Podcasts about Lai

In this week, we do a deep dive into Twice's latest Comeback with "Ready To Be" and what it means for their future on the world stage.Join us on Slack: https://join.slack.com/t/kpopcast/shared_invite/zt-93kzxcv6-YNej2QkyY6vaPnhEQJxk0A Hit replay playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRGVtHMPxSFwmzt-hfdf0Adk7S1mUnRxoHIT REPLAYS (TOP K-POP SONGS):KAI 카이 'Rover' MV https://youtu.be/zlTIextYnyQFIFTY FIFTY (피프티피프티) - 'Cupid' Official MV https://youtu.be/Qc7_zRjH808 PIXY(픽시) - 'KARMA' MV https://youtu.be/rpp_PErKkdQTwice Blame It On Me https://youtu.be/Mk8hIPg2dNEHALLYU THINGS:Twice Promoting In the USNayeon's teethLip Syncing in KpopSome LOONA members (who won their lawsuit against BBC) sign with Madhaus (tripleS label)HYBE withdraws from acquisition of SM & BabyMonster learning not all 7 members will debut https://www.soompi.com/article/1570522wpp/watch-ygs-new-girl-group-babymonster-learns-not-all-7-members-will-debut-in-teaser-ft-blackpinks-lisa-jennie-and-moreJimin drops solo “Set me free part 2” https://youtu.be/UaywgAqcLxIJisoo's solo debut confirmed https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/blackpink-jisoo-solo-debut-release-date-1235280279/Lai's Uproxx Piece:TWICE's ‘Ready To Be' Is An Ode To Love And Maturity https://uproxx.com/pop/twice-ready-to-be-review/CCTV Ep:A K-Pop Rant: PLEASE SING LIVE! https://youtu.be/IkC7UytDfBQThe Kpopcast Crew: twitter.com/TheKpopcasttwitter.com/Sparker2twitter.com/michaelajkpoptwitter.com/DJPeterLokpopcast.net Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

— “Magic happens when transformation occurs on the inside.” - Lai Valeria interviews Lai Tattis — She is a transformation life coach and clinical hypnotherapist who helps people to heal from their past to change their future by growing from limitation to liberation using the amazing power of their own mind that allows them to live energized, confident and purposeful lives they're excited about.  Her approach is often described by clients as intuitive, transformational, and sometimes even spiritual. She draws on philosophies from NLP, Timeline Therapy®, Modern and Traditional Hypnosis, Neuroscience, and Strategic Psychotherapy. People work with Lai because of her ability to be able to connect what's happening and unseen on the inside with her clients. For her intuition and knack for creating personalized experiences, quick breakthroughs and sustainable lasting change. With particular focus on healing trauma, abuse, anxiety, depression, addictions, phobias, and low self-esteem. Lai teachers and speaks internationally, she is an Executive Contributor On Brainz Magazine, offers professional audio tracks, online courses and one-on-one sessions remotely all over the world in a safe and supportive space. Lai is also a coach on Aura and Insight Timer and has become a popular intuitive creator of powerful meditations, hypnosis and sleep stories. She believes that magic happens when transformation occurs on the inside. Lai creates experiences through audio tracks that offer healing, restoration and rejuvenation. You can feel her authenticity and love through her soothing voice. To learn more about Lai Tattis and her work, please visit: laitattis.com               — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well. 

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 11! We definitely want to celebrate Everything Everywhere All At Once and their huge wins at the Academy Awards. Before that, we focus on the first Asian ever to be nominated for an Academy Award, Merle Oberon… not just the first Asian woman nominated for best actress. Her 1935 nomination for playing Kitty Vane in Dark Angel was the first Academy Awards nomination for any Asian Pacific Islander ever. Her life was a little wild, and not just because she was white passing and never admitted to being part South Asian and part Maori, a secret that she kept to her grave. We do take plenty of time to celebrate the Daniels, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, and the entire cast and crew of Everything Everywhere All At Once and their 7 Academy Award Wins! For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Intro 02:03 The History of Merle Oberon 18:25 Celebrating Everything Everywhere All At Once

In this week's episode, the “muthas” are learning how students are gaining valuable skills in the classroom to succeed in high-tech careers. Cammy Lai is one example of how STEM education programs are developing the next generation of innovators and problem solvers in Hawaii's schools. Lai was a middle school student when she first learned about robotics. Her passion for coding and technology got her an internship with Booz Allen in college and later, a full-time job with the firm. Now, Lai works as a successful data scientist at the Honolulu office. Booz Allen's Michael Collat, who is also the regional director of the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students, explains the pathways to a successful career for Hawaii's students.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 10! The Paper Tigers is one of our favorite Asian American movies. It's full of action, comedy, and a good dose of drama and deeper messaging. It's an award winning film that should be talked about more. In this episode's conversation, we get a chance to talk to Bao Tran, the writer and director of The Paper Tigers along with producers Mike Velasquez, of E3 Productions, and Yuji Okumoto, a veteran actor with over 100 credits to his name. Bao is also a successful editor, working on Cho Lon and Jackpot. Mike has worked as a writer, director, producer, and in visual effects. Yuji may be known for his role of Chozen Toguchi in Karate Kid II and Cobra Kai, but we loved him in Awesome Asian Bad Guys and True Believer. Bonus reason to like him. He owns the successful Seattle-based restaurant Kona Kitchen with his wife Angela. The chemistry, rapport, and respect Bao, Mike, and Yuji have for each other was apparent throughout the conversation. If you haven't seen The Paper Tigers, we highly recommend adding it to your watchlist. The significance of such an original film with a diverse, predominantly Asian American cast should be celebrated more. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Does the title sound like click bait? It is because in this episode, Geoff and Katrina are talking about a tale that, in 1892, shocked Joseph Jacobs as he was looking for Celtic Fairy Tales for his book of the same title. After our episode on the Lai of Eliduc, we're uniquely situated to talk about why he was off the mark when he said that this Snow White variant couldn't have originated in Europe. But it isn't the only Snow White tale from this area with polygamous wives saving the day and each other. Katrina tells the tale of Lasair Gheug, the King of Ireland's Daughter. In this episode we also start to collect helpers in the woods and reflective surfaces that are too honest for our dormant heroine's good. Join Us on Patreon to Support Our Endeavors!

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 9! We love bringing back guests and getting a chance to talk about more topics. Today's return guest is Brad Jenkins, the President and CEO of the AAPI Victory Fund, the first Super PAC focused on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in the U.S. Brad Jenkins has a long decorated history that includes being an award-winning producer with Funny or Die and founding Enfranchisement Productions. In today's conversation, we cover a LOT of things including a reflection on the November mid-term elections, the current congress, being a guest of Andy Kim and watching many failed votes for Speaker of the House, the importance of Ted Lieu's role in the Democratic Party, how to battle disinformation and outright lies, and what the Victory Fund will be focusing on now. We encourage you to follow the work of the AAPI Victory Fund and donate to amplify their work. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 8! February 19, 2023 marks 100 years since the landmark U.S. vs. Bhagat Singh Thind ruling that further defined who were considered caucasian in this country and eligible for citizenship. Spoilers… it didn't include people of Asian descent. Although Dr. Thind is best known for his part in this ruling, he spent his life here, providing lectures and also being an activist for a free and independent India without British rule. And he did all these while facing racism and a U.S. population that often viewed him as a perpetual foreigner. We take time to talk about his fascinating life, including his imprisonment in Omaha, Nebraska in 1942. Dr. Thind has a website created by his son where you can learn more about him. We also take time to talk about the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA.org). We recommend visiting their site, donating to their work, and buying their recent book Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Welcoming Gen back 01:54 The History of Bhagat Singh Thind 21:18 Organizations to Know: South Asian American Digital Archive

En este nuevo episodio hablamos con las chicas Yahaira González y Janeliz González, del deporte salto con pértiga. Nos hablaron de este deporte: qué es y cuáles son las cualidades que se requieren. También nos cuentan sobre los sacrificios que conllevan ser estudiantes-atletas. Nos dicen las expectativas que tienen de cara a las Justas de la LAI y muchas cosas más. No te puedes perder de esta interesante conversación. ¿Qué esperas? ¡Dale play!

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 7! Sometimes our conversations intersect with some of our other passions, including food and music. This was one of those conversations. It was such a blast talking to Tahlena Chikami! She's the lead singer of the ska group, Bite Me Bambi, and we didn't just focus on music! From the Japanese internment to vegan food to singing covers to her songwriting process, Tahlena shared all of that and so much more. A former actress, she's an extremely talented singer who's a self-proclaimed “ham,” and you can tell from the Bite Me Bambi videos and their twice-weekly Twitch stream. You can follow Bite Me Bambi on all their social media, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. You can also support them through their Patreon page. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Katrina and Geoff talk little known medieval women, specifically Marie de France, for our 2nd installment of our Snow White project. But first, has anyone ever told you that the tale of Snow White was based on a true story? Katrina explains how that theory came to be before diving into this episode's tale, The Lai of Eliduc. A story of a knight who falls in love while serving a new king...the only problem? He's already married. But when the princess swoons, see how quickly this tale becomes relevant to our project.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 6! Do you think all Asian Pacific Islanders play classical music? There are a lot of APIs who play classical music, but not all of us fulfill that stereotype, especially in the professional sector. The truth is, according to the 2016 report The Racial/Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field by the League of American Orchestras, the vast majority of professional classical musicians are white, and although Asian Pacific Islanders are the most represented classical musicians who are people of color, they are a small minority. The representation drops further for any position of power. So this week we talk about three Asian Pacific Islander composers you should know: Zhou Long, Kenji Bunch, and Cerise Lim Jacobs. To learn more and get involved, we recommend visiting Kenji Bunch's Fear No Music and Cerise Lim Jacob's White Snake Projects which both mix classical music, empowerment, and activism. To open this episode, we discuss the Grammy award wins for the API community. To close the episode we launch a new thematic series called “Not as Asian as You Might Think” where we talk about the Lazy Susan and whether it's as Chinese as most people think. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Reflecting on the Grammy Awards 03:31 Asian Pacific Islanders in Classical Music 14:09 Not as Asian as You Think: The Lazy Susan

En este nuevo episodio, tenemos a un importante invitado en el deporte de nuestros atletas pioneros, Alexis Feliciano, Director del Departamento Atlético de la PUCPR. Este nos relata sus planes y expectativas como director en el programa atlético, nos detalla cómo van nuestros atletas, información de la LAI , las fechas de los respectivos tryouts y mucho más. Si quieres enterarte de lo último en el campo deportivo de nuestra universidad, ¡Este es tu episodio! ¡DALE PLAY AHORA!

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 5! In episode 3 of this season, we talked about the amazing Kim Loo Sisters. Today's episode we had a chance to talk with Leslie Li, the daughter of the third sister, Jeneé. Other than writing the book Just Us Girls: The Kim Loo Sisters, Leslie is working on the documentary of the group and she is an accomplished author as well. She wrote the books Bittersweet as well as Daughter of Heaven: A Memoir with Earthly Recipes. We really enjoyed our conversation with Leslie, and she shared stories of the Kimmies as well as information on her books, her thoughts on diverse storytelling, what she's working on now, and so much more. To learn more about Leslie's books, visit her book page on her site. We really hope the Kim Loo Sisters documentary gets made, because we need to celebrate Asian American History before it gets forgotten. So hopefully there's a wealthy benefactor who's listening to this podcast who can help out. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Arrancamos el mes de Febrero con el Head Coach del equipo nacional de baloncesto femenino Gerardo 'Jerry' Batista. Hablamos de sus inicios como deportista, de como fue su transición para ser Coach de baloncesto. De sus mentores que lo ayudaron a ver el juego de otra manera. De sus primeras experiencias como coach hasta llegar a dominar la liga LAI con las Vaqueras De Bayamón 'Universidad De Puerto Rico recinto Bayamón'. NO dejamos su proyecto con la selección femenina de básquet entre otros temas mas. REDES Desde La Linea Podcast 👇 https://linktr.ee/DesdeLaLineaPod Gerardo 'Jerry' Batista 'No usas redes sociales' Melo 👇 @m3lolmr ''IG''

Why is writing a grant proposal so stressful? Are you supposed to just know how to do it? This episode explores: How to align your values and interests with a grant opportunity. Why most of us will end up needing a grant. Things you can learn from a grant proposal that succeeded, and from one that didn't. What your grant reviewer really needs from you and why. How to use the funder's guidelines and terminology to your advantage. Why a guide book can help you write your grant proposal. A discussion of the Grant Writing Guide. Today's book is: The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars (Princeton UP, , 2023) by Dr. Betty S. Lai, which is an essential handbook for writing fundable grants. This easy-to-use guide features writing samples, a glossary of important terms, answers common questions, and explains pitfalls to avoid. Dr. Lai focuses on skills that are universal to all grant writers, not just specific skills for one type of grant or funder. She explains how to craft phenomenal pitches and align them with your values, structure timelines and drafts, communicate clearly in prose and images, solicit feedback to strengthen your proposals, and much more. This incisive book walks you through every step along the way, from generating ideas to finding the right funder, determining which grants help you create the career you want, and writing in a way that excites reviewers and funders. Our guest is: Dr. Betty S. Lai, who is an associate professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, among others. Her work has been recognized with awards from the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Foundation. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, a historian of women and gender. Listeners to this episode may be interested in: Samples of Funded Grants Dr. Betty Lai's free newsletter Applied Research in Child and Adolescent Development: A Practical Guide, by Valerie Maholmes and Carmela Gina Lomonaco The Grant Application Writer's Workbook: https://www.grantcentral.com/workbooks/national-institutes-of-health/ The Academic Life podcast on Where Research Begins The Academic Life podcast on making a meaningful life The Academic Life podcast on dealing with rejection Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week, to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it means to lead an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 4! We begin this episode with reflections on the recent shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We also talk about the White House celebrating Lunar New Year as well as the recent nominations of Asian Pacific Islanders for the Grammy Awards and Academy Awards… and there are a LOT, with the biggest news being the 11 Academy Award nominations for Everything Everywhere All at Once. The main story continues the Award theme as we explore the life of James Wong Howe, the first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award. Have you heard of this amazing cinematographer who innovated filmmaking as a Director of Photography? He spanned some major changes in film like moving from silent films to “talkies” and going from black and white to color, but he never stopped innovating despite obstacles like racism. We close out the episode with another segment of Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters to talk about Sha Shan Nguyen. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Thoughts on Recent Shootings and the Grammy Award and Academy Award Nominees 12:40 The History of James Wong Howe 24:43 Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters: Sha Shan Nguyen

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 3! Happy Lunar New Year! We're back with a new episode. Have you heard of the Kim Loo Sisters AKA the Kimmies AKA the Chinese Andrews Sisters? We wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't, but they were really famous as a vaudeville family act and grew bigger… even performing on Broadway and in Hollywood. It's a shame that there are so few recordings of their work that have been saved over the years, but Leslie Li, the daughter of the third sister Jeneé, is working on a documentary and has written a companion book called Just Us Girls: The Kim Loo Sisters that's available on the Amazon Kindle store. The documentary is in post-production, but you can see a trailer on the movie site. You can also see Leslie's other books on her site. We begin the show by talking about Lunar New Year, including the tragic shooting in Monterey Park, CA. We close the show with Celebrations and talk about Miss Universe, The Golden Globes, and The Critic's Choice Awards… Big wins for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan! For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 The California Government Recognizes Lunar New Year and Tragedy in Monterey Park, CA 03:00 The History of the Kim Loo Sisters 21:59 Celebrating R'Bonney Gabriel, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Daniels, Pachinko, and Naatu Naatu from RRR

On this episode, Lindsey Lawton and I review December 2022 opinions from the Florida District Courts of Appeal and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.Listen. Enjoy. Subscribe. Share.·       Snow v. State, 1st DCA, Dec. 12, 2022 (stand your ground). ·       Yentes v. Papadopoulos, 2d DCA, Dec. 2, 2022 (informed consent in med mal).·       The Est. of Nicholas Blakely v. Stetson Univ., 5th DCA, Dec. 30, 2022 (exculpatory clauses for negligent acts).·       Publix Super Markets v. Alford, 5th DCA, Dec. 30, 2022 (proposal for settlement).·       Balazic v. Balazic, 5th DCA, Dec. 22, 2022 (distribution of marital property).·       Jessup v. Werner, 1st DCA, Dec. 30, 2022 (attorneys' fees; finality).·       U.S. v. Jackson, 11th Circuit, Dec. 12, 2022 (ACCA serious drug offenses).·       Henry v. AIM Indus., 2d DCA, Dec. 16, 2022 (no transcript, no appeal).·       N. Am. Co. for Life and Health Ins. v. Caldwell, 11th Circuit, Dec. 12, 2022 (suicide by cop; suicide exclusion to life insurance policy).·       Cupo v. Cupo, 4th DCA, Dec. 21, 2022 (military pensions).·       Lai v. State, 5th DCA, Dec. 2, 2022 (ineffective assistance of appellate counsel). 6th DCA's administrative ordersSend your questions, comments, and feedback to summarilypod@gmail.com.*Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for legal services.  The information provided on this podcast is not intended to be legal advice. You should not rely on what you hear on this podcast as legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please contact a lawyer. The views and opinion expressed by the hosts and guests are solely those of the individuals and do not represent the views or opinions of the firms or organizations with which they are affiliated or the views or opinions of this podcast's advertisers. This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only. Any editing, reproduction, or redistribution of this podcast for commercial use or monetary gain without the expressed, written consent of the podcast's creator is prohibited.

In today's episode of the podcast, Dr. Michael Cummings returns to discuss the use of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics. LAIs are administered in intervals ranging from every 2 weeks to every 6 months, eliminating the need for daily oral antipsychotics and thereby improving adherence.   Link to blog here.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 2! It's probably a good bet that you remember the school names and communities of Columbine, Parkland, and Sandy Hook… not to mention so many other recent school shootings. But before most of those happened was the Cleveland School Massacre in Stockton on January 17, 1989. As we approach 34 years since this incident, we don't know why it's generally ignored nowadays, but it shouldn't be. When we talk about forgotten massacres, it's understandable that events have been forgotten from a hundred years ago or more… but when something is only a few decades ago and was the worst school shooting in history at that time… it boggles our minds that it's largely ignored or forgotten. In this episode we talk about the Cleveland Elementary Shooting as well as the shooter, a 24-year-old white supremacist named Patrick Purdy. Although we spend a good amount of time going into his background, that is not to develop excuses for his horrible actions… only to illustrate how many years and opportunities there were for someone… anyone… to realize his racist rants and questionable behavior should have been called out. Anti-Asian violence doesn't happen randomly.  We recommend reading the report on the event provided to Attorney General John Van De Kamp as well as supporting the group Cleveland School Remembers. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Intro to the Most Forgotten Massacres in AAPI History 01:53 The Cleveland School Massacre in Stockton 17:42 Organizations to Know: Cleveland School Remembers

Turbulenti laiki prasa steidzīgus risinājumus, taču konservatīvajam cilvēkam nav viegli pārkārtot savus paradumus, pat ja nepatikšanas jau min uz papēžiem. Tā varētu dēvēt arī šobrīd notiekošo klimata un dabas jomā. Enerģētikas krīze pasaulē lika iepauzēt vienu otru klimata mērķi un pats klimata samits šogad tiek dēvēts par fiasko. Arī bioloģiskās daudzveidības saglabāšana palikusi novārtā ekonomiskās krīzes, politiskā saspīlējuma un steidzīgi pieņemtu lēmumu dēļ. Kas paveikts un kas iekavēts nospraustajos mērķos vides aizsardzībā, raidījumā Zināmais nezināmajā analizē Pasaules dabas fonda direktors Jānis Rozītis, Latvijas dabas fonda priekšsēdētājs Andrejs Briedis un Dabas aizsardzības pārvaldes Dabas aizsardzības departamenta direktore Gita Strode. "Šis karš, kas ir 24. februārī sācies, un tam ir ne tikai milzīga negatīvā ietekme uz cilvēkiem, bet tam ir ļoti liela mēroga ietekme uz dabu un klimatu, un tas noteikti ir notikums numur viens," aizvadīto gadu vērtē Jānis Rozītis. " Šīs ietekmes, es noteikti domāju, ka izjutīsim mēs un Ukrainas iedzīvotāji vēl desmitgades - es domāju no piesārņojuma viedokļa cilvēki, kas dzīvo Ukrainā, un tai pat laikā, es domāju, arī mēs kā nosacīti tirdzniecības partneri. Tam ir liela ietekme uz klimata jautājumiem, arī tas ir, gribētu teikt, mērāms vairākās desmitgadēs, jo gan lēmumos Eiropas Savienībā, gan globāli ir kaut kas palielinājies un skatīsimies, kā tas attīstīsies tālāk.  Šis tiešām ir tas skumjais notikums 2022. gadā, bet ir arī globāli bijuši divi ļoti nozīmīgi jautājumi starptautiski. Pirmkārt, tā ir Monreālas vienošanās, bioloģiskās daudzveidības samits, kur pirmoreiz vēsturē valstis vienojās par to, ka 30% no sauszemes jāvirza ar mērķi bioloģiskās daudzveidības aizsardzībai. (..) Un otrā lieta, kas, man liekas, starptautiski ir liels notikums ir vasara ar dabas atjaunošanas regulu Eiropas Savienībā, kas atkal ir pirmoreiz vēsturē, kur savā starpā vairākas valstis tiek aicinātas stingri mainīt likumdošanu, pievērsties bioloģiskās daudzveidības aizsardzībai jau ar konkrētiem virzieniem, konkrētiem mērķiem." Andrejs Briedis vērtē, ka  gads bijis : diezgan drūmi mākoņains ar atsevišķām tādām sudraba vai zelta mākoņu maliņām", gan Latvijā, gan globāli. "Par Latviju runājot, vēl joprojām sabiedrībā un politiķu vidū šķiet, nav izpratnes par dabas daudzveidības krīzi, ka tas notiek kaut kur tur ārā, ka tas mūs neskar, kā mēs varēsim tā mierīgi turpināt dzīvot tāpat, kā līdz šim," atzīst Andrejs Briedis. Gada augs Latvijā 2023 - parastā purvpaparde Latvijas Botāniķu biedrība par 2023. gada augu izvēlējusies parasto purvpapardi, tādējādi aicinot iepazīt slapjos mežus, purvus un citas pastāvīgi mitras vietas, kur atrodama šī suga. Tā ir paparde, kura no visām paparžu sugām aug vismitrākajās slapjās vietās - tur, kur pavasarī ūdens var būt līdz pat ceļiem un tāda situācija mēdz būt arī vasarās. Var teikt,  tā burtiski aug ārā no ūdens, un ne katram augam tas ir pa spēkam un arī ne katrai papardei – tā  par izraudzīto šī gada augu saka biotopu eksperte un Latvijas botāniķu biedrības pārstāve Anete Pošiva-Bunkovska. Latvijā ir zināmas 25 paparžu sugas un nezinātājam, skatoties uz parasto purvpapardi, šķiet, ka tā neatšķiras no citām dabā izplatītām papardēm – tādām pašam eglīšu formas gludām lapām uz tieva kāta, taču, kā skaidro Anete Pošiva-Bunkovska, šī paparde veido audzes. Ja dārzos vai sausās vietās augošās papardes veido rozetes, tad purvpaparde veido audzes, vasarā minētajās slapjās vietās tās zemi nosedz kā zaļš paklājs. Tuvākā radiniece tai ir plūkspaparde, taču tā aug sausās vietās.  Parastās purvpapardes sevišķums ir tās dzīvotnē un arī, kā teikts Latvijas botāniķu biedrības izplatītajā paziņojumā par gada augu, tad purvpapardei piemīt spējas uzsūkt smagos metālus, tāpēc pasaulē notiek eksperimenti ar tās pielietojumu notekūdeņu attīrīšanā. Par to stāsta Anete Pošiva-Bunkovska. Kā allaž, izziņojot gada nominantu dabā, cilvēki tiek aicināti ziņot par konkrētā titula ieguvēja datiem. Arī šogad portālā dabasdati.lv ļaudis var ziņot par parastās purvpapardes novērojumiem. Lai arī augs ir parasts un izplatīts, tomēr dati var noderēt, skatot sugu izplatību, un īpaši tiek gaidīta informācija par parastās purvpapardes izmantošanu pārtikā un ārstniecībā. Tātad, ja jums ir zināmas senas vai arī ne tik senas receptes par šī auga lietošanu šādiem praktiskiem nolūkiem, tad rakstiet uz botāniķu biedrības e-pastu: botaniku-biedriba@hotmail.com.

Pievēršam uzmanību tam, kas notiek Romas Katoļu baznīcā un arī Vatikānā. Vecgada dienā mūžībā devās iepriekšējais pāvests Benedikts XIV. Viņa nāve pievērš skatu šai pasaulē mazākajai, bet salīdzinoši ietekmīgajai valstij. Otru raidījuma daļu veltām Gruzijai. Eiropas Parlaments ir aicinājis ieviest sankcijas pret Gruzijas premjerministru un viņam pietuvinātiem cilvēkiem, spriedzes pamatā ir bijušā prezidenta Mihaila Saakašvili atrašanās Gruzijas cietumā. Valdošās partijas ģenerālsekretārs paziņojis, ka valsts ir gatava pat atteikties no virzības uz Eiropas Savienību, bet Saakašvili no cietuma neizlaidīs.  Aktualitātes analizē Latvijas Universitātes Teoloģijas fakultātes mācībspēku – docents Andris Priede un profesore Laima Geikina, Eiropas Parlamenta deputāte Inese Vaidere un Leonards Inkins. Pāvesta Benedikta otrā aiziešana 2022. gada pēdējā dienā savu mūža gājumu noslēdza Jozefs Aloizs Racingers, daudz plašāk pazīstams kā pāvests Benedikts XVI, Romas katoļu baznīcas galva no 2005. līdz 2013. gadam. Kardinālu konklāva ievēlēts pēc tam, kad mūžībā bija devies viņa priekšgājējs – harizmātiskais Jānis Pāvils II; pāvests Benedikts kļuva par pirmo vācieti šai amatā pēc teju tūkstoš gadus ilga pārtraukuma. Viņa ievēlēšana tika uzlūkota kā zināma Katoļu baznīcas tradicionālistiski orientētās ievirzes uzvara. Savas karjeras sākumā vairāk nekā ceturtdaļgadsimtu pavadījis kā akadēmisks teologs, viņš bija viena no nozīmīgākajām autoritātēm baznīcas doktrīnas jautājumos, pirms savas ievēlēšanas vadot Romas Kūrijas Ticības doktrīnas Svēto kongregāciju, savulaik pastāvējušās Romas inkvizīcijas institucionālo mantinieci. Tiek minēts, ka principialitāte un argumentācijas prasme, skaužot ticības maldus, savulaik sagādājusi šim ārēji atturīgajam vācietim iesauku „Dieva rotveilers”. Populārā līmenī visplašāk pamanītais Benedikta XVI solis bija daļēja t.s. Latīņu jeb Vecā rita mesas atgriešana apritē pēc tam, kad tā bija de facto noliegta kopš t.s. Jaunā rita mesas pieņemšanas 1969. gadā. Tomēr Romas katoļu baznīcas vēsturē šis pontifiks paliks pirmām kārtām ar savu atkāpšanos no amata 2013. gada februārī. Iepriekšējo reizi pāvesta atkāpšanās bija pieredzēta 1415. gadā, taču toreiz iemesls tam bija t.s. Lielā jeb Rietumu shizma – šķelšanās katoļu baznīcas iekšienē, kad vienlaicīgi no konkurējošām frakcijām bija ievēlēti veseli trīs pāvesti, un viņu atkāpšanās bija samierināšanās nosacījums. Par Benedikta XVI patiesu līdzinieku var uzlūkot pāvestu Celestīnu V, kurš, sabijis pāvestos nepilnu pusgadu un nespēdams nest varas smagumu, atkāpās no amata 1294. gadā, tātad vairāk nekā 700 gadus pirms Benedikta XVI. Kā savas atkāpšanās iemeslu Benedikts XVI minēja amata pildīšanai nepietiekamus fiziskos spēkus, tomēr viņa aiziešanu neizbēgami pavadīja spekulācijas par Vatikānā izplatīto korupciju un ar priesteru seksuāliem noziegumiem saistītiem skandāliem kā patieso iemeslu. Lai kā arī nebūtu, šī virsgana rīcība uzskatāma par visai revolucionāru soli, kas nepārprotami atspoguļo laikmetam raksturīgu pārmaiņu iespaidu arī uz tādu senās tradīcijās sakņotu institūciju kā Romas katoļu baznīca. Tagad nu Augstākais pontifiks emeritus, kā viņš tika oficiāli dēvēts pēc atkāpšanās, no mums atvadās pavisam, un viņa aiziešana atkal uzjundījusi viedokļus par pāvesta institūcijas raksturu un lomu mūslaiku pasaulē. Benedikta XVI sekotājs virsgana krēslā, pāvests Francisks, tiek daudzu uzlūkots kā pārlieku radikāls modernizētājs, pat dēvēts par kreisu ekstrēmistu. Ievērojot, ka arī viņam spēka gadi jau pasen aiz muguras, Vatikāna pakalns jau drīz var pieredzēt vēl vienu progresistiskās un tradicionālistiskās strāvas spēkošanās raundu. Glābjot cietumnieku Saakašvili 4. janvārī daudzviet Eiropā un citur pasaulē pie Gruzijas vēstniecībām pulcēsies protestētāji, pieprasot Tbilisi valdībai atvieglot ieslodzītā eksprezidenta Mihaila Saakašvili likteni. Bijušais Gruzijas prezidents atrodas apcietinājumā kopš 2021. gada oktobra, kad atgriezās dzimtenē pēc apmēram septiņus gadus ilgas trimdas, cerot uz viņa partijas Apvienotā Nacionālā kustība uzvaru pašvaldību vēlēšanās un plašu tautas atbalstu, kas neļautu varai īstenot viņam aizmuguriski piespriesto sešu gadu cietumsodu. Šīs cerības nepiepildījās. Cietumā Saakašvili uzsāka badastreiku, kuru pārtrauca pēc tam, kad varas iestādes piekrita viņu ievietot slimnīcā. Tomēr Saakašvili veselības stāvoklis šī gada laikā turpināja strauji pasliktināties, un novembrī parādījās ziņas, ka, iespējams, nopietni apdraudēta viņa dzīvība. Matu un nagu paraugos, kas tika iegūti pirms pāris nedēļām, kad Saakašvili apmeklēja viņa amerikāņu advokāts Massimo D'Andželo, esot konstatēts arsēns un dzīvsudrabs, un pastāv aizdomas, ka cietumā viņš varētu būt mērķtiecīgi saindēts. Eksprezidents strauji zaudē svaru un, kā liecina nesenākie videoieraksti, vairs nespēj normāli paiet. 14. decembrī Eiroparlaments pieņēma rezolūciju, aicinot Gruzijas varasiestādes atbrīvot Mihailu Saakašvili, lai viņš varētu doties ārstēties ārzemēs. Tā vietā, kā ziņots, ieslodzītais 29. decembrī pārvietots no civilās slimnīcas, kur tika turēts līdz tam, uz kara hospitāli. Mihails Saakašvili kļuva par Gruzijas prezidentu 2004. gada janvārī, pēc tam, kad t.s. Rožu revolūcija bija piespiedusi atkāpties no amata viņa priekšgājēju, kādreizējo Padomju Savienības ārlietu ministru Eduardu Ševardnadzi. Viņš bija tobrīd jaunākais valsts prezidents Eiropā, un īstenoja apņēmīgu un daudzējādā ziņā efektīvu politiku korupcijas apkarošanai un labas pārvaldības normu ieviešanai, nepārprotami iezīmējot Gruzijas orientēšanos uz tuvināšanos Eiropas Savienībai un NATO. Gan viņa nākšana pie varas t.s. „krāsainās revolūcijas” rezultātā, gan prorietumnieciskā orientācija padarīja Saakašvili ļoti netīkamu Vladimiram Putinam. Tiek pat minēts, ka Kremļa saimnieks uzskatot Gruzijas eksprezidentu par savu personisku ienaidnieku. 2008. gadā Krievijas Federācija īstenoja militāru agresiju pret Gruziju, smagi iedragājot mazākās kaimiņvalsts aizsardzības spējas un atraujot no tās separātiskos Abhāzijas un Dienvidosetijas reģionus. 2012. gadā Apvienotā Nacionālā kustība zaudēja vēlēšanās partijai „Gruzijas sapnis”, kuru bija nodibinājis miljardieris Bidzina Ivianišvili, un kuru daudzi uzskata par Kremļa īstenotu projektu. Zīmīgi, ka laikā, kad Mihails Saakašvili uzturējās ārzemēs, nedz Interpols, nedz vairāku valstu valdības neņēma vērā Gruzijas institūciju prasības par viņa arestu un izdošanu. Sagatavoja Eduards Liniņš.    Eiropas Parlamenta granta projekta „Jaunā Eiropas nākotne” programma.* * Šī publikācija atspoguļo tikai materiāla veidošanā iesaistīto pušu viedokli. Eiropas Parlaments nav atbildīgs par tajā ietvertās informācijas jebkādu izmantošanu. 

Dr. Calvin Lai grew up in Canada near Toronto and then moved to New Jersey when he was ten years old. Much of what he learned about race and race relations was channeled through topics in his history classes and his daily experience as an Asian, particularly Canadian Asian American. However, it wasn't until he learned about implicit bias and other related systemic factors that he was able to unlock the vocabulary “for all these kind of subtle acts of exclusion that I had encountered over the years, growing up as an immigrant and so that's kind of what made me so passionate about it…to understand how it works…and what we can ultimately do about it in terms of, you know, giving everyone the kind of fair treatment they deserve.” Dr. Lai recalls first getting interested in the social sciences as a senior in high school where he took a sociology class which sparked the initial interest of using tools of science to better understand people. At this point, he thought that he would become a sociologist, then he took a psychology class and admits that he got the “bug” there too which explains why he graduated with his BA in psychology and sociology as he sees them as complementary. Dr. Calvin Lai is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. In this podcast, Dr. Lai discusses his academic and professional journey and shares his advice to those interested in the field of psychology and offers practical advice to those interested in applying for doctoral programs in psychology. For example, he suggests that you figure out what you are passionate about, build research experience, and find mentors who can help you figure out where to apply. You need more than a good GPA and a good GRE score. Although, these will get you past the initial cutoff, Dr. Lai points out that PhD advisors may often only get to pick one person that entire year, so they are looking for a candidate who really knows what they're signing up for and “if you have the experience to show that you do know what you're signing up for, that's going to be a real big leg up for a particular PhD advisor.” Dr. Lai is the Director of the Diversity Science Lab at Washington University. When asked how important lab, or research, experience is for someone who wants to attend graduate school in psychology, Dr. Lai states “it is super-duper important.” He adds “I can't think of a single PhD student” who didn't have experience before applying to a doctorate program. He states, “if you are able to, it's really, really important to try to do something like an honors thesis or senior thesis or capstone project.” Therefore, it is essential to gain some research experience if you want to set yourself apart from others during the graduate application process, especially at the doctoral level. When asked what the most important thing was when selecting a graduate psychology program, Dr. Lai states “number 1, by far, was the kind of research fit in terms of, like, if I'm going to spend like five years mostly in the office by myself studying some topic, I really wanted to be sure I was passionate about that topic” but also figuring out “what are my career opportunities likely after going through this graduate program?” Dr. Lai shares “the thing that really blows my mind is just how many different types of graduate degrees that you could pursue that are related to psychology, particularly if you're interested in things that are related to clinical practice.” So, doing research on the branches or fields of psychology as well as careers in psychology may help guide you when selecting your academic and career path. During our discussion, we also discussed funding options when applying for graduate programs. You typically get more funding opportunities when you apply to a doctoral program than a master's program. When applying to graduate programs, consider the funding package they offer in your decision.

Vamos a enfrentar a un F1 contra un Indicar… pero… ¡Cambiamos los papeles! Prepararemos un Fórmula 1 para óvalos y un Indycar para circuitos ruteros… a ver que pasa. ¡Vais a alucinar! Y ahora vamos con el vídeo, porque… ¡Me encantan estos vídeos! Las elucubraciones de este estilo me gustan mucho. Y todo surgió a raíz del vídeo sobre los F1 y los Hypercars. Muchos me preguntasteis por los Indycar, comentando que eran más rápidos que los F1. Y uno de vosotros, Andrés Cortés, me pedía un video sobre el tema… siempre los digo, ¡vuestros deseos son órdenes! Y aquí tenéis el video. Los monoplazas americanos, en los óvalos, se acercan a los 400 km/h, llegan a las 235 millas por hora, que es como lo miden ellos, unos 378 km/h… no está mal. Los F1 no llegan a tanto… pero se acercan. En el que es probablemente el circuito más rápido del Mundial, el Autódromo de Monza, los Red Bull rasparon los 360 km/h… que tampoco está mal. Y es que Monza es muy rápido… pero comparado con un óvalo americano, es una ratonera. Porque los F1, como todos sabéis, corren en circuitos, y que nadie de ofenda, “de verdad”. No digo mejores o peores, sino más auténticos, porque cuando vas en un coche lo que te encuentras son rectas más o menos largas y curvas de todo tipo… lo mismo que en un circuito de verdad. Los óvalos tienen su dificultad, no lo niego, pero el algo más “artificial”. Aunque os recuerdo que lo Indycar también corren en circuitos ruteros y urbanos… pero menos. Y en los circuitos “de verdad” los tiempos se hacen en las curvas, no en las rectas. Algunos pensaréis que en las rectas también… si claro, pero ¿Qué es lo más importante para alcanzar una alta velocidad en resta? ¿Tener caballos? ¿Tener buena aerodinámica? Pues no… eso importa, pero lo importante es entrar muy rápido. Los F1 son coches diseñados para ser rápidos girando. No me refiero solo a la aerodinámica, sin duda lo más importante, sino también al reparto de pesos, esquema de suspensiones y respuesta del motor. Analicemos un poco esto. Pero la clave de todo la tiene la aerodinámica. Desde que en 1968 a Chapman se lo ocurriese montar alerones, por cierto, copiando a Jim Hall, de Chaparral, nada volvió a ser como antes. La Indycar tiene unos reglamentos técnicos, pero también deportivos, que priman los bajos costes, por tanto, la igualdad y por ese camino, el espectáculo. Los chasis son únicos y el motor, solo uno térmico, de 2,2 litros, 6 cilindros en V y turbocompresor, ofrece hasta 700 CV. Los F1 juegan en otra división: Cada escudería tiene su chasis y el llamado “paquete aerodinámico” de su propio diseño relativamente libre. Son híbridos, como bien sabéis, y la potencia sumada del motor térmico V6 de 1,6 litros turboalimentado, más el motor eléctrico, superan los 1.000 CV. Y, además, cuentan con la ayuda en las aceleraciones que supone tener motor eléctrico, con un excelente par. ¡Y llegamos a nuestro experimento! Vamos a preparar un F1 para rodar en un oval. ¿Una locura? Pues no tanto si consideramos que desde 1950 hasta 1960, ambos inclusive, las 500 Millas de Indianápolis eran puntuables para el Mundial de F1… así que tanta locura, no es, ¡ya se ha hecho! Vamos a hacerlo virtualmente, claro. Para adaptar un F1 a un óvalo habría que trabajar en muchos sentidos, pero los más importante son estos: - Aerodinámica. ¡Fuera alerones! No, no digo quitarlos, pero si quitarle apoyo aerodinámico al coche. No olvidemos que los actuales F1 tienen un efecto suelo muy poderoso. - Suspensión. Hay que endurecerla, porque el peralte hace que la fuerza centrífuga “empuje” el coche contra el suelo. Además, muchas veces se usas reglajes asimétricos y sería necesario suavizar la respuesta de la dirección. - Trasmisión. Muy importante, hay que ponerla más “larga”. - Hibridación. No sirve de mucho en un óvalo, porque como no hay frenadas, no hay recarga… Este punto es muy importante, pues lo F1 dispondrían de sus más de 1.000 CV unas pocas vueltas… luego, se quedarían sin batería. Pese a todo se estudia la hibridación de los Indy. Con estos cambios, a una vuelta, está claro que un F1 superaría fácilmente los 400 km/h incluso se acercaría a los 450 km/h… una locura. Según LAI ni de coña… yo creo que sí. Eso sí, en tandas largas las diferencias serían mucho menores, pero siempre a favor del F1. La conclusión para mí es sencilla: ¡Cuánto me gustaría ver a los F1 corriendo en un oval! Pero no lo veremos. Los que está claro es que, por tecnología, nivel de pilotos e ingenieros y relevancia, la F1 está claramente por encima de la Indycar… En este video, con tintes USA, he elegido para Coche del Día un modelo USA que me gustó: El Cadillac Allante de 1987. Un coche que presumía de tener la cadena de producción más larga del mundo.

Par Gada putnu 2023. gadā izraudzīta lakstīgala. Tam ir trīs iemesli: pirmais - Ukraina, otrais - dziedātājputns, kas nav biežs gada putns, trešais - dabas aizsardzība. "Lakstīgala izvelēta kā mūsu atbalsta izrādīšana notikumiem Ukrainā. Lai arī Ukrainai īsti nav nacionālo simbolu, augu un putnu, bet interneta resursi lakstīgalu sauc par neoficiāli oficiālo Ukrainas putnu. Viņi arī identificējas ar šo putnu," skaidro Latvijas Ornitoloģijas biedrības projektu vadītājs putnu eksperts Andris Dekants. "Ir leģenda, ka agrāk lakstīgalas dzīvojušas tikai Indijā, bet tad viņa apciemoja Ukrainu un, dzirdot vietējo iedzīvotāju skumjās dziesmas, lakstīgala sāka dziedāt savu dziesmu ar mērķi iepriecināt cilvēkus. Ukraiņi lakstīgalai atbildēja ar prieka pilnām dziesmām. Kopš tā laika lakstīgala pavasaros apciemo Ukrainu, lai klausītos ukraiņu dziesmas. Zinām, ka šobrīd tās nav prieka dziesmas, tās ir skumju pilnas, gribam arī aicināt Latvijas iedzīvotājus, dzirdot lakstīgalu, domāt par Ukrainu un veidiem, kā izrādīt atbalstu." Otrs iemesls - lakstīgala ir dziedātājputns. iepriekš gada putni bijuši fotogēniski, krāsaini. "Lakstīgala tik daudz nedižojas ar savu izskatu, bet ir skaistā dziesma. Gribam arī vairāk aicināt Latvijas iedzīvotājus ieklausīties putnu dziesmās," norāda Andris Dekants. Trešais iemesls - dabas aizsardzība, jo lakstīgalas populācija Latvijā samazinās. "To rāda ligzdojošo putnu uzskaita. Kopš 2005. gada mēs esam zaudējuši apmēram ceturto daļu lakstīgalu populācijas," skaidro Latvijas Universitātes asociētais profesors bioloģijas zinātņu doktors Ainārs Auniņš. Divi iespējamie iemesli, kāpēc populācija sarūk, ir klimata pārmaiņas. Klimats pamazām Latvijā kļūst lakstīgalai nepiemērotāks.  "Klimatam kļūstot siltākam, simts gadu laikā izplatības areāls tā atkāpsies, ka Latvijā viņa vairs neligzdos un būs tikai sastopama caurceļošanas laikos pavasaros un rudeņos. Vieta tukša nepaliks - pie mums ienāks rietumu lakstīgala," atzīst Ainārs Auniņš. Vai populācijas samazinās iemesls ir klimata pārmaiņas, vēl nevar spriest. Iespējams, tie ir citi iemesli, kas saistīt ar to, kā sugai klājas ziemošanās vietās Āfrikā. Ekotoksikoloģijas pētījums par Patagonijas putniem Pašlaik, kad Latvijā valda ziema un kad nominācija “Gada putns” tradicionāli tiek piešķirta kādai vietējai putnu sugai, šajā stāstā aizceļosim uz tālu un siltu vietu ar putnu sugām, kas Latvijā nav sastopamas. Vēl vairāk – noskaidrosim, kā konkrētas putnu sugas palīdz iegūt informāciju par vides piesārņojumu. Alesandro di Marčio (Alessandro Di Marzio) ir Rīgas Nacionālā zooloģiskā dārza Zinātniskās darbības vadošais speciālists. Pirms ierašanās Latvijā viņš studējis Itālijā, pēc tam Spānijā, bet vēlāk viņa ceļš aizvedis līdz Argentīnai. Tur Alesandro veicis ekotoksikoloģijas pētījumu par Patagonijas putniem, tostarp maitas putniem Andu kondoru, Amerikas melno grifu, tītaru grifu, kā arī karakaru un čimango. Ekotoksikoloģija pēta toksisko vielu un fizikālo faktoru iedarbību uz dzīvajiem organismiem, un Alesandro un viņa kolēģu uzdevums bijis noteikt smagā metāla – dzīvsudraba – piesārņojumu, mērot to putnu spalvās. Kā tas bijis iespējams, par to stāsta Alesandro di Marčio.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 1! Can you believe we're in season 3? In this first episode of 2023, we focus on some of our favorite topics and conversations, including the following… Episodes we want everyone to listen to: ICYMI Encore Episode of Celebrating Anna May Wong Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad The United States vs Wong Kim Ark The History of Nuclear Weapons Testing in the Pacific Islands Favorite non-interview episodes: The History of Ketchup The History of Cambodian Doughnut Shops The History of Hawaii Regional Cuisine The History of Climbing Mount Everest AKA Chomolungma Favorite conversations: A Conversation with Oliver Chin (Get his latest, More Awesome Asian Americans)  A Conversation with Grace Lin A Conversation with Buddha Lo A Conversation with Anthony Christian Ocampo (Get Brown and Gay in LA) A Conversation with the Creative Women of Kwento Comics (Get the Mask of Haliya!) Thanks to the MPR Firm for helping facilitate amazing conversations with Yvonne Chapman, Jacky Lai, Tony Jiu Hoong Giroux, Hiro Kanagawa, and Dorren Lee! Favorite recurring segments: Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters like Collective Man and Tsunami Origin of Mongolian Spots Thanks to everyone we interviewed and all who have tuned in to listen. Did we miss mentioning some of your favorites? Let us know! Happy New Year!!! For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Intro 00:46 A Few of Our Favorite Things

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 58! We're back with our final episode of 2022, and it's a fascinating piece of ethnic enclave history. Most Chinatowns across the world have similar structural elements: pagodas, specific colors, terra cotta tiles, and more. So how did this happen? It might surprise you that stereotypical Chinatown architecture was created by white people hired by Chinese Americans. Although San Francisco was the first place this happened, their success in creating a welcoming environment influenced the re-design of almost all Chinatowns across the world. We also take time to celebrate Ted Lieu and Michelle Yeoh in the second segment. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Thanks and an Intro on Chinatown Architecture 02:05 The History of Stereotypical Chinatown Architecture 14:15 Celebrating Ted Lieu and Michelle Yeoh

Last time we spoke tension was brewing within the Taiping capital between the the heavenly king and his subordinate kings. The Foreigners were debating who would win the civil war for China and who would be the best bet for trade. The new Yung-Ying armies, such as the Xiang army of Zeng Guofan began to encircle Nanjing in an effort to strangle the Taiping. Within the Taiping capital, conflict finally broke out and Yang Xiuqing was murdered by his comrade King Wei Changhui. When Shi Dakai found out he demanded blood, leading to Wei Changhui's death and almost his own, but he fled Nanjing, taking a large army with him to campaign in exile. Now Hong Xiuquan fell into a depression and fell into seclusion, who would lead the movement now that the great taiping kings were all gone? #28 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 5: Out with the old kings, in with the new   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   With Shi Dakai's departure, Hong was put in quite a pickle, as one of his commanders, General Li said “morale declined and there was no unified policy. Each went his own way. The Sovereign did not place complete confidence in anyone. He had been frightened by the East, North and Flank Kings and dared not trust other ministers, but placed all his trust in members of his own clan”. Thus the Taiping fortune had turned dramatically, the period of swift campaigns and sweeping victories had ended. They would not be able to exploit the blitzkrieg like momentum they once held. Now the Qing provincial armies would organize and begin the process of wrestling back control over vital and strategic territories in the upper Yangtze valley. Hong Xiuquan was alone in Nanjing with none of his original comrades to pick up the much needed leadership roles. As bad as Yang XIuqing had been, he was at least effective as an organizer and strategist.    On the other side of the coin, the Qing were unable to take advantage of all the Taiping upheaval. Their main besieging camps around Nanjing were smashed in 1856 and they faced two other large threats. The first ws another rebellion taking place in northern CHina, that of the Nian rebellion. The Nian rebellion was severing lines of communications from north to south making it extremely difficult to coordinate against the Taiping. The second was of course the second Opium war which threatened the eastern coast and cut off contact with the sea, effectively leaving local regional commanders in the south and center of China to have to formulate their own strategies against the Taiping. The financial records show at this time Emperor Xianfengs treasuries were significantly reduced. The Qing court had begun suspending orders for silk and porcelain and these sort of goods were necessary to showcase imperial glory. Alongside this, weddings and funeral stipends for Manchu Banner troops were canceled, golden bells, buddhist statues and other items made of gold, silver and such were melted down to make coins. The Qing court forced officials to reduce staff, canceled repairs to palace buildings and by 1857 some Imperial Banner families had reached starvation levels of just a few pounds of relief grain per month. The Emperor was allowing his Banner troops to use their own banks and rice stores in an attempt to shield military personnel from the effects of inflation. Despite the economic hard times, and enemies left right and center, the Qing armies could have crushed the Taiping altogether during this turbulent time, had it not been for the Qing leaders insistence on the policy of having veteran Taiping troops executed if captured without exception. There was really little incentive to stop serving the Taiping.   Now Hong Xiuquan did not stop at just placing his two brothers in high positions. There was Hong's sister, his wife Lai and his children, the 8 sons of his eldest brother, 2 from his second eldest brother. Hong also had 8 daughters from various consorts, many of whom were married. Hong also had a dozen or so cousins, the Hong family had roots in Guangdong and Guangxi and many had made the trek from Thistle mountain to Nanjing. Now that Yang was dead, Hong was able to do things with less scrutiny, thus he began to extend his family as he saw fit. Hong's palace was run entirely by women under his general supervision. Allegedly 2000 women worked for him divided into 3 categories, female ministers and bureaucrats, maids and attendants and the women of his immediate family. That last group included consorts of which according to his son Tiangui, Hong Xiuquan had 88 consorts in Nanjing. Tiangui was around 9 years old in 1857 is told he is too old to remain in the palace and is forced to live in an outer palace and given 4 wives. He is forbidden from seeing his mother or sisters, bound by stern rules set forth by his father. Hong Xiuquan dictated at four, his sons are no longer allowed close contact with their older sisters; at seven, they can no longer sleep in their mothers' or other consorts' beds; they must also stay ten feet or more away from their sisters, and learn to bathe themselves; by nine they should not even see their grandmothers. Their sisters' separation from their brothers is similar: after five, they must never be touched by their brothers, and after nine they stay entirely with the women and are not meant to see even their younger brothers any more. In 1857, a year after the assasination ordeal, Hong Xiuquan issued the only official publication of the time known as “poems by the heavenly father”. They show us how Hong Xiuquan concerned himself with maintaining order and harmony among his hundreds of concubines and maids in his giant harem. He then explained “heavenly principles” admonishing his women to please their master and to follow his ordained rules. The mixture of fantastic ideas and fanatical beliefs in these writing to his women showcase the decline of the heavenly king. He was so concerned with having his own personal religious experience, that to ascent to heaven, rather than focus on the Taiping revolution. Whatever governmental structure existed was handled by Hong Xiuquans family rather than him, most at the hands of Hong Rengfa/Rengfu. Later on when one of the leading Taiping commanders, General Li Xiucheng is captured by Zeng Guofan he tells him “In Nanjing there was no one at court to carry on the government, the morale of the soldiers and people was broken and troubled. The military leaders were greatly displeased with the Hong brothers as both men were deficient in talent and had no plans”.   Yet the Hong clan did not seem to have anyone who could pull everything together. Hong Renfa and Renfu were said to be “deficient in talent and military tactics. THey were obstinately bent on carrying out their own views, and were obsessed with the notion that Heaven would support them in everything”. Shi Dakai was the last real hope for the revolution and when he left he also took with a significant part of the military and some of the best commanders. When the Qing court received news of Shi Dakai's departure they instructed Zeng Guofan to invite Shi Dakai into the fold. Shi Dakai refused to surrender to the Qing and instead marched his army through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and then westward into Hunan. From Hunan he tried to gain entry to Sichuan. Shi Dakai had thus conducted a ceaseless and exhausting campaign across 15 different provinces over a distance of more than 6000 miles, seeking first a permanent base, and then it became more of a game of survival. Countless troops got sick, died or deserted. By June, Shi Dakai found himself cornered, helpless and exhausted, so he simply walked into the encampment of the commanding Qing general pursuing him and gave himself up. He hoped by forfeiting his life he could have 2000 other Taiping veterans be pardoned. He prepared for all of this by having having his 5 wives commit suicide and his drowned, to save them from the inevitable shame and agony they would have faced at the hands of the Qing troops. He was interrogated for over 6 months by Luo Bingzhang who had directed the defenses at Changsha which killed the west king. Shi Dakai was executed slowly via dismemberment and his 2000 of his most loyal followers who had been held under guard at a local temple were slaughtered. Though Shi Dakai had assumed new titles and gave many to his commanders, he never promulgated any new political programs, nor did he have any grand purpose for his military campaign, and thus he was more of a military adventurer rather than a revolutionary leader in the end.   Shi's forces would remain a threat to the Qing and Zeng Guofan's Hunan forces. Shi had permitted many of his men to leave for home and the Taiping who went back to Guangxi province would survive to the end of the rebellion, slaughtering many more Qing. Shi also continuously recruiting as he marched his forces, in 1858 Shi's forces were said to be several hundred thousand strong before Zeng Guofans armies decimated them. Shi Dakai's force was quite the diversionary campaign, forcing Zeng Guofan to dispatch many of his best commanders to deal with him, but he was never distracted from his main target, the Taiping stronghold of Nanjing. Initially when the Qing ordered Zeng Guofan to march into Sichuan to stop Shi's invasion of the provin, he refused the follow the Qing strategy. He argued with the Qing court stating the difference between the rebels who occupied and developed strategic areas for economic bases, ie: the main Taiping force in the lower Yangtze versus what he called the “roaming bandits” who never settled down. Those roamers were Shi Dakai and the Nian rebels. The real threat he insisted was the Taiping in Nanjing and Anhwei and they must be dealt with first. The Qing government…well they had no real way to coerce Zeng Guofan at this point and just followed his advice.    Meanwhile in Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan's choice to appoint his own kin as officials was backfiring. He had made this appointment in the hopes of re-establishing a working organization. However the proliferation of titles contributed to disorganization and chaos. He had appointed Meng De'en as chief of staff. Meng had been a member of the administrative staff and Taiping documents indicate he was an official responsible for providing women for the heavenly king's harem but had no experience in military matters. And despite his nominal role in the central administration and his new military authority he really held no real influence over either the courts or the armies. Alongside this Hong's brothers were using their positions to amass wealth and live lives of luxury. So the field commanders became the only ones making actually military decisions. The attitudes of these commanders towards the new appoints in Nanjing can be seen strongly be the remarks of Li Xiucheng who again as a prisoner under Zeng Guofan wrote “there was no one at court to carry on the government, the morale of the soldiers and people was broken and troubled”. From his perspective, the military leaders were very dissatisfied with the Hong brothers and distrustful of Meng who in his words “was a great favorite of the heavenly king and had not been outside the capital. He alongside his second in command Li Kaifang were both men without ability and moreover kept in hand by the Hong brothers”.   Its easy to see the Taiping were in a major crisis and Li Xiucheng wrote one passage that shows us that it could have very well fallen to pieces by 1858. “The feeling of the people has undergone a great change. Government affairs were in disorder, and each man was pursuing his own course. The sovereign had become mistrustful of others. The affairs between the kings had so alarmed him that he was distrustful of ministers of other surnames and put his confidence in his own family and relations. There was a unanimous desire at this time to separate. However, they did not dare to separate on their own, since they had heard that whenever the Qing generals and soldiers capture Guangxi men they decapitated them, not sparing a single one. Hence they banded closely together instead of dispersing. Had the Qing dynasty been willing at this early date to spare Guangxi men, a breakup would have taken place long ago”. A very revealing passage to be sure. The inability of the Hong brothers and Meng De'en to manage military campaigns forced Hong Xiuquan to give the military leaders a free hand and he even created new titles and positions for them within the Taiping hierarchy. The first two important men to emerge in 1856 were Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng who received the titles of second chief commandant and deputy commandant. Left to their own by the useless Taiping court, they were forced to make their own strategic decisions and coordinate based on their need for self preservation.    The military situation for the Taiping was critical. Control over the Yangtze had been lost to Zeng Guofan's Xiang army and with it came the loss of transportation for military supplies and provisions. In december of 1856, Wuhan had been recovered by the Qing which threatened Taiping control over the south Yangtze areas. The 2 Taiping commander thus came together in January of 1857 at a conference in Anqing to figure out how to coordinate a campaign. This led to a joint strategy to strengthen the Taiping military position in the Yangtze area. Now neither commander had played a large role in the Taiping campaigns prior to taking Nanjing. Chen Yucheng was too young to take an active role during the march from Guangxi to Nanjing. At Nanjing he was appointed to the rank of corps superintendent in charge of provisions for the Taiping left fourth army, to be blunt it was a desk job. By 1854 he petitioned for combat duty and got his wish in june that year to occupy Wuchang. He distinguished himself as the 38th commander then the 13 senior secretary commanding the Taiping rear 13th army and front 4th army of river troops. His military achievements and personal bravery earned him fame amongst the Taiping, and he also became well known to the Qing who targeted him as an important Taiping commander.   Li Xiucheng was a fellow villager of Chen Yucheng. He did fight during the march from Guangxi to Nanjing, but was not promoted to important military positions until later on. At Nanjing he became an assistant to another Taiping leader, Hu I-Kuang before receiving an appointment by Yang Xuiqing as a new corps general and later corps superintendents leading troops in 1853. Before the power struggle, Li had been sent with other Taiping officers to Chenchiang in Guangxi. After the power struggle Li was in command at Tongcheng in Anhwei and found himself in quite a struggle. He had a small force of less than 3000 men in a city isolated by Qing forces, he was surrounded, by his own account by over 10,000 Qing troops in over a 100 camps. To break out of this terrible position, Li cooperated with Chen Yucheng and collaborated with a Nian rebel force.    I have not spoken too much about the Nian, but at this time the area of northern Anhwei along the borders of Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu were under their control. They had started as groups of local corps formed during all the disarray of the 1840's and 1850's. They rose up to defend their villages against local bandits and raids from neighboring forces. By the mid 1850's these groups banded together into a regional force held together by a secret society affiliation and by support from some local gentry clans. They held a formidable cavalry force and used a system of defense in depth, allowing them to perform campaigns into neighboring areas. They were anti-Qing and thus rebels, making it easy for them to cooperate with the Taiping when possible. Honestly I am contemplating writing an episode on the Nian rebellion and on many of the other lesser known rebellions of the 19th century, but my god there are many and its easy to become sidetracked. Who knows maybe at some point I will have to make a patreon to produce exclusive content, wink wink, anyone who might be interested in such things let me know, comment on my private channel, the pacific war channel or catch me in the KNG discord perhaps, really want to hear from you guys and gals what you want to hear more about.   There does not seem to be significant coordination between the Nian and Taiping prior to this, and perhaps that can be explained by a simple difference in goals of the two movements. The Nian were a local rebel group that had little program nor major political purpose beyond control and exploitation of the area their forces dominated. They did not hold the ambition to establish a new dynasty, let alone some sort of proto-marxist revolution like the Taiping sought. The Taiping for their part had little interest in local bandit or rebel groups who were unwilling to submit to the Taiping faith. At the start of the Taiping rebellion in Guangxi province they had already alienated many secret society and bandit groups who were quasi interested in the Taiping cause. Yang Xiuqing in Nanjing did little to change this policy. But after the breakdown of centralized command in Nanjing, men like Li Xuicheng who held purely military interests to heart saw joint action with groups like the Nian.   Thus the first significant joint action between the Taiping and Nian came about in early 1856 when the Nian leader Li Chaozhou from southern Huai area joined up with Li Xiucheng to perform a campaign in Chenchiang. When Li's position was in crisis at Tongcheng he quickly tried to establish contact with Li Chaozhou the southern Nian leader, but also the northern Nian leader Zhang Luoxing. Zhang pledged collaboration with the Taiping forces under Li Xiucheng, claiming the Nian forces under his control to be a million strong. This forced the Qing in northern Anhwei to go on the defensive easing the pressure upon Li Xiuchang. The military alliance also raised Li Xiuchangs status amongst the Taiping, earning him a promotion in rank. The joint military campaign led to a number of cities in the Huai area to be taken between 1857 and 1859. But this cooperation remained purley on a military basis and would not last. It never extended beyond the Huai area and even within the area it was quite nominal in scale as a result of the Nian not having any real political structure. The Nian were more of a federation of autonomous communal units and the incapability with the Taiping ideology made any further integration impossible. The southern Nian leaders such as Li Chaozhou who had been the chief collaborators with Li Xiucheng could not be trusted for very long. They were not Guangxi men like Li Xiucheng, and thus could surrender to the Qing and keep their heads, which they eventually did. The cities they were defending were handed over much to Li Xiuchengs despair.    Li ascribed their surrender to be a result of undisciplined troops stating “Li Chaozhous troops were a disorderly lot; they were constantly troubling the people and plundering any city that was taken, and when this could not be effected they vented their rage on the peoples themselves. Li chastised the assistant generals of the districts until he was ashamed to meet me and finally sent his submission to the Qing”. Li was also dissatisfied with the northern Nian leader Zhang Luoxing who according to him “His men were only interested in promotions but not in serving when called”. Li was angered by the lack of cooperation or to be more blunt the fact the Nian's disobeyed Taiping directions as to why the Taiping campaigns failed. However the push to perform joint actions led to Taiping victories in the central Yangtze area which most definitely helped their cause.   For one thing the joint actions led the Nian to hit Qing supply lines which further contributed to a major victory over the Qing at Tongcheng on february 24th of 1857. After this victory the Taiping leaders pursued the retreating Qing forces northwards alongside their Nian allies. But then many Nian forces attempted a western campaign and lost ground in Hubei. There were 2 major thrusts made in April and september of 1857 and then april and may of 1858, but both were frustrated by the Xiang army and other Qing forces. The Nian began a general retreat back into northern Anhwei which was their economic base. Meanwhile Li Xiucheng acquired a base closer to Nanjing establishing supply lines and from then on took on a key role defending the Nanjing region.    Though the Taiping/Nian joint operations slowed the advance of the Xiang army in Hunan, Zeng Guofan's strategic plan still proved itself and his forces slowly but surely advanced in the Yangtze area. In may of 1858 contingents of the Xiang army recovered the city of JiuJiang which was the last remaining Taiping strategic base in the center of the Yangtze area. It was a vital base that provided them with resources from the provinces of Jiangxi and Hunan as well as a major recruitment point. From Jiujiang, Zeng Guofans army could prepare to march into Anhwei. Zeng Guofan also sought to advance forces into the upper Yangtze area to strangle the Taiping, while other Qing forces rebuilt the camps that were surrounding Nanjing in 1856. The northern and southern blockading camps were rebuilt in 1857 under the command of the Manchu generals He Chun and Zhang Guoliang. By the end of 1857 their forces were marching upon the city of Chenchiang which the Taiping had been holding since 1853.   To face the new threat, a Taiping military conference was held and alongside Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng a number of other Taiping generals gained prominence. Two of the most important were Yang Fuqing and Li Shixian. Yang was actually a cousin of Yang Xiuqing who escaped the slaughter by being in Jiangxi province performing a military campaign. Li Shixian wsa a cousin of Li Xiucheng and fought under him, until 1858 when he assumed his own command campaigning in southern Anhwei. The Taiping government depended on the loyalty of these key generals rather than any efforts made by Meng De'en and other useless Taiping administrators within Nanjing. In August of 1858 when the Qing began to strangle Nanjing, Hong Xiuquan gave the military commanders new titles and assignments. Now ever since the Yong'an campaign way back when, the Taiping military was more or less divided as such: the forward army, rear army, central army and left army. Chen Yucheng was appointed chief general of the forward army, which originally had been Feng Yunshans title; Li Xiucheng became chief general of the rear army; Yang Fuqing became the chief general of the center army, but was forced to share this position with Meng De'en who somehow was going to command men from Nanjing; and last Li Shixian was made chief general of the left army previously held by Shi Dakai.   At the conference Li Xiucheng called for unified action, here is some of what he said in his own words “I then wrote to the garrison generals of the different places, calling on all officers of the Heavenly dynasty to hold a council of war on an appointed day at Ts'ung-yang near Anqing. The generals and officers of the various places responded to my call…we each took an oath that we would support each other and agreed to join forces in the conflict before us”. The result of the conference led Chen Yucheng to march upon Shuch'eng, luzhou, chuzhou, then to link up with Li Xiucheng at the Anhwei-Jiangsu border to hit the Qing forces at Wuxi and Pukou dealing a complete defeat to the northern Qing camp trying to strangle Nanjing. The Taiping broke the northern half of the Qing blockading forces ending a large threat to Nanjing.   However these forces the Taiping defeated at the northern blockade were regular Qing forces. Fresh from that victory the Taiping now had to face the Xiang army who were marching into Anhwei. These forces were being led by Li Xubin who was accompanied by Zeng Guofans brother, Zeng Guohua. Their Xiang army was threatening the entire Taiping position in Anhwei and to face it Chen Yucheng rushed his army over to its defense, followed by Li Xiucheng. A major battle occurred on November 15th of 1858, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Xiang force and the deaths of Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua. Thus the Taiping control over Anhwei remained firm and Zeng Guofan suffered a terrible setback. Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng quickly recaptured all the lost territories in Anhwei and parted ways. Chen Yucheng chose to establish a base in the northern and western parts of Anhwei around Anqing, while Li Xiucheng took the eastern section closer to Nanjing.    Because Li Xiucheng was closer to Nanjing he was able to assert more control and began to introduce some order to the chaotic Taiping capital. According to his own account Li Xiucheng requested of the heavenly king ‘to select men according to talent, enact laws for the relief of the people, promulgate strict decrees, renovate court discipline, enforce rewards and punishments, treat the people with compassion, reduce taxes in grain and money”. Apparently the only response he got was a demotion, though he was soon promoted right back. A demotion really did nothing to affect any of the field generals actual power as they were basically the only ones doing anything. Later in 1858 when Nanjing was yet again under siege, Li Xiucheng went to Nanjing where he claimed he succeeded in re-establishing order and control. He convinced the heavenly king that to save Tianjin, they must collect forces outside for its relief. Each of the leaders continued thus to hold their own areas of supply, until messengers from Nanjing showed up demanding their armies come help break another blockade against Nanjing at the cities of Chianpu and Pukou.    Now during the years of 1856 to 1859, the Taiping were firmly on the defensive. Their military actions were almost always done by commanders working amongst themselves without any regard for the Nanjing government. These commanders thought in military terms and were no longer really concerned with the Taiping ideology, thus their revolutionary purpose was dying. This also resulted in each commander becoming shortsighted and their focus shifted simply to their own respective regions. They only coordinated with each other during times of immediate threat and had proven themselves capable of defeating not just the regular Qing forces, but that of Zeng Guofan. No attempt was made by the Taiping leaders to regain the initiative and the disintegration of central control was crumbling Nanjing. Transporting supplies to Nanjing had become an issue as Zeng Guofan began attacking riverways, especially along the Yangtze. Earlier, Tianjin enjoyed dominion over the Yangtze river and supplies poured in from 50-100 miles away inland. Yet by 1856 the Yangtze and other lakes were severed from Tianjin, and this resulted in a large loss for communication and the supply network. Even though the Taiping held numerous important cities on the banks of the Yangtze, the waterway itself was denied to them.   The general decline of the Taiping became quite apparent to foreign observers, between the years of 1857 and 1859 only one significant foreign mission would journey up the Yangtze and it was led by Lord Elgin. Yes if you remember from our Second Opium War series, Elgin tried to go up the Yangtze to navigate the commercial prospects of the region and to investigate the political situation. Elgin departed from the new treaty port of Hankou which was in the hands of the Qing and the furthest up the Yangtze river. Elgin wanted to test if the Chinese authorities would respect the status of the British flag under the new treaty of Tianjin, but it was also a chance to investigate the Taiping. Elgin had only heard rumors in SHanghai about the rebels and he wanted to gauge them first hand. As Elgin wrote to the foreign secretary “As we have seen fit to affect neutrality between the Emperor of China and the rebels. We could not, of course, without absurdity, require him to give us rights and protection in places actually occupied by a Power which we treat with the same respect as his own.” When Elgin could see from the bridge of his ship, the Furious and a few inland excursions, it looked like the civil war was more devastating than any rumors in SHanghai led one to believe. He reported this about the state of the city of Zhenjiang “I never before saw such a scene of desolation. heaps of ruins, intersected by a few straggling streets.“[We] might have imagined ourselves in Pompeii. We walked along deserted streets, between roofless houses, and walls overgrown with rank, tangled weeds; heaps of rubbish blocked up the thoroughfares, but they obstructed nobody.In order to save repetition I may here observe, once for all, that with certain differences of degree, this was the condition of every city which I visited on my voyage up and down the Yang-tze.”   Elgins first direct contact with the Taiping came in the form of a cannonball that roared over the deck of his ship as they passed by Nanjing on November 20th. Elgin did not expect hostilities and thought they would merely pass by unmolested. In response he sent a few gunships back downriver to hammer the rebel forts. The Taiping then sent messengers offering an apology for firing upon Elgins ships and asked for aid in fighting the Qing dynasty. A month later on Christmas day of 1858, as Elgins fleet was passing the city of Anqing on their way back to Shanghai he received a letter from Hong Xiuquan inviting him to join the Taiping in their divine mission to destroy the Manchu. “The Father and the Elder Brother led me to rule the Heavenly Kingdom, to sweep away and exterminate the devilish spirits, bestowing on me great honor. Foreign younger brothers of the western ocean, listen to my words. Join us in doing service to the Father and Elder Brother and extinguishing the stinking reptiles.” There were many attempts at communication and trade. Many individual Taiping commanders sent letters expressing hope to procure foreign rifles and cannons, but the British continuously stated they were abiding by a neutrality stance. Many of the Taiping tried to appeal to the British on the basis of their shared religion. “are both sons of the Heavenly Father, God, and are both younger brothers of the Heavenly Elder Brother, Jesus. Our feelings towards each other are like those of brothers, and our friendship is as intimate as that of two brothers of the same parentage.” The shared christianity between the two remained a sticky situation. There were many in Britain who pointed out the need to help the Christians in China. At a time when Britain and France were at war with the Qing, it seemed like there was quite a rationale for simply allying with the Taiping. But there were two major obstacles in the way, the first being the principle of neutrality. If they helped the Taiping, they may lose any relations they had left with the Qing. The second issue was that it was hard to understand if the Taiping were really christian or not. Multiple missionaries tried to investigate this matter and they were not convinced. It also did not help that the Heavenly King began sending the foreigners a manifesto demanding their come pay their respects to him as god's son.   The foreigners in the end would have little sympathy for the Taiping cause and it would actually lead to them contributing to the Qing side of the war in the end. The rationale for this was to secure the treaties they signed with the Qing and quite honestly, the Taiping did not look like they were going to win the war by the late 1850s. But were the Taiping defeated? Many would argue this is not the case, they could have reorganized and revamped their revolutionary purpose, and in 1859 a man arrived to Nanjing to do just that.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  The Taiping found new leadership figures in Li Xiucheng and Chen Yucheng. The Nian rebels proved valuable allies initially, but in the end it simply was not working out. The Taiping desperately needed foreign support but were burning those bridges.   

Lai jums zsvētku brīvdienas ir ko darīt, ierakstijām epizodi kur pārunājām live pieredzi un ko gaidīt no zsvētkiem.    Izteikt savu viedokli par vēmekļu skaņām var šeit - https://www.facebook.com/groups/425028308829078/permalink/716305453034694/

This week we have hero Olivia Perez Biera! Olivia is a Healer, Facilitator and Instructor in the healing arts. Her practice spans 25 years, founding L.A. Healer and Indigenous Wellness Collective. Look for her podcast, zines and events on www.spiritualhealer.laI think in our culture we are used to avoiding our feelings, from our mind and our body. And we are always trying to alleviate or numb our symptoms. But, with out getting to know ourselves or the root causes of our pain, we prolong the healing process. Olivia is so cool, and she has a class Soul Guided Self Healing that starts in January. If you are interested in healing and growing a connectivity of mind, body, spirit and all that stuff to help you start your healing journey, I believe this is the class for you!EPISODE: https://linktr.ee/DVGpodcastSupport us at https://www.patreon.com/Deathvalleygirlsand please join the DVG Podcast page on Instagram (@DVGpodcast) Facebook (Death Valley Girls Podcast) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Šīs nedēļas sākumā Baltkrievijā ieradās Krievijas prezidents Vladimirs Putins. Daži komentētāji saka, ka šāda vizīte ir uzskatāma par Putina vājuma pazīmi, jo viens no galvenajiem mērķiem varētu būt bijis pārliecināt Baltkrievijas vadoni Aleksandru Lukašenko aktīvāk iesaistīties sauszemes karā pret Ukrainu. Lai arī oficiāli šāda apstiprinājuma nav, Ukrainas militārā vadība pieļauj, ka Krievija varētu vēlreiz mēģināt uzbrukt Ukrainas galvaspilsētai Kijivai, to starp no Baltkrievijas puses. Kā vērtē Putina un Lukašenko sarunas un ko gaidīt tālāk? Gan Ukrainas, gan dažādu Tuvo Austrumu konfliktu kontekstā pēdējā laikā aizvien biežāk tiek pieminēta Turcija un tās līderis Redžips Taijips Erdogans. Par spīti mēģinājumiem pozicionēt Turciju kā reģionālu lielvaru, Erdogana popularitāte valstī krītas un tas var arī negatīvi ietekmēt viņa izredzes nākamajā gadā, kandidējot prezidenta vēlēšanās. Kāda ir Turcijas līdera loma reģionā un cik stabils ir Erdogana krēsls? Aktualitātes vērtē Latvijas Ārpolitikas institūta asociētais pētnieks un Delavēras universitātes doktorants Toms Rātfelders un ārpolitikas eksperts Veiko Spolītis. Kremļa „fīrers” pie „kartupeļu dučes” Kremļa saimnieks Vladimirs Putins un pašpasludinātais Baltkrievijas prezidents Aleksandrs Lukašenko tiekas visai regulāri, tomēr pēdējos gados šīs tikšanās praktiski vienmēr notikušas Krievijā. Tāpēc kā zināms pārsteigums bija Putina pagājušās pirmdienas vizīte Minskā, kuru Krievijas vadonis nav apmeklējis nu jau trīsarpus gadus. Līdz ar viņu Baltkrieviju apmeklēja arī Krievijas aizsardzības ministrs Sergejs Šoigu un ārlietu ministrs Sergejs Lavrovs, tiekoties ar saviem Baltkrievijas kolēģiem Viktoru Hreņinu un Sergeju Aļeiņiku. Var piebilst, ka Aļeiņiks tikai dažas dienas iepriekš pārņēmis Baltkrievijas ārlietu resora vadību pēc tam, kad novembra nogalē mira viņa priekšgājējs Vladimirs Makejs, kura pēkšņo nāvi daži uzskata par Krievijas slepeno dienestu roku darbu. Protams, ka vizītes parādes puse bija atbilstoši korekta, vadoņiem vēstot, ka ticis runāts par ekonomisko saišu stiprināšanu, militārās rūpniecības integrāciju un kopīgām Baltkrievijas bruņoto spēku un Krievijas kontingenta mācībām. Oficiāli tiek noliegti Maskavas mēģinājumi piedabūt Baltkrieviju tieši iesaistīties karadarbībā pret Ukrainu, lai gan daudzi uzskata, ka tieši tāds bija Putina vizītes nolūks. Nākas gan šaubīties par šādas baltkrievu spēku iesaistes iespējamo efektu, jo Baltkrievijas armija ir samērā neliela, bruņota gandrīz tikai ar padomju periodā radītiem ieročiem un bez reālas karadarbības pieredzes. Vēl lielākas šaubas raisa šīs armijas motivācija karot pret kaimiņzemi Ukrainu, kuru Baltkrievijā daudzi uztver kā brāļu tautu. Tomēr iespēju, ka Krievija varētu gatavot jaunu uzbrukumu Ukrainai no Baltkrievijas teritorijas, savās pēdējā laika publikācijās un izteikumos minējis gan Ukrainas Bruņoto spēku virspavēlnieks Valērijs Zalužnijs, gan ģenerālštāba priekšnieka vietnieks Serhijs Najevs. Attiecīgi tiek ziņots par Ukrainas spēku stiprināšanu šajā potenciālajā karadarbības virzienā. „Sultāns” uz ļodzīga troņa 14. decembrī izpaudās ziņa, ka Turcijas pirmās instances tiesa atzinusi Stambulas mēru Ekremu Imamoglu par vainīgu valsts Augstākās vēlēšanu komisijas locekļu apvainošanā, piespriežot viņam vairāk nekā divarpus gadus cietumā un aizliedzot politisko darbību. Apsūdzības pamatā ir viens Imamoglu publisks izteikums 2019. gadā, nodēvējot vēlēšanu komisijas locekļus par idiotiem. Šajās vēlēšanās viņš, lielākā opozīcijas bloka Nācijas alianse kandidāts, atņēma valsts lielākās pilsētas vadību prezidenta Erdogana Taisnības un attīstības partijai. Spriedums gan stāsies spēkā tikai pēc lietas skatīšanas vairākās apelācijas instancēs, tāpēc Imamoglu paliek brīvībā un turpina pildīt amata pienākumus. Daudzi ir pārliecināti, ka faktiski tiesa īsteno pie varas esošā Turcijas prezidenta Redžipa Taijipa Erdogana vēlmi atbrīvoties no bīstamākā sāncenša nākamā gada vēlēšanās. Plānots, ka 2023. gada 18. jūnijā Turcijas vēlētāji izvēlēsies gan prezidentu, gan 600 parlamenta locekļus uz nākamajiem pieciem gadiem, un Erdoganam ir visi iemesli bažīties par savām un savas partijas izredzēm. Kā liecina aptaujas, prezidenta partija nozīmīgi atpaliek no „Nācijas alianses”, kuru veido Ekrema Imamoglu pārstāvētā kreisi centriskā Republikāniskā tautas partija, centriskā „Labā partija” un pāris mazas partijas. Pārliecības nav arī par paša prezidenta izredzēm. Viņa reitings pēdējos gados bijis lielākoties zem 50%, kas liek domāt, ka Erdogans diezin vai uzvarēs vēlēšanu pirmajā kārtā. Savukārt aptaujās, kas modelē otro kārtu, kur sacenšas divi lielāko balsu skaitu ieguvušie kandidāti, Erdogans zaudē ne vien Imamoglu, bet arī citiem Nācijas alianses kandidātiem – galvaspilsētas Ankaras mēram Mansuram Javašam un Republikāniskās tautas partijas priekšsēdētājam Kemalam Kiličdaroglu; un arī „Labās partijas” pārstāvei Meralai Akšenerai. Pēc visa spriežot, elektorātam ir par maz ar Erdogana starptautisko vērienu, nepārprotami virzot Turciju uz reģionālas lielvalsts statusu. Krievijas ietekmes mazināšanās, uzsākot militāro avantūru Ukrainā, ļauj Turcijai spēlēt arvien nozīmīgāku lomu ne vien Sīrijā, bet arī bijušajās Padomju Savienības teritorijās Aizkaukāzā un Centrālāzijā. Pēdējā laikā Erdogans atļāvies veltīt kareivīgus izteikumus Turcijas vēsturiskajai naidniecei Grieķijai, neskatoties uz abu valstu dalību NATO aliansē. Tajā pat laikā Turcija tā arī nav izkļuvusi no 2018. gadā iestājušās finanšu un parādu krīzes. Ap 2020. gada sākumu iezīmējušās atlabšanas tendences sagrāva pandēmijas un Krievijas agresijas izraisītā globālā lejupslīde. Kopš 2021. gada sākuma pastāvīgi augusī inflācija nupat pārsniegusi 80%. Turcijas liras kurss, kas vēl 2018. gada sākumā bija apmēram 5 liras par ASV dolāru, nu jau pārsniedzis 18 liras par dolāru. Sagatavoja Eduards Liniņš.     Eiropas Parlamenta granta projekta „Jaunā Eiropas nākotne” programma.* * Šī publikācija atspoguļo tikai materiāla veidošanā iesaistīto pušu viedokli. Eiropas Parlaments nav atbildīgs par tajā ietvertās informācijas jebkādu izmantošanu. 

In this podcast, you will hear a presentation from Dr Liping Zhou, AstraZeneca, from the 2022 PODD Conference regarding formulation techniques and developability considerations for LAI peptide delivery, with a case study example. To learn more about the PODD Conference, please visit PODDConference.com.  

Latvijas Banka ir palielinājusi inflācijas prognozi gan šim, gan turpmākajiem diviem gadiem. Lai arī ekonomikas lejupslīde tiek prognozēta sekla, tomēr iedzīvotāju labklājībā ir gaidāms kritums. Šogad piedzīvojām sen neredzētu inflāciju – pēdējos mēnešos tā ir bija vairāk nekā 20 procenti. Gada griezumā šis skaitlis nebūs tik liels, jo straujais cenu kāpums bija vērojams kopš februāra beigām, sākoties karam Ukrainā, un "pīķi" sasniedza septembrī. Vienaikus iedzīvotāju ienākumu līmenis ir pieaudzis daudz mazāk. Krustpunktā diskusija: Kā iedzīvotāju labklājību ietekmējusi inflācija un cik drīz var cerēt uz situācijas uzlabošanos? Kādi instrumenti ir valdības rīcībā? Diskutē AS "Citadele banka" ekonomists, Fiskālās disciplīnas padomes loceklis Mārtiņš Āboliņš, Latvijas Pašvaldību savienības padomnieks tautsaimniecības jautājumos Aino Salmiņš, Latvijas Tirdzniecības un rūpniecības kameras valdes locekle Katrīna Zariņa un Saeimas Tautsaimniecības agrārās vides un reģionālās politikas komisijas priekšsēdētāja biedrs Kaspars Briškens (Progresīvie).      

Tonight on "EWTN News Nightly": While a government shutdown still looms, the Senate has passed the annual Defense Authorization Bill, sending the $858 billion measure to President Biden's desk. The mandate which requires troops to get a COVID vaccine or be kicked out has been stripped from the NDAA. On Friday, President Joe Biden traveled to Delaware to continue getting the message out about the PACT Act. The bill helps veterans get screened for exposure to toxins, like agent orange in Vietnam or burn pits on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, 75 year old Jimmy Lai, the founder of a Hong Kong newspaper, has been behind bars since 2020. The Chinese government is now pushing Lai's trial to September, as they reportedly look to charge him with more serious offenses. Personal friend of Jimmy Lai and cofounder of the Action Institute, Fr. Robert Sirico, joins to tell us about Lai and how they met and formed a friendship. He was an atheist, a former Navy fighter pilot, and now Lieutenant Commander Ali Ghaffari is the founder of the Catholic Divine Mercy Academy in Pasadena, Maryland. Ghaffari joins to share what brought him to the Church and what propelled him to start a Catholic school. Finally this evening, with Christmas only a few days away, Rome Correspondent, Colm Flynn, visited one of the most famous Christmas markets in Vienna, Austria to examine its Christian history. Don't miss out on the latest news and analysis from a Catholic perspective. Get EWTN News Nightly delivered to your email: https://ewtn.com/enn

#másdeunamilla #bonitadeportes #DeporteEsMásQueJuego Argentina pasa a la final de la Copa Mundial con una imponente victoria sobre Croacia | El legado de Leo Messi se fortalece | Mañana Francia y Marruecos a definir el otro finalista | Arranca hoy la Serie Final del Baloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino | Se reanuda la Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente | Guaynabo a Naranjito se medirán en la Final del Voleiból Superior Masculino | UPR Río Piedras y Colegio de Mayagüez por el campeonato de voleiból de la LAI hoy

Last time we spoke Hong Xiuquan had gathered a rabble of peasants, named them the god worshippers and declared war upon the Qing dynasty. He gave titles to his closest comrades forming the North, South, East, West and Flank Kings who led the great Taiping armies on a march towards the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Countless cities fell the Taiping and the Qing desperately tried to encircle and quell the menace. But the Taiping never stayed in any given place long enough to be captured and even when they were dealt significant losses, they simply moved on and recruited more and more to their cause. Their armies grew exponentially and so did their conquests until they reached the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Nanjing was put through a brutal siege and taken, her citizens put to the sword and now the Taiping held a grand capital city.   #26 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 3: The Heavenly Kingdom of Tianjing   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   14 years after his first vision, Hong Xiuquan alongside an incredible 2 million followers had captured the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan, the heavenly king, Yang Xiuqing the East King and the surviving Taiping leadership had developed their military based on the work of the late Feng Yunshan and their combined experiences from the march from the Thistle Mountains all the way to Nanjing. Much like the military structure the new capital would have 4 families linked to every corporal's family and 25 family units linked under every sergeant. These communities would build the public granaries, chapels for worship and so forth. The sergeants would dwell in chapels, the corporals would take their family and those families under their command to sabbath to worship. Every sabbath day, all senior officers, from generals to captains would visit one of the great churches of the sergeants to pray and work hard obeying the Ten commandments.    By day people would work the land, all serving in some form, whether it was pottery, ironwork, carpentry, masonry, whatever according to their skills. The land under Taiping rule was divided up amongst all with one full share for every man and women aged 16 and older and half a share for children below 16. All of the land was graded according to its productivity and when land was insufficient for the peoples needs, the people were moved to land that was plentiful. Of the products of labor, each corporal saw to it that every family under him had food, but all the rest went to the public treasuries. Sergeants checked the books and tallied the accounts, presenting records to superiors “ for all people on this earth are as the family of the Lord their God on High, and when people of this earth keep nothing for their private use but give all things to God for all to use in common, then in the whole land every place shall have equal shares, and every one be clothed and fed. This was why the Lord God expressly sent the Taiping Heavenly Lord to come down and save the world.”   The public treasuries would give gifts to every family at times of birth, marriage and death according their needs, but never in excess of one thousand copper cash or one hundred catties of grain. Surpluses had to be maintained incase of famine or war. Every family unit with a living male head had to give a soldier to the army, but the Taiping would not take widowers, widows, orphans or childless, nor weak or sick. With births came new families and every 5th family gave a new corporal, and every 25th a new sergeant and so on. All officers and officials, even the highest would be reviewed every 3 years and promoted or demoted according to performance. This was the system pushed out upon Nanjing when it was taken. As you can imagine it was a goliath task to meet these demands, thus the system could not actually be implemented all at once, but they were diligent to starting the listing and recording keeping to establish it. Not everyone flocked eagerly to the Taiping ranks. Many households were reluctant to register their members and hid for weeks, countless fled Nanjing.    The Taiping burnt down countless Taoist and Buddhist architecture, smashed statues and image and stripped or killed priests. Everyone was to conform to the new Taiping religion. Notably though the Chinese Muslims in Nanjing were not attacked and their mosques were allowed to stand. One group in Nanjing that were in a position of particular ambiguity were the catholics who numbered around 200. At least 30 catholics were burned in their homes or cut down in the streets during the early chaos. The Taiping found the catholic survivors in a catholic church, but when pressed they refused to recite Taiping liturgy. The Taiping authorities gave them 3 days to comply, then they burst into the church and destroyed the cross and overturned their altar. 70-80 catholic men had their arms tied behind their backs and were given a trial before a Taiping judge and condemned to death unless they said Taiping prayers. They refused opting for martyrdom, but in the end 25 eventually recited the Taiping prayers and the rest were sent to be vanguard forces in the army. In order to push the movement, the Taiping had to seize the Nanjing printing industry to distribute their sacred texts to all the sergeants for reading and preaching. Back when the Taiping captured Yangzhou in april of 1853 they acquired printing press craftsmen, so they brought them to Nanjing.   Hong Xiuquan makes 3 major strategic decisions, the first was to select Nanjing as the new Taiping Capital now known as Tianjing, the second was to create the printing system to promote the Taiping program and the 3rd was to alter name places in China. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed henceforth the city of Beijing was to be named “Yaoxue- demon's den” and the province of Zhili “criminal's province”. When all the Manchu demons were destroyed, Beijing's name could be restored and Zhili once its people repented for their sins and began worshiping the heavenly father. “The world has long been deluded by these demonic Tartars, and it is imperative that they be soon destroyed. But before we destroy these people, we must first destroy their bases. And before we can destroy the power of their bases, we must first destroy the bases' names.” Emperor Xianfeng by definition was the leader of earthly demons and Hong Xiuquan changed his name that meant “united in glory” to have a dog component added and he also did this to terms referring to Manchu.   The Taiping followers in Nanjing were told the time to end sexual separation had not come yet, any men who forced themselves on women, whether they be veterans or new would be executed. Those who worked as prostitutes would not only be executed, but also their families. Male homosexuality was severly punished, if partner were both aged 13 or older they would be beheaded. If you were under 13 you could be spared unless it was proven you were an active partner. The city of Nanjing was divided similar to what the Taiping did in Wuchang, with blocks for men and those for women and children. Those skilled in specific types of labor lived amongst another, for example carpenters with carpenters tailors with tailors.    Hong Xiuquan had a ceremonial hat made with a fan shaped front, decorated with twin dragons and twin phoenixes. The other kings were allowed to have twin dragons as well but only one phoenix. On the upper part of Hong Xiuquans hat he alone had written “the mountains and river are unified and the heavens are filled with stars”. The 3 surviving kings each had one line embroidered on their hats; for the East king Yang Xiuqing “long phoenix perching in the clouds”, for the north king Wei Changhui “long phoenix perching on the mountain peak” and for the flank king Shi Dakai “lone phoenix perching on the peony”.   Hong Xiuquan had 10,000 people work for 6 months to built him a palace in the former site of the governor generals mansion in the center of the northern side of the main residential city. Within mere days of taking Nanjing, the Qing began counter attacks leading to the gates of Nanjing being reinforced with additional gates built in front or behind the existing ones. Cannon emplacements and palisades for gunners are created en masse. Forward defensive encampments, wooden watch towers as high as 30 or even 40 feet are created. Smaller towns surrounded nanjing are reinforced. Large swathes of area have ditches dug, palisades erected, felled, honeycombed networked of small round holes with straw placed over them and bamboo spikes underneath. Its a regional fortress built with the purpose of overthrowing the Qing.   Now until the capture of Nanjing, the Taiping had been a mobile force whose success for a large part was simply because they would seize a major city and move on before the Qing could get them. The establishment of their Tianjing Capital meant the core of the Taiping movement, its leadership and central army were now in a fixed position. The Qing could finally plan and coordinate large scale action directed at their capital. Interestingly enough, the decision to hunker down in Nanjing is what many scholars regard as the crucial reason for their eventual failure. If they had simply done what they done best and took Nanjing for perhaps a month or so and moved on to Beijing they could have very well toppled the Qing. None the less, the Taiping were in a good position in Nanjing compared to that on Beijing. It is estimated in 1853 Nanjing held 18 million taels of silver, while Beijing was depleted to a possible 3 million. The Nanjing granaries by the end of 1853 totalled 1,270,000 piculs of unhulled rice and 750,000 hulled rice, sufficient to feed the Taiping for many months. An American missionary named E.C Bridgman visited Nanjing in may of 1854 and reported “all the people we saw were well-clad, well fed and well provided for in every way. They all seemed content, and in high spirits as if sure of success”. The surrounding areas continued to supply Nanjing with grain and the Yangtze river continued to serve as its artery of communication and trade.   Now once they had Nanjing the Taiping set out to accomplish their ultimate goal, the final defeat of the Manchu demons in Beijing. But when the Taiping took Nanjing a lot of internal strife began to grow. While Hong Xiuquan was the bonafide religious and political leader to the Taiping, he was never alone and although many of the great figureheads had died, a few large ones remained. Yang Xiuqing the east king, Wei Changhui the north king and Shi Dakai the flank king were the 3 largest leaders alongside Hong Xiuquan. Yang Xiuqing established himself as the highest ideological leader, above that of Wei Changhui and in many aspects above hong Xiuquan. When Xiao Chaogui the West King died, Hong Xiuquan made a proclamation that granted Yang a supervisory power over the 4 other kings, clearly promoting him above the rest. When Xiao Chaogui died, Shi Dakai sort of filled the dead kings space in many ways and when  Nanjing was captured he was the only king constantly occupied in the field, directing and personally leading western campaigns. Hong Xiuquan as the spiritual leader, began to gradually isolate himself within his palace only acting through proclamations. Wei Changhui the north king, acted as the coordinator for the defense of the region around the capital and was responsible for food supplies. This left general administrative supervision in the hands of Yang Xiuqing who also acted as the coordinator of all military campaigns. Now Yang Xiuqing back in the early days of 1851 had coalesced the Taiping when he began in trance-like states to state he was the mouthpiece of God the father. Likewise Xiao Chaogui had these trances where he said he was the mouthpiece of Jesus, hmmmmm. Oh and there was a lot of roleplay in this by the way, when Xiao Chaogui spoke to Hong Xiuquan in a trance state he would refer to him as “younger brother” like wise Yang would refer to him as son. Both Yang and Xiao it seems were in league with another using this unique trance behavior to raise their status. But when Xiao died, there was a lot of confusion, leading Yang to stop messing around for awhile as the voice of god the father. But in december of 1853 Yang once again began to speak publicly as the voice of god. Yang began a campaign where he attempted to humiliate the heavenly king using trances as the voice of god. Yang begins a campaign to humiliate Hong where he uses the voice of god to accuse the Heavenly King of growing to be too harsh and indulgent with his power. That he is harsh to women who serve him and far too indulgent of his 4 year old son. One accusation in particular was that 4 of Hong's palace women were treated so badly that they should be released from Hong's palace and instead should live at Yang's palace. Yang says Hong orders women under him to work in rain or snow and allows his concubines to sneer and scold the other women, oh yes despite all the laws and such Hong and many of the Taiping leaders have concubines. Remember when I said the Taiping rebellion was like a proto marxist one? Yes just like any good marxist they dont live the way they preach, shots fired. Yang continues to argue the women officials are prevented from their duties by the mean concubines and that Hong Xiuquan had even kicked some of them in anger and punished pregnant concubines similarly, something that is a serious crime. You don't kick pregnant women. He follows this up saying in God's voice that the heavenly king should receive 40 blows of the rod for his derelictions. To this Hong publicly prostrated himself to receive said blows, so god would forgive him. Hong's 4 year old son is said to be too self-indulgent and willful because he plays in the rain, and smashes presents given to him…..weird. God states he must stop all of this because it will lead him to abuse the people in the future when he leads.   Yang Xiuqing did not stop at attacking Hong, he also went after two others in particular: the north king Wei Chanhui and marquis Qin Rigang, both men who had been with Hong since the earliest days at Thistle mountain. Wei was an educated man, Qin was a miner who studied military arts and proved himself a formidable strategist. For years both men handled key military assignments for Hong, Qin was regarded as the senior ranking Taiping officer after the surviving kings. Yang began to use the voice of god to humiliate Wei in many ways. Whenever his trances began, Yang's woman attendants would summon Wei at once using drum calls and if Wei was late the women would berate him. Wei was forced to kowtow to Yang when he was in trance and when Yang was in trance he moved by sedan chair while Wei was forced to walk beside it. Yang kept his attendants on Wei's ass also disturbing him. Qin had to endure similar humiliations and was forced to help carry Yangs sedan chair up the palace stairs a few times. To give some more flavor, here is one story about a clash that occurred in december between Yang and Wei.    Yang one day in public suggested that Hong had more than enough embroideries and robes in his palace and should economize for a time instead of getting more. Wei ignored what Yang said and told Hong “You, our second elder brother, are the true Sovereign of all nations of the world, and you are rich in the possession of all within the four seas; although robes and garments are sufficient, it will still be necessary to be constantly engaged in making up more.” Upon hearing this Yang responded “I beseech you, our second elder brother, to pardon this younger brother's crime and permit this younger brother to memorialize straightforwardly. If apparel were insufficient, then it would be necessary to make up more; but if it is said it is sufficient, it will be better to delay the making up of more, and then we can see the second elder brother's virtues of economy and love of man. Why should our younger brother Zheng [the North King] memorialize on the necessity of constantly making up more clothing?” To both of them Hong replied “Brother [Yang Xiu]Qing! You are certainly what the ancients called a bold and outspoken minister. And you, brother Zheng, although you may have a sincere regard for your elder brother, are not so straightforward and open in your statements as our brother Qing; for which he is to be much more commended. Later, in the reign of the Young Monarch, all who are ministers should imitate the example of our brother Qing in speaking straightforwardly as he has done this day; thus will they fulfill their duty as ministers.”   Some of the events I just talked about occur a bit later on, but I wanted to give you the idea that in the background, Yang was humiliating others and doing whatever he could to take more and more power. Now of the 5 kings, 3 survived and the administrative staffs of the former 2 simply were distributed amongst the 3 survivors. But after Nanjing was captured the kings would not be the solo ruling leaders anymore. Additional “princes” were added, they were similar to the kings, just lesser so. They held lesser rank than the kings, but were above the Taiping military rank structure. They come about at different times but there would be the Zhong price: Li Xiucheng, Ying prince: Chen Yucheng, Jun Prince: Lai Wenkwok, Fu Prince: Hong Renda, An Prince: Hong Renfa, Yong Prince: Hong Rengui, Fu Prince: Hong Renfu and the Gan Prince: Hong Rengan, yes our old friend Rengan will come to this story but much later on. It seems Yang orchestrated the creation of these princes and the multiplicity of administrative staffs to make it easier for him to weaken the authority of his most senior rivals.    Yang Xiuqing acting as commander in chief of the Taiping military sent out 4 offensives, 2 towards the north against Beijing and 2 up the Yangtze river into western China. Yang Xiuqings overall plan was to use the northern and western expeditionary forces to create a large pincer to capture the whole of northern and western China. According to Missionary Bridgman “ The Taiping had four armies in the field, carrying on active aggressive operations: 2 of these had gone northwards: they were designed to cooperate and after storming and destroying Peking, to turn westwards and march through Shanxi, Shensi, Kansuh, into Szechuan, where they are expected to meet their other 2 armies, which from Kingsi and the Lake provinces are to move up the great river and along through the regions on its southern bank'.    The northern expedition of around 80,000 men was led by 2 commanders, Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang who led the vanguard to take Yangchow on April the 1st. By May the 8th they left Yangchow after receiving reinforcements and advanced towards Ch'u-chou in Anhwei province. As their forces went into Anhwei and Henan province they were bolstered by local bandits, particularly the Nian rebels, who were performing the Nian rebellion simultaneously. Following the same strategy applied to the Hunan campaign and the Yangtze valley, they moved rapidly through Anhwei and Henan without leaving behind garrisons nor supply stations. At first, they did not attempt to take any city that proved to be well defended. However at Huaiqing in Henan at the border of Shanxi, they used their 80,000 strong force to besiege the prefectural city, believing it held rich military supplies.    The siege lasted 2 months, but the Taiping failed to capture it and had to move on. The delay in their march as the result of failing at Huaiqing seems to be a decisive turning point for the northern expedition as a whole. The Taiping suffered terrible losses in both shock troops and officers, while the Qing court in Beijing gained valuable time to prepare against the impending Taiping attacks. The Taiping gradually penetrated Zhili via Shanxi province and reached the suburbs of Tianjin, and it was here another large mistake was made for the second time. The Taiping could have simply marched on Beijing, but yet against chose to attack a secondary target. The northern expeditionary force was tiny compared to that of the entire Taiping army which should have been consolidated and marched upon Beijing. The Taiping were greatly hindered by northern chinas winters, because do remember most of the Taiping were from southern china. The Qing had begun a war of attrition, making sure to take away food stuffs in the path of the northern expedition. The Taiping found it extremely hard to forage and on top of this the Qing even broke dikes in the grand canal to flood the Taiping out.   Emperor Xianfeng also released what would be his greatest weapon, the Mongolian prince Senggelinqin. Prince Seng was from the Horqin left back banner of inner Mongolia and a member of the Borjiqin clan. He was a 26th generation descendant of Qasar brother to Genghis Khan. His name Sengge Rinchen was made up of two tibetan words meaning Lion and Treasure. When he was just a child he was adopted by Sodnamdorji a Jasagh “head of a mongol banner” of the Horqin left back banner and Junwang, second rank prince under the Qing dynasty. He would inherit his adoptive fathers titles during the reign of Emperor Daoguang. It was at the 1853 battle for Tianjin where Prince Seng would earn his fame.    The Taiping expeditionary force had fought its way bitterly from Nanjing to Tianjin, leaving just 80 miles between them and Beijing. Prince Seng rushed to the scene aided greatly by a valuable ally, winter. The winter ravaged the Taiping, many of them had never seen snow in their lives and this forced them to fall upon a village fortification to survive it causing an immediate stalemate. When the weather broke in spring, Prince Seng ordered his troops to build a dirt and stone wall to encircle the entire Taiping army camp from a distance while a crew of 1000 laborers spent a month digging a series of trenches to connect it, via a dry riverbed to the grand canal over 40 miles away. When they broke the dikes, the canal water rushed in flooding the Taiping camp to its rooftops, drowning a considerable amount of the army and forcing their submission. Being a Mongol, Prince Seng and those he commanded preferred the bow and arrow as their chief weapon, something they had overwhelming supremacy over the southern chinese. The Taiping could have overwhelmed Prince Sengs cavalry units, if they had western firearms, but they did not. The Taiping forces were dispersed and destroyed. Lin Fengxiang was captured at Lichen in Zhili province on march 7th of 1855 and Li Kaifang was captured at Fengkuat'un in Shandong on March the 31st of 1855. This was the ultimate end to the north expedition. Had the Taiping marched on Beijing at the rate they were going, it is argued they could have taken down the Qing. Tactical blunders, logistical issues, severe weather and the capability of Qing commanders such as Prince Seng ultimately put an end to the Taiping threat to Beijing, though they were certainly nowhere near defeated.   While the northern expedition was going on there was also a western expedition that left Nanjing on May 19th of 1853, just 11 days after the northern expedition launched from Yangzhou. The objective of the western expedition as conceived by Yang Xiuqing was to follow the Yangtze river and ultimately meet up with the northern expedition in Sichuan province. This would have resulted in a pincer maneuver that could swallow up all of western and northern China. On June 10th the western forces recaptured the vital city of Anqing which had been taken back by Qing forces. They were able to provision up from there and divided the force into several armies to march through the Yangtze valley. One army was commanded by Hu Yiguang who set out north of the Yangtze to conquer Anhwei province. Lai Hanyang took another army south to conquer Jiangxi. A 3rd mobile force led by Zeng Tianyang began to independently attack cities south of the Yangtze.    Hu Yiguang's force got as far as Luzhou, the new capital of Anhwei province at the time. Luzhou was guarded by one of the most capable Qing commanders, Jiang Zhongyuan, a Hunanese native from Xinning. He became the magistrate of Xiushi and Lishui, earning a reputation for being a great scholar and military leader. Zeng Guofan recommended Jiang for a higher office in 1850 to Emperor Xianfeng, but when he was supposed to leave for Beijing his father died and he had to return home to mourn. When the Taiping rebellion began, Jiang was appointed to assist the Grand secretary Sha-Shan-a in quelling the insurrection. Jiang began a campaign of gathering Hunanese volunteers who for the first time fought outside Hunan. It was one of the first waves of local forces led by a gentry class to fight the Taiping menace, something that influenced future Yung-Ying armies. Jiang won a great battle in Guangxi and was promoted to the rank of first class sub prefect. When the Taiping were invading Guilin in 1852, Jiang led his men from his home of Xinning to attack them. He won 3 major battles and managed to lift the Taiping siege of Guilin earning the rank of prefect. After this Jiang thwarted a Taiping naval invasion of Hunan province. He dammed the Xiang river near Suoyi ford and ambushed the Taiping Navy causing massive casualties upon them. It was the battle I mentioned where 10,000 Taiping men and Feng Yunshan perished. He thwarted the Taiping overland invasion of Hunan and besieged the Taiping stronghold of Chenzhou for a month before they fled to attack Changsha, the capital of Hunan. Jiang was one of those who helped defend Changsha earning the promotion of provincial judge of Hubei and then by 1853 assistant commander of the Qing armies in Jiangnan. He then aided in the defense of Nanchang which was besieged from June 22 to september 24th of 1853. For this he was appointed governor of Anhui which is what led him to the battle over Luzhou. When word came that the Taiping sought to attack Luzhou, Jiang rushed over with a small force to try and defend the new capital. He found himself outnumbered and outgunned, especially in siege mining technology that the Taiping had dramatically improved by this point in time. The Taiping took the city by January the 15th and in the process Jiang was wounded and he opted to commit suicide by drowning himself. The Qing lost an important capital city and one of their finest commanders who had proven himself successful at defeating Taiping using local militia forces.    Lai Hanying's army besieged Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi from june to september of 1853, but ultimately failed to take the city. This resulted in Lai losing his command and his army divided in 2 to hit Hubei and Hunan under the leadership of Wei Jun and Shi Zhenxiang. The high point of their campaigns led to the capture of Xiangtan on April 24th of 1854. After a year of taking Nanjing, the Taipings expeditions had run out of momentum. The northern expedition was a failure, the western had gained limited success, but not enough to extend their reach to the upper Yangtze and that of western china. The Taiping riverine forces dominated the Yangtze up into Hunan allowing them to use it for provisioning, logistics and most importantly further recruiting. But the original lightning speed drive of the Taiping had faded and the Qing were beginning to recover from the blitzkrieg. Now the offensives became see-saw's which allowed the Qing more time to recover, reorganize and build up new leadership that could effectively face the Taiping menace. Being a Pacific War specialist, its very much like the situation during the Guadalcanal campaign. Prior to this, the Japanese ran rampant on offensive controlling the when and where actions would occur, but after the horrible loss at Midway and Guadalcanal, the Japanese had gone past their logistical capabilities and lost the initiative, for the rest of the Pacific War the allies controlled the initiative. This is what we call the turning point, and it was here a year after taking Nanjing and losing the window of opportunity to take Beijing that was the Taiping rebellion's turning point. It is not to say they could not win the war, but the initiative was now in the hands of the Qing.   Although the campaign to take Beijing failed and the western campaign only held limited successes near the Yangtze, the Taiping were steadily extending their territory and thus were gaining additional manpower and supplies from the greater Yangtze region. The Taiping were struggling to consolidate their gains to establish better rule. Their offensives were being hampered by both political and religious confusion, often orchestrated by the efforts of Yang Xiuqing. The Taiping structure threatened Chinese traditions and saw backlash particularly from the Gentry class. I would note the gentry and landowner types probably were not the keenist on a group who sought land/wealth redistribution haha. The Taiping were a threat to Chinese social order as much as it was a threat to the Qing rule. Thus the gentry of China began to put their resources together to help the war effort resulting in a large push to the creation of Yung-ying militia groups such as Zeng Guofan's Xiang army. On top of the external actors trying to destroy the Taiping, the Taiping were having a ton of inner conflict as well. A violent and bloody power struggle had emerged destroying the unified political and military command established under Yang Xiuqing.   Now although I spoke about the formation of the new armies, I need to go into it a bit further, especially in regards to Zeng Guofan. While I explained how Zeng Guofan created his force, I did not talk about how this all looked from the Qing dynasties point of few. In late 1852 and early 1853 a number of edicts were made by Emperor Xianfeng leading to the appointment of 43 supervisors of new local corps in the provinces of Hunan, Anhwei, Jiangsu, Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Fujian. Amongst the appointed was Zeng Guofan. The Qing government sought to have these organized smaller forces led by the gentry class so they could be loyal and relied upon. These forces were set up in each district to contest the Taiping. Zeng Guofan's Xiang army proved themselves to be highly effective, but Zeng Guofan chose to be very cautious when reporting back to the Qing court. This was because his military organizational building was strongly autonomous and could be seen as a threat to the Qing military. There had been numerous local militia groups that shifted from pro-government to banditry. The establishment of these armies was obviously a last resort means, and definitely could be a threat to the dynasty, they were not so unalike to the bandit armies created in the 17th century to fight the Daxi or Dashun armies afterall.    Zeng Guofan did not state exactly what he was doing to the Qing court, in one of his first memorial he simply reported back that he was enlisting men from the countryside to establish a large military corps at its capital to be trained. It looked like Zeng Guofan was building a personal army, one that could be led on campaigns outside its local area. He sent more memorials stating that local corpsmen could not be relied upon in critical moments and that it was better to recruit from these local corpsmen an official militia, whose rations could be paid from public funds. When he was building the Xiang army he was consciously departing from the Qing courts authorization. He realized that local defense corps that had sprung up all over China were useful against local bandits and small raiders, but they were not large nor strong enough to withstand attacks from larger organized armies such as the Taiping. The Taiping were only growing larger, more organized, better armed. They simply could not be stopped by just local corps, what the Qing needed was a mobile army that could be used for offensive campaigns throughout larger areas.   Now the way Zeng Guofan made the Xiang army was based strongly on personal loyalty, the units were recruited, led and paid for by their commander. The commanders were loyal to Zeng Guofan, thus more or less the Xiang army was a personal army at his command. Zeng Guofan also assembled a number of future leaders who would go on to create their own versions of the Xiang army. Such men were Zeng Zongtang and Li Hongzhang of Anhwei province. By the end of the century, Zeng Guofan's example led to most provinces being dominated by regional forces under military organizations over whom the Qing central government had only minimal control. In many ways Zeng Guofan was a symptom of the ailing dynasty, the Qing were gradually losing control and there was emerging a threat to the political and social order in china. Zeng Guofan say the Taiping menace as a threat to traditional chinese society. He made many proclamations stating as such. “The Taiping rebels have stolen the ways of the foreign barbarians when they distort family relations by calling all people brothers and sisters, when they declare that all land belongs to the heavenly king and that all profit also belongs to him. They force scholars to give up the COnfucian classics to read instead the so called teaching of Jesus. They wipe away our moral standards, the very way we conduct ourselves as humans, the classics, and the institutions that have existed in CHina for several thousands of years. This is not only a tragedy for the Qing dynasty but a great tragedy for the whole of “ming-chiao” Chinese tradition and causes confucius and Mencius to weep bitterly in the underworld. How could any educated person remain sitting, hands in sleeves, without doing something about it”.    Zeng Guofan kept bringing up how the Taiping destroyed Buddhist and Taoist temples, that they were angering the gods who would take revenge. To right these terrible wrongs he said he was under Qing orders to advance his troops by land and water, not just to ease the Qing monarchs but also to console Confucious and Mencius, to avenge the slaughter of millions of Chinese. Appealing to the masses, Zeng Guofan began to ask for recruits, financial support and the surrender of any who decided to join the Taiping. Now I said he paid his army handsomely compared to that of the Green standards and such, but a lot of the funds were not under Qing control. The Gentry class were strongly supporting those like Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan began to ask and obtain permission from the Qing government to sell certificates of academic degrees, official titles and office appointments to sell to these said Gentry. The sale of all these degrees and titles increased gentry contributions, but also increased their influence and it began to build a new gentry role in leadership.    Another major source of income for the Xiang army was new internal custom taxes introduced in 1853. And although the Qing government permitted this new tax, it held no control or supervision over it. Zeng Guofan and other commanders of regional armies were gaining control over regular provincial taxes and were using them to build their armies. The combined income from the gentry class and regional taxes made men like Zeng Guofan basically warlords. Their forces were not really governmental troops although they were fighting for said government. The other side, the Taiping failed to gain any support from the Gentry class because of their alienating religious and economic beliefs. Fundamentally the Taiping were a revolutionary group breaking the stratum of Chinese society, and a large part of that was the Chinese gentry class.    Now Zeng Guofan began with a army of just a thousand men in 1853, composing 3 battalions. When they began to really clash with the Taiping they were soon 20,000 strong with naval and cavalry units. Later on they would become 120,000 men strong and Zeng Guofan had planned to use them for a long drawn out campaign despite pressure coming from Beijing to smash the rebels. Now the first major engagement between the Xiang army and the Taiping came in early 1854 and the Taiping defeated them. But on May 1st of 1854, the Xiang army defeated the Taiping at Xiangtan forcing them to withdraw. Then in a battle at Yuzhou in Hunan in July, the Xiang army on land and river gained a major victory. This victory gained Zeng Guofan great prestige and demonstrated the effectiveness of his army. The battle cost the Taiping more than half their fleet of boats and thus the loss of control over the central Yangtze river area. It was the first serious setback for the Taiping and it reduced their perimeter of military operations. Following up this victory, the Xiang army entered Hubei province and quickly recaptured Wuchang and Hanyang by october of 1854. Soon Zeng Guofans forces began to penetrate into Hubei and Jiangxi provinces marking the failure and end to the Taiping western expedition.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  The Northern expedition was a complete bust, the Taiping had lost the opportunity to claim the dragon throne. But the western expedition proved fruitful and gradually the heavenly kingdom was growing, and perhaps it could eclipse the Qing.  

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 57! We're back with a new episode! The move is done, we finally unpacked our audio gear, and we're eager to create some new content. This episode is a conversation with Asian Canadian actress Dorren Lee. She's probably best known for being in recurring roles on Diggstown and Kung Fu, but she also played the narcissistic boss, Ingrid Jordan, in the romantic comedy Lease on Love. She has several other credits to her name including the upcoming short film The Park, where Dorren not only acts in it but also writes, produces, and directs. We talk to her about that experience as well as several of her other roles, how classical piano has helped her acting, thoughts on more representational roles and stories, the importance of Diggstown and Kung Fu, learning American Sign Language, the power of making mistakes, and so much more. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.