At the border between Kazakhstan and China, south of the Altai Mountains, there is an ancient pass called the Dzungarian Gate. Its geographical and historical significance is such that it has long been described as the only gate of the mountain wall that extends from Manchuria to Afghanistan, along 4,800 kilometers. Some researchers believe that […]
China
Posted inMiddle Ages
Subutai, the Mongol General who Conquered More Territory than Any Other Man in History
While the main character usually gets all the fame, it was common for the so-called great conquering statesmen to have, by their side and under their command, a military genius who provided them with victories. For example, Napoleon had Davout and Suchet, among many others; Itzcóatl had Tlacaélel; Pachacútec had Vicaquirao; Philip II had the […]
Posted inHistory
Ximen Bao, the Hydraulic Engineer who Created China’s First Irrigation Canal System and Abolished Human Sacrifices
Ximen Bao was a politician and philosopher who lived in the state of Wei between the 4th and 5th centuries BCE, during Ancient China’s Antiquity. He gained fame for two things: abolishing human sacrifices made in honor of Hebo (god of the Yellow River) and being considered the country’s first hydraulic engineer. He achieved the […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Advanced Material Culture from 45,000 Years Ago that Brings the Arrival of Homo Sapiens to China up to Five Millennia Earlier Discovered
Archaeologists have made groundbreaking discoveries at an excavation site in northern China that are dramatically changing our understanding of the deep past in East Asia. Researchers from China, Australia, France, Spain and Germany have been studying artifacts recovered over 50 years ago at the Shiyu site in Shanxi Province. Using modern dating techniques and multidisciplinary […]
Posted inModern Era, Second World War
The Story of the Two Japanese Officers who Competed to See who Could Kill 100 Prisoners with their Swords First
On January 28, 1948, two prisoners were executed in Yuhuatai, an urban district of the Chinese city of Nanjing. Their names were Tsuyoshi Noda and Toshiaki Mukai, both Japanese, the same age -thirty-six- and convicted for the same reason: war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the infamous Nanjing Massacre, in which the Imperial […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Archaeologists Study the Mysterious Mongolian Arc, the Network of Fortifications Stretching 405 Kilometers on the Mongolian-Chinese Border
Archaeologists study the mysterious Mongol Arch, a network of fortifications that stretches 405 kilometers along the border between Mongolia and China. Recently, a team of archaeologists made significant discoveries about an ancient wall system located in eastern Mongolia. This network of structures, spanning 405 kilometers, has been dubbed the “Mongolian Arc” due to its curved […]
Posted inArchaeology
Complex Network of Tunnels Dating Back 6,000 Years Discovered in China’s Ancient Houchongzhai Stone Town
Recent archaeological excavations at the site of the ancient Stone City of Houchongzhai, located in Qingshuihe County in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, have revealed significant new details about its sophisticated three-level defensive system. Dating between 4300 and 4500 BC, during the historical period known as Early Longshan, the city of Houchongzhai was […]
Posted inHistory
The Chinese king who minted gold coins to distribute among his subjects
The stereotype of the tyrannical, capricious, and insensitive king in the face of the people’s suffering is true to a certain extent and almost always in periods later than the origin of that institution when it was the guarantor of the survival of its people. A good example could be the Chinese Shāng Tāng, who […]
Posted inModern Era
Beijing-Paris, the automobile race of 1907 that inaugurated the tradition of celebrating victory with champagne
If there is one classic of sports celebrations, it is motor racing, where victories are showered with champagne (including competitors, hostesses and the team at the foot of the podium). It is something that has transcended to the point that other disciplines also do the same. But no one asks why, what is the reason […]
Posted inModern Era
The Chinese woman who became queen of piracy with a fleet of hundreds of ships
The classic image we have of piracy is that of a masculine and Caribbean world, something that would have to be quite nuanced. Firstly, because although it is true that buccaneers and filibusters operated basically in the Caribbean and its surroundings, it is also true that piracy is probably one of the oldest occupations in […]
