Podcasts about Wang

Misfits Makin' It is the podcast component of the misfit comedy shows produced by Lauren LoGiudice. Show dates and info at www.laurenlogiudice.com In this episode Lauren speaks with Chris Wilcha, the filmmaker behind Flipside, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was released theatrically last year and executive produced by Jedd Apatow. It was a labor of love decades in the making! They have an honest conversation about the creative chaos of finishing what you start—or not. They unpack what “completion” really means in a world obsessed with constant output. [Ep 46] CONNECT WITH CHRIS WILCHA: Instagram: @chriswilcha To submit your story for Misfit Melodrama segments leave a voicemail at 646-WANG-0-X-1 or send us a message at www.laurenlogiudice.com/podcast. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Rate and review: Misfits trust other misfits to tell them what is good! Tell a friend: Word of mouth is the #1 way misfits learn about their next pod. Sponsor a podcast: Affordable for individuals and small businesses, also makes the perfect gift. Support this art directly with a podcast that's custom-tailored to you or your friends. Make it happen by reaching out to inthemidstprod@gmail.com. CONNECT WITH LAUREN LOGIUDICE: Instagram: @laurenlogi Twitter/TikTok/Threads: @laurenlogi Website: www.laurenlogiudice.com CONNECT WITH MISFIT COMEDY SHOWS AND PODCAST EPISODES: Instagram: @misfitcomedyco

How do you build a system that handles 90 million requests per second? That's the scale that Cloudflare operates at, processing roughly 25% of all internet traffic through their global network of 330+ edge locations.In this episode, we talk to Kevin Guthrie and Edward Wang from Cloudflare about Pingora, their open-source Rust-based proxy that replaced nginx across their entire infrastructure. We'll find out why they chose Rust for mission-critical systems handling such massive scale, the technical challenges of replacing battle-tested infrastructure, and the lessons learned from "oxidizing" one of the internet's largest networks.

As President Xi Jinping is set to meet with United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, observers said the top priority is to further faithfully implement all of the points of consensus that have been, and will be, made by the two heads of state.随着习近平主席将于周四会晤美国总统特朗普，观察人士指出，首要任务是继续忠实落实两国元首已达成的共识，同时推进即将敲定的各项共识要点的落地。The scenario is expected to improve the overall stability of China-US ties as well as two-way collaboration, which has been keptafloat in various aspects ranging from trade to law enforcement, they added.观察人士补充道，此次会晤有望进一步提升中美关系的整体稳定性，为双方在贸易、执法等多个领域的持续合作注入动力。As agreed to by China and the US, Xi will meet with Trump in Busan, a coastal city in the Republic of Korea, to "exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest", the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.中国外交部周三正式宣布，根据中美双方此前商定，习近平主席将在韩国海滨城市釜山与特朗普总统举行会晤，就双边关系发展及共同关心的国际和地区问题交换意见。This will be the first face-to-face meeting between them since Trump assumed office in January for his second term as US president.这将是特朗普今年1月开启第二任期以来，中美两国元首首次面对面会晤。"Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.外交部发言人郭佳昆表示：“元首外交对中美关系具有不可替代的战略引领作用。”During their meeting, the two presidents will have "in-depth communication on strategic and long-term issues concerning China-US relations and major issues of common concern", he said.他指出，两国元首会晤期间将就“中美关系战略性、长远性问题及重大关切事项进行深入沟通”。"We are willing to make joint efforts with the US side to drive this meeting toyield positive outcomes, and to provide new guidance and inject newimpetus into the stable development of China-US relations," Guo said at a news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.郭家驹周三在北京记者会上表示：“中方愿同美方共同努力，推动本次会晤取得积极务实成果，为中美关系稳定发展提供新的指引、注入新的动力。”Last month, the two leaders held their third phone talks this year, following the first in January and the second in June.继今年1月和6月的两次通话后，两国元首上月再度通电话，完成了今年第三次高层沟通。In the most recent phone talks, Xi said the two nations "are fully capable of helping each other succeed and prospering together", and Trump said the two countries working together can get many great things done that are good for world peace and stability.在此次通话中，习近平主席表示，中美两国“完全有能力相互成就、共同繁荣”，特朗普总统则回应称，美中携手合作，能够成就诸多造福世界和平与稳定的伟大事业。Diao Daming, a professor of US studies at Renmin University of China's School of International Relations, noted that the China-US ties, despite some ups and downs this year, "have maintained a generally stable status thanks to the navigating role played by head-of-state diplomacy".中国人民大学国际关系学院美国问题教授刁大明指出，尽管今年中美关系经历了一些起伏，但“在元首外交的战略引领下，总体保持了稳定发展态势”。The ties have been affected by destabilizing factors such as economic andtrade frictions brought by Washington's view of China as a competitor, he said.他认为，当前中美关系受到多重不稳定因素印象，其中包括华盛顿将中国视为竞争对手所引发的经贸摩擦等问题。On Monday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which Wang noted that both Xi and Trump are "world-class leaders", and their long-term exchanges and mutual respect have become "the most valuable strategic asset in China-US relations".周一，中国外交部长王毅与美国国务卿马尔科·卢比奥（Marco Rubio）通电话。王毅指出，习近平主席和特朗普总统都是“世界级领导人”，双方长期以来的交流互敬，已成为“中美关系中最宝贵的战略资产”。China is now the US' second-largest source of imports and third-largest market for its exports.数据显示，中国目前是美国第二大进口来源国，同时也是美国第三大出口市场。This year, the two sides have held five rounds of economic and trade talks—in Geneva, Switzerland in May; in London, the United Kingdom, in June; in Stockholm, Sweden, in July; in Madrid, Spain, in September; and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday and Sunday.今年中美双方已举行五轮贸易磋商，磋商地点分别是5月在瑞士日内瓦、6月在英国伦敦、7月在瑞典斯德哥尔摩、9月在西班牙马德里，以及上周六至周日在马来西亚吉隆坡举行的最新一轮磋商。Wu Xinbo, dean of Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, said the latest economic and trade talks in Malaysia reached a framework consensus on addressing the current urgent economic and trade issues on an equal footing, and they helped pave the way for the head-of-state meeting in the ROK.复旦大学国际问题研究院院长吴心伯表示，马来西亚最新一轮经贸谈判中，双方就平等解决当前紧迫的经贸问题达成框架性共识，为此次在韩国举行的中美国家元首会晤奠定了良好的基础。afloat/əˈfloʊt/adj.（在水中）漂浮的yield/jiːld/v.推动，产出impetus/ˈɪm.pə.t̬əs/n.刺激trade friction贸易摩擦

Suxia Wang, MD - Expert Perspective on the Diagnostic Pathways for Glomerular Diseases

Suxia Wang, MD - Expert Perspective on the Diagnostic Pathways for Glomerular Diseases

China and Japan agreed on Tuesday to advance constructive and stable bilateral relations as Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation with his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, a week after the inauguration of Japan's new cabinet.日本新内阁就职一周之际，中国国务委员兼外交部长王毅于周二同日本外相茂木敏充（Toshimitsu Motegi）举行电话会谈，双方就推动中日关系朝着建设性、稳定方向发展达成一致。Wang told Motegi that China is willing to work with Japan to continue observing the principles and following the direction set in thefour political documents between the two nations, and jointly advance the strategic relationship of mutual benefit.王毅外长在通话中表示，中方愿同日本方面一道，继续恪守中日四个政治文件所确立的原则与方向，携手推进互利共赢的战略伙伴关系。作为中共中央政治局委员，王毅还向茂木敏充再次出任日本外相表示祝贺。Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, congratulated Motegi on his reappointment as Japan's foreign minister.作为中共中央政治局委员，王毅还向茂木敏充再次出任日本外相表示祝贺。China's policy toward Japan remains "consistent and stable", Wang said, expressing Beijing's readiness to work with Tokyo to build a constructive and stable relationship that meets the demands of the new era.谈及中国对日政策，王毅明确指出，中方对日政策始终保持“一贯性与稳定性”，愿与日方共同构建契合新时代要求的建设性稳定双边关系。China has noted the positive signals sent by the new Japanese cabinet, he said, emphasizing thathigh-level exchanges are important for the development of bilateral ties. It is hoped that the new cabinet of Japan will make a good start and take the right steps in engaging with China, he added.王毅表示，中方已注意到日本新内阁释放的积极信号，并重申高层交往是推动双边关系发展的重要纽带，期待日本新内阁在对华交往中开好局、起好步，作出符合两国共同利益的正确选择。Wang underscored that historical issues and the Taiwan question bear on the foundation of China-Japan ties and the basic trust between the two countries, saying that he hopes Tokyo would work with Beijing to uphold the political foundation of bilateral relations and facilitate their improvement and development.王毅特别强调，历史问题与台湾问题直接关乎中日关系的政治根基，也影响着两国间的基本信任。他希望日方同中方相向而行，共同维护好双边关系的政治基础，为中日关系的改善与发展注入动力。Motegi said that Japan and China are shouldering increasingly significant international responsibilities in the wake of profound changes in the global landscape. He emphasized that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attaches great importance to Japan-China relations, and the Japanese side never intends todecouple from the Chinese side.茂木敏充在通话中回应称，当前全球格局正经历深刻变革，中日两国在国际舞台上肩负的责任日益重要。他表示，日本首相高市早苗（Sanae Takaichi）高度重视中日关系，日方从未有与中方“脱钩”的意图。Motegi expressed the hope that both sides would enhance exchanges at all levels, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, properly manage differences and fully advance a constructive and stable strategic relationship of mutual benefit.茂木敏充同时提议，双方应进一步加强各层级交流互动，扩大互利合作领域，以建设性方式妥善管控分歧，全面推进建设性、稳定且互利共赢的战略伙伴关系。Lyu Yaodong, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Japanese Studies, said the relationship between Asia's two largest economies have been strained in recent years due to Japan's stance on historical issues and the Taiwan question.中国社会科学院日本研究所研究员吕耀东在接受分析时指出，近年来，受日本在历史问题上的态度及涉台立场影响，中日这两个亚洲最大经济体之间的关系始终处于紧张状态。China sent a clear message through Tuesday's phone call, he said. "The message is that Japan's new cabinet must adhere to the four political documents and actprudently on historical and Taiwan-related issues."他认为，此次中日外长通话传递出明确信号：“日本新内阁必须严格恪守中日四个政治文件精神，在历史问题和台湾问题上保持审慎态度，切实采取符合双边关系根本利益的行动。”Four political documents of China and Japan中日四个政治文件，是《中日联合声明》（1972年）、《中日和平友好条约》（1978年）、《中日联合宣言》（1998年）和《中日关于全面推进战略互惠关系的联合声明》（2008年）的总称。High-level exchanges高层交往decouple/ˌdiːˈkʌp.əl/v.脱钩prudently/ˈpruː.dənt.li/adv.审慎地

In this meeting, Matt shared a dangerous breakthrough in personal EV and taught Shu political lessons including the unintended consequences of rent freeze. We then dived into the story of Wang Chuanfu, the founder of BYD. 

Gross margins, GPUs, and the future of finance — this one's for the metrics nerds. CJ sits down with Sarah Wang, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, to talk about what happens when the traditional SaaS playbook collides with AI. Sarah shares how legacy benchmarks like payback period and burn multiple start to break down in a world where compute, not headcount, drives costs. She explains why sky-high gross margins can actually be an orange flag, how finance leaders can think about resource allocation between engineers and GPUs, and why the most valuable finance teams today are deeply operational. They also unpack what it's like partnering with AI-native founders, the evolution of pricing models as LLM costs drop, and whether we'll see a private trillion-dollar company anytime soon.—LINKS:on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-wang-59b96a7/Company: https://a16z.com/CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS ChaosFrom Credit Karma to Notion: CFO Rama Katkar on Leading Finance Through Every Growth Stage5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers.Thinking About Adding Payments to Your Software Product? Listen to This First!—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00:00) Preview and Intro(00:02:40) Sponsors – Fidelity Private Shares, Mercury, RightRev(00:05:50) Sarah Joins the Show(00:06:06) The Future of Excel in the Age of AI(00:08:24) Why Gross Margins Don't Tell the Whole Story(00:10:42) When Sky-High Margins Are an Orange Flag(00:12:57) Finance as a Strategic Lever in AI Companies(00:15:04) Sponsors – Tipalti, Aleph, Rillet(00:17:22) Partnering with AI-Native Founders(00:20:35) When Traditional SaaS Benchmarks Break Down(00:23:58) Forecasting and Financial Planning for Compute Costs(00:27:16) The Engineers-Versus-GPUs Trade-Off(00:30:29) Resource Allocation and Infrastructure Efficiency(00:33:47) How Pricing Models Evolve as LLM Costs Drop(00:37:15) Circular Finance: When Big Tech Funds Its Own Vendors(00:40:39) Metrics That Still Matter in AI-Driven Businesses(00:44:12) The Evolving Role of Finance Leaders(00:47:26) What “Operational Finance” Really Means(00:50:58) Building Sustainable Efficiency in AI Companies(00:54:03) Will We See a Private Trillion-Dollar Company?(00:55:33) Outro—SPONSORS:Fidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off.Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.comRightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more.Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRillet is the AI-native ERP modern finance teams are switching to because it's faster, simpler, and 100% built for how teams operate today. See how fast your team can move. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/metrics#RunTheNumbersPodcast #FinanceLeadership #AIinBusiness #VentureCapital #SaaSMetrics This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

People from both sides of the Taiwan Strait said that no separatist forces can erase the shared history and national identity that bind people across the Strait, as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to China was commemorated in Beijing.在北京纪念台湾光复80周年之际，海峡两岸同胞表示，任何分裂势力都无法抹去联结两岸同胞的共同历史与民族认同。A grand gathering celebrating the anniversary was held in Beijing on Saturday. It marked the first Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration, following an official designation on Friday by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.周六，北京举行纪念台湾光复80周年盛大集会。此前一日（周五），中国最高立法机关——第十四届全国人民代表大会常务委员会正式设立“台湾光复纪念日”，本次集会是该纪念日设立后的首次纪念活动。Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addressed the event, calling on compatriots on both sides of the Strait to work together to advance national reunification and to firmly oppose all forms of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities.全国政协主席王沪宁在集会上发表讲话，呼吁海峡两岸同胞共同努力推进祖国统一大业，坚决反对任何形式的“台独”分裂活动。Wang stressed that the establishment of the commemoration day demonstrated the unwavering commitment of all Chinese people to uphold the one-China principle and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.王沪宁强调，设立“台湾光复纪念日”，彰显了全体中国人民坚定维护一个中国原则、捍卫国家主权和领土完整的不变决心。After the event, several guests from Taiwan said the commemoration had strengthened their confidence in the nation's eventual reunification.集会结束后，多位台湾嘉宾表示，此次纪念活动增强了他们对祖国最终实现统一的信心。Justin Lin Yifu, a Taiwan-born economist and professor at Peking University, said that Taiwan's restoration to China and the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) should be remembered by all Chinese people.出生于台湾的经济学家、北京大学教授林毅夫指出，台湾光复回归中国与中国人民抗日战争（1931-1945年）的胜利，是全体中国人民应当铭记的历史。"The course of history will not be altered by the obstruction of a small handful of people," he said, adding that the commemoration day strengthens pride in being Chinese.“历史进程不会因少数人的阻挠而改变，”林毅夫表示，“设立这一纪念日，进一步增强了我们的民族自豪感。”WuRong-yuan, chairperson of Taiwan's Labor Party, said the establishment of the commemoration day demonstrated to the world that commemorating Taiwan's restoration is the heartfelt, shared wish of compatriots on both sides of the Strait.台湾劳动党主席吴荣元表示，“台湾光复纪念日”的设立向世界表明，纪念台湾光复是海峡两岸同胞共同的深切心愿。"Our shared bonds and memories cannot be severed by any external forces or separatists," he emphasized.“我们之间的血脉联结与共同记忆，任何外部势力和分裂分子都无法割裂。”他强调道。Wu added that the decision provided strong legal and political support for all patriotic forces committed to advancing the cause of national reunification.吴荣元补充称，这一决定为所有致力于推进祖国统一事业的爱国力量提供了坚实的法律与政治支撑。On Oct 25, 1945, the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in the Taiwan province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. From that moment, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were restored to China's sovereign jurisdiction.1945年10月25日，同盟国中国战区台湾省受降仪式在台北举行。自那一刻起，台湾及澎湖列岛重新回归中国主权管辖之下。Shaw Kai-ping, honorary president of the association for relatives of patriots in Taiwan who fought against Japanese aggression, said it was a great honor for Oct 25 to be established as a national commemoration day. Shaw's father and grandfather both took part in the resistance against Japanese occupation.台湾抗日爱国志士亲属联谊会荣誉会长萧开平表示，将10月25日设立为国家级纪念日，是一件意义重大的事。萧开平的父亲与祖父均曾参与反抗日本殖民统治的斗争。"This decision shows that the motherland has not forgotten the people of Taiwan, and that reunification is destined to be achieved," Shaw said.“这一决定表明，祖国没有忘记台湾同胞，统一大业注定实现。”萧开平说。Chi Hsing, honorary chairman of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, said he had long awaited the establishment of the commemoration day. "As the historical truth comes to light, more and more people are gaining a clearer understanding of what really happened," Chi said.台湾统一联盟党荣誉主席纪欣表示，她一直期盼“台湾光复纪念日”的设立。“随着历史真相的不断揭示，越来越多的人开始清晰了解当年的真实情况。”纪欣说。The Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council hosted a reception in Beijing on Saturday, attended by guests from both Taiwan and the mainland who had participated in the earlier gathering.中共中央台湾工作办公室、国务院台湾事务办公室于周六在北京举办招待会，出席此前纪念集会的两岸嘉宾受邀参加。Song Tao, head of both offices, said at the reception that establishing the commemoration day on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration fully reflects the will of the people and the resolve of the nation.两办主任宋涛在招待会上表示，在台湾光复80周年之际设立这一纪念日，充分体现了人民的意愿与国家的决心。"We are confident in advancing the great cause of national reunification and enhancing the well-being of our Taiwan compatriots," Song said.“我们有信心推进祖国统一伟大事业，增进台湾同胞福祉。”宋涛说。Chi Hsing, publisher of The Observer magazine in Taiwan, said the decision reflects the shared aspirations of the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots.台湾《观察》杂志发行人纪欣表示，设立“台湾光复纪念日”的决定，反映了绝大多数台湾同胞的共同心声。"It will carry forward the patriotic tradition, reaffirm that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, and inspire pride in being Chinese," she said.“这将传承爱国传统，重申海峡两岸同属一个中国，激发民族自豪感。”她说。Ji Bin, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said the restoration of Taiwan is solid evidence of the Chinese government's resumption of sovereignty over Taiwan and a crucial link in the historical and legal chain of Taiwan being part of China.中华全国台湾同胞联谊会副会长纪斌指出，台湾光复是中国政府恢复对台湾行使主权的铁证，也是台湾作为中国一部分的历史与法律链条中的关键一环。"No matter how the Democratic Progressive Party and its politicians distort the truth of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, deny the achievements of the war victory, downplay or deny the historical significance of Taiwan's restoration, and collude with external forces to promote the fallacy of 'Taiwan's undetermined status', they cannot distort or undermine the historical and legal fact that Taiwan belongs to China," Ji said.“无论民进党及其政客如何歪曲抗日战争史实、否认抗战胜利成果、淡化甚至否定台湾光复的历史意义，勾结外部势力宣扬‘台湾地位未定论'谬论，都无法歪曲和改变台湾属于中国的历史与法律事实。”纪斌说。In Taipei, the memorial association of the Chinese war of resistance against Japanese aggression in Taiwan and the Chinese Kuomintang party jointly held a celebration on Saturday marking the anniversary of Taiwan's restoration.在台北，台湾抗日民族统一战线纪念会与中国国民党于周六联合举办台湾光复80周年纪念活动。Overseas Chinese from both sides of the Strait also celebrated the commemoration day in various forms. Chinese embassies in countries including the United States, Japan, Brazil and Indonesia held symposiums marking the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration on the day of commemoration.海外两岸侨胞也以多种形式庆祝这一纪念日。中国驻美国、日本、巴西、印度尼西亚等国的大使馆，均在纪念日当天举办台湾光复80周年座谈会。In New York City, hundreds of Chinese compatriots from both sides of the Strait gathered in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens borough on Friday to celebrate the anniversary.在纽约，数百名两岸同胞于周五齐聚皇后区法拉盛社区，共同庆祝台湾光复80周年。separatist/ˈseprətɪst/adj.分裂主义的，分离主义的sovereignty /ˈsɒvrənti/n.主权；最高统治权jurisdiction/ˌdʒʊərɪsˈdɪkʃn/n.管辖权，司法权

a floating show for Freeform Porltand for when a spot needs to be filled. PLAYLIST: Artist Song Release Released Label Annette Vande Gorne Figures d'espace Tutti Frutti 2025 Persistence of Sound Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Santa … Continue reading →

An interview on the pervasive use of the yin-yang relational pair in classical Chinese thought generally, and in Daoism in particular.

In Episode 131 of Let's Talk Learning Disabilities, Laurie interviews Chris Wang, founder of Shimmer Coaching, about accessible ADHD coaching and support services. Chris shares her personal journey from an undiagnosed hyperactive child to an entrepreneur who struggled to find affordable coaching after her diagnosis at age 28, which inspired her to create Shimmer. The conversation explores what ADHD coaching is, how it differs from therapy, the platform's unique matching process, and Shimmer's mission to make coaching accessible through significantly reduced pricing and comprehensive support services.Resources:Shimmer Coaching Website: https://www.shimmer.care/Podcast Listener Promo Code: DLS2025Let's Talk Learning Disabilities Website: https://ltldpodcast.comContact info for the podcast: letstalklearningdisabilities@gmail.comE-Diagnostic Learning Website: https://ediagnosticlearning.comSocial:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eDiaglearning/X: @diaglearningLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diagnostic-learning-services/Instagram: @diaglearning

China and the United States will engage in a fresh round of trade talks later this week in Malaysia, in a bid to de-escalate tensions that have been simmering for weeks between the world's two largest economies.中美两国将于本周晚些时候在马来西亚举行新一轮经贸会谈，旨在缓和这两个世界最大经济体之间持续数周的紧张局势。Analysts said that Washington's recent moves — calling for talks while exerting pressure on Beijing — do not build bridges. They called for the US to match its words with deeds and meet China halfway to seek mutually beneficial solutions.分析人士指出，美方近期一边呼吁对话、一边向中方施压的做法并非建设性举措。他们呼吁美方言行一致，与中方相向而行，共同寻求互利共赢的解决方案。The Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday that Vice-Premier He Lifeng will lead a delegation to Malaysia from Friday to Monday to hold economic and trade consultations with US representatives, as agreed to by the two countries.中国商务部于周四宣布，根据中美两国达成的共识，国务院副总理何立峰将率团于周五至周一赴马来西亚，与美方代表举行经贸磋商。The two sides will engage in consultations on "key issues concerning China-US economic and trade relations", in accordance with the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone calls this year, the ministry added.商务部补充称，双方将依据两国元首今年通话中达成的重要共识，就“中美经贸关系中的关键问题”开展磋商。The negotiations in Malaysia — the fifth of their kind since May — come at a time when an already-extended 90-day tariff truce is set to expire on Nov 10.此次马来西亚会谈是自今年5月以来的第五轮中美经贸谈判，召开之际，此前已延长的90天关税休战期即将于11月10日到期。China and the US had made some progress following four rounds of trade talks, which went on to steady bilateral ties and deliver a wave of positive anticipation in global markets. However, Washington's recent moves, reneging on the previous consensus, threaten to undo that hard-won progress, experts said.专家表示，中美此前经过四轮经贸会谈已取得一定进展，这不仅稳定了双边关系，也为全球市场注入了一波积极预期。然而，美方近期违背此前共识的举动，恐将使这一来之不易的成果付诸东流。The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose export curbs on "any and all critical software" to China in addition to additional 100 percent tariffs starting on Nov 1. Moreover, the US also started slapping additional port fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated ships earlier this month.美国总统唐纳德・特朗普政府此前威胁称，除自11月1日起对部分商品加征100%关税外，还将对输往中国的“所有关键软件”实施出口限制。此外，美方本月早些时候已开始对中资建造、中资运营的船舶额外征收港口费用。Wang Wen, dean of Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said the current friction stems from a pattern of inconsistency from Washington. "This approach erodes the very trust necessary for any lasting agreement," he added.中国人民大学重阳金融研究院院长王文表示，当前中美经贸摩擦的根源在于美方立场反复无常。他补充道：“这种做法会破坏达成任何长期协议所必需的信任基础。”Wang said the path forward requires more than just showing up at the negotiation table. It also demands a consistent and good-faith delivery of the commitments made there, he said.王文指出，推动问题解决不仅需要双方坐到谈判桌前，更需要美方以一致的态度、真诚的行动履行在谈判中作出的承诺。Analysts expect the management of rare earth elements to be an important topic during the upcoming trade talks.分析人士预计，稀土元素管控问题将成为此次经贸会谈的重要议题之一。Xu Hongcai, deputy director at the China Association of Policy Science's economic policy commission, said that China has made it very clear on multiple occasions that the country does not impose rare earth export restrictions in the civilian sector. This is a balanced approach that prioritizes both supply chain stability and China's national security.中国政策科学研究会经济政策委员会副主任徐洪才表示，中国已多次明确，在民用领域不实施稀土出口限制。这一做法兼顾供应链稳定与国家安全，是平衡之举。Chen Wenling, former chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said, "The Chinese position is consistent — we will never initiate a trade war, but we will never shy away from one either."中国国际经济交流中心原总经济师陈文玲表示：“中国的立场一贯且明确——我们绝不会主动发起贸易战，但也绝不畏惧贸易战。”Experts said the value of the trade talks lies not merely in managing the economic relationship between the two giants, but in providing a predictable external environment for every nation that falls in their orbit.专家称，此次经贸会谈的意义不仅在于管控中美两大经济体之间的经贸关系，更在于为所有与两国存在经贸关联的国家提供可预期的外部环境。Thomas Helbling, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund's Asia and Pacific Department, said the IMF hopes that the US and China — and the world at large — will find ways to resolve trade tensions and address underlying disagreements in areas such as non-market-based trade restrictions.国际货币基金组织（IMF）亚太部副主任托马斯・海尔布林表示，IMF希望美国与中国乃至全球各国能找到途径化解贸易紧张局势，并解决非市场化贸易限制等领域的根本性分歧。de-escalate/ˌdiːˈeskəleɪt/v.缓和；逐步降低simmering/ˈsɪmərɪŋ/adj.持续酝酿的；潜伏的reneging/rɪˈniːɡɪŋ/v.违背；背约erode/ɪˈrəʊd/v.逐渐破坏；侵蚀

the only thing to fear PLAYLIST: Joanne Robertson Ghost Blurrr 2025 AD 93 Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Interstellar Overdrive Live in Valencia 2025 2025 Max Hazard Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno Enough To Make … Continue reading →

Host: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP Guest: Michael Wang, MD For patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who relapse after BTK inhibitor (BTKi) therapy, treatment decisions can be complex and time sensitive. That's why understanding how tumor biology and risk features can guide selection between immunomodulatory regimens and CAR T-cell therapy is essential. Tune in to hear Dr. Charles Turck speak with Dr. Michael Wang about practical, evidence-based strategies for managing relapsed/refractory MCL. Dr. Wang is a Professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.   Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Featuring an interview with Dr Eunice S Wang, including the following topics: Hypomethylating agent/venetoclax combinations for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML); integration in community practice (0:00) All-oral regimen of decitabine/cedazuridine with venetoclax for patients with newly diagnosed AML not eligible for intensive induction chemotherapy (9:39) Efficacy of targeted therapy options for AML; potential role of MRD (minimal residual disease) assays in monitoring treatment response (13:07) Treatment approach for patients with FLT3-mutant AML; mutation profiles and predicting response to quizartinib (20:14) Targeting the differentiation of AML tumor cells with IDH and menin inhibitors; associated differentiation syndrome (29:24) Efficacy and tolerability of the IDH inhibitors ivosidenib and olutasidenib (36:54) Key clinical data with approved and investigational menin inhibitors for AML; current and potential integration of menin inhibitors in the AML treatment algorithm (42:30) CME information and select publications

Dr Eunice S Wang from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, discusses recent datasets and their implications for the current and future management of acute myeloid leukemia. CME information and select publications here.

This week, host Solarina Ho and her guest, Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, discuss the director's award-winning new documentary, 'Mistress Dispeller', which premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival last September. The film is now playing in select theaters across the United States. The intimate film follows a middle-aged couple and Wang Zhenxi, a "Mistress Dispeller", who is hired by the wife to end the husband's affair with a younger woman. Solarina and Elizabeth discuss the film's meditative exploration of relationships, how Wang inserts herself into this couple's life, and how the couple — and the mistress — navigate the complex dynamics and emotions of marriage and infidelity, and their place within broader Chinese society. Elizabeth also discusses the painstaking, years-long process of finding her central characters, and the remarkable trust and sensitivity required that allowed her to tell their stories.

Featuring a slide presentation and related discussion from Dr Eunice S Wang, including the following topics: All-oral regimen of decitabine/cedazuridine with venetoclax for patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) not eligible for intensive induction chemotherapy (0:00) Quizartinib-based treatment approaches for FLT3-ITD-mutated and FLT3-ITD wild-type AML (5:21) First- and second-generation IDH inhibitors for AML (17:40) Updated results from the AUGMENT-101 Phase II study of the menin inhibitor revumenib for relapsed/refractory KMT2A-rearranged AML (22:59) Phase Ib/II KOMET-001 study of ziftomenib for relapsed/refractory NMP1-mutant AML (26:42) Novel combination approaches with menin inhibitors for AML (29:11) CME information and select publications

In today's episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Eunice Wang, MD, about the secondary AML treatment paradigm. Dr Wang is a professor of oncology, leader of the Leukemia Clinical Disease Team, chief of leukemia in the Department of Medicine, and an assistant member of the Tumor Immunology Program in the Department of Immunology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York; as well as an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and an academic scholar at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In our exclusive interview, Dr Wang discussed the prevalence of secondary AML, and explained that this population lacks standard therapies, often relying on allogeneic stem cell transplantation. She noted that CPX-351, a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin, has generated improved outcomes compared with 7+3 chemotherapy in this population. She also highlighted future research, which includes targeted therapies and less intensive regimens.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has met with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury in Beijing. Wang said China will further advance its modernization, adding that this will create vast opportunities for foreign enterprises.

Las autoridades de EE.UU. y México consideran que Zhi Dong Zhang lidera una organización criminal cuyas actividades se extienden por decenas de países.

Ryan Wang has had a winding set of paths to get to where he is today. He studied economics and statistics, with the intent of going to grad school and becoming a professor. After talking with his boss at the time, Steven Levitt (also one of the authors of Freakonomics), he was convinced that was not the best path. Eventually, he joined stripe via nepotism, and became a software developer via data science. Outside of tech, he loves to read about different topics. Right now, he is reading about owls, and also loves to read fiction and poetry. In fact, he drops poetry occasionally at his current venture.While at Stripe, back when it was an 80 person company, Ryan noticed people doing support tickets on their own. After he spent some time there, he and his now co-founder started to tinker in machine learning for support. As he made progress, a leader pointed out that the real problem was around workforce management.This is the creation story of Assembled.SponsorsVentionCodeCrafters helps you become a better engineer by building real-world, production-grade projects. Learn hands-on by creating your own Git, Redis, HTTP server, SQLite, or DNS server from scratch. Sign up for free today using this link and enjoy 40% off.Full ScalePaddle.comSema SoftwarePropelAuthPostmanMeilisearchLinkshttps://www.assembled.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanywang/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/code-story-insights-from-startup-tech-leaders/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The FiltrateJoel Topf @kidneyboy.bsky.social‬Swapnil Hiremath @hswapnil.medsky.socialNayan Arora captainchloride.bsky.socialSopia Ambruso @sophia-kidney.bsky.socialSpecial Guests Brendon Neuen @brendonneuen.bsky.social Associate Professor and Program Lead, Renal and Metabolic at The George Institute for Global Health. Nephrologist and Director of Kidney Trials at Royal North Shore Hospital.Neuen has had three prior appearances on Freely Filtered: EMPA Kidney, DUPLEX and Sparsentan in FSGS, FLOW and SemaglutideMuthiah Vaduganathan @mvaduganathan on X. Cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Assistant Professor of Medicine.Editing byJoel TopfThe Kidney Connection written and performed by Tim YauShow NotesDONATE to NephJC! Finerenone with Empagliflozin in Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes NEJM | NephJC SummaryFIDELIO Bakris et al, NEJM 2020 | NephJC Summary; subgroup throws doubt on efficacy of finerenone in patients on flozinsFIGARO Pitt et al, NEJM 2021; subgroups clearly shows finerenone works, flozins or notNEJM editorial (wrongly) saying do not use Flozins unless on RASi Don't use dual RAS blockade ONTARGET Yusuf et al, NEJM 2008; VA NEPHRON-D Fried et al NEJM 2013Why we cannot study finerenone in HFrEF (RALES Pitt et al NEJM 1999) Muthu is jealous of GFR slope and albuminuria surrogate endpoints and wants to borrow them for HFpEF (Inker et al EHJ 2025)Combination therapy and CV outcomes in hypertension (Wang et al JAMA Card 2024 on low dose combinations and BP; Egan et al Blood Pressure 2022 review of topic) CONFIRMATION HF trial registry entry (Finerenone and Empagliflozin in hospitalized patients with HF)23:20: Nayan and Swap miss a chance to say ‘de-flozination' to discuss stopping a flozin which would allow a patient to be included in the trial Finerenone is a CYP3A4 substrate (Heinig et al Clin Pharmacokinetics 2023); Useful list of CYP3A4 inducers and inhibitors Everyone should get an ABPM (Bugeja et al CMAJ 2022)EASiKIDNEY study design Albuminuria mediates CKD benefits with Finerenone (Agarwal et al Ann Intern Med 2023)GFR slope and Albuminuria and the FDA (Taylor et al eClin Med 2025) Dapagliflozin and Eplerenone combination crossover trial (Provenzano et al JASN 2022)Joel gets promoted! (PBFluids reflection) Bluesky NephJC Chat discussion on ‘renal remission' Withdrawal of Finerenone and worse outcomes from FINEARTS (Vaduganathan et al JACC 2025)Combination therapies Analysis from Brendan and Muthu (Neuen et al Circulation 2024)Do not use KFRE when GFR > 60 (KDIGO Practice Point 2.2.4: Note that risk prediction equations developed for use in people with CKD G3–G5, may not be valid for use in those with CKD G1–G2) Finerenone vs Spironolactone trial in Primary Aldosteronism (Hu et al Circulation 2025)FIND CKD trial design (Heerspink et al NDT 2025) FINE-ONE trial design (Heerspink et al Diab Res Practice 2023) Tubular SecretionsNayan keeping his chin up as Yankees lose and Mariners follow (MLB Playoffs)Sophia's adventures with Beekeeping (Royal Jelly?) Brendon loves listening to ‘Susan' by Raye Muthu is back into Taekwondo Swap is still reading Martha Wells (Witch King on GoodReads)Joel will be hiking the Laugavegur trail in Iceland

This week on Decouple, I sit down with Dan Wang, a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover History Lab and author of "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future." We trace how China became an “engineering state” while America turned into a “lawyerly society,” and what that means for infrastructure, energy, industry, birthrates, social security, and human lives. From Guizhou's skyways to Jane Jacobs' shadow over North American cities, Wang shows the upside of abundant state capacity and the dark side of excessive control.Buy Breakneck: https://danwang.co/breakneck/

Thanks for tuning in. Renew Church OC is a church for imperfect people only. Come visit us at: 1 Civic Center Cir Brea, CA 92821 Renew Has 2 Main Service Times: 9AM and 10:45AM 9AM: Children, Youth and Main Service 10:45: Main Service, Sunday School and Childcare For more information: www.renewchurchoc.com For tax deductible giving to Renew: Www.renewchurchoc.com/give For more resources: Roy Kim developed a video series to help Sexual Addiction Sobriety Groups. www.newlegacycounseling.com/self-guided…iety-group/ Roy and I host a 3 part series on Sexual Addiction in our podcast. Here is the first one; I would love to have you listen and give us some feedback. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-…i=1000610037470 Pastor Wilson and Roy Kim MFT podcast podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-…i=1000578749653 Pastor Wilson and Nina's children's books series and adulting journal www.calledtobeproject.com

Most think that algorithms are the modern root cause of innovations. But says not only are organizations today powered by data, they innovate through data. With several other colleagues, Marta is bringing data studies back to the forefront of information systems research. She produces workshops, a forthcoming book, and an online bibliography with seminal readings. We talk to Marta about the relationship between data and meaning, representation versus innovation, and whether we all soon live in a hyperreality created through synthetic data that lost all connection to the real-world. Episode reading list Alaimo, C., & Kallinikos, J. (2022). Organizations Decentered: Data Objects, Technology and Knowledge. Organization Science, 33(1), 19-37. Aaltonen, A., Stelmaszak, M., & Xu, D. The Data Studies Bibliography. . Chen, H., Chiang, R., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impacts. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188. Wand, Y., & Wang, R. Y. (1996). Anchoring Data Quality Dimensions in Ontological Foundations. Communications of the ACM, 39(11), 86-95. Xu, D., Stelmaszak, M., & Aaltonen, A. (2025). What is Changing the Game in Data Research? Insights from the “Innovating in Data-based Reality” Professional Development Workshop. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 56(8), 194-208. Kent, W. (1978). Data and Reality. North-Holland. Hirschheim, R., Klein, H. K., & Lyytinen, K. (1995). Information Systems Development and Data Modeling: Conceptual and Philosophical Foundations. Cambridge University Press. Goodhue, D. L., Wybo, M. D., & Kirsch, L. J. (1992). The Impact of Data Integration on the Costs and Benefits of Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 16(3), 239-311. Aaltonen, A., & Stelmaszak, M. (2024). Data Innovation Lens: A New Way to Approach Data Design as Value Creation. SSRN, . Recker, J., Indulska, M., Green, P., Burton-Jones, A., & Weber, R. (2019). Information Systems as Representations: A Review of the Theory and Evidence. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 20(6), 735-786. Bowker, G. C., & Star, S. L. (1999). Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences. MIT Press. Baudrillard, J. (1981). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press. Harari, Y. N. (2024). Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. Random House. Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical Investigations. Basil Blackwell. Stelmaszak, M., Wagner, E., & DuPont, N. N. (2024). Recognition in Personal Data: Data Warping, Recognition Concessions, and Social Justice. MIS Quarterly, 48(4), 1611-1636. Aaltonen, A., Stelmaszak, M., & Lyytinen, K. (Eds.). (2026). Research Handbook on Digital Data: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing. 

Audio Summary of the October 2025 Issue by Dr. Jian'an Wang.

Last time we spoke about the flooding of the Yellow River. As Japanese forces pressed toward central China, Chiang Kai-shek weighed a desperate gamble: defend majestic Wuhan with costly sieges, or unleash a radical plan that would flood its heart. Across/Xuzhou, Taierzhuang, and the Yellow River's bend near Zhengzhou, commanders fought a brutal, grinding war. Chinese units, battered yet stubborn, executed strategic retreats and furious counteroffensives. But even as brave soldiers stalled the enemy, the longer fight threatened to drain a nation's will and leave millions unprotected. Then a striking idea surfaced: breach the dikes of the Yellow River at Huayuankou and flood central China to halt the Japanese advance. The plan was terrifying in its moral cost, yet it offered a temporary shield for Wuhan and time to regroup. Workers, farmers, soldiers, laborers—pushed aside fear and toiled through the night, water rising like a raging tide. The flood bought months, not victory. It punished civilians as much as it protected soldiers, leaving a nation to confront its own hard choices and the haunting question: was survival worth the price?   #172 The Road to Wuhan 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. Following the Battle of Xuzhou and the breaching of the Yangtze dykes, Wuhan emerged as Japan's next military objective for political, economic, and strategic reasons. Wuhan served as the interim capital of the Kuomintang government, making it a crucial center of political authority. Its fall would deprive China of a vital rail and river hub, thereby further crippling the Chinese war effort. From a strategic perspective, Japanese control of a major rail and river junction on the Yangtze would enable westward expansion and provide a base for further advances into central and southern China. For these reasons, the Intelligence Division of the Army General Staff assessed that the capture of Wuhan would likely deliver the decisive blow needed to conclude the Second Sino-Japanese War.  Recognizing Wuhan's strategic importance, both the National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army committed substantial forces to the city and its approaches. The IJA deployed roughly 400,000 troops, while the NRA fielded at least 800,000. China began the war with an estimated regular force of 1.7 to 2.2 million men, organized into six broad loyalty-based categories around Chiang Kai-shek's command. Directly loyal troops formed the first group, followed by a second tier of soldiers who had previously supported Chiang but were less tightly controlled. The next category consisted of provincial troops that Chiang could ordinarily influence, while a fourth group included provincial units over which his sway was weaker. The fifth category comprised Communist forces, the Eighth Route Army in the northwest and the New Fourth Army forming in the central Yangtze region. The final category consisted of Northeastern or Manchurian units loyal to Zhang Xueliang, known as the “Young Marshal.” The first two categories together accounted for roughly 900,000 men, with about a million more in independent provincial armies, and roughly 300,000 in Communist and Manchurian forces. As commander-in-chief, Chiang could effectively command only about half of the mobilizable units at the outbreak of war in July 1937, which meant that military decisions were often slow, fraught with negotiation, and administratively cumbersome. Division-level coordination and communication proved particularly challenging, a stark contrast to the Japanese command structure, which remained clean and disciplined. Geographically, most of Chiang's loyal troops were located in the corridor between the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers at the start of 1938. Having participated heavily in the defense of Shanghai and Nanjing, they retreated to Wuhan at about half strength, with an already decimated officer corps. They then numbered around 400,000 and were commanded by generals Chen Cheng and Hu Zongnan. The northern regional armies, especially Han Fuju's forces in Shandong, had suffered severe losses; some units defected to the Japanese and later served as puppet troops. After six months of Japanese onslaught that cost the coastal and central regions—Peiping-Tianjin to Shanghai and inland toward Nanjing—much of the relatively autonomous, sizable armies remained from the southwest or northwest, under leaders such as Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi (Guangxi), Long Yun (Yunnan), and Yan Xishan (Shanxi and Suiyuan). Roughly 700,000 of these troops—predominantly from Guangxi under Li and Bai—were committed to the defense of Wuhan. The Communist forces, by contrast, numbered about 100,000 and remained relatively unscathed in bases north and east of Xi'an. In total, approximately 1.3 million men were under arms in defense of Wuhan. In December 1937, the Military Affairs Commission was established to determine Wuhan's defense strategy. Following the loss of Xuzhou, the National Revolutionary Army redeployed approximately 1.1 million troops across about 120 divisions. The commission organized the defense around three main fronts: the Dabie Mountains, Poyang Lake, and the Yangtze River, in response to an estimated 200,000 Japanese troops spread over 20 divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army. Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, commanding the Fifth War Zone, were assigned to defend the north of the Yangtze, while Chen Cheng, commanding the Ninth War Zone, was tasked with defending the south. The First War Zone, situated to the west of the Zhengzhou–Xinyang segment of the Pinghan Railway, was responsible for halting Japanese forces advancing from the North China Plain, and the Third War Zone, located between Wuhu, Anqing, and Nanchang, was charged with protecting the Yuehan Railway. Following the Japanese occupation of Xuzhou in May 1938, they sought to expand the invasion. The IJA decided to dispatch a vanguard to occupy Anqing as a forward base for an assault on Wuhan. The main force would then advance north of the Dabie Mountains along the Huai River, with the objective of eventually capturing Wuhan via the Wusheng Pass. A second detachment would move west along the Yangtze. However, a flood from the Yellow River forced the IJA to abandon plans to advance along the Huai and instead to attack along both banks of the Yangtze. Despite Chinese numerical superiority on the Wuhan front, roughly a 2:1 advantage, the offensive faced several complicating factors. The NRA was a heterogeneous, fragmented force with a variety of tables of organization and equipment, and it lacked the unified command structure that characterized the IJA. Historian Richard Frank notes the broad diversity of Chinese forces at the outbreak of the war, which hindered cohesive mobile and strategic operations: “Chiang commanded armies of 2,029,000 troops of highly variegated capability and loyalty. His personal forces included an elite cadre of three hundred-thousand German-trained and eighty-thousand German armed men. A second stratum of the Chinese armies, numbering roughly 600,000 included various regional commands loyal to Chiang in the past that generally conformed to his directives. These troops were better armed and trained than the rest. The third category encompassed a million men who were neither loyal nor obedient to Chiang”. The NRA faced a significant disadvantage in both quantity and quality of equipment compared to the Japanese. The disparity was stark in artillery allocations. An IJA infantry division possessed 48 field and mountain guns, whereas a German-equipped Chinese division had only 16. In terms of regiment and battalion guns, a Japanese division had 56, while a German-equipped Chinese division possessed just 30. Of roughly 200 Chinese infantry divisions in 1937, only 20 were German-equipped, and merely eight of those met their paper-strength standards. Many Chinese divisions had no artillery at all, and those that did often lacked radios or forward-observation capabilities to ensure accurate fire. These deficiencies placed the NRA at a clear disadvantage in firepower when facing the Japanese. These equipment gaps were compounded by poor training and tactical doctrine. The NRA lacked adequate training facilities and did not incorporate sufficient field maneuvers, gun handling, or marksmanship into its program. Although the 1935 drill manual introduced small-group “open order” tactics, many formations continued to fight in close-order formations. In an era when increased firepower rendered close-order tactics obsolete, such formations became a liability. The NRA's failure to adapt dispersed assault formations limited its tactical effectiveness. Defensively, the NRA also faced serious shortcomings. Units were often ordered to create deep positions near key lines of communication, but Chinese forces became overly dependent on fixed fortifications, which immobilized their defense. Poor intelligence on Japanese movements and a lack of mobile reserves, there were only about 3,000 military vehicles in China in 1937, meant that Japanese infantry could easily outflank fixed NRA positions. Moreover, the Japanese enjoyed superiority in artillery, enabling them to suppress these fixed positions more effectively. These realities left Chinese defenses vulnerable, especially in the war's first year. The leadership deficit within the NRA, reflected in limited officer training, further constrained operational effectiveness. Chiang Kai-shek reportedly warned that Chinese commanders often equaled their counterparts in rank but did not outmatch them in competence. Only 2,000 commanders and staff officers had received training by 1937, and many staff officers had no military training at all. Overall, about 29.1 percent of NRA officers had no military education, severely limiting professional development and command capability. With the exception of the Guangxi divisions, Chinese units were hampered by an unnecessarily complex command structure. Orders from Chiang Kai-shek needed to pass through six tiers before action could be taken, slowing decision-making and responsiveness. In addition, Chiang favored central army units under direct control with loyal commanders from the Whampoa clique when distributing equipment, a pattern that bred discord and insubordination across levels of the Chinese field forces. Beyond structural issues, the Chinese force organization suffered from a lack of coherence due to competing influences. The forces had been reorganized along German-inspired lines, creating large field armies arranged as “war zones,” while Russian influence shaped strategic positioning through a division into “front” and “route” armies and separate rear-area service units. This mix yielded an incoherent force facing the Japanese. Troop placement and support procedures lacked rationalization: Chiang and his generals often sought to avoid decisive confrontation with Japan to minimize the risk of irreversible defeat, yet they also rejected a broad adoption of guerrilla warfare as a systematic tactic. The tendency to emphasize holding railway lines and other communications tied down the main fighting forces, around which the Japanese could maneuver more easily, reducing overall operational flexibility. Despite these deficiencies, NRA officers led roughly 800,000 Chinese troops deployed for the Battle of Wuhan. On the Wuhan approaches, four war zones were organized under capable if overextended leadership: 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th. The 5th War Zone, commanded by Li Zongren, defended north of the Yangtze to protect the Beijing–Wuhan railway. Chen Cheng's Ninth War Zone defended south of the Yangtze, aiming to prevent seizure of Jiujiang and other key cities on approaches to Wuhan. The 1st War Zone focused on stopping Japanese forces from the northern plains, while Gu Zhutong's 3rdWar Zone, deployed between Wuhu, Anqing, and Nanchang, defended the Yuehan railway and fortified the Yangtze River. Japan's Central China Expeditionary Army, commanded by Hata Shunroku, spearheaded the Wuhan advance. The CCEA consisted of two armies: the 2nd Army, which included several infantry divisions under Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, and the 11th Army, advancing along the Yangtze's northern and southern banks under Okamura Yasuji. The 2nd Army aimed to push through the Dabie Mountains and sever Wuhan from the north, while the 11th Army would converge on Wuhan in a concentric operation to envelop the city. The Japanese forces were augmented by 120 ships from the 3rd Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Koshirō Oikawa, more than 500 aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, and five divisions from the Central China Area Army tasked with guarding Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and other key cities. These forces were intended to protect the back of the main Japanese thrust and complete the preparations for a major battle. The Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, was acutely aware that Japan aimed to strike at Wuhan. Facing Japan's firepower and bold offensives, Chiang and his commanders pursued a strategy of attrition at the Wuchang conference in January 1938. Central China would be the primary theater of China's protracted struggle, distant from Japan's existing center of gravity in Manchuria. Chiang hoped Japan's manpower and resources would be exhausted as the empire pushed deeper into Central China. Eventually, Japan would be forced either to negotiate a settlement with China or to seek foreign assistance to obtain raw materials. The mountainous terrain to the north and south of the Yangtze presented natural obstacles that the Chinese believed would hinder large-scale concentration of Japanese forces. North of the Yangtze, the Dabie Mountains provided crucial flank protection; to the south, rugged, roadless terrain made expansive maneuvering difficult. In addition to these natural barriers, Chinese forces fortified the region with prepared, in-depth defenses, particularly in the mountains. The rugged terrain was expected to help hold back the Japanese offensive toward Wuhan and inflict substantial casualties on the attackers. The Yangtze itself was a critical defensive factor. Although the Chinese Navy was largely absent, they implemented several measures to impede amphibious operations. They constructed gun positions at key points where the river narrowed, notably around the strongholds at Madang and Tianjiazhen. Specialized units, such as the Riverine Defense Force, were deployed to defend these river fortifications against amphibious assaults. To reinforce the Riverine Defense Force, Chinese forces sank 79 ships in the Yangtze to create obstacles for potential Japanese naval advances. They also laid thousands of mines to constrain Japanese warships. These defensive measures were designed to slow the Japanese advance and complicate their logistics. The Chinese aimed to exploit stalled offensives to strike at exposed flanks and disrupted supply lines, leveraging terrain and fortified positions to offset Japan's superior firepower. On 18 February 1938, an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service strike force comprising at least 11 A5M fighters of the 12th and 13th Kōkūtais, led by Lieutenant Takashi Kaneko, and 15 G3M bombers of the Kanoya Kokutai, led by Lieutenant Commander Sugahisa Tuneru, raided Wuhan and engaged 19 Chinese Air Force I-15 fighters from the 22nd and 23rd Pursuit Squadrons and 10 I-16 fighters from the 21st Pursuit Squadron, all under the overall command of the 4th Pursuit Group CO Captain Li Guidan. They faced a Soviet Volunteer Group mix of Polikarpov fighters as well. The 4th Group fighters claimed at least four A5Ms shot down, while the Soviet group claimed no fewer than three A5Ms. Both the Japanese fighter group commander, Lieutenant Kaneko, and the Chinese fighter group commander, Captain Li, were killed in action during the battle. A largely intact A5M downed in the engagement was recovered with a damaged engine; it was the second intact A5M to be recovered, repaired, and flight-tested in the war, following the first recovered-intact A5M credited to Colonel Gao Zhihang during an air battle over Nanjing on 12 October 1937. On 3 August 1938, 52 Chinese fighters, including 20 I-15s, 13 I-16s, 11 Gloster Gladiators, and 7 Hawk IIIs, intercepted at least 29 A5Ms and 18 G3Ms over Hankou. The Guangxi era pilots Zhu Jiaxun and He Jermin, along with Chinese-American fighter pilots Arthur Chin and Louie Yim-qun, all flying Gladiators, claimed at least four A5Ms shot down on that day. The Wuhan Campaign began in earnest when the Imperial Japanese Army's 3rd and 13th Infantry Divisions advanced north of the Yangtze River. Central China Expeditionary Army commander Hata Shunroku designated Shouxian, Zhengyangguan, and the Huainan coal mine as the objectives for the 3rd and 13th Infantry Divisions. Meanwhile, the 6th Infantry Division, part of the 11th Army, advanced toward Anqing from Hefei. The 6th Infantry Division coordinated with the Hata Detachment, which launched an amphibious assault from the river. The 2nd Army's sector saw immediate success. On June 3, the 3rd Infantry Division seized the Huainan coal mine; two days later, it captured Shouxian. The 13th Infantry Division also secured Zhengyangguan on that day. The 6th Infantry Division then made rapid progress immediately north of the Yangtze River, taking Shucheng on June 8 and Tongcheng on June 13. These advances forced the Chinese 77th Corps and the 21st and 26th Army Groups to withdraw to a line spanning Huoshan, Lu'an, and Fuyang. More critically, the Hata Detachment crossed the Yangtze River and landed behind the Chinese 27th Army Group's 20th Corps. The sudden appearance of Japanese forces in their rear forced the two Chinese divisions defending Anqing to withdraw. The fall of Anqing represented a major Japanese success, as they gained control of an airfield crucial for receiving close air support. After battles around Shucheng, Tongcheng, and Anqing, all three cities and their surrounding countryside suffered extensive damage. Much of this damage resulted from air raids that indiscriminately targeted soldiers and civilians alike. In Shucheng, the raids were reportedly aided by a Chinese traitor who displayed a red umbrella to guide daylight bombing on May 10, 1938. This air raid caused substantial destruction, killing or wounding at least 160 people and destroying more than a thousand homes. The town of Yimen also endured aerial destruction, with raids killing over 400 people and destroying 7,000 homes. Yimen and Shucheng were among many Chinese towns subjected to terror bombing, contributing to widespread civilian casualties and the destruction of livelihoods across China. The broader pattern of air raids was enabled by a lack of quality fighter aircraft and trained pilots, allowing Japanese bombers free rein against Chinese cities, towns, and villages. While the aerial assaults caused immense damage, the atrocities committed in these cities were even more severe. In Anhui, where Shucheng, Anqing, and Tongcheng were located, the Japanese brutality was on full display. The brutality can be partly understood as an attempt to destroy China's will and capacity to wage war, yet the extremity of some acts points to a warped martial culture within the Japanese Army, which appeared to encourage murder, torture, rape, and other crimes. Indeed, the Army eventually enshrined this brutality in its doctrine with the so-called “three alls”: kill all, burn all, loot all.  These acts, and more, were carried out in Anhui during the summer of 1938 as the Japanese advanced up the Yangtze River. In Anqing, the Hata Detachment killed at least 200 people without compunction. A further 36 civilians on a boat were detained and killed by Japanese marines, who claimed they were potentially Chinese soldiers. The countryside around Anqing, Shucheng, and Tongcheng witnessed continued atrocities. In Taoxi village of Shucheng County, the Japanese burned over 1,000 houses and killed more than 40 people. At Nangang, Japanese soldiers killed more than 200 people and committed numerous rapes, including many victims over 60 years old. Tongcheng also became a site of forced sexual slavery. The Japanese atrocities, intended to terrify the Chinese into submission, did not achieve their aim. Chinese resistance persisted. After a brief withdrawal, the 20th Army held stoutly at Jinshan for four days before retreating to Xiaochiyi and Taihu. These withdrawals, while costly, lured the Japanese deeper into the interior of China. As the Japanese advanced, their flanks became increasingly vulnerable to counterattack. On June 26, 1928, the Chinese 26th Army Group attacked the flanks of the 6th Infantry Division at Taihu. The 26th Army Group was supported by the 20th and 31st Armies, which attacked from the front to pin the 6th Infantry Division in place. The 6th Infantry Division was ill-prepared to respond, suffering a malaria outbreak that left about 2,000 soldiers unfit for combat. Fighting continued until June 29, when the Japanese withdrew. The focus of operations north of the Yangtze shifted to Madang, a key river fortress protected by obstacles and river batteries. Roughly 600 mines were laid in the Yangtze near Madang, and the fortress was largely manned by the Riverine Defense Force, with a small garrison; including stragglers from the 53rd Infantry Division, the Madang garrison totaled roughly 500 men. Initial expectations had Madang holding, since Japanese ships could not easily remove obstacles or suppress the batteries. On the dawn of June 24, however, news reached Madang that Xiangkou had fallen to the Japanese, enabling a land threat to Madang, and many Madang defenders, including most officers above the platoon level, were absent at a nearby ceremony when the attack began.  On 24 June, Japanese forces conducted a surprise landing at Madang, while the main body of the Japanese Eleventh Army advanced along the southern shore of the Yangtze. The Chinese garrison at the Madang river fortress repelled four assaults, yet suffered casualties from intense bombardment by Japanese ships on the Yangtze and from poison gas attacks. Compounding the difficulty, most of the Chinese officers responsible for Madang's defense were absent due to a ceremony at a local military school by Li Yunheng, the overseeing general. Consequently, only three battalions from the second and third Marine Corps and the 313th regiment of the 53rd Division took part in the defense, totaling no more than five battalions. When the 167th Division, stationed in Pengze, was ordered by War Zone commander Bai Chongxi to move swiftly along the highway to reinforce the defenders, divisional commander Xue Weiying instead sought instructions from his direct superior, Li Yunheng, who instructed him to take a longer, more navigationally challenging route to avoid Japanese bombers. Reinforcements arrived too late, and Madang fell after a three-day battle. Chiang Kai-shek promptly ordered a counterattack, offering a 50,000 yuan reward for the units that recaptured the fortress. On June 28, the 60th Division of the 18th Corps and the 105th Division of the 49th Corps retook Xiangshan and received 20,000 yuan, but made no further progress. As the Japanese army pressed the attack on Pengze, Chinese units shifted to a defensive posture. Chiang Kai-shek subsequently had Li Yunheng court-martialed and Xue Weiying executed. After the fall of Madang, the broader Wuhan campaign benefited from Madang as a foothold along the Yangtze, as the river continued to function as a dual-use corridor for transport and amphibious landings, aiding later operations and complicating Chinese defensive planning. The rapid capture of Madang demonstrated the effectiveness of combined arms, amphibious insertion, and secure supply routes along a major river, while Chinese defenses showed weaknesses such as reliance on rough terrain, underestimation of Japanese amphibious capabilities, and delayed reinforcement, which, coupled with gas warfare, produced a swift loss. The fall influenced subsequent Chinese fortifications and defensive doctrine along the Yangtze and affected decisions regarding garrison allocations and riverine operations. After Madang fell, Japan's 11th Army pressed toward its next major objectives, Jiujiang, Huangmei, and Xiaochikou. It took nearly three weeks for the Japanese to clear the waterway around Madang of mines, costing them five minesweepers, two warships, and a landing craft full of marines. Jiujiang stood out as the most important due to its status as a key river port and railway junction. To defend these targets, China deployed the 1st Army Corps to Jiujiang, the 2nd Army Corps to cover the area west of Jiujiang, and the 4th Army Corps to defend Xiaochikou. Despite these reinforcements, the Japanese continued their advance.  The Japanese initially captured Pengze but met strong resistance at Hukou, where they again deployed poison gas during a five-day battle. During the breakout, there were insufficient boats to evacuate the auxiliary troops of the defending 26th Division from Hukou, leaving only a little over 1,800 of the more than 3,100 non-combat soldiers able to be evacuated, and the majority of the more than 1,300 missing soldiers drowned while attempting to cross the Poyang Lake. On July 23, they conducted an amphibious operation at Gutang, with the Hata Detachment landing at Jiujiang shortly thereafter. These landings south of the Yangtze represented another step toward Wuhan, which lay about 240 kilometers away. The Chinese responses consisted of relentless counterattacks, but they failed to dislodge the Japanese from their bridgeheads. Consequently, the Japanese captured Xiaochikou by July 26 and Jiujiang by July 28, with a note that poison gas may have been used at Jiujiang. North of the Yangtze, the 6th Infantry Division moved forward and seized Huangmei on August 2. Despite stubborn Chinese resistance, the Japanese had gained considerable momentum toward Wuhan. Soon after the fall of Jiujiang and surrounding areas, the local population endured a renewed surge of war crimes. The Imperial Japanese Army sought to break China's will to resist and its capacity to endure the onslaught. Male civilians were executed indiscriminately, along with any POWs unable to retreat in time, while women and children were subjected to mass rape. In addition, numerous urban districts and suburban villages were deliberately razed, including the city's ceramics factories and its maritime transportation system. The widely documented “three alls” policy proved devastating in the Yangtze region: in Jiujiang alone, as many as 98,461 people were killed, 13,213 houses destroyed, and property losses reached 28.1 billion yuan. Yet numbers fail to convey the brutality unleashed in Jiujiang, Hukou, and Xiaochikou south of the Yangtze. On July 20, the Japanese confined 100 villagers in a large house in Zhouxi village, Hukou County, and erased them with machine guns and bayonets. Tangshan village witnessed similar brutality on July 31, when eight people were drowned in a pond and 26 houses burned. That September, learning that children and the elderly at Saiyang Township were taking refuge in caves on Mount Lushan, the Japanese proceeded to bayonet defenseless civilians, many beheaded, disemboweled, or amputated. These acts, among others, were carried out on a mass scale south of the Yangtze, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths around Jiujiang. Despite the enormity of these crimes, Chinese people did not surrender. Among those who resisted was Wang Guozhen of Wang Village in Pengze County. Upon learning of the Japanese approach to Pengze on July 1, Wang, a teacher, led women, children, and the elderly into mountains and forests to seek safety. However, Wang and his followers soon encountered Japanese troops who attacked them, instantly killing over 20 people. Wang denounced their actions as the Japanese took him captive and had him whipped for over an hour. They had hit him so hard his skin was peeling off and he had broken his left thigh. They then demanded he collaborate with them, but to this Wang responded “a common man cannot resist the enemy for his country and he will only die”. After hearing these words, the Japanese simply stabbed him with a bayonet in his left eye and in his chest area, ultimately killing him. Wang's small act of defiance would earn him a plaque from the KMT that states “Eternal Heroism”. Even though Wang's heroism was commendable, bravery alone could not halt the Japanese advance along the Yangtze. After securing Jiujiang, Xiaochikou, and Gutang, the 106th and 101st Infantry Divisions carried out amphibious operations further upriver. The 106th Infantry Division landed on the Yangtze's east bank, pushing south of Jili Hu. Concurrently, the Sato Detachment, two infantry battalions plus a field artillery battalion from the 101st Infantry Division, landed east of Xiaochikou and concentrated on the east side of Mount Lu. The Japanese advance soon faced firm Chinese resistance despite these early gains. The 106th Infantry Division encountered the in-depth defenses of Xue Yue's 1st Corps. These defenses formed an isosceles triangle with Jiujiang at the apex and the Jinguanqiao line at the base. Although Jiujiang was abandoned in late July, the triangle's base at Jinguanqiao remained strong, with the 8th, 74th, 18th, 32nd, 64th, 66th, 29th, 26th, 4th, and 70th Armies concentrated in the Jinguanqiao area. These forces inflicted heavy losses on the 106th Infantry Division, which saw nearly half of its captains killed or wounded during the fighting. To aid the 106th Division's breakthrough near Jinguanqiao, the 11th Army deployed the 101st Infantry Division to the area east of Xiaochikou in mid-August. From there, the division pushed toward the east side of Mount Lu, aiming to seize Xingzi in an amphibious assault via Lake Poyang. The objective was to outflank De'an and the nearby Nanxun Road. On August 19, the 101st Infantry Division executed the plan and landed at Xingzi, where they faced strong resistance from the 53rd Infantry Division. However, the division found itself isolated and thus vulnerable to being outflanked. By August 23, the 53rd Infantry Division had withdrawn to the east. 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. In 1938 Wuhan stood as China's fragile beacon. Wuhan's defense hinged on a patchwork of war zones and weary commanders, while Japan poured in hundreds of thousands of troops, ships, and air power. The Yangtze became a deadly artery, with river fortresses, brutal bombings, and mass casualties. Yet courage endured: individuals like Wang Guozhen chose defiance over surrender.

At 1:30 this afternoon, there will be a session at the JOY conference named "Amor Mundi (Love the World) and Joy as Flowing Proximity." The session will feature Robin Wang along with Niobe Way and Lisa Cypers Kamen. Think of it as a look at Joy in Philosophy. Robin Wang and Lisa Cypers Kamen join us.

In this episode of DisrupTV, hosts Vala Afshar and Ray Wang sit down with Amy Osmond Cook, Ryan Westwood, and Marty Dubin to explore how Revenue Operations (RevOps), AI, and leadership self-awareness are shaping the next era of business success. From breaking down organizational silos to balancing automation with human insight, this conversation dives deep into what it takes to scale growth, drive alignment, and lead with authenticity in a rapidly changing world. If you're a CEO, RevOps leader, or future-focused executive, this episode delivers actionable insights for navigating the intersection of technology, leadership, and human performance. DisrupTV is a weekly podcast hosted by R "Ray" Wang and Vala Afshar. The show airs live at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET every Friday. Each week, top leaders in tech, business, and innovation join to share their insights on the future of work, leadership, and digital transformation.

Mentorship can be transformative, especially for immigrant critical care professionals navigating unique career challenges. In this episode of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Podcast, host Ludwig Lin, MD, speaks with Fajun Wang, MD, a neurocritical care specialist and assistant professor at St. Louis University School of Medicine, about his experience in SCCM's Immigrant Critical Care Professional (ICCP) mentorship program. Dr. Wang shares his journey from medical school in China to building a neurocritical care service line in the United States, highlighting how mentorship shaped his path at every stage. He reflects on the challenges of entering a healthcare system in a new country and emphasizes the benefits of connecting mentors and mentees who share similar backgrounds and experiences. Dr. Wang's ICCP mentor provided guidance during the launch of his ICU leadership role, offering insights into service line development and support during challenging situations. The ICCP program, developed from a proposal by José L. Díaz-Gómez, MD, MAS, FASE, FCCM, launched its first six-month pilot in January 2024. The program focuses on five key domains: psychological and emotional support, self-efficacy, career development, scholarly support, and role modeling. A second pilot, currently under way, extends the mentorship to a full year. This episode will inspire listeners to seek mentorship and community to advance their careers and grow their confidence. Mentorship is not just about guidance—it's about building relationships that empower individuals to lead, innovate, and give back.

It's part 2 of our dive into the Insect Apocalypse, with our good friend Dr. Jason Dombroskie from the Cornell University Insect Collection!In this part, Jason fills us in on the drivers of the Insect Apocalypse and - most importantly - what we can do about it.This episode was recorded on August 21, 2025 at Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area in Dalton, NY.. Episode NotesDuring the episode, we made the claim that 40 million acres of the US is lawn, and that that area is equal to all of the country's National Parks put together. True? Well, sort of. The claim that the U.S. has about 40 million acres of lawn—roughly equal to all our national parks combined—is only partly true. A NASA-funded study led by Cristina Milesi estimated that turfgrass covers about 128,000 km² (≈31 million acres) of the continental U.S., making it the largest irrigated “crop” in the country (Milesi et al., Environmental Management, 2005; NASA Earth Observatory). Later analyses and popular summaries often round that up to ≈40 million acres (e.g., Scienceline, 2011; LawnStarter, 2023). By comparison, the total land area of all officially designated U.S. National Parks is about 52.4 million acres, while the entire National Park System—which also includes monuments, preserves, and historic sites—covers about 85 million acres (National Park Service, 2024). So while lawns and parks occupy areas of similar magnitude, lawns do not actually equal or exceed the combined area of the national parks. Is it better to mulch leaves on your lawn or leave them be? Here's what we found: It's generally best to mulch your leaves with a mower rather than rake or remove them. Research from Michigan State University found that mowing leaves into small pieces allows them to decompose quickly, returning nutrients to the soil and reducing weeds like dandelions and crabgrass (MSU Extension, “Don't rake leaves — mulch them into your lawn”, 2012). Cornell University studies similarly show that mulched leaves improve soil structure, moisture retention, and microbial activity (Cornell Cooperative Extension, “Leaf Mulching: A Sustainable Alternative”, 2019). However, in garden beds, wooded edges, or under shrubs, it's often better to leave leaves whole, since they provide winter habitat for butterflies, bees, and other invertebrates that overwinter in leaf litter (National Wildlife Federation, “Leave the Leaves for Wildlife”, 2020). The ideal approach is a mix: mow-mulch leaves on grassy areas for turf health and leave them intact where they naturally fall to support biodiversity and soil ecology. Episode LinksThe Cornell University Insect Collection Also, check out their great Instagram feedAnd their annual October event InsectapaloozaFind out more about the recently discovered species of Swallowtail, Papilio solstitius, commonly known as the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail- https://www.sci.news/biology/papilio-solstitius-13710.htmlSponsors and Ways to Support UsThank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes.Support us on Patreon.Works CitedBiesmeijer, J.C., Roberts, S.P., Reemer, M., Ohlemuller, R., Edwards, M., Peeters, T., Schaffers, A.P., Potts, S.G., Kleukers, R.J.M.C., Thomas, C.D. and Settele, J., 2006. Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in Britain and the Netherlands. Science, 313(5785), pp.351-354. Boyle, M.J., Bonebrake, T.C., Dias da Silva, K., Dongmo, M.A., Machado França, F., Gregory, N., Kitching, R.L., Ledger, M.J., Lewis, O.T., Sharp, A.C. and Stork, N.E., 2025. 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Conservation of moths in The Netherlands: population trends, distribution patterns and monitoring techniques of day-flying moths. Journal of Insect Conservation, 8(2), pp.109-118. Haddad, N.M., Haarstad, J. and Tilman, D., 2000. The effects of long-term nitrogen loading on grassland insect communities. Oecologia, 124(1), pp.73-84. Hallmann, C.A., Sorg, M., Jongejans, E., Siepel, H., Hofland, N., Schwan, H., Stenmans, W., Müller, A., Sumser, H., Hörren, T. and Goulson, D., 2017. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLoS ONE12 (10): e0185809 Hallmann, C.A., Ssymank, A., Sorg, M., de Kroon, H. and Jongejans, E., 2021. Insect biomass decline scaled to species diversity: General patterns derived from a hoverfly community. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002554117. Harris, J.E., Rodenhouse, N.L. and Holmes, R.T., 2019. Decline in beetle abundance and diversity in an intact temperate forest linked to climate warming. Biological Conservation, 240, p.108219. Hembry, D.H., 2013. Herbarium Specimens Reveal Putative Insect Extinction on the Deforested Island of Mangareva (Gambier Archipelago, French Polynesia). Pacific Science, 67(4), pp.553-560. Høye, T.T., Loboda, S., Koltz, A.M., Gillespie, M.A., Bowden, J.J. and Schmidt, N.M., 2021. Nonlinear trends in abundance and diversity and complex responses to climate change in Arctic arthropods. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002557117. Huryn, A.D. and Wallace, J.B., 2000. Life history and production of stream insects. Annual review of entomology, 45(1), pp.83-110. Kawahara, A.Y., Reeves, L.E., Barber, J.R. and Black, S.H., 2021. Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002547117. Leuenberger, W., Doser, J.W., Belitz, M.W., Ries, L., Haddad, N.M., Thogmartin, W.E. and Zipkin, E.F., 2025. Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(33), p.e2501340122. Liang, M., Yang, Q., Chase, J.M., Isbell, F., Loreau, M., Schmid, B., Seabloom, E.W., Tilman, D. and Wang, S., 2025. Unifying spatial scaling laws of biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Science, 387(6740), p.eadl2373. Lister, B.C. and Garcia, A., 2018. Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(44), pp.E10397-E10406. Owens, A.C., Pocock, M.J. and Seymoure, B.M., 2024. Current evidence in support of insect-friendly lighting practices. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 66, p.101276. Myers, L.W., Kondratieff, B.C., Grubbs, S.A., Pett, L.A., DeWalt, R.E., Mihuc, T.B. and Hart, L.V., 2025. Distributional and species richness patterns of the stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera) in New York State. Biodiversity Data Journal, 13, p.e158952. Pilotto, F., Kühn, I., Adrian, R., Alber, R., Alignier, A., Andrews, C., Bäck, J., Barbaro, L., Beaumont, D., Beenaerts, N. and Benham, S., 2020. Meta-analysis of multidecadal biodiversity trends in Europe. Nature communications, 11(1), p.3486. Pinkert, S., Farwig, N., Kawahara, A.Y. and Jetz, W., 2025. Global hotspots of butterfly diversity are threatened in a warming world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, pp.1-12. Raven, P.H. and Wagner, D.L., 2021. Agricultural intensification and climate change are rapidly decreasing insect biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002548117. Rodrigues, A.V., Rissanen, T., Jones, M.M., Huikkonen, I.M., Huitu, O., Korpimäki, E., Kuussaari, M., Lehikoinen, A., Lindén, A., Pietiäinen, H. and Pöyry, J., 2025. Cross‐Taxa Analysis of Long‐Term Data Reveals a Positive Biodiversity‐Stability Relationship With Taxon‐Specific Mechanistic Underpinning. Ecology Letters, 28(4), p.e70003. Salcido, D.M., Forister, M.L., Garcia Lopez, H. and Dyer, L.A., 2020. Loss of dominant caterpillar genera in a protected tropical forest. Scientific reports, 10(1), p.422. Sánchez-Bayo, F. and Wyckhuys, K.A., 2019. Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers. Biological conservation, 232, pp.8-27. Schowalter, T.D., Pandey, M., Presley, S.J., Willig, M.R. and Zimmerman, J.K., 2021. Arthropods are not declining but are responsive to disturbance in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002556117. Sedlmeier, J.E., Grass, I., Bendalam, P., Höglinger, B., Walker, F., Gerhard, D., Piepho, H.P., Brühl, C.A. and Petschenka, G., 2025. Neonicotinoid insecticides can pose a severe threat to grassland plant bug communities. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), p.162. Shortall, C.R., Moore, A., Smith, E., Hall, M.J., Woiwod, I.P. and Harrington, R., 2009. Long‐term changes in the abundance of flying insects. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2(4), pp.251-260. Soga, M. and Gaston, K.J., 2018. Shifting baseline syndrome: causes, consequences, and implications. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16(4), pp.222-230. Stork, N.E., 2018. How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on Earth?. Annual review of entomology, 63(2018), pp.31-45. Tallamy, D.W., Narango, D.L. and Mitchell, A.B., 2021. Do non‐native plants contribute to insect declines?. Ecological Entomology, 46(4), pp.729-742. Thomas, J.A., Telfer, M.G., Roy, D.B., Preston, C.D., Greenwood, J.J.D., Asher, J., Fox, R., Clarke, R.T. and Lawton, J.H., 2004. Comparative losses of British butterflies, birds, and plants and the global extinction crisis. Science, 303(5665), pp.1879-1881. Tierno de Figueroa, J.M., López-Rodríguez, M.J., Lorenz, A., Graf, W., Schmidt-Kloiber, A. and Hering, D., 2010. Vulnerable taxa of European Plecoptera (Insecta) in the context of climate change. Biodiversity and conservation, 19(5), pp.1269-1277. Turin, H. and Den Boer, P.J., 1988. Changes in the distribution of carabid beetles in The Netherlands since 1880. II. Isolation of habitats and long-term time trends in the occurence of carabid species with different powers of dispersal (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Biological Conservation, 44(3), pp.179-200. Van Deynze, B., Swinton, S.M., Hennessy, D.A., Haddad, N.M. and Ries, L., 2024. Insecticides, more than herbicides, land use, and climate, are associated with declines in butterfly species richness and abundance in the American Midwest. PLoS One, 19(6), p.e0304319. Van Klink, R., Bowler, D.E., Gongalsky, K.B., Swengel, A.B., Gentile, A. and Chase, J.M., 2020. Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances. Science, 368(6489), pp.417-420. Wagner, D.L., Fox, R., Salcido, D.M. and Dyer, L.A., 2021. A window to the world of global insect declines: Moth biodiversity trends are complex and heterogeneous. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002549117. Wagner DL, Grames EM, Forister ML, Berenbaum MR, Stopak D. Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021 Jan 12;118(2):e2023989118. WallisDeVries, M.F. and van Swaay, C.A., 2017. A nitrogen index to track changes in butterfly species assemblages under nitrogen deposition. Biological Conservation, 212, pp.448-453. Warren, M.S., Hill, J.K., Thomas, J.A., Asher, J., Fox, R., Huntley, B., Roy, D.B., Telfer, M.G., Jeffcoate, S., Harding, P. and Jeffcoate, G., 2001. Rapid responses of British butterflies to opposing forces of climate and habitat change. Nature, 414(6859), pp.65-69. Warren, M.S., Maes, D., van Swaay, C.A., Goffart, P., Van Dyck, H., Bourn, N.A., Wynhoff, I., Hoare, D. and Ellis, S., 2021. The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2), p.e2002551117. Wilson, E.O., 1987. The little things that run the world (the importance and conservation of invertebrates). Conservation biology, pp.344-346. Yang, L.H. and Gratton, C., 2014. Insects as drivers of ecosystem processes. Current opinion in insect science, 2, pp.26-32.Visit thefieldguidespodcast.com for full episode notes, links, and works cited.

Send us a textIn honor of ADHD Awareness Month, I'm sitting down with Chris, the co-founder of Shimmer, to explore the real-life challenges and hidden strengths of living with ADHD. Chris shares his personal journey — from being diagnosed as an adult to realizing the lack of effective behavioral support — and how that inspired her to create Shimmer, a platform designed to help people with ADHD thrive through coaching, community, and tools that actually work.Chris shares in this episode the rate of ADHD diagnoses in adult women has gone way up, how symptoms often present differently, and why personalized behavioral strategies can be life-changing. We also discuss: The different ADHD types and symptom categoriesWhy medication alone isn't always enoughHow to manage relationships, career, and overwhelm with ADHDThe best tools, tips, and lifestyle shifts for focus and calmThe critical role of sleep, exercise, and daily routines in managing ADHDI learned a lot in this one and am so happy Chris was able to come on the pod! If you or someone you know is struggling with their ADHD, check out Shimmer — the leading behavioral support & coaching platform for ADHD. Get matched with a vetted, expert ADHD coach and work together over weekly video sessions to build the life you deserve. I got our community a 30% off discount code, just use "LEARNINGTOGLOW" when checking out at the following link: www.shimmer.care/coaching Find Chris on Instagram: @shimmer.care and @adhd.christalFind Jess below!Website: Simply Jess Skincare SIMPLY JESS SKINCARE:Each and every product is naturally derived, highly concentrated and most importantly, super performing! Every product was born out of a need to have a truly pure product that met my high standards for efficacy. Subscribe to Our Newsletter! You can take 20% off Your Order of our all natural skincare line with code: PODCAST Shop Now! Favorite Supplements for Health and Fat loss: Click HERE My favorites are the Power Greens, Digestive Enzymes and Brain Power Mushroom Coffee-15% off with Code: SIMPLYJESSSKINCARE15 Click HereEmail Us! jess@learningtoglow.comFollow us! Instagram Tik Tok

What can a map do, beyond showing us where things are? Michelle Wang's new book, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams in Early China (U Chicago Press, 2023), explores this question through images painted on bronze, wood, and silk that were buried in tombs between the fourth and second centuries BCE. Wang encourages readers to look at these images as terrestrial diagrams — pictures that didn't just represent the world, but made worlds. These tools helped the living connect with the dead, linked earthly and cosmic orders, and imagined what the afterlife might look like. Each of the four chapters brings the reader into a different tomb site with different diagrams, including the plan for the grand tomb of King Cuo (who died circa 313 BCE), diagrams in the tomb of a low-level government functionary, and silk drawings from the Mawangdui tombs. Some helped guide descendants through ritual spaces, others recreated bureaucratic systems, and still others laid out auspicious spaces for eternal protection. Throughout, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams asks questions that reach beyond early China: What makes something a map, or a work of art? When does a picture move from showing the world to shaping it? This book will appeal to readers interested in art history, archaeology, and early Chinese thought, as well as anyone curious about how images can shape our understanding of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What can a map do, beyond showing us where things are? Michelle Wang's new book, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams in Early China (U Chicago Press, 2023), explores this question through images painted on bronze, wood, and silk that were buried in tombs between the fourth and second centuries BCE. Wang encourages readers to look at these images as terrestrial diagrams — pictures that didn't just represent the world, but made worlds. These tools helped the living connect with the dead, linked earthly and cosmic orders, and imagined what the afterlife might look like. Each of the four chapters brings the reader into a different tomb site with different diagrams, including the plan for the grand tomb of King Cuo (who died circa 313 BCE), diagrams in the tomb of a low-level government functionary, and silk drawings from the Mawangdui tombs. Some helped guide descendants through ritual spaces, others recreated bureaucratic systems, and still others laid out auspicious spaces for eternal protection. Throughout, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams asks questions that reach beyond early China: What makes something a map, or a work of art? When does a picture move from showing the world to shaping it? This book will appeal to readers interested in art history, archaeology, and early Chinese thought, as well as anyone curious about how images can shape our understanding of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

What can a map do, beyond showing us where things are? Michelle Wang's new book, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams in Early China (U Chicago Press, 2023), explores this question through images painted on bronze, wood, and silk that were buried in tombs between the fourth and second centuries BCE. Wang encourages readers to look at these images as terrestrial diagrams — pictures that didn't just represent the world, but made worlds. These tools helped the living connect with the dead, linked earthly and cosmic orders, and imagined what the afterlife might look like. Each of the four chapters brings the reader into a different tomb site with different diagrams, including the plan for the grand tomb of King Cuo (who died circa 313 BCE), diagrams in the tomb of a low-level government functionary, and silk drawings from the Mawangdui tombs. Some helped guide descendants through ritual spaces, others recreated bureaucratic systems, and still others laid out auspicious spaces for eternal protection. Throughout, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams asks questions that reach beyond early China: What makes something a map, or a work of art? When does a picture move from showing the world to shaping it? This book will appeal to readers interested in art history, archaeology, and early Chinese thought, as well as anyone curious about how images can shape our understanding of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/archaeology

What can a map do, beyond showing us where things are? Michelle Wang's new book, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams in Early China (U Chicago Press, 2023), explores this question through images painted on bronze, wood, and silk that were buried in tombs between the fourth and second centuries BCE. Wang encourages readers to look at these images as terrestrial diagrams — pictures that didn't just represent the world, but made worlds. These tools helped the living connect with the dead, linked earthly and cosmic orders, and imagined what the afterlife might look like. Each of the four chapters brings the reader into a different tomb site with different diagrams, including the plan for the grand tomb of King Cuo (who died circa 313 BCE), diagrams in the tomb of a low-level government functionary, and silk drawings from the Mawangdui tombs. Some helped guide descendants through ritual spaces, others recreated bureaucratic systems, and still others laid out auspicious spaces for eternal protection. Throughout, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams asks questions that reach beyond early China: What makes something a map, or a work of art? When does a picture move from showing the world to shaping it? This book will appeal to readers interested in art history, archaeology, and early Chinese thought, as well as anyone curious about how images can shape our understanding of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

What can a map do, beyond showing us where things are? Michelle Wang's new book, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams in Early China (U Chicago Press, 2023), explores this question through images painted on bronze, wood, and silk that were buried in tombs between the fourth and second centuries BCE. Wang encourages readers to look at these images as terrestrial diagrams — pictures that didn't just represent the world, but made worlds. These tools helped the living connect with the dead, linked earthly and cosmic orders, and imagined what the afterlife might look like. Each of the four chapters brings the reader into a different tomb site with different diagrams, including the plan for the grand tomb of King Cuo (who died circa 313 BCE), diagrams in the tomb of a low-level government functionary, and silk drawings from the Mawangdui tombs. Some helped guide descendants through ritual spaces, others recreated bureaucratic systems, and still others laid out auspicious spaces for eternal protection. Throughout, The Art of Terrestrial Diagrams asks questions that reach beyond early China: What makes something a map, or a work of art? When does a picture move from showing the world to shaping it? This book will appeal to readers interested in art history, archaeology, and early Chinese thought, as well as anyone curious about how images can shape our understanding of the world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

In Episode 444 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Dan Wang, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, about his pioneering new framework that compares the U.S. and China not along ideological lines or modes of governance, but by state capacity and the propensity to build. According to Dan Wang, China is an “engineering state,” focused on building big projects and diffusing technologies across its economy, while America is a “lawyerly society” that has become proficient at protecting what it has and obstructing progress in areas that are vital for its long-term prosperity. Kofinas and Wang compare each nation's leadership—staffed by engineers and mega-project managers in China and litigators and regulators in America—against each other and against each country's own history, and examine when and why the United States, in particular, went from being a country that excelled in constructing things to one more concerned with obstruction and safeguarding a comfortable way of life for the wealthiest and older segments of society. The second hour is devoted to a discussion about the failures and unintended consequences of China's engineering state, most notably the devastating human impact of its one-child and zero-COVID policies. They also explore the similarities between the American and Chinese people, the prospects for conflict between the two superpowers, and what policies the United States can implement to get back to building again—like reforming immigration, advancing clean energy development, permitting the buildout of more housing, and increasing funding for basic scientific research and development. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Joining our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/06/2025

Last time we spoke about the Battle of Taierzhuang. Following the fall of Nanjing in December 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War entered a brutal phase of attrition as Japan sought to consolidate control and press toward central China. Chinese defense prioritized key rail corridors and urban strongholds, with Xuzhou, the JinPu and Longhai lines, and the Huai River system forming crucial lifelines. By early 1938, Japanese offensives aimed to link with forces around Beijing and Nanjing and encircle Chinese positions in the Central Yangtze region, threatening Wuhan. In response, Chiang Kai-shek fortified Xuzhou and expanded defenses to deter a pincer move, eventually amassing roughly 300,000 troops along strategic lines. Taierzhuang became a focal point when Japanese divisions attempted to press south and link with northern elements. Chinese commanders Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Tang Enbo, and Sun Lianzhong coordinated to complicate Japanese plans through offensive-defensive actions, counterattacks, and encirclement efforts. The victory, though numerically costly, thwarted immediate Japanese objectives and foreshadowed further attritional struggles ahead.   #171 The Flooding of the Yellow River 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. We last left off with a significant event during the Xuzhou campaign. Three Japanese divisions under General Itagaki Seishiro moved south to attack Taierzhuang and were met by forces commanded by Li Zongren, Sun Lianzhong, and Tang Enbo, whose units possessed a decent amount of artillery. In a two-week engagement from March 22 to April 7, the battle devolved into a costly urban warfare. Fighting was vicious, often conducted in close quarters and at night. The urban environment negated Japanese advantages in armor and artillery, allowing Chinese forces to contend on equal terms. The Chinese also disrupted Japanese logistics by resupplying their own troops and severing rear supply lines, draining Japanese ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements. By April 7, the Japanese were compelled to retreat, marking the first Chinese victory of the war. However both sides suffered heavy losses, with around 20,000 casualties on each side. In the aftermath of this rare victory, Chiang Kai-Shek pushed Tang Enbo and Li Zongren to capitalize on their success and increased deployments in the Taierzhuang theater to about 450,000 troops. Yet the Chinese Army remained hampered by fundamental problems. The parochialism that had crippled Chiang's forces over the preceding months resurfaced. Although the generals had agreed to coordinate in a war of resistance, each still prioritized the safety of his own troops, wary of Chiang's bid to consolidate power. Li Zongren, for example, did not deploy his top Guangxi provincial troops at Taierzhuang and sought to shift most of the fighting onto Tang Enbo's forces. Chiang's colleagues were mindful of the fates of Han Fuju of Shandong and Zhang Xueliang of Manchuria: Han was executed for refusing to fight, while Zhang, after allowing Chiang to reduce the size of his northeastern army, ended up under house arrest. They were right to distrust Chiang. He believed, after all, that provincial armies should come under a unified national command, which he would lead. From a national-unity perspective, his aspiration was not unreasonable. But it fed suspicion among other military leaders that participation in the anti-Japanese war would dilute their power. The divided nature of the command also hindered logistics, making ammunition and food supplies to the front unreliable and easy to cut off. By late April the Chinese had reinforced the Xuzhou area to between 450,000-600,000 to capitalize on their victory. However these armies were plagued with command and control issues. Likewise the Japanese licked their wounds and reinforced the area to roughly 400,000, with fresh troops and supplies flowing in from Tianjin and Nanjing. The Japanese continued with their objective of encircling Chinese forces. The North China Area Army comprised four divisions and two infantry brigades drawn from the Kwantung Army, while the Central China Expeditionary Army consisted of three divisions and the 1st and 2nd Tank Battalions along with motorized support units. The 5th Tank Battalion supported the 3rd Infantry Division as it advanced north along the railway toward Xuzhou. Fighting to the west, east, and north of Xuzhou was intense, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. On 18 April, the Japanese advanced southward toward Pizhou. Tang Enbo's 20th Army Corps, together with the 2nd, 22nd, 46th, and 59th corps, resisted fiercely, culminating in a stalemate by the end of April. The 60th Corps of the Yunnan Army engaged the Japanese 10th Division at Yuwang Mountain for nearly a month, repelling multiple assaults. By the time it ceded its position to the Guizhou 140th Division and withdrew on 15 May, the corps had sustained losses exceeding half of its forces. Simultaneously, the Japanese conducted offensives along both banks of the Huai River, where Chinese defenders held out for several weeks. Nevertheless, Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment gradually tilted the balance, allowing the attackers to seize Mengcheng on 9 May and Hefei on 14 May. From there, the southern flank split into two parts: one force moved west and then north to cut off the Longhai Railway escape route from Xuzhou, while another division moved directly north along the railway toward Suxian, just outside Xuzhou. Simultaneously, to the north, Japanese units from north China massed at Jining and began moving south beyond Tengxian. Along the coast, an amphibious landing was made at Lianyungang to reinforce troops attacking from the east. The remaining portions of Taierzhuang were captured in May, a development symbolically significant to Tokyo. On 17 May, Japanese artillery further tightened the noose around Xuzhou, striking targets inside the city.  To preserve its strength, the Nationalist government ordered the abandonment of Xuzhou and directed its main forces to break out toward northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and eastern Henan. To deter the Japanese army's rapid westward advance and penetration into northern Henan and western Shandong, many leading military and political figures within the Nationalist government proposed breaching dams over the Yellow River to delay the offensive, a strategy that would have been highly advantageous to the Nationalist forces at the time. Chiang Kai-shek vetoed the proposal outright, insisting that the Nationalist army could still resist. He understood that with tens of millions of Chinese lives at stake and a sliver of hope remaining, the levee plan must not be undertaken. Then a significant battle broke out at Lanfeng. Chiang also recognized that defeat could allow the elite Japanese mechanized divisions, the 14th, 16th, and 10th, to advance directly toward Zhengzhou. If Zhengzhou fell, the Japanese mechanized forces on the plains could advance unimpeded toward Tongguan. Their southward push would threaten Xi'an, Xiangfan, and Nanyang, directly jeopardizing the southwest's rear defenses. Concurrently, the Japanese would advance along the Huai River north of the Dabie Mountains toward Wuhan, creating a pincer with operations along the Yangtze River.  Now what followed was arguably the most important and skillful Chinese maneuver of the Xuzhou campaign: a brilliantly executed strategic retreat to the south and west across the Jinpu railway line. On May 15, Li Zongren, in consultation with Chiang Kai-shek, decided to withdraw from Xuzhou and focus on an escape plan. The evacuation of civilians and military personnel began that day. Li ordered troops to melt into the countryside and move south and west at night, crossing the Jinpu Railway and splitting into four groups that would head west. The plan was to regroup in the rugged Dabie Mountains region to the south and prepare for the defense of Wuhan. Li's generals departed reluctantly, having held out for so long; Tang Enbo was said to have wept. Under cover of night, about forty divisions, over 200,000 men, marched out of Japanese reach in less than a week. A critical moment occurred on May 18, when fog and a sandstorm obscured the retreating troops as they crossed the Jinpu Railway. By May 21, Li wired Chiang Kai-shek to report that the withdrawal was complete. He mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite units, such as the 74th Army, withdrawn from Xuzhou and transferred directly to Lanfeng, with a resolute intent to “burn their boats.” The force engaged the Japanese in a decisive battle at Lanfeng, aiming to secure the last line of defense for the Yellow River, a position carrying the lives of millions of Chinese civilians. Yet Chiang Kai-shek's strategy was not universally understood by all participating generals, who regarded it as akin to striking a rock with an egg. For the battle of Lanfeng the Chinese mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite forces, comprising 14 divisions totaling over 150,000 men. Among these, the 46th Division of the 27th Army, formerly the Central Training Brigade and the 36th, 88th, and 87th Divisions of the 71st Army were German-equipped. Additionally, the 8th Army, the Tax Police Corps having been reorganized into the Ministry of Finance's Anti-Smuggling Corps, the 74th Army, and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps, the new 1st Army, equipped with the 8th Division were elite Nationalist troops that had demonstrated strong performance in the battle of Shanghai and the battle of Nanjing, and were outfitted with advanced matériel. However, these so-called “elite” forces were heavily degraded during the campaigns in Shanghai and Nanjing. The 46th Division and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps sustained casualties above 85% in Nanjing, while the 88th and 87th Divisions suffered losses of up to 90%. The 74th Army and the 36th Division also endured losses exceeding 75%. Their German-made equipment incurred substantial losses; although replenishment occurred, inventories resembled roughly a half-German and half-Chinese mix. With very limited heavy weapons and a severe shortage of anti-tank artillery, they could not effectively match the elite Japanese regiments. Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps maintained its national equipment via a close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. In contrast, the 74th Army, after fighting in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xuzhou, suffered heavy casualties, and the few German weapons it had were largely destroyed at Nanjing, leaving it to rely on a mix of domestically produced and Hanyang-made armaments. The new recruits added to each unit largely lacked combat experience, with nearly half of the intake having received basic training. The hardest hit was Li Hanhun's 64th Army, established less than a year prior and already unpopular within the Guangdong Army. Although classified as one of the three Type A divisions, the 155th, 156th, and 187th Divisions, it was equipped entirely with Hanyang-made firearms. Its direct artillery battalion possessed only about 20 older mortars and three Type 92 infantry guns, limiting its heavy firepower to roughly that of a Japanese battalion. The 195th Division and several miscellaneous units were even less prominent, reorganized from local militias and lacking Hanyang rifles. Additionally, three batches of artillery purchased from the Soviet Union arrived in Lanzhou via Xinjiang between March and June 1938. Except for the 52nd Artillery Regiment assigned to the 200th Division, the other artillery regiments had recently received their weapons and were still undergoing training. The 200th Division, had been fighting awhile for in the Xuzhou area and incurred heavy casualties, was still in training and could only deploy its remaining tank battalion and armored vehicle company. The tank battalion was equipped with T-26 light tanks and a small number of remaining British Vickers tanks, while the armored vehicle company consisted entirely of Italian Fiat CV33 armored cars. The disparity in numbers was substantial, and this tank unit did not participate in the battle.  As for the Japanese, the 14th Division was an elite Type A formation. Originally organized with four regiments totaling over 30,000 men, the division's strength was later augmented. Doihara's 14th Division received supplements, a full infantry regiment and three artillery regiments, to prevent it from being surrounded and annihilated, effectively transforming the unit into a mobile reinforced division. Consequently, the division's mounted strength expanded to more than 40,000 personnel, comprising five infantry regiments and four artillery regiments. The four artillery regiments, the 24th Artillery Regiment, the 3rd Independence Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, and the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, possessed substantial heavy firepower, including 150mm heavy howitzers and 105mm long-range field cannons, placing them far in excess of the Nationalist forces at Lanfeng. In addition, both the 14th and later the 16th Divisions commanded tank regiments with nearly 200 light and medium tanks each, while Nationalist forces were markedly short of anti-tank artillery. At the same time, the Nationalist Air Force, though it had procured more than 200 aircraft of various types from the Soviet Union, remained heavily reliant on Soviet aid-to-China aircraft, amounting to over 100 machines, and could defend only a few cities such as Wuhan, Nanchang, and Chongqing. In this context, Japanese forces effectively dominated the Battle of Lanfeng. Moreover, reports indicate that the Japanese employed poison gas on the battlefield, while elite Nationalist troops possessed only a limited number of gas masks, creating a stark disparity in chemical warfare preparedness. Despite these disparities, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government were initially unaware of the updated strength and composition of the Doihara Division. Faced with constrained options, Chiang chose to press ahead with combat operations. On May 12, 1939, after crossing the Yellow River, the IJA 14th Division continued its southward advance toward Lanfeng. The division's objective was to sever the Longhai Railway, disrupt the main Nationalist retreat toward Zhengzhou, and seize Zhengzhou itself. By May 15, the division split into two columns at Caoxian and moved toward key nodes on the Longhai Line. Major General Toyotomi Fusatarou led two infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment in the main assault toward Kaocheng with the aim of directly capturing Lanfeng. Doihara led three infantry regiments and three artillery regiments toward Neihuang and Minquan, threatening Guide. In response, the Nationalist forces concentrated along the railway from Lanfeng to Guide, uniting Song Xilian's 71st Army, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, Yu Jishi's 74th Army, Li Hanhun's 64th Army, and Huang Jie's 8th Army. From May 15 to 17, the Fengjiu Brigade, advancing toward Lanfeng, met stubborn resistance near Kaocheng from roughly five divisions under Song Xilian and was forced to shift its effort toward Yejigang and Neihuang. The defense near Neihuang, including Shen Ke's 106th Division and Liang Kai's 195th Division, ultimately faltered, allowing Doihara's division to seize Neihuang, Yejigang, Mazhuangzhai, and Renheji. Nevertheless, the Nationalist forces managed to contain the Japanese advance east and west of the area, preventing a complete encirclement. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Cheng Qian, commander-in-chief of the 1st War Zone, to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 14th Division. The deployment plan mapped three routes: the Eastern Route Army, under Li Hanhun, would include the 74th Army, the 155th Division of the 64th Army, a brigade of the 88th Division, and a regiment of the 87th Division, advancing westward from Guide); the Western Route Army, commanded by Gui Yongqing, would comprise the 27th Army, the 71st Army, the 61st Division, and the 78th Division, advancing eastward from Lanfeng; and the Northern Route Army, formed by Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army and Shang Zhen's 20th Army, was to cut off the enemy's retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River near Dingtao, Heze, Dongming, and Kaocheng, while attacking the Doihara Division from the east, west, and north to annihilate it in a single decisive operation.  On May 21, the Nationalist Army mounted a full-scale offensive. Yu Jishi's 74th Army, commanded by Wang Yaowu's 51st Division, joined a brigade of Song Xilian's 71st Army, led by the 88th Division, and drove the Japanese forces at Mazhuangzhai into retreat, capturing Neihuang and Renheji. The main Japanese force, more than 6,000 strong, withdrew southwest to Yangjiji and Shuangtaji. Song Xilian, commanding Shen Fazao's 87th Division, launched a sharp assault on Yejigang (Yifeng). The Japanese abandoned the stronghold, but their main body continued advancing toward Yangjiji, with some units retreating to Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. On May 23, Song Xilian's 71st Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army enveloped and annihilated enemy forces at Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. That evening they seized Ximaoguzhai, Yangzhuang, and Helou, eliminating more than a thousand Japanese troops. The Japanese troops at Donggangtou fled toward Lanfeng. Meanwhile, Gui Yongqing's forces were retreating through Lanfeng. His superior strength, Jiang Fusheng's 36th Division, Li Liangrong's 46th Division, Zhong Song's 61st Division, Li Wen's 78th Division, Long Muhan's 88th Division, and Shen Ke's 106th Division—had held defensive positions along the Lanfeng–Yangji line. Equipped with a tank battalion and armored vehicle company commanded by Qiu Qingquan, they blocked the enemy's westward advance and awaited Japanese exhaustion. However, under the Japanese offensive, Gui Yongqing's poor command led to the loss of Maji and Mengjiaoji, forcing the 27th Army to retreat across its entire front. Its main force fled toward Qixian and Kaifeng. The Japanese seized the opportunity to capture Quxingji, Luowangzhai, and Luowang Railway Station west of Lanfeng. Before retreating, Gui Yongqing ordered Long Muhan to dispatch a brigade to replace the 106th Division in defending Lanfeng, while he directed the 106th Division to fall back to Shiyuan. Frightened by the enemy, Long Muhan unilaterally withdrew his troops on the night of the 23rd, leaving Lanfeng undefended. On the 24th, Japanese troops advancing westward from Donggangtou entered Lanfeng unopposed and, relying on well-fortified fortifications, held their ground until reinforcements arrived. In the initial four days, the Nationalist offensive failed to overwhelm the Japanese, who escaped encirclement and annihilation. The four infantry and artillery regiments and one cavalry regiment on the Japanese side managed to hold the line along Lanfeng, Luowangzhai, Sanyizhai, Lanfengkou, Quxingji, Yang'erzhai, and Chenliukou on the south bank of the Yellow River, offering stubborn resistance. The Longhai Railway was completely cut off. Chiang Kai-shek, furious upon hearing the news while stationed in Zhengzhou, ordered the execution of Long Muhan, commander of the 88th Division, to restore military morale. He also decided to consolidate Hu Zongnan's, Li Hanhun's, Yu Jishi's, Song Xilian's, and Gui Yongqing's troops into the 1st Corps, with Xue Yue as commander-in-chief. On the morning of May 25, they launched a determined counterattack on Doihara's 14th Division. Song Xilian personally led the front lines on May 24 to rally the defeated 88th Division.  Starting on May 25, after three days of intense combat, Li Hanhun's 64th Army advanced to seize Luowang Station and Luowangzhai, while Song Xilian's 71st Army retook Lanfeng City, temporarily reopening the Longhai Line to traffic. At Sanyi Village, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army captured a series of outlying positions, including Yang'eyao, Chailou, Cailou, Hezhai, Xuelou, and Baowangsi. Despite these gains, more than 6,000 Japanese troops offered stubborn resistance. During the fighting, Ji Hongru, commander of the 302nd Regiment, was seriously wounded but continued to fight, shouting, “Don't worry about my death! Brothers, fight on!” He ultimately died a heroic death from his wounds. By May 27, Chiang Kai-shek, concerned that the forces had not yet delivered a decisive victory at Lanfeng, personally reprimanded the participating generals and ordered them to completely encircle and annihilate the enemy west of Lanfeng by the following day. He warned that if the opportunity was missed and Japanese reinforcements arrived, the position could be endangered. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek issued another telegram, urging Cheng Qian's First War Zone and all participating units to press the offensive. The telegram allegedly had this in it “It will forever be a laughingstock in the history of warfare.” Meanwhile on the other side, to prevent the annihilation of Doihara's 14th Division, the elite Japanese 16th Division and the 3rd Mixed Brigade, totaling over 40,000 men, launched a westward assault from Dangshan, capturing Yucheng on May 26. They then began probing the outskirts of Guide. Huang Jie's Eighth Army, responsible for the defense, withdrew to the outskirts of Guide that evening. On May 28, Huang Jie again led his troops on his own initiative, retreating to Liuhe and Kaifeng, leaving only the 187th Division to defend Zhuji Station and Guide City. At dawn on May 29, Peng Linsheng, commander of the 187th Division, also withdrew his troops, leaving Guide a deserted city. The Japanese occupied Guide without a fight. The loss of Guide dramatically shifted the tide of the war. Threatened on the flanks by the Japanese 16th Division, the Nationalist forces were forced onto the defensive. On May 28, the Japanese 14th Division concentrated its forces to counterattack Gui Yongqing's troops, but they were defeated again, allowing the Japanese to stabilize their position. At the same time, the fall of Shangqiu compelled Xue Yue's corps to withdraw five divisions to block the enemy in Shangqiu, and the Nationalist Army shifted to a defensive posture with the 14th Division holding Sanyizhai and Quxingji. To the north of the battlefield, the Japanese 4th Mixed Brigade, numbering over 10,000 men, was preparing to force a crossing of the Yellow River in order to join with the nearby 14th Division. More seriously, the 10th Division, together with its 13th Mixed Brigade and totaling more than 40,000 men, had captured Woyang and Bozhou on the Henan-Anhui border and was rapidly encircling eastern Henan. By the time of the Battle of Lanfeng, Japanese forces had deployed more than 100,000 troops, effectively surrounding the Nationalist army. On May 31, the First War Zone decided to withdraw completely, and the Battle of Lanfeng ended in defeat for the Nationalists, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to authorize diverting the Yellow River embankment to relieve pressure. The consequence was a deteriorating strategic situation, as encirclement tightened and reinforcement options dwindled, driving a retreat from the Lanfeng front. The National Army suffered more than 67,000 casualties, killed and wounded more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, Lanfeng was lost, and Zhengzhou was in danger.  As in Nanjing, this Chinese army might have lived to fight another day, but the effect on Xuzhou itself was horrific. The city had endured Japanese bombardment since August 1937, and the population's mood swung between cautious hope and utter despair. In March, Du Zhongyuan visited Xuzhou. Before he left Wuhan, friends told him that “the city was desolate and the people were terrified, all the inhabitants of Xuzhou were quietly getting on with their business … sometimes it was even calmer than Wuhan.” The Australian journalist Rhodes Farmer recalled a similar image in a book published at war's end, noting the “ordinary townsfolk who became wardens, fire-fighters and first-aid workers during the raid and then went back to their civil jobs.” Yet the mid-May departure of Nationalist troops left the city and its outskirts at the mercy of an angry Imperial Army. Bombing continued through the final days of battle, and a single raid on May 14, 1938 killed 700 people. Around Xuzhou, buildings and bridges were destroyed—some by retreating Chinese forces, some by advancing Japanese troops. Taierzhuang, the scene of the earlier iconic defense, was utterly destroyed. Canadian Jesuits who remained in Xuzhou after its fall recorded that more than a third of the houses were razed, and most of the local population had fled in terror. In rural areas around the city, massacres were repeatedly reported, many witnessed by missionaries. Beyond the atrocities of the Japanese, locals faced banditry in the absence of law enforcement, and vital agricultural work such as planting seed ground to a halt. The loss of Xuzhou was both strategic and symbolic. It dealt a severe blow to Chiang's attempt to hold central China and to control regional troop movements. Morale, which Taierzhuang had briefly boosted, was battered again though not extinguished. The fall signaled that the war would be long, and that swift victory against Japan was no longer likely. Mao Zedong's Yan'an base, far to the northwest, grasped the meaning of defeat there. In May 1938 he delivered one of his most celebrated lectures, “On Protracted War,” chiding those who had over-optimistically claimed the Xuzhou campaign could be a quasi-decisive victory and arguing that, after Taierzhuang, some had become “giddy.” Mao insisted that China would ultimately prevail, yet he warned that it could not be won quickly, and that the War of Resistance would be protracted. In the meantime, the development of guerrilla warfare remained an essential piece of the long-term strategy that the Communist armies would pursue in north China. Yet the loss of Xuzhou did not necessarily portend a long war; it could, instead, presage a war that would be terrifyingly short. By spring 1938 the Chinese defenders were desperate. There was a real danger that the entire war effort could collapse, and the Nationalist governments' notable success as protectors of a shrinking “Free China” lay in avoiding total disaster. Government propaganda had successfully portrayed a plan beyond retreat to foreign observers, yet had Tokyo captured Wuhan in the spring, the Chinese Army would have had to withdraw at speed, reinforcing perceptions of disintegration. Western governments were unlikely to intervene unless convinced it was in their interests. Within the Nationalist leadership, competing instincts persisted. The government pursued welfare measures for the people in the midst of a massive refugee relief effort, the state and local organizations, aided by the International Red Cross, housed large numbers of refugees in 1937–1938. Yet there was a harsher strain within policy circles, with some officials willing to sacrifice individual lives for strategic or political ends as the Japanese threat intensified. Throughout central China, the Yellow River, China's “Sorrow”, loomed as the dominant geographic force shaping history. The loess-laden river, notorious for floods and shifting channels, was banked by massive dikes near Zhengzhou, exactly along the line the Japanese would traverse toward Wuhan. Using the river as a military instrument was discussed as a drastic option: Chiang and Cheng Qian's First War Zone contemplated diverting or breaching the dikes to halt or slow the Japanese advance, a measure that could buy time but would unleash enormous civilian suffering. The idea dated back to 1887 floods that cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and even in 1935 Alexander von Falkenhausen had warned that the Yellow River could become the final line of defense. In 1938 Chiang, recognizing the futility of defeating the Japanese by conventional means at Zhengzhou, considered unleashing the river's force if necessary to impede the invaders. The political and strategic calculus was stark: protect central China and Wuhan, even if it required drastic and morally fraught measures. A more humane leader might have hesitated to break the dikes and spare the dams, allowing the Japanese to take Wuhan. But Chiang Kai-shek believed that if the dikes were not breached and Wuhan fell within days, the Nationalist government might be unable to relocate to Chongqing in time and would likely surrender, leaving Japan in control of almost all of China. Some have compared the choice to France's surrender in June 1940, underscoring that Chiang's decision came during the country's most terrifying assault, with Chinese forces much weaker and less trained than their European counterparts. The dilemma over whether to break the Yellow River dikes grew out of desperation. Chiang ultimately ordered General Wei Rulin to blow the dike that held the Yellow River in central Henan. There was no doubt about the consequences: floods would inundate vast areas of central China, creating a waterlogged barrier that would halt the Japanese advance. Yet for the plan to succeed, it had to be carried out quickly, and the government could offer no public warning in case the Japanese detected it and accelerated their movement. Xiong Xianyu, chief of staff in the 8th Division at the time, recorded the urgency of those hours in his diary. The Japanese were already on the north bank of the Yellow River, briefly delayed when the Chinese army blew up the railway bridge across the river. The destruction of the dikes was the next step: if the area became a sea of mud, there would be no way the Japanese could even attempt to reconstruct the bridge. Blasting the dikes proved easier in theory than in practice. Holding back such a massive body of water required substantial engineering, dams thick and well fortified. The army made its first attempts to blow the dike at the small town of Zhaokou between June 4 and 6, 1938, but the structure proved too durable; another nearby attempt failed as well. Hour by hour, the Japanese moved closer. Division commander Jiang Zaizhen asked Xiong Xianyu for his opinion on where they might breach the dams. Xiong wrote “I discussed the topography, and said that two places, Madukou and Huayuankou, were both possible.” But Madukou was too close to Zhaokou, where the breach had already failed, presenting a danger that the Japanese might reach it very soon. The village of Huayuankou, however, lay farther away and on a bend in the river: “To give ourselves enough time, Huayuankou would be best.” At first, the soldiers treated the task as a military engineering assignment, an “exciting” one in Xiong's words. Xiong and Wei Rulin conducted their first site inspection after dark, late on June 6. The surroundings offered a deceptive calm: Xiong recounted “The wind blew softly, and the river water trickled pleasantly.” Yet gauging the water level proved difficult, hampered by murky moonlight and burned-out flashlights. They spent the night in their car to determine precisely where to break the dike as soon as day broke. But daylight seemed to bring home the consequences of what they planned to do, and the soldiers grew increasingly anxious. Wang Songmei, commander of the 2nd Regiment, addressed the workers about to breach the dike: “My brothers, this plan will be of benefit to our country and our nation, and will lessen the harm that is being done to the people.In the future, you'll find good wives and have plenty of children.” Wang's words were meant to reassure the men of the political necessity of their actions and that fate would not, in the traditional Chinese sense, deny them a family because of the enormity of their deeds. General Wei confirmed that Huayuankou was the right spot, and on June 8 the work began, with about 2,000 men taking part. The Nationalist government was eager to ensure rapid progress. Xiong recorded that the “highest authorities”,, kept making telephone calls from Wuhan to check on progress. In addition, the party sent performers to sing and play music to bolster the workers' spirits. Senior General Shang Zhen announced to the laborers that if they breached the dam by midnight on June 8, each would receive 2,000 yuan; if they achieved it by six the next morning, they would still be paid 1,000 yuan. They needed encouragement, for the diggers had no artificial assistance. After the initial failures at Zhaokou, Wei's troops relied entirely on manual labor, with no explosives used. Yet the workers earned their payments, and the dike was breached in just a few hours. On the morning of June 9, Xiong recorded a rapid shift in mood: the atmosphere became tense and solemn. Initially, the river flow was modest, but by about 1:00 p.m. the water surged “fiercely,” flowing “like 10,000 horses.” Looking toward the distance, Xiong felt as though a sea had appeared before him. “My heart ached,” he wrote. The force of the water widened the breach, and a deadly stream hundreds of feet wide comprising about three-quarters of the river's volume—rushed southeast across the central Chinese plains. “We did this to stop the enemy,” Xiong reflected, “so we didn't regret the huge sacrifice, as it was for a greater victory.” Yet he and the other soldiers also saw a grim reality: the troops who had taken on the task of destroying the railway bridge and the dikes could not bear the flood's consequences alone. It would be up to the government and the people of the nation to provide relief for the countless households uprooted by the flood. In fact, the previous evening Commander Jiang had telephoned to request assistance for those flooded out of their homes.   Wei, Xiong, and their troops managed to escape by wooden boats. Hundreds of thousands of farmers trapped in the floods were far less fortunate. Time magazine's correspondent Theodore White reported on the devastation a few days later “Last week “The Ungovernable” [i.e. the Yellow River] lashed out with a flood which promised to change not only its own course but also the course of the whole Sino-Japanese War. Severe breaks in the dikes near Kaifeng sent a five-foot wall of water fanning out over a 500-squaremile area, spreading death. Toll from Yellow River floods is not so much from quick drowning as from gradual disease and starvation. The river's filth settles ankle-deep on the fields, mothering germs, smothering crops. Last week, about 500,000 peasants were driven from 2,000 communities to await rescue or death on whatever dry ground they could find”. Chiang's government had committed one of the grossest acts of violence against its own people, and he knew that the publicity could be a damaging blow to its reputation. He decided to divert blame by announcing that the dike had been broken, but blaming the breach on Japanese aerial bombing. The Japanese, in turn, fiercely denied having bombed the dikes. White's reporting reflected the immediate response of most foreigners; having heard about the atrocities at Nanjing and Xuzhou, he was disinclined to give the Japanese the benefit of the doubt. Furthermore, at the very time that the Yellow River was flooding central China, the Japanese were heavily bombing Guangzhou, causing thousands of casualties. To White, the Japanese counterargument—that the Chinese themselves were responsible, seemed unthinkable: “These accusations, foreign observers thought, were absurd. For the Chinese to check the Japanese advance at possible sacrifice of half a million lives would be a monstrous pyrrhic victory. Besides, dike-cutting is the blackest of Chinese crimes, and the Chinese Army would hardly risk universal censure for slight tactical gains.” But, of course, that is exactly what they had done. During the war the Nationalists never admitted that they, not the Japanese, had breached the dikes. But the truth quickly became widely known. Just a month later, on July 19, US Ambassador Johnson noted, in private communication, that the “Chinese blocked the advance on Chengchow [Zhengzhou] by breaching the Yellow River dikes.” Eventually some 54,000 square kilometers of central China were inundated by the floods. If the Japanese had committed such an act, it would have been remembered as the prime atrocity of the war, dwarfing even the Nanjing Massacre or the Chongqing air raids in terms of the number of people who suffered. Accurate statistics were impossible to obtain in the midst of wartime chaos and disaster, but in 1948 figures issued by the Nationalists themselves suggested enormous casualties: for the three affected provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, the number of dead was put at 844,489, with some 4.8 million becoming refugees. More recent studies place the numbers lower, but still estimate the dead at around 500,000, and 3–5 million refugees. In contrast, the devastating May 1939 air raids on Chongqing killed some thousands. Xiong reflected in his diary that the breaching of the Yellow River dikes was a sacrifice for a greater victory. Even to some Japanese it seemed that the tactic had been successful in the short term: the first secretary at the US Embassy in Wuhan reported that the flood had “completely checked the Japanese advance on Chengchow” and had prevented them taking Wuhan by rail. Instead, he predicted, the attack was likely to come by water and along the north shore of the Yangtze. Supporters of the dike breaches could argue that these acts saved central China and Chiang's headquarters in Wuhan for another five months. The Japanese were indeed prevented from advancing along the Long–Hai railway toward Wuhan. In the short term the floods did what the Nationalists wanted. But the flooding was a tactic, a breathing space, and did not solve the fundamental problem: China's armies needed strong leadership and rapid reform. Some historians suggest that Chiang's decision was pointless anyway, since it merely delayed the inevitable. Theodore White was right: no strategic advantage could make the deaths of 500,000 of China's own people a worthwhile price to pay. However, Chiang Kai-shek's decision can be partly explained, though not excused, by the context. We can now look back at the actions of the Nationalists and argue that they should not have held on to Wuhan, or that their actions in breaching the dam were unjustifiable in the extreme. But for Chiang, in the hot summer of 1938, it seemed his only hope was to deny Japan as much of China for as long as possible and create the best possible circumstances for a long war from China's interior, while keeping the world's attention on what Japan was doing. The short delay won by the flooding was itself part of the strategy. In the struggle raging within the soul of the Nationalist Party, the callous, calculating streak had won, for the time being. The breaking of the dikes marked a turning point as the Nationalists committed an act whose terrible consequences they would eventually have to expiate. 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. In late 1937, China's frontline trembled as Japanese forces closed in on Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek faced a brutal choice: endure costly defenses or unleash a desperate gamble. Chiangs' radical plan emerged: breach the Yellow River dikes at Huayuankou to flood central China, buying time. The flood roared, washing villages and futures away, yet slowing the enemy. The battlefield paused, while a nation weighed courage against civilian suffering, victory against devastating costs.

We look at some writing's by Marnix Wells where he breaks down Wang Bagua system. Patreon - Hung Yi Xiang Meets Wang Shu Jin

Welcome to the 104th Episode of the ABC Pod the Adult Book Club where we drink and we read things. This episode features Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. Discussion of the book starts at the 13th minute. Spoilers are between the 48 and 1:40 minute marks. We discuss our characters; the society Wang has built inside its protective dome and how it parallels to our world. In spoilers we get into our feelings about giving away the big twist so early as well as how ridiculous Sciona's expectations of people were. We spend a good amount of time discussing religion in this story as well as the treatment of woman and Kwen in Tiran. It brings out, a wide range of emotions. We then finish with our usual segments and a Noir novel for next time. Enjoy!

Play Classic Rock - Double Coffee - MYSTERY COW - Taylor Swift on Seth Meyers talking about the VIP Tent Tea - Celine Dion in the Steelers training room - One fast food Item from the rest of my life - Love is Blind - A little check in with the Pittsburgh Police Scanner - We learn a nasty truth about coconut and palm trees - Have anything fun for the show... Want to say hi... Listen on iHeartRadio click the little mic and send us a talkback messageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Autumn-ish Book Club! In this flash analysis series, we take an academic approach to some of the most talked-about books in Romantasy and fantasy today. With over 13 years of combined academic literary training, we bring a critical lens to fandom favorites while keeping the discussion fun, thought-provoking, and accessible. In this episode, we're discussing Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. We explore how Wang deconstructs the idea of power and morality in dark academia fantasy, using her world of magic, empire, and forbidden knowledge to question who deserves to wield control, and at what cost. We analyze how the novel's complex relationship between science and sorcery blurs the line between progress and corruption, and how Wang's morally gray characters challenge traditional Romantasy archetypes. We also unpack the book's themes of institutional rot, ambition, and rebellion, and why Blood Over Bright Haven has become one of the most talked-about fantasy novels of the year. This season, we'll be covering: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker Where the Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell Blood of Hercules by Jasmin Mas Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem And when book club wraps up, get ready! Our next full literary analysis will dive into Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. If you're new here, we also have full seasons analyzing A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, House of Earth and Blood, House of Sky and Breath, Throne of Glass, and Crown of Midnight. Go back and check those out to see how we break down metaphors, symbolism, narrative structure, and character arcs through multiple literary lenses. Plus, we're thrilled to announce our newest venture: The Subtext Society Journal—the first of its kind, dedicated to Romance, Romantasy, and fandom with an academic yet accessible voice. We're publishing original essays and thought pieces, and we encourage listeners to submit their own articles for a chance to be featured. If you love Sarah J. Maas, M.L. Wang, and deep Romantasy analysis, you're in the right place. Sponsor: Vionic Use code BOOKTALK at checkout for 15% off your entire order at www.vionicshoes.com when you log into your account. 1 time use only. Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at ⁠⁠⁠booktalkforbooktok.com⁠⁠⁠ for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. The Subtext Society Journal: https://thesubtextsocietyjournal.substack.com/  Support the Show:  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok⁠⁠⁠  Merch: ⁠⁠⁠Etsy Store⁠⁠⁠ Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wang reports the White House is now sending California National Guard troops to Portland after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration's attempt to federalize and deploy the Oregon National Guard; Ian Pannell is in Jerusalem on the eve of those critical ceasefire talks between delegations of Hamas and Israel in Egypt; with congressional leaders still at odds over the government shutdown, Alex Presha explains why each side blames the other for the impasse; Reena Roy has more on the former NFL quarterback who is now facing multiple criminal charges; and more on tonight's broadcast of World News Tonight with David Muir. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One great power (China) has a relentless thirst to build that comes with a terrible human cost, while its main rival (America) is a more lawyerly and free society that's prone to stifling ideas both good and bad. On the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Dan Wang, a Hoover Institution research fellow and author of the bestseller Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson and H.R. McMaster to discuss what the future holds for the two Cold War 2 rivals, plus Wang's firsthand experiences witnessing China's engineering boom and enduring its draconian pandemic policies. After that, the fellows weigh in on President Trump's recent United Nations address and the state of that institution, the likelihood of Trump's Gaza peace plan coming to fruition, the provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, plus the merits of a US military strike inside Venezuela to counter narco-terrorism. In the lightning round: why America's military brass gathered at Quantico; National Guard troops head to Portland, Oregon; Scotland's frustration with illegal immigration; and the feasibility of the US regaining Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base.  Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today's biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

Hi Everyone, just coming up for air. This is actually one of the several new episodes that have been available on Patreon and CHP Premium since July, three months ago. This is a brief overview of the life and times of Wang Jingwei, the 中国头号大汉奸. Strong words. Why is he so despised? What drove him to make the decisions he did that forever branded him as a traitor to the Chinese people? He's another figure from those early ROC years that everyone has heard of but perhaps not so sure of the role he played in the history of that era. Enjoy. If the FOMO is making you lose sleep at night, consider subscribing below. Thanks!!! Laszlo's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast CHP Premium:     https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Early access to shows. Ad Free. Easy and convenient access to Laszlo. 

In this episode of Pioneers of AI, Jeffrey Katzenberg and ChenLi Wang of the venture capital firm WndrCo share why storytelling is essential for building transformative companies and how AI shapes their work. Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.