Reign of Emperors Zhao and Xuan
Jan 21, 201345mFollowing Emperor Wu’s expensive campaigns, the Han court pursues recovery, administrative reform and more restrained government under Emperors Zhao and Xuan.
S1E25Wang Mang's Reforms
Jan 21, 201345mWang Mang seizes the throne and launches ambitious reforms intended to restore ancient institutions, but resistance, economic disruption and rebellion bring his Xin dynasty to collapse.
S1E26The Restoration of Emperor Guangwu
Jan 21, 201345mLiu Xiu reunifies the realm after years of rebellion, restores the Han dynasty as Emperor Guangwu and rebuilds imperial government from a new capital at Luoyang.
S1E27The Silk Road
Jan 21, 201345mDiplomacy, conquest and long-distance trade connect Han China with Central Asia and lands farther west, carrying goods, technologies, religions and cultures across Eurasia.
S1E28The Pure Critiques and the Partisan Prohibitions
Jan 21, 201345mScholar-officials criticize corruption and eunuch power at the Eastern Han court, provoking political purges that deepen factional conflict and weaken the dynasty.
S1E29The Yellow Turban Rebellion
Jan 21, 201345mReligious movements, social distress and resentment of the Han government erupt into the Yellow Turban uprising, accelerating the breakdown of imperial authority.
S1E30The Three Kingdoms
Jan 21, 201345mThe collapse of the Han gives rise to the rival states of Wei, Shu and Wu, whose rulers and generals compete through warfare, diplomacy and shifting alliances.
S1E31Zhuge Liang Governs Shu
Jan 21, 201345mAs chief minister of Shu Han, Zhuge Liang seeks to stabilize the state, improve administration, develop the southwest and pursue campaigns against the stronger kingdom of Wei.
S1E32The Unification Under Western Jin
Jan 21, 201345mhe Sima family replaces Wei, conquers Shu and Wu and briefly reunites China under the Western Jin before court conflict and rebellion undermine the dynasty.
S1E33The Spirit of the Wei and Jin Periods
Jan 21, 201345mAmid political turmoil, scholars and artists cultivate personal expression, philosophical debate and unconventional lifestyles that define the celebrated cultural spirit of the Wei and Jin.
S1E34Rule by the Great Aristocratic Clans
Jan 21, 201345mPowerful hereditary families dominate politics and society during the era of division, shaping court government, official appointments and relations between northern émigrés and southern elites.
S1E35Emperor Wu of Liang's Government
Jan 21, 201345mEmperor Wu presides over a long reign marked by cultural patronage, Buddhist devotion and administrative ambition, but court weakness and rebellion ultimately devastate the Liang dynasty.
S1E36Emperor Xiaowen's Reforms
Jan 21, 201345mThe Northern Wei emperor moves the capital to Luoyang and promotes sweeping cultural and political reforms intended to integrate his dynasty with the traditions of the Central Plains.
S1E37Emporer Wu of Northern Zhou
Jan 21, 201345mEmperor Wu strengthens the Northern Zhou, curbs rival institutions and conquers Northern Qi, bringing northern China closer to reunification before his sudden death.
S1E38The Rise and Fall of the Chen Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mThe final southern dynasty struggles to preserve stability and independence until internal weakness and the military power of Sui bring the Chen dynasty to an end.
S1E39Buddhism in the Wei and Jin Periods
Jan 21, 201345mBuddhism spreads and adapts across a divided China, influencing philosophy, art, ritual and monastic life while becoming deeply rooted in Chinese society.
S1E40The Restoration of Unity
Jan 21, 201345mAfter centuries of division, Yang Jian founds the Sui dynasty, defeats rival regimes and reunifies China through centralized institutions and large-scale reconstruction.
S1E41Emperor Yang of Sui: Achievements and Failures
Jan 21, 201345mEmperor Yang expands canals, capitals and imperial projects, but costly wars, forced labor and rebellion turn spectacular ambition into the rapid collapse of the Sui.
S1E42The Reign of Zhenguan
Jan 21, 201345mEmperor Taizong and his ministers establish a respected model of Tang government based on political consultation, military success, legal order and restrained rule.
S1E43Empress Wu Zetian
Jan 21, 201345mWu Zetian rises from imperial consort to become China’s only female emperor, using political skill, administrative reform and patronage to secure her extraordinary rule.
S1E44The Prosperous Kaiyuan Era
Jan 21, 201345mUnder Emperor Xuanzong, the Tang reaches a height of wealth, cultural achievement and international influence before complacency and court tensions threaten the flourishing empire.
S1E45The An Lushan Rebellion
Jan 21, 201345mA frontier commander’s revolt plunges the Tang into years of war, causing immense destruction and permanently weakening central authority.
S1E46The Predicament of the Middle and Late Tang
Jan 21, 201345mRegional military governors, eunuch influence, fiscal strain and court factionalism erode Tang power as the dynasty struggles to govern an increasingly divided empire.
S1E47Chang'an: Metropolis of the World
Jan 21, 201345mThe Tang capital is presented as a vast, cosmopolitan city where officials, merchants, diplomats, monks and travelers from across Asia meet.
S1E48The Rise and Fall of the Tibetan Empire
Jan 21, 201345mThe Tibetan Empire expands across the plateau and Central Asia, alternately fighting and negotiating with Tang China before internal conflict brings its imperial power to an end.
S1E49Dunhuang
Jan 21, 201345mThe oasis city of Dunhuang preserves the artistic and religious legacy of the Silk Road through its caves, manuscripts, murals and centuries of cultural exchange.
S1E50The Tang Dynasty's Foreign Relations
Jan 21, 201345mEnvoys, merchants, monks and armies connect the Tang with neighboring states and distant regions, making the dynasty a central power in a broad Asian world.
S1E51Religion During the Tang Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mBuddhism, Daoism and foreign faiths flourish in Tang China, shaping art and society while also becoming entangled in debates over wealth, authority and state control.
S1E52The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Jan 21, 201345mFollowing the Tang collapse, short-lived northern dynasties and competing southern kingdoms divide China until new political and military forces prepare the way for reunification.
S1E53Emperor Taizu of Song
Jan 21, 201345mZhao Kuangyin founds the Song dynasty, reunifies much of China and limits military power through institutions designed to place civil government above the generals.
S1E54The Chanyuan Treaty
Jan 21, 201345mAfter years of conflict, Song and Liao negotiate a landmark peace that stabilizes their frontier and creates a lasting diplomatic relationship between rival empires.
S1E55Governing the Realm with the Scholar-Officials
Jan 21, 201345mThe Song expands examinations, schools and civil administration, creating a government in which educated scholar-officials exercise unprecedented influence.
S1E56Wang Anshi's Reforms
Jan 21, 201345mWang Anshi introduces controversial policies to strengthen state finances, defense and rural society, dividing the Song court between reformers and their opponents.
S1E57The Jingkang Catastrophe
Jan 21, 201345mJurchen armies capture the Northern Song capital and its emperors, ending the dynasty’s rule in the north and forcing the court to rebuild in the south.
S1E58War and Peace Between Song and Jin
Jan 21, 201345mThe Southern Song and Jin alternate between fierce warfare and negotiated peace as each seeks security, legitimacy and control of the contested frontier.
S1E59The Southern Song's Refuge in the Southeast
Jan 21, 201345mDriven from northern China, the Song establishes a new center in the prosperous southeast, where commerce, maritime activity and urban culture support a resilient dynasty.
S1E60The Dreamlike Splendor of the Eastern Capital
Jan 21, 201345mThe bustling life of Northern Song Kaifeng is reconstructed through markets, festivals, entertainment and urban scenes immortalized in art and literature.
S1E61Neo-Confucianism During the Song Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mSong thinkers reinterpret Confucian tradition through new discussions of morality, human nature and the cosmos, culminating in a philosophy that reshapes education and government.
S1E62Song Dynasty Culture
Jan 21, 201345mPrinting, scholarship, painting, literature, science and urban life illustrate the extraordinary cultural creativity of the Song era.
S1E63The Rise of Khitan
Jan 21, 201345mThe Khitan peoples unite under Abaoji, found the Liao dynasty and build an empire that combines steppe traditions with institutions suited to ruling agricultural lands.
S1E64The Founding of Western Liao
Jan 21, 201345mAfter the fall of the Liao in the east, Yelü Dashi leads Khitan followers westward and establishes a powerful new state in Central Asia.
S1E65Wanyan Aguda
Jan 21, 201345mThe Jurchen leader Wanyan Aguda unites his people, rebels against Liao domination and founds the Jin dynasty, transforming the balance of power in northern China.
S1E66The Rise and Fall of the Jin Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mThe Jin conquers the Liao and Northern Song, rules a vast multiethnic realm and then faces internal strain and the devastating advance of the Mongols.
S1E67Liao and Jin Culture
Jan 21, 201345mThe cultural achievements of the Khitan Liao and Jurchen Jin reveal societies that blended their own traditions with the institutions, religions and arts of neighboring peoples.
S1E68The Rise and Fall of Western Xia
Jan 21, 201345mThe Tangut state builds a distinctive empire along the northwestern frontier, develops its own script and culture, and survives between powerful neighbors until the Mongol conquest.
S1E69The Rise of the Mongols
Jan 21, 201345mTemüjin unites the Mongol tribes as Genghis Khan and creates a military empire whose campaigns transform Eurasia and threaten every state in northern China.
S1E70Kublai Khan
Jan 21, 201345mKublai Khan completes the conquest of the Southern Song, establishes the Yuan dynasty and governs China as ruler of a vast, multiethnic Mongol empire.
S1E71Imperial Progresses Between the Two Capitals
Jan 21, 201345mThe Yuan court moves seasonally between Dadu and Shangdu, reflecting the dynasty’s effort to balance steppe traditions with the administration of China.
S1E72Phagpa, Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yuan
Jan 21, 201345mThe Tibetan lama Phagpa becomes an influential adviser to Kublai Khan, shaping Yuan religious policy and creating a new script intended for the empire.
S1E73The Maritime Silk Road
Jan 21, 201345mPorts, ships and merchant communities link Yuan China to Southeast Asia, India and the wider Indian Ocean through a flourishing network of maritime trade.
S1E74Marco Polo and China
Jan 21, 201345mThe celebrated traveler’s account provides a window into Yuan China while raising enduring questions about observation, memory and the transmission of knowledge between East and West.
S1E75Emperor Shun of Yuan
Jan 21, 201345mThe last Yuan emperor confronts factional conflict, natural disasters, fiscal crisis and widespread rebellion as Mongol rule in China collapses.
S1E76Zhu Yuanzhang, Founder of the Ming Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mFrom impoverished beginnings and rebellion against the Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang rises to found the Ming dynasty and creates an intensely centralized imperial state.
S1E77The Yongle Emperor Moves the Capital
Jan 21, 201345mThe Yongle Emperor transfers the Ming capital to Beijing, constructs the Forbidden City and reshapes the political and strategic center of the empire.
S1E78Zheng He’s Voyages to the Western Oceans
Jan 21, 201345mThe Ming court dispatches Zheng He’s enormous fleets across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, projecting imperial prestige through diplomacy, trade and maritime power.
S1E79The Grand Secretariat System
Jan 21, 201345mThe Ming grand secretariat evolves into a powerful coordinating institution, helping emperors manage the bureaucracy despite the dynasty’s formal rejection of the chancellorship.
S1E80The Tumu Crisis
Jan 21, 201345mA disastrous campaign against the Oirats ends with the capture of the Ming emperor, creating a succession crisis and exposing serious weaknesses in court and military leadership.
S1E81Wang Yangming's Philosophy of Mind
Jan 21, 201345mThe philosopher Wang Yangming teaches that moral knowledge is rooted within the mind and must be united with action, challenging established interpretations of Neo-Confucian learning.
S1E83Zhang Juzheng's Reforms
Jan 21, 201345mThe grand secretary Zhang Juzheng strengthens finances, administration and imperial authority through ambitious reforms, but his program faces reversal after his death.
S1E84The Jesuits Come to China
Jan 21, 201345mJesuit missionaries enter late Ming China and build relationships through astronomy, mathematics, cartography and scholarship, opening a complex new era of cultural exchange.
S1E85The Market Towns of Jiangnan
Jan 21, 201345mCommercial towns, specialized crafts and regional markets transform the prosperous Jiangnan region into one of the most dynamic centers of the late imperial economy.
S1E86Silver Capital
Jan 21, 201345mThe influx and circulation of silver reshape taxation, trade and everyday life in Ming China, tying the empire more closely to emerging global economic networks.
S1E87The Chongzhen Emperor
Jan 21, 201345mThe final Ming emperor struggles against rebellion, fiscal collapse, factional conflict and external threats as the dynasty moves toward catastrophe.
S1E88Entering and Ruling the Central Plains
Jan 21, 201345mThe Manchus cross the Great Wall, seize Beijing and begin the difficult process of conquering and governing China under the new Qing dynasty.
S1E89The Consolidation of the Qing Dynasty
Jan 21, 201345mEarly Qing rulers suppress resistance, rebuild administration and adapt imperial institutions in order to secure their authority over a vast and diverse realm.
S1E90The Recovery of Taiwan
Jan 21, 201345mThe Qing defeats the Zheng regime in Taiwan and incorporates the island into the empire, reshaping maritime defense and cross-strait administration.
S1E91The Great Enterprise of Unification
Jan 21, 201345mThrough warfare, diplomacy and frontier administration, the Qing expands and consolidates a multiethnic empire across Inner Asia and the Chinese heartland.
S1E92The Grand Council
Jan 21, 201345mCreated to handle urgent military affairs, the Grand Council develops into the Qing emperor’s most efficient instrument for confidential decision-making and centralized rule.
S1E93Incorporating the Poll Tax into the Land Tax
Jan 21, 201345mA major Qing fiscal reform merges head taxes with land taxes, simplifying collection and altering the relationship between population, property and state revenue.
S1E94Civil Government and the Literary Inquisitions
Jan 21, 201345mThe Qing sponsors scholarship and cultural projects while also prosecuting writings considered politically dangerous, revealing the close connection between learning and imperial control.
S1E95Reluctant Self-Strengthening
Jan 21, 201345mAfter military defeats, Qing officials adopt Western weapons, industry and technical knowledge while attempting to preserve the dynasty’s traditional political and cultural foundations.
S1E96The Opium War
Jan 21, 201345mCommercial conflict, opium smuggling and diplomatic confrontation lead to war with Britain, exposing Qing military weakness and beginning a new era of unequal foreign pressure.
S1E97The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Jan 21, 201345mA vast religious rebellion establishes the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and wages a devastating civil war that transforms Qing politics, society and regional military power.
S1E98The First Sino-Japanse War
Jan 21, 201345mConflict over Korea ends in a decisive Japanese victory, revealing the limits of Qing reform and triggering a profound crisis over China’s future.
S1E99Reform and Revolution
Jan 21, 201345mIntellectuals, officials and activists pursue constitutional reform, modernization and revolution as the Qing struggles to respond to domestic crisis and foreign pressure.
S1E100The End of Imperial Rule
Jan 21, 201345mRevolution spreads across China, forcing the abdication of the last Qing emperor in 1912 and bringing more than two thousand years of imperial government to an end.