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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.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
A vase with lion head handles on display at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong culture

Beijing-Paris ties on display in Hong Kong show of silk, porcelain and diplomacy

Versailles and Forbidden City joint exhibition a sign of past exchanges and possible future strengthening of ties, experts say.

History

Should museums return antiquities to their countries of origin? Some say no

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Suicide in Korea is a big problem. In China, views were once very different

Chinese culture

Opinion | China’s scientific breakthroughs can lead to linguistic ones too

While English is used in most global scientific exchanges, publishing more papers in Chinese could facilitate linguistic innovation and inclusion.

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The returner of the Chang’e-6 lunar probe is opened during a ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing, China, on June 26. Photo: Xinhua
Hong Kong society

New look at old Chinese, French ties in ‘grand finale’ Hong Kong exhibition

Exhibition offers new ways to discover the two cultures, says Laurent Salome, director of the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon.

China-Japan relations

How AI is bringing conversations about wartime atrocities into the classroom

Project allows students to engage in dialogue with interactive testimonies, including from ‘comfort women’ and Nanking massacre survivors.

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Diplomacy

Editorial | Culture helps bolster China ties with France

Exhibition at Hong Kong Palace Museum serves as reminder of relationship with China and why it is important for city to ensure it continues.

A staff member looks on during a media preview of “The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles” exhibition, which marks the long-standing relationship between China and France. Photo: AP
Horoscopes

Chinese horoscopes: how’s your luck in December 2024, Fire Rat month?

If you’re a Rat like Dwayne Johnson or William Shakespeare, this is a great month both for parties and setting new goals – but what about the other 11 Chinese astrological signs?

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Nanking massacre survivors tell of horrors suffered under Japanese occupation

Discover the harrowing tales of the 1937 Nanking massacre, as illustrator Chen Congying brings the experiences of survivors to life decades after the tragic event.

Chinese culture

Why the coming Year of the Wood Snake could be lucky

With 12 animals and 5 elements, the Year of the Wood Snake comes around every 60 years, and 2025’s may be more favourable than 1965’s.

A snake at a farm in Bangkok, Thailand. The next lunar new year will be a Year of the Wood Snake, which comes around every 60 years. The previous one, in 1965, saw dynamic change and upheaval. Are we in for more of the same? Photo: Getty Images
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | China has long kept a firm grip on news, with gossip harshly punished

The Yongzheng Emperor even put to death editors and writers linked to a report he had celebrated a festival that he had said he would not.

A man carries an AI-generated image of former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carrying cats away from Haitian immigrants, a reference to falsehoods spread about Springfield, Ohio, during a campaign rally for Trump at the Tucson Music Hall in Tucson, Arizona, Sept. 12, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
Science

Ancient Chinese proved the Pythagorean theorem in 17 characters: mathematician

A leading academic has highlighted China’s rich mathematical history, including a startling fact about a well-known theorem.

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Ancient king’s tomb unearthed, a Song dynasty fashion shock and more historical finds

From ancient Chinese kings to cutting-edge AI in archaeology, explore fascinating discoveries that rewrite history in some of our recent stories looking into the past.

Chinese culture

Why is there a cake voucher with your Chinese wedding invite? We explain

A cake voucher often accompanies an invitation to a Chinese wedding, part of a practice that dates back centuries.

Assorted Chinese wedding cakes. Photo: May Tse
Art

Video art shows Chinese migrants’ struggle in 1800s New Zealand

Displayed at Tai Twun in Hong Kong, Lisa Reihana’s DigiRadiance: Gold_Lead_Wood_Coal shows Chinese miners in New Zealand in 360 degrees.

A visitor watches Lisa Reihana’s DigiRadiance: Gold_Lead_Wood_Coal. Photo: Edmond So
Science

Chinese women wore tank tops, transparent clothing 800 years ago: study

Digital reconstruction of treasure trove found in 800-year-old tomb reveals forward-thinking fashion of the day, according to scientists.

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Trending in China

Scholars debunk myth of Roman settlement in China with DNA tests, tourists undeterred

Roman culture intrigues China, inspiring TV dramas, novels about a legion’s journey to the East.

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Chinese culture

Chinese horoscopes: how’s your luck in November 2024, Water Pig month?

If you are a Pig like billionaire Elon Musk or royal Queen Camilla, November is all about being humble – but what about the other 11 Chinese astrological signs?

Chinese horoscopes: how’s your luck in November 2024, Water Pig month? Predictions for health, wealth, love and work. Photo: SCMP Graphics
Hong Kong culture

Palace of Versailles, Beijing Palace Museum loan relics for Hong Kong exhibition

Exhibition at Hong Kong Palace Museum to run from December 18 until May 4 of next year to celebrate 60 years of Sino-French diplomatic ties.

Art

Artist Huang Yongyu showed his ‘relaxed’ side in new docu-film by Yonfan

Hong Kong director and photographer Yonfan is finally getting the recognition he deserves, with mainland censors deeming his Crossing Years docu about the late artist fit for the public.

Asia travel

We skipped Guilin’s karst hills and visited Longzhou in Guangxi, China instead

Guangxi’s little-visited Longzhou is a former French treaty port that offers all the karst peak sights and historic insight of far-more crowded locales.

An aerial shot of the Zuo River in Longzhou, Guangxi, China. Photo: VCG
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How ‘dragon bones’ shed a whole new light on China’s ancient history

With the news that dinosaur fossils were found in Hong Kong, here is how China’s oracle bones changed our understanding of the Shang dynasty.

Oracle bone, The engraved characters are the earliest known examples of Chinese script. The bones originally used for divination also provide information about rulers, battles, folk religion and religious rites. China. Chinese. Shang dynasty c 1766 1122 BC. An yang, Honan. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images) Photo: Getty Images
SCMP Highlights

China’s answer to Concorde, N Korea defectors try to join Ukraine: 7 highlights

From North Korean defectors wanting to join Ukraine’s efforts to China’s answer to Concorde, here are highlights from recent SCMP reporting.

Old Hong Kong

What was Hong Kong’s telephone system like before smartphones?

The numerical prefixes used to indicate where callers were dialling from – New Territories, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon or outlying islands.

Chinese culture

Why there’s a bittersweet side to Chinese wedding drink ‘bride wine’

Nu’er hong, or huadiao, is rice wine traditionally drunk at Chinese weddings. Matured 18 years, its opening marks a daughter’s leaving home.

Chinese bride wine containers in Shaoxing, eastern China. Photo: Getty Images
Hong Kong society

‘Work priorities’ delayed identifying Hong Kong dinosaur fossils by 11 years

Commissioner for Heritage Ivanhoe Chang reveals fossils were found in geological study and left for over a decade due to ‘work priorities’.

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A rock containing fossils is shown at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre. The government announced the discovery of the fossils on Port Island on Wednesday. Photo: Dickson Lee
Chinese culture

3 unusual Chinese musical instruments that have experts confused

Shaped like a fish, tiger and box respectively, the muyu, yu, and zhu are percussion instruments that all fall under the wood classification.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When officials in drought-prone part of China committed huge fraud

In a case that shocked China 250 years ago, officials were punished for fraud involving donations in return for university places.

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