The China History Podcast
Laszlo Montgomery
Recent Episodes
In early 2025, I was approached by Jenny Chan at pacificatrocities.org about interviewing one of their experts in an upcoming CHP episode. I had a nice interview with Quin Cho, born in my hometown of Chicago. Those who lament that the young generation of today doesn't bother to learn history, here is some relief. When I saw him, I was surprised to see how young Quin was and how much enthusiasm and interest he has for this topic. It's refreshing to hear all this old history we're all familiar with recounted by those born in this century. We focused on the rise and fall of Japan's Kwantung Army 关东军. They've been blamed for the Mukden Incident and a whole cavalcade of atrocities committed against the Chinese people during the 1930s and 40's. In this interview, you'll get a very clear explanation of how everything unfolded.
You could have heard this episode months ago (and without commercials). Please consider supporting me at my Patreon or CHP Premium.
PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast
CHP PREMIUM: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/
Pacific Atrocities Website: https://www.pacificatrocities.org/books.html
Quin Cho Bio: https://www.pacificatrocities.org/quin-cho.html
Here's something a little different from the usual CHP fare. It concerns a natural substance that's not too well-known outside of Asia, mainly because it's so dang expensive! Chénxiāng 沉香 or Agarwood as it's also known, grows inside the heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees. Chenxiang has a few interesting things about it and is often mentioned in Chinese literature. This episode includes a bunch of poems and a couple of chengyu's that all contain references to chénxiāng. While I was on the subject, I'm also mentioning five other trees that, while nowhere nearly as expensoive as chenxiang, were rare and precious enough to be driven to the brink of extinction. These four are Xiǎoyè Zǐtán 小叶紫檀, Hǎinán Huánghuālí 海南黄花梨, Lǎowō Dàhóng Suānzhī 老挝大红酸枝, Jīchìmù 鸡翅木, and Jīnsī Nánmù 金丝楠木.
You could have heard this episode three months earlier if you subscribed to the Official CHP Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/TheChinaHistoryPodcast
CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/
The Teacup Media Website: https://teacup.media/
Thanks to all of you for listening. Reach out to me anytime at [email protected].
Hi Everyone, just coming up for air. This is actually one of the several new episodes that have been available on Patreon and CHP Premium since July, three months ago. This is a brief overview of the life and times of Wang Jingwei, the 中国头号大汉奸. Strong words. Why is he so despised? What drove him to make the decisions he did that forever branded him as a traitor to the Chinese people? He's another figure from those early ROC years that everyone has heard of but perhaps not so sure of the role he played in the history of that era. Enjoy. If the FOMO is making you lose sleep at night, consider subscribing below. Thanks!!!
Laszlo's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast
CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/
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Here's a preview of a new podcast, The Chinatown Sting, from our friends at Pushkin Industries.
In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan's Chinatown were caught in a massive undercover drug bust. But this bust was just the beginning of an even bigger case. Host Lidia Jean Kott and co-reporter Shuyu Wang interview sources who've never spoken on record before, including witnesses, defendants, and federal prosecutors, to reconstruct a case that still has repercussions today and impacted the history of American Chinatowns themselves, which developed to protect immigrants from a hostile society. Listen to The Chinatown Sting wherever you get podcasts and binge the entire season, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription—sign up on The Chinatown Sting Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.