Tiny Insect Podcast

29/09/2024

***NEW EPISODE***

1.20 - The Voice of God

God doesn’t speak to just anyone. Communicating with the divine is mediated by clerics, sacred texts, by long and complicated rituals. Many traditions, such as Christianity, put a special emphasis on the written word, recordings of revelations from prophets, aeons, or the divine itself.

So what happens when God talks to someone who isn’t “supposed” to hear him? What distinguishes new divine revelation from blasphemy? How can you be sure it’s God speaking and not a devil or demon? Not a charlatan faking a religious experience for their own ends?

The emergence of new divine revelation that challenges or reinterprets the existing theology has happened in many traditions. In this episode we’re going to begin the story of how the God Worshipers - and then the Taiping - handled it when God began speaking regularly at Thistle Mountain.

https://tinyinsectpodcast.com/episode-1-20-the-voice-of-god/

25/05/2024

***NEW EPISODE***

Hong Xiuquan meets an American Protestant missionary, departs on a mission to burn down the Qing Empire. Cause or correlation? Find out in this episode.

https://tinyinsectpodcast.com/episode-1-19-radicalization/

(Picture is Robert Morrison, who never met Hong Xiuquan. I couldn't find a picture of Issachar Roberts, who did.)

26/02/2024

***NEW EPISODE***

While Feng Yunshan was building up the God Worshipers in Guangxi Province in 1845 and 1846, Hong Xiuquan living was back in his hometown of Guanlubu, Guangdong province working as a school teacher. He also spent his time elaborating on the nature of God, his relationship to humankind, and how the Chinese people had been deceived by demons and spirits. These writings were later collected into the “Taiping Testament”. In this episode we’re going to explore the Testament and see how it laid the foundation for what will become the Taiping political project, which resulted in a full insurrection against the ruling Qing dynasty a few years later.

Episode 1.18 – The Taiping Testament Posted on February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 by tinyinsectpod Taiping church service, around 1860. While Feng Yunshan was building up the God Worshipers in Guangxi Province in 1845 and 1846, Hong Xiuquan living was back in his hometown of Guanlubu, Guangdong pr...

28/05/2023

***NEW EPISODE***

In this episode, we look at the region where the Society of God Worshipers took root and grew, and what life was like there in the second half of the 1840’s. Pirates, bandits, secret societies, and everyday people trying to scratch out a living in a Qing “backwater”. This “internal frontier” was the place where Hong’s Christian beliefs took root & grew into the nucleus of what would become the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Episode 1.16 – Thistle Mountain Posted on May 28, 2023May 28, 2023 by tinyinsectpod Not exactly Thistle mountain, but an example of what the area north/north-west of Guiping, Guangxi looks like. In this episode, we look at the region where the Society of God Worshipers took root and grew, and what...

29/07/2022

*** NEW EPISODE ***

This is part 3 of our 3 part series on the O***m War. In this final episode, we look in some detail at how the O***m War changed southern China during the 1840's, and how the experience of the war and it's aftermath changed the trajectory of Hong Xiuquan's life - and with it, the history of China.

Episode 1.14 – Hong’s O***m War Posted on July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 by tinyinsectpod The story of the O***m War is usually told as part of a wider narrative of European colonial expansion, and the beginning of a “century of humiliation” from the perspective of the modern Chinese state. Last...

21/03/2022

Episode 2 of the 3 part series on the O***m War is here! At an hour long, it's by far the longest episode I've produced, a record I don't anticipate breaking for some time (if ever).

Episode 1.13 – The O***m War Posted on March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 by tinyinsectpod The idea of the O***m War carries a great deal of meaning in modern memory. For many flavors of Chinese nationalist, it is the beginning of their century of humiliation at the hands of exploitive foreigners. For t...

03/10/2021

❗️❗️❗️It took way longer to get this episode published than I wanted, but it's finally here. ❗️❗️❗️

The O***m War has officially begun.

Episode 1.12 – Drug Bust Posted on October 3, 2021October 3, 2021 by tinyinsectpod Lin Zexu In 1839, Lin Zexu makes history’s largest drug bust when he secured more than 1,600 tons of o***m from European traders in Guangzhou. At first it was a triumph against the plague of imported o***m. But un...

26/06/2021

***New Episode***

Qing dynasty “foreign policy” operated quite differently than it is commonly understood today, or as it was understood by contemporary states in Europe and West Asia. Going all the way back to the Han, Chinese dynasties tried to fit what we think of as foreign policy into the principles of Confucian hierarchy and submission. When British traders began arriving in large numbers in 18th century, the Qing tried to accommodate them in a way the British would tolerate as a price of doing business. In the wake of Napoleon’s defeat and a rising “free trade” ideology in the 1830’s, the balance of power and mutual toleration started to shift decisively.

Episode 1.11 – Food Poisoning Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by tinyinsectpod “Canton Factories” in Guangzhou, c1830 Qing dynasty “foreign policy” operated quite differently than it is commonly understood today, or as it was understood by contemporary states in Europe and West Asia. ...

05/04/2021

***New Episode***

This episode looks at the rise of the East India Trade Company through the triangle trade between British India, Qing China, and the British Isles. O***m fueled the Company’s rise. It took a combination of o***m smugglers, Free Trade ideogues, and 19th century Christian missionaries working together to bring their reign in Guangzhou to an end.

Episode 1.10 – Faith and Free Trade Posted on April 5, 2021April 5, 2021 by tinyinsectpod This episode looks at the rise of the East India Trade Company through the triangle trade between British India, Qing China, and the British Isles. O***m fueled the Company’s rise. It took a combination of ...

12/02/2021

***New Episode***

This one has been in the oven for months, but between personal loss and our epic move to Southern Oregon, I just never quite got it out the door. Should be returning to a somewhat more regular posting schedule!

In the second episode of our “mini season” on the O***m War, we’ll look at how the highest officials of the Qing Empire debated the problem of o***m in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Specifically, what was the best way to prevent trading of Chinese silver for foreign o***m? Some advocated harsh crackdowns, while others wondered why not just legalize it?

Episode 1.8 – Legalize It Posted on February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 by tinyinsectpod In the second episode of the “mini season” on the O***m War, we’ll look at how the highest officials of the Qing Empire debated the problem of o***m in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Specifically, what was th...

09/11/2020

***New Episode***

First of what's going to be a bit of a mini-season (7-8 episodes?) on the O***m War, which showed Hong Xiuquan and the citizens of Southern Guangdong that the Qing were not as powerful as they might have appeared.

The name “O***m War” was first given to the war by a British newspaper opposed to the conflict. It was a derogatory label that implied the great British Empire, emancipator of slaves, was being lowered to doing the bidding of a bunch of British drug dealers selling o***m mostly grown in British-controlled regions of India by a giant, private corporation.

In this episode, we’ll discuss how the war might just as easily go by the less catchy name “Silver Crunch War of 1839”. A global silver shortage combined with the unique vulnerabilities of the Qing economy to the resulting increase in silver prices will drive the Daoguang Emperor to crack down on a bunch of unruly British drug dealers.

Episode 1.8 – Less Money More Problems Posted on November 9, 2020November 9, 2020 by tinyinsectpod Image by: Numismática Pliego – Numismática Pliego, CC BY-SA 3.0 The name “O***m War” was first given to the war by a British newspaper opposed to the conflict. It was a derogatory label that ...

25/10/2020

TFW you thought you'd cover the O***m War in 4 episodes but you're up to 6 and have at least 2-3 more to go...

12/10/2020

Sorry for the lack of new episodes recently. Between work and getting ready to move, just haven't had the where-with-all to record a new episode, though the next two are close to being ready.

02/09/2020

***New Episode***

A young Hong Xiuquan fails the provincial exam in Guangzhou for the third time. The experience breaks him, and his family fears for his life. It's then, as his family fears he might be dying, that a group of small children in golden robes, a host of angels, and a giant rooster come to whisk him away on a journey that will change his life forever.

https://tinyinsectpodcast.com/episode-1-7-the-vision/

Episode 1.7 – The Vision Posted on September 2, 2020September 2, 2020 by tinyinsectpod In this episode, a young Hong Xiuquan fails the provincial exam in Guangzhou for the third time. The experience breaks him, and his family fears for his life. It’s then, as his family fears he might be dying, ...

27/07/2020

***New Episode***

Sorry for the long delay - couldn't quite finish this one before leaving for vacation.

In this episode, we get to know Hong Xiuquan and the world he grew up in. Hong’s early life was defined by his experience as a Hakka in Southern China, aspiring to join the ranks of the Confucian scholar-officials.

Episode 1.6 – Portrait of God’s Son as a Young Man Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 by tinyinsectpod In this episode, we get to know Hong Xiuquan and the world he grew up in. Hong’s early life was defined by his experience as a Hakka in Southern China, aspiring to join the ranks of the Con...

09/06/2020

New Episode! This one covers the White Lotus Rebellion from 1796-1804, which showed both some of the stresses building in the Qing imperial system, but also resilience against heterodox sects in Chinese society itself.

https://tinyinsectpodcast.com/episode-1-5-not-your-uncles-white-lotus/

Episode 1.5 – Not Your Uncle’s White Lotus Posted on June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 by tinyinsectpod The White Lotus Rebellion at the end of the 18th century foreshadows the later crisis of the mid-19th century. https://media.blubrry.com/tinyinsect/p/tinyinsectpodcastepisodes.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.co...

10/05/2020

New Episode on the rise of the Qing, China’s last imperial dynasty. We’ll look at some of the major decisions Qing rulers made in the dynasty’s first 150 years. The reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong will rule China for a combined 140 years, during which it was the most powerful and populous state on earth. But it’s also in this period that many of the seeds of its calamitous 19th century were sown.

Episode 1.4 – Rise of the Qing Posted on May 10, 2020May 10, 2020 by tinyinsectpod The Qianlong Emperor This episode we’ll look at the rise of the Qing, China’s last imperial dynasty. We’ll look at some of the major decisions Qing rulers made in the dynasty’s first 150 years. The reigns of...

14/04/2020

New Episode: Ming China and the Silver Mountain

At the beginning of the 17th century the Ming empire was the largest and most powerful on earth. But in a newly global world they soon found themselves tied to the whims of global trade and a silver mountain half way around the world.

This episode could have been it's own mini-season, and I hope to return to many of these topics in future seasons. But for now, I've got to focus on laying the groundwork for the Taiping Civil War, and on its face this will have nothing to do with that. I've heard people say history doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes. In this case, it's both.

Episode 1.3 – Ming China and the Silver Mountain Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by tinyinsectpod At the beginning of the 17th century the Ming empire was the largest and most powerful on earth. But in a newly global world they soon found themselves tied to the whims of global trade and a s...