The face that ended a dynasty? The imperial concubine Yang Guifei
Classic femme fatale, or a figure of doomed love? A decadent diva who sowed the seeds of the Tang’s downfall, or a woman whose tragic death deserves celebration?
Chinese Lives
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Lang Ping, ‘The Iron Hammer’: The national hero with the golden touch
Lang Ping is China’s Michael Jordan, the most famous, celebrated, and accomplished Chinese athlete of her generation.
Lu Ban, China’s inventor of everything
He's the god of builders and contractors, known for creating a long line of products that helped the common people. Did he actually exist? It doesn't matter — he now lends his name to everything from stools to idioms.
Hu Xijin, China’s greatest internet troll
How a free speech fanboy came to represent the Chinese Communist Party's id.
The untold story of Wu Sangui, China’s two-time turncoat
Benedict Arnold. Quisling. Brutus. All traitors of legendary status, whose names are now figures of speech. But the ultimate traitor? That might be China's Wu Sangui, who betrayed not one, but two dynasties.
The man behind TikTok, who believes in a cyberspace without borders
Zhang Yiming, the founder and CEO of ByteDance — the $100 billion company that owns TikTok — is a 37-year-old self-made billionaire who always puts business interests and global ambitions first. But now he finds himself caught up in a U.S.-China political rivalry, battered by people on both sides.
Mao’s ‘shameless poet’: Guo Moruo and his checkered legacy
At one time, Guo Moruo was at the forefront of Chinese arts and literature, considered a romantic and iconoclast. But all that changed during the Cultural Revolution, when, in the face of persecution, he failed to rise up to the moment.
Xie Jinyuan and his 800 heroes: Foot soldiers of modern Chinese nationalism
For four days in October 1937, a small contingent of Chinese troops staved off Japanese invaders in one of the opening volleys of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The men who held their ground are known as the "800 Heroes,” and were led by Xie Jinyuan. They are now a symbol for Chinese strength and nationalism.
Guan Daosheng, the woman who conquered Yuan art
Guan Daosheng bent several norms of ancient China. She was a legendary artist specializing in masculine subjects, collected by emperors and revered by a Confucian society which usually confined women to the family courtyard and ranked them beneath their husbands.