SSAB - October 1, 2026

Hey it’s National Day break! Golden Week Number One!

Let’s look at the history of China, who, what, where and why are they important?

It’s National Day here in China and the country is celebrating its Golden Week, a time when workers and students alike take an extended time off from their duties and often go travelling. In today’s episode I wanted to cover a bit of the history of the country as I’ve learned about it in my time here. From the people, the places, the food, the culture, and the language, to the broad period encompassed by the country and nation’s 5,000 year history.

Links are provided in the show notes both to a general timeline of the history of the nation as published by Columbia University, and a Google Doc that go into a little more in depth. The DOC was created by AI and should not be considered a comprehensive history of the country and its people. Instead, it should be treated as a broad look at some of the important dates, places, and people that make up the country’s history.

Any errors and omissions are my own but, due to time constraints, not everything can be covered. With that, let’s look at the history of China.

Timeline of historical periods (Columbia University):

https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm

-Interesting little tune to remember the dynasties

Important points:

-5,000 years and what that means

-The Emperors (dynasty rhyme)

-The Cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Nanjing, Hong Kong and others)

-The Language (Mandarin vs Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hokkien, Hui, etc.

-The Food (锅包肉guobaorou, 饺子jiaozi, 糖醋里脊tangculiji, 包子baozi, 油条youtiao,面条 noodle variations , 肉夹馍roujiamo, 热干面 reganmian), 馅饼

-Modern History (last hundred years and policy fuck ups)

Google Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9mOIQj1DRS7gUbrCP3ByT4jxifTDogXlQW5_Jv6Vhw/edit?usp=copy

Books:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-195957710

Donate to the show! PayPal link below!

https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA

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Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharing

Happy Golden Week!

00:00 Golden Week Intro

01:30 Host Setup and Scope

02:41 Using AI and Travel Lens

06:33 What 5000 Years Means

08:09 Shang Zhou and Philosophers

11:31 Qin Han Unification

13:44 Tang Song Innovations

17:03 Yuan Mongols and Borders

19:58 Ming Voyages and Forbidden City

23:28 Qing Opium Wars and Collapse

27:25 Republic Era and Invasions

28:55 PRC Mao Era and Opening

30:09 Taiwan UN Shift

30:44 Deng Opens Shenzhen

32:54 China Manufacturing Boom

34:39 Dynasties Song Trick

36:49 Mandarin Learning Journey

37:53 Must See Cities

40:53 Hong Kong Name Origins

41:49 Chinese Dialects Explained

45:11 Books and Movies Picks

47:14 Chinese Food Favorites

52:30 Wrap Up and Resources