In this episode of The History In Motion Podcast, we’re joined by Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, professor of Chinese and Islamic history at NYU; to close out our three-part series on ancient China by unpacking the transition from the Qin to the Han.

We step back from individual rulers to explore the bigger questions: how the Qin unified China, why that system collapsed so quickly, and how Liu Bang and the Han dynasty rebuilt something more durable. Along the way, we break down Legalism vs Confucianism, the Mandate of Heaven, and the early foundations of a bureaucratic, merit-based state.

We also look at what these shifts meant for ordinary people living through them, and close with the story of the Li Ling affair and Sima Qian — a moment that captures both the pressures of imperial power and the enduring role of the historian.

Rss Apple Podcaster
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör The History in Motion Podcast. Innehållet i podden är skapat av The History in Motion Podcast och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.