The China History Podcast

Laszlo Montgomery
  • 4.8 (1.1K)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Since 2010, The China History Podcast, presented by Laszlo Montgomery brings you over 350 episodes of curated topics from China's antiquity to modern times.

  1. 3D AGO

    This Was Funnier in China | Laszlo and Jesse Appell

    I drove downtown not too long ago to meet with Jesse Appell to talk about his first book, "This was funnier in China" https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Was-Funnier-in-China/Jesse-Appell/9781668087565 Jesse's been performing stand-up comedy and Xiangsheng 相声 for years now. When he isn't engaging in this profession, he's managing and promoting his global tea company, Jesse's Teahouse https://jessesteahouse.com/en-us. This book tells the story of Jesse's experiences engaging with the PRC and building a nice, comfortable, and exciting life for himself. You'll learn about what it was like living there, about his apprenticeship under Xiangsheng Master Ding Guangquan 丁广泉, his performances, the comedy club he created in Beijing, a whole bunch of interesting characters, and a whole lot more. You may want to slow the audio down to half or quarter speed to take in everything Jesse has to say. This is all raw and unedited from the Livestream he ran on his various platforms. We clipped on a couple of Bluetooth mics and hit Play on my iPhone to record. The video of this recording can be found at Jesse's TikTok, YouTube, and IG. Thanks, everyone! Video of the interview: https://www.youtube.com/live/QqSNje4fRzg?si=YzMhQx_ohFt6exR4

    1h 11m

  2. JAN 28

    Ep. 371 | Choie Sew Hoy and the Sinking of the S.S. Ventnor

    I had the idea for this episode sometime during mid-summer 2025. Then I became distracted by the big project I'm working on now, then the holidays, sick cats, and the random hassles of life. This one's only 34 minutes long. My deepest apologies for all the mispronunciations of Maori names. This is the story of Choie Sew Hoy 徐肇开 and the times he lived in during the 19th-century Chinese immigrant scene in New Zealand. There was a lot more going on in the history of Chinese New Zealanders. This story is mostly limited to the events surrounding the Otago Gold Rush of the early 1860s. Here are a few YouTube videos about this topic: Journey To Lan Yuan Ep 7 Choie Sew Hoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMYHSRTVo4M Journey To Lan Yuan Ep 8 The S.S. Ventnor. https://youtu.be/Q2EXkSdIGAM?si=cEN3uft5CpyU9Rzd The Mystery of the S.S. Ventnor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg8DB42BkAk Choie Sew Hoy's descendants meet in Dunedin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhDM4pwxHdM Please consider supporting my efforts: Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast/ CHP Premium:  https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Other ways to support: https://teacup.media/support

    34 min

  3. 12/18/2025

    Ep. 370 | The Looting of the Eastern Tombs

    This one is more entertaining than anything. Mr. Andrew Shaw mentioned this looting of the eastern Qing Tombs event when I interviewed him earlier in the year. If you recall, he wrote that book called "Spoil." This time, I'm focusing on the events that went down in July 1928 at the Qing Eastern Tombs 清东陵 northeast of Beijing. This all took place in the final moments of the Warlord Era, right after the Central Plains War. This act perpetrated by warlord Sun Dianying 孙殿英 epitomized the venality of these parasites.   To get early access to all the new episodes coming in February 2027, consider Patreon or CHP Premium. Details at the Website: https://teacup.media/support

    39 min
  4. A Useful Chengyu - Hébù Shí Ròumí 何不食肉糜

    11/09/2025

    A Useful Chengyu - Hébù Shí Ròumí 何不食肉糜

    This morning, in between recording sessions, I checked out what was headlining on Drudge. And right there was the leading story, "Let Them Eat Steak." You can imagine what the piece was about. This made me think, what a perfect time to post this Chinese Saying podcast episode.  I released this one on Patreon and CHP Premium a while back. It's more or less the Chinese version of this Drudge headline. I know, I know, a lot of you, because you don't speak Chinese, despite how you feel about me, never give this Chinese Sayings Podcast a chance. The thing about these "chengyu" Chinese idioms or proverbs, whether you remember them or not, is that they all have interesting and amusing stories that are all rooted in ancient or classical Chinese history. It's true that if you are a Mandarin speaker, you might appreciate these idioms more. But give it a chance and see if you like it.  This one here, 何不食肉糜 Hébù Shí Ròumí, is regretfully a Chinese Saying that never goes out of style. This one is kind of China's version of Marie Antoinette's famous words never spoken, "Let them eat cake." This is a good one from the late 2nd to early 3rd century. And you can still use it in 2025. And being a betting man, it will most likely work well in 2026 too! Enjoy!

    13 min
  5. WWII Pacific Atrocities | Quin Cho and the Kwantung Army

    11/05/2025

    WWII Pacific Atrocities | Quin Cho and the Kwantung Army

    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

    41 min

  6. 10/23/2025

    Chenxiang, Pound for Pound, Costs More than Gold

    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 laszlo@teacup.media.

    41 min

  7. 10/01/2025

    Ep. 368 | Wang Jingwei

    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/ Early access to shows. Ad Free. Easy and convenient access to Laszlo.

    51 min
  8. Introducing The Chinatown Sting: Lucky Bird

    09/23/2025

    Introducing The Chinatown Sting: Lucky Bird

    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.

    40 min
See All (464)

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
1,074 Ratings

About

Since 2010, The China History Podcast, presented by Laszlo Montgomery brings you over 350 episodes of curated topics from China's antiquity to modern times.

Information

  • Creator
    Laszlo Montgomery
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2026
  • Episodes
    464
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © Teacup Media 2026 / LASZLO MONTGOMERY
  • Show Website
    The China History Podcast

You Might Also Like