Podcasts about tsingtao

This episode explores the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914, highlighting the intersection of World War I with imperial ambitions and shifting alliances. As Japan joined the Allies to seize the German-held city, the siege marked a pivotal moment in Asian geopolitics, showcasing Japan's rising military power and foreshadowing future regional conflicts. The event underscores the global reach of the war beyond its European origins.

In Qingdao, fresh seafood and Tsingtao beer are more than just local favorites, they're a way of life. From bustling beer houses to the docks where locals gather for the day's catch, the city's culture thrives on great food, cold brews, and a welcoming spirit. #ChinasHiddenTreasures

Ubicada en la costa del mar Amarillo, equidistante de Pekín y Shanghái, la ciudad de Qingdao sorprende por el aire alemán de algunas de sus construcciones más antiguas. Un rasgo exótico que se explica por la ocupación germana que sufrió la provincia de Shandong entre 1897 y 1914. Lugares como la catedral católica de San Miguel, el pintoresco barrio de Badaguan o la más que centenaria cervecera Tsingtao –la marca más famosa de China– son herencia del protectorado. En las últimas décadas Qingdao ha crecido desaforadamente, los rascacielos brotan en varios distritos y su puerto se ha convertido en el sexto más importante del gigante asiático. El turismo de playa y naturaleza, muy orientado al mercado interior, tiene cada vez más fuerza. Nuestro paseo sonoro comienza en el icónico muelle Zhanqiao en compañía de la profesora Cristina Liu. También conversamos con otras dos docentes naturales de Qingdao: Xiaojie Wu y Lily Gao. El retrato se completa con las visiones de dos españoles que acumulan muchos años de residencia en China: Julio Ceballos, experto en internacionalización de empresas y autor del libro 'Observar el arroz crecer', y el empresario Ramón Sabater. En esta ruta no faltan paradas en el parque Lu Xun, la calle peatonal Taidong, el museo de la cerveza, el centro olímpico de vela o el sagrado monte Laoshan.Escuchar audio

Which Asian Beer is best? Right off the bat, calling the category "Asian beer" feels a little too vague.  Many Asian countries produce beer known around the world, but where we live they are much harder to find.  So this week we are trying 5 beers from 3 countries trying to determine if the country of origin makes a big difference in the taste, and most importantly which beer is worth buying.  The contenders are Kingfisher (India), Kirin (Japan), Lucky Buddha (China), Sapporo (Japan), and TsingTao (China).  Please like and subscribe and if you have any suggestions, let us know by tweeting us @tastetestdummies or email us at nickandjohnpodcast@gmail.com.      SPOILER!  Below is a list of which beer corresponds to which numbered glass it was in: 1. Lucky Buddha 2. TsingTao 3. Kingfisher 4. Kirin  5. Sapporo 

This podcast episode touches on International Beer Day. Due to the courtesy of Paulaner USA and Tsingtao, I will discuss the two beers they provided and touch on other details around this created day.

When it was released in 1982, few could've predicted Blade Runner would become the cultural landmark that it did. Sure, it was well reviewed at the time and remains so, but it was generally slept on by audiences. Time has only seen the appreciation for it grow. Its cult status is well deserved. Blade Runner is a masterpiece of the genre—a truly seminal science fiction film. Buoyed by Rutger Hauer's masterful performance as replicant Roy Batty, it is a film that engrosses you in its post-apocalyptic world. And, like all essential science fiction, it poses important questions about what makes us human. If you haven't seen it, there is no better time than the present. Now, sit back, dull your guilt with a Tsingtao, and don't question the impending end of your existence! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Bling Blake, Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are "retiring"replicants who dare question their masters! This Week's Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Man has made his match. Now, it's his problem! (0:00) Lingering Questions – From flop to cult classic. How do we feel about the legacy of Blade Runner? (41:05) The "Tyrell Corporation" Trivia Challenge – Chumpzilla challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (1:09:29) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue Dystopian Flops with Arnold's other 1987 sci-fi classic, The Running Man! (1:22:13) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week's episode! You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, Amazon Music, and more!

In der heutigen Folge von „Kurz & Bierig“ nehmen wir euch mit auf eine historische Reise nach Qingdao, eine Stadt am Gelben Meer, die einst Teil der deutschen Kolonie Kiautschou in China war. Entdeckt die faszinierende Geschichte der Tsingtao-Brauerei, die deutsche Wurzeln hat und heute weltweit bekannt ist. Erfahrt, wie die ersten deutschen Brauereien den Weg für die Bierkultur in China ebneten, welche Rolle britisches Recht dabei spielte und warum die Importqualität von Hopfen und Malz so entscheidend war. Ein Muss für alle Bierliebhaber und Geschichtsinteressierten! Prost und bis zum nächsten Mal bei „Kurz & Bierig“!

The boys drink and review Tsingtao beer, then discuss the threat posed by modern China. China is deliberately undermining America. They don't even hide it. And we don't seem to do anything about it. There are many ways to defeat an enemy. According to Sun Tzu, the wisest approach is to defeat them without fighting them. How are they doing this? * They sow division * They discourage people from joining the military * They poison us with TikTok * They get our youth addicted to fentanyl * They're encouraging people to hate the U.S. government * They encourage campus radicals * They encourage everything that undermines the family China is also challenging us overseas with their belt and road initiative. They steal our technology, and require U.S. businesses who deal in China to share technology. The PRC has publicly declared that they consider every aspect of our infrastructure as fair game. And what do we do? We let millions of people spill over our border.

Last time we spoke about the defense of India. General Mutaguchi's megalomaniac dream of invading India was tossed into motion. Battles were raging over countless features and against formidable allied boxes such as the Lion Box. Yet Mutaguchi had relied far too heavily on seizing the allied supply depots while promising his subordinate commanders they would have ample supplies for their tasks. Those like General Sato became so angry with their superior they pretty much were acting insubordinate. The effort to take Kohima fully and thrust into India was falling apart battle by battle. Meanwhile within China, General Chennault's 14th air force was causing major problems for the Japanese, forcing them into action. Operation Ichi-Go was formed, a colossal offensive to neutralize airfields and perhaps end the China Problem once and for all. Meanwhile the Royal Navy received some breathing room in the mediterranean sea and were now moving into the Pacific Theater. This episode is Operation Ichi-Go Unleashed Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, 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 world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two 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 you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Imperial Japanese Army, largely because of the losses incurred by the Imperial Japanese Navy and logistical constraints, was virtually powerless to stop the allied advance in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Imperial HQ predicted further losses in early 1944 and General Douglas MacArthur was expecting to sweep up the northern New Guinea coast so he could retake the Philippines. New Guinea was thus seen as a holding operation to delay the allied advance. With its shorter supply line, the Philippines was now being regarded as a good location to block MacArthur's advance towards the home islands. Everyone of course was still waiting for the decisive naval battle. But back on the mainland, the IJA were not dependent on the IJN, their logistical constraints were not the same at all. Hence suddenly in 1944, the IJA decided to unleash incredibly large and bold offensives in Burma, Northern India and of course in China.  On New Years day of 1944, Chiang Kai-Shek cabled President FDR warning him that the strategy they and Stalin had agreed on at the Tehran Conference in November of 1943, fully emphasizing the European Front was leaving China open to a major attack. “Before long Japan will launch an all-out offensive against China.” Yet western intelligence disagreed with Chiang Kai-Shek's sentiment. While General Stilwell was completely focused on recapturing Burma, Chiang Kai-Sheks fears were about to be proven correct. In April of 1944, Operation Ichi-Go was launched. It was the largest military operation in Japanese history, it was also a last ditch effort to finally solve the so-called China Problem. It was obvious to the IJA, the IJN were losing the maritime war in the Pacific, thus they were determined to toss the dice in China. If they were successful, overland supply lines from Burma to Korea could be secured. In addition it would be a hell of a bargaining chip when negotiating with the Americans. If they could finally end Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang government, America would be facing the extremely formidable task of having to invade and reconquer China. Of course the immediate war aims were to knock out General Chennault's air force some he would not be able to bomb Formosa or the home islands. Emperor Hirohito recalled in his Dokuhaku Roku, post-war testament “One shred of hope remained—to bash them at Yunnan in conjunction with operations in Burma. If we did that we could deal a telling blow to Britain and America …”  By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses. This would turn into 150,000 troops, and believe it or not that was the advance guard of a campaign that would eventually involve 500,000 troops. They would be supplied with enough ammunition for two years. The IJA air force amassed 200 bombers with enough fuel for 8 months to support them. Over the next 9 months, battles would be fought over 3 regions, Henan in central China to the east of Nanjing; Hunan and Guangxi in south China east of Hong Kong and Guangdong province and south of the Yangtze River. While Ichi-Go was unleashed, Chiang Kai-Sheks crack troops, the Y-Force based out of Yunan province, alongside Merrill's marauders were busy fighting alongside Stilwell in northern Burma. In spite of the efforts to keep Ichi-Go secret, during early 1944, the Chinese began fortifying their defenses and redeployed troops on a large scale to strengthen their frontlines. Chiang Kai-Shek knew something was coming, but his commanders believed a large-scale Japanese offensive in China was impossible by this point of the war. The Japanese began carrying out a heavy bombardment campaign, targeting Henyang, Guilin, Chongqing and against the heavy concentration of Chinese troops advancing in the Yangtze river area. The aerial attacks greatly hampered the KMT's logistical lines. The Chinese reacted by unleashing their frontline artillery, destroying the Bawangcheng bridge on March 25th. The Japanese hastily went to work repairing the bridge as Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro's 12th army would need to cross as pertaining to Operation Kogo. Kogo was the first phase of the battle aimed at opening the Pinghan Railway that ran from Beijing to northern Wuhan. South of Beijing is the Yellow River, that runs southwest to east. Uchiyama's plan was initially to cross the Yellow River and secure the Zhengzhou area before driving south towards the Luohe area, where the Japanese would ultimately prepare for a drive towards Luoyang.  On the night of April 17th, the main part of the 37th division crossed the Yellow River and advanced towards Zhongmu. The Japanese rapidly penetrated the defenders positions, taking them by surprise. Three KM's in front of Zhongmu, they waited for the 7th independent Mixed Brigade to follow up behind them. The 7th Independent Mixed Brigade had crossed the Yellow River at the same time as the 37th Division, attacking the flank of the enemy facing the crossing point of the main body of the Brigade. Shortly after dawn the main body of the Brigade began crossing the river at a point near the left flank of the 37th Division. On the 19th, part of the 37th Division attacked Zhangzhou, completely routing the Chinese defenders while the bulk of the Division advanced towards Lihezhen.  Meanwhile the 110th Division advanced upon Bawangcheng with the 62nd Division and 9th Independent Brigade following behind them. The 62nd Division was accompanied by the 3rd Armored Division and 4th Cavalry Brigade, setting out for Luohe with their tank support. The 110th División continued their advance towards Micunzhen, capturing the town by the 24th. On that same day the 9th Independent Brigade seized Sishuizhen, but would be unable to break through the 177th Division's defenses. After a breakthrough was made at Zhengzhou, the 3rd armored division and 4th cavalry Brigades tanks advanced past the infantry to puncture the Chinese formations, forcing a quick rout. Meanwhile the 62nd Division, 37th Division and 7th Brigade reached the east-west line of Lihezhen and prepared for an assault on Xuchang. The Chinese simply were unable to respond to this. Chiang Kai-Shek and his commanders assumed this was a punitive expedition and that the Japanese would sooner or later turn back as they had always done in the past. As such, only the 15th and 29th Armies were sent to reinforce Xuchang to contain the Japanese offensive. Yet on the other hand, Uchiyama had also decided to divert his tanks and cavalry northwest, preparing for the future attack on Luoyang. On the 30th, Uchiyama's forces began attacking Xuchang, shattering the Chinese defenses at extreme speed and fully occupying the city by May 1st. The 62nd Division encountered the 15th and 29th Armies at Yingqiaozhen, battering them so heavily, the Chinese were unable to reinforce the vital railway. Two infantry battalions and one field artillery battalion of the 37th Division and the 27th Division departed Xuchang to continue marching south in order to re-open the Beijing-Hankou railway. The North China Area Army estimated that Tang Enbo would assemble his main force near Yehhsien, planning to advance to Yencheng and then wheel to the northwest in order to capture this force. However, the main force of the 31st Army Group of General Tang Enbo turned its advance to the north. The Area Army, therefore, changed its plan and decided to turn toward Loyang directly after the capture of xuchang, rather than to wait until Yencheng was captured. Yet we will have to wait until next week to find out what happens to General Tang Enbo's forces as we are now traveling over to Burma. Don't worry Operation Ichi-Go is just starting. After the capture of Walawbum in early March, General Stilwell ordered Merrill's Marauders to perform a wide envelopment, to cut the Kamaing Road behind General Tanaka's 18th Division while the 22nd Division with tank support drove down the Kamaing Road from the north. Two Marauder battalions led by Lt Colonel Charles Hunter set out on March 12th, reaching Janpan 4 days later. Once there they received new orders from Stilwell to head south through the hills along the Warong trail, then make their way to Kamaian to block the road at Inkangahtawng. Meanwhile Merrills 1st battalion and their Chinese allies were facing strong enemy resistance. From bivouac areas in the hills northeast of Shaduzup, on the Kamaing Road, the 1st Battalion of the 5307th, followed by the 113th Regiment, moved out on the morning of 13 March to put the northern clamp across the Kamaing Road just south of the Jambu Bum, in the vicinity of Shaduzup. I & R Platoons followed some fresh footprints into an enemy bivouac and stirred up a hornet's nest of Japanese. There was brisk skirmishing, and though the Americans managed to cross the Numpyek Hka just beyond, the Japanese had been alerted and proceeded to delay them expertly. Lieutenant-Colonel William Osborne, commander of the 1st Battalion, decided to cut a fresh trail around the Japanese. This was painfully slow business, and waiting for an airdrop took another day. On 22 March, when Colonel Hunter to the south was one day's march from his goal, aggressive patrolling by Red Combat Team revealed that the Japanese had blocked every trail in the area through which Osborne had to pass, so again Osborne elected to make his own trail, this time over ground so rough that the mules had to be unloaded. The maneuver succeeded, and no Japanese were seen on 23 or 24 March. Osborne's march would have been greatly aided had he known Tilly's Kachin Rangers were in the same general area. By March 22nd they reached Hpouchye. Additionally the 22nd Division and Colonel Browns tanks had been halling it through the Jambu Bum, making slow progress against heavy enemy resistance because of a lack of tank-infantry coordination. It was difficult to coordinate infantry and tank action, because the tankers found it hard to distinguish their countrymen from the Japanese. A few such cases of mistaken identity and the 22nd's men were understandably reluctant to get too close to the tanks. I remember a circumstance in WW1, when the IJA were laying siege to the German concession of Tsingtao. There was a small British force sent to aid the Japanese and so much friendly firing occurred, the IJA forced the Brits to wear their greatcoats to distinguish them from the Germans. So you know, it happens. By March 20th, Stilwell's forces crossed the ridge, reaching Hkawnglaw Hka, but yet again the lack of tank-infantry coordination led them to pull back. Once over the Jambu Bum, the 22nd found the road down to be mined and blocked with fallen trees. Two days were lost in clearing the road, and then three battalions made a frontal attack, guiding on the road. Next day they tried a co-ordinated tank-infantry attack and the leading tank platoon reached the Hkawnglaw Hka about four miles south of Jambu Bum, destroying a few machine guns and taking four antitank pieces. But the infantry would not follow the tanks and dug in two miles short of the stream. The tanks patrolled till dark, then fell back to their own lines. Over in the east, Hunter's men departed Janpan and reached Inkangahtawng on March 23rd, setting up two road blocks. Hunter sent out patrols and quickly discovered Kamaing was wide open, yet the delay of Stilwell's others units would force General Merril to deny any attempts to attack south. Tanaka's reaction to the roads blocks were pretty intense. Beginning on he 24th, vigorous Japanese counterattack followed on another. The Morita Unit, about two companies strong were a hastily assembled force drawn from a battalion gun platoon, an engineer company, a medical company, and division headquarters; they were given two 75-mm. guns, placed under command of the 18th Division's senior adjutant, and rushed south to Inkangahtawng. Tanaka also ordered the 2nd battalion, 114th Regiment over at Kamaing to attack north along the Kumon Range. The attacks were so intense, Hunter's men were forced to pull back to the Manpin Area by March 24th. Meanwhile, Merrill's 1st Battalion advanced to Chengun Hka, placing them really close to Tanaka's headquarters at Shaduzup. To the north, the 64th and 66th Regiments managed to link up, but the relentless Chinese assaults continued to fail against the tenacious defenders costing the attackers many tanks and lives. It was the 2nd battalion, 66th's turn to lead on 21 March. Again the tanks got well ahead of the infantry. A combination of ambush and counterattack by the Japanese cost five tanks, and then the Japanese came on up the road, almost overrunning the battalion headquarters, which was saved by the courage of two engineer platoons that had been clearing the road. That night the 1st battalion, 64th, which had been making the enveloping move, came in from the east and cut the Kamaing Road, right in the segment held by the Japanese. A tank attack on the 23rd found Japanese antitank guns just south of a small stream north of the Hkawnglaw Hka that prevented the tanks from outflanking the position. The guns knocked out the three lead tanks in quick succession, blocking the road. After heavy fighting at the stream crossing, the tanks finally had to withdraw, leaving the derelicts. In the afternoon the two flanking battalions made their way up the road and joined the 66th. Unfortunately, the meeting of the 64th and 66th Regiments did not signal the end of Japanese resistance. Japanese and Chinese positions on the road were thoroughly intermingled, making movement in the immediate area extremely hazardous. An attempt to break the deadlock with the tanks failed when the device chosen to identify the Chinese infantry backfired. Both the Chinese and the Japanese waved white cloths at the tanks. The armor moved blithely on into a nest of Japanese antitank men, who destroyed five tanks with magnetic mines, effectively blocking the road. General Liao, the 22nd Division's commander, now cut a bypass road for the tanks around his west right flank. A tank platoon tried it, could not cross a ravine improperly prepared for tank crossing, came under artillery fire, and had to be withdrawn. General Liao then committed his 65th Regiment to the main attack, applying immense  pressure, prompting Tanaka to order his frontline regiments to withdraw 10 kilometers.  On March 28th, Merrill's 1st Battalion established themselves along the Nam Kawng Chaung on the Japanese rear, from where they would be able to attack Tanaka's headquarters. Surprised, the Japanese chose to bypass the roadblock and evacuated their position via a track to the west. This resulted in Japanese resistance softening up, allowing the 65th Regiment to secure Shaduzup by March 29. At the same time, Hunter's encircled Marauders were fiercely resisting the enemy attacks at Nhpum Ga, with his 3rd Battalion subsequently taking up positions at the Hsamshingyang airstrip to the north. The men were extremely fatigued, facing constant marches, dysentery, malaria and malnutrition. They fought on for 5 days under constant attack, successfully pushing back the relentless Japanese assaults. On its hilltop the garrison, though suffering no shortage of food or ammunition, aside from the monotony of diet which was itself a hardship, suffered from an acute shortage of water. There were no plaster casts for the wounded, and they took their sulfadiazine dry. The pack animals could not be protected from the Japanese fire. When dead, their carcasses could not be buried, and the stench and the carrion flies added more miseries to the battle. Sergeant Matsumoto, who had played an important part at Walawbum, was a pillar of strength to the garrison, constantly scouting between the lines, overhearing Japanese conversations, and informing Colonel McGee accordingly. On one occasion, when Matsumoto learned of plans to surprise a small salient at dawn, the Americans drew back their lines, booby-trapping the abandoned foxholes. Punctually the Japanese attacked, straight into the massed fire of the waiting Americans. Throwing themselves into the foxholes for cover, they set off the booby traps. Matsumoto completed the debacle by screaming "Charge!" in Japanese, causing a supporting platoon to throw itself on the American guns. An ailing General Merrill would be evacuated to Ledo, leaving Colonel Hunter to assume formal command of the Galahad Unit. He then sent his 3rd Battalion to counterattack, unsuccessfully attempting to clear the trail as the Japanese repelled all his assaults. Finally on April 4th, Hunter got a breakthrough. The Japanese were believed to be moving ever more troops up the Tanai and it was believed that the 1st Battalion, which had been ordered to aid, would not arrive for four more days at least. Hunter's reaction was to attack on the 4th with everyone but the sick and the mule skinners, with his large patrols called in and Kachins used to replace them. A fake fight, using carbines, which sounded like the Arisaka rifle, was staged to deceive the Japanese, and the air support made three passes at them. The first two were genuine, the last a feint which made the Japanese take cover, only to come out and find the American infantry on them. Hunter's force gained that day and came within 1,000 yards of the besieged. About this same time Capt. John B. George and a small party, sent north by Hunter to find the Chinese regiment which Hunter understood would support him in this area, met the 1st battalion, 112th regiment at Tanaiyang, about eight miles northeast. After an interval, presumably used to obtain permission to do so, its commander moved toward Hsamshingyang. His first element arrived at the airfield on 4 April and was used to guard a trail junction. Despite this increasing pressure the Japanese made a very heavy attack on the Nhpum Ga garrison, actually reaching the foxholes at one point, and being driven out by two soldiers using hand grenades. Over the next few days, the Marauders were reinforced by the 112th regiment and Merrill's 1st battalion, allowing Hunters men to crawl closer and closer to Nhpum Ga. By Easter Sunday,  the Japanese vanished, leaving cooking fires and equipment. There was no pursuit, as Stilwell wanted no movement beyond Nhpum Ga as they were facing large supply issues at this time. The battalion of the 114th made its way to Myitkyina, where General Tanaka, anxious about the town, added it to the garrison. The 1st Battalion, 55th Regiment, however, withdrew towards the vicinity of Warong. The Marauders had suffered 59 deaths and 314 wounded during the Inkangahtawn roadblock engagement and the siege of Nhpum Ga. The Galahad Unit and 114th regiment suffered so heavily from exhaustion, the men would be very weakened for future engagements.  Further to the south, Stilwell was concerned about the recently offensives aimed at Imphal and Kohima, but he was relieved somewhat, when at the Jorhat conference of April 3, attended by Slim, Lentaigne, Stilwell and Mountbatten, he was told the situation was under control and for him to continue his northern offensive. During the conference, Slim also notified the others he had decided to divert the Chindits 14th and 111th Brigades, further south to help out his 4th Corps. However Brigadiers Fergusson and Calvert argued strongly against it, not wanting to get tangled up in the battle for Imphal. Calvert instead wanted to preserve White City and Broadway whilst Fergusson wanted another attempt at Indaw. The Chindits were still formally under the command of Stilwell in May and he wanted them to hold firm at Indaw to prevent the flow of Japanese reinforcements going north. It was estimated the Chindists could endure roughly 90 days of this action and would need to pull out my mid-June. This estimation did not sit well with Stilwell. General Lentaigne wanted to abandon the strongholds around Indaw and move north closer to Stilwell's forces. Therefore, Calvert's brigade would be prepared to open the drive to the town of Mogaung by attacking Mohnyin. Before this could occur, General Hayashi would initiated a general attack against White City on the night of April 6.  The attack began with a three hour artillery bombardment, then the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 4th Regiment; and 3rd battalion, 114th Regiment stormed Calvert's defenses. When the shelling died away, Hayashi's three infantry battalions attempting to punch a hole along the southeast perimeter of the stronghold, defended by the Lancashire Fusiliers, Gurkhas, and other West Africans of the 6th Nigerian Regiment. Secure behind a row of machine guns with a line of mortars behind them, the defenders opened fire. Bullets and projectiles whipped through the air, the bright flashes of tracers lending an ethereal air to the proceedings. Rounds poured into the attacking Japanese who began to suffer heavy casualties. Determined bands of Japanese brought up Bangalore torpedoes to destroy the wire, but all malfunctioned. The battle went on for most of the night. The Chindits fought like lions throughout the night and managed to toss back numerous enemy attacks. Then to their dismay 27 IJA medium bombers appeared,  blowing holes in the wire. The Bofors engaged them, shot down six and claimed six probables. Desperate efforts were made to repair the defenses before the next attack came in. White City received over 100,000 yards of barbed wire and 600 50ft coils of Dannert wire. The wire was 20 yards thick in places and festooned with mines and booby-traps. Dakotas continued to pour reinforcements into White City. The transport planes were relegated to flights during dawn and dusk times, but they kept coming, concentrating reinforcements at White City. Fresh companies of troops materialized to take up station, until in the words of Lt. Norman Durant of the South Staffords, the place was a “complete babel, for it contained  British troops, West Africans, Chinese, Burmans, a New Zealand RAF officer, Indians, and an American Neisei who acted as interpreter, or better said interrogator of prisoners. Large groups of West Africans from the 7th and 12th Nigerians landed, filling out the columns and battalions already at White City. As the planes continued to bring in reinforcements, Calvert managed to muster roughly seven battalions in and around “White City” against Hayashi.  Over the next few nights, Calvert's defenders continued to repel Hayashi's attacks, until he was finally relieved by Brigadier Abdy Rickett's 3rd West African Brigade on April 10th. This allowed Calvert to lead a strike force against Hayashi's HQ at Mawlu from the south. While the Japanese continued their onslaught of White City, Calvert's strike force advanced to Thayaung, before effortlessly seizing Sepein on the 13th. Then the 7th Nigerians fell upon Mawlu, prompting the HQ staff to flee south in a rout. With Mawlu now in their hands, the Nigerians soon found themselves under heavy fire, pinned down for the next four hours under relentless Japanese firing and dive-bombing by Japanese aircraft that put in a surprise appearance. Soon, the Gurkhas at Sepein also reported that they were under fire from the main Japanese positions at the edge of the village, hidden under mounds of flowering lantana scrubs. The sight was inordinately beautiful and lethal, concealing hordes of Japanese infantry, whose gunfire twinkled through the red, yellow, purple and green of the scrub. Three Gurkha ground attacks failed to dislodge the defenders and the men were becoming dispirited. Calvert decided to withdraw. As dusk settled at Mawlu, Vaughn began to pull his troops out of Mawlu and under the cover of a mortar barrage, taking with him a large collection of vital documents and an even larger trove of Japanese ceremonial swords and military equipment, which would serve as presents for Air Commando and RAF aircrews at White City. While this was going on, Brigadier Brodies 14th Brigade were advancing to the Wuntho-Indaw railway where they managed to successfully attack the main bridge close to the Bonchaung Station,  interdicting the 15th Division's lines of communication. To the northeast, Morris Force captured Myothit on April 9 and then continued to set up ambushes on the Bhamo-Lashio Road. Back at White City, Calvert decided to try and get behind the enemy from the flanks and hit them from the rear, pinning them against the stronghold's wire. On the night of April 16, the Nigerians prepared an ambush on the Mawlu-Henu road, subsequently killing 42 Japanese.  Yet realizing his strike force had trapped 2000 Japanese, Calvert ordered his men to infiltrate forward while the West Africans at White City launched an attack. This was met by a vicious and chaotic Japanese response as Hayashi's men tried to break free. During these actions its estimated the Japanese suffered 700 casualties while Calvert suffered 70 men dead with 150 wounded. The last Japanese attack against White City occurred on April 17th. After this Calvert felt he could hold White City indefinitely, but Lentaigne was concerned with the looming monsoon season, so he ordered White City and Broadway to be abandoned on May 3rd in favor of a new stronghold codenamed Blackpool. The site chosen for Blackpool originally codenamed “Clydeside” was a stretch of hilly ground by the railway, near the village of Namkwin, some 32 km southwest of Mogaung. There was water and suitable places to build an airstrip and deploy the 25-pdr artillery guns when they got them. Beyond a large tract of paddy was a hill, which the troops christened “Blackpool Hill” which curved like the sharp-spined back of a wild boar, with the head down, fore-arms and legs extended sideways. The Blackpool position effectively blocked the railway and main road at Hopin, drawing closer to Stilwells forces. The 11th Brigade had already been dispatched to the north to establish Blackpool. The now rested 16th Brigade managed to capture the Indaw West airfield by April 27th, facing no opposition. Ferguson noted, “This second approach to Indaw was an anti-climax, and for two reasons. First, just before we went in we were told that even if we captured the airfield of Indaw West, no troops, no divisions would be available from India for flying in: all hands and the cook, it seemed, were tied up in the great battle for Manipur. We were to capture the field for two or three days and then to abandon it…. Secondly, it was early apparent that the birds had flown. The Queen's got right on to the airfield without a shot being fired.” Lentaigne also decided to abandon the Aberdeen stronghold, evacuating Ferguson's men along with other units.  Meanwhile, by the end of April, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had also decided that capture of Myitkyina was of vital importance to increase the Hump tonnage. This of course was heavily influenced by the new opportunity for land-based bombers in Chinese airfields to bomb Formosa, the Ryukyu islands, the philippines and the eastern Chinese coast. Now to capture the Moguang-Myitkyina area, Stilwell would receive the Ramgarh-trained 30th Division,the 50th and 14th Divisions, all of which were airlifted over the Hump in April. Stilwell's plan was to drive down the Mogaung valley on Kamaing with such vigor as to persuade General Tanaka that this was the principal effort. The final directive on the 23rd, was for the 22nd Division to attack, rather than hold, and to swing the 64th and 65th Regiments around General Tanaka's left flank, while the 66th Regiment fought down the road. Once again the 112th was told to block off Kamaing from the south. The orders directed the "22nd and 38th to be in Pakhren and Lawa areas by April 27.  As Stillwell would remark in his diary “Now I've shot my wad,". Meanwhile the Marauder-Chinese force, now codenamed End Run would sneak east over the Kumon Range to attack Myitkyina directly. Tanaka's mission at this point was to hold Kamaing with all his strength until the rainy season while the 53rd Division, led by Lieutenant-General Kono Etsujiro moved to reinforce him. Elements of the 53rd Division began to sprinkle into the Indaw Area, but the Japanese HQ for northern Burma, from the newly activated 33rd Army led by Lt General Honda Masaki could not decide to commit them towards either Kamaiang or Myitkyina. Thus Tanaka's hopes for a counterattack were lost. Tanaka received two understrength regiments, the 146th and 4th in April and May, both of whom had suffered terrible losses against the Chindits the previous month. By mid-April General Sun's 38th Division was assembling in front of Tingring with the 114th regiment locked down in a fight with Tanaka's 55th regiment. After a visit to the Sun's command post on April 11th, Stilwell wrote in his diary: "At least it looks like a start! The piled-up inertia is terrible. . . ." On the next day the 114th Regiment relieved the 113th on the line of three villages all named Tingring. This move placed the 114th and 112th in line, the 112th to the east forming with its lines a small salient about Nhpum Ga. The 114th Regiment was operating in rugged terrain which was almost as much an obstacle as the delaying positions directly about Kamaing defended so skillfully by the Japanese. On at least one occasion the 114th lost its way and had to be located by aerial reconnaissance. The battle raged so heavily, it forced the 55th regiment to pull back, while the 114th regiment fought a Japanese rearguard from Hill 1725. By April 20th, they finally secured Tingring and quickly began a march south. On April 23, Stilwell ordered Liao to commence the drive south from Warazup, with the 22nd Division trying to make their way along Tanaka's extreme left flank. The Chinese forces were advancing slowly however, very apprehensive because Chiang Kai-Shek had ordered Generals Sun and Liao to be as cautious as possible. And that is all for today on the Burma front as we now need to jump over to New Guinea.  The last time we were talking about New Guinea, General Shoge's 239th regiment at Madang were getting ready to cover the continued Japanese retreat to Hansa and Wewak. On the other side, General Vasey's men were in hot pursuit. To the east, the 58th/59th battalion and Shoge's 3rd Battalion were patrolling extensively in the Bonggu-Melamu area, playing a sort of game of hide and seek. Several patrols just missed one another in the Wenga, Barum, Damun, Rereo and Redu areas. There were also several clashes. For instance, on March 26, reports from local natives and police boys indicated that the Japanese were again approaching Barum, which had become the main trouble area, from the direction of Damun just to the north. Both sides engaged one another with fire, particularly mortar bombs, but the brush was a cursory one with neither side gaining any advantage. Exchange of fire and a few sporadic attacks by the Japanese continued for about five hours from 5 p.m. While Corporal Tremellen, in the leading section, was moving among his weapon-pits, with a Bren gun in his left hand and two magazines in his right, he was attacked but, not being able to bring his Bren into action, he bashed the Japanese over the head with the Bren magazines. This Japanese thus had the distinction of probably being the only one to be killed by the Bren magazine rather than what was inside it. This would all last until April 11th, when the Japanese had finally withdrawn back to Madang. To the west, the 57/60th Battalion departed from Kwato on April 5 to rapidly secure Aiyau. From there they immediately sending patrols towards the Bogadjim Plantation. At this point, however, General Morshead had finally decided that it was time for Vasey's 7th Division to get some rest, so General Boase's 11th Division would assume responsibility for all units in the Ramu Valley and the Finisterres on April 8. Over at Atherton, General Herring had also retired in February, so General Savige had been appointed to command his 1st Corps. When recommending Savige's appointment Blarney had written to the Minister for the Army: “Two officers have been considered for this vacancy, Major-General S. G. Savige and Major-General G. A. Vasey. Both have been very successful in command in New Guinea operations, and I have some difficulty in determining the recommendations to be submitted, since each is capable and very worthy of advancement to higher responsibilities. Having regard to their respective careers, however, I recommend that Major-General S. G. Savige be appointed.” The significance of Blameys final sentence is a matter for speculation. It could hardly refer to past careers since Vasey's experience in command was wider than that of Berryman, a contemporary who had recently become a corps commander, and no less than Savige's. Alongside this Blamey also decided to do a changeover of corps HQ, seeing Savige take over 2nd Corps in the New Guinea front On April 10, the 57/60th then managed to break through the Japanese bridge positions to the high ground beyond at Bau-ak while patrols reconnoitered Bwai on the Gori River. The attack on the 10th on the enemy position at Bridge 6—two step heavily-timbered spurs running down from each side of the Ioworo River and making a defile was described by Hammer as "a textbook operation and in actual fact it developed perfectly " . One platoon advanced down the road to "fix" the enemy positions while the remainder of the company encircled the enemy position to come in from the high ground to the north . In the first encounter the leading platoon lost two men killed and two wounded. While it engaged the enemy with fire the rest of the company with Lieutenant Jackson's platoon in the lead clambered into position and , later in the day, clashed with the enemy in a garden area on one of the spurs. For a while the Japanese held on, but the pressure of the Australians and the accurate fire from Private Hillberg's Bren in an exposed position in the enemy's rear forced them to withdraw . Towards dusk an Australian patrol moved down a track towards the road where a small Japanese band was found to be still resisting with machine-gun fire . The Australians did not attack for they were sure that the enemy would disappear during the night. As expected there were no signs of the Japanese next morning at Bridge 6 only bloody bandages and bloodstains on the tracks to remind the Australians of yesterday's fight. McCall occupied the area and sent patrols forward to Bau-ak, the last high ground overlooking Bogadjim. Two days later, Brigadier Hammer sent strong patrols forward to Bogadjim and Erima, which found no enemy resistance in front and managed to secure both important hubs by April 15. At this point, while the 18th Brigade began to be evacuated back to Australia, Brigadier Hammer decided to withdraw the 58th/59th Battalion and the 2/2nd Commando Squadron, as the 57/60th would be the only one to continue the advance to Madang.    On April 17, however, General MacArthur instructed Savige that a brigade from General Ramsay's 5th Division should relieve the 32nd Division at Saidor in preparation for the Hollandia-Aitape operation's, so the 8th Brigade and portions of the 30th Battalion would be flown to Saidor five days later. Thus the 300 odd troops were carried over to Bogadjim as Savige ordered the 15th BRigade to rest up and for the 30th battalion to take Madang.  Hammer was anxious to get there first, so he had immediately dispatched patrols to Amele and Madang on April 20th. Shoge was able to fully evacuate Madang and join his comrades as they fled for Hansa. Amele was secured by the 24th, but the Australians would find it very difficult to cross the Gogol River afterwards. After this the 30th battalion and Hammer's patrols landed at Ort and resumed their advance. Both units cleared the Japanese from the Huon Peninsula, before entering an abandoned Madang. During the Australian advance an enemy mountain gun fired a dozen shells, and there was a sudden burst of machine-gun fire and a couple of grenade explosions from somewhere in the Wagol area. The machine-gun fire did not appear to be directed at the Australians and the shells from the gun landed out to sea. In all probability this was the final defiant gesture by the rearguard of the 18th Army as it left its great base of Madang which had been in Japanese hands since 1942. Madang had been heavily hit by Allied air attacks and possibly some demolitions had been carried out by the retreating Japanese. The airfield was cratered and temporarily unserviceable; the harbor was littered with wrecks, but although the two wharves were damaged they could be repaired and Liberty ships could enter the harbor. The Australian advance through the Markham, Ramu and Faria Valleys was a tremendous ordeal. The 7th division suffered between September 18, 1943 and April 8, 1944 204 killed and 464 wounded while it was estimated the Japanese suffered 800 killed, 400 wounded and 800 died from disease. The occupation of Madang ended the Huon Peninsula and Ramu Valley campaigns.  Meanwhile, the remainder of the 5th Division assembled at the Madang-Bogadjim area, fanning out patrols to the west and sending small detachment of the 30th Battalion to land on small islands off the coast, preparing a future advance against Alexishafen. Shoge's detachment rejoined its parent division, the the 41st Division over at the Hansa area, allowing General Katagiri's 20th Division to continue their advance to Wewak. The 51st Division who had already arrived at Wewak got to watch the allied airshow as Hansa and Wewak we bombed without mercy, seeing countless barges destroyed. This would hamper Katagiri's efforts to cross the Ramu and Sepik Rivers. Meanwhile General Nakai came across an alternative route in late April known as the Wangan-Garun–Uru-Kluk-Bien-Marienburg-Kaup route. This allowed the 20th Division to resume their march to Wewak. On April the 29th a barge carrying Katagiri was intercepted by a PT boat. General Katagiri was killed in the engagement, leaving Nakai to assume formal command of the Division. After May 1, the 41st Division then began to follow Nakai's route across the river, with all Japanese units leaving Hansa by May 15th and finally arriving at Wewak at the end of May after a 20-day movement.  Meanwhile General Adachi's plan for the coming weeks of April was for the 20th Division to immediately head towards Aitape, while the 51st Division would reinforce Hollandia once the 41st Division had reached Wewak. As such, a force was created around the 66th regiment led by Major-General Kawakubo. They were dispatched on April 19th, but would fail to arrive on time and would have to turn back to defend Wewak. Additionally, Adachi personally sent a part of his units under direct command to reinforce Hollandia.  Now after the neutralization of Hollandia and the Palaus, General Teramoto's remaining air units would have to move over to Manado and Genjem on April 15th, leaving only 25 serviceable aircraft from Major-General Inada Masazumi's 6th Air Division at Hollandia. After April 3rd, although plagued by bad weather, the 5th Air Force virtually owned the air over Hollandia. There would be only one resurgence of air opposition, on April 11th. The Japanese 14th Air Brigade staged a small fighter force to Wewak which, despite the loss of a Tony to the 8th Fighter Squadron, shot down three P-47s of the 311th Fighter Squadron, a new organization that had lately arrived from the United States and had only begun operations at Saidor on April 7. The enemy force perhaps had withdrawn to Hollandia by the next day, because some twenty enemy fighters pounced on a straggling B-24 there and shot it down. Aerial gunners of the 403rd Bombardment Squadron claimed destruction of one of the interceptors, and the 80th Fighter Squadron claimed eight others destroyed. In this action, Captain Richard I. Bong scored his twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh aerial victories, thus topping the score of twenty-six victories established by Rickenbacker in World War I. Promoted the same day to major, Bong was taken out of combat and returned to the United States on temporary duty at the suggestion of General Arnold, who feared adverse reaction among younger pilots if Bong were to be lost in combat after establishing such a record. Three were also small night attacks, combining 5th Air Force Liberators with Navy PB4Y's and Catalinas, made against Wakde Island during the early morning hours of 6, 13, and 16 April. These attacks seem to have been more profitable than similar missions against the Sentani airfields, probably because Wakde was only a small island easily identified by radar and so jammed with military objectives that a hit anywhere would be damaging. A captured Japanese diary recorded that the 6 April raid killed eleven men, destroyed a barracks, cratered the runway in five places, and destroyed or severely damaged ten planes. A daylight attack against Wakde by seven squadrons of Liberators was scheduled for 6 April, but weather forced its cancellation. The 24th and 41st Divisions were also carrying out their last rehearsals for Operation Reckless. Allied ground and amphibious forces had been engaged in final preparations and training for the coming assault and, on 8, 9, and 10 April, had undertaken last rehearsals. The 24th Division's rehearsal at Taupota Bay, on the coast of New Guinea south of Goodenough Island, was incomplete. Little unloading was attempted, and the area selected did not permit the employment of naval gunfire support. The 41st Division had a more satisfactory rehearsal, with realistic unloading and naval fire, near Lae, New Guinea. The Final loading began on April 10th, with the LCIs leaving their loading points six days later in order to allow the troops aboard to disembark at the Admiralty Islands for a day of exercising, resting, and eating. Ships carrying the Persecution Task Force, meanwhile, moved out of the Finschhafen area on April 18 and on the same day rendezvoused with the vessels bearing the 41st Division towards the Admiralties. All convoys under Admiral Barbey then moved north around the eastern side of the Admiralties and, at 7:00 on April 20th, the various troops assembled at a rendezvous point northwest of Manus Island. Thus, all seemed ready for the beginning of another amphibious assault.  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 Imperial Japanese Army tossed a final hail mary attempt to improve the war situation with the grand Ichi-Go offensive. If they could manage to seize their objectives, this would perhaps give them a better hand at the negotiating table. Because the allies certainly would not be keen on having to liberate most of China, it was a very bold strategy.

Last time we spoke about the Twenty-One Demands and the rise of the Walrus Emperor, Yuan Shikai. Japan certainly had their work cut out for them during WW1. Seizing upon every possible opportunity Japan occupied Shandong province after the siege of Tsingtao and forced China to accept the unbelievable twenty-one demands. Yuan Shikai tried to stall and negotiate, eventually reaching thirteen demands, but yet again China was served a terrible humiliation that even became a national day henceforth. Then Yuan Shikai completely, organically, not fault of his own because the Hongxian emperor over a new dynasty. The new monarchy of China lasted a solid 83 days, before Yuan Shikai was forced to abdicate lest every single province declare their independence. All of this was occurring during the vacuum of WW1, which was still raging on. Yuan Shikai was back to being president, over a fractured nation.   #91 China & the Treaty of Versailles   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. Yuan Shikai's short-lived monarchy did not end China's national crisis. When he abdicated, you would assume this would have eased tensions a bit, but then the people of China found out Yuan Shikai was going to stay on as president. The people were livid. As you can imagine, the calls for his abdication were followed up by calls for him to step down as president. In early April of 1916 Cai E, speaking on behalf of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi put forward 6 demands to solve the crisis. 1) Yuan Shikai had to step down and go into exile 2) his stooges, 13 principal monarchist supports were to be executed 3) Yuan Shikai's vast property was to be confiscated 4) Yuan Shikai's descendants were to be stripped of citizenship. Apparently Yuan Shikai ignored these demands off the bat, prompting Cai E to add 5) Yuan Shikai would be charged with treason and punished by law passed by Congress. In April and May of 1916, more provinces declared independence, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hunan. Their provincial leaders, many of whom were Yuan Shikai loyalists like Chen Yi of Sichuan or Tang Xiangming of Hunan labeled him an illegal leader, condemned him as a villain and severed their ties to him. Talk about choosing your friends wisely eh? Thus by May of 1916 most of southern china was independent, waiting for Yuan Shikai to step down, and most likely it would be Li Yuanhong who would take the presidency. Dr Sun Yat-Sen did not play a significant role in this anti-Yuan Shikai movement. He did make grand speeches, in April of 1916 for example he said “only after the principal culprit Yuan is exterminated could the constitution be restored and the republic be revived. If Yuan continues to rule, the country cannot be preserved. All Chinese  must annihilate the evil thoroughly and never be tolerant towards Yuan, for only after the national thief is wiped out could the republic attain peace.” A barrage of telegrams, letters and personal envoys showed up to Yuan Shikai's offices asking him to step down.  Yuan Shikai's initial reaction was simply to try and suppress his challengers. On April 1st he proposed conditions to Cai E for solving the “crisis”, these were, repealing provincial independence, returning administrative order, disbanding new military units and halting conflicts. Meanwhile Yuan sent secret telegrams to his military commanders at the frontlines ordering the annihilation of the rebels. These men working under him basically had to go with it, his fortune was theirs as they say. But as we have seen, the battles were not going well for him. While he had the best army in China, he could not stand alone against everyone else. Thus he began talking to his closest officials about leaving politics. He also began talking about who would pick up after him. His successor would need to be capable of controlling his northern army, to coordinate his network of military leaders and address the current nations financial issues. Yuan Shikai also began screaming and lashing out at those who were once close to him and betrayed him. Such men Chen Yi in Sichuan, Tang Xiangming in Hunan, but above all, Feng Guozhang made him most bitter. As Yuan Shikai thought over his retirement plans, his enemies did not let up at all. Liang Qichao set up the “Junwuyuan”, Military Affairs Council in Zhaoqing, Guangdong on May 8th, 1916. This was a rival government to the Beiyang republic, who began issuing proclamations and coordinated with rebel provincial leaders. The council supported Li Yuanhong as president and according to Liang Qichao's speeches to the public “the existing national crisis was single-handedly created by Yuan. If Yuan remains in office, the country will confront upheavals and tumult continuously. Once Yuan departs from politics, all military conflicts will immediately vanish.” Yet again China was seeing a north and south governmental divide.  According to Yuan Shikai's daughter, Yuan Jingxue, his health deteriorated in early 1916 and he suffered from major depression. Now Yuan Shikai was certainly not a physically healthy guy, again the Walrus quips hold validity. He often got ill, he rarely left the presidential palace, and kept himself very isolated. I would imagine this was to thwart assassination attempts. Apparently all the men in his family lineage tended to die before 50. Regardless, his overeating probably was the main culprit. Despite all of this, he stubbornly would not step down, even while sick in bed he continued to read official documents at the bedside. By June he was quite bedridden and few came to see him, just his closest friends and colleagues Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui. Yuan Shikai was a strong believer in Chinese medicine and tried to fight off his family who emplored him to seek western medicine until he allowed the French doctor J.A Bussiere to treat him. Dr. Bussiere diagnosed him with uremia and tried to treat him, but it was not working. Anticipated death was at the door, Yuan Shikai called upon Xu Shichang, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen to his bedside where he handed over his last will. He told them he bitterly regretted the monarchy move and blamed everyone for misleading him, what a mensch. Now he trusted these 3 men to care for his family and as for his successor, he told them it clearly needed to be Li Yuanhong. He asked them to swear to him that they would submit to Li Yuanhong for the good of the nation. Then he breathed his last breath and was dead by June 6th of 1916. At the age of 56 Yuan Shikai, a colossal figure of modern Chinese history was gone.  Now this was perhaps one of the most pivotal moments in modern Chinese history, for you see Yuan Shikai had ushered in something. Yuan Shikai from the beginning of his rule, did so with the might of his Beiyang Army. He built up this army, he modeled it a lot upon the imperial Japanese army. He had procured, some would simply say embezzled and stolen funds to make this army the best in China. His intentions can be seen as merely to solidify his power, but in the long term it was also to build a modern unified army for China. Like everyone else before him, he was tackling the issue of modernization. His process was a lot like a mafia however. He installed men loyal to him in various positions, by this point I've named countless of them. Many of these men were basically military-governors. They were trained to lead armies and they all had ambitions politically. There were of course those outside the Beiyang Clique as it came to be called, such as Dr Sun Yat-Sen's Kuomintang and the provinces that all declared independence like Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan, Guangxi, Yunnan, later on the CCP will be a player as well. He had set up this elaborate system, that we will call Warlord control, I literally just made that up. Yuan Shikai's warlords were the baddest of the bunch and with him as the father of Warlords he at least had a firm grasp over China. However when Yuan Shikai decided to play monarch, he royally, pun intended screwed up his own system. This caused what has occurred throughout China's history, a North-South divide. New Warlords were emerging in the south, but even Yuan Shikai's Warlords were slowly breaking off from him. When Yuan Shikai died, while on the surface it looked like China would unify….it most certainly was not.  Its honestly a very complex and confusing situation, known as China's Warlord Era. On the face of it, China had the “Beiyang Government”, who at all times had a president, cabinets etc etc, but it was all a charade. In reality, the Warlords would fight another for dominance over the military forces in China, as that was what really controlled China. The Beiyang Clique would divide into other cliques, and all over China numerous Cliques and associated Warlords would come and go. But, I just wanted to tease you a bit, for coherency sake I'd like to finish China's experience of WW1. After Yuan Shikai's death, Li Yuanhong assumed the presidency on June 7th. Li Yuanhong ordered a state funeral costing half a million dollars, taken from Yuan Shikai's associates such as Xu SHichang and Duan Qirui. In his presidential order Li Yuanhong praised Yuan Shikai for his vital role in the Xinhai revolution and for his industrious spirit, not saying a thing about the monarchy phase. The government flew the Beiyang flag at half mast. With that the anti-Yuan war was over. Liang Qichao dismantled his rival government and the anti-yuan provinces repealed their independence proclamations. All provinces recognized Li Yuanhong as president, a very good start. Now the historical narrative had it, that Li Yuanhong's rise to the presidency was actually at gunpoint. After Yuan Shikai's death, there was a sealed box with the names Xu Shichang, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui found in it. None of the men wanted to stick their neck out to seize the presidency. Its said Duan Qirui forced Li Yuanhong to take the job, but Li Yuanhong was very nervous about it. Why was he? The Beiyang military leaders were all northerners, Li of course was a southerner who also had been the enemy. Duan Qirui consulted his senior military colleagues who all hated the idea of Li Yuanhong being president. But Duan Qirui fought to get the unpopular man as president, because he thought he would make for an excellent puppet. Duan Qirui meanwhile maintained his current position, which was premier. For you Americans who might not be familiar with Parliamentary type systems this is how the Beiyang Government quasi worked. The National Assembly aka parliament elects a president and vice president for 5 year terms and a premier who chooses and leads a cabinet. Typically in these types of systems, the Presidency is more of a ceremonial role. Li Yuanhong's vice president was Feng Guozhang, Yuan Shikai was rolling in his grave. Meanwhile with the provisional constitution restore, political parties were allowed back and 3 factions emerged: Dr Sun Yat-Sen's Kuomintang; Liang Qichao's Constitution Research Clique and Tang Hualong's Constitution Discussions Clique. The first order of business for the new government was the creation of a national army. You might be thinking, err what about WW1? Well with southern China armed and dangerous still, there was a looming fear of further rebellions. There was also the enormous fear, some Beiyang general would renegade and overthrow the government. Meanwhile there was of course WW1. Last episode we talked about China sending laborers to work for France, Britain, Russia and later America. 1916 for the most part saw China providing the labor services, while trying to fix their own nation. Then on February 17th of 1917, the French cargo ship SS Athos was sunk by German U-boat U-65. The ship was carrying 900 Chinese workers on their way to France and 543 of them were killed. Premier Duan Qirui and Liang Qichao both wanted to join the war on the Entente side, seeing it as a tool to help China. President Li Yuanhong and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen both opposed the idea. Duan Qirui strong armed the issue, having China break diplomatic ties with Germany. Duan Qirui also was up to something else. In January of 1917, Prime Minister Terauchi of Japan sent a secret envoy who happened to be a private business man named Nishihara Kamezo. Nishihara was given the task of finding out who really controlled the current Beiyang Army, or better said, who controlled the strongest inner clique within it. That man was Duan Qirui. Nishihara had the financial backing of the current minister of finance, Shoda Kazue who also was the former president of the Joseon Bank in Korea. Together they were offering a private loan, done so through private banks to quote “help develop China”. This was absolutely not the case. They negotiated a series of 8 loans totaling 145 million yen to Duan Qirui, to assist him in maintaining his cliques military. You see like everyone else, Duan Qirui feared other northern warlord types would become stronger than his group, can't let that happen now. To receive these loans, Japan was asking for confirmation of its claims over the former German empires concessions, ie : Kiautschou Bay in Shandong; control over the Shandong railways and some additional rights within Manchuria. All of this was to be kept hush hush, but it would not remain so. I can't get into it too much here, it will be covered in another episode, but a Duan Qirui's deal was leaked and it looked to the public that Duan Qirui was trying to take over China using Japanese aid. Li Yuanhong had Duan Qirui removed from his position as Duan Qirui and the majority of the Beiyang Generals ran over to Tianjin forming a sort of base of operations. Then in a rather insane twist, General Zhang Xun offered to mediate the situation between the Government and Duan and by mediate, I mean he showed up to the capital with his army literally besieging it. Yes, boy that escalated quickly, can't get into the insane story here, again it will be told in a future episode, but Zhang Xun with German funds and arms occupied Beijing and tried to dissolve parliament in an attempt to install Puyi as emperor over the rebirthed Qing dynasty.  Needless to say, Li Yuanhong freaked the hell out, reappointed Duan Qirui as premier and begged him to come save Beijing. Duan Qirui defeated the rebels and forced Li Yuanhong to resign as president so Feng Guozhang could take up the role. Duan Qirui then refused to restore parliament which will literally blow the door open to the Warlord wars, but for out story we return to the issue of WW1. Having already broken diplomatic ties to Germany, there was still the issue of whether or not to declare war. An intense debate was ignited involving nearly all the influential figures in China. It constituted an unprecedented movement for China. China had neer before taken an active role in a global event, one being played out very far from her borders. By participating in the war, some hoped to regain sovereign rights to Shandong. Liang Qichao criticized German militarism and said he believed Germany could not win. He also argued in order to improve China's standing, they had to align her with the victors of the war. On the other side, Dr Sun Yat-Sen argued entering the war would alienate China from Germany. Unlike Britain, France and Russia, Germany had not inflicted as much harm to China in the past. He believed Britain and Russia were far more imperialistic and thus bigger threats. He also argued it would be a material gain at the loss of spirit, thus he wanted to see China remain neutral. Duan Qirui was frustrated as Li Yuanhong added his voice to the matter saying he also did not want to enter the war. While this argument was going on, the KMT began establishing a military government in southern China and elected Dr Sun Yat-Sen to be their generalissimo.  Regardless, Duan Qirui took matters into his own hands and declared war on the Central Powers on August 14th. German and Austro-Hungarian concessions in Tientsin and Hankow were quickly seized. Duan Qirui hoped by entering the war, China might gain some international prestige and eliminate some unequal treaties. He alongside many others hoped to get rid of the indemnity payments, like the Boxer Protocol and to regain control over the Shandong Peninsula. Notably China continued to send laborers to help the war effort, but never sent troops. China's actual participation in the Great War remained very minimal. It was constrained to confiscating some German ships along their coast and continuing to support the allies with labor. China tried multiple times to offer naval and military assistance, or even a token combat unit to the western front, but it never came to be. Honestly a lost opportunity. If you check out my episode on southeast asia during ww1 or my Asia during WW1 documentary, you will see nations like Thailand did send forces and profited pretty heavily from the experience.  Germany surrendered on November 11th of 1918, and hopes were so high in China they declared a 3 day national holding. China had achieved her primary goal, being granted a seat at the Paris Peace Conference. She had been given two seats as she had not provided combat troops like other nations who had more seats. For example Japan was given 5 seats since they did provide combat troops. Now because of Dr Sun Yat-Sen's southern government, there basically was two sets of envoys sent to Paris. The Beiyang or Northern government members and Sun Yat-Sen's southern government members. Heading the Beiyang was Lu Zhengxiang who was accompanied by Wellington Koo, Cao Rulin, Hu Weide, Alfred Sze and some other advisors. On behalf of the southern government was Wu Chaoshu and although not an official delegate so was C.T Wang. Overall Lu Zhengxiang was the leader of China's delegation, but Wellington Koo, sort of a master negotiator came to become the main man.  China's demands at the conference were territorial, economic and political. In regards to territory, the “delegation proposed the internationalization of the Manchurian railways and rivers” and for foreign treaty ports and communities to remain short-term in order for China to transition them back into her ownership for a long term strategy. In regards to politics, China wanted “the elimination of all legation guards, removal of all foreign troops stationed in China, and the abolition of extraterritorial rights”. In regards to economics, China sought to regain full sovereignty over her tariffs and railways. All together these demands would be a dramatic improvement of her international standings. It would place her on a much more equal footing with the great powers. Now for those of you less familiar with WW1, this came directly at the time of one of America's worth presidents in my opinion, President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points. Again I will do the boring professor like thing by listing the points, but dont worry its in a summarized form: 1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties 2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace 3. Equal trade conditions 4. Decrease armaments among all nations 5. Adjust colonial claims 6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence 7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored 8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories 9. Readjust Italian borders 10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination 11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro 12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles 13. Creation of an independent Polish state 14. Creation of the League of Nations   Given the points, such as the right of self-determination of peoples, the Chinese delegates felt pretty good about their stance. However, what would prove to be the crux between China and her goals were a series of secret agreements and treaties between the Great Powers, China and Japan. Remember Duan Qirui's little loans? Well when China declared war on the Central Powers, this put her in alliance with Japan, as now they were both part of the Entente. Another large event had unfolded in 1917, the October revolution, seeing Russia fall to communism. The Entente declared the communist government a threat. Vice chief of the Imperial Japanese army general staff, Tanaka Giichi sought to form a military pact with China, including a military alliance against the new common enemy. In late January of 1917 Tanaka sent a message to the Japanese military attache in Beijing to form a Sino-Japanese agreement, but to try and get the Chinese to suggest the idea first.  The Chinese obviously would be suspicious of forming any type of agreement with Japan given the Shandong situation and Japan's encroachment into Manchuria. Japanese foreign minister Motono Ichiro offered a military cooperation similar to what the Entente were doing in France, stating if they could operate their military forces in France, why not in Manchuria. The Japanese also hinted as the possibility of just sending troops into Manchuria even if China didn't agree to it. On March 3rd, 1918 the Germans and Soviets signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, leaving some 100,000 German POW's scattered about Siberia and this scared China quite a bit. Thus on March 8th, the Japanese government began forming plans for a Sino-Japanese agreement and informed the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, Zhang Zongxiang about it. A team led by Major General Saito Suejiro went to Beijing to negotiate the terms of the agreement. On March 25th, Zhang Zongxiang and Minister Motono both agreed enemy forces were spreading rampantly along the Russia border, threatening the far east. Thus they agreed to a joint defense agreement. This got leaked to the public in early April and opposition in China spread dramatically. Japan pretty much made its intents with the Sino-Japanese alliance known. The alliance would allow for free movement of Japanese troops with Chinese territory, that some resources would be commandeered for the military, a bit of domestic politics would probably be interfered with also and they pretty much were going to plant pro-Japanese forces across China. On May 3rd, Tanaka Giichi visited Zhang Zongxiang and demanded an apology from the Chinese side for doubting Japans intentions and failing to ratify things. He stated if China did not agree to the alliance, the Nishihara loans would be withheld. Duan Qirui could not stomach that so negotiations recommenced on May 16th and the agreement was signed.  The Sino-Japanese agreement consisted of 12 major articles: The second article establishes the parties of the agreement were equals,;  the third article specified that the Chinese authorities must "try their best" to cooperate with the Japanese military in the relevant regions and prevent them from "experiencing any obstacles" in their operations. The fourth article specified that Japanese troops would be "entirely withdrawn" from Chinese territory at the termination of the war. The seventh article specified the placement of liaison officers in each party's military to facilitate communication between the two parties and specified that both parties must provide whatever resources are required to facilitate their joint defense. As usual, Japan demanded the negotiations be made secret, but it was leaked immediately.  Now back to Paris, China had thus agreed to grant Japan several things and it contradicted what she sought at the peace talks. For one thing, she sought to reclaim the Shandong Peninsula. Back in 1915 Yuan Shikai's government had signed the thirteen-demands, but Wellington Koo argued that it had been an unequal treaty imposed upon China in a moment of weakness.  Wellington Koo, gave an impassioned speech about the importance of Shandong province to China, describing it as "the cradle of Chinese civilization, a Holy Land for the Chinese. It was the birth land of Confucius and Mencius. If Japan was allowed to continue its lease of the Shandong territory, then it would provide the government of Tokyo with a strategic "gateway" to all of north China”. As for the second Sino-Japanese treaty in which China agreed to allow Japan's occupation of Shandong amongst other things, well the Chinese delegation had no idea about this agreement. Yes the delegation team found out about this agreement at Paris, go figure. So yeah it was a pretty big surprise when the Japanese delegation literally read out the treaties signed with Duan Qirui et al, very embarrassing for the Chinese delegation. Then to make matters even worse the Entente powers, specifically Britain and France also acknowledged they had signed secret agreements with Japan giving her the rights to Shandong since she had entered the war to help them. You could hear the sad violin music beginning to play. The Chinese delegation in absolute desperation looked towards the United States for help, hoping Woodrow Wilson's right to self-determination would bend to their favor. Woodrow said Shandong should be given to Japan, probably hoping to add Japan's favor in forming the League of Nations. The global powers then pretty much ignored the Chinese delegation. Hence forth the Chinese felt Woodrow Wilson had betrayed China, though as much as I hate to say it, it really wasn't his fault. He was simply balancing a number of secret agreements made and there were many promising Japan Shandong.  Thus in article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles the official transfer of the Shandong peninsula was given to the Empire of Japan rather than being returned to China. China denounced this transfer stating Shandong was the birthplace of Confucious, the greatest Chinese philosopher and it would be on par to Christians conceding jerusalem. China demanded Shandong Peninsula be returned to China, an abolition of all the privileges afforded to foreign powers in China such as extraterritoriality and to cancel the thirteen demands with the Japanese government. The Western powers refused all of China's demands and dismissed them. As a result Wellington Koo refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles in protest. Thus China was yet again humiliated. Worse, the ongoing news of what was going on at Versailles had caused probably one of the greatest movements in modern Chinese history to be unleashed back home. 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. China was absolutely devastated by the treaty of versailles. Their fractured nation had been the victim of double dealings and now the Shandong problem would plague them for some years. However back home, an incredible movement was quicking up fueled by the anger of students and workers. 

Last time we spoke about Chinese laborers during the Great War. Although China took upa stance of neutrality at the offset of WW1, there was still this enormous desire to join the Entente side. The new Republic of China wanted to get a seat at the peace table to hopefully undue some of the terrible unequal treaties. To procure that seat, China approached France, Britain, Russia and by the end of the war America to send their workers to help the war effort. On the western and eastern fronts, chinese laborers made a colossal contribution that tipped the scale of the war towards an Entente victory. On the Eastern front some Chinese fought in irregular units and under emergency circumstances even on the western front some saw combat. When the laborers came back home they brought with them new ideas that would dramatically change China. The people of China demanded change, but how would China fare by the end of the Great War?   #90 Twenty-One Demands & the Walrus Emperor   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. Taking a look back at China at the outbreak of WW1. Yuan Shikai certainly had a lot on his plate. When European nations began declaring war in late July, it brought military conflict to China. Yuan Shikai and his advisors thought over all the options laid bare before them and decided to proclaim neutrality on August 6th of 1914. As we have seen the other great powers, particularly Japan did not care. Japan besieged Tsingtao, despite China tossing protests. Yuan Shikai had little choice but to permit the Japanese military actions against Qingdao. The fighting that broke out in the Kiautschou area would constitute the only acts of war on Chinese soil during the first world war. Unfortunately the Japanese were not going to settle with just defeating the Germans. Japan had already gained a enormous sphere of influence in Manchuria after her victories in the 1st Sino-Japanese war and Russo-Japanese War. When China underwent its Xinhai revolution it became fragile, quite vulnerable and thus opened a floodgate.  With WW1 raging on in Europe, the global powers were all too preoccupied to contest any actions in Asia, giving Japan an enormous opportunity. Japan sought to expand her commercial interests in Manchuria, but also elsewhere. After seizing Qingdao, Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu and Foreign Minister Kato Takaai drafted the infamous Twenty-One Demands. From the Japanese perspective, Yuan Shikai's government looked rogue, untrustworthy, they had no idea how long the thing would stand up, it might crumble at a moments notice. Their leases in south Manchuria were going to run out soon, thus they needed to extend them. Then there was the situation of Shandong province. Its always Shandong as they say. Japan was technically occupying it, having taken it from the Germans who previously held a concession over it. Being a concession, it was known Shandong would be returned to China, but now then when was an unknown variable. Japan also had some economic trade with China that made her somewhat dependent upon her. For example Yawata, Japan's first iron and steel complex that had been financed with Chinese indemnity payments ironically, was also dependent on Chinese raw materials that had been streaming into Japan since 1901. Japan industrialists needed to firm up their commercial relations with places like the Hanyehping works in Hankou. They hoped to establish joint sino-japanese control over strategic resources. Japan also strongly sought to be the dominate power in Asia, she wanted the western powers to back off. With these things in mind, the twenty-one demands were born. And by demands they were technically more “requests”, nevertheless they amounted to substantial infractions upon Chinese sovereignty. On January 18th of 1915, Japanese ambassador Hioki Eki delivered the twenty-one demands to Yuan Shikai in a private audience. They were delivered with a warning of dire consequences if the Beiyang government were to reject them. I know it might be quite boring and rather a University professor thing to do, but I will read the demands out. Now the Twenty-One Demands were divided into 5 groups Group 1 (four demands) confirmed Japan's recent seizure of German ports and operations in Shandong Province, and expanded Japan's sphere of influence over the railways, coasts and major cities of the province. Group 2 (seven demands) pertained to Japan's South Manchuria Railway Zone, extending the leasehold over the territory for 99 years, and expanding Japan's sphere of influence in southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, to include rights of settlement and extraterritoriality, appointment of financial and administrative officials to the government and priority for Japanese investments in those areas. Japan demanded access to Inner Mongolia for raw materials, as a manufacturing site, and as a strategic buffer against Russian encroachment in Korea. Group 3 (two demands) gave Japan control of the Han-Ye-Ping (Hanyang, Daye, and Pingxiang) mining and metallurgical complex in central China; it was deep in debt to Japan. Group 4 (one demand) barred China from giving any further coastal or island concessions to foreign powers. Group 5 (seven demands) was the most aggressive. China was to hire Japanese advisors who could take effective control of China's finance and police. Japan would be empowered to build three major railways, and also Buddhist temples and schools. Japan would gain effective control of Fujian, across the Taiwan Strait from Taiwan, which had been ceded to Japan in 1895. Now Japan knew what they were asking for, particularly in group 5 were basically like asking China to become a full colony under Japanese rule. Traditional history holds the narrative that Japan simply was taking advantage of the first world war to press China for imperial gains and Yuan Shikai accepted the demands in exchange for funding and support of his future monarchical project. Yuan Shikai ever since has been vilified as a sort of traitor who negotiated a dirty deal with the Japanese. Its a bit more complicated than that however as you can imagine. Yuan Shikai was outraged when the Japanese minister came over with the demands, it was a heavy blow against him and his new government. Accordinging to US minister Paul Reinsch “Yuan was stunned, unable to speak for a long time”. When the Chinese were trying to smooth talk Yuan and his advisors they made flowery speeches about how Japan would shoulder the modernizing of China, that the demands were in the spirit of Amity, friendship and peace. Yuan Shikai remarked to this “our country would no longer be a country and our people would be slaves.” Yuan Shikai understood full well what Japan sought, but he was powerless to stop them. What he did do to try and curb some of the damage was delay the response by replacing his foreign minister Sun Baoqi with Lu Zhengxiang, whose slow and overly polite manner, greatly frustrated and pissed off the Japanese. The classic Chinese approach to diplomacy, stall stall stall. It is said Lu often spent an hour or more in courtesies like tea-drinking before getting down to business. Over 24 meetings would be held over the demands. Now the Japanese wanted all of this to be kept secret as it would hurt both nations reputations on the world stage. Yuan Shikai did not play by their rules. Instead he leaked the demands to foreign diplomats and representatives, and in turn this got leaked to the media and caused nationwide protests. Yuan Shikai hoped the protests would push the Japanese to back off. Yuan Shikai also tried to persuade foreign intervention. First he sent his Japanese adviser Argia Nagao back to Japan to prod the Genro. Then he began speaking to the Americans who were very focused on maintaining their Open Door Policy and the British who were very suspicious of Japan's intentions. Neither nation wanted to see China simply falling into Japan's orbit. And of course Yuan Shikai tried to negotiate the demands themselves, particularly the group 5 demands which he pointed out “these items interfere with China's internal politics and infringe on our national sovereignty. It is hard to agree.” Towards the economic demands he remarked “these demands are too broad and cannot be enforced.” Regarding Japan's demands that China not lease islands or coastal regions to “Taguo /a third country”, Yuan Shikai wanted to change the words “Taguo” to “waiguo / foreign countries”. That change altered China's national interests for it meant China would not allow any country, including Japan to lease or rent Chinese islands or coastal regions.  Overall though, Yuan Shikai was very careful not to be overly aggressive for he knew full well, no one was able to help China at that moment if Japan decided to start another war. He also was playing with fire massively, for he unleashed Chinese nationalism, something that could and would get out of hand. The Chinese stalled for as long as they could, but the Japanese patience would run out on May 7th. Japanese ambassador Hioki Eki issued an ultimatum, but this time with only thirteen demands. Yuan Shikai's government had only 2 days to accept. After months of tenacious diplomacy, the final version of the demands was quite different. The 5th group had been dropped and more other items were less harsh. Yuan Shikai was powerless he was going to have to accept the demands and he knew full well this was yet another humiliation against China and her people. The supreme state council met on the 8th, where Yuan Shikai told his officials it was a shameful and heartbreaking agony to accept the demons, but they had no choice, lest war ravage them all again. He looked at his council and stated bluntly, China needed to catch up to Japan within a decade to remedy the situation. Yuan Shikai would issue secretly on May 14th, a notice to high ranking officials throughout the country, telling them to expose Japan's ambitions and China's debility. He urged them to bear in mind the extreme pain of this humiliation and advised them to work hard to create a bright future to avoid the collapse of the state and the extinction of the nation. The demands were reluctantly accepted on May 9th, and henceforth May 9th was declared “a day of national humiliation” commemorated annually.  The consequence of accepting the thirteen demands, became colloquially known as “the Shandong problem”, again its always Shandong province haha. Now at the beginning of the war China supported the Entente under certain conditions. One of those conditions was that Kiautschou Bay, the leased territory of the Shandong peninsula belonging to the Germans, would be returned to China. Something that occurred very very often during WW1, particularly on the part of Britain, was the issue of double promising. I literally made up a term I think. Britain during WW1 in an effort to secure allies or certain objectives would promise two different states or non-state actors the exact same thing after the war was done. A lot of the problems facing the middle-east today can be attributed to this. In the case of the Shandong problem, when Japan entered the war on behalf of the Entente, Britain basically promised they could keep their holdings, this of course included Shandong. We will come back to the Shandong problem as its a surprisingly long lasting one, but now I want to take quite a silly detour. Yuan Shikai is quite a character to say the least. He was viewed very differently at given times.Take for example the public perception of him after the Xinhai Revolution took place. Many honestly saw him as a sort of Napoleon Bonaparte like figure. Many also questioned what Yuan Shikai truly sought, did he believe in things like democracy? One author I have used during these recent podcasts, who in my opinion is a hilarious Yuan Shikai apologist tried to argue the case “Yuan Shikai did not understand what democracy was, thus that is why he did the things he did”. Now beginning around 1913, there were rumors Yuan Shikai simply sought to make himself an emperor over a new dynasty. This of course came at a time everyone was vying for power over the Republic, China was supposed to be a Republic after all, I think we all know however this was not ever a reality. Yuan Shikai certainly tried to make the case he was a Republican, that he believed in the republicanism espoused by just about all the leading figures. He also would make statements publicly espousing “I will never proclaim myself to be a monarch”. Yet as we have seen he certainly sent the wheels into motion to create a dictatorship. Yet for public appearances he kept the charade he was doing his absolute best as president and that he unwaveringly supported republicanism.  Thus there were two major hurdles in the way, if lets say he did want to become an emperor: 1) he kept making pledges he would not do so and 2) the republican system obviously did not allow for this, there had been a revolution to stop the monarchy after all! There was little to no options if someone wanted to make themselves emperor over China…unless they made it seem like thats what the people wanted. In 1915, Yuan Shikai quasi stomped all political rivals, I say quasi because there actually were rivals literally everywhere, but for the most part he had concentrated power into his own hands. Now, the apologist author had this to say about Yuan Shikai's sudden change of heart for the monarchy “His belief in superstition was perhaps another factor, for geomancers had told him that by establishing a monarchy he would smash his family curse, which held that men in the Yuan family would rarely live beyond their fifties. The suggestion here was that he would live long if he founded a monarchy. Also, fengshui masters had told him that his ancestral tombs had shown a blessed sign favouring imperial rule” The author then finishes by stating, its a difficult question and further inquiry should be made. That is the classic end of any scholar article, where they know full well they can't justify what they are writing haha. According to the high ranking official Zhu Qiqian who was close to Yuan Shikai “Yuan's monarchical movement started with Kaiser Wilhelm II telling the Chinese that monarchy would be more suitable for China”. British minister Jordan had a meeting with Yuan Shikai on OCtober 2nd of 1915, and on the topic of him becoming emperor, he simply stated “this is China's internal affairs which should not be interfered with by any others.” American minister Reinsch basically said the same thing when asked. News outlets began spreading rumors Yuan Shikai was going to declare himself emperor. In June of 1915, Japanese media reported as such, but Yuan Shikai responded “nothing is more foolish than a man becoming emperor. For national salvation, I have already sacrificed myself, and I would rather not sacrifice my descendants.” Well despite this, a monarchical movement began, orchestrated by many people such as Yuan Shikai's son Yuan Keding. Our friend from the last podcast, Liang Shiyi, now minister of communications, raised funds and organized popular petitions for Yuan to form a monarchy. Soon numerous petition groups “organically” with quotation marks, sprang up all over Beijing all claiming republicanism held too many weaknesses and that China was in a dire strait needing a strong monarchy. Petition groups sprang up in provinces urging the same thing. Beijing was filled with noisy parades, procession, petitioners ran around rampantly.  Then the United Association of National Petition was founded on September 19th, 1915 in Beijing to champion monarchism. Supporters gathered in Beijing, producing this “organic” impression everyone wanted the monarchy back.  Facing so many petitioners, Yuan Shikai decided to let the people determine the future of the national political system and by the people, I mean him. On October 8th, 1915 he approved the order that a “Canzhengyuan”, political participation council organize a “ Guomindaibiaodahui”, a national representative assembly. They would form a final ruling on the issue. The order required all the representatives had to be elected, each county had to choose one, and various ethnic groups, civil societies and overseas Chinese organizations also needed to select representatives. Yuan Shikai hoped such an arrangement would dispel any perceptions he was just appointing himself Emperor. Each county representative went to his provincial capital to cast a ballot. The political participation council in Beijing collected the ballots and announced the results. The representatives were selected and each received 500$ for travel expenses. Yuan Shikai dispatched Zhu Qiqian to secretly telegram all provincial officials to regulate the “election” air quotes. Yuan Shikai had all of his confidents working for this election. High ranking officials, family members, friends and so forth. On December 11, 1915 the Political Participation Council announced the results, all 1993 ballots endorsed a constitutional monarchy with Yuan Shikai as emperor. So yeah, every ballot, hrmmmm. On behalf of the representatives, the council begged Yuan Shikai to assume the throne immediately, claiming it was the will of the people. Yuan Shikai declined, arguing he had pledged to support the republic, that as the guardian of republicanism he would lose trust if he became emperor. He asked the council to find another candidate. What proceeded as you can imagine was simple theatrics. That afternoon, the council held a special meeting and decided to present a second imperial advocacy. In the advocacy were things proving Yuan Shikai was an indispensable ruler, qualified for taking the throne. His 6 great accomplishments were suppressing the Boxer Rebellion, enforcing progressive reforms, achieving a post-revolutionary conciliation, crushing the second revolution and conducting intense diplomacy with neighbors like Japan. To absolve Yuan Shikai of the guilt of violating his republican pledges the document stated “the pledge to the republic was effective only if the peoples' will supported republicanism. If the people have switched to constitutional monarchy, the previous pledge was automatically relinquished. As the presidency does not exist anymore, the former presidential pledges naturally disappear”. And thus Yuan Shikai reluctantly, under extreme pressure issued a public order declaring his acceptance on December 13th, 1915. Thus Yuan Shikai became the Hongxian Emperor and began to implement imperial orders. To woo over the national elites, he created a system of noble ranks and bestowed 130 prominent individuals titles as princes, dukes, marquis, earls, viscounts and barons. His closest friends were given special appellations and exempted from imperial duties. Xu Shichang, Li Jingxi, Zhang Jian and Zhao Erxun, his closest 4 friends became the Songshansiyou “four friends of Mount Song”. Yet just as he was getting down to the work as they say, an anti-yuan movement swept the country, go figure. High ranking Beiyang generals and politicians were amongst Yuan Shikai's, lets call them, reluctant collaborators, and some were even opponents. His monarchy turned them hostile. Many had supported him for decades and their very careers were beholden to his patronage. But the monarchy was simple incompatible with the times. Li Yuanhong, a leading figure in the Beiyang Clique who was linked to Yuan Shikai through marriage, strongly resisted the monarchy. He was the first to have the title prince bestowed upon him, but he refused and threatened to commit suicide if coerced to take it. Xu Shichang, simply resigned. Feng Guozhang, a military commander in Nanjing was very angry about the situation. Feng Guozhang came to Beijing to try and persuade Yuan Shikai to not become emperor, and Yuan Shikai promised him for months it was only rumors, he'd never do it, not Yuan come on man! Once he became emperor, Feng Guozhang felt betrayed and became quite an obstacle to Yuan Shikai. Then there was Duan Qirui another Yuan Shikai loyalist, but he concealed his anti-monarchy stance. He simply told Yuan Shikai that if he tried to become emperor, he would become a villain in chinese history. Duan Qirui was the only high ranking general not to be given a noble title rank. Instead he was given a personal chef by Yuan Shikai, and Duan Qirui made sure never to eat any food prepared by the man. All these names by the way are important figures of the Beiyang clique, cliques will become a dominating feature when we get into the warlord era. Basically the leader of the Beiyang clique, Yuan Shikai had greatly pissed off all of his followers.  Of course Dr. Sun Yat-sen responded immediately to Yuan Shikai becoming emperor, calling for another revolution. In his words “the future of our motherland has suddenly became more darkened. The republic built by our martyrs has unexpectedly turned out to be the private possession of the Yuan family. Four hundred million compatriots wept profusely ... and see the third revolution as the best remedy for national salvation.” Dr Sun Yat-Sen portrayed Yuan Shikai as a “minzei” national thief and now the Chinese people lived in bondage. He called upon the people to fight to save the republic. Soon KMT revolutionaries began to seize county seats, first in Shandong led by Ju Zheng, then they occupied parts in Guangdong and attacked the provincial capital there. However Dr Sun Yat-Sen was not the only player in town anymore. There was the new Nation Army led by Cai E in Yunnan province and Liang Qichao. Liang Qichao was one of the first big voices against Yuan Shikai's monarchial movement when they were emerging as rumors. He was also something of a sensei to Cai E, pushing him to coordinate military commanders in the southwest. Liang Qichao left northern China for Shanghai after Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor and then made his way to Hong Kong, before traveling to Vietnam. From there he gradually traveled to join up with the Nation Army in March of 1916. And there he created a rival government. Then there were the liberal types, many intellectuals who had traveled abroad like Chen Duxiu. Chen Duxiu published in the New Youth an article stating “the nomenclatures of emperors and kings should have already perished after the Qing abdication edict, but unfortunately the Prepare for Peace Society led to the problem of the national political system.” Many pro-Yuan Shikai intellectuals suddenly turned against him, such as Li Dazhao. Born in Zhili, Li Dazhao had benefited from Yuan Shikai's reforms and supported him for quite some time, but the monarchism enraged him. As Li Dazhao joined the anti-Yuan movement he declared “All those who dare to rekindle the tyrannical cinders, or reignite the monarchical flames, whether the followers of the Prepare for Peace Society or the adherents of dynastic restoration, should be regarded as traitors of the state and public enemies of citizens. Their organization should be exterminated, their books burned, their backers eradicated, and their roots removed. Their sprouts should be destroyed so that they could not grow and proliferate. Then, there will be a hope of great prospect for our country”. Japan, never one to let an opportunity slip by them, began communicating with Cai E, Sun Yat-sen, Liang Qichao and Beiyang generals like Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui. Japan began training and arming them. Soon military commanders in Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan working in league with Liang Qichao declared war against Yuan Shikai. Zhang Xun in Xuzhou of Jiangxi province refused to fly the Beiyang republic flag and made sure his men grew long queues, expressing their loyalty to the Qing dynasty. Liang Qichao dispatched Cai E to Kunming where he met with Tang Jiyao, a local military commander to begin a rebellion. On December 24th, Yuan Shikai received a telegram from Cai E urging him to return China into a Republic and he had one day to do so, or else. Yuan Shikai rejected the order and on the 25th of December, Yunnan province declared independence, uh oh. The Nation Army consisted of 3 main forces, Cai E's first army who marched upon Sichuan; Li Liejun's 2nd army who marched upon Guangxi and Hunan and Tang Jiyao's 3rd army who were held in reserve. Their goal was to occupy southern China so a Northern expedition could be launched to overthrow Yuan Shikai.  On January 1st, 1916 they issued an proclamation, claiming Yuan Shikai had performed 20 egregious crimes and must go into exile and let China be a republic again. Within days their armies marched upon Sichuan and Guizhou. By February Guizhou declared independence. Yuan Shikai immediately went to work stripping the rebels of their official titles and ordered Cao Kun to lead a military expedition against Yunnan. Under Cao Kun was Ma Jizeng who took an army through Hunan to attack Guizhou and Yunnan. A second force was led by Zhang Jingyao through Sichuan then Yunnan. A third force led by Long Jiguang went through Guangxi and then Yunnan. There were fierce battles, one particularly rough one at Xuzhou, where Cai E's armies seized the city in January, but lost it by March. The war was dubbed “the strange war,” because it really became  “a war of tongues,”. Each side kept through accusations in telegrams, newspapers and pamphlets. Now Yuan Shikai's Beiyang forces were superior in terms of numbers, weaponry and such, but the southerners were using terrain against them. All of the Beiyang forces were northern chinese, not used to southern climate and it proved difficult for them to acclimate. They were also not in the greatest state of morale, having to fight for the tin pot emperor as it were.  As a result the Beiyang forces did not seize the quick victory they thought they would. Though one major triumph was when Feng Yuxiang took Xuzhou on March 2nd, 1916 earning himself the title of baron. For those who don't know, Feng Yuxiang would famously become known as the Christian warlord. Meanwhile, Guangxi declared independence on March 15th led by Lu Rongting. Looking at a brutal stalemate of a war, Feng Guozhang began secretly telegraming Yuan Shikai to give up the monarchy, not a good sign. By early 1916, all the war fronts were seeing disasters. On March 21st, Yuan Shikai convened a special meeting with his high ranking officials. He proposed abolishing the monarchy and only one diehard loyalist general, Ni Sichong said he shouldn't, the rest all said yes. The following day Yuan announced his decision to step down from being an emperor. On March 23rd, 1916 the Hongxian dynasty ended, yes he was emperor for 83 days.  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. I bet some of you are wondering why I titled this the Walrus Emperor. I could not help myself, he honestly is such a goofy character and the propaganda outlets of his day drew him as this fat walrus, seriously give it a google “Yuan Shikai Walrus”. You wont be disappointed

Last time we spoke about the rise of Yuan Shikai, the outbreak of WW1 and the siege of Tsingtao. Yuan Shikai used every dirty little trick to seize and maintain his authority in the new republic. He forced the KMT's hand, prompting Dr. Sun Yat-sen to usher in a second revolution, but it ultimately failed as Yuan Shikai controlled the best army in China. Simultaneously world war one broke out and this placed China in an awkward position. Multiple nations held special territorial concessions in China and now they might bring the war to her borders. China protested as much as she could, but the Empire of Japan simply did not care when they came over to lay a siege against the Germans at Tsingtao. The siege of Tsingtao saw many historical firsts and was quite brutal. After all was said and done, China was served yet another humiliation, with many more to come.    #89 China's forgotten role during the Great War   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. Now this episode is actually going to be a bit of a side step from the chronological narrative so to say. China underwent an enormous amount of events during the course of WW1, most having to do with political relations towards the Empire of Japan. However, quite some time ago, on my personal channel, the pacific war channel, I tackled asia during WW1. I wrote a few episode looking at China, Japan, southeast asian nations, and something I found quite interesting is how China aided the Entente powers. People completely overlook this aspect of the Great War, but China and some of her southeast neighbors provided an incredible amount of manpower to both the western and eastern fronts. Stating that, I want to simply dabble into the specific subject of “what exactly did China do for the war effort?”. In the next episode we will jump into things like the twenty-one demands and the Treaty of Versailles. The declarations of war in Europe in late July and early August brought military conflicts immediately upon Chinese territory. On August 6th, 1914 China proclaimed her neutrality and prohibited the belligerents of WW1 from undertaking military operations upon Chinese soil. Now at the beginning it was sort of believed if not perceived the Great War was essentially a conflict between imperial powers, over their colonial possessions in a big game of world supremacy, thus China expected to remain neutral as a partially colonized country. Japan certainly did not care and began a siege against Tsingtao. China initially protested against the Japanese warfare upon her soil, but there was little Yuan Shikai could do about it. We wont get into here, but Japan certainly followed up her disrespect against China immediately after the siege of Tsingtao. Needless to say, China remained neutral for most of the war and this placed her in an interesting position. Now Yuan Shikai secretly offered British Minister John Jorden, 50,000 Chinese troops to help retake Tsingtao, but the British refused. The reason they refused was because of Japan. Japan refused to allow Chinese soldiers to fight in the war, because she was hoping to secure her authority as a powerhouse in the east. While Chinese citizens were not allowed by the Chinese government to participate in the fighting, this did not stop them from other actions Liang Shiyi was in charge of railways, the most profitable ministry within the government at the time and he had a grand idea. He called it “Yigong daibing” “laborers in the place of soldiers”. Now during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the idea of Chinese people going abroad to work was unprecedented. Both the Ming and Qing dynasties discouraged citizens from leaving the country and would persecute those who had. The Qing issued decrees banning emigration in 1717 and 1729, which would not be repealed until 1893. Thus when Liang Shiyi brought up the idea in 1915, it sort of showed how much China had changed in a short amount of time. He discussed his idea with Entente diplomats in early 1915. His original suggested to the British was to use military laborers, men who would carry guns, not be hired laborers. Now you might be asking, why do such a thing, what did China have to gain? If Britain accepted the proposal, it would mean China was fighting on the side of the Entente. But Britain turned Liang down in early 1915 and it is obvious as to why. Anyone who officially joined the war on either side, when the war was over would get a respected seat at the peace table, whereupon you could make demands. For a humiliated nation like China, seeing numerous global powers encroach upon her with unequal treaties, it was a no brainer getting a seat at that peace table might gain them what they wanted, to be rid of the unequal treaties, hell maybe even join the big boy club.  Having received the no from the British as one does, Liang went to the French. Now France from the offset of WW1 was in quite a panic and the idea of acquiring new human resources looked like an amazing idea. For France particularly in the summer of 1915, such an idea might be the decisive factor to win them the war. It also just so happened France was in the processing of securing new human resources from her vast colonial empire. If you want to hear more about French Indochina and Thailand's experience with WW1, please check out my specific episode on it, or my long format documentary on Asia during WW1 at the Pacific War Channel…or podbean I do have audio podcasts same channel name. Thus France began working with Chinese diplomats on the issue of recruit Chinese laborers. Come the summer of 1916, Britain's perspective had dramatically changed since 1915, as they were short on manpower.  Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig requested 21,000 laborers be recruited to fill Britain's manpower shortage. This was to be restricted to the Western Front, as the British home front held domestic labor unions who vigorously fought any attempt to bring Chinese workers to the isles. Beginning in August of 1916, Britain began its Chinese recruitment plan. Now China as I said would remain neutral for most of the war, so technically the Chinese laborers were hired on the basis of a written contract, ie: treated like a regular work force. Now I am going to start off with the western front, thus the Chinese laborers fell into two categories, the travailleurs and spécialistes, translated semi-skilled labor and skilled labor, not literal translations, but as I interpret it. Funny enough my job outside the podcast business has me coordinating semi-skilled educational programs for high school students so I certainly know a lot about this haha. To summarize, semi-skilled labor is a term today referring to basic common labor whereas skilled labor is more difficult requiring more education. You can make a son of comparisons, but I find this one makes sense to the most people: a semi-skilled laborer in the kitchen setting is a dishwasher, you can grab a new worker, show them the ropes rather quickly and let them work, whereas a skilled laborer is a line cook, it takes some culinary education or a lot of training until that person can do the job effectively. I also worked in the restaurant business for a long time haha.  So with France the general contracts were for 5 years, with the British it was 3 years. The Chinese laborers in France would legally be equal to their french counterparts. They would be allowed to celebrate both Chinese and French holidays with benefits paid about 5 francs per day. For the British the Chinese would work 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, paid one franc per day, while their families back in China received 10 Mexican dollars a month. Its difficult to estimate but a WW1 era franc probably can go for about 15 USD, so thats like 75$ per day for France, while for the British its 15$ a day + roughly 1100 USD a month. Now the laborers needed to be transported, fed, clothed and houses, and this was to be at the cost of France and Britain. Between 1916-1918 France recruited roughly 40,000 Chinese laborers, while Britain hired 100,000 who worked in France under their authority. When the United States joined the war, the American Expeditionary Force arranged to borrow 10,000 Chinese laborers from France to employ them under identical terms. The majority of the 140,000 Chinese laborers came from Shandong province. In 1916, the French government approached China asking to recruit its citizens for non-combatant use. A contract was agreed upon may 14th 1916 supplying 50,000 laborers who would make their way to Marseille in july of 1916. This was followed up by Britain's War Committee in London who formed the Chinese Labour corps, with its main recruiting base established in Weihaiwei on october 31st 1916. The first transport ship carried 1,088 laborers sailing from Weihaiwei on january 18th 1917. The journey took three months, each volunteer received an embarkment fee of 20 yuan, followed by 10 yuan a month paid to their families in China. By the end of the war this would account for roughly 2.2 billion dollars earned by Chinese laborers. As a result of the German submarine attacks, Britain needed a safe route and shipped 84,000 Chinese laborers through Canada. This was done in absolute secrecy as at the time Canada had the discriminatory Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 and Chinese Head Tax. Thus they boarded trains journeying 6000 kilometers from Vancouver to Montreal never leaving the train. As reported by the Halifax Herald in 1920 “They were herded like so much cattle in cars, forbidden to leave the train and guarded like criminals”. It was a grueling experience to be sure. China began to ship thousands of men to Britain, France and Russia. These non-combatants would repair tanks, assemble shells, transport supplies like munition, and dig trenches amongst many other things. Hundreds of Chinese students served as translators. It should be noted that the Chinese government and many intellectuals saw the overseas work as an enormous opportunity for Chinese youth to learn new technical skills and ingenuity which could be brought back to the homeland. The French and British military were the ones doing the recruiting, thus the majority would fall under military management and were organized into military type units commanded by officers. If they broke the rules, they could be court martialed and at least and at least 10 under British authority were executed during the war. It should be noted, during WW1 there were a lot of executions for numerous reasons, such as cowardice on the battlefield. Now the Chinese were promised they would not be working under fire, but more often than not they worked in close proximity to military zones, particularly under the British. Until China officially joined the war, the French kept their Chinese workers pretty far from the front lines. After China joined the war in 1917, the French began to assign Chinese to military zones more frequently. There were major differences between the French and British labor programs. The French mainly recruited through the mediation of Chinese contractors, while the British used their own agents. Also as you probably already noticed, the French offered better treatment than the British. For example the French paid higher wages and their labor laws were less restrictive, compared to that of the British labor corps. Now this was the early 20th century, racism was rampant, arguably more so for the British side, who notably locked their worker camps up with wire. The American expeditionary Forces apparently were the most racist, and this is not surprising as America certainly had more experience with Chinese labor. Between 1882-1943 Chinese laborers in American were discriminated against heavily, and the Americans in France had similar attitudes. Racism aside, there obviously were cultural differences, leading to misunderstandings and ignorance on both sides. It did not help that there was a lack of interpreters leading to managerial problems. Despite the racism, cultural misunderstandings and instances of mistreatment it has to be noted, Chinese laborers were a crucial component of the Entente war effort. The great war was a total war, it involved the frontlines and home front. The Chinese who came to France were youthful and strong men. They worked extremely hard, as I said 10 hour days, typically 7 days a week with some holidays.  By the end of the war and for a considerable amount of time afterwards, virtually all cranes in Dieppe, Havre, Rouen, Calais and Zeneghem were operated by Chinese. The French had a lot of praise for the Chinese laborers. General Ferdinand Foch said of them “Chinese laborers are first-class workers who could be made into excellent soldiers, capable of exemplary bearing under modern artillery fire.” H.R Wakefield of the British had this to say in a report “a splendid and versatile worker, inured to hardship and almost indifferent to the weather . ...It was certain that he would learn rapidly to cope with all the multitudinous kinds of work demanded by the huge British military organization overseas. ...Chinese [laborers] have a marvelous gift of imitation, and consequently they learn new and difficult tasks with great facility. ...[T]heir speed and endurance are phenomenal. Although the introduction of Chinese labor was a great experiment and there were some who shook their heads when it was first suggested…the experiment has succeeded, the doubters have become enthusiasts, the work accomplished has already been enormous, disputes and misunderstandings have been marvelously rare. The credit for this success can be equally shared by the British and Chinese”. It was said the Chinese work ethic impressed the British and French so much they became more welcoming to them compared to Indian and Egyptian workers. The British government began the repatriation of Chinese laborers in the fall of 1919 and this was completed on April 6th of 1920. The French repatriation program ended in March of 1922. By the end of the war, roughly 3000 Chinese laborers remained and settled down in France, including 1850 qualified men who signed new contracts to work for metallurgical industries. Other workers found employment in the mechanical or aeronautical sectors. Many of those who remained married French women. Two lived long enough to receive the French Legion of Honor in 1989. The Chinese under the British often found themselves working near battlefields and many did as a result. They were hit by bombardments and some Chinese workers even found themselves tossed into combat against German forces during emergencies. Tragically, after the war was over, there was a colossal amount of work needed for mine clearing and many Chinese would perish during this. By October of 1919, 50,000 Chinese laborers remained in the British camps as they were being evacuated roughly 15,000 per month. Nearly 2000 were buried in France. Many would not even make it to France. On february 17th, 1917 the French passenger ship SS Athos was sunk by the German U-boat SM U-65 off the coast of Malta. The ship was carrying 900 Chinese workers and 543 of them were killed. Roughly 3000 Chinese lost their lives in the Entente war effort in the west. The United States had recently severed diplomatic ties to Germany as a result of its unrestricted submarine warfare and pushed China to do the same. China severed diplomatic ties with Germany in March. The United States further advised China, that if they wished to be at the peace agreements China should declare war on Germany. China took the advice and declared war on the central powers on august 14th 1917.  Now this was all for the Chinese laborers in the western front, but the Chinese also did the same for the Russian empire. Like Britain and France, Russia's economy was collapsing as a result of WW1. The massive mobilizations and insane levels of casualties for the Russians forced the Tsarist government to procure labor by unconventional means. At first they began using women and POW's to compensate, but this quickly proved insufficient, so Russia turned to China. Now Russia had experience hiring Chinese labor since the 1890s, specifically for railway construction. It's more difficult to obtain information on the eastern laborers, but Chinese scholars estimate up to a possible 200,000 Chinese laborers worked in Russia. The system for Russia was nothing like France or Britain. Prior to WW1, private Russian companies and state projects using Chinese agents recruited workers within China, mostly in Shandong, Hebei and Manchuria. They contracted workers individually or in groups, who were given Russian visas and transportation by ship to Vladivostok or by train from Harbin. These laborers helped build the Trans-Siberian railway,  local urban infrastructure and agricultural work, playing a key role in the development of the Russian Far East. Thus when WW1 came around, Russia already had a system in place to hire workers. They worked in coal mines in the Donetsk region, cut timber in the Siberian Taiga, constructed railways in the polar zones of Northern Russia, carried ammunition and dug trenches in the eastern front.    Most of their recruitment was done in northeast China by the private companies like the Yicheng company, until 1916 when the Tsarist government tried to simplify things by placing control of recruiting under the Chinese Eastern Railway company in Harbin. The Chinese eastern railway company took care of all the administrative formalities such as performing medical examinations of workers, clothing them, provisioning them for the journey and placing them on guarded trains. And here is where the eastern workers differed rather dramatically from the western workers. Once in Russia, the Chinese workers were pretty much abandoned for a lack of better words. In the west, Chinese laborers worked under contract for the governments of Britain or France who managed them. In the east the Russian government did not manage them, it was private merchants. This meant many Chinese in the east did not receive adequate sheltering, clothing or food once in Russia. Conditions were extremely rough, the Chinese worked 10-11 hours a day, 7 days a week, living out of badly heated and overcrowded barracks. Sometimes they had no water supplies nor basic sanitation facilities. Many fell ill from the cold, lack of any medical care or food. Unlike with the French or British, Russian officers were not always assigned to overlook them, thus countless were just left on their own. Many of these laborers were employed to build a 1044 kilometer railway linking St-Petersburg to a new port in Murmansk. This meant they had to lay a line across frozen marches, lakes, rocky terrains and through countryside that was uninhabited and could supply nothing but timber. They worked in the cold, nights could reach 40 degree celsius. Many died due to extreme cold, lack of nutrition and disease. Because of the terrible conditions, Chinese laborers routinely protesting and performed violent riots. The Russians suppressed them very harshly, considering the incidents, mutiny's and a sort of sabotage of war related production. After receiving so many reports of mistreatment of their workers in Russia, the Chinese government demanded their own official representatives be allowed to accompany large groups of the workers in Russia to defend their labor rights. Russia refused to satisfy the demands, but did try to improve the working conditions. Unlike in the west where the Chinese laborers were strictly monitored and confined to specific areas, the Russians kind of dumped them everywhere. With so many Chinese scattered about Russia when the Russian government collapsed because of the Russian revolution, countless were stranded. Many Chinese laborers joined the Red Army or various guerilla groups during the Russian Civil War.  Many Chinese laborers truly sympathized with the Bolshevik cause, others simply joined the Red Army to survive. Those who did join the Red Army often did so for food or the opportunity to get back home as the revolution left many stranded. Ren Fuchen was China's first bolshevik and he was the commander of the Chinese Red Eagle Battalion. Estimates vary significantly, but it is estimated up to 40,000 Chinese laborers joined the red army fighting in multiple fronts like Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Volga and Siberia. They had no attachment to Russia or its places and thus were very useful as executioners and many were used as shock troops as no one expected to be attacked by Chinese. Their wartime experiences and cross-cultural exchanges with the Russians would play a critical role in shaping China's political trajectory during the interwar period. As we will discuss in greater detail in other episodes, the Bolsheviks sprang for the seed that would eventually create the CCP. It was during this cross cultural exchange in Russia that communism made its way to China, on the backs of the laborers coming home.  Thus this rather extraordinary story of Chinese departing their country to work or in some cases fight in the Western and Eastern front during WW1 was significant both for the history of China, but also global history. Working and fighting side by side with the Entente displayed China's determination to play a role in world affairs. Taking a step back, think about China's history until this point. Its more or less always been shutting out the world, rather than embracing it. When China was forced open under very brutal and tragic circumstances, it robbed her of being really able to join the world order. Despite being so ingrained in the global economy for so long, she was a very isolated state. It seemed to China, this was finally the moment she could rise to the occasion, change her fate as it were. China clearly signaled this to the world by her actions during the Great War. Also this was the first major time for her citizenry to really experience the west. It provided them with an opportunity to observe and learn from other civilizations, many students for example who went over would reflect on Chinese society. When they returned home, the brought with them new ideas and a strong desire for change. From the east this brought Marxist ideology, from the west it was various forms of democracy, capitalism, hell things we think of today as basic human rights.  Chinese laborers abroad came back to China forming a new national identity. There was also a large element of seeking experience and education. It was not simply the common class going out on their own, the Chinese Republic was pushing people specifically to go out into the world, receive education and vocational training to bring back to China. In something of a grand migration scheme the Republic hoped by sending some of their brightest students and technical laborers, they might manage something along the lines of what the Japanese did during the Meiji years. To give a more specific example, take the story of Li Shizeng. Li Shizeng was an intellectual, politician, and entrepreneur who went to study in France at the turn of the 20th century. He was very influential and helped translate many French books into Chinese. He advocated for dramatic reforms in China and was always pushing to have Chinese come into personal contact with the west, encouraging study and work abroad. In 1902 when he went to France for the first time alongside Wu Zhihui, they discussed the possibility of sending ordinary Chinese to Europe. For them the key to China's salvation was education in western nations. Sending students to the west as laborers was a perfect vehicle. Li Shizhens thought if a 1000 young Chinese workers traveled to France, they would make an enormous impact on Chinese society upon their return, imagine 140,000. In 1912 Li Shizhen alongside a group of other intellectuals, including a young Wang Jingwei formed the “Liu-Fa Jianxuhui” the Society for Frugal study in France. The major purpose of the society was to increase educational opportunities, to introduce Chinese to world civilizations, advanced learning and to develop a Chinese national economy.  When the Chinese laborers saw what a western country looked like, how their citizens worked and lived, it had a profound effect on them. One laborer named Fu Shengsan, explained the situation in an article titled “ Hua gong zai fa yu zhou guo de sun yi” “Chinese Laborers in France and Their Contribution to the Motherland”for the Chinese laborers weekly. He wrote that Chinese laborers did not really understand the relationship between an individual and their nation, or between a family and a nation, before coming to the west. After witnessing Europeans fighting for their country in WW1, it aroused a sense of nationalism and patriotism amongst the Chinese. Many came back home trying to explain this knowledge. Fu would write that the belief Westerners were superior to Chinese was false and that China just needed to become strong like them. All of this would drive China towards the May fourth movement, a watershed moment in Modern Chinese history, but that is a story for another day. 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. China underwent great hardship during the Great War, something I will be talking about in the next episode, but she also became a valued member of the Entente, and helped to win the war. Yet the experience of Chinese laborers would have a profound effect on the future of modern China, showing China's people they could rise to the occasion.

Last time we spoke about the Wuchang Uprising and the Xinhai revolution. The revolutionary armies formed a massive assault, managing to seize Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou. However, the Qing Dynasty had a card up their sleeve in the form of Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang Army. Yuan Shikai defeated the rebel armies with ease, but when the time came to eradicate them for good, he held back. Instead he plotted with the revolutionaries, to coerce the emperor to abdicate in order for himself to be made president over the new Republic. In a masterstroke Yuan Shikai seized the presidency and immediately went to work consolidating his power. Through the use of policial abuses, bribery, threats and assassination, Yuan Shikai was securing his control over the new republic. However all of his actions were met with outraged from the public and particularly the KMT. Now Dr Sun Yat-Sen would unleash a second revolution to save the republic.   #88 A Great War and the Siege of Tsingtao   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. When Yuan Shikai became provisional president he was hailed by the senate  “of all the presidential elections in world history, only [George] Washington enjoyed unanimous approval. Now, you [Yuan], sir, have repeated Washington's record. To the world, you are the second Washington in this regard. To our Republican China, you are the first.” A few days later, Manchu elite troops, the Eight Banners, delivered Yuan a letter, which read that the “people in North China regard you as China's first Washington; the people from South China see you as the world's second Washington. There is no doubt how much the entire country adores you”. Now the original abdication edict given to Yuan Shikai read like this “Yuan Shikai holds the absolute authority along with the civilian army [ minjun – the south] to organize the provisional republican government and discuss the approach for achieving the unification of the country.” But Yuan Shikai revised the edict “Yuan Shikai holds the absolute authority to organize the provisional republican government and discuss the approach for unifying the country along with the civilian army.” In early 1912, Dt Sun Yat-Sen had set 3 conditions for Yuan Shikai's assumption of the provisional presidency: Nanjing would be the national capital, he would assume his presidency in Nanjing, and he would have to respect the Provisional Constitution. As mentioned in he previous episode, Yuan Shikai performed some false flag-like operations to make sure Beijing became the capital, where he and his Beiyang Army had the strongest position. It is estimated in 1912 China had roughly a million soldiers. This was a enormous financial burden on the government and quite a threat to the regime as many of these soldiers began to join cliques that were loyal to local warlords. When soldiers pay is delayed they tend to mutiny, thus Yuan Shikai demobilized them in late april of 1912. He sought to reduce the military to half a million in 50 divisions. He disbanded 16 divisions in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan and Sichuan. Within Nanjing he made sure 100,000 troops under the command of Huang Xing were ordered to step down. By june of 1912 Nanjing's force would be a third its original size. Now while the number of troops were reduced everywhere, this did not hinder his own Beiyang Army, for they were an army of quality over quantity. It was the pro-KMT forces that would suffer the most and this was intentional. To prevent local forces from becoming regional powers, Yuan Shikai began enforcing a policy of separating powers between military command and civilian administration in the provinces. Yet as we mentioned in the last episode, as Yuan Shikai weakened the other forces he strengthened his own. He took foreign loans in secrecy, known infamously as the  shanhoudajiekuan or Reorganization loan. The Chinese public were outraged at the humiliating situation, and the KMT were the most furious. In early May General Li Chun led the 8th division from Baoding to Wuhan while also dispatching crack troops to reinforce Shanghai. On June 9th, Yuan Shikai removed the pro KMT governor of Jiangxi, Li Liejun and replaced him with Vice President Li Yuanhong. On June 13th, Yuan Shikai replaced the pro-KMT military governor of Guangdong Hu Hanman with Chen Jiongmin. Then on June 30th pro-kmt governor of Anhui Bai Wenwei was dismissed and on that same day Li Yuanhong performed a mass arrest of many party leaders in Wuhan. Yuan Shikai then dispatched the 6th division under Li Chun into Jiangxi on July 3rd. It was obvious to the KMT what was going on. All of the political maneuvering coupled with the assassination of Song Jiaoren prompted Dr Sun Yat-Sen to unleash a second revolution. On July 12th, Li Liejun issued an anti-Yuan declaration which effectively began the second revolution. With this Jiangxi claimed its independence. 3 days later Haung Xing scrambled to Nanjing where he organized an anti-yuan force and announced Jiangsu independent. 2 days after this the previous governor of Anhui Bai Wenwei declared his province independent. The next day Chen Qimei announced Shanghai's independence, this was followed by Guangdong under Chen Jiongming, then Fujian. Of course the KMT actions drew a quick response from Yuan Shikai. He had of course already preemptively moved his forces as I mentioned to key locations where they would easily dominate their KMT opponents. Yuan Shikai had been given ample time and ample funding in 1913. Meanwhile the revolutionary forces were divided, poorly organized, poorly armed, they lacked the same fever they held during the first revolution. Yuan Shikai also used propaganda to demonize the KMT and justify his military campaign. Yuan Shikai accused Dr Sun Yat-Sen of “revolutionary proclivity” meaning he only knew who to bring chaos and destruction. Yuan Shikai remarked  “Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing have no real ability besides causing disturbances and bringing troubles.” On July 22nd anti-yuan forces were defeated around Xuzhou by the 2nd division led by Feng Guozhang and Zhan Xun. They fled to Nanjing and from the 22nd to the 28th, rebel groups attacked the Manufactural bureau of Jiangan. The Beiyang navy came to help the army and repelled the attack. On the 30th, 2 forces led by Long Jiguang, Li Yaohan joined up around Zhaoqing and advanced upon the Sanshui district. The next day a Beiyang force led by Ni Sichong attacked Fengtai. By the 2nd of august Fengtai fell to the beiyang forces. When Sichuan declared independence on August 4th, Yuan Shikai ordered Yunnan's warlord Tang Jiyao to attack the Sichuan rebels. On August 5th, Beiyang forces attacked Shou country, 2 days later many Anhui forces deserted the revolutionaries to join Yuan Shikai and on the 11th the capital of Anqing was taken. That same day He Haiming led 2000 to try and defend Nanjing against the Beiyang Army; as Long Jiguang seized Guangzhou. The next day Hunan canceled their independence movement as the Beiyang navy captured Wusong. On September 1st, Nanjing fell, prompted Sun Yat-Sen, Huang Xing and Chen Qimei to flee to Japan. On September 11th, Chongqing's defenders simply dispersed, and the second revolution had collapsed. There were many reasons why Yuan Shikai won. The strength and disparity between his forces and the revolutionaries was vast. His army was well trained, the reorganization loan had greatly boosted them. The revolutionaries were very divided, there was certainly many vying for power. The general public were so tired of war and conflict. They loathed the assassination of Song Jiaoren, they simply wanted peace. National mood simply favored Yuan Shikai. Dr Sun Yat-sen yet again, went to work strengthening his KMT abroad. The foreign powers threw their support to Yuan Shikai's government. Yuan Shikai now exacted all effort to eliminate revolutionaries with firm support from the progressive party. Its estimated 1000 activists were killed and many more were arrested. The purge saw countless accused without a fair trial, some not even a trial at all. Freedom of speech was stamped out, countless newspapers ordered censored.  Yuan Shikai's military victories during the second revolution saw him secure positions in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangdong and Fujian. Though local forces persisted to be a problem, Yuan Shikai was dramatically centralizing power. After crushing the second revolution, Yuan Shikai passed the Presidential election law on October 5th of 1913. It is said Yuan Shikai resorted to using citizen corps to besiege Congress, harassing and threatening them into voting for him. In the first round Yuan Shikai received 471 ballots, in the second 497, but neither were enough. The third round of voting saw him win 507, just enough to become president. He refused to take the oath in Congress and instead did a ceremony in the former imperial palace. He sat in the emperors throne in his military uniform before he had a grand parade on the Tiananmen Rostrum with 20,000 of his loyal troops.  Yuan Shikai dissolved Congress on January 10th of 1914 because “it lacked a legitimate quorum due to the expulsion of Nationalist legislators; it was not effectively organized; it was not operating efficiently or achieving much; and it was deliberately fostering nationwide chaos” He literally gave them all 400$ and told them to go home. After this he ordered the suspension of all provincial assemblies and local autonomous organs. In other words he made himself a dictator. He did create a Political Council called Zhengzhuhuiyi but it was nothing more than an advisory body. On January 26th the Political Council convened a Constitutional drafting conference. On March 14th of 1914 the conference drafted the Constitution of the Republic of China which Yuan Shikai proclaimed in effect on May 1st.  The new Constitution gave Yuan Shikai paramount power to convene and shut down legislature. No clear lines were drawn between the executive, judicial and legislative branches, basically Yuan Shikai controlled all 3. Yet Yuan Shikai's authority all rested upon one thing, his military power. To assert control over all the provinces, he promoted military governors. These military governor would have civil authority and control over their own armies. For those of you who know the next period of Chinese history, yes the Warlords were being born. Yet while the beginnings of the warlord era were approaching, the year of 1914 brought something else to China. World War One began at a time when China was in complete disarray. She was militarily weak, in financial chaos and very unstable politically. Yuan Shikai attempted keeping China neutral during the war, but the war came to her door nonetheless. On August 6th of 1914, China proclaimed its neutrality and prohibited warring states from undertaking any military actions on her soil. However with so many different world powers holding concessions on her territory, well it was going to happen one way or another. By the way what I am about to talk about is known as the Siege of Tsingtau, its actually an incredible historic event, multiple firsts in history occur. If you want to see a visualization of this go over to my youtube channel the pacific war channel and check it out alongside my entire series/documentary on Asia during WW1.  Going back in time somewhat, in 1902 Britain and Japan signed the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Because of this, when WW1 broke out, the alliance basically encouraged the Japanese Empire to enter the war on the side of Britain for mutual defense. At the outbreak of the war, Britain feared the German East Asiatic Squadron would raid her merchant shipping and planned to run the Germans out by destroying their bases and communications. If you want to learn more about the honestly courageous and badass German raiders of the Pacific during WW1, again check out the pacific war channel, I particularly liked making the episode on German Raiders. Within the first week of the war, Britain requested assistance from Japan to identify German shipping. I must emphasize the word “assistance”, Britain in no way wanted Japan to start attacking and seizing German colonial possessions in China and the Asia-Pacific. You see the German empire held numerous islands out in the pacific and notably the port city of Tsingtao, current day Qingdao. Yes the place that makes the delicious beer, honestly a personal favorite of mine. Well in the face a a extremely weak German presence in the pacific, and all these goodies just sitting around, the Japanese empire was not going to let the opportunity slip. Japan held larger ambitions in the Asia-Pacific, so she instead offered to enter the war and join the Entente. Britain did not want this, but the German raiders were causing absolute havoc upon her and Anzac shipping, so she reluctantly accepted this, but privately warned Japan not to seize German islands in the south Pacific, because she desired them to be taken by Australia and New Zealand.  Japan's war aims were to first capture the German base at Tsingtao, then the Marshall, Caroline, and Marianas islands and secondly to hunt down the East Asiatic Squadron. On August 15th Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding her warships withdraw from Chinese and Japanese waters and transfer control of Tsingtao to Japan. When the ultimatum expired on the 23rd Japan declared war on Germany. The Germans hoped their garrison would be able to hold out until the war in Europe was won and done, so they instructed governor of the leased territory of Jiāozhōu, Alfred Meyer-Waldeck to defend Tsingtaoto the last. Kaiser Wilhelm II exact words to Admiral Alfred Meyer-Waldeck were "... it would shame me more to surrender Tsingtao to the Japanese than Berlin to the Russians"   When the war broke out, most of the warships of the East Asia Squadron led by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee were dispersed across the Pacific. Meyer-Waldeck assembled all the available warships he could; the torpedo boat S90, unprotected cruiser Cormoran, Auxiliary cruiser Cormoran, steamer Ryazan, gunboats Luchs, Tiger, Jaguar, Iltis and the Austro-Hungarian protected cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth. Obviously Tsingtao's warships would be absolutely dwarfed by the Imperial Japanese Navy who dispatched the 2nd squadron under Vice Admiral Sadakichi Kato on August 27th, supported by some British warships.   Tsingtao's defenses consisted of the port, town and three defensive lines, the first extending from the Kaiserstuhl to the Litsuner Heights. The second line lay across the steep hills from Prinz Heinrich to Kuschan. The third line consisted of three fortified hills, Mount Moltke, Mount Bismarck and Mount Iltis, each equipped with guns of various caliber; Fort Moltke had two 240mm guns; Fort Bismarck had four 280 mm howitzers; Fort Iltis had two 240mm guns. Tsingtao's towns seaward and landward defenses were 4 batteries and 5 redoubts. Meyer-Waldeck had at his disposal, 1300 marines of the 3rd Seebataillon, 750 naval gunners, 180 naval personnel staff, 400 sailors, 1500 reservists and 100 Chinese policemen, totalling nearly 4000 men. They had 90 guns of various calibers, 120 machine guns, 28 automobiles and two Etrich Taube aircraft. By the way this is 1914, very early days of WW1 and the aircraft literally look like something Leonardo Davinci would have sketched.   You might be asking, what is China doing during all of this, since they proclaimed neutrality and demanded other nations not fight on their soil. Just like the Russo-Japanese War, China yet again took the humiliation. The Chinese government initially protested against the Japanese warfare on her soil against the Germans, however given Japan simply did not care, Yuan Shikai begrudgingly had no choice but to permit the Japanese encroachment against Qingdao. The battle for Tsingtao would be the only acts of war on Chinese soil during the first world war.   On August 22nd the SMS Lauting and S90 were attacked by the HMS Kennet led by Lt Commander F. A Russel of the China squadron. The Germans raced back to port with the S90 scoring two hits on Kennet, before she peeled off when a Tsingtao 4 inch shore battery began to fire upon her. On the 27th the IJN 2nd squadron led by Vice-Admiral Sadakichi Kato began a naval blockade of Jiaozhou. The fleet quickly seized 3 coastal islands and began minesweeping operations. On the 30th a storm drove the IJN destroyer Shirotaye aground on a coastal island, allowing the HMS Jaguar to surge out of the port and destroy her. On September 2nd the Japanese began landing 23,000 soldiers of Major General Mitsumo Kamio's 18th infantry division along with 142 pieces of artillery. They fanned the area, finding no enemy north of the Paisha River. The region was experiencing a terrible flood making it a muddy nightmare. It was at this point, the local Chinese protested the breach of neutrality, but offered no real opposition. By the 7th an advance guard was riding to Tsingtao. Meanwhile the British were suspicious the Japanese intended to seize all of Shandong province, so they dispatched a symbolic force of 1500 men led by Brigadier General Nathaniel Walter Barnardiston from Tientsin. They would be followed up by 500 men of the 36th Sikhs.    Meyer-Waldeck responded to the landings by withdrawing his forces to the two inner defensive lines. On the 5th the IJN Wakamiya launched a Farman seaplane that scouted the port and town. The pilot reported the East Asiatic squadron was absent, prompting the IJN to dispatch two fast squadrons to hunt them down. The next day, the Wakamiya launched another Farman who unsuccessfully attacked the Jaguar and Kaiserin Elisabeth in Jiaozhou bay with bomblets. This would be the second air-sea battle to occur in history. The first occurred during the Balkan wars in 1913. In response both cruisers had guns removed from them to be added to the land defenses, establishing Battery Elisabeth.    On 13th, Japanese cavalry ran into a German outpost at Jimo causing them to flee after a short skirmish. The Japanese seized the small town of Jiaozhou and on the 14th cut the Shandong railway. You really have to imagine how pathetic the Chinese government looked during all of this. Now the weather conditions were abysmal, the flooding and mud was so terrible, Kamio knew it would take weeks to move his entire division over the peninsula, so instead he took a calculated risk. Kamio ordered his 24th infantry brigade, whom were just landing ashore at the time, to re-embark as his cavalry, engineers and 23rd infantry brigade continued their advance to Jimo, thus abandoning the bridgehead. Kamio ordered the rest of his forces to land in Lau Schan Bay. On the 17th, the Japanese attacked Wang-ko-huang, 13 miles from Jimo causing the Germans to withdraw from the town during the night. The next day the Japanese arrived at Jimo exhausted and nearly starving as IJN cruisers bombarded the empty beaches of Lau Shan Bay allowing the 23rd infantry brigade to land. With Jimo secured, Kamio ordered his forces to seize the Hotung pass, driving back another small German outpost. After a cavalry company of the 24th brigade made contact with the forces at Jimo, Tsingtao was now effectively surrounded.   On the 19th the Japanese seized Mecklenburg House, a mountain spa, and broke through the outermost defensive line. Kamio now figured the Germans would only mount a defense within the city's fortifications, so he ordered his forces to close in, causing the German patrols to withdraw inwards. Because of the terrible terrain conditions, the Japanese began constructing piers at Lau Schan and an airfield at Jimo. On the 21st the Imperial Japanese Army launched four Farmans from Jimo to survey, bomb and if possible shoot down German aircraft. In late September Japanese Farmans would perform the first night-time bombing raid in history. The Germans had accidentally crashed one of their Taubes, leaving only one to be operated by legendary Lt Gunther Plüschow. Plüschow performed daily reconnaissance flights and attempted to bomb Entente vessels. Plüschow would become the first aviator in history to be fired upon and receive damage by flak from naval ships. In late September according to Plüschow, he ran into a Farman performing reconnaissance over Tsingtao harbor and he claims he shot the pilot with his pistol causing the aircraft to crash. If this was true, this would be the first aerial victory or first over claiming aerial victory in history. Again the Siege of Tsingtao is full of many history firsts, yet honestly hardly anyone knows about this event.   Meyer-Waldeck realized the Japanese were maneuvering past the mountain line unmolested, so he ordered a counter attack as his artillery began firing up to 1500 shells upon the incoming enemy per day. On the 25th a German force of 130 men, 2 field guns and 4 machine guns raided an outpost on Kletter Pass. The Japanese stood their ground and forced the Germans back, meanwhile the British began landing at Lau Schan. On the 26th, Kamio ordered a general advance, causing the Germans to completely pull back to their second line. The Japanese crossed the river Paisha early in the day, swiftly crossing the seven-mile lowland plain and reached the northern bank of the Litsun. To help their withdrawal, the Jaguar and S90 came up the harbor side and bombarded the Japanese right flank. The outer mountain outposts fell one by one, nearly bloodlessly. The Kaiserin Elisaeth, Jaguar and S90 continued to shell the harbor flank, prompting Kamio to assign a field battery to engage them. The German ships managed to destroy an observation post and neutralized the battery. Kamio then requested Vice Admiral Kato begin a bombardment of the German land batteries to cover his advance, but Kato instead bombarded the German sea batteries. The infamous interservice rivalry between the IJA and IJN was blossoming. Meyer-Waldeck knew they would soon have to abandon the second line. He ordered his engineers to prepare a small outpost on the crest of Prinz Heinrich Hill. They connected a telephone and heliograph to its heavy land batteries. 60 men with 4 machine-guns manned the outpost with provisions for a 2-month siege.   On the night of the 27th, Kamio ordered the 46th infantry regiment, reinforced with an engineer platoon, to scale the hill, right in the middle of a typhoon. The men reached the crest by dawn, but were quickly pinned down by German machine gun fire. The Japanese charged the outpost numerous times, receiving heavy casualties, until the German CO decided to negotiate. He offered to surrender the peak, if the Japanese would allow his men to withdraw back to Tsingtao. The Japanese commander simply refused and seized the CO by force. The Germans surrendered after suffering 6 deaths with 54 men captured, the Japanese suffered 24 deaths, with 150 total casualties.   Meanwhile the Kaiserin Elisabeth, Leopard and S90 continued to shell the Japanese right flank, prompting the IJN and IJA field artillery to counter fire. On the 28th, the Japanese were closing in on the German inner line, as their engineers began constructing concrete platforms upon Prinz Heinrich Hill for heavy artillery deployment. Meyer-Waldeck ordered the land batteries and Plüschow to hit the Japanese rear. That same day the Cormoran, Iltis and Luchs were scuttled, lest they become prizes of war. On October 2nd, 3 German companies performed a night raid against the Japanese right flank. It quickly fell apart, seeing 29 Germans killed and 6 captured. The Japanese began digging trenches a km away from the German line as the British finally advanced to the front line. A large issue began where the Japanese had a difficult time with friendly fire as they could not tell the British and Germans apart, kind of funny if you ask me. To remedy this the British were given Japanese overcoats, to distinguish them from the Germans.   On 6th and 10th Entente blockading ships dueled with Tsingtao's coastal batteries, but were driven off. On the 14th, the entire fleet performed a massive bombardment, seeing HMS Triumph take some light damage. On the 15th flash floods drowned 25 Japanese within their trenchwork, showcasing how terrible the typhoon weather was. On the 17th Meyer-Waldeck ordered S90 to attempt an escape. The S90 slipped out of the harbor during the night, but ran into the IJN cruiser Takachiho. S90 fired a torpedo, detonating her magazine, sinking the cruiser and claiming the lives of 256 men. The S90 then attempted to flee, but would be interned at a Qing port further down the coast. On the 21st, the 36th Sikh landed at Lachan Bay.   On the 22nd Meyer-Waldeck ordered another raid seeing 80 Germans creep towards the Japanese trenches only to be turned back when sentries opened fire. By the 25th the IJA artillery were all in position, each with 15 days worth of ammunition. Kamio ordered them all to fire 80 shells per day, beginning on the 31st. Meanwhile Japanese engineers formed special platoons with rifle grenades and bamboo tubes filled with explosives. Many lessons had been learnt during the Russo-Japanese War, Japanese sapping and trench warfare was quite advanced for 1914 standard. The Entente fleet drew close and on October 31st, the birthday of Emperor Taisho, 100 field guns and naval guns began a mass bombardment, directed by balloons, Farmans and the observation post atop Prinz Heinrich Hill. It was truly a very advanced battle, showcasing how much war had changed at the turn of the century.The first day destroyed Tsingtao's land batteries as sappers drew 300 meters forward. The Redoubts were particularly hit hard by artillery and to the left of the German line, 100 Chinese in the village of Taotungchien were unfortunately caught in shell fire. Yet again like the Russo-Japanese War, little attention was paid to the Chinese victims.  The next day Meyer-Waldeck had Kaiserin Elisabeth and Jaguar scuttled as their crews joined the garrison.    After Tsingtao's land batteries were neutralized, the Japanese bombardment targeted redoubts and barbed wire fields. On November 2nd the sappers advanced another 300 meters. On the 3rd, redoubts were systematically pulverized, barbed wire was flattened and the Tsingtao power station was obliterated. By the 4th the Japanese had a parallel assault line dug and at dawn Japanese infantry and engineering platoons assaulted the water pumping station. They seized the station, capturing 21 prisoners, now Tsingtao had no well water, basically she was doomed. That same night the Japanese sappers advanced another 300 meters, while their British counterparts holding a rather difficult section of the line failed to keep up with them. The British suffered 26 casualties from small arms fire. On 5th the Entente Fleet closed in to point-blank range and the IJN Suwo destroyed the Huitschuen huk, killing 8 men and that of the last sea battery. Barbed wire lay crushed, redouts pulverized or abandoned, Tsingtao lay defenseless by land and sea. On the night of the 6th, the Japanese dug their final assault line running between 100 to 1000 meters from the German trenches.    On the 6th Meyer-Waldeck knew it was the end and ordered Plüschow to fly his final dispatches back to Berlin. Plüschow flew 250 km's before crash landing in a rice paddy. He burned his Taube and began advancing on foot. Plüschow walked all the way to Daschou where some locals erected a party for him. He managed to obtain a pass to cross China as well as a junk to sail down a river to Nanjing. Plüschow felt he was being watched, he assumed he would be arrested at any moment so he leapt aboard a rickshaw and traveled to the local railway station. There he bribed a guard and slipped aboard a train to Shanghai. AtShanghai, Plüschow met up with a friend who provided him with documents as a Swiss national, as well as some money and a ticket on a ship sailing for Nagasaki, then Honolulu, and, finally, to San Francisco. In January 1915, he crossed the United States to New York City. He was reluctant to approach the German consulate there, as he had entered the country under a false identity. Worse, he read in a newspaper that he was presumed to be in New York. Luck favored him again, this time he met with a friend from Berlin who managed to get him travel documents for a ship that sailed on January 30, 1915, for Italy. After crossing the Atlantic Plüschow's ship docked at Gibraltar, where the British arrested him as an enemy alien. To their amazement they discovered he was the famous aviator of Tsingtao.   You would think that would be the end of his incredible story, but no. On May 1, 1915, Plüschow was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Donington Hall in Leicestershire. On July 4, 1915, he escaped during a storm and headed for London. Scotland Yard began hunting him down, issuing an alert, asking the public to be on the lookout for a man with a "dragon tattoo" on his arm. Plüschow disguised himself as a worker and felt safe enough to take souvenir photographs of himself at the London docks. He then occupied his time by reading books about Patagonia, and also visited the British Museum. Now this was wartime, so there were no notices  published announcing the departure of ships, but by observing the riverway, Plüschow saw the ferry Princess Juliana, sailing for the neutral Netherlands and managed to sneak aboard. He arrived safely and finally reached Germany, where he was at first arrested as a spy since no one believed he could have possibly accomplished such a feat. Plüschow became the only German combatant during either World War to have successfully escaped from a prison camp in the British Isles. Once he was identified, Plüschow was acclaimed as "the hero from Tsingtao". He was decorated, promoted, and assigned command of the naval base at Libau in occupied Latvian Courland. In June 1916, in an airplane hangar at Libau, Plüschow got married. There he wrote his first book, “The Adventures of the Aviator from Tsingtau”. It sold more than 700,000 copies.    Back at Tsingtao, Kamio gave the British sappers time to dig their approach next to his parallel line as his units probed the German lines for weak points. A Japanese company led by Major General Yoshimi Yamada the commander of the 24th infantry brigade assaulted Redoubt 4 causing the Germans to launch a bayonet charge pushing them back. Meyer-Waldeck ordered reinforcements to quickly head over to Redoubt 4, but before they arrived a second Japanese company surrounded Redoubt 4 forcing their surrender. 200 prisoners were seized and the rising sun flag was hoisted. The German reinforcements arrived to the scene and performed a counter attack, but were crushed quickly. Meanwhile the Japanese stormed Redoubt 3, surrounding and firing into its loopholes and cracks until the Germans surrendered. A local German reserve force launched a counter-attack, overwhelming a Japanese flank outpost before the main force crashed down upon them. Japanese platoons then spread out along the trench lines. Redoubt 2 was attacked from both flanks and rear, falling quickly. 3 hours of battle saw numerous courageous bayonet charges from both sides, as all the Redoubts were stormed and captured, excluding Rebouts 1 and 5 who held out desperately. Kamio then ordered the general assault to begin as the Japanese forces charged through a gap in the German center line.   At 5:10am on the 7th, the north battery of Shaotan Hill was captured, half an hour later the east battery of Tahtungehin and Fort Chungchiawa, the base for the German right wing were seized. As the Japanese surged forward a company stormed up Iltis Hill. Searchlights poured down upon them and soon the Japanese wielding bayonets and Katana's charged into the Germans , fighting in hand to hand combat. Two opposing officers dueled Katana against German dress sword, seeing the Japanese officer cut down his opponent. After this the Germans upon Iltis surrendered. Another company stormed Bismarck Hill seeing a quick surrender as men atop Iltis cheered. Meyer-Waldeck knew it was over and seeking to save lives, ordered Major von Kayser with a small force to march out of Redoubt 1 and 5 waving white flags. On the morning of the 7th, on an ironically beautiful day, Japanese and British troops entered Tsingtao with shouts of Banzai.   Its said as the Japanese entered the city, the Germans looked on with curiosity, but upon seeing the British, the Germans turned their backs and spat in contempt. The Japanese had suffered 733 deaths, 1282 wounded; the British 12 deaths with 53 wounded; the Germans 199 deaths and 504 wounded and 98 Chinese civilians were killed, 30 wounded and countless incidents of rape against Chinese women by Japanese soldiers were reported. A memorial service was held in Tsingtao as the Germans buried their dead. 4700 Germans were taken to POW camps in Japan and were famously treated well until 1919. 170 of the German prisoners would remain in Japan having found wives or new lives. To this day little  remains of German influence in Qingdao. Yet the old brewery in Qingdao still produces the pre-war-style German beer titled “Tsingtao”. It was another brutal humiliation against China. Unfortunately it was just the start to such abuses during the great war. 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. Yuan Shikai was now the defacto dictator or better said Father of Warlords over China. World War One, was not something China wanted to be a part of, but they would have absolutely no choice when the war literally came to their door. Japan was the first to start encroaching and they were nowhere near done.

This week, the boys travel to sunny Stourbridge, UK, as they try for the first time, Green Duck Brewery. In the Hop Topic, we have a riveting update on Tsingtao's hotly anticipated UK distribution negotiations.... the wait it over, they've reached an agreement!Be sure to follow Green Duck Beer Co

Today on the KORE Women podcast, Dr. Summer welcomes Cong Xu, who hails from the city of Qingdao, China, renowned for its history and the world-famous Tsingtao beer. Her journey led her to the United States as a graduate student, where she earned her master's degree in educational psychology, sparking her passion for guiding individuals towards discovering their inner selves. Her career started as a elementary school teacher, she then pursued a Master's in Business, worked in the corporate arena and then she took a detour to kindle a purpose driven calling, where she obtained an International Coaching Federation certification. She is now a business owner and is focused on helping others find their inner selves.  You can follow Cong Xu on LinkedIn and at: CXUCoaching.com Thank you for taking the time to listen to the KORE Women podcast and being a part of the KORE Women experience. You can listen to The KORE Women podcast on your favorite podcast directory - Pandora, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, JioSaavn, Amazon and at: www.KOREWomen.com/podcast. Please leave your comments and reviews about the podcast and check out KORE Women on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also learn more about the host, Dr. Summer Watson and KORE Women at: www.korewomen.com Thank you for taking the time to listen to the KORE Women podcast and being a part of the KORE Women experience. Please leave your comments and reviews about the podcast and check out KORE Women on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also learn more about Dr. Summer Watson, KORE Women, and High Performance Coaching at: www.korewomen.com. Thank you for listening to the KORE Women podcast! Please share this podcast with your family and friends.

Would you pay $250 for 25 ounces of beer?It's once again time for the semi-annual release of Sam Adams Utopias and with that, the slew of websites touting that it is illegal in 15 states.  Technically a beer, but drinks more like a spirit, and hits a hefty 28%.  Have you tried it?  What did you think?Along with Utopias we recently saw the annual release of Bruery's Black Tuesday and Founders teased the return of their CBS (that's Canadian Breakfast Stout).  We talked with Founders Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki about these big beers back in 2019.What's the deal with beer fests?Beer fests are a hot topic these days, too.  People are divided on whether they're still cool, if they ever were, or if it's just a huge group of nerds getting drunk.  We like beer fests.  Well, some beer fests.NA beer and bacterial growth, a bit of pee in your TsingTao, Alcohol and Loose MoralsA recent report says NA beer is a "breeding ground" for bacteria.  We get the point they're making, but the headlines make it sounds a bit more scarier than we think it actually is.An employee was caught on camera urinating into some malt at a TsingTao brewery in China.  The brewery said they have secured the malt.  They didn't say they tossed it, just that they secured it.A study shows "one drink" of just 7 oz of spirits can impact your moral compass and have you dancing nude on stage at concerts BUT your loyalty won't waiver.  Alrighty then.Beers of the WeekSierra Nevada - Celebration IPAFour Fathers Brewing - The Gadget MilkshakeVoodoo Brewing - Grindin' (Imperial Coffee Stout, 9%!)Halfway Crooks - Exporrrt (Belgian - Style Export Lager)Blackstack Brewing - 100 Year Jubilee - TDH DIPAHighland Cold Mountain Winter WarmerThanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson and occasional appearances from Becky Smalls.Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFollow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!

On tap this week: Tsingtao opens investigation after worker urination video goes viral, Newly opened Guinness Brewery in Chicago for sale, Christmas beers make an early return, Sammy Hagar celebrates new beer brand, Beer and a half a day kept a Ventura woman going strong until 106, There's a new food festival that focuses on chain restaurants, When do 2 beers cost $150?, All this and so much. Enjoy the show, Cheers!

It's Halloween, betchesss.... so you know what that means! It's pumpkin carving day!!! Let's go! We chat to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about his visit to the White House. Was the food any good?! Thanks to the success of Taylor Swift's version, record labels now have a rule they must abide by. Find out more in the Glossys! Pop culture age gap! Leo's new girlfriend wasn't even born when Titanic came out! Let's talk about contamination! A man was seen peeing on the vital ingredients that beer company Tsingtao uses! Aaaand we play the Spooky edition of Joel Jivin! Follow us @rickileetimjoel!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mmm yummy. Ever thought your beer tasted a bit like piss? Maybe it's because a worker has actually pissed into the vat before quitting on their final day! A video has gone viral out of China of a worker leaving his job with a bang by taking a stand (literally) and adding some spice into the beloved beverage.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday October 25, 2023 Chinese Tsingtao beer worker urinates into tank

Worker at China's brewery Tsingtao was caught on camera urinating into a container of beer… A mother  revealed she loves eating an entire bottle of Johnson's Baby Powder every… Lithuanian man faked heart attacks at restaurants in Spain to avoid paying the bill… & more.

Y tú, ¿Qué celebras, el día de la Raza o a Cristobal Colón? En este episodio debatimos este tema que trae tanta discordia, ¿Qué si descubrió o que si vino a jodernos? También en cada episodio estaremos tomándonos una cerveza, en este caso es la Tsingtao.

Last time we spoke about the conclusion of the first Sino-Japanese War and we took a side trip speaking about overseas Chinese in the 19th century. The treaty of Shimonoseki ended the war between Japan and the Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty was humiliated yet again, but so too was Japan because of the triple intervention of Germany, France and Russia. The balance of power in the east had shifted dramatically. Such dramatic change that was seen in the 19th century led to massive emigration within and outside of China. The wealthy and common Chinese people wanted to improve their lives and they moved within China seeking lands to farm and outside China seeking new opportunities. Overseas Chinese were heavily influenced by the great Gold Rushes of the 19th century and of course the colossal railway projects. In many ways it was a dark part of the histories of numerous nations, but in the end it was also the beginning of a new international community.     #56 This episode it's not always sunny in Shandong   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. Shandong, anytime you hear about a conflict in Chinese history it always seems to originate with Shandong. Indeed Shandong has been at the heart of an unbelievable number of conflicts, it just always seems to be the birthing place for trouble, but hell it always gave us Confucious. Not going to lie, this is going to be a bit of a bizarre episode. The purpose of this episode is to somewhat explain, how certain groups emerge historically because….well of just a place. Shandong is unique, its been at the heart of so many events. We are soon going to be jumping into another major event in Chinese history, but to best tell how it comes about, I wanted to cover the origin of those responsible. It just so happens where the majority of these people come from, that is northwest Shandong by the way, makes for quite a story. So let us explore Shandong and perhaps touch just a bit, like a teaser upon a group of people that will become known to the western world as the Boxers. In the late 19th century Shandong held an enormous population, cereal agriculture and numerous impoverished villages. The climate of the region could go from just above freezing for the winter months and blazingly hot and humid for the summer months. China took its time modernizing as we all know, so the peasants of Shandong had to rely mostly on mother nature for irrigation and mother nature in China could be quite cruel. Floods were common, so were droughts. Shandong is quite diverse, its eastern portion was very productive, producing grain, fruits and vegetables. Its streams carried gold dust which was panned by locals. It was part of an ancient silk-raising region. Along the peninsula was a relative immunity to natural disasters. Landlords were more plentiful here than Shandongs western half and it held numerous important port cities like Qingdao which today produces Tsingtao beer, one of my favorites. Commerce was quite bountiful in the port cities and by far and large the peninsula and northern slope of eastern shandong were the most developed parts of the province. In the mid 19th century 58% of Shandongs provincial degree holders came from either the northern slope or peninsula. However when you look at the northwest plains of Shandong province you begin to see a discrepancy. Stretching across the entire region north of the Yellow River, held one of the most populous regions, with 250 people per square kilometer covering around 26% of Shandongs land area. 93% or so of these people were peasants and the region was purely agricultural, but it could be described as anything but prosperous. Average yields were the lowest of any region in Shandong, reflecting the persistent problems of waterlogging and salinity of the soil. The northwest was prone to natural disasters. The yellow river became quite problematic to this region in the 1880s. The bed of the river had risen above ground level through most of Shandong, and the floods became increasingly bad. Though bad, the yellow river was not the only source of misery for northwest Shandong. Lesser streams frequently caused local floodings and as funny as it sounds, too much water was an issue, but often it was too little that brought upon real calamity. In 1876 a terrible drought was said to have carried off nearly 2 million people. 10 years later, famine hit again, truly making Northwest Shandong a disaster area. As bad as mother nature could be, man could also be problemsome.  West of Jinan is an imperial highway that runs north and south. It passed into the province of Dezhou, then through Haotang and Chiping before crossing the yellow river's northern course at Dong'e. This area since ancient times saw numerous invading armies cross it from north to south. The Mongols used it and then the Manchu in a similar fashion. It was ripe also for rebels to take up shop. As we saw, the Taiping's northern expedition in the mid 1850's brought them into Shandong, when they attempted to hit Beijing. But Prince Sengge Rinchen managed to turn away the Taiping, ironically by flooding them out. The Nian rebels likewise raided Shandong, first in its southwest, but then in its northwest by the late 1860's. Even the White Lotus Rebellion saw much spreading in the region. It was often said by travelers that this area “suffered quite as much from the imperial soldiers as they did from the rebels, and at times even worse”. With such conditions it was no surprise numerous rebels and bandits would emerge. Banditry was an important part of both northwest and southwest Shandong. It was prevalent especially along the southern border with Zhili were bands of around 8-13 men would often perform highway robbery. Roving bandits would prey upon innocent villages, with the prime time being winter as most of these men were not full time bandits, oh no most had homes and grew crops, it was seasonal work. One account in July of 1897 had this to say “the season when highwaymen are especially numerous and dangerous is upon us. The kaoliang is in its prime, and being 7 or 8 feet high and very thick affords a most convenient ambush. It is unsafe to travel alone even in daylight over lonely roads”.  Now northwest shandong was disaster prone leading to barely any landlords. The region was simply not wealthy enough to support many landlords. Poverty and peasantry was the norm. It was not unheard of for entire villages to take up the road, carrying entire families of men, women and children begging for food. There was a ton of mobility, and a lot of young men would sell themselves as laborers to make ends meet. There was a constant migration of people in northwest Shandong because of the harsh conditions. All of these conditions lent the region into a certain mentality. Now Shandong is the birthplace of both Confucious and Mencius, the very foundation of orthodoxy in China, so why do so many rebellions seem to spurt up here? Confucian tradition holds that a ruler should educate, and lead people to do what is right. But Shandong has historically been seen to be a stubborn place for sectarianism, especially during the Qing dynasty. Something Qing officials took notice of, was how rebellions often came about with the marriage of a sect, take for example the White Lotus and martial arts, which we can also refer to as boxing. The Ming had set a law against Heterodoxy which the Qing adopted, it proscribed a penalty of strangulation for the leaders and banishment of 3000 li distance for followers. Here is a passage of the laws “all teachers and shamans who call down heterodox gods [jiang xieshen, write charms, [chant] incantations [to make] water [magically efficacious: zhou-shui], perform planchette and pray to sages, calling themselves duan-gong (First Lord), tai-bao (Great Protector) or shi-po (shamaness); and those who wildly call themselves the White Lotus Society of the Buddha Maitreya, the Ming-zun [Manichaean?] sect, or the White Cloud Assembly with their heretical and heterodox [zuo-daoyi-duan] techniques; or those who hide pictures [of heterodox gods or patriarchs] and gather in groups to burn incense, meeting at night and dispersing at dawn, pretending to do good works but [actually] arousing and misleading the people” So as you can see with this passage, the law made it clear that incantations or charms were particularly concerning to the Qing court. Mere worship was tolerated or at least treated leniently. But what was definitely not ok was the formation of hierarchies, such as master and disciples, or the use of lets say magic. These actions were seen as instrumental to providing the organization needed for subversive activity, ie rebellions. In the early Qing days, these prohibitions were pretty effective, while sectarian worship still flourished, at least no rebellions were kicking off. However by the late 18th century things began to change, rebellions emerged. Now I spoke extensively about the White Lotus Rebellion, but there were two other significant rebellions took place around this time, the Wang Lun rebellion of 1774 and the eight Trigrams uprising of 1813. Both broke out in the Shandong region and both involved significant participation from martial arts groups, more notably both involved those known as Yi-he-quan, aka those who the west would call Boxers by 1898.  The Qing noted the persistence of sectarianism in Shandong, the province was a major source of what was called ‘meditational sects” built upon the White Lotus tradition. These meditational sects had no great halls, sutras or views, they usually were just people prescribing certain diets. They stressed meditation and breathing exercises, sometimes with recitation of incantations. They were pretty simplistic, groups with rituals based around certain times of the day. Both the Wang Lun rebellion and eight Trigrams uprising were begun by these so called “meditational sects”. Wang Lun was a former Yaman runner who managed to get rich working as a healer in Shouzhang county in southwest Shandong. He was the leader of the White Lotus sect in Shandong province in the 1770s. He was a self-taught physician and a martial arts master. He taught his followers yoga, meditation and  the ability to fast for long periods of time. Honestly you could really call these people modern day yogi's. His sect was noted for their fasting techniques and martial arts prowess. By 1774 his sect numbered several thousand. It was in this year, Wang Lun began spreading rumors of an impending turn of the Kalpa. In the Hindu and Buddhist faiths, Kalpa refers to a period of time between creation and the recreation of the universe. He was telling his converts that the reincarnation of Maitreya was upon them, and he was destined to become the Emperor of China. He mobilized his followers and marched upon the city of Shouzhang on October 3rd of 1774. With some help from followers already inside the city, the rebels seized it and ransacked everything they could. The rebels held Shouzhang for a few days before abandoning it to attack the city of Yangku. Yangku was easily captured as its local garrison had just been sent to relieve Shouzhang. From there the rebels captured Tangyi and Liulin before marching upon the larger city of Linqing. By this point the rebels had defeated multiple Qing forces and rumors spread this sect were utilizing invulnerability magic. Many officials in Linqing fled in fear of this. For weeks Wang Lun's forces besieged the city, but the Qing defenders led by Qing Zhanhun resisted their attacks. Wang Lun's forces soon were surrounded and Wang Lun elected to burn himself alive rather than surrender. The Eight Trigrams rebellion was a short lived revolt that broke out in Zhili, Henan and of course Shandong. It too was a sub branch of the White Lotus, led by 3 notable figures. The Eight Trigram sect goes back to the late 17th century of the Ming Dynasty founded by Liu Zuochen and the Liu family of Shandong which maintain it for decades. It was the first folk religion to develop civil and martial work methods, this is referred to as “wen and wu” a conceptual pair in Chinese philosophy, referring to civil and military realms for governance. They believed in meditation techniques to overcome human limits, to reach salvation. They were organized into eight trigrams and predicted a time of troubles and a new kalpa and mobilized themselves through master-disciple relationships. A major component of them was practicing martial arts.  Now like I said during this rebellion they had 3 leaders, the first was Lin Qing who was described as a hustler who loved gambling and took on some odds jobs like being a night watchman, an enforcer, and even a minor healer. Eventually he took over a small white lotus sect and in 1811 he met Li Wen-cheng who at the time was trying to assume leadership over a larger white lotus sect network spanning across Henan, Zhili and Shandong. Both Lin and Li were inspired by the appearance of a comet in 1811 that they believed was a sign that they could topple the Qing dynasty. They also met Feng Keshan who was a martial arts master, who was not really interested in their crazy religious stuff, but he was seen to be a great leader in his own right and he joined them as a means of recruiting followers from boxing groups within Henan, Zhili and Shandong. In July of 1813 the main leaders of the eight trigrams met and discussed a date for a rebellion. What really began their necessity to rebel, was a series of droughts and floods that had brought upon a famine which in turn led to a sharp increase in the price of wheat. The emperor at the time had scheduled a hunting trip on September 15th, so the rebels knew the Forbidden city would be lightly guarded. The plan called for ambushing the Emperor as he was coming back from the trip, just outside the city. Qing court officials heard rumors of the planned rebellion and quickly arrested Li Wen-cheng on September 2nd. They began torturing him, but soon his followers broke in and rescued him. The rebellion was then pushed forward and the Eight Trigrams quickly seized Huaxin, Dingtao and Caoxian in southern Zhili and Shandong. Lin Qing took charge of an attack upon the forbidden city, although he notably did not participate in the attack. The rebels hid in ships outside the eastern and western palace gates as Lin paid off palace eunuchs to lead his forces through the gates. The rebels wore white cloths around their heads and waists and were armed mostly with knives or iron bars. They tried to attack during a mealtime when they assumed the guards would be eating. The Emperor at this time was around 50 miles away from the city walls. Around 80 rebels managed to get through the gates before they were closed and fighting erupted inside. With the element of surprise lost, the rebels soon routed as the Imperial guards brigade hunted them down. Several thousand supported continued to besiege cities for months, but all would be suppressed in January of 1814.  Li Wen-chang along with 4000 followers died while besieging Huixian. Over 20,000 or so eight trigram members would be killed and an estimated 70,000 people would die as a result of the short rebellion. So Shandong was kind of a breeding ground for sects, particularly from the White Lotus faith. Shandong also was a place notable for martial arts. As early as the Song dynasty, the people of Shandong were noted for being warlike and brave. Their reputation only strengthen with time. During the late 19th century a western source labeled the people of shandong “Warlike, industrious and intelligent. The natives of Shantung [Shandong] ... whose overflow has peopled the rich lands of Manchuria, enjoy the finest record for both physical and moral qualities. It is from them the Chinese navy drew its best recruits; it is they who proved their prowess either as brigands or as a self-reliant and self-defended exploiters of the resources of Liaotung [Liaodong] and Manchuria.” It was not just westerners who took notice of Shandong's martial arts prowess, the Qing dynasty looked to Shandong often for its military. Shandong was an area of China that had seen repeated invasions, take out a map of China, you see it immediately, anyone who comes from the north pretty much has to go through shandong. Repeated invasions by forces from the north encouraged the development of martial habits in self defense, add natural and human disasters that continuously disrupted the social order, and you eventually end up with bandits. The people who settled in shandong had to deal with constant banditry and attacks from invaders. Shandong also had a greater military/civil ratio than most provinces. From 1851-1900 the northwest ratio was around 1.22 to 1 and the southwest 2.38 to 1 while the ratio for the entire province was around .57 to 1. And those areas with the higher rations just so happen to be the areas where boxers and members of the Big Sword society emerged. We will talk more about them later. The martial arts tradition of western shandong spawned numerous martial arts groups. There was a popular culture which stressed military virtues, boxing and swordsmanship. Seeing martial arts teachers displaying their prowess in the market places was a very common sight. In 1899 the Zhili magistrate Lae Nai-xuan wrote a pamphlet urging the prohibition of boxers and he wrote about certain martial arts groups along the borders of Jiangsu, Anhu, Henan and Shandong.  “In this area there are many vagabonds and rowdies (wu-lai gun-tu) who draw their swords and gather crowds. They have established societies of various names: the Obedient Swords (Shun-dao hui), Tiger-tail Whip (Huwei bian), the Yi-he Boxers,* and Eight Trigrams Sect (Ba-gua jiao). They are overbearing in the villages and oppress the good people. The origin of these disturbances is gambling. They go to fairs and markets and openly set up tents where they take valuables in pawn and gather to gamble. They [also] conspire with yamen clerks who act as their eyes and ears. “ The people Lai Nai-xuan are describing are the Yi-he-quan Boxers. Who the hell are these guys? These were young men, the type to gamble, drink, perform petty crime to get by, the thuggish types. They most often than naught were bandits, involved in things like salt smuggling. As seen with the Wang Lun and the eight trigrams rebellions, these types of young men practicing boxing were greatly sought after as followers, so sects often created civil and military like divisions to attract them. Adding martial arts to a sect's repertoire could help greatly to recruit. Take the White Lotus sect overall, many of its members, perhaps the majority were historically women. Females were much less likely to take an active role in violence, so white lotus leaders who were usually always looking to start a rebellion began seeing the necessity to recruit able bodied young men, those who knew some boxing to get things cooking. Boxing was often used as a way of luring people into sect activities. It was also a deceptive little trick. If a sect members was teaching youth boxing, it did not necessarily mean they were followers of his sect, it was like a foot in the door process. Thus Shandong was the breeding grounds for both sects and boxers, who often intermingled.  Another interesting thing that has a lot of roots in Shandong is the long history of invulnerability rituals. When rebels kicked up, they were as you can imagine met with force by the Qing authorities. Facing well armed Qing soldiers, rebels often tried to enhance the fighting capabilities of their followers by the use of magic, specifically invulnerability magic. This goes back to ancient times of course, but the advent of firearms from the west during the 17th century really enhanced the appearance of such magic. Several rebel groups during the Ming dynasty would use the allegedly polluting power of women to stop gunfire from walled cities that were being besieged. Wang Lun famous used large numbers of women who would attempt summoning goddesses to prevent the approach of bullets or stop guns from firing. The eight trigrams rebellion used a particularly invulnerability technique known as “jin-zhon-zhao / the armor of the golden bell”. This technique would later be famously employed by the Big Swords society, again future episodes will delve into this more. The technique was a form of kung-fu that employed “Qigong”. Qigong is a system of coordinating body-posturing, like movement, breathing and meditation. Those performing it would perform breathing exercises which they claimed helped protect their bodies against blades and even bullets as if a large bell was covering their body. Some who practiced this would chant incantations like “a song does not tell his father; a father does not tell his son”. During the mid 19th century rebellions were tearing China apart. The Taiping, Nian, local white lotus were all hitting different parts of China simultaneously. By 1860 the Qing government was cracking down left right and center, increasing land taxes to support the suppressing efforts. In 1861, in Qiu county, the very extreme edge of western Shandong saw rebels rise up, a majority of them were of the white lotus.  They were joined by martial artists of the Black Flag Army under the leadership of Song Jing-shi a professional boxer and swordsman who made a living as a highway escort, like a armed guard for wealthy nobles.  Unlike the previous rebellions that had marriages between boxers and sects, these rebellions in the mid 19th century brought upon a new flavor, an anti-manchu one. The Taiping and Nian rebellions inspired a vigorous hate against the Manchu, particularly against the corrupt officials that made up their dynasty. Certainly when the Qing began to suppress the rebels, it led to a ravaging of the countryside seeing flocks of boxers join the rebels in response. While many boxers joined such rebels, others would join the Qing to combat them as well. In 1861, Song Jing-shi was forced to surrender to the Qing and he would claim he only joined the rebellion because he and his followers were facing persecution by yamen runners. He then offered his services against the rebels, but he had one condition, that his forces would stay intact. His forces indeed fought against the Nian rebels, marching into Henan. The Qing asked him and his followers to go to Shaanxi to fight them there, but he elected to take his men to western Shandong where his original base was and just rebelled again. The story of Song Jing-shi showcases how martial artists and sectarians were a mainstream aspect of peasantry life in shandong. The participation of boxers on the side of rebels and the government shows it was really part of the social fabric of the region. Western Shandong by the late Qing period saw greater numbers of military examination graduates. Boxing was becoming much more popular as a recreation for youthful men and a means of protecting one's home. As one Gazetter said “The local people like to practice the martial arts—especially to the west of Linqing. There are many schools: Shao-lin, Plum Flower and Greater and Lesser Hong Boxing. Their weapons are spears, swords, staff and mace. They specialize in one technique and compete with one another” . In rural villages of Shandong you would see what “ying-shen saihui / inviting the gods to a performance”. This can be described as a sort of opera, where a center for attention was erected. Shows would be put on to benefit the local temple gods, large tents went up and people came from all around for some good ol' R & R. Relatives from surrounding villages would come and drink, eat, gamble, have fun and such. And here at these opera places, many boxers would showcase their skills. Many of the gods being worshiped were military figures, especially for western shandong. Marital themes of the Water Margin, the romance of the 3 kingdoms and enfeoffment of the gods were notably loved spectacles. It was all a blend of social drama and theater and it was a beloved part of communities, and something they wanted to protect, and to protect it they had Boxers. Young men began studying martial arts to protect their communities, leading to things like crop watching associations. Poverty was getting worse and worse by the late 19th century, driving more into banditry and thus more boxers emerged to counter balance them. The late Qing dynasty would see an increase in military applicants from Shandong and it seems boxing was pushing it. Boxing was a popular part of the culture in Shandong, particularly in its western half and this led itself to providing the dynasty with good soldiers. The boxers were tolerated, hell they kind of became seen as defenders of local communities. But as the 19th century saw many internal rebellions, it also saw external threats. The British, French, Russians, and Japanese, amongst others, were encroaching and humiliating China. The threat of western imperialism would prove to be the final ingredient to see the rise of a new sort of movement. After the first opium war, 5 treaty ports were opened in China, but they were most confined the the southern and southeastern coast. Then the second opium war opened major ports in the north, like Tianjin and Chefoo along the Shandong peninsula in 1862. The Boxer movement was thus introduced to foreigners. Foreign cotton textiles began to enter Shandong through these ports, increasing during the 1880s and much more so during the 1890s. Despite the disruption of the first sino-Japanese war, cotton textile imports in Shandong rose rapidly. The increase in textile imports was seriously interfering with Shandong home grown textiles. In 1866 the Commissioner of customs at Yantai noted that the native Shandong textiles were "very good and durable, and are largely used in this province." Twenty years later, this same port reported that "the increase in its [cotton yarn's] import is said to be seriously interfering with the local industry ofspinning, which affords a means of support to many poor women." Then  in 1887, the same commissioner reported that "I gather that the reeling of Native Cotton Yarn in this province is almost at a standstill." Foreign imports were having a disastrous effect particularly on northwest Shandong. The war with Japan hit the Shandong peninsula when the Japanese attacked weihaiwei. Qing forces were rushed northward and to the coast from interior parts of Shandong. The wars primary affect on Shandong was stripping it of its garrison forces as more and more men were sent to the front. This left a power vacuum in which two types of forces emerged; bandits and self defense forces, such as the Big Sword Society. When the war came to an end it provided dramatic evidence the Qing government was incompetent. There was a immediate feeling that China was breaking apart and that the Great Powers intended to carve it up for themselves. You all probably have seen the famous painting showing the great world powers leaders carving into china. 1897-1898 saw what we call the scramble for concessions and this was a very real crisis. Every since the opium wars, Christian missionaries gradually flooded China. In Shandong, catholic missionaries began at first in secret to convert the Chinese, by 1850 its estimated there were nearly 6000. By the late 19th century this grew to 16,850 in 1887 and during the 1890's it rose up dramatically to 47,221. The catholics remained in western Shandong and parts of Zhili while protestants grew along Shandongs coast around the treaty ports. The converts began to gain advantages with foreigners and this was met with resentment from those non christians around them. The church would intervene countless times in China's domestic politics and justice. The missionaries were protected and held extraterritoriality provisions from the many treaties of the 19th century. Their converts would also by extension be able to use some rights. For example if a convert Chinese stated they were being oppressed because of their faith, the foreign missionaries could intervene, and this was most definitely a system that was exploited. The missionaries would often intervene in any sort of temporal dispute, but the most common exploit was converts using their christianity to escape government punishments. Who else do you think would convert to Christianity to escape punishment, well bandits of course. In western shandong, bandits began seeking the protection of the church. So all of the sectarian groups that had been flourishing alongside the boxer groups were decaying and sought Christianity for protection. Likewise bandits would seek the same protection. The Boxers were losing their sense of being, those who they often aligned with to protect were seeking alternatives, and those they were protecting them from, were seeking the same thing. It looked to many of these youthful men that the missionaries were evil and ruining their lives. The situation was ripe for a major conflict. 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. Shandong, why is it always Shandong? It's sort of reminiscent of Bismarck talking about the balkans before WW1. Shandong was producing youthful men, who were watching their nation decay, and at some point enough would be enough.  

Is there a better way to mix with the locals than by shootin' some stick and throwing back some Tsingtao's? Those words that can often never get past the tip of your tongue will flow like wine by the third round of pijiu. You will need some basic billiard lingo in Mandarin Chinese to hang with the boys, however. Well, that and a solid bank shot. Get it in this podcast. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0895

Buenos días desde La Habana, soy Yoani Sánchez y en el "cafecito informativo" de este lunes 15 de mayo de 2023 tocaré estos temas: - Dos meses sin noticias de José Daniel Ferrer desde la cárcel - Regresa Hildina, después de un largo silencio - Secuestro de la Academia Cubana de la Lengua por criticar a Ortega - "Lo de atrás sí importa", de Alexis Valdés Gracias por compartir este "cafecito informativo" y te espero para el programa de mañana. Puedes conocer más detalles de estas noticias en el diario https://www.14ymedio.com Los enlaces de hoy: El régimen secuestró la Academia Cubana de la Lengua por criticar a Daniel Ortega https://enterate.link/cuba/Academia-Cubana-Lengua-Daniel-Ortega_0_3532446723.html La solución trotskista para Cuba https://enterate.link/blogs/cajon_de_sastre/solucion-trotskista-Cuba_7_3532516714.html ¿Frijoles en las vegas de tabaco? No, gracias https://enterate.link/opinion/Frijoles-vegas-tabaco-gracias_0_3532446724.html Mariela Castro organiza una conga LGBTI en La Habana con el lema "Socialismo sí, homofobia no" https://enterate.link/cuba/Mariela-Castro-LGBTI-Habana-Socialismo_0_3531846786.html 'Jit' culpa a los jueces del traspié de los Domadores de Cuba en el Mundial de Boxeo https://enterate.link/deportes/Jit-culpa-jueces-traspie-Domadores_Cuba-Mundial_Boxeo_0_3531846787.html La empresa cubano-china Haitech regala cervezas Tsingtao y Coca-Cola para atraer clientes https://enterate.link/cuba/refresco-promocionar-pagina-empresa-chino-cubana_0_3530646914.html La familia de José Daniel Ferrer denuncia que lleva dos meses sin noticias del prisionero político https://enterate.link/cuba/Jose-Daniel-Ferrer-noticias-prisionero_0_3531246846.html Buena Fe cancela su concierto en Barcelona tras una protesta de activistas cubanos en Madrid https://enterate.link/cuba/Buena-Fe-Barcelona-activistas-Madrid_0_3531846782.html La prensa oficial desmiente que 11 conejos robados de un laboratorio tuvieran tuberculosis https://enterate.link/cuba/desmiente-laboratorio-Sancti-Spiritus-tuberculosis_0_3531246847.html El tradicional 'cake' del Día de las Madres regresa con colas y altos precios https://enterate.link/cuba/tradicional-Dia-Madres-regresa-precios_0_3531246848.html

Der Begleiter für den perfekte Start in die Woche: heute kreisen nicht nur Flirts mit Caro Dauer und Bier den Jungs durch den Kopf. Alex berichtet von seinem Jetsetter Leben. Anton und Fin nehmen es mit der Elbphilharmonie, Beethoven und Mozart auf. Außerdem werden Modetrends analysiert und die Zukunft unserer Sportikonen unter die Lupe genommen. Philosophisches Gedankengut der höchsten Töne! Der gleiche Blödsinn wie immer also…

It's a Conspiracy! Season 5, Episode 9! Theories of 2022 and The Tsingtao Saga. Andrew, Charlie, and Greg bring in the New Year with talk about Theories of 2022 and The Tsingtao Saga.   It's a Conspiracy! is proud to be a part of the Albert Podcast Network: AlbertaPodcastNetwork.com   Links: Theories of 2022 Fact check: Debunking the false conspiracy theory about an Edmonton firefighter coat in Ukraine Yes, LA County Granted a Young Girl's Request for a Unicorn License The QAnon Queen Tried to Go Global. It Didn't Go Well. Top 10 Most Popular Conspiracy Theories of 2022   What Are We Drinking? Andrew is drinking Tsingtao from the Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. Charlie is drinking Uncle Giggles from Good Robot Brewing Co. Greg is drinking IRN BRU which is also revealed as top hangover cure by boozy professor who spent 10 years drinking all around the world for ‘research'. --- Patreon / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook Merch available at ScreamFamily.com (We'll get ya sorted) Questions, comments, or feedback? Email the show at itsaconspiracy@protonmail.com

A principios del siglo XX, el Imperio Alemán disponía de una base naval en la ciudad china de Tsingtao, a orillas del Mar Amarillo, la cual era sede de la Escuadra del Este Asiático. Esta unidad, comandada desde 1912 por el vicealmirante Maximilian von Spee, tenía la función de proteger el comercio y las posesiones alemanas del Pacífico ubicadas en la propia China, Nueva Guinea, las islas Salomón y Samoa; sin embargo, tan pronto como supo la noticia de que la guerra entre las potencias centrales y la Entente había estallado, Von Spee decidió dejar Tsingtao atrás y emprender el regreso a su país. ¡Únete a nuestro Patreon para obtener beneficios increíbles y ayudarnos a crecer! https://www.patreon.com/hchistoriacontemporanea --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hc-historia-contemporanea/message

  At Kennedys and King Article: Walker, Oswald, and the Dog That Didn't Bark by Benjamin Cole Video: Paul Bleau's presentation at Dealey Plaza UK Paul Bleau's upcoming articles about the Jim Garrison papers Researchers like Peter Dale Scott, Anthony Summers, Paul Hoch dumped on Garrison after he lost the Shaw trial Book: Let Justice Be Done by Bill Davy: Paperback, Kindle CNN's four-part documentary on Lyndon Johnson: LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy This series is based on the book The Triumph & Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson by Joseph A. Califano Jr. This series whitewashes what really happened under the Johnson administration Articles: CNN's Apologia for LBJ by Jim DiEugenio: Part 1, Part 2 LBJ's Operation Rolling Thunder in Indochina Nixon dropped more bomb tonnage than LBJ in Indochina Kennedy's policy in Vietnam FREE Borrowable Ebook: Lessons in Disaster by Gordon Goldstein NSAM 288 The Gulf of Tonkin resolution was written 3 months before the incident occured !! OPLAN 34A and the DESOTO (DeHaven Special Operations off TsingtaO) patrols Kennedy never sent American combat troops to Vietnam “I always thought it was foolish for you to make any statements about withdrawing. I thought it was bad psychologically. But you and the president thought otherwise, and I just sat silent.” - LBJ to Mcnamara Stream/buy JFK: Destiny Betrayed: Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu LBJ's April 1964 meeting with the executive staff of The Washington Post at the White House Katharine Graham of The Washington Post was present at the meeting Johnson asked them for support of his upcoming war against the North Vietnam FREE Borrowable Ebook: In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam by Robert S. McNamara Article: Marilyn, Tony Summers, and his Paper Tiger by Donald McGovern Article: Cleaning up after My Debate with Buzzanco by Jim DiEugenio Jim DiEugenio debates Robert Buzzanco (Aaron Good's American Exception podcast) Buzzanco had Noam Chomsky on his podcast to thrash Oliver Stone and Kennedy Video: JFK Pushed Med4all 57 Years Ago! (The Jimmy Dore Show) Len Osanic's interview of Igor Lopatonok (episode 1088) asked to be taken down Listen to this amazing 2-hour episode featuring Doug Horne about the Pearl Harbor attack Books: Deception, Intrigue, and the Road to War by Horne: Vol.1, Vol.2 Doug Horne's new book The McCollum Memorandum Black Op Radio had to switch to a new hosting service So please consider making a donation to Black Op Radio Donate via Paypal to osanic@prouty.org Getting transcript for Malcolm Blunt discussing Fletcher Prouty Video Here Get autographed copies Jim DiEugenio's two books for just $25 !! Jim's address: P.O. Box 4354, Burbank, CA 91503 Listener questions answered Video: Why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Believes the CIA Was Behind the JFK and RFK Assassinations Videos: Megyn Kelly interviews Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: Part 1, Part 2 George H.W. Bush and the CIA William Colby was fired as he was too forthcoming with the Church Committee George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and a few CIA guys who ended up shutting down the Church Committee Article: The CIA and the Media by Carl Bernstein "I forgot what I was supposed to say" - Marina Oswald Jim is currently working on the book of the film JFK: Revisited Part B: Jeremy Kuzmarov; beginning at 1:04:15 Jeremy Kuzmarov is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine He's also the author of four books on US foreign policy Book: Obama's Unending Wars by Jeremy Kuzmarov: Paperback, Kindle Book: The Russians are Coming, Again by Jeremy Kuzmarov: Paperback, Kindle Oklahoma City Bombing: Was Timothy McVeigh a Patsy in a Sinister Black Flag Operation? by Jeremy Kuzmarov "One day you will find out your government was behind this" - Timothy McVeigh Part C: Tom Gram; beginning at 1:15:10 How Tom Gram got interested in the JFK case

In this episode we talk about China's shiny new light tank, and John talks to a private tank owner about the joys of this very expensive hobby. Also some thoughts on the Ukraine, and a review of Tsingtao beer.

This Pacific War Podcast is about Japan during WW1: as a member of the Entente powers, Japan was one of the greatest victors of WW1. ➡️ This Pacific War Podcast will discuss how Japan entered WW1 on the side of the Entente powers for numerous reasons and would benefit heavily from WW1. Japan would attack and occupy Tsingtao and many German Colonies in the Pacific such as the Marianas, Caroline's, and Marshall Islands. ➡️ Britain would ask for Japan's assistance in WW1 to help hunt down the German East Asia Squadron and defend allied commerce and troopships in the Pacific, Indian and Mediterranean oceans. Britain would also ask Japan to help with the Singapore Sepoy Mutiny. ➡️ The Imperial Japanese Navy fought the German and Austro-Hungarian U-boats in the Mediterranean sea saving countless allied lives. ➡️ Japan and America found themselves allied during WW1 despite their tense relationship. This would heat up further during the Siberian Intervention when multiple nations were sent to help the Russian White Army defeat the Red Army. ➡️ After WW1 ended, Japan was given a seat at the Paris Peace Conference to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Japan would earn recognition as a Great Power, but would be slighted against when they proposed the Racial Equality proposal by the United States and Australia. This would become a major reason for the Japanese Empire beginning the Pacific War. ➡️ The Pacific War Podcast is features Craig, Justin & Eric

For well over a century, beer has been an important part of the identity of Qingdao, China. But the history of the city's namesake Tsingtao brewery, with its roots in European colonialism, does not follow a straight line from 1904 till now.Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/12/22/the-birth-of-chinas-most-famous-beer/Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Pacific War Podcast is about the German Raiders of the Pacific who were the German East Asia Squadron of Maximilian von Spee and the SMS Emden that terrorized the Indian ocean during WW1. ➡️ This Pacific War Podcast will discuss how WW1 broke out in Europe and how the German East Asia Squadron left the port of Tsingtao to raid the Pacific and Indian oceans. SMS Emden alone terrorized shipping lanes in the Indian ocean until her final battle against HMAS Sydney. The German East Asia Squadron would raid the Pacific Ocean and fight the British Royal Navy at the battle of Coronel and battle of Falkland Islands. ➡️ The German East Asia Squadron consisted of SMS Scharnhorst, SMS Gneisenau, SMS Dresden, SMS Leipzig, SMS Nurnberg and the legendary SMS Emden. Through their actions during WW1 they became known as the German raiders of the pacific. ➡️ Other topics include, introducing the guests Youtube Channels, how did "raiding" work in the Pacific? How did naval communication work during WW1? How was the German Raider episode animated? How did Propaganda play into the pacific war of WW1? And answering the many audience comments and questions! ➡️ WW1 in the Pacific saw the Germans being chased by Japan, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. WW1 would spell the end of the German colonial empire in the Asia-Pacific. ➡️ The Pacific War Podcast is featuring Toupaloops (Game Review Channel), Canada Watch (Canadian politics Channel) & Just (Economics' major)

This History Podcast is about the Siege of Tsingtao when the German Empire and Empire of Japan fight during WW1 in Asia. It is followed by a discussion between Justin and Craig. ➡️ When WW1 broke out in Europe, Britain requests assistance from the Empire of Japan to help defeat the German Empire. This led the Japanese to siege Tsingtao in Shandong province. ➡️ The German defenders of Tsingtao would fight gallantly against the Japanese Imperial Army. This episode will cover the entire Siege of Tsingtao, from the naval battles, land battles and air battles. This episode will also cover the incredible story of German pilot Gunther Plüschow and how he participated in the Siege of Tsingtao. ➡️ Come learn about how Japan entered WW1 and how it affected China. What was the fate of the German POW's after the Siege of Tsingtao? How and why did WW1 affect Asia in general? ➡️ This video is one of a four part series for WW1 in Asia.

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Manuel Galiano (@mangalsaa) Nos narra este Relato Histórico. La batalla de Tsingtao consistió en el asalto aliado al puerto alemán de Tsingtao (actual Qingdao, en la península china de Shandong) en el marco de la Primera Guerra Mundial. El enfrentamiento culminó con la derrota alemana a manos de las fuerzas combinadas de Japón y el Reino Unido. Tsingtao fue la mayor batalla de la I Guerra Mundial librada en el frente de Extremo Oriente-Pacífico y la primera de la Historia en que se enfrentaron los ejércitos de Alemania y Japón. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Luna and I chat about Music Composition, Spotting, References, Disney, Platform vs Cinema Outings, Tsingtao, Covid-19 Fuelled Racism, and Collaboration Woes

The International Break is upon us which can only mean one thing... The Fat Lads Bracket! In part 3 of the series the Lads decide once and for all who the greatest Blues player of their lifetime is.Tsingtao is sampled and submitted into the Beer League at half time along with a selection of Easter treats... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

หนึ่งในแบรนด์เครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ชื่อดังของจีน ที่เป็นที่รู้จัก ทั้งในประเทศจีน และระดับสากล ก็คงหนีไม่พ้น เบียร์ที่ชื่อว่า “Tsingtao” หรืออ่านว่า “ชิงเต่า” เรื่องราวของ เบียร์ Tsingtao เป็น อย่างไร ? ห้องประชุมลงทุนแมนวันนี้ชวนคุณปั้นหยา หนึ่งในทีมลงทุนแมนมาเล่าให้ฟัง สนับสนุนเนื้อหาโดย Radars Point ลงทุนง่ายๆ ไม่ต้องใช้เงิน เพียงช้อปปิ้งออนไลน์ก็ได้พ้อยท์ไปลงทุนหุ้นต่างประเทศเช่น Apple Facebook Tesla ได้เลย พิเศษสำหรับผู้ฟังลงทุนแมน กรอกโค้ดลับ "LTMPODCAST" รับฟรี 8 Point ทันที ดาวน์โหลดได้ที่ https://radarspoint.page.link/ltmanpodcast

They came bearing orange banners, scarves and crates of Tsingtao beer: 4,000 diehard soccer fans swarmed Wuhan Railway station on Nov. 22 looking for train G1718 to Suzhou—and a helping hand from the Fates. Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China, is globally infamous as the place where the coronavirus was first detected last December—a discovery that prompted the unprecedented, 76-day, enforced quarantine of its 11 million inhabitants.

It was on this particular day, in an Airbnb near to the Johannesburg airport, it occurred to me that I might be a strong contender for the title of world's preeminent dumbass. I woke up, bags packed, ready to head out when I was struck by a realization: I had failed to secure a visa for Vietnam, my intended destination. Without that visa, I wouldn't be able to enter the country.As an American, I'm somewhat accustomed to presenting myself at the gates of a country and announcing, "I'm ready to come in now." A boy is then sent to collect my baggage, and I'm received in celebration as a hero of capitalist tourist bucks. I can show up pretty much anywhere on the globe and expect this sort of treatment. Vietnam is not one of those places. And while some countries will process an online visa application in a matter of minutes -- I once obtained an Australian visa between the time of my arrival at my airport of embarkation, having only then discovered one would be required, and the departure of my plane -- the one for Vietnam takes a least a couple days to process. Between the breathtaking heights of my smugness and my profound inability to accomplish even very simple tasks, I think my girlfriend, Haily, was pretty impressed.Working within the available parameters, a plan was formulated posthaste. I would go to the airport, as originally intended, and smile real big at the airport attendant checking my papers. Perhaps I'd be able to pull off the subterfuge of slipping onto the plane without proper documentation. If I made it that far, I'd be able to deviate from my stated itinerary by stealing away during my layover into a country that would allow me in sans visa.Owing both to the ingenuity of the strategy as well as my aptitude for covert action, the plan worked. I was on my way to Hong Kong.And what a truly delightful thing it was to find myself on a flight to Asia. For in performance of my usual ritual at the outset of a flight of any significant length -- to scroll though every available in-flight movie, consider the potential merits of each at length, and mark the ones with promise for potential viewing over the next twelve hours -- I discovered a cinematic work that aroused in me a great deal of interest. It was a Chinese movie -- clearly a rip off of the lucrative Todd Phillips flick, the Hangover -- called "Girls versus Gangsters."The film details the initiatives of three protagonists -- Xiwen, Jialan, and Kimmy -- young women from northern China of approximately marrying age, whom, having between intimates of long-standing though not always amicable relation, set off together to celebrate the impending nuptials of their friend, Jinjin. As is the standard motif in the genre, the action begins when, after a night of especially vigorous carousing, the trio awaken to discover that they have failed to maintain an account of the whereabouts of their compatriot. This sets (as they say in the script-writing business) a clock. For their misplaced friend is to be married in a matter of hours. The objective of the trio is to set off into the Vietnamese jungle -- the treacherous environs in which our heroes now find themselves -- in order to locate Jinjin and ensure her safe and timely return for the ceremony.In the scene of crucial plot-thickening, the trio wake up on a beach. They are naked, though they remain semi-modestly buried under the sand. "Semi-modestly" because the sand around each of them has been sculpted to resemble a nude and voluptuous female form. Jialan and Kimmy -- whom we've learned are, if not quite full-on nemeses then engaged in rivalry -- are hand-cuffed to a heavy box, one on each handle. A familiar train of dialogue (though with the novelty of transpiring in Mandarin Chinese) follows."What happened last night?" asks Jialan."Where's Jinjin?" asks Xiwen. Having failed to provide an answer, she exclaims, "I lost Jinjin!""Xiwen," says Kimmys, "When did you get a tattoo?"Covering themselves in banana leaves, à la Adam and Eve, the trio teeter through the jungle. At length, they come upon what is evidently a Korean café. Why there is a Korean café in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle is a question no one poses."Maybe there's a handsome Korean guy inside," says Kimmy, optimistically.Then the audience is treated to a moment of pure movie magic. The girls hear a series of thunderous stomps. The camera pans from the ground up in slow motion. There are Jurassic Park style rumbles with each step. A nearby glass of water trembles. Eventually the camera reveals who has emerged in such dramatic flair from the Korean café. It's Mike Tyson. Shirtless.Romantic music plays. Jialan stares at Mike, mouth agape. Mike bites his finger provocatively. He bites his lower lip. The jungle gets even steamier.Abruptly, Kimmy interrupts the fantasy. In English, she says, "Excuse me, do you have any clothes you can lend?" In a clever turn of conversational redirection, Mike Tyson responds, "What happened to you?""We just woke up on the beach like this," says Kimmy."Listen," Mike relates sagely, "trust me. S**t Happens. And I know too well. Man, alcohol's hard to resist, right?"Right, Mike."Hey, just come to my room with me," he offers. "I'll see what I can find for you girls to wear."They enter Mike's room-slash-hut-slash-café. On the wall are pictures of Mike slugging people in the face. Also his belts.Jialan: "You have got so many championships."MT: "You like watching boxing? I'm half American, half Korean, and I won most of my fights in the US and Korea."Jialan: "You are mixed?!"MT: "Yes." (He isn't.)"Do you speak Korean?" Jialan asks.Mike replies, in Korean, "My name is Dragon. You're so cute.""Thank you Dragon oppa," says Jialan, also in Korean.Mike goes to peruse what sartorial options he might be able to offer the girls. There is, of course, a tiger in Mike Tyson's closet. The tiger's name, also of course, is Tony. MT dismisses Tony and the jungle cat never makes a reappearance.As it turns out, Mike Tyson only stocks boxing trunks. No tops of any kind. Which he elucidates in the deft line "Nowhere. There's no top. I'm the topless king." The girls, having no other recourse, each hike up a pair of trunks to their chest, in a kind of MMA-fantasy romper."Wow, good looking ladies," remarks Mike, conveying a sentiment that is semantically, if not syntactically, clear. "Looking really good."Then Mike turns to the problem of the box and chain. He can't break the chains, because his hands are weak after so much fighting. He mentions a friend who is a locksmith. We never meet this friend.Remembering their mission, the girls take leave of Mike Tyson.Jialan: "I'll be back soon."MT: "Please. Please come back. Come back. I love you so."At this point the movie begins to lose the thread of the plot. Or at least I didn't have the exegetic tools to keep up with what was going on. What I can tell you is, at length, and for reasons I failed to ascertain, Mike reenters the plot. While Jialan is otherwise occupied, he engages in a heartfelt conversation with Xiwen."You find your friend yet?" asks Mike. The answer is obviously no, as she isn't with them. Xiwen points this out. "Ah," he offers in consolation, "don't worry she'll be fine."Mike hands her a bottle of green tea."Want a soda?" he asks. Mike evidently doesn't know what green tea is, despite being the proprietor of a Korean café in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle. Xiwen nods assent.Mike tries to open it. He can't. Weak hands.Then in a bid of romantic endeavor, Mike asks Xiwen about Jialan's interests. The main thing is Korean dramas. A show called "Descendants of the Sun," in particular."She watched it four times," says Xiwen."I watched it five times," he says."Wow," says Xiwen. "Why?"Then Mike Tyson spots Xiwen's tattoo and on that basis makes a diagnosis: "Vietnamese fiancé?" Xiwen is surprised at Mike's powers of inference, to have derived this fact on the basis of such scant evidence. He indicates toward the tattoo. "Now, though I'm not that good at my Vietnamese" -- why in Vietnam then, Mike? -- "it does appear to be Vietnamese."Later on, the climax of the film begins when the girls find themselves critically imperiled, yet on the verge of reuniting with Jinjin. Heroically, MT emerges onto the scene. He is wearing military fatigues, in what is evidently an homage to a Korean drama, probably, I imagine, Descendants. There is a car chase scene. Then a Mike-Tyson-bursts-out-of-his-clothes-like-the-Hulk scene. Then a boat chase scene. Ultimately, Mike proves victorious over the nefarious forces that be (the "Gangsters" of the title, as it were). He sees the girls off as they make their way back for Jinjin's ceremony."Oh!" calls Mike to Jialan at the last second. "Can I have your WeChat number?"In the denouement, we learn that (spoiler alert) Jialan breaks up with her boyfriend -- whom no one really liked anyway -- and ends up with Mike Tyson. It was with this perplexing and strangely enticing series of images seared into my mind that I found myself arriving on a new continent.I would soon be landing in glorious, glorious Asia.To arrive somewhere with fresh eyes is a special thing. It is enthralling to find oneself in a place one has never been. A sort of virginity, it is a moment that cannot be reclaimed. But there is also something about having been somewhere, left it, and finding oneself returning to the place one has been. It is to be received as an old friend. A recognition that, yes, some things are just as I left them. Yet some have changed, and I am unlikely to encounter them restored to their previous state in any medium save for memory. To return is to have an established relationship with a place, and to feel that relationship -- as is the nature of every relationship -- evolve with time's restless shifting.It was this sense of returning that I felt upon landing in Hong Kong. It is a place I have found myself drawn back to over the years. The city -- the island, the culture, the harbor, the Chinese Special Administrative Region, whatever it may most accurately be called -- holds special meaning for me. In my first trip as a solo traveler to Asia, as a fresh college graduate, this was my first port of call. To me it will always symbolize a sort of gateway to this continent, which for the rest of my life will call me back to savor experiences new and old, to unexpected enlightenments and familiar joys. Not entirely unlike Istanbul on the opposite end, it is a juncture of East and West. It is a place I knew. It is also a place that, impressed somewhere deep within its eternal memory, knew me.My first call was at my hostel. I had booked a single night there, confirming the transaction and shutting my laptop just as I was about to hop on the plane. Hostels in Hong Kong aren't as appealing as they tend to be elsewhere in Asia. In most Asian cities, hostels are a kind of minor resort for tourists, with ample room for beer pong, late night dance parties, and then, for the professionals, another round of beer pong. In Hong Kong, they are essentially just apartments with decently large square footage. A couple barracks rooms and a couple bathrooms. Several stories up. A check in counter maybe.I had gotten into the airport around seven in the morning. I arrived at my hostel well before check-in. I made it nonetheless into my building, and when I finagled my way into the apartment door of the hostel I spied on the desk a number provided for early or late arrivals. I texted it, and a few minutes later a sleepy figure emerged through the doorway and reluctantly but mercifully set me up with a bed. The place seemed good enough, spare though it was. I liked the location, in the heart of Kowloon. Most crucially of all, it had solid air conditioning. I booked a spot there for my remaining nights.Coated in the grime of long distance travel, I was eager to take a shower. This provided another reminder that I was now in Asia, though a slightly less welcomed one. Germane to these tightly packed Hong Kong hostels are the cramped showers. They are undifferentiated from the bathroom area as a whole. In space of about three skinny Chinese chaps, there is a toilet, a shower head, and a sink. Whatever business you intended to do, it can be done here -- though not always with an overabundance of grace. Almost immediately, I succeeded in getting myself wet, along with everything else in the restroom. I tried to spare the toilet paper, but to no avail.Freshly laundered and eager to engage the city, I took leave of the hostel. It had been winter when I left Africa, having come from the southern hemisphere. Now I found myself in the sweltering Asian summer. It took me all of about thirty seconds after leaving the hostel to become comprehensively sticky in a coat of sweat. It took me another thirty seconds to become thoroughly confused by the sights and sounds of Hong Kong. (Actually not even that: a delivery guy had to help me negotiate the building's exit, as it required I pressed a button before leaving; it'd been a while since I'd been confronted with that technology.) Kowloon is intensely Chinese, in the overwhelming way that all Chinese things are intense to one unaccustomed to encountering them. Many of the city's façades are covered in bamboo labyrinths, which act as scaffolding for the not insignificant number of buildings under construction. Piled high, story upon story, are signs, banners, and advertisements, contending for attention. The mass of them are so aggressively seeking one's notice as to be almost indecipherable -- presumably, even if you speak the language -- like so many beggars hassling tourists in an urban corridor. I had become acclimated to the mellow pace of Africa. Being in Asia made me feel like Will Ferrell's elf in Time Square.Time to get down to business. 10:30 in the morning. Five different breakfast establishments on my street. Each one of them full of patrons. All with pictures in the window of dishes I wouldn't normally associate with breakfast. The furthest one had a small queue, only one couple, and I took the wait to be a good sign. I saw they had pineapple buns, which is what I'd been hoping for. Then I spied an attractive dim sum stall across the street, where I could get my food for takeaway. I took a moment to contemplate the tantalizing prospect of dim sum. But then when I took another look at the queue for the other place I saw it had grown to a half dozen parties of Hong Kongers. I wasn't about to give up my spot.At length I earned a seat in the restaurant. With Hong Kongers always having one eye on efficiency, I was seated at an otherwise full table top with three other mostly silent eaters. My first round was a p-bun and a cup of coffee. Contrary to its name, the traditional Hong Konger pineapple bun has no pineapple in it, but is basically just crusty white bread sprinkled with sugar. The top is dimpled in a manner resembling a pineapple, if one is willing to look at it with a certain level of generous imagination. It comes with a pat of butter, several times overgenerous. The coffee is what we typically think of in the West as Vietnamese coffee, which is basically coffee-flavored condensed milk. My serving was delivered to me approximately three and a half seconds after I ordered it. Promptly, I drank my coffee -- which proceeds from the cup at the rate of molasses -- and distributed p-bun detritus on my lap and the table before me. I ordered another round, and enjoyed my bun and coffee as the morning transitioned to midday. The restaurant was a flurry of constant activity. People waving over waiters. Parties coming and going. The bussing of plates. Even the lobsters seemed industrious. My colleagues-in-consumption stared fixedly at their phones. I stared at them. I was officially in Hong Kong.As I had only really ingested sugar so far, I did go across the street for dim sum. I looked up at the cashier and contemplated my options. The cashier gave me a look that said, "For f**k's actual sake, please order something so we can get on with it." I picked something, then handed the cashier a fifty. I reached down to jingle around in my pocket for coins, but she had already produced my change before I could even retrieve the currency from my pocket. I took a seat on a nearby stoop to dive into my steam-emitting box of treats. It was only while biting into the first pan-friend dumpling of scalding broth and meaty goodness that I seriously injured myself. I consumed the second one unharmed, which I think implies that I'm something of a quick learner. As I enjoyed my dim sum, several questions occurred to me. How, for instance, did I manage to cover myself in sticky dumpling residue so quickly? The observation that I had somehow contrived to spread it all the way down to my ankle aroused in me a certain scientific curiosity. And why put the soup in the dumpling? Why not just put it in the bottom of the box where it invariably ends up anyway? Biting into one of those little suckers is like biting into an over-inflated balloon: it requires a level of pressure slightly beyond what you'd like to give, which you must achieve experimentally. Eventually, and always unexpectedly, it explodes in your face in dramatic fashion. It's lack gnawing on a frag grenade, but tastier.I sat on the steps of a bank on Kowloon's main drag, Nathan Street, and watched Hong Kong go by. It occurred to me that I was the only person in the city who didn't have an urgent need to be somewhere. So when I finished my dumplings, I strided off, pretending that an important person in a high-up office somewhere was tapping their watch and expecting to receive the quarterly Wellington financials from me, like, yesterday. My striding, blessedly, took me to that beloved old haunt of mine. Nowhere in particular.One of the enigmatic thrills of Hong Kong is that is one is dripped on by innumerable urban waterfalls fed by unseen tributaries. In a city of high rises rarely outfitted with central air conditioning, there are a practically infinite number of AC units to rain condensation on the heads of passersby. Chinese banyans line the urban thoroughfare of Nathan Street. These trees consist of many constituent tines, which seem to vie democratically for the direction in which the tree as a whole will grow. Further down past the banyans, the sidewalk is dotted with Indian gentlemen, who, upon identifying a white guy in their midst, thrust a business card in his direction, promising bespoke suits and shirts at a "very good price for you, my friend." An industrious segment of them quietly offer intelligence about where to purchase weed -- more likely oregano -- from undisclosed suppliers. The jewelry shops are innumerable. Every single person seems to be wheeling around a suitcase. Where they're all going, I have no idea. I thought about making my way down to the waterfront to the harbor, which is the best part of urban Hong Kong, maybe the best part of the urban world. But I decided to wait to savor it until sundown. It is after nightfall that one see's the true glory of the fragrant harbor from which Hong Kong takes its name.Given that my circadian rhythm was still on Africa time, I was ready for a respite in the AC. Maybe also to grab my suitcase before I head out again. I retired to my hostel and settled in for a world class Africa-Asia nap.In the evening, I entered the metro station at Tsim Sha Tsui. Of a sudden, I was engulfed in a squall of Hong Kongers, more being pushed and pulled by human current than coherently moving in any direction. (One doesn't necessarily walk the streets of Hong Kong so much as negotiate them.) I was fortunate to find a break in the current long enough to swim my way over to an "Add Value Machine," so I could re-up on transport funds. Experimentally, I put my Octopus card in the slot and began to work my way through the labyrinth of available options. Though I had been the only one at the machine moments ago, I was now the lead of a queue. Then a voice came from behind me."What are you doing?" said the woman.Oh, I wondered, am I not doing it right? I retrieved my card from the machine and inquired as to what course of action I might otherwise take. She grabbed my card, shoved it back in the slot, and tapped away on the screen."See?" she said.Having elucidated this gambit, she proceeded to snatch a fifty from my money clip and feed it into the machine. That wasn't necessarily what I had intended to do. It wasn't necessarily against my wishes either. I just hadn't planned that far ahead yet. I withdrew my money clip before she could donate more of my cash to my Octopus fund."That's great," I said. "Thanks." She handed me my card back, and I immersed myself once again in the convective swirl of human activity, praying that it swept me toward the appropriate subway line. Whereas Kowloon is a world built on the capital of traditional China, Hong Kong Island is devoted to the monetary capital of the Chinese nouveau riche. On opposite sides of the harbor, these are the two main hustle-and-bustle areas of Hong Kong. They provide a compelling juxtaposition. It's not that one is devoid of tradition and the other is not. But while Kowloon holds up its aging buildings with massive latticeworks of bamboo, the Island side's central district has no need for such erections, with its rows of Gucci, Patek, Hublot, and their ilk. This is the part of the city designed to satisfy the seemingly infinite capacity for Chinese consumption of the gaudiest and most expensive trimmings of Western culture.My first call of the night was at a cocktail venue, The Quinary, notable for a drink they call the Earl Grey caviar martini. On the menu, it's described as vodka, elderflower, "Earl Grey caviar and air." What the "air" refers to is essentially Earl Grey bubble bath piled high atop the martini glass. It's a non-standard ingredient, and so it wasn't immediately apparent to me how such an ingredient was intended to be consumed. I sucked in a breath-full (as one is wont to do with air), which was so aggressively flavorful as to inspire a brief but enthusiastic coughing fit that all but blew off the top of my martini in the manner of the Big Bad Wolf. The "caviar," I was delighted to find, consisted in a small deposit of Earl Grey mini popping boba at the bottom of the glass. Popping boba -- which are marbled-sized saccharine capsules of flavor that can usually be ordered as accoutrement in one's bubble tea -- are, in my opinion, a most underutilized cocktail ingredient. Taking a look through the rest of the menu, I inquired about the nature of their wasabi-infused vodka. The barkeep embarked on a lengthy discourse on its origins and constitution, then offered me a taste. I believe she was under the impression that I was a cocktail critic of some note, because I was there early in the evening, making technical inquiries, sitting on my own, and jotting down my reflections. I was then treated to a sample of their marshmallow vodka. It came in a miniature Coke bottle, filled with what is pretty much an alcoholic version of the marshmallow fluff that one can buy in a jar. It was delightful. The good news for The Quinary is that my review is two thumbs up; the bad news is that I'm not actually a cocktail critic.The bartender who had offered me the gratis drinks introduced herself as Shao Li. It being too early in the evening for the crowds to roll in, she occupied her time by chatting with me and engaging in the repetitive activity of relocating a tincture from a large glass to a smaller one with an eye dropper. She performed this activity for about thirty minutes, conveniently located at a station adjacent to where I sat. In my mind, I knew it was a ploy to be in my presence in order to drum up conversation with me. Not to mention that it was a thinly veiled metaphor for coitus. Alas, I was too poor to afford another drink at this bar, even a free one. Our dialogue winding down, I agreed to come see her when I next visited HK. She waved as I walked out. As soon as I did I realized I was still wearing the jeans I had changed into so as not to look like a schmuck at a cool bar. I considered whether I should go back in, change in the restroom, and reveal myself to be not only a schmuck but an absent minded one at that. Not at chance. I chose to remain sticky and uncomfortable. Sometimes the moral victories are the hardest to endure. Fortified by the heady assurance that a sizable number of our planet's women have an undisclosed desire to sleep with me, I made my way to a spot of familiar joy. An alleyway carved into the crowded hillside of the Island's commercial zone. There one can find kind all the artifacts necessary for happiness. Steaming woks of amalgamated flavors and spices. Tiny red plastic stools. Sweating bottles of cold everyman's lager. Making my way through, I inspected the dishes of each patron until I found one I liked, and put in an order for "that one" at the appropriate stall. The lady indicated that it was "pork rib in salt and pepper." Which wasn't my interpretation of what I saw, but I was willing to go with it. Much to my chagrin, I could not afford a Tsingtao ("Ching Bao") beer to go with it since I only had enough cash for the meal. Soon enough, the dish came, which presented me with an occasion to consider the conventions for anglicization of Chinese cuisine. "Pork rib in salt and pepper" neglects to disclose, at the very least, the presence of chilis. At any rate, I was happy. Next I called at 7/11 for reunion with my old friend, Pocari Sweat. Pocari Sweat is a glorious beverage, a milky white electrolyte drink with a crisp, Columbia blue label. The stated marketing pitch of the company is that it "resembles" the body's "natural fluids." I don't know if the company's executive board has ever seen sweat before, but it isn't the bodily fluid that is most directly imitated by a milky white solution. Setting aside any discussion of its actual merits, the drink reminds me of my first time in Asia.At this point in the evening, I was overcome with a desire to go back to the Quinary to see if Shao Li was still there. It was nice evening. I wished I had someone to share it with. Perhaps she was about to get off from work and wanted to go out for a beer. Alas, just because one is inclined toward creepy and deranged thoughts does not mean one is required to act on them. So I didn't. Instead I took the Central-Mid-Levels -- which has the distinction of being the world's longest outdoor escalator promenade -- up until the hillside of Hong Kong Island becomes residential and sleepy rather than bustling and studded with hip restaurants. Then I descended further until it was again commercial and posh. I was quite lonely by the time I got to the bottom of the hill. I thought of the insight Chris McCandless jotted down before perishing, alone and unkempt, in the Alaskan wilderness. "Happiness only real when shared." Hoping to inspire a rebound in my spirits, I headed toward the Hong Kong harbor ferry. This is what I'd most been looking forward to since stepping foot in Hong Kong. The harbor is truly a magnificent sight. Viewed from the Kowloon side looking toward Hong Kong Island, the commercial high rises put on an epic display of urban lights against the backdrop of the world's most delicious hillside. Beholding this sight is like conducting an orchestra. It is the feeling of watching something so splendid and so tremendous unfold before your eyes. Each section performs its own part, while inexplicably remaining concerted with the rest. Taking the ferry across, I squished into a corner of the boat, on the upper deck with about 100,000 Hong Kongers. They were all carrying on in conversation and not, I couldn't help but feel, at a whisper, either. Disembarking from the ship, I covered the waterfront. My hope at this point was to repair to a dreary pub where I'd sit alone at the bar and the man behind the counter would tersely serve me an ice cold Tsingtao. I searched for a while in the streets of Kowloon. No dice. So I settled for a bubble tea and retired for the evening. Before doing so I was presented with the evening's final joy. I went to the ATM to withdraw some currency. The transaction ended with the directive, "Please take advice." It means 'receipt.'As our double-decker bus made the bend, the top of it seemed to lean into the oncoming lane. It put me in mind of the bus scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which darts through the road with such belligerent haste as to imperil the story's hero. Or at least it would have, if I wasn't scared for my life. Sitting on the upper deck, I was confident in my assessment that the bus was actually tipping across the other lane of traffic and over the sheer cliff on the other side. I swear I could see down to the bottom of the gulley below. It was a hot day. The air was solid with humidity. Not entirely unlike trying to breathe Earl Grey air, actually. It was the kind of hot that would be of interest to scientists hoping to induce a chemical reaction or a breakfast-enthusiast attempting to fry an egg. I was going hiking. That is, if I didn't succumb to the driver's psychopathology first.Hong Kong is actually famous for having some of the world's greatest hiking trails. Or at least they're good ones. I'd heard they were world-class. But it's not immediately clear to me what would so distinguish one hiking trial from another in any objective sense like that. At any rate, I was to tackle the fabled trail known as the Dragon's Back.That was my plan. It was also the plan of a non-negligible number of Chinese tourists. The bus screeched to a halt at a nondescript location where there appeared to be an opening in the otherwise impenetrable thicket of brush lining the roadside. The driver called for Dragon's Back. I alighted along with a good deal of the rest of the bus. I was eager to get out ahead of them, so as not to be caught in a traffic jam. Mercifully the open stretches of the trail were partially covered. I followed the rascally meandering dirt road lined with brush. Slight uphill. Even with a healthy shade, I was drenched in sweat by minute fifteen.Shortly, I came to the kind of staircase one climbs in a movie to reach an ancient master of an esoteric martial art. Thin wooden steps, rising approximately forever into a thin cloud cover. The top of the hill became apparent only at the culmination of the steps. Or at least the local maximum. The ridge fell and rose with a consistent periodicity, rather like a dragon's back, as it were, or at least the scrawny, undulatory Chinese conception of the creature. I emerged into a cleared hill top, which became a punishing landscape without recourse to the cover of flora. It did, however, unveil a spectacular view. Before me was a glittering sea of Hong Kong's islands. Situated on a peninsula was a scattering of urban settlements. My sweat was thick and dense. I took a polaroid.As a consequence of my dillydallying, I became intermingled with pack of young Asian women. One had on a miniature Marc Jacobs backpack and a flannel, like it was the first day of 8th grade and not a death march through HK jungle mountains. I felt that demonstrated a lack of respect. From the apex of the ridge I felt that I could reach up and touch the sun, hot as it was. I was perspiring about a liter per minute by now. In the distance the sea continued to sparkle and the ridge to undulate. The islands gave the appearance of an old Chinese painting, depicted in geometric rather than linear projection. The lot of them proceed towards heaven rather than into the distance. I jetted past the Asian girls. Reaching the crest of another notch in the dragon's back, I could see freight headed for Hong Kong harbor. Azure water. Gum-drop islands. Glimpses of far-off settlements. Other islands could never be so verdant, or have such perfectly sculpted mounds or sit in such a blessed, glittering sea, or periodically expose the brilliant high-rises off in the distance. I was in a watercolor painting. It was unfairly beautiful.Taking creative measures to deal with the heat situation, I took off my synthetic shirt and put it under my baseball cap so it draped over the back of my neck. I put on a tank top in order to retain a semblance of decency. I looked like an a*****e. But I didn't care. The shirt was cool and damp and protected my delicate skin from the sun. Relinquishing into mercy, the trail dove into a cover of eucalyptus trees. Using this respite into coolness to reapply my eighteenth round of sunscreen for the morning, I was overtaken by a white man forty years my senior. I heard him pass the Western couple behind me. He greeted them, "Pretty warm, eh?" The man was tan and spry, obviously a retiree. Also obviously a hiking enthusiast, the kind that having a job doesn't allow for. As he zoomed past me he gave me his signature "Pretty warm, eh?" I nodded. I looked like a sea monster, one who required constant moisture or will otherwise shrivel and expire. He looked prepared to take the trail. He didn't have a shirt draped over shoulders like a jackass.Dragon's Back Log, 11:00 AM. Supplies check: Water, two-thirds gone. Sunscreen, running on empty. Position, maybe a third of the way through the trail. Only one party member remains alive.I passed a couple going the other way. I greeted them with a "Pretty warm, eh?" They agreed, then shot one another a look to suggest that they may have missed a key memo on standard greetings while hiking in Hong Kong.Soon enough I came upon a creek, which ran through the trail. A Chinese couple had stopped to dip towels in the water for placement under their hats. They didn't look like dumbasses. They looked like geniuses. It occurred to me that this was probably an obvious thing to do for anyone who had ever been on a hike before. I scurried by, not wanting them to think that it was their ingenuity which gave me the idea. Fortunately, I soon came to another creek. I removed my head dress to douse it. I wanted to remove all of my clothes and submerse myself in the fresh, clear water. But I thought better of it, given that my retiree friend was also refreshing himself in the running water.I decided not to linger, so I could get a head start on him. Alarmed by my sudden progress, he put his cap back on and gave chase. To his credit, I doubt he had come all the way to Hong Kong to be bested by some punk kid with a shirt on his head. He soon overtook me without a word. There was nothing I could do about it. It was evident that he had no intention of taking names. He was only here to kick ass.The trail swung onto the backside of the mountain, under the merciful cover of foliage, safe from the sizzle of the open sky. I was happy to trade temporarily the glories of the sea and islands for protection from being broiled alive by what at this point seemed the unnecessarily proximal star at the center of our solar system. Now rather acquainted with the trail's flora, I started the notice the fauna. There was a spider the size of Papua New Guinea. Its legs were longer than mine. It looked like it could snatch a bird from the sky, like a baseball player straining to catch a ball at the top of an outfield fence. Only instead of a baseball, it would be a robin or a small eagle. Eminently creeped out, I scuttled onward. I added this spider to my list of concerns, which at that point contained looking like a foolishly novice hiker, sunburn, dehydration, and tigers. If you were on this trial, I think you'd be concerned with each of these as well.At length, I reached a juncture at the bottom of a slope. I saw the retired man inspecting a map. When he noticed my approach he took off. I followed his course. There were signs for "big wave beach." Periodically, he checked behind him to make sure I was in his wake. We were on a paved road now. I dodged back and forth in the lane to remain under shade cast by surrounding foliage. I stopped at another look-out point. I could see several communities of high-rises, erected in uniform pylons. They were so tightly packed and similarly constructed that they looked like the spiky erections of iron dust when a magnet coaxes it skyward. As we made our way closer to the beach, I saw the retiree split off on a more direct route. Neither wanting to deliver the blow of whooping his ass in the final stretch nor to let him have the satisfaction of whooping mine, I continued on my present path which would descend with unhurried leisure toward the bottom.Then the beach came into sight. In a flash of sudden insight, I understood the objective measure of a world-class hiking trail. To have all that previous wandering be rewarded with this? Just perfect. The hill from which I was descending swaddled the beach in a lush wrapping of vegetation. In some mirror image of the circles of hell, it formed a concentric ring of utopian vision. At the heart was the bay, ensconced in the Platonic ideal of white-sand beach, opening up into the luxuriant hillside. The name "big wave" less described the largeness of the surf at this particular beach as much as the smallness of surf in these parts generally. I took off my hood so as not to gave myself away as a schlub, in case I ran into Shao Li on the beach. Only having breached noon, the beach was still uncrowded. Maybe a dozen or so families. It felt like my own little share of real estate in Hong Kong heaven. When I turned the corner from path to beach, the sea was spread out before me as it faded from cloudy and sandy to idyllic cerulean. It was spangled with the same intensity as the view above, though now I could reach out and touch it. The water was warm, like a tepid bath. I waded in and immersed myself in the the strip of infinite blue. As the beach began to fill up, I noticed there were, in my estimation, entirely too many families and not enough bikini-clad women. I did not, for the record, encounter Shao Li.In the water I roamed like a wild animal, with no pattern to govern my behavior. Sometimes floating, sometimes swimming; sometimes shallow, sometimes deep. Never with any particular destination in mind. The only sounds were those of the happy children and the waves languishing along the shore. Intermittently, there was the gentle awk and splonk of the neophyte standup paddle boarder capsizing.After about an hour of grazing in knee deep water, I reemerged from the water and repaired, still wet, to the beach café where I acquired a well-earned Dragon's Back pale ale. While enjoying my beer I spotted a couple long-sought bikini girls from afar. I finished my beer and reequipped myself to go back in the water. Upon entering I realized it was a false alarm -- a mirage of sorts -- and dripped out of the water, this time to enjoy a Big Wave IPA. As soon as I did, the girls came back. I swear.Satisfied with my experience in the out-of-doors, I headed toward the nearby lot where a van waited to take beach patrons back to civilization. On my way I acquired a mango popsicle. Then I spotted a sign that promised "Ancient rock carvings - 330 m." I debated momentarily whether this was worth extending my time in nature. I decided to go back home. Who gives a s**t about rock carvings anyway? I boarded the van to take me back. Waiting for the vehicle to fill up, I saw another sign. "Ancient rock carving - 500 m." I pretended not to notice, failing to fool anyone involved in the situation. It was then I remembered who gives a s**t about rock carvings. I do. F**k it. I got off the bus, put on my headdress, and went back toward the beach in search of rock carvings.Eventually, I found them. Doubling back on my previous recollection, I now remembered why no one else gives a s**t about rock carvings. The delta between rocks and rocks with ancient carvings in them is not, as it turns out, that great. The saving grace of the endeavor was that I did, on my way back to the van, acquire another mango popsicle.Taxi hour. The time in the middle of the night when the streets are devoid of all vehicles save for a trickle of black and yellow cabs. Some zip by on their way to the airport. Some return a pair of lovers to wherever it is they plan to spend the remaining hours of the night. Some just idle on the side of the road, killing time until called into action. One night I couldn't sleep and so found myself on the streets of Hong Kong, the lone soul wandering the streets in human form.My time in Hong Kong was coming to a close. Visa issues sorted, I would soon be reunited with Haily. I had loved my excursion to Hong Kong. But I had also missed Haily. In case you couldn't tell, a part of me longed for a companion to enjoy it with. Happiness only real when shared.And so we would be together again soon -- elsewhere in Asia. We continued as we had before, in our summer devoted to going places and seeing things. Her family in Vietnam. Taking the train though Java. Bali. Friends and family in Singapore. There are stories to tell from those adventures, too. But I will leave them out of this collection, to allow them to remain as stories that belong only to us.The final episodes in the season take place at another time, in another season of the year and another season of life. They skip sideways along the Asian continent, to a portion of South East Asia on the same latitude as Hong Kong. The Buddhist stronghold of dark political history, still processing its own militant reaction to a colonial past. South East Asia's largest country by land area, but one of its smallest in terms of tourist figures. A place that I fell in love with from the moment I first stepped a dusty sandal on its soil. The final destination of the first season of Notes from the Field: Myanmar.Next Episode:Thanks for checking out Season 1 of Notes from the Field. If you’ve enjoyed it, please consider becoming a premium subscriber. I’m trying to do more of this kind of travel writing in the future. But as you can imagine, it’s hard to have these kinds of experiences while also holding down a job. Your subscription goes a long way toward helping me to do that. Use the link below, and you’ll get 50% off an annual subscription. Thanks! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com/subscribe

The Rolling Pin brings a unique twist to South East Asian cuisine. They wanted to show Kiwi's that there is more to Asian food that noodles and fried rice and have brought a unique twist to the Asian food scene in NZ with their Dumplings & Slaw, Noodle Salad Bowls and Stuffed Bao's. After serving several thousand dumplings and receiving acclaim as one of Auckland's best dumplings, they now have a permanent spot in Wynyard Quarter as well.On the show, we talk about:Being a chef v/s a cook: overcoming the Asian mentality of hospitality not being a great career choiceInnovating on the traditional dumpling and the importance of condimentsHaving a food truck in a corporate location v/s central AucklandWhy having a hospitality business in NZ is much harder than other Asian citiesLove dumplings? You need to try their Tsingtao pulled pork and Penang pulled beef dumplings. Get your fix of delicious dumplings delivered.Quotes from the episode:“As a commis, I used to come to work really early in the morning so I could do stock-take with the Head Chef and learn all the names of the Western ingredients. After hours, I would watch plenty of You Tube. No movies, just videos about food. That really helped me get familiar with the food I had to cook at work.”“How many times did I eat Sweet and Sour Pork in China? It's rare to go to a restaurant in China and ask for fried rice or sweet and sour pork. These dishes are just something Chinese people cook for others”.

In the second episode of Prose and Bros, Dill and Taylor select a Chinese beer who's label has caught their eye many times. As a pairing, Li Qingzhao's "Drunk in the Shade of Flowers: Double Ninth Festival" takes us to historical Chinese poetry in a pairing made in...well, China!

In this week's episode we travel to the land of Terracotta Warriors and discuss Tsingtao, in the Pursuit of Hoppiness. In the Hop Topic we compare the price of beer across the UK and Joe is confused by the town of Perth.Be sure to follow Tsingtao

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li somehow manages to be the worst big screen adaptation of the franchise. The 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme wasn't a huge hit and was most certainly not critically beloved. Thus, Chun-Li had a low bar to clear, but it still could not do it. It made less money—$12.8 million vs $99.4 million—and couldn't even cross the 10% threshold critics set for 94's. It sits at just 5% on Rotten Tomatoes with a viewer average of 18%. To quote film historian Leonard Maltin, "The 1994 movie was one of the worst films ever inspired by a video game; it should have been titled Four Hundred Funerals and No Sex. Yet this bomb makes it predecessor seem like Gone With the Wind." Yes, it is that bad. Its script is bland; its characters are underwritten; and it's a martial arts movie where the fight scenes and choreography just aren't good. For a game known for its flying fisticuffs, that's quite a predicament. Chun-Li's issues with what should be its signature moments is a little befuddling. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak—who'd served as the cinematographer on several high-profile movies and had also helmed other movies in this genre. Not to say that Cradle to the Grave and Romeo Must Die are excellent or anything, but they're certainly more competent than this. In Chun-Li, the action scenes are hacked to death, quick cutting from one moment to the next. And when Chun-Li finally unleashes her iconic "Spinning Bird Kick," it's lost in the haze of a diluted camera filter. These problems are entirely attributable to the movie's casting. From Neal McDonough as an Irish M. Bison to Taboo (yes, the guy from the Black Eyed Peas) as Vega to Kristen Kreuk as the titular hero, it's sort of a nightmare. Their lack of training and martial arts acumen are far too apparent. Save for Chris Klein, who's the only person who seems to understand the kind of movie he's in, as Charlie Nash and Robin Shou as Gen, the movie would be virtually unwatchable. Robin, you deserved better. So sit back, spin-kick the cap off of a Tsingtao from Tsingtao Brewery, and polish up your Hadouken! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, and Chumpzilla are taking to the streets to throw down with M. Bison and his magical tiger fists! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Well, it does have characters with the same names of their actual Street Fighter counterparts. (00:00) The World Warriors Trivia Fight: Round 1 – I challenge Capt. Cash and Chumpzilla to a series of Street Fighter-themed questions. (1:19:20) Recommendations – Next up: We dive headfirst into the fantastical realm of Azeroth with Warcraft! (1:34:57) And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—Vega's terrible costume and more—from this week’s episode! You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio!

Nach dem Durchbruch: wirtschaftliche Konsequenzen des Gipfel-Deals - Mahlzeit in der Krise: Apetito zieht Bilanz - Impfstoffhersteller Curevac: will im Herbst an die Börse - Bayer: Verloren und doch gewonnen? - Deutsche Kolonialzeit in China: Qingdao und die Tsingtao-Brauerei - Moderation: Frank Wörner

Ultimo episodio. L'arrivo trionfale a Tokyo è sempre più vicino. Dopo la partenza da Canton, Arturo Ferrarin e il suo motorista Capannini sono impegnati nelle tappe cinesi, accolti ogni volta da esaltanti festeggiamenti che durano giorni: Foowchow, Shanghai, Tsingtao, Pechino, Kow Pangtzu, Shingishu; e poi la Corea: Seoul e Taegu; infine il Giappone: Osaka e l'arrivo a Tokyo, il 31 maggio 1920. Più aumentano i festeggiamenti, più il diario dell'aviatore thienese si dirada. "Stavo diventando l'idolo e la vittima della folla", scrive Ferrarin. Possono la gloria e gli onori velare di tristezza l'impresa?(Il racconto delle ultime tappe del Raid Roma-Tokyo, non essendoci il diario, rimangono affidate alla relazione finale, che può essere letta seguendo questo link: https://bit.ly/2XOTSyr

Having directed and produced such shows as Jack Ryan, Hunters, For All Mankind, Hell On Wheels, Legion, Waco, Goliath, and frankly too many others films and shows to count...Dennie Gordon is no stranger to working with giant crews on massive sets. Having also directed a feature film in China during the SARS outbreak, I think it’s safe to say that Dennie knows something about keeping her crew members safe despite the risks. And not more than 2 minutes into our interview, Dennie rolled the following grenade into the middle of the room: “I think the cameras are going to start rolling again when there’s a vaccine.” Whoah. So what does that mean for everyone who’s livelihoods depend on cameras rolling? On needing makeup and hair done, sets to be designed, built, and painted...lights to be set up, focused to be pulled, costumes to be purchased and fitted, and in the case of most of my listeners...footage that needs to be cut. What’s the plan if cameras don’t roll again until we have a vaccine? And are there alternatives? Will production flee to other states or other countries that are willing to take the risks? Are crew members going to have to choose between unemployment or signing death waivers? There are a lot of questions right now, and neither I nor Dennie promise to have the answers. But we do our best to discuss all of the various options out there so all of us can make more informed decisions about what comes next. Want to Hear More Episodes Like This One? » Click here to subscribe and never miss another episode Here's What You'll Learn: Despite the “when there’s a vaccine” grenade Dennie rolled into the room, she assures us the Industry is putting protocols in place to make sets as safe as possible. But we have a long road ahead. Why she thinks talk shows, game shows, stage studio events will come back much sooner. Location set pieces won’t come back for a while. The astonishing story of Dennie Gordon's experience working on a feature film in China DURING the SARS-COV2 outbreak. Insurance. Waivers. Liability… Who’s really going to take this on at the end of the day? What should we expect working on set to look like before a vaccine? How do we tell good stories while following physical distancing guidelines? How can creative professionals continue building their careers? After all, we never learn anything when we’re not working. How will we be able to collaborate at the same level as before? For example, if writer’s rooms are meeting on Zoom calls instead of in person, how much gets lost in the creative process? Why not create stories that reflect the reality we’re living in with COVID-19? Dennie’s thoughts on having everyone live on set as a closed community where everyone is tested. (Example: Tyler Perry who built a set on a former army barracks.) Does she think people will be willing to live in a quarantined set, isolated from family and friends for months just to have a job again? What about reality shows? Will they resume before scripted? People in some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, & South Korea have already started shooting. What opportunities does that present? How do you navigate production when one state says they’re not ready to start shooting because it’s unsafe and in the next state, they’re saying “We’re already making television, what are you guys doing over there?” Since it’s going to be more expensive for productions to operate and doing so with less people, and considering that so many people will want to work and do it for less money, what effect do you expect that downward pressure on wages to have and what would you hope to see? What are we going to do about post-production or are they in a good enough position with remote workflows? Can you still tell the same quality stories if you never meet your post-production crew in person? What does pilot season look like? Do we think the structure of the way we do the business side of things is going to change? What do you think is going to happen to television in general considering the expected reduction in the volume of shows that will be produced? What are some of the ideas you’ve come up with to pivot and be innovative when it looks like you may not be able to go back to directing for a year or two? Does it make sense for you to provide value in other ways such as mentorship? And what does mentorship and networking look like in the time of coronavirus? Dennie Gordon’s words of wisdom: “Use this time. When this is all over, people will be able to define themselves by how they used this time.” Why Dennie expects us to have to get much better at communicating their ideas to each other. Do you think we’ll end up going towards making features and not doing episodic T.V. for a long time because it’s just so hard to sustain the level of production T.V. requires? Can we expect a resurgence of small indie movies? Useful Resources Mentioned: How The World’s Biggest Producers Are Plotting Their Way Out Of The Pandemic Reopening Hollywood: From Insurance To Testing, Crowd Scenes & Craft Services, Here Are The Pandemic Problems Studios Are Trying To Solve Before The Restart Reopening Hollywood: Kurt Sutter On How To Bring Back TV Dramas After Coronavirus Shutdown What’s needed for Hollywood to get back to work safely? Ep85: Mentorship, Networking, and Surviving Hollywood Blockbusters | with Dody Dorn, ACE Ep97: When Are We Going Back to Work? And How Can We Earn Income Now? | Community Q&A Our Generous Sponsors: This episode is made possible for you by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone who stands at their workstation. The Topo is super comfortable, an awesome conversation starter, and it’s also scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase your focus and productivity. Click here to learn more and get your Topo Mat. Guest Bio: Dennie Gordon has been a trailblazing female director her entire career; spanning the worlds of feature films, television series, mini-series and branded content. Her range of genre busting entertainment spans an unusual spectrum of comedy and drama. After being one of the first women to graduate from Yale's School of Drama with an MFA in Directing, Gordon first gained recognition when A HARD RAIN was chosen by Showtime's Discovery Program. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, a rough cut of her film attracted the attention of George Lucas who donated the film's mix at Skywalker Ranch. A HARD RAIN, which Gordon also wrote, went on to win dramatic awards at the British Short Film Festival and the Hampton's Film Festival. This film also caught the eye of David E. Kelley who enlisted Gordon to helm multiple episodes of his television series including GOLIATH, (where she was Co EP) PICKET FENCES, CHICAGO HOPE, ALLY MCBEAL, and THE PRACTICE. Gordon has directed over 100 hours of network television including such critically acclaimed series as LEGION, which was on many critic’s lists as a top 10 show of 2017, with the “astounding direction of Dennie Gordon and her twisted visionary imagery taking the X-Men universe to a whole new level”. Her other work includes BLOODLINE, RECTIFY, EMPIRE, KINGDOM, POWER, HELL ON WHEELS, GRACE & FRANKIE, THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK, Aaron Sorkin’s SPORTS NIGHT, and HBO's TRACEY TAKES ON, for which Gordon won the DGA Comedy Award. Gordon recently completed the mini-series WACO, JACK RYAN Season 2 FOR ALL MANKIND for Apple, and THE HUNT starring Al Pacino. Gordon directed the comedy cult hit JOE DIRT starring David Spade, and Christopher Walken, and WHAT A GIRL WANTS starring Oscar Winner Colin Firth, Dame Eileen Atkins, and Jonathan Pryce. Gordon was the first American woman to direct a film for the domestic Chinese market, called MY LUCKY STAR. The 2013 film starred Oscar nominee Zhang Ziyi and Wang Leehom and was filmed in China and Singapore in the summer of 2012. MY LUCKY STAR was the number one film in China for 4 weeks on 5000 screens. Gordon is a sought after commercial director having completed campaigns for Honda, Toyota, Tsingtao beer and Xcel energy as well as campaigns with Jimmy Fallon, Betty White, Adam Devine and Don Cheadle. She recently completed a short dramatic film for Huawei, which was shot in Prague. She is repped by Little Minx and CAA. Dennie Gordon's website Dennie in the L.A. Times article: What’s needed for Hollywood to get back to work safely? Show Credits: This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Glen McNiel. The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet). Note: I believe in 100% transparency, so please note that I receive a small commission if you purchase products from some of the links on this page (at no additional cost to you). Your support is what helps keep this program alive. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

In this episode of the Millennials in China podcast we drink some Tsingtao and imported Kirin while discussing life in China’s cities, and explain how it’s like to live in China as expats/foreigners. Depending on where you are in China (1st tier city like Shanghai vs 3rd tier cities and villages), the differences you face in everyday life can be massive! Show Notes: Life in China as a foreigner and how you no longer have the same “celebrity factor” as 5-10 years ago. General comparisons between China’s 1st tier international cities like Shanghai and the smaller cities and “real China.” Your food, drink, and nightlife choices in 1st tier cities vs smaller cities. Cost of living differences between 1st tier cities and smaller cities - massive! You can probably live in a 3rd tier Chinese city for half the budget of Shanghai. Attitudes from Chinese locals. Are they curious about foreigners? Hostile? DGAF? Safety, transportation, and other logistic stuff for living in China’s cities! Expat communities in China and the expat lifestyles that you can’t live without - sports, recreation, and staying fit. --------------------------- Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/millennials-in-china/id1503870294 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0MwEJZnnZ2sNWje7wP0GaW?si=tWqgkgwoQCueTrEfeI3-6g Listen on Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDovL21pbGxlbm5pYWxzaW5jaGluYS5jb20vcnNz Listen on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6jqVbJ1SR_g9iTLFxyF1g Podcast Website: http://millennialsinchina.com Podcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/millennialsinchina Podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/MillennialsCN Chris' Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisWood1821 Hope's Twitter: https://twitter.com/hope_freiheit Hope’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/hope_freiheit Hope’s Website: https://hopefreiheit.com

Join the Canadian Geeks as they head out to the "Land Of The Dragon". That's right, it's time for another episode of "Around The World In 80 Episode - China". Obviously we don't really visit China. We aren't even allowed to leave the house as the world remains under pandemic lock down. The "Around The World in 80 Episodes" remains one of our most popular themed shows. That in mind, the Canadian Geeks were not about to let social distancing rain on their parade. As mentioned on CGCM episode #101, the show must go on! Wallygator and the Meister leave no stone unturned and uncover a dozen choice heavy metal songs from China. This was no easy feat. Usually this is the most fun of assembling the Around the World episodes but both hosts had quite a struggles. They located some cool music, but a very hard time finding out facts and information about the bands they found. As it turns out, Facebook and other forms of social media are banned in China making such research somewhat difficult. As usual, Wallygator plays the role of tour guide providing an array of facts and details about this far away and mysterious land. The biggest bombshell is that fortune cookies are NOT a Chinese tradition and actually came from San Francisco?!? The music they found is definitely the star of the show.  Eye Of Storm, Hell Saviour, Silver Ash, Jacky Danny, Yaksa are just a few of the bands featured. It was revealed that China seems to be very big on Death Metal and other metal sub genres that don't normally mesh with the tastes of the hosts. That said, the music uncovered for episode #105 is certainly CGCM worthy and a few gems were definitely uncovered. Grab your headphones and crack open an ice cold bottle of "Tsingtao". If you can't find this Chinese beer, may we recommend some of the fine brews over at Black Oak Brewing and enjoy a virtual visit to China and experience some new heavy metal with us.

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Alex and Mike hammer down on some Tsingtao and Sake while celebrating the Chinese New Year! 

Und zack, brennt schon die zweite Kerze!! Und obwohl zwischen Fabi und Jan mal beinahe 9000km Strecke liegen, wird die zweite Sonderfolge eingetütet! Jan is auf ner Produktion in Shanghai / China und erzählt vom guten Essen und gezapftem Dosenbier; währenddessen versucht Fabi zuhause im Ruhrgebiet am frühen Nachmittag und ohne Glühwein in Weihnachtsstimmung zu kommen… Vielleicht hilft dabei der Jahresrückblick auf die Filme und Serien des letzten Jahres - was hat uns am meisten bewegt, was hat überrascht und was hätte man sich sparen können?! Schaltet ein und findet es raus!! #Spoiler: es geht um Mrs Maisels Titten und IronMan is endlich tot! Das da zwischendrin n Delay bei der Aufnahme is und wir uns ins Wort fallen liegt übrigens nur an der chinesischen Zensur! Zum Glück konnten wir wenigstens neue Hits…Hits…Hits reinschmuggeln! Also fleissig reinhören, folgen und kommentieren! Schönen 2.Advent! Zàihuì, F+J

My trip to TsingTao

HOWDY Y'ALL. THIS EPISODE TAKES PLACE IN THE LONE STAR STATE AND FEATURES A NEW GUEST ON THE SHOW (DILLON BOMBA). KURT AND DILLON GO ON A TRIP TO AUSTIN TEXAS AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE NEWEST STUFF IN POP CULTURE NEWS LIKE ALL THE MARVEL STUFF GOING ON AND YOU KNOW BALTIMORE. DURING THIS EPISODE, KURT LEARNS MEANINGFUL LESSONS ON HOW TO BE A GOOD PRESIDENT AND HOW NOT TO BE A TOTAL IDIOT ALL THE TIME. SO, PREPARE THY ANUS AND TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS SUCH AS ROTATING YOUR TIRES AND GETTING VACCINATED BECAUSE THIS EPISODE JUST MIGHT GIVE YOU AND YOUR CAR A CRIPPLING CASE OF AIDS. Follow Dillon: https://www.instagram.com/realweirdwithit/ Follow Reel Diggers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbViQpNQsxVDzZhTBzeHow Contact Gator Sauce: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SauceGator Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saucegator E-mail: gatorsaucepodcast@gmail.com Individual accounts: Kurt: https://twitter.com/Kurt_Da_Hurt Gabe: https://www.instagram.com/gasvia Dan: https://www.instagram.com/realdangriffin

HOWDY Y'ALL. THIS EPISODE TAKES PLACE IN THE LONE STAR STATE AND FEATURES A NEW GUEST ON THE SHOW (DILLON BOMBA). KURT AND DILLON GO ON A TRIP TO AUSTIN TEXAS AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE NEWEST STUFF IN POP CULTURE NEWS LIKE ALL THE MARVEL STUFF GOING ON AND YOU KNOW BALTIMORE. DURING THIS EPISODE, KURT LEARNS MEANINGFUL LESSONS ON HOW TO BE A GOOD PRESIDENT AND HOW NOT TO BE A TOTAL IDIOT ALL THE TIME. SO, PREPARE THY ANUS AND TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS SUCH AS ROTATING YOUR TIRES AND GETTING VACCINATED BECAUSE THIS EPISODE JUST MIGHT GIVE YOU AND YOUR CAR A CRIPPLING CASE OF AIDS.Follow Dillon:https://www.instagram.com/realweirdwithit/Follow Reel Diggers:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbViQpNQsxVDzZhTBzeHowContact Gator Sauce:Twitter: https://twitter.com/SauceGatorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/saucegatorE-mail: gatorsaucepodcast@gmail.comIndividual accounts:Kurt: https://twitter.com/Kurt_Da_HurtGabe: https://www.instagram.com/gasviaDan: https://www.instagram.com/realdangriffin

I returned to Boston on June 14th after a 5-week vacation with some work in China. It was a luxury to be able to unplug for so long! I was able to slow down and reflect on life and career for both my mom and myself.  I was born and raised in Beijing, China and came to the United States at the age of 17. These days, people like to ask me how often I travel back, and if I feel differently somehow. The answer is that I've never felt closer to my origin, my roots. This trip was a particularly rewarding one for me. My mom and I spent 2 weeks in Shanghai, 2 weeks in Beijing and 1 week in Tsingtao (Shangdong Province) where the famous beer factory resides. Neither one of us drinks but we did visit the famous Beer Street outside of the factory that runs about a mile long. Think busy nightlife, beer in every color and lots of seafood (some of which you probably don't recognize)... My mom Xiang Li and I were in Tsingtao for another reason. Three years ago, she sold her Dream of the Red Chamber collection to a large organization in Tsingtao. Having acted as her agent and negotiator for a while, we decided that her collection was going to be displayed in a museum inside a cultural park. It took much longer than expected for the exhibition to go live but it's finally there now. Above: picture of mom and I in front of the museum for the opening ceremony  Below: a walk inside the museum My friends recently asked me about the most rewarding part of my trip. The art exhibit opening ceremony? Or something else?  Perhaps I thought my first email to my readers and podcaster friends on this email list would be to share more podcasting insights. Well, here's a change for you and for me. The most rewarding part of my trip, as it turned out, was to help my mom find her way home to Beijing after spending the past 3 years on the road working as an artist. The move included packing and unpacking dozens of large packages --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/feisworld/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/feisworld/support

They actually put some hops in this one @LabattUSA @SapporoBeer @Beer2DAY @TigerBeerSG @Molson_Canadian @beermakesthree #beer #foodpodcast #canadianbeer #asianbeer #skunkcity Co hosts : Good ol Boy Sean, Good ol Boy Kendall, Good ol Boy Dave, and Good ol Gal Julieanna SUDS Episode –  From the Summer of Bad Decision series, it's Canasian Lager. Wait what? Yes it's Canadian and Asian Lager Lager showdown. We taste these full on tiger style in a blind tasting. Dave- I needed a head exploding sound effect. An exhaustive discussion on the bad decision of using green glass for beer. We taste and discuss the following beer:    TOP 5:   Labatt Blue Light Pilsner 4% Labatt Blue Company Toronto, Canada SUDS- 4 Sapporo Premium Beer Pale Lager 4.7% Sapporo Breweries Tokyo Japan SUDS-3 Hite Extra Cold Pale Lager 4.3% HiteJinro Seoul, South Korea SUDS-3 Tiger pale lager 5% Heineken Asia Pacific Singapore SUDS-3 Molson Canadian Lager 5% Molson Coors Canada SUDS- 3     Others mentioned:   Labatt Blue Pilsner 5% Labatt Brewing Company Toronto, Canada SUDS-2 Chang Classic Pale Lager 5% Thai Beverage PLC Thailand SUDS-1 Orion Premium Draft Japanese Rice Lager 4.7% Orion Breweries Ltd.  Okinawa Japan SUDS-2 Singha pale lager 5% Boon Rawd Brewery Bangkok Thailand SUDS-1 Moosehead Lager 5% Moosehead Breweries Limited New Brunswick Canada SUDS-1 Asahi Super Dry Japanese Rice Lager 5% Asahi Breweries Tokyo Japan SUDS-2 Tsingtao pale Lager 4.7% Tsingtao Brewery People's Republic of China SUDS-1 Lucky Beer (Lucky Buddha) pale lager 4.8%  Hangzhou Quiandaohu Beer Company People's Republic of China SUDS-1 info@sipssudsandsmokes.com @sipssudssmoke Sips, Suds, & Smokes™ is produced by One Tan Hand Productions using the power of beer, whiskey, and golf.  Available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PRX, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and nearly anywhere you can find a podcast. Catch Good ol Boy Dave's Daily 60 Minute Beer reviews on Instagram and Twitter @goodoleboydave Kendall is the only actual person at the table that knows beer. It's even tattooed on his arm. Check out his blog – www.beermakesthree.com Enjoying that cool new Outro Music, it's from Woods & Whitehead – Back Roads Download your copy here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/woodswhitehead2 The easiest way to find this show on your phone is ask Siri or Google, “Play Podcast , Sips, Suds, & Smokes” 

The Emancipation Proclamation Station Welcome back to the Emancipation podcast station the place to hear about history, researched and retold through the eyes of Middle and High school students   Beginning of World War I: Ella - One of the known causes of world war 1 turning into a world war was the alliance system.  In 1839, the treaty of London was signed which was where Britain was going to protect the neutrality of Belgium. In 1879 the dual alliance treaty was signed between Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect each other from Russia. Many other alliances were also forming at the time. Ethan - Germany’s navy was starting to get threatening to Britain’s navy. Britain took necessary precautions and signed a document with France called the Entente Cordial, tipping the odds of any war in in their favor. This made Germany realize they were a threat and thought they were being pushed back down, so in turn they became more aggressive and ready for war. Hunter- something that happened about three months before the war was the assassination of: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28 1914, in Sarajevo, resulting in the July Crisis. How Austria-Hungary responded to this assassination was by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia’s reply to the ultimatum didn’t satisfy the Austrians, afterword the two moved to a war footing. Emma - The power that the nations of Germany and Italy possessed at the beginning of the first world war was impressive as it was, but we have to take into account how quickly they had acquired it. Both of these countries, though they had deep cultural roots, were very new as official nations. Both had formed during the Franco-Prussian war barely more than forty years previous but now held power over regions stretching from Africa to east Asia. Audrey - Starting in 1892 there was an alliance between France and Russia and this was the Franco Russian Military Convention. Then in the early 1900s there were a series of agreements between Great Britain France and Russia so that they were in good terms with each other. The alliance between Great Britain France and Russia was the Triple Entente (which means agreements). Skylar - World war I or sometimes known as the Great War started on July 28th, 1914, the war started in Europe. The war was in Africa, the middle east, Pacific islands, indian ocean, China, north and south atlantic oceans, and like i said Europe. They think that this war killed about 16 million people died from direct cause of this war. Gabe - The war started basically because russia wanted to protect serbia and germany wanted to protect austria so when austria went to fight serbia russia went to fight germany Ben - America only began to fight in World War 1 in 1917 ( April 6th to be specific ) with their allies. They had alliances with Russia, Britain, and France at the time, making them a strong force at the time. Led by major General John J. Pershing, 2 million American soldiers fought despite many American citizens wanting the country to stay neutral.   Other fronts of World War I: 1.Hunter- One of the many different fronts of the war was the Italian front,  the italians were apart of the Triple Alliance during this time, but italy stayed out of the war in 1914 because it claimed that Austria had not been attacked so therefor italy didn’t have to support Austria. In all reality the Italians had a secret agreement with the allies, the allies said that they would give the italians some Austrian territory if they attacked Austria-Hungary. EthanOL - As soon as the war started Japan decided they wanted what the Germans had. Japan was already allied Britain so that they could attack Germany without Britain growing apart from them. They attacked Tsingtao which was a German base in China. This was the first naval/aerial assault ever. They didn’t use exactly aircraft carriers but they did carry their aircrafts. This was called the Siege of Tsingtao which took place in 1914. Ella - Serbia was a very small country with approximately 4.5 million people and an army of around 400,000 soldiers. Almost everyone who could be in the army at the time was in it but it still ended up being destroyed with 60% of the army getting killed, which decreased Serbia's population by 16%. Emma - Italy’s agreements with the Triple Alliance and the Allies were only two of a long series of strategic alliances and deals the nation made on the road to the first world war. Their entry into the Triple Alliance was the first move, which was actually a surprising one, due to the fact that Italy and the Austro-Hungarian empire (another member of the triple alliance) had been enemies previously. Twenty years later, which still under this pact, they made a secret alliance with France. Twelve years after that, the Austro-Hungarian empire entered the war. Only one year later, they entered the treaty of London, an agreement with the Triple entente (england, russia, and france) to fight against their original allies, exit the triple alliance, and declare war on the Austro-Hungarian empire. 5.Skylar - Italy took part in the triple alliance in 1882 when they agreed to be apart of it, they were one of the first countries to take part in it. The whole reason that it was called the triple alliance was because there were three countries in it Italy, Austria-Hungary and Germany. This was kind of a weird mix because they didn’t really like each other but still said they would protect each other if worse comes to worst. Italy was making deals with other places like france in 1902. It was kind of just a lot of back stabbing.  Gabe - The Italians helped the allies by attacking austria hungary which is in the triple alliance so basically they made an alliance and were like let's help each other i mean we all don't like each other and would love to see each other destroyed so why not make an alliance really smart and then they dont even help each other its completely useless   Ben - Japan played a big part in the fight for the West Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Most of the reason Japan fought was because they wanted influence in China, but even with the help of Sun Yat-sen, they didn’t have many successes. 8. Western and Eastern fronts of World War I: 1.Hunter- during this time in the war the Germans were fighting two countries, one of which during the western front was France, the Germans had thought if they were to defeat the French (Russia’s ally) in four weeks then they could have an advantage against the Russians in the Eastern front. Ethan- The Germans realized that after the Franco-Prussian War, they were going to be due for another war with France. Germany unified in advance to make sure France had a disadvantage. The humiliation was huge and Germany took Alsace and Lorraine, which were mineral rich and valuable to anyone who controlled it. Germany realized this might hurt them later because France was allied with Russia so if there was war that it’d be on 2 fronts. Ella - The western front in world war 1  was much smaller that the eastern front, but the western front could uses trenches as a defence system since they had less land to defend. The eastern front however, could not use this method due to the land being so wide and them not having enough people to dig them. Even if they were able to dig some, they wouldn't have enough and the western people could easily go around. Emma - In February of the year 1916, the battle of Verdun took place when the Germans launched an attack on the French military at the border between Germany and France. Unlike a lot of the other offensive acts in the war, this battle was not intended to result in the gain of territory for the Germans. The point of this attack was to cause the French to send so many troops, and to cause so many casualties that the French would deplete all their resources and be forced to withdraw from the war. Audrey - In WW1 the Germans were using poison gas as a weapon. Some of the poison gases are chlorine gas, which would immediately cause you to choke to death, phosgene gas, which wouldn’t cause choking and this allowed the gas to get into to lungs and there was a delayed effect, and mustard gas, another that wouldn’t cause choking but it would cause severe blistering which would take you out of the war. Ben - Germany eventually gained peace with Russia on May 3rd, 1918. Russia accomplished this by giving Germany a significant amount of land. This was done under the Bolshevik Government of Russia, which was founded in 1917 after a revolution overthrew the provisional government. Skylar- After the battle of Verdun the british and the French decide to go against a different part of the front, this time close to the Somme river in july of 1916. This battle was the first time they used tanks, it was an extremely bloody battle. 8.   Blockades and American entry: Hunter- On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British ocean liner called Lusitania, ending in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people and that includes 128 Americans. The event strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Berlin, and turned public opinion on Germany. Skylar -   the united states had maintained being neutral in the war up until this point, Wilson had just won presidency again because he had kept the US out of the war. Germany was getting pretty desperate so they were going to go back to their idea of unrestricted submarine warfare but they knew if they did that the US would side with their allies.  In january of 1917 the Zimmerman Telegram was created by Arthur Zimmerman sent a encoded telegram to mexico, it was encoded because it had to pass through lines that the US controlled. He told them that he knows a way to slow them down. (if someone wants to go off of this that would b awesome) 3.Ethan - In April 1917 the administration had thought about it and Germany had took it too far, with their submarine warfare. President Wilson decided that war on Germany was inevitable and sent a famous message to Congress for why it needs to go to war with Germany. On April 4th Congress decided to allow war on Germany, and war pursued quickly. Now, many people were deciding for themselves why we were at war. Many public opinion were stated, some saying it was inevitable, some saying we should stay out of war. Ella - So the United States entered world war 1 for multiple reasons including them having financial ties, trade ties, and cultural ties with the British. Another reason being the British using a lot of successful propaganda. Gabe - im a take a step back to skylar so the encoded telegram was intercepted by the british and then shared with america and it said that they would help mexico take texas arizona and new mexico back from the united states if they helped the germans in the war Audrey - In November of 1914 the British declared the entire North Sea a war zone so if a ship came they would probably be destroyed. The ships especially couldn’t carry any contraband, and food was considered a contraband. So the Germans and the Austrians had to start rationing food to the point of eating only 1k calories a day. This was making the central powers weaker not only because they couldn’t get what they needed for war but people were dying and there were about 400k deaths due to starvation. Emma - In 1917, Senator George Norris issued a speech in opposition to the entry of the United States of America into the World War. In his speech he acknowledged that both England and Germany were wrong in the actions of war they had chosen to take; declaring certain areas war zones, but he did not support the entry into the war and listed several alternative actions that could have been taken. Ben - Most of the American soldiers starting arriving and began fighting on the battlefields of france on the twenty sixth of June. Britain and France also sent additional officers to help train the newly drafted American soldiers.   World War I shapes the Middle East: 1.Hunter- The first world war truly shaped the middle east, but the aftermath of the war made the largest change in the region as we know it. One of the events that had changed the middle east was when Russia had staked a claim on Istanbul and waterways linking the Black seas to the Mediterranean seas, and the French claimed Syria and Cilicia in modern day Turkey. Skylar - the British wanted the help of the Arab’s because they wanted them to fight the Ottoman’s on the Palestine and Sinai fronts. So they told Hussein bin ali if he helped them that they would give him free territory, for an independent arab state and he agrees. After that he names himself king of the Hejaz in 1916. Ethan -  Britain had a presence in the Middle East at the time of the end of the war. Egypt was under the protection of Britain, and when they didn’t get freedom until 1922 there was a sort of revolt. In the end the Egyptians won this slight war and obtained their freedom. At this time Britain was also protecting Kuwait and they have since the 1800s. They still did not get their freedom handed to them until 1961. Ella - In 1915, 6,500 people from the British army were sieged in Kut, after retreating from Ctesiphon by the ottoman Empire for 147 days till they were forced to surrender.  Gabe - The Ibn Saud ruled the basically the other side of saudi arabia right next to Hussein bin ali and he actually goes and takes the Hejaz empire and declares himself king of the sauds in the hejaz in 1926 and this is how you get saudi arabia Emma - The British troops (made up of all the various countries that were part of the British empire, such as India and New Zealand) started their Middle Eastern campaign at the southern end of Mesopotamia, near the Persian gulf. They moved northward along the Tigris river, capturing land until they held control over the majority of what is now Iraq. Meanwhile on the other side of the land mass in Egypt, they were on the defensive side of the war for quite a while while the Ottomans attempted, and failed, to take capture Suez canal from British control. 7.Ben - After the Middle East changed, a lot of its boundaries and borders did too. They looked a lot closer to what they look like today. This happens a lot with very large wars because tons of land gets conquered, traded, or destroyed. 8.   Aftermath of World War I Skylar - Woodrow Wilson gave a speech on January 8th, 1918 that is called Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points. The fourteen points were statements that Wilson gave to try to make peace with everyone and end the war. During his speech he talked about why he thought the war started and what they could do to end it with peace instead of hatred. He talked about free trade, how all conversations should be open for everyone to see, freedom of navigation, and many more things. 2.Hunter- the aftermath of this war truly was amazing, this war had changed so much of the world that we know now, for instance: WW1 had brought about the temporary political disruption of four venerable dynasties-- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. This war also brought up a massive social disruption, as millions of women entered the workforce to support men who had went to war, and to replace those who never came back. Ella - World War one ended at the end of 1918, so in 1919 they started discussing the terms of peace so they held the Paris Peace conference. Now during the peace conference the winners decide the “terms of peace” but they all had different outlooks about it (someone plz build off of me if you can if not cool tho Gabe - One of the “Terms of peace” that came out of the Paris Peace conference is the Treaty of Versailles which probably was the treaty to germany it said that germany was gonna pay for all of the allies losses they had to pay something like 60 billion in today's money and that's not including the resources they payed they also were only allowed to have 100,000 men in there army there weren't allowed to have any u boats battleships tanks basically nothing mechanized and we took lots of their territory and split and was given to the allies 5..Emma - The Treaty of Versailles had a huge effect on the German economy and government at the time. Another term of the treaty was that they were not allowed to make an alliance with Austria, due to the cultural and linguistic ties between the two. They were also occupied by the allies in the Saar region of Germany, near the French border. This area was a large coal mining area and for fifteen years, all the coal mined there got shipped to France. That still left a large portion of reparations to be paid back in currency so the government basically printed a ton of money, and tried to convert it into other currencies which resulted in serious inflation all the way into the twenties. So when that happened and they could no longer pay in money, France occupied the Ruhr region and began shipping steel and coal out of there. Ethan - WWI left many families without a parent or without a child to come home to. Many soldier died in battle and from starvation, so in turn this was one of the most bloody battles in history. The U.S. lost approximately 116,708 soldiers in war. Not to mention the prisoners of war that died from many causes like starvation and disease. For those whose remains were never found we have the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. This is a tradition that has been kept up since 1931 and have never not been guarded since then Ben - Strangely enough, World War 1 kind of helped Japan’s economy. The demand for japanese products became very large and the economy flourished for a time. This also happened similarly in America, because the American economy in the 1920’s was doing very nice. Audrey - There were approximately 16 million deaths due to WWI 8-10 million being military. About 60% of the soldiers deaths were the Entente and 40% were the Central Powers. But 6-7 million that died were civilians and out of that over a million of the civilian deaths were due to direct military action were the rest was caused by starvation and disease.

The Emancipation Proclamation Station Welcome back to the Emancipation podcast station the place to hear about history, researched and retold through the eyes of Middle and High school students   Beginning of World War I: Ella - One of the known causes of world war 1 turning into a world war was the alliance system.  In 1839, the treaty of London was signed which was where Britain was going to protect the neutrality of Belgium. In 1879 the dual alliance treaty was signed between Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect each other from Russia. Many other alliances were also forming at the time. Ethan - Germany’s navy was starting to get threatening to Britain’s navy. Britain took necessary precautions and signed a document with France called the Entente Cordial, tipping the odds of any war in in their favor. This made Germany realize they were a threat and thought they were being pushed back down, so in turn they became more aggressive and ready for war. Hunter- something that happened about three months before the war was the assassination of: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28 1914, in Sarajevo, resulting in the July Crisis. How Austria-Hungary responded to this assassination was by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia’s reply to the ultimatum didn’t satisfy the Austrians, afterword the two moved to a war footing. Emma - The power that the nations of Germany and Italy possessed at the beginning of the first world war was impressive as it was, but we have to take into account how quickly they had acquired it. Both of these countries, though they had deep cultural roots, were very new as official nations. Both had formed during the Franco-Prussian war barely more than forty years previous but now held power over regions stretching from Africa to east Asia. Audrey - Starting in 1892 there was an alliance between France and Russia and this was the Franco Russian Military Convention. Then in the early 1900s there were a series of agreements between Great Britain France and Russia so that they were in good terms with each other. The alliance between Great Britain France and Russia was the Triple Entente (which means agreements). Skylar - World war I or sometimes known as the Great War started on July 28th, 1914, the war started in Europe. The war was in Africa, the middle east, Pacific islands, indian ocean, China, north and south atlantic oceans, and like i said Europe. They think that this war killed about 16 million people died from direct cause of this war. Gabe - The war started basically because russia wanted to protect serbia and germany wanted to protect austria so when austria went to fight serbia russia went to fight germany Ben - America only began to fight in World War 1 in 1917 ( April 6th to be specific ) with their allies. They had alliances with Russia, Britain, and France at the time, making them a strong force at the time. Led by major General John J. Pershing, 2 million American soldiers fought despite many American citizens wanting the country to stay neutral.   Other fronts of World War I: 1.Hunter- One of the many different fronts of the war was the Italian front,  the italians were apart of the Triple Alliance during this time, but italy stayed out of the war in 1914 because it claimed that Austria had not been attacked so therefor italy didn’t have to support Austria. In all reality the Italians had a secret agreement with the allies, the allies said that they would give the italians some Austrian territory if they attacked Austria-Hungary. EthanOL - As soon as the war started Japan decided they wanted what the Germans had. Japan was already allied Britain so that they could attack Germany without Britain growing apart from them. They attacked Tsingtao which was a German base in China. This was the first naval/aerial assault ever. They didn’t use exactly aircraft carriers but they did carry their aircrafts. This was called the Siege of Tsingtao which took place in 1914. Ella - Serbia was a very small country with approximately 4.5 million people and an army of around 400,000 soldiers. Almost everyone who could be in the army at the time was in it but it still ended up being destroyed with 60% of the army getting killed, which decreased Serbia's population by 16%. Emma - Italy’s agreements with the Triple Alliance and the Allies were only two of a long series of strategic alliances and deals the nation made on the road to the first world war. Their entry into the Triple Alliance was the first move, which was actually a surprising one, due to the fact that Italy and the Austro-Hungarian empire (another member of the triple alliance) had been enemies previously. Twenty years later, which still under this pact, they made a secret alliance with France. Twelve years after that, the Austro-Hungarian empire entered the war. Only one year later, they entered the treaty of London, an agreement with the Triple entente (england, russia, and france) to fight against their original allies, exit the triple alliance, and declare war on the Austro-Hungarian empire. 5.Skylar - Italy took part in the triple alliance in 1882 when they agreed to be apart of it, they were one of the first countries to take part in it. The whole reason that it was called the triple alliance was because there were three countries in it Italy, Austria-Hungary and Germany. This was kind of a weird mix because they didn’t really like each other but still said they would protect each other if worse comes to worst. Italy was making deals with other places like france in 1902. It was kind of just a lot of back stabbing.  Gabe - The Italians helped the allies by attacking austria hungary which is in the triple alliance so basically they made an alliance and were like let's help each other i mean we all don't like each other and would love to see each other destroyed so why not make an alliance really smart and then they dont even help each other its completely useless   Ben - Japan played a big part in the fight for the West Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Most of the reason Japan fought was because they wanted influence in China, but even with the help of Sun Yat-sen, they didn’t have many successes. 8. Western and Eastern fronts of World War I: 1.Hunter- during this time in the war the Germans were fighting two countries, one of which during the western front was France, the Germans had thought if they were to defeat the French (Russia’s ally) in four weeks then they could have an advantage against the Russians in the Eastern front. Ethan- The Germans realized that after the Franco-Prussian War, they were going to be due for another war with France. Germany unified in advance to make sure France had a disadvantage. The humiliation was huge and Germany took Alsace and Lorraine, which were mineral rich and valuable to anyone who controlled it. Germany realized this might hurt them later because France was allied with Russia so if there was war that it’d be on 2 fronts. Ella - The western front in world war 1  was much smaller that the eastern front, but the western front could uses trenches as a defence system since they had less land to defend. The eastern front however, could not use this method due to the land being so wide and them not having enough people to dig them. Even if they were able to dig some, they wouldn't have enough and the western people could easily go around. Emma - In February of the year 1916, the battle of Verdun took place when the Germans launched an attack on the French military at the border between Germany and France. Unlike a lot of the other offensive acts in the war, this battle was not intended to result in the gain of territory for the Germans. The point of this attack was to cause the French to send so many troops, and to cause so many casualties that the French would deplete all their resources and be forced to withdraw from the war. Audrey - In WW1 the Germans were using poison gas as a weapon. Some of the poison gases are chlorine gas, which would immediately cause you to choke to death, phosgene gas, which wouldn’t cause choking and this allowed the gas to get into to lungs and there was a delayed effect, and mustard gas, another that wouldn’t cause choking but it would cause severe blistering which would take you out of the war. Ben - Germany eventually gained peace with Russia on May 3rd, 1918. Russia accomplished this by giving Germany a significant amount of land. This was done under the Bolshevik Government of Russia, which was founded in 1917 after a revolution overthrew the provisional government. Skylar- After the battle of Verdun the british and the French decide to go against a different part of the front, this time close to the Somme river in july of 1916. This battle was the first time they used tanks, it was an extremely bloody battle. 8.   Blockades and American entry: Hunter- On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British ocean liner called Lusitania, ending in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people and that includes 128 Americans. The event strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Berlin, and turned public opinion on Germany. Skylar -   the united states had maintained being neutral in the war up until this point, Wilson had just won presidency again because he had kept the US out of the war. Germany was getting pretty desperate so they were going to go back to their idea of unrestricted submarine warfare but they knew if they did that the US would side with their allies.  In january of 1917 the Zimmerman Telegram was created by Arthur Zimmerman sent a encoded telegram to mexico, it was encoded because it had to pass through lines that the US controlled. He told them that he knows a way to slow them down. (if someone wants to go off of this that would b awesome) 3.Ethan - In April 1917 the administration had thought about it and Germany had took it too far, with their submarine warfare. President Wilson decided that war on Germany was inevitable and sent a famous message to Congress for why it needs to go to war with Germany. On April 4th Congress decided to allow war on Germany, and war pursued quickly. Now, many people were deciding for themselves why we were at war. Many public opinion were stated, some saying it was inevitable, some saying we should stay out of war. Ella - So the United States entered world war 1 for multiple reasons including them having financial ties, trade ties, and cultural ties with the British. Another reason being the British using a lot of successful propaganda. Gabe - im a take a step back to skylar so the encoded telegram was intercepted by the british and then shared with america and it said that they would help mexico take texas arizona and new mexico back from the united states if they helped the germans in the war Audrey - In November of 1914 the British declared the entire North Sea a war zone so if a ship came they would probably be destroyed. The ships especially couldn’t carry any contraband, and food was considered a contraband. So the Germans and the Austrians had to start rationing food to the point of eating only 1k calories a day. This was making the central powers weaker not only because they couldn’t get what they needed for war but people were dying and there were about 400k deaths due to starvation. Emma - In 1917, Senator George Norris issued a speech in opposition to the entry of the United States of America into the World War. In his speech he acknowledged that both England and Germany were wrong in the actions of war they had chosen to take; declaring certain areas war zones, but he did not support the entry into the war and listed several alternative actions that could have been taken. Ben - Most of the American soldiers starting arriving and began fighting on the battlefields of france on the twenty sixth of June. Britain and France also sent additional officers to help train the newly drafted American soldiers.   World War I shapes the Middle East: 1.Hunter- The first world war truly shaped the middle east, but the aftermath of the war made the largest change in the region as we know it. One of the events that had changed the middle east was when Russia had staked a claim on Istanbul and waterways linking the Black seas to the Mediterranean seas, and the French claimed Syria and Cilicia in modern day Turkey. Skylar - the British wanted the help of the Arab’s because they wanted them to fight the Ottoman’s on the Palestine and Sinai fronts. So they told Hussein bin ali if he helped them that they would give him free territory, for an independent arab state and he agrees. After that he names himself king of the Hejaz in 1916. Ethan -  Britain had a presence in the Middle East at the time of the end of the war. Egypt was under the protection of Britain, and when they didn’t get freedom until 1922 there was a sort of revolt. In the end the Egyptians won this slight war and obtained their freedom. At this time Britain was also protecting Kuwait and they have since the 1800s. They still did not get their freedom handed to them until 1961. Ella - In 1915, 6,500 people from the British army were sieged in Kut, after retreating from Ctesiphon by the ottoman Empire for 147 days till they were forced to surrender.  Gabe - The Ibn Saud ruled the basically the other side of saudi arabia right next to Hussein bin ali and he actually goes and takes the Hejaz empire and declares himself king of the sauds in the hejaz in 1926 and this is how you get saudi arabia Emma - The British troops (made up of all the various countries that were part of the British empire, such as India and New Zealand) started their Middle Eastern campaign at the southern end of Mesopotamia, near the Persian gulf. They moved northward along the Tigris river, capturing land until they held control over the majority of what is now Iraq. Meanwhile on the other side of the land mass in Egypt, they were on the defensive side of the war for quite a while while the Ottomans attempted, and failed, to take capture Suez canal from British control. 7.Ben - After the Middle East changed, a lot of its boundaries and borders did too. They looked a lot closer to what they look like today. This happens a lot with very large wars because tons of land gets conquered, traded, or destroyed. 8.   Aftermath of World War I Skylar - Woodrow Wilson gave a speech on January 8th, 1918 that is called Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points. The fourteen points were statements that Wilson gave to try to make peace with everyone and end the war. During his speech he talked about why he thought the war started and what they could do to end it with peace instead of hatred. He talked about free trade, how all conversations should be open for everyone to see, freedom of navigation, and many more things. 2.Hunter- the aftermath of this war truly was amazing, this war had changed so much of the world that we know now, for instance: WW1 had brought about the temporary political disruption of four venerable dynasties-- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. This war also brought up a massive social disruption, as millions of women entered the workforce to support men who had went to war, and to replace those who never came back. Ella - World War one ended at the end of 1918, so in 1919 they started discussing the terms of peace so they held the Paris Peace conference. Now during the peace conference the winners decide the “terms of peace” but they all had different outlooks about it (someone plz build off of me if you can if not cool tho Gabe - One of the “Terms of peace” that came out of the Paris Peace conference is the Treaty of Versailles which probably was the treaty to germany it said that germany was gonna pay for all of the allies losses they had to pay something like 60 billion in today's money and that's not including the resources they payed they also were only allowed to have 100,000 men in there army there weren't allowed to have any u boats battleships tanks basically nothing mechanized and we took lots of their territory and split and was given to the allies 5..Emma - The Treaty of Versailles had a huge effect on the German economy and government at the time. Another term of the treaty was that they were not allowed to make an alliance with Austria, due to the cultural and linguistic ties between the two. They were also occupied by the allies in the Saar region of Germany, near the French border. This area was a large coal mining area and for fifteen years, all the coal mined there got shipped to France. That still left a large portion of reparations to be paid back in currency so the government basically printed a ton of money, and tried to convert it into other currencies which resulted in serious inflation all the way into the twenties. So when that happened and they could no longer pay in money, France occupied the Ruhr region and began shipping steel and coal out of there. Ethan - WWI left many families without a parent or without a child to come home to. Many soldier died in battle and from starvation, so in turn this was one of the most bloody battles in history. The U.S. lost approximately 116,708 soldiers in war. Not to mention the prisoners of war that died from many causes like starvation and disease. For those whose remains were never found we have the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. This is a tradition that has been kept up since 1931 and have never not been guarded since then Ben - Strangely enough, World War 1 kind of helped Japan’s economy. The demand for japanese products became very large and the economy flourished for a time. This also happened similarly in America, because the American economy in the 1920’s was doing very nice. Audrey - There were approximately 16 million deaths due to WWI 8-10 million being military. About 60% of the soldiers deaths were the Entente and 40% were the Central Powers. But 6-7 million that died were civilians and out of that over a million of the civilian deaths were due to direct military action were the rest was caused by starvation and disease.

We recently had TsingTao which dramatically resembles Rolling Rock. So I stop into Growler USA to talk beer cloning with Mason Beecroft. We taste some very similar beers and discuss why business copy each other. Grab a pint and enjoy

Was a super fun random episode. We had the infamous Manny Brown in the shop to shop it up. When Tiffany New Orleans local retailer songs by it creates a whole new experience. We are drinking a Rolling Rock knockoff called TsingTao so grab a pint and enjoy!!

In 1903, as the Qing Dynasty waned a group of German brewers on the Shandong Peninsula established the aptly named Germania-Brauerei, offering a taste of Europe in the midst of the German concessions in Northeast China. Soon, however, the Brewery would undergo a series of transformations mirroring those taking place in China and Shandong more generally. The brewery would remain in German hands following the Chinese Revolution of 1911, but when the First World War came to a close the Germans would lose their concessions to Japan and the brewery would be forcibly sold to Dai-Nippon Brewing, the company that in 1949 would be split into the Asahi and Sapporo labels. After the Second World War the brewery was briefly put under the administration of the Tsui family by the Nationalist government, at least until the fall of the Republic of China on the mainland that same year, when it was made into a state-owned enterprise by the fledgling People’s Republic of China. And so the brewery remained for decades until the thawing of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms led eventually to its privatization and merger with three other breweries of the same metropolis. Now sold in 62 nations, this beer, once brewed according to strict German Beer purity laws though now an adjunct lager, constitutes around 50% of the PRC’s total beer exports and is the second most consumed beer on Earth, its growth mirroring that of the economic development of China itself. Today on Pickled Eggs & Cold Beer we’re raising our glasses and shouting a hearty gānbēi (干杯). That’s right folks, today we’re talking about Tsingtao. http://www.pickledeggsandcoldbeer.com/2018/07/episode-4-tsingtao-with-callie-hietala.html

Hear about travel to Qingdao as the Amateur Traveler talks to Joseph Weiner about travel to the coastal city in China.

Hear about travel to Qingdao as the Amateur Traveler talks to Joseph Weiner about travel to the coastal city in China.

Hear about travel to Qingdao as the Amateur Traveler talks to Joseph Weiner about travel to the coastal city in China.

Kaupunkeja on kiittäminen suurin piirtein kaikesta kiinnostavasta: kulttuurista, kaupasta, maanviljelystä, ihmisoikeuksista ja vapaamielisistä arvoista. Läpi historian sekä valtio että maaseutu ovat ahdistelleet kaupunkia ja koettaneet palauttaa sinne kuria. Nyt ollaan taas tilanteessa, jossa edistyksellistä politiikkaa tehdään nimenomaan kaupungeissa, kun taas valtiot ajavat taantumuksen asiaa. Kannattaa pitää hatusta kiinni, sillä jaksossa esitetään ankara nurmikoiden kritiikki: Pontusta vaivaa kaikkialle levinnyt rahat, ajan, veden ja estetiikan syövä vihreä monokulttuurinen matto. Veikka taas arvostelee niin sanotusti omiaan eli punavihreyttä, josta on tullut veltto moraalinen identiteetti. Miksi punavihreä ihminen ruoskii itseän lakkaamatta? Podcastissa aloitetaan uusi osio, jossa käsitellään perimmäisiä kysymyksiä. Suosituksissa käydään läpi kiistanalaista kirjallisuutta. Yhteistyössä Tsingtao ja Bornicon & Salming.

Joey is back from Wisconsin with some stories to tell. The boys get cultured by returning guest Brooks Erickson. Jesse Ventura surfaces to talk about communism. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

il nome di questa città costiera del nordest della Cina è conosciuto in tutto il mondo grazie alla marca della birra che vi si produce. Stiamo parlando di Qingdao, o Tsingtao, città che mostra ancora l'eredità dell'occupazione tedesca di inizio '900, non solo per quanto riguarda la creazione dell'industria birraria, ma anche nell'architettura del suo centro storico e in alcuni aspetti culturali.

Any self-respecting beer drinker who has lived in Beijing has heard of Great Leap Brewing. As northern China’s first ever craft brewery, Great Leap Brewing consigned to history the days when beer in Beijing meant Tsingtao, Yanjing, or nothing. Sourcing about 80% of its ingredients from China, Great Leap aims to make world-class beer that showcases the finest aspects of Chinese culture. Arguably the institution that brought true pub culture to Beijing, it is now the go-to place for beer-loving Chinese and expats alike. Today, we have the honor of speaking to Liu Fang, perhaps the lesser known half of the husband-wife duo that founded GLB. She shares what inspired her and her husband, Carl, to build what has become one of Beijing’s best-known small businesses. Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Highlights: Please donate to the Hurricane Harvey victims |@ 01:00 WW1 in China and Japan |@ 02:30 Mike Shuster - The fire at Salonika |@ 11:35 Dr. “Russ” McDonald on 49th UTTC International Powwow |@ 18:15 Speaking WWI - This week: “Field Day” |@ 24:50 Joel Mize on 100C/100M project in Mussel Shoals, AL |@ 26:00 Chris Connelly - Story of Service about USMC grandfather |@ 34:20 Tanveer Kalo - former intern becoming subject matter expert |@ 40:30 The Buzz - This week in social Media |@ 41:50 And more...----more---- Opening Welcome to World War 1 centennial News - It’s about WW1 THEN - what was happening 100 years ago  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration. Today is August 30th, 2017 and our guests this week are: Mike Shuster from the great war project blog,    Dr. Leander “Russ” McDonald, President of the United Tribes Technical College Joel Mize from the 100 Cities / 100 Memorials project in Sheffield, Alabama And Chris Connelly from Dayton Ohio who submitted a “stories of service” post and we want to talk about THAT. WW1 Centennial News is brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. I’m Theo Mayer - the Chief Technologist for the Commission and your host. Welcome to the show. Harvey Before we start the show today, we wanted to take a moment for the people of Texas struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Here is Dan Dayton the Executive Director of the WW1 Centennial Commission [DAN DAYTON] There are several links for donating to the relief effort in the podcast notes. link:https://www.uwtexas.org/hurricane-harvey https://give.salvationarmyusa.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app362b?df_id=27651&mfc_pref=T&27651.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=7D83ADF3DC5B202D97E48EC4DA2D792D http://www.redcross.org/hp/harvey3 World War One THEN 100 Year Ago This Week [SOUND EFFECT - WHOOSH] It really was a world war. In part, what made WWI  so immediately global was the “imperial” mindset of the times. Everyone thought in terms of empires - global and regional conquest, possessions, colonies, holdings, opportunities and international allies and bringing all that baggage into the fray.   [MUSIC TRANSITION] We’ve gone back in time 100 years to explore the war that changed the world! It is August 1917 and on the 14th of august, China declares war on Germany. So that got us thinking, here at WW1 Centennial News - about an Asia focused segment -  and this is it. Quick quiz! OK, China declares war on Germany - But is Japan in the war? An what side are they on? [ticking - buzzer] That’s right - in WW1 Japan is ALSO on the side of the allies. This week 100 years ago, a Japanese Delegation comes to America headed by Viscount Ishii, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan. This prompts a number of articles in the Official Bulletin - America’s War Gazette created by the order of the President and published daily by George Creel, America’s propaganda chief. [SOUND EFFECT Radio and telegraph] Dateline: Monday August 27, 1917 Headline: Japanese Mission Pays Homage to George Washington, “He Belongs to All Mankind” Declares Viscount Ishii As the diplomat placed a wreath on the tomb of America’s first president, he declares: In the name of my gracious sovereign, the Emperor of Japan, and representing all the liberty-loving people who own his sway, I stand to-day in this sacred presence, not to eulogize the name of Washington, for that were presumption, but to offer the simple tribute of a people’s reverence and lové. The Day’s events began with a speech by Secretary of the Navy Daniels who recalled the visit to Japan by Admiral Perry a half a century earlier and couches it - NOT as gunboat diplomacy - but as the beginnings of a friendship between the nations. Later, Secretary and' Mrs. Daniels host the Japanese mission, at  Mount Vernon. The story goes on to list the guests who attend, including the 20 Japanese dignitaries and 60 odd American navy, diplomatic and political invited guests. Near the end of the week, Viscount Ishii is invited to address a special session of the US Senate: [SOUND EFFECT] Dateline: Friday August 31, 1917 Headline: Viscount Ishii tells senate: “japan Took Up Arms Against Germany Because Our Solemn Treaty With Britain Was Not to Us, just a Scrap of Paper” Viscount Ishii speech included: To us, the fact that you, [the United State],  are now on the side of the allies in this titanic struggle, constitutes already a great moral victory for our common cause, which we believe to be the cause of right and justice, for the strong,  as for the weak… for the great, as for the small. We of Japan believe We understand something of the American ideal of life. and we pay our most profound respects to it. Jefferson, your great democratic President, conceived the ideal of an American Commonwealth to be not a rule imposed on the people by force of arms, but as a free expression of the individual sentiments of that people. Jefferson saw Americans as a myriad of independent and free men, as individuals... only relying on a combined military force for protection against aggression from abroad or treachery from within. In fact, the treaty he refers to means Japanese and the Brits have been besties since signing in 1902 - So - So on August 23, 1914 - 103 years ago (aside) - and - this is less than a month after war breaks out in Europe, Japan formally declares war on Germany and Austria/Hungary  - Here’s the deal they made - Even in 1914, the Japanese Imperial Navy is no slouch - so they agree to protect England and France’s interests in the Asia-Pacific-region, and in return, Japan gets to snag all the German territories in Asia as well as German pacific Islands. So the first thing the Japan does … even before they declare war… is to target a big German colony port in China… Tsingtao. Yes.. There is a connection… German beer… German breweries… German Chinese territories… and today’s great chinese beer brand. Prost… Gānbēi. Next, as per the agreement, Japan goes after the German colonies in the Pacific, making short work out of capturing the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands. This kind of freaks out the Allies including the United States… although we weren’t at war yet. This Imperial Japanese Navy is performing just a little too well for our comfort. It just isn’t natural in the western cultural thinking of the time - with its deep seated bigotry and ignorance - to believe that an asian navy might be world class. But it is! Their support extends to europe…. By 1917, the on-going slaughter on the Western Front means that a constant stream of reinforcements is needed. If the Mediterranean route is squeezed shut, - by Uboats - the French and British Empire-troops would need to go all the way around the southern tip of Africa. So the Japanese Imperial Navy sends a fleet to the mediterranean to help with escort duties. Based in Malta they protect Allied shipping between Marseilles, France, taranto, Italy and Egyptian ports.    By the end of the war, Japan’s Second Special Squadron has escorted 788 ships across the Mediterranean, safely transporting more than 700,000 troops to the Western Front. Reportedly, several Japanese commanders commit Hari-Kari after ships under their protection are lost. They do have a powerful sense of duty! So by 100 years ago this month, on August 14, 1917, - three years after Japan - China declares war on Germany - How come!? Well, China declares itself neutral at the outset of the war, but also wants to show solidarity with the allies. Unable to send men to fight, they sent men to help. By the end of the war, Chinese workers rank as the largest and longest-serving non-European contingent in World War I. There are complex politics surrounding their role and the Chinese Labor force  - But perhaps most important -as China sees America entering the fray, it wants to earn itself a place at the post-war bargaining table. Top of the list for china is to regain control over the vital Shantung Peninsula.. That poky little part in the yellow sea across from Korea that Japan grabbed at the start of the war…  You know, where Tsingtao is located - China wants to reassert its strength over Japan, which is it’s big , aggressive adversary and rival in the region. At the Versailles Peace Conference following the armistice, the Allied Supreme Council—dominated by the United States, France and Britain - are divvying up the world… Japan and China are both there lobbying hard —about their respective claims to the Shantung Peninsula. Meanwhile - Japan introduces another idea into the mix. They propose racial equality language to be included in the league of nations charter: Their proposed language read: “The equality of nations being a basic principle of the League of Nations, the High Contracting Parties, agree to accord, as soon as possible, to all alien nationals of states and members of the League, equal and just treatment in every respect making no distinction, either in law or in fact, on account of their race or nationality.” A bargain is eventually struck with Japan, but not really to their liking! They go home pretty angry and humiliated. The racial equality clause is shut down - but --- in compensation - they get to keep some German submarines and the Shantung peninsula. Some historians noted that both sides see one another as unacceptably arrogant and bigoted… It’s worth noting that the next time we see Japan at war it will not be as an allie. And that is a quick overview of some of what happened in Asia 100 years ago in the war that changed the world. We have a bunch of references and links in the podcast notes. links: japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_during_World_War_I https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-gives-ultimatum-to-germany https://owlcation.com/humanities/World-War-1-History-Japanese-Navy-in-the-Mediterranean Vietnam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnam_during_World_War_I http://online.wsj.com/ww1/ho-chi-minh China https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/china-declares-war-on-germany https://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2010/04/china_and_first_world_war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TofCRaOBWZ0 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/surprisingly-important-role-china-played-world-war-i-180964532/#sI6lZYkfTdSGsmBA.99 More generally http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/east-asias-lessons-from-world-war-i/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_and_Pacific_theatre_of_World_War_I [SOUND EFFECT] Great War Project Next we are joined by Mike shuster, former NPR correspondent and curator for the Great War Project blog. Today Mike’s post takes us to the Aegean sea and the port town of Salonika, an allied stronghold in Greece - across the sea from Turkey. On August 27th, 100 years ago this week a major event strikes the city. Welcome Mike! [Mike Shuster] Thank you Mike. That was Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blog. LINK:http://greatwarproject.org/2017/08/27/idyllic-greek-city-consumed-by-fire/ The Great War Channel For videos about WW1, visit our friend at the Great War Channel on Youtube - They have well over 400 episodes about WW1 - covering the conflict since 2014 - and from a more European perspective. This week’s new episodes include: The second battle of Verdun Inside A British Mark IV WW1 Tank and Inside A British Bristol Scout WW1 Airplane, both from the Great War Channel’s recent trip to England Follow the link in the podcast notes or search for “the great war” on youtube. Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar [SOUND EFFECT] World War One NOW [SOUND EFFECT] We have moved forward in time to the present… Welcome to WW1 Centennial News NOW  - This part of the program is not about history but how the centennial of the War that changed the world is being commemorated today. Activities and Events [Sound Effect] I’d like to start by spending a little time on U.S. National WW1 Centennial Events Register itself. One of the tasks of the commission is to record and archive what America is going to commemorate the centennial of the War that Changed the World. So we built a US National Events register for that purpose at ww1cc.org/events - all lower case. Then we created two programs to feed it. One is a big red button that anyone can click and submit their event to the national register. That does two things. FIRST - It gets your event listed in the National Register and THEN - It puts your event into the permanent national archive for what transpired during the US WWI centennial - This is a permanent archive that will live on long after the centennial itself passes. In theory, when the US prepare the bi-centennial another century from now, your commemoration idea and event will be part of that record for the 2117 team to reference. The second program we created is for state centennial organizations, museums, libraries, universities and others who are holding a number of WW1 themed centennial events over the period. If you are one of those organizations, we have a special publishing partner program where we will train you, and give you direct access to the register - so you can post your WW1 events directly into it. If you would like to avail yourself of that program go to “contact” in the menu on any page of our website at ww1cc.org and send us a request . And perhaps most important of all -  for those of you just wondering what WW1 themed events are happening in your area --- currently I counted around 70 on-going and 45 single day events. That is around 115 different events going on around the country on most any day. And we think that is only a fraction of what is actually going on. So pass the word, if you are doing WW1 related events - Big or small - get them into the register and let our community of interest, and history know what you are doing to commemorate the centennial of World War I. The link to the U.S. National WW1 Centennial Events Register is in the podcast notes. link: http://ww1cc.org/events Updates from the States North Dakota [SOUND EFFECT] This week in our Updates from the States section - we want to highlight a very special gathering in North Dakota On September 10th during the final day of the 48th Annual United Tribes Technical College International Powwow, an annual gathering of some five to ten thousand individuals - they are going to focus on native americans and WW1. Susan Mennenga from the Pritzker Military Museum and library - and World War One Centennial Commissioner Terry Hamby will be on hand for the ceremony. We have with us today Dr. Leander “Russ” McDonald, United Tribes Technical College president. Welcome, Russ! [Exchange Greetings] [Russ, the Native American Role in WW1 was profound - both in terms of indian nations independently declaring war on Germany - as sovereign nations - and Native Americans volunteering as soldiers. Can you give our audience an overview?] [What do you think was the most profound effect of WW1 on the Native American Community?] [On September 10th, during the 48th annual UTTC International Powwow there is a remembrance and honoring of native american WW1 warriors. Can you tell us about that please…] [Russ, thank you for coming on the show] That was “Russ” McDonald, United Tribes Technical College president and host for the 48th annual UTTC International Powwow. There are links to the event in the podcast notes. link:http://www.uttc.edu/news/uttc-powwow-feature-honoring-wwi-native-servicemen Speaking WW1 And now our “Speaking World War 1 feature - Where we  explore today’s words & phrases that are rooted in the war  --- This week’s  phrase is “Field Day” Today, one might say that the “Hollywood Press” had a field day when rumours broke out that Angelina and Brad broke up. The way it is used now, the phrase “to have a field day” means an opportunity for action, success, or excitement. But the phrase originates from the military. It was used in the literal sense, for a day spent in the field, doing maneuvers, exercises and drills. This was particularly true during WW1 when  A LOT of men got A LOT of training exercises... A marine corp barracks might have sounded like this: Alright gentlemen, grab your packs, your rifles and your sorry butts - today we are having a field day - starting with a 4 mile run. Move out! You maggots. Field Day… A big event - now and then! The earliest references go back all the way to 1747. see the the podcast notes for more link: http://www.theidioms.com/field-day/ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/field_day 100 Cities/100 Memorials [SOUND EFFECT] Joel Mize 100 cities Next, we are going to profile another 100 Cities / 100 Memorials project. That is our $200,000 matching grant giveaway to rescue ailing WW1 memorials. Last week we profiled a brand new memorial going up in Fort Towson, Oklahoma complete with a newly commission doughboy statue. This week, we head to Sheffield, Alabama for a project that honors those who died in the Northwest Alabama region known as muscle shoals. Joining us is Joel Mize, Steering Committee Chairman for the 101 Memorial project. Welcome, Joel! [exchange greetings] [Joel - your projects honors 101 individuals who died as a result of WW1, but not on the battlefields of Europe - but in serving the nation as Civilian defense workers in a manufacturing plant,  Would you share their story with us please?] [Joel - in putting this project together - what do you think is the most memorable thing that has happened to you and your team?] Thank you joel! That was Joel Mize, Steering Committee Chairman for the 101 Memorial project in Sheffield, Alabama. We will continue to profile the submitting teams and their unique and amazing projects on the show over the coming months. Learn more about the 100 Cities / 100 Memorials program at ww1cc.org/100memorials or follow the link in the podcast notes. Link: www.ww1cc.org/100memorials https://www.alabamapioneers.com/sheffield-alabama-has-a-historic-village-laid-out-in-the-form-of-the-liberty-bell/ [SOUND EFFECT] Stories of Service In our “Remember the veterans” section, today we wanted to feature one of the many Stories of Service collected on our website at ww1cc.org/stories where you are invited to tell us about the WW1 stories of service from your family or a just a story you have uncovered. With us today is Chris Connelly from Dayton, Ohio who submitted the story of his grandfather Peter Alphonse Connelly who served with the United States Marine Corps 5th Regiment. Peter was drafted into the Marine Corps, becoming a Rifle Expert during training before deploying for france in February 1918. He returned home with a Croix de Guerre for his bravery in battle; interestingly, Peter was an avid photographer and returned home with not only medals but many wonderful photos. Welcome, to the show Chris! [Exchange greetings] [Chris, we have a link in the podcast notes about Peter Connelly and the story you submitted about him - - but I wanted to learn a little more about how you went about putting the story together - Where did you find the materials? ] [What made you decide to submit Peter’s story to our Stories of Service archive?] What is the Marine Corps muster roll? Where can people find it? [What is the most memorable thing for you in putting this together?] [Have you shared your findings about Peter with the rest of your family? What was their response?] [What advice would you give to others wanting to investigate their own family connection to WW1?] Thank you, that was Chris Connolly - who submitted a Story of Service about his grandfather US Marine Corps WW1 veteran Peter Alphonse Connelly. For those of you interested in your ancestors who served, we have very exciting news - We are linking up with The Roll of Honor Foundation, a nonprofit charity with the mission of honoring the military service of the men and women of America’s Armed Forces, educating the public about their legacy and encouraging public service among the next generation. We are in the middle of integrating our Stories of Service and their database of WW1 veterans which will add your story of service to the Roll of Honor. You’ll also be able to purchase a tribute wreath for you veteran on their profile, which will go directly to funding the national WW1 Memorial in Washington DC honoring all our WW1 veterans. We will have more details on this for you over the coming weeks. The links Peter Connolly’s story, the stories of Service and the Roll of Honor are all in the podcast notes. link:http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/commemorate/family-ties/stories-of-service/2471-peter-alphonse-connelly.html ww1cc.org/stories http://rollofhonor.org/ww1/ [SOUND EFFECT] Articles and Posts This week in our Articles and Posts segment - we are going to highlight 2 stories from our website at ww1cc.org/news "The Americans seldom miss a shot.” The first is about a famed skill of the doughboys. They were crack shots! As America entered World War I in 1917, a who’s who of National Rifle Association rifle champions gathered at Camp Perry, OH for an important mission. Training Snipers! These NRA Sharpshooters organized a national-level advanced shooting program —the Small Arms Firing School—where specially selected soldiers would learn advanced marksmanship, culminating in long-range shooting and sniper training. Afterwards, the graduates rejoined their units bringing their new skills with them and training others. Read the whole story about about how this public-private partnership for military marksmanship contributed to the American war effort by following the link in the podcast notes. link:https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2017/8/24/how-nra-trained-america-s-snipers-to-fight-over-there East Indian Americans in WW1 Finally in Articles a posts, we have a story about one of the Commission’s former interns, Tanveer Kalo, who is STILL doing great work on WW1. Tanveer was also profiled in the May 16, 2017 issue of the WWI DISPATCH newsletter - our sister publication at ww1cc.org/dispatch for his intern work and support in creating our Vande Mataram website about a forgotten group of WW1 veterans from America’s asian Indians community (see the link in the podcast notes)... Having become somewhat of an expert on the subject, Tanveer was recently invited to write an article on the same subject for American Bazaar Magazine, which was just published. Tanveer talks about the process and discoveries of his work, and how he is continuing his research even after returning to college. In the article he highlights his personal favorite story of Manganlall K. Pandit, who served the US military in both World Wars.   Check out Tanveer's great article at the link in the notes. link:http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/3039-in-defense-of-their-new-home-indian-americans-who-fought-for-the-united-states-in-world-war-i.html http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/vande-mataram-home.html The Buzz - WW1 in Social Media Posts That brings us to the buzz - the centennial of WW1 this week in social media with Katherine Akey - Katherine - You have two photos to tell us about today - Take it away! Mobile Museum Music A woman shares a WW1 song her mother sang to her growing up Get audio from this link https://www.facebook.com/WWImobilemuseum/videos/446466625543576/?hc_ref=ARQ-pHnYpr5W4lZnIYxGzT1sR9juupbVRphPPu2FkrLdBcUylXFFzt8QE-bnBY38NxQ Link:https://www.facebook.com/WWImobilemuseum/videos/446466625543576/?hc_ref=ARQ-pHnYpr5W4lZnIYxGzT1sR9juupbVRphPPu2FkrLdBcUylXFFzt8QE-bnBY38NxQ http://www.ww1mobilemuseum.com/ Thank you Katherine. Closing And that is WW1 Centennial News for this week. We want to thank our guests: Mike Shuster from the great war project blog filling us in on the Fire in Greece at Salonika, Dr. Leander “Russ” McDonald, President of the United Tribes Technical College speaking with us about their upcoming commemorative event Joel Mize from the 100 Cities / 100 Memorials project in Sheffield, Alabama Chris Connelly from Dayton Ohio sharing Peter Connelly’s story of service Katherine Akey the Commission’s social media director and also the line producer for the show. And I am Theo Mayer - your host. The US World War One Centennial Commission was created by Congress to honor, commemorate and educate about WW1. Our programs are to-- inspire a national conversation and awareness about WW1; This program is a part of that…. We are bringing the lessons of the 100 years ago into today's classrooms; We are helping to restore WW1 memorials in communities of all sizes across our country; and of course we are building America’s National WW1 Memorial in Washington DC. We want to thank commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library for their support. The podcast can be found on our website at ww1cc.org/cn   on  iTunes and google play ww1 Centennial News. Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial. Thanks for joining us. And don’t forget to--- share the stories you are hearing here with someone ---- about the war that changed the world! [music] Alright gentlemen… grab mops, sponges, toothbrushes and meet me in the latrine - It’s time for a bathroom field day! White glove inspection at 1700 sharp!

Nǐ hǎo, listeners! Make sure you have a valid passport and an approved Visa because this week the BnB gang is taking you to Haunted China! In celebration of Vanessa's triumphant return from the mystery and intrigue of the orient we've got two new ghost stories from Bejing and Shangai, in addition to some fun background on Chinese ghostie culture, and a very special tasting of disgusting Chinese snacks. Vanessa gives us a firsthand account of the Forbidden City and how it's soaked in concubine and eunuch blood, paired with China's finest, Tsingtao. Then Melissa takes us further south to the Wukang Mansion and the ghost of Mao's mistress, paired with Fuck Art - This is Architecture, a Belgish beer from Denmark. Who will Emperor Bob decide is most talented at the art of story telling, and who has some re-education through labor to look forward to? Listen and find out!

Dave Juskow joins Ku this week to give his reaction to the Jewish Eeyore episode, share his story of how he almost got killed while hitting on a girl, and whether it's fun or mean to be mean.  @DaveJuskow

I 2:a avsnittet avhandlar vi Stoffes kommande releasespelning, Dannes lidande när Stoffe tappade all impulskontroll på en kinesisk restaurang samt vår nästa sketchidé om kvartssamtal med fotbollshuliganer.

Ally is a YouTube celebrity, with views by the millions on her videos. She’s one of the leaders of the ASMR movement, or genre, or whatever it is. Picture pretty women whispering and playing different characters, or just talking. Whispering, rather. Some people get a tingling sensation and then get very relaxed and fall asleep to these videos. Millions of people. Ally is joined in our studio by her sometimes collaborator, Lane. Lane is a digital marketing expert and host of the Beerlosophy podcast. Our host, Josh, was a guest on Beerlosophy back in January. Check it out on Soundcloud if you want to hear them drink Tsingtao and talk about the value of an idea. Meanwhile, listen in as Josh tries to understand what ASMR is about and digs into lessons in digital marketing, how Ally built her own brand, and why on earth she’s started a company that makes content for brands and another one that’s making 360 VR videos. Josh doesn’t quite get it, but what the hell does he know? He doesn’t even know how to whisper and make people tingle. *EDM.com Track of the week: https://soundcloud.com/chill/gould-gone

This week Murphy is joined by his mates guys Maggie Looke, Luka Muller, and Danielle Walker to drink 28 Pale Ale and discuss socks, Thank God You're Here, names, Queensland, the fridge, Tsingtao, hypotheticals, The Five Club, sponsorship, Nick Mason, editing, Luka's phone number, accents, Blu-Tack, fans, Natalie Imbruglia, puffer vests, Will Arnett, boxed wine, Brendan Fraser, and more!