The broken chopstick fell to our studio floor, its shaft splintered beyond repair where Laszlo had snapped it between his fingers. "Alone we are weak," he looked Jeremy and Kaiser in the eyes while those of us outside the studio wondered faintly who would be cleaning up the mess. "But together," he continued, pulling out a bundle of many more bound tightly between ribbons of silk. "Together we are unbreakable."As should be obvious from our title, this week on Sinica we are delighted to be joined by the one-and-only Laszlo Montgomery, the force behind the China History Podcast. We waylaid the creator of our favorite history podcast during his most recent trip to Beijing, and dragged him into the studio to hold him accountable for everything he says on his shows. So if you're a fan like us, be sure to join us as we talk shop.Enjoy Sinica? Please note that we invite everyone to download and share this week's show as a standalone mp3 file. And please consider yourself warmly invited to keep yourself updated on the release of new shows with our Sinica RSS feed. We hope you like the show!
Sinica
said on September 29, 2013
RecommendationsKaiser:The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, by Simon Winchesterhttp://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Loved-China-Fantastic/dp/0060884614Jeremy:The Strangers - Blood and Fear in Xinjiang, by James Palmer for China Filehttp://www.chinafile.com/strangersLaszlo:Sauced in Translation, with Howie Southworthhttp://www.evoxtelevision.com/video/?id=123
sinnernerious
said on September 30, 2013
On the whole PRC era as another Dynasty. All dynasties are not the same and don't need to have a very rigid framework to be called as such. Kaiser strongly disagreed with this notion. And gave the example of other Govt's in other countries. But Kaiser, how many of these Govt's have been in power continuously for 60+ years. In 14 years time, the CCP will becomes the longest serving Institution- Govt of modern history, surpassing the Soviets and Mexicans. Is the North Korean regime a Dynasty? Sure their argument can be strengthened because they are keeping it within the family. But that doesn't mean having Non-related heirs means Not-A-Dynasty. How many times in history have we seen, an interregnum in a long Dynasty. Often a rogue minister/general who sets up his own court and after he is dead the older dynasty takes it place back. This happened in China and it happened in India in the past. And before Govt's were centralized in the past, the rule was much more flexible and loose, like the Zhou's, etc. Similar arrangements existed in India. And in hindsight when history is written these time periods were assigned under Dynasties(of the people who were in command, small or big).And given the history and lineage of a culture of a place like China, its not far fetched to suggest that the modern PRC is another dynasty. I think the semantics of the word Dynasty is what might be objectionable to some but in practical terms another appropriate word can be used which links the tradition.
jlemien
said on October 7, 2013
Loves the episode you guys. I started listening to Laszlo's podcast and to Sinica right at they were both starting out, and I can honestly say that both of them have made me into a smarter, more well-rounded China-watcher. Keep up the good work!
