Frances Wood
Former Curator of the Chinese Collections at the British Library
11 episodes
Appears in multiple episodes with: Tim Barrett, Hilde de Weerdt, Naomi Standen, Rana Mitter, Tim Barrett
Covers topics in categories such as:
Tang Era Poetry
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most celebrated poets of 8th-century China, Li Bai and Du Fu, and their influence from the Tang Era to the present day.
12 May 2022
Also featuring: Tim Barrett, Tian Yuan Tan
Chinese Legalism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise of Chinese Legalism under the First Emperor, its relationship with Confucianism and its legacy today.
10 December 2015
Also featuring: Hilde de Weerdt, Roel Sterckx
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Romance of the Three Kingdoms, widely regarded as one of the greatest works of Chinese literature.
27 June 2013
Also featuring: Craig Clunas, Margaret Hillenbrand
Marco Polo
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the travels of the celebrated Venetian explorer Marco Polo.
24 May 2012
Also featuring: Joan Pau Rubies, Debra Higgs Strickland
The An Lushan Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the An Lushan Rebellion, a major uprising against the imperial rule of the Chinese Tang Dynasty.
16 February 2012
Also featuring: Naomi Standen, Hilde de Weerdt
The Taiping Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion, a Chinese civil war which claimed around 20 million lives in the 19th century.
24 February 2011
Also featuring: Rana Mitter, Julia Lovell
The Great Wall of China
Melvyn Bragg and guests Julia Lovell, Rana Mitter and Frances Wood discuss The Great Wall of China.
29 April 2010
Also featuring: Julia Lovell, Rana Mitter
The Silk Road
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Silk Road, the trade routes which spanned Asia for over a thousand years, carrying Buddhism to China and paper-making and gunpowder westwards.
3 December 2009
Also featuring: Tim Barrett, Naomi Standen
The Boxer Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Boxer Rebellion, when the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists purged China of foreign influences in the summer of 1900.
19 March 2009
Also featuring: Rana Mitter, R. G. Tiedemann
HistoryWars involving FranceWars involving the United StatesWars involving the United KingdomPersecution of ChristiansUnited States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuriesWars involving JapanWars involving the Russian EmpireWars involving the Habsburg monarchyRebellions in the Qing dynasty, Eight BannersThe Needham Question
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Needham Question, which asks why China’s medieval technological advancement was overtaken by that of a relative backwater called Europe.
19 October 2006
Also featuring: Chris Cullen, Tim Barrett
Confucius
Melvyn Bragg discusses the philosophy of Confucius, a body of ideas which, more than any other philosophy, has defined what it is to be Chinese.
1 November 2001
Also featuring: Tim Barrett, Tao Tao Liu
PhilosophySocial philosophersPhilosophers of cultureAphoristsPhilosophers of lawPhilosophers of educationFounders of religionsClassical humanists5th-century BC historians6th-century BC Chinese writers, Zhou dynasty philosophers, Deified Chinese men, Chinese political philosophers, 5th-century BC Chinese writers, Zhou dynasty writers6th-century BC religious leaders, 5th-century BC religious leaders