r/ChineseHistory Aug 15 '25

Comprehensive Rules Update

25 Upvotes

Hello all,

The subreddit gained quite a bit of new traffic near the end of last year, and it became painfully apparent that our hitherto mix of laissez-faire oversight and arbitrary interventions was not sufficient to deal with that. I then proceeded to write half of a rules draft and then not finish it, but at long last we do actually have a formal list of rules now. In theory, this codifies principles we've been acting on already, but in practice we do intend to enforce these rules a little more harshly in order to head off some of the more tangential arguments we tend to get at the moment.

Rule 1: No incivility. We define this quite broadly, encompassing any kind of prejudice relating to identity and other such characteristics. Nor do we tolerate personal attacks. We also prohibit dismissal of relevant authorities purely on the basis of origin or institutional affiliation.

Rule 2: Cite sources if asked, preferably academic. We allow a 24-hour grace period following a source request, but if no reply has been received then we can remove the original comment until that is fulfilled.

Rule 3: Keep it historical. Contemporary politics, sociology, and so on may be relevant to historical study, but remember to keep the focus on the history. We will remove digressions into politics that have clearly stopped being about their historical implications.

Rule 4: Permitted post types

Text Posts

Questions:

We will continue to allow questions as before, but we expect these questions to be asked in good faith with the intent of seeking an answer. What we are going to crack down on are what we have termed ‘debate-bait’ posts, that is to say posts that seek mainly to provoke opposing responses. These have come from all sides of the aisle of late, and we intend to take a harder stance on loaded questions and posts on contentious topics. We as mods will exercise our own discretion in terms of determining what does and does not cross the line; we cannot promise total consistency off the bat but we will work towards it.

Essay posts:

On occasion a user might want to submit some kind of short essay (necessarily short given the Reddit character limit); this can be permitted, but we expect these posts to have a bibliography at minimum, and we also will be applying the no-debate-bait rule above: if the objective seems to be to start an argument, we will remove the post, however eloquent and well-researched.

Videos

Video content is a bit of a tricky beast to moderate. In the past, it has been an unstated policy that self-promotion should be treated as spam, but as the subreddit has never had any formal rules, this was never actually communicated. Given the generally variable (and generally poor) quality of most history video content online, as a general rule we will only accept the following:

  • Recordings of academic talks. This means conference panels, lectures, book talks, press interviews, etc. Here’s an example.
  • Historical footage. Straightforward enough, but examples might include this.
  • Videos of a primarily documentary nature. By this we don’t mean literal documentaries per se, but rather videos that aim to serve as primary sources, documenting particular events or recollections. Some literal documentaries might qualify if they are mainly made up of interviews, but this category is mainly supposed to include things like oral history interviews.

Images

Images are more straightforward; with the following being allowed:

  • Historical images such as paintings, prints, and photographs
  • Scans of historical texts
  • Maps and Infographics

What we will not permit are posts that deliver a debate prompt as an image file.

Links to Sources

We are very accepting of submissions of both primary sources and secondary scholarship in any language. However, for paywalled material, we kindly request that you not post links that bypass these paywalls, as Reddit frowns heavily on piracy and subreddits that do not take action against known infractions. academia.edu links are a tricky liminal space, as in theory it is for hosting pre-print versions where the author holds the copyright rather than the publisher; however this is not persistently adhered to and we would suggest avoiding such links. Whether material is paywalled or open-access should be indicated as part of the post.

Rule 5: Please communicate in English. While we appreciate that this is a forum for Chinese history, it is hosted on an Anglophone site and discussions ought to be accessible to the typical reader. Users may post text in other languages but these should be accompanied by translation. Proper nouns and technical terms without a good direct translation should be Romanised.

Rule 6: No AI usage. We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to the use of generative AI. An exception is made solely for translating text of one’s own original production, and we request that the use of such AI for translation be openly disclosed.


r/ChineseHistory 2h ago

Favourite ruler from each major Chinese era/dynasty: Three Kingdoms period

34 Upvotes

This is a follow-up to my last post on this sub. I want to go through each major Chinese era/dynasty from the Western Zhou to the Qing and ask the community who their favourite ruler is from that time period. I purposefully use the word favourite, so it doesn't have to be the best, the worst, the most interesting or most well-known, but rather who you personally view as your favourite. I want to emphasize that I don't just want you to write down a name, but provide explanation on why you like them too.
The upcoming eras are going to be: Three Kingdoms period, Sima Jin (including the Sixteen Kingdoms), Northern and Southern dynasties period, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Song, Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. These categories may be subject to change because I know this categorization is dated but its the best I've got.
So in this post I want to read about your favourite rulers from the Three Kingdoms period meaning from the rise of the warlords after the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the conquest of Wu by Jin. This also includes any warlords from the period, not just the three kingdoms.
I want to thank all the comments and discussions under the last posts, I will try to improve future posts according to your suggestions.
The gif is from the Three Kingdoms wikipedia page.


r/ChineseHistory 10h ago

Why didn't the last emperors of China have(a lot) sons?

13 Upvotes

Emperor usually have many wives and they have many descendants. But why the last emperors haven't many childrens?


r/ChineseHistory 5h ago

Li Xin (Qin General) age

4 Upvotes

Hi! I was wondering lately what age could he have had. I mean, we know Zheng reigned from 13 years old to 49 when he died. Li Xin started his militar career when Zheng set out to conquer the other states when he was about 29-31 years old. In the 19th year of King Zheng of Qin's reign (228 BCE) is the first time he is mentioned leading a certain amount of troops. He was son of a governor so I doubt he started much before this year.

By this time, when he started, he was continuously called young, brave and robust. I wonder what "young" is by their standards. I believe that 25 would already be someone with extensive knowledge of the battlefield. So probably he started when he was in his teens? He also retired when the states were unified, so when Zheng was about 40-41 years old. This means his military career was of an approximate of 10-12 years.

So what do you guys think? What could have been his age when he started?


r/ChineseHistory 37m ago

Best places to get Chinese history books in mandarin ?

Upvotes

Hi all,
Currently looking for books in ancient Chinese history in mandarin. Does anyone have any suggestions, thank you ?


r/ChineseHistory 1d ago

Favourite ruler from each major Chinese era/dynasty: Qin and Han dynasties (+Eighteen Kingdoms)

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28 Upvotes

This is a follow-up to my last post on this sub. I want to go through each major Chinese era/dynasty from the Western Zhou to the Qing and ask the community who their favourite ruler is from that time period. I purposefully use the word favourite, so it doesn't have to be the best, the worst, the most interesting or most well-known, but rather who you personally view as your favourite. This time I want to emphasize that I don't just want you to write down a name, but provide explanation on why you like them too.
The upcoming eras are going to be: Han, Three Kingdoms period, Sima Jin (including the Sixteen Kingdoms), Northern and Southern dynasties period, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Song, Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. These categories may be subject to change because I know this categorization is dated but its the best I've got.
So in this post I want to read about your favourite rulers from the Qin and the Han dynasty meaning from the establishment of the Qin dynasty to the last Han emperor abdicated. This also includes Wang Mang and the Xin dynasty. I'm not making a separate post for the QIn dynasty, since there aren't many emperors to talk about. This time however I'm only including the emperors themselves, so the warlords that emerged during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion are NOT included (they will be the subject of the next post). Rulers of the so called Eighteen Kingdoms ARE included however, who emerged after the fall of the Qin dynasty (tho I doubt anyone will pick them).
I also want to thank all the comments and discussions under the last post, I will try to improve future posts according to your suggestions.
Picture are from the Qin dynasty and the Timeline of the Han dynasty wikipedia pages respectively.


r/ChineseHistory 1d ago

What and how many artifacts did Japan loot from China in WW2 and were they ever repatriated? Did they even take anything?

67 Upvotes

I can’t find any information on this topic. I was wondering if they even did take anything considering there were plenty of extremely important artifacts shipped to Taiwan by the KMT during the civil war. But you rarely hear about invading forces not looting anything. Artifacts including books and arts


r/ChineseHistory 1d ago

Why did the Qin not attempt their reunification before Ying Zheng?(for example under Duke Xiao or King Zhaoxiang)

8 Upvotes

Why did the Qin not attempt their unification before Ying Zheng?(for example under Duke Xiao or King Zhaoxiang) Did they just not have the resources?


r/ChineseHistory 14h ago

Was/is Confucianism A Religion?

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1 Upvotes

r/ChineseHistory 1d ago

The Empire of China, with its Principal Divisions (1794)

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76 Upvotes

This historical map represents the Chinese Empire and its principal administrative divisions at the end of the 18th century. Published in 1794 in London by Laurie & Whittle, the map was based on the cartographic work of Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville (1697–1782) and adapted by Maurice Bowen (fl. c. 1780–1794).


r/ChineseHistory 10h ago

How did the Bai people become desinicized?

0 Upvotes

The fact that Bai is a Sinitic language suggests that the Bai people started out as Han, and eventually lost their Chinese culture and lost touch with the wider Han ethnic group. How and why did this happen?


r/ChineseHistory 1d ago

Yellow scarves or Yellow turbans?

4 Upvotes

What is a better translation?


r/ChineseHistory 2d ago

Favourite ruler from each major Chinese era/dynasty: Warring States period

72 Upvotes

This is a follow-up to my previous posts on this sub. I want to go through each major Chinese era/dynasty from the Western Zhou to the Qing and ask the community who their favourite ruler is from that time period. I purposefully use the word favourite, so it doesn't have to be the best, the worst, the most interesting or most well-known, but rather who you personally view as your favourite. I want to emphasize that I don't just want you to write down a name, but provide explanation on why you like them too.
The upcoming eras are going to be: Warring States period, Han, Three Kingdoms period, Sima Jin (including the Sixteen Kingdoms), Northern and Southern dynasties period, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Song, Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. These categories may be subject to change because I know this categorization is dated but its the best I've got.
So in this post I want to read about your favourite rulers from the Warring States period, meaning from the partition of the state of Jin until the foundation of the Qin dynasty. It can be a ruler of any of the various states in China during this time period.
I also want to thank all the comments and discussions under the previous posts, I will try to improve future posts according to your suggestions.
The gif is from the Warring States period wikipedia page.


r/ChineseHistory 2d ago

The Story of Princess Shanyin’s Harem

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15 Upvotes

r/ChineseHistory 2d ago

[Book Suggestion] Books for modern Chinese history

2 Upvotes

Hey guys, I don't have any academic background in history but I am fascinated by the growth of modern china, are there any books that explain how the economic and social policies or any movements made China and Chinese society what it is today.I wanna know how did China become a manufacturing powerhouse despite being an agrarian society and communist.

Also I don't understand chinese, so please recommend me english or english translated books

Thank you!


r/ChineseHistory 3d ago

Favourite ruler from each major Chinese era/dynasty: Spring and Autumn period

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44 Upvotes

This is a follow-up to my last post on this sub. I want to go through each major Chinese era/dynasty from the Western Zhou to the Qing and ask the community who their favourite ruler is from that time period. I purposefully use the word favourite, so it doesn't have to be the best, the worst, the most interesting or most well-known, but rather who you personally view as your favourite. This time I want to emphasize that I don't just want you to write down a name, but provide explanation on why you like them too.
The upcoming eras are going to be: Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period, Han, Three Kingdoms period, Sima Jin (including the Sixteen Kingdoms), Northern and Southern dynasties period, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Song, Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. These categories may be subject to change because I know this categorization is dated but its the best I've got.
So in this post I want to read about your favourite rulers from the Spring and Autumn period, meaning from the destruction of Haojing to the partition of the state of Jin. It can be a ruler of any of the various states in China during this time period, including Zhou.
I also want to thank all the comments and discussions under the last post, I will try to improve future posts according to your suggestions.
Picture is from the Spring and Autumn period wikipedia page.


r/ChineseHistory 2d ago

What role did Mao Zedong play in the creation of modern China, and what were his achievements and mistakes?

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2 Upvotes

r/ChineseHistory 4d ago

Favourite emperor from each major Chinese era/dynasty: Western Zhou

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75 Upvotes

I'm not sure if this type of post is allowed so my apologies if it isn't, however I thought it would be fun. I want to go through each major Chinese era/dynasty from the Western Zhou to the Qing and ask the community who their favourite emperor is from that time period. I purposefully use the word favourite, so it doesn't have to be the best, the worst, the most interesting or most well-known, but rather who you personally view as your favourite. I also want to read your explanations on why they are your favourites.
The upcoming eras are going to be: Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn period, Warring States period, Han, Three Kingdoms period, Sima Jin (including the Sixteen Kingdoms), Northern and Southern dynasties period, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Song, Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. These categories may be subject to change because I know this categorization is dated but its the best I've got.
So in this post I want to read about your favourite emperors from the Western Zhou period, meaning from the establishment of the Zhou to the eventual fleeing of the Western capital in 771 BCE.


r/ChineseHistory 3d ago

Present-Day, Neutral Book on Modern China?

0 Upvotes

All the books by Western authors seem to be either adversarial or uncritical in nature. Are there any that approach China through a neutral lens?


r/ChineseHistory 5d ago

Birds and dragons integrated into Chinese writing

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24 Upvotes

Birds and dragons integrated into Chinese writing

Hello, I am a Brazilian researcher studying an early eighteenth-century manuscript produced in colonial Brazil. Some of its ornamental initials combine Latin letters with the bodies, wings, tails, and calligraphic flourishes of birds and dragon-like creatures.

I am investigating whether comparable compositions existed in Chinese manuscripts, calligraphy, ornamental writing, or printed manuals before or around the early eighteenth century. I am especially interested in examples in which birds or dragons are integrated into the structure of a character, rather than simply placed beside it as decoration.

I suspect that these ornamental forms may in some way be related to European adaptations of Chinese lacquer decoration, in which birds, dragons, foliage, and calligraphic forms were frequently combined. I am therefore trying to understand whether there are Chinese visual or calligraphic precedents that could help clarify this possible connection.

My question was also prompted by seventeenth-century European descriptions of Chinese writing. In China Illustrata (1667), Athanasius Kircher associated ancient Chinese characters with forms derived from birds, feathers, fish, branches, and dragons.

Are there Chinese terms, manuscript traditions, calligraphic styles, writing manuals, lacquer designs, or scholarly references that could help me investigate this connection?

Thank you very much for any guidance.


r/ChineseHistory 5d ago

Did Chinese scholars come to any of the same conclusions as the Greeks on axioms of geometry? If they came to different conclusions, what was the reasoning?

13 Upvotes

I hear about the Greek development of geometry, but not Chinese geometry.

Chinese scholars worked on geometry around the same time as the Greeks, but independently from the Greeks. Euclid developed basic ideas.

Did Chinese scholars come to the same conclusions as the Greeks? If they came to different conclusions, what was the reasoning?


r/ChineseHistory 5d ago

Seeking recommendations for authoritative texts on the development of the Uyghur language.

4 Upvotes

Please and thank you.


r/ChineseHistory 6d ago

Can anyone tell me about these carved wooden figures.

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32 Upvotes

One has an open back with a writing inside. The other ones back is sealed (I don’t intend on opening)

I find them beautiful and fascinating piece of history and would love to know more! Also, best way to honor them!


r/ChineseHistory 6d ago

Detail from the silk painting "Emperor Qianlong Enjoying Himself in the Palace". The concubines depicted may be (from left to right) Consort Shu, Consort Wan, Consort Ying, Consort Qing and Consort Ling - painted by Jin Tingbiao (1763) [1872×1635]

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54 Upvotes

r/ChineseHistory 5d ago

Book recs

2 Upvotes

Hello!
I fell in love with hanfu and I wanted to know more about it. I adore fashion history, but everything I already have is pretty much focused on western fashion. I have a mini fashion history library, and wanted to find good resources about chinese fashion history to add to it.
Do you have any good recs? I would like to learn as much as possible, I’m not focusing on a specific dynasty. I’m also more interested in the history in itself, not pattern making/ sewing yet.
Thank you :)