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Chinese history

Chinese history
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Chinese history. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Marco Polo’s De le maraueliose cose del Mondo is seen at the Firsts Hong Kong rare book exhibition at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum on December 6, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Books and literature

Hidden histories of China revealed at rare book fair in Hong Kong

At Firsts Hong Kong, several rare book exhibits gave visitors the chance to peruse first-hand accounts of China’s complex past.

History

After The War | Virtual reality and the Nanking massacre: where does immersion become trauma?

Chinese culture

5 of the best-known horses in Chinese legend, from the Red Hare to qilin

US-China relations

After The War | How an American family’s wartime bond with China brings the countries together

Daughter-in-law of Flying Tiger who taught in Fujian province sees lessons in ordinary people always finding ways to understand one another.

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Elyn MacInnis and her family share a bond with China that was forged during the second world war and now spans three generations. Photo: Xinhua
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Ancient China’s Labubu-like doll craze also saw fans splurge silly money

Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today.

Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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Art

Famous horse-related works of art as the Year of the Horse 2026 approaches

To celebrate the nearing Year of the Fire Horse, we look at paintings, books and plays that show how the use of horses in art has evolved.

A scene from War Horse, performed at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2019. The award-winning British play is one of many artworks made over the centuries with a strong equine focus. Photo: Winson Wong
Chinese culture

Why the Year of the Horse 2026 could bring chaos but also great progress

With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Fire Horse comes around every 60 years and tends to bring both good fortune and bad.

Chinese culture

Language Matters | The enduring legacy of bamboo, a symbol of resilience and strength in Asia

Bamboo is used in everything from construction to food throughout Asia, and even lends itself to global concepts like the ‘bamboo curtain’.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | In wake of Tai Po blaze, China’s long and difficult struggle fighting fire

The qualities that made buildings beautiful in premodern Chinese cities also made them dangerously flammable, and fire was a constant threat.

Residential buildings in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court burn on November 26, 2025. Hong Kong’s recent tragedy is a grim reminder of the enduring menace fires have posed throughout Chinese history. Photo: Sam Tsang
Trending in China

China boy, 14, acts like ancient scholar, turns bedroom into museum of artefacts

Teenager with a passion for history collects items stretching across China’s dynasties; says packed bedroom is the ‘container of my spirit’.

A 14-year-old boy from China has turned his bedroom into a museum of ancient artefacts and history books, surprising many with his mature demeanour. Photo: SCMP composite/Baidu/Douyin
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | ‘Mar-a-Lago faces’ echo Chinese elites’ unhealthy attempts to please a king

King Ling of Chu’s preference for his officials to be thin-waisted saw them practically starve themselves in efforts to win royal approval.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | From slapping body parts to National Games, China’s history of exercise

Used to train soldiers long before its benefits were taught to regular folk, exercise has become a matter of national resilience in China.

Art

The enigmatic collectors’ society opening its vault of Chinese masterpieces

Hundreds of exceptional works go on show at HKMoA as a famously discreet circle of collectors marks its 65th year.

The Engaging Past Wisdom: Min Chiu Society at Sixty-five exhibition at HKMoA includes a pendant of a dancing woman, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Chinese culture

Shameful period? How China’s Qing dynasty brought both wealth and humiliation

China’s final dynasty saw the arts and economy thrive under Manchu rule. But internal and external struggles corroded centuries of stability.

The Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, reigning from 1735-1796. Under the Manchus, China’s final dynasty was marked by flourishing arts and economic growth. But in 1912, the imperial system that had survived for centuries collapsed as the country entered the modern era.
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Andrew’s loss of ‘prince’ title echoes the downfall of China’s past royals

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s fall from prince to commoner mirrors how many disgraced royals in imperial China also lost their titles.

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Chinese culture

How China’s Ming dynasty brought us everything from porcelain to novels

The prosperous Ming dynasty restored Han Chinese rule after the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and introduced numerous cultural and social changes.

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Chinese zodiac predictions

What’s your luck like in November 2025, the month of the Fire Pig?

The Pig symbolises wealth in Chinese culture – it’s also a ‘double month’, meaning both good luck and bad energy are doubled.

November is the month of the Fire Pig. Photo: Illustration: SCMP Graphics
Chinese culture

How China changed during the Yuan dynasty, when Mongols ruled

Mongol rulers shook up Chinese society as Silk Road trade routes thrived, paper money became common and China’s influence in Eurasia grew.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Asean differs from the alliances of China’s Warring States Period

Asean’s consensus-driven approach, based on non-aggression, generally fosters regional peace, unlike the factious alliances in China’s past.

Women and gender

‘New women but no new men’: feminist evolution unfinished in China, scholar says

Wang Zheng says many women in China may have redefined their roles but, as with much social progress, there have been setbacks.

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Wang Zheng, professor emerita of women’s and gender studies and history at the University of Michigan, is pictured at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Photo: Will Leung/CUHK Press
Hong Kong

Letters | Hong Kong and the irony of history

Readers discuss the transformation of Hong Kong, and viewer memories of Benz Hui.

The People’s Liberation Army amphibious landing ship Yimeng Shan departs Hong Kong through Victoria Harbour on October 3, after National Day celebrations. Photo: Jelly Tse
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How Trump’s new ballroom echoes the grand monuments of China’s emperors

Many monuments built by the emperors of old were architectural marvels and stunning spectacles of power, but perilous in consequence.

Hong Kong society

‘Highest security standards’ at Hong Kong Palace Museum for ancient Egypt show

Museum is putting on show three Egyptian statues, including one weighing 1.8 tonnes, ahead of main exhibition.

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Chinese culture

The Song dynasty was a great time for China. But a terrible one for many women

While the Song dynasty saw huge advancements in culture, commerce and technology, it also gave rise to the horrific practice of foot binding.

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Grand Marshal Zhao Kuangyin is proclaimed Emperor of the Song Dynasty on the battlefield after the Chenqiao mutiny in 960 in an illustration from Hutchinson’s History of the Nations, published in 1915. The coup saw Zhao become leader of one of China’s most prosperous dynasties. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
History

Where do witch hats come from? China’s Tarim mummies may hold the answer

The ‘witch hat’-wearing mummies have long caused debate among historians. Could they suggest Europeans reached Asia earlier than we thought?

The Princess of Xiaohe is one of the most famous mummies found in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China. Can the origins of the modern witch hat be traced to this region? Photo: Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Like Trump’s Time photo, Chinese emperor’s portraits were often unflattering

The contradictory portraits of Zhu Yuanzhang, one of China’s most controversial rulers, reflect his complex historical image.

US-China relations

Opinion | To avert war, the West must shatter the mirror by which it views China

The concept of the Thucydides Trap, predicting conflict between China and the US, projects the West’s conquest-driven history onto Chinese civilisation.

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