Explaining Imperial China

History 102 with WhatifAltHist's Rudyard Lynch and Austin Padgett

In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett analyze 2,000 years of Imperial China's civilizational patterns, examining how Confucian bureaucracy, geographic divisions, and cyclical dynastic struggles shaped one of history's most enduring empires.

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FOLLOW ON X:

@whatifalthist (Rudyard)

@LudwigNverMises (Austin)

@TurpentineMedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:45) Imperial China Overview & Macro History

(07:00) China's Fall of Rome Period

(12:01) Geographic Regions of China

(17:24) Sponsors: ZCash | Shopify

(23:00) Qin Dynasty Unification

(46:20) Qin Dynasty Fall & Han Dynasty Rise

(54:00) Han Dynasty Economics & Expansion

(1:25:00) Three Ruling Classes: Bureaucracy, Eunuchs, Nobility

(1:36:33) Sponsors: Netsuite | Oracle

(1:39:00) War of Three Kingdoms & Dark Ages

(1:47:00) Tang Dynasty Golden Age

(1:55:00) Neo-Confucian Renaissance & Song Dynasty

(1:58:00) Mongol Conquest

(2:00:00) Ming Dynasty Isolationism

(2:08:00) Manchu Conquest & Qing Dynasty

(2:12:04) Modern China's Challenges

(2:19:24) Wrap

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