We finish off our overview of the Ming Dynasty in this episode and also trace the rise of the Manchu’s. The period from the Jiajing emperor to the tragic suicide of the Chongzhen emperor saw a slow and steady decline in the fortunes of the Ming dynasty.
Today we zero in on the history and legends behind the Wing Chun style of king fu. We’ll also look at Grandmaster Ip Man and all those Wing Chin greats who came before him going back to the founder Ng Mui (Wu Mei).
This two-part series offers up a survey of the development of martial arts in China from the mythical times of the Yellow Emperor to the present day.
In this Part 5 episode, we get into the early years of the Later Lê Dynasty…early to mid 1400s and get as far as the end of the 19th century and the arrival of the French.
In this landmark two-hundredth episode Laszlo carries the story of China-Vietnam forward, beginning with the three Mongol invasions of Đại Việt during the Trần Dynasty.
In this episode, heroes from Vietnam history making an appearance include Ngô Quyền, Lê Hoàn, Lý Thái Tổ, Lý Thường Kiệt and Trần Thái Tông.
In this second helping, Laszlo picks up with Shi Xie and his impact on bringing Chinese culture to the Jiao region. In the timeline, we’ll be going from the Eastern Han to the end of the Tang.
In Part 9, differences between the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism is further discussed: the Lu-Wang School of the Mind (Xinxue) and the Cheng-Zhu School of Principle (Lixue). We also saved philosopher Zou Yan and the Five Elements (Wuxing) for last.
In Part 8, the basic tenets of Neo-Confucianism are introduced, with a focus on lǐ (principle) and xīn (mind) and how these two concepts caused a great divide in the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism.
The focus in this episode is on philosophical thought in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and three of the founding fathers of Neo Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai.
From Dorgon to Daoguang things were pretty tame in the Qing. But once Empress Dowager Cixi grabs hold of the reigns of power, she allows her eunuchs, most notably An Dehai and Li Lianying, to do their worst.