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History

History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Russian service members take part in a military parade in Moscow on Saturday on Victory Day, marking the 81st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Photo: Reuters
Russia

Putin criticises Nato at Victory Day parade in Moscow

At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Succession struggles in China’s past echoed in Malaysia’s 2026 royal crisis

Asia travel

Best things to do in China’s Nanjing, from food and architecture to history

Art

Gardens of China and Europe juxtaposed in spectacular Hong Kong exhibition

A new exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art features works including Monet’s water lilies and Qing dynasty masterpieces.

The Water Theatre (c. 1700) by anonymous is one of the artworks on loan from the Palace of Versailles in “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Photo: Collection of the Palace of Versailles
Malaysia

Penang’s cemetery tours spur interest in pioneers, colonial history

While the state receives millions in conservation funding, it faces challenges in preserving the Protestant cemetery due to its climate.

Hong Kong culture

Editorial | Hong Kong’s efforts to commemorate Bruce Lee should pack bigger punch

While the latest move to honour the late kung fu star is welcome, more must be done to acknowledge his standing as a pillar of Hong Kong heritage.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Ancient Chinese sleep advice, from bedtimes and body positions to state of mind

For premodern Chinese people, sleep was much more than daily rest – it was a cultivated discipline and a medical necessity.

The ancient Chinese believed that the ideal sleep schedule followed nature’s rhythms, and rising early was prized. Photo: Shutterstock
Taiwan

Why Beijing now wants its spies executed in Taiwan back in the spotlight

Mainland China is seeing a surge in interest over ‘invisible martyrs’ such as Wu Shi, a KMT defector who was executed in Taipei in 1950.

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American cinema

Pearl Harbor at 25: is Michael Bay’s World War II epic really that bad?

Pearl Harbor was widely panned upon release in 2001 but with its strong cast and characters and explosive action, is it worth reassessing?

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Australia

Riot erupts over Australian indigenous girl’s suspected killer

About 400 indigenous people gathered at the hospital where ‌the suspect was taken after being beaten unconscious by locals.

A police vehicle burns as community members clash with authorities outside Alice Springs Hospital in Australia on Thursday. Photo: EPA
Hong Kong culture

On This Day | In 1946, Hong Kong’s governor Sir Mark Young returns after WWII – SCMP archive

On this day 80 years ago, Sir Mark Young returned to Hong Kong after being a prisoner of war during the Japanese occupation.

Sir Mark Young (left) in an undated picture. He was serving as Hong Kong’s governor when the territory fell under Japanese occupation in 1941. Photo: SCMP Archive
Australia

Australian police find body in search for missing indigenous girl

The girl was reported missing from her home in a remote community in central Australia on Saturday.

New Zealand

New Zealand officials reject statue remembering Japan’s WWII sex slaves

The government said feedback for the statue application included formal representations from Japan.

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Italy

Archaeologists use AI to reconstruct Pompeii victim’s face and final moments

AI-generated image shows a man ducking for cover, with a flaming Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The AI-generated image shows a man ducking ​for cover while holding a large bowl over his head. Image: Pompeii Archaeological Park
Style Edit

Style Edit: Poly MGM Museum’s new ‘Silk Roads Beyond Borders’ treasures

New Italian and Persian treasures make their Asia debut, expanding the museum’s Silk Road narrative with rare works that illuminate centuries of East-West exchange.

Michele Marieschi’s Ca’ Foscari and Palazzo Balbi on the Grand Canal (c.1738-1740). Photo: Fotostudio Rapuzzi
Language Matters

Language Matters | From azure to cerulean, how fashionable shades of blue got their names

The Devil Wears Prada explained there’s big money in leveraging names of blue hues, some of which evolved across centuries and continents.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The history of China’s hospitality industry and how its inns evolved over time

Private inns served travelling merchants in ancient China and grew in number and sophistication as the economy and infrastructure expanded.

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Chinese history

Inside the 14k, the Hong Kong triad that went global

From its roots in mainland China to expansion in Hong Kong and beyond, we look at the history of one of the most notorious triad societies.

Police arrest suspected 14K triad members at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, in 1995. The 14K began life as an openly pro-Kuomintang society in mainland China before becoming a global criminal organisation based in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP
Art

‘Raw honesty’: new museum preserves Thai-Chinese art rebel’s remarkable legacy

The Tang Chang Private Museum opens on May 1 as the Bangkok-born artist’s family aims to show the world his work before it’s too late.

Japan

Japan’s Takaichi sends Yasukuni shrine offering, South Korea expresses ‘regret’

Seoul urges Japan’s leaders to ‘face history squarely’ and show through action ‘a sincere remorse for its past’.

Style Edit

Style Edit: The Omega Speedmaster story – from Apollo 11 to Artemis II

From Nasa’s punishing 1965 trials, to the Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite, ‘Reverse Panda’ and X-33 – this is how a space icon keeps evolving.

The Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite is made using iron meteorite and lunar meteorite. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong society

Over 250 rare Han dynasty relics on display in major Hong Kong showcase

Development chief Bernadette Linn calls exhibition a ‘sequel’ to last year’s Tang dynasty showcase, with 95 per cent of relics shown in city for first time.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn (right) views a Han dynasty artefact. Photo: Handout
United States

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Ancient Greece offers no lessons for Asia. The Global South must stop letting America’s war machine write history.

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European travel

William Shakespeare’s only London house finally found with 17th century map

The location of the house where the Bard likely wrote works including Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet was found on a map in the London Archives.

Chinese culture

Reflections | What an old Chinese snack can teach people about the ‘proper’ way to eat dishes

The evolution of ‘biluo’ in Tang-dynasty China highlights how there is no unchanging way in which a dish ought to be prepared and enjoyed.

Cherry Biluo. Photo: Sohu
Jewellery

King Tut’s 3,200-year-old legacy inspires a new era of Egyptian jewellery

The opening of Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum is sparking renewed interest in ancient motifs from brands like Azza Fahmy and Bibi van der Velden.

Azza Fahmy The Tutankhamun necklace. Photo: Handout
Japan

Video | Is Japan ready for a female emperor?

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, even as the prime minister proposes a plan that preserves the male-line succession.

Art

From Jurassic Park kid to dinosaur expert in what was ‘a gentleman’s science’

Natalia Jagielska, dinosaur researcher, illustrator and scientific consultant, explains how women are under-represented in her field.

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