Silk Roads and China Ships • 2016 • episode "S1E2" • The Story of China

Category: History

Michael Wood tells the tale of China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He travels along the Silk Road to the bazaars of central Asia and into India on the track of the Chinese monk who brought Buddhism back to China.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

The Story of China • 2016 • 6 episodes •

Ancestors

Historian Michael Wood looks back at the start of China's history from the creation legend to the first 3 recorded dynasties Xia, Shang and Zhou, to the unification of 7 states under Qin Shi Huang. The name China comes from this Qin Dynasty, although the Chinese people refer to themselves as The Han.

2016 • History

Silk Roads and China Ships

Silk Roads and China Ships

Michael Wood tells the tale of China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He travels along the Silk Road to the bazaars of central Asia and into India on the track of the Chinese monk who brought Buddhism back to China.

2016 • History

The Golden Age

The tale of what's broadly considered China's most creative dynasty - the Song (960-1279). Michael Wood heads to the city of Kaifeng, the greatest city in the world before the 19th century.

2016 • History

The Ming

The tale of one of China's most famous dynasties begins with the amazing story of Hongwu, a peasant rebel who founded one of greatest eras in Chinese history.

2016 • History

The Last Empire

The Last Empire

China's last empire, the Qing, lasted from 1644 to 1912. It began in violence and war as the Manchus swept down from the north, but invaders became emperors, with three generations of one family ruling the country. Among them, Michael Wood argues, was China's greatest emperor - Kangxi.

2016 • History

The Age of Revolution

The Age of Revolution

'Revolution', Michael Wood observes, 'has been a fact of life in Chinese history'. Between 1850 and 1950, three cataclysmic revolutions shook China to the core, but out of them, today's China emerged.

2016 • History

You might also like

Game of Queens 1542- 1559

Game of Queens 1542- 1559

In the middle of the Renaissance, the son of Francis I shake up the foundations of Europe. Henry II, the King of France, secures a claim to the Scottish crown by marrying young queen Mary Stuart to his son, the future Francis II, heir to the French throne.

S2E1 • The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Viking Women & Ragnar and his Sons

Viking Women & Ragnar and his Sons

Vikings cast members Katheryn Winnick and Alyssa Sutherland join leading experts in an investigation of the different roles women played within Norse society-and they are surprised at what they discover and in Ragnar and His Sons,Vikings creator Michael Hirst, actor Clive Standen and a host of experts sort through historic accounts, Icelandic sagas and archaeological discoveries to gain insight into the real lives of Ragnar Lothbrok and his famous sons.

S1E2 • Real Vikings • 2016 • History

Roosevelt, Truman, & Wallace

Roosevelt, Truman, & Wallace

Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's Vice President during his fourth term - this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the US towards empire building. Exploration of the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of post-war Europe's division at the Yalta conference..

S1E2 • Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

A Call To Valor

A Call To Valor

Part One of this epic event special follows these men through war in both the European and Pacific theaters, starting in December 1941 through late 1943, telling the story of their war experiences and how those experiences shaped them as leaders. In the Pacific, Johnson is nearly killed in a twist of fate, and JFK's PT boat is blown up, Reagan becomes the popular face of the American soldier, Carter joins the US Naval Academy and Eisenhower moves from a rookie to a seasoned general as he leads the invasion of North Africa, Italy and prepares for D-Day.

S1E1 • Presidents at War • 2019 • History

Cortees at the Heart of the Aztec Empire

Cortees at the Heart of the Aztec Empire

The encounter between the conquistador and opportunist Hernan Cortes and the indigenous peoples of Central America is one of history's tragic tales of greed, conflict, imperial weakness and superior weaponry.

S2E3 • Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

A Queen Betrayed

A Queen Betrayed

Neil reveals how the clans plotted against Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, ultimately leading to the beheading of the most charismatic queen in Scottish history. The tale turns on a brother's plot to overthrow his sister in a ruthless bid for power. James Stewart, Earl of Moray, uses clan power to first control and then rid Scotland of his sister Mary. As she battles conspiracies, plots and counterplots, Mary is trapped in the cruel and tumultuous world of clan blood feuds. After they murder her husband Lord Darnley and Mary flees into the arms of the Earl of Bothwell, the most ruthless of Scotland's clan chiefs, civil war breaks out. Mary escapes to England, never to return again.

S1E3 • Rise of the Clans • 2018 • History