Wee Kek Koon
Prague
SCMP Contributor
Having lived his whole life in the modern cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Wee Kek Koon has an inexplicable fascination with the past. He is constantly amazed by how much he can mine from China's history for his weekly column in the SCMP, which he has written since 2005.
Having lived his whole life in the modern cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Wee Kek Koon has an inexplicable fascination with the past. He is constantly amazed by how much he can mine from China's history for his weekly column in the SCMP, which he has written since 2005.
Languages Spoken:
English
Polarisation like that seen during America’s midterm elections often reared its head in ancient China, causing ruinous political decay.
After arriving in China 2,000 years ago, the addictive, carcinogenic nuts became popular as stimulants, royal tributes and digestion aids.
Confucius died in 479BC, but the Analects, the foundational text of his teachings, offers wisdom that remains strikingly relevant today.
In China, elites were buried with human companions as far back as the Neolithic period. Over time, symbolic figures replaced real people.
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Was Song dynasty founder Zhao Kuangyin’s sudden death the doing of the brother who succeeded him, like Czech St Wenceslas 40 years earlier?
From ancient China’s fermented grain drink li to the founding of Tsingtao Brewery, China has a long history of brewing.
Xiang Yu’s razing of the Qin capital Xianyang, which left libraries full of vital texts in ruin, was echoed centuries later in Warsaw.
In 1651, the embattled Ming court, which included several Christian converts, sent Michal Boym to seek the Pope’s aid. It never came.
Two thousand years ago, Wang Mang’s renaming of places, peoples and titles fuelled rebellions that ended both his regime and his life.
Spared execution as a baby, imperial family member Liu Bingyi grew up a palace outcast, but this served him well after taking power in 74BC.
In 729, Emperor Xuanzong marked his birthday with official ceremonies and festivities across China in a tradition that endured for centuries.
Would-be assassins came close to ending Ying Zheng’s life on at least four occasions, including one whose weapon was a musical instrument.
The Zhou-dynasty ideals of family responsibility, propriety and self-cultivation remain woven into the very fabric of China today.
The gentle philosopher was said to possess extraordinary strength, while Chinese military officers long had to pass tough physical tests.
From an emperor who demanded no one share his surname to personal protection and punishment, the reasons for name changes in China were many.
Imperial China relied on officials to run government affairs under the emperor, but as history shows, this power dynamic was a fragile one.
Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship comes amid rising xenophobia. A look at how premodern China offered varied paths to assimilation.
Fans have long been used in China for cooling and cooking and as artistic status symbols. We look at the tool’s reinvention over 3,000 years.
As temperatures soar, our columnist takes his cue from premodern Chinese, who used clothing, food and even a Chinese mantra to beat the heat.
From Buddhism’s arrival in China to European exchange in the 1800s, external forces have left a mark on Chinese vocabulary and grammar.
Hit Teochew family drama Dear You spotlights a Chinese community with a long, influential history and notable figures like Li Ka-shing.
More popularly known as go – its Japanese name – weiqi has for centuries been embraced as a mark of cultivation and refinement.
School heads in premodern China had to lead by example above all. More recently, principal Lee Cheuk-hing’s failure to do so cost him his job.
From bamboo ventilation systems to steam power and beyond, China now leads the world in producing and consuming coal, but dangers remain.
Long before electric irons, the Chinese had already developed sophisticated methods of pressing and smoothing garments.
Before chemical detergents and modern equipment, Chinese people kept their clothes clean with little more than river water, wood and ash.
Disputes over Negeri Sembilan’s next royal ruler recall how succession in China often fused dynastic legitimacy with aristocratic elections.
For premodern Chinese people, sleep was much more than daily rest – it was a cultivated discipline and a medical necessity.
Private inns served travelling merchants in ancient China and grew in number and sophistication as the economy and infrastructure expanded.
