We leave Robert Fortune behind and look at the Swedish adventurer, explorer, cartographer extraordinaire Sven Hedin. We begin with a few selections from his book Through Asia Volumes 1 & 2. This book covers Sven Hedin's first expedition to Xinjiang, the Pamir's and northern Tibet from 1893 to 1897.
Laszlo interviews Dr. Naoko Kato about her new book that introduces the life of Uchiyama Kanzō and his historic bookstore in Shanghai's International Settlement.
Laszlo invites Mr. Andrew Singer onto the CHP to satiate the curiosity of anyone wishing to know more about what snuff is and the elegant bottles they were housed in.
Laszlo is pleased to present an interview with longtime Hong Kong resident, writer, and cartoonist Larry Feign to discuss his new novel The Flower Boat Girl.
In this special CHP Special Episode, Laszlo is thrilled to welcome Mr. Ian McCollum to discuss his new book Pistols of the Warlord: Chinese Domestic Handguns, 1911-1949.
Laszlo finishes off this brief overview of The Honorable Company. It’s a very rough landing for the East India Company as their commercial rivals and political enemies gradually put an end to their winning run going back to the 17th century.
The Honorable East India Company played a somewhat starring role during the Qing Dynasty starting from about the Jiaqing Emperor. In this first of a two-part series, I am offering you an overview of who they were, where they came from, and how they came to be so hated by so many.
The history of silk is really an amazing testament to humankind’s ingenuity and the randomness of life since Neolithic times.
In Part 2 of this series examining the forgotten life of William Mesny, we hear the second half of his story in China.
In this first part of a two-part series, we examine the life of William Mesny, an unknown character from the old days of late Qing Dynasty China. Though he never made it to the history books, he nonetheless witnessed and took part in a lot of it.
Anyone vaguely familiar with the Qing Dynasty and the lead-up to the Opium War knows of Howqua.