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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.
As the Year of the Horse 2026 approaches, we explore the origins and prevalence of the Chinese surname Ma, which literally translates as “horse”. Photo: Shutterstock
Chinese culture

What the Chinese surname Ma, meaning ‘horse’, symbolises and how it spread

Ma is one of mainland China’s most common surnames and is interestingly even prevalent among Chinese Muslims. We look at its history.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How ancient Chinese dental practices were often similar to those used today

Legacy of war in Asia

Opinion | Amid historical tensions with Japan, Hong Kong must engage for the future

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Fashion

History of Chinese-style ‘frog buttons’, seen on viral Adidas jacket

Used in China for centuries, frog buttons are a key feature of a limited-edition Adidas jacket that has become a huge hit on social media.

A model wears Adidas’ “Tang-style” jacket that combines streetwear cool with Chinese details including “frog buttons”. The jacket has become a viral hit on social media. Photo: Adidas Power of Three
US-China relations

US poet laureate Arthur Sze on slowing down to translate poetry across cultures

As the first Asian-American poet laureate, Sze reflects on Chinese cultural inheritance and poetry’s role beyond borders.

Science

Could 2,000-year-old machine from tomb in China be earliest binary computer?

Silk-weaving loom dating to Western Han is world’s oldest known ‘computer hardware’ with corresponding ‘software’, China science body says.

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China economy

Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

China was an unmatched power in the Song and Ming dynasties, with greater concentrated authority. But it consolidated, rather than colonised.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Chinese culture

The Chinese cowboys challenging narratives of the American Old West

Whether through art or immersion in the rancher lifestyle, these Asian men are redefining what it means to be a cowboy in the American West.

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Horoscopes

What’s your luck like in 2026, the Fire Horse year? Horoscopes for every Chinese zodiac sign

What are your lucky numbers and months in 2026? Here’s how you fare in terms of wealth, career and relationship prospects.

Hong Kong Voices

A fifth-gen shop owner on closing the business despite his umbrella obsession

The 73-year-old owner of Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store in Sham Shui Po recently announced that he would be closing the family business, which dates back to the Qing dynasty.

Yau Yiu-wai, owner of Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store in Hong Kong, which he plans to close after five generations. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Chinese historical myths that are accepted as fact, and why they’ve endured

Like Singapore’s ‘ejection’ from Malaysia, Chinese history contains fallacies, including ones about Sun Yat-sen and Empress Dowager Cixi.

Sun Yat-sen, widely regarded as the founding father of modern China, is credited with “leading” the 1911 Revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty, but in fact he was not even in China at the time of the Wuchang Uprising, the trigger of the revolution, and only learned about it afterwards. Photo: Getty Images
Chinese culture

How the horse paintings of Xu Beihong have galloped through history

Known as the father of modern Chinese art and famed for his horse paintings, Xu Beihong blended Western techniques with Chinese tradition.

Science

Bronze Age cemetery offers clues on how ancient Chinese brewed red rice wine

Vessels found in tombs at Mogou in modern-day Gansu contain traces of a fermentation starter of the type still used to make sake today.

Science

China urged to sue over Japanese royal’s role in Unit 731 crimes

Emperor Hirohito should be held accountable, according to scholars who say the wartime ruler was shielded from prosecution by US policy.

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A Chinese scholar says that before Japan’s surrender in the second world war, evidence of crimes by its Unit 731 was systematically destroyed on the instruction of Emperor Hirohito. Photo: Xinhua
China’s Communist Party

Fall of Ming dynasty has ignited controversy online – and China has weighed in

Oversimplified discourse on Ming, Qing dynasties risks slide into ‘narrow, Han-centric nationalism’, Zhejiang authorities warn.

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The “1644 perspective” that frames the Ming dynasty as a golden age of prosperity and advancement has been widely shared on China’s social media. Photo: Handout
Science

Well-preserved section of China’s 2,200-year-old four-lane highway discovered

Stretch of Qin Straight Road reveals sophisticated construction techniques including rammed-earth slope reinforcements and filled valleys.

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Trending in China

Explainer | China Santa Claus: Qing dynasty military figure ‘cutified’ into ‘Father Christmas’

Oboi has become a new pop culture icon in China, with related videos exceeding 1 billion views on Douyin.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Malaysia’s unusual creation still affects it today. China mulled doing similar

Malaysia was born as a federation in 1963, with some states considered ‘special’. China also once toyed with federal ideals.

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A view of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, including the Petronas Twin Towers. Today, the states of Sabah and Sarawak want to regain the special status they were granted during the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Photo: Reuters
Chinese culture

Explainer | What is the winter solstice? History, food and how Hong Kong celebrates

Known as dung zi in Cantonese and dongzhi in Mandarin, the winter solstice is one of the most important celebrations for Chinese families.

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China-Japan relations

Tower of peace or sin? Why China says a Japanese wartime monument must be razed

Chinese state media decries tourist attraction as ‘symbol of militarism’ as Beijing’s diplomatic row with Tokyo continues.

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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.

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
History

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

Amid push in China for museum digitalisation, one educator seeks to help students ‘feel history without being flooded by it’.

Simon Li, executive director of the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre, with students (from second left) Kavira S. Kazimoto, Gem Peduche and Josue Camarena, at Andrews University’s Hong Kong campus. Photo: Handout
Chinese culture

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

Horses play a fascinating role in Chinese folklore, ranging from the downright disturbing – one kidnaps a girl – to the gently auspicious.

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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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.

Labubus hang for sale at a market in New York’s Times Square in November 2025. The dolls’ unprecedented popularity has led their value to surge as many buy them as investments and keep them entombed in plastic cases. Photo: Reuters
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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Illustration: Henry Wong
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.

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.

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