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Chinese history

Chinese history
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Chinese history. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Chinese actress Sun Li plays Xiang Yu during a stage production of Farewell My Concubine in New York in 2008. Xiang Yu is known for his demolition of the Qin dynasty capital in 206BC, during which his forces destroyed libraries and the thousands of books within them. Photo: Getty Images
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When centuries of Chinese knowledge were destroyed by warlord who burned a city

Xiang Yu’s razing of the Qin capital Xianyang, which left libraries full of vital texts in ruin, was echoed centuries later in Warsaw.

Chinese culture

Who was Wang Zhenyi? Chinese female scientist who defied gender expectations

Trending in China

Chinese archaeologists find 2,200-year-old ancestor of Dragon Boat Festival treat

Food and Drinks

History of mooncake moulds and their designs, and those preserving the craft

Mooncake artistry flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties, carved onto wooden moulds depicting flowers, birds and even deities.

(Left) Wooden mooncake moulds for sale at Man Kee Chopping Board in Hong Kong; and (right) mooncakes from Lung King Heen, which makes only small batches of its handmade artisanal mooncakes each year. We look at others helping preserve the ancient craft and how the design of the snacks has changed over the centuries. Photos: Charmaine Mok/Four Seasons Hong Kong
Trending in China

Chinese scientists find first proof of nose-chopping penalty for cattle thieves

Under the rule of the King of Qin (247 BC–221 BC), severed noses accumulated like mountain peaks, and carts overflowed with amputated feet.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | A Polish priest’s perilous mission to save a doomed Chinese dynasty

In 1651, the embattled Ming court, which included several Christian converts, sent Michal Boym to seek the Pope’s aid. It never came.

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Chinese culture

Being Chinese | The unspoken reason my Chinese friends choose America

When friends say they can just ‘exist’ in the US, they mean they can stop performing to the Confucian expectations that define Chinese life.

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A noodle restaurant along a largely deserted pavement in Arcadia, California. Outside the Confucian system, there is no perpetual appraisal of your earning power, your waistline or your marital status. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Chinese culture

The tragic Qing politician whose legacy lives on in descendant’s new novel

The life of Duanfang inspires E.L. Shen’s novel Foreigners, about identity, queer awakening and the immigrant experience in modern America.

From our archives

On This Day | Hong Kong mourns Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 – SCMP archive

Fifty years ago, Mao Zedong’s death sent shock waves around the world.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Amid ‘Lake America’ stink, the Chinese emperor whose renaming campaign backfired

Two thousand years ago, Wang Mang’s renaming of places, peoples and titles fuelled rebellions that ended both his regime and his life.

People take photos in front of a sign reading “Lake Ontario Now and Always” on August 29, 2026. The sign was unveiled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Fifty Point Conservation Area in the Canadian city of Hamilton after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the lake as Lake America. Photo: Reuters
Chinese culture

Famous Chinese women in folklore, from Mulan to a dynasty-toppling consort

These women have inspired countless poems, books, movies and TV shows over the centuries, but what are their stories and why do they endure?

Fan Bingbing (left) as Daji, one of the most famous women in Chinese folklore, and Tony Leung Ka-fai as King Zhou of Shang in League of Gods, a 2016 film adaptation of the 16th century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group
Travel

On a tower trip: a bike tour around China’s Unesco-listed Kaiping watchtowers

Many of the ‘diaolou’ can be reached only by farm tracks and quiet paths, making cycling the ideal way to explore them.

Mainland China

Rewriting history puts China’s image and sense of self at risk, party warns

Article warns that claims ancient Greece was a hoax or the Industrial Revolution originated in China have already hurt the country’s image.

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American cinema

How 1969 oddity The Chairman pitted Gregory Peck against Mao at ping-pong

The Cold War thriller starring Gregory Peck features a surreal encounter with Chairman Mao and a prescient warning about climate change.

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Actor Gregory Peck in a scene from the movie ‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World’, 1969. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images) Actor Conrad Yama as ‘The Chairman’, in a scene from the movie ‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World’, 1969. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | From prison and poverty to Chinese emperor: rags-to-riches tale of Liu Bingyi

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.

Liu Bingyi, who later became Emperor Xuan of the Western Han dynasty, rose to power after being spared execution as an infant. Photo: Baidu
Food and Drinks

What are five-kernel mooncakes? A history of the protein-packed treat

Rich in nuts and seeds, five-kernel mooncakes are making a comeback as a protein-packed alternative to have during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Science

Chinese script evolved like a living organism driven by natural selection: study

Research shows a small set of high-frequency building blocks shaped the writing system through a principle of economy.

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Chinese culture

23,000 bronzes, 14 years, 60 volumes: China tracks lost heritage held abroad

Peking University study reveals seven times more relics held overseas than previously thought, creating crucial evidence trail.

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Professor Zhu Fenghan is the lead editor of a 60-volume compendium documenting more than 23,000 ancient Chinese bronze artefacts lost abroad. The Collection of Chinese Bronzes in Overseas Collections is the product of a painstaking 14-year investigation. Photo: Xinhua
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Chinese emperors’ birthdays became national holidays celebrated by all

In 729, Emperor Xuanzong marked his birthday with official ceremonies and festivities across China in a tradition that endured for centuries.

Science

China sends archaeologists to South America to trace ancestral links

Joint project with Peru will start with field surveys in the Caral zone, which is home to the oldest known urban centre in the Americas.

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China’s soft power

Why Chinese media says US historians are giving ‘ammunition’ to separatists

As ethnic issues grow ever more sensitive, Beijing is alleging the New Qing History movement seeks to fracture the nation.

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Women dressed in traditional costumes brave sub-zero temperatures during a visit to Beijing’s Forbidden City on March 5. Photo: Robert Ng
China’s narrative war

Gaokao reforms could leave Chinese vulnerable to pseudo-history, academic warns

University dean’s cautionary words come as Beijing is increasingly on guard about historical views at odds with the official line.

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Since 2014, education reforms have sought to give students greater flexibility to choose subjects based on their interests and strengths. Photo: Getty Images
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Like Trump, China’s first emperor survived various assassination attempts

Would-be assassins came close to ending Ying Zheng’s life on at least four occasions, including one whose weapon was a musical instrument.

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Art

The Buddhist text in Taiwan said to bring lifetimes of luck with one glimpse

The Tibetan Dragon Canon, a huge 17th century scripture on show at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum, has set social media ablaze.

Chinese culture

Being Chinese | Rice has a place in Chinese hearts, whether we eat it or not

The importance of rice is reflected in our language and assumptions. As abundance becomes the norm, will we forget what hunger taught us?

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A farmer carries harvested rice in Daoxiang village, Heilongjiang province, in October 2024. In China, rice occupies a special place in the national imagination, somewhere between food and faith. Photo: Xinhua
Trending in China

Evidence of earliest silkworm farming outside China found, upending Silk Road timeline

4,000-year-old cocoons found in Uzbekistan likely made their way to the region 2,000 years before the Silk Road even existed.

Archaeological discoveries reveal the earliest evidence of silkworm cultivation outside China, challenging long-held beliefs that silkworms were solely disseminated via the Silk Road. Photo: SCMP composite/archaeology.org/Shutterstock
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Chinese society’s resilient moral framework has lasted nearly 3,000 years

The Zhou-dynasty ideals of family responsibility, propriety and self-cultivation remain woven into the very fabric of China today.

China’s internet censorship

China targets pseudo-history conspiracists who claim civilisations were stolen

Zhejiang agency says pseudo-historical claims – made worse by AI – reflect ignorance and fracture social cognition.

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