Liu Che (Emperor Wu) was born in 156 BCE and ascended to the Han throne in 141 BCE at a young age, going on to hold power for 54 years in one of the longest reigns in the history of Chinese imperial rule. He had not been first in line for succession, but shrewd maneuvering…

Few rises to power in Chinese history are as improbable as that of Liu Bang, the man who would become Emperor Gaozu of Han. He was born into an ordinary peasant family at a time when imperial ambition was considered the exclusive domain of the aristocratic class. His origins made his eventual triumph not just…

Liu Bang, who would come to rule as Emperor Gaozu of Han, stands out in Chinese history as one of the rare dynastic founders to have clawed his way up from genuinely humble origins. While most emperors could point to aristocratic blood or military pedigree, Liu Bang started life as a peasant, making his eventual…

Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 BC as Ying Zheng in the city of Handan while his father was effectively a political hostage in the rival state of Zhao. Despite this precarious start, he eventually rose to power and became the man who unified China for the first time in history. Before he unified…

Around 85 million people speak Cantonese globally. Cantonese is part of the Yue branch of Sinitic languages in the Sino Tibetan family. Even though written characters in traditional Hanzi are the same, spoken Cantonese and Mandarin are generally not mutually intelligible. Cantonese is known for its complex tonal system, commonly said to have six to…