Intro to Historical Chinese Geography
Рет қаралды 246,681
Жыл бұрынAn overview of the major rivers, mountains, and ancient cities that have shaped Chinese history for over thousands of years.
This is a remake of my first ever video on this channel, which was uploaded in February 2022, although I have added so much new material that it is essentially a completely new video. The original video has very poor sound quality since I did not know how to use a microphone properly back then. It is currently unlisted, although you can find it here:
• Introduction to Ancien...
Attributions: Maps were created using maps-for-free.com/ by ©OpenStreetMap www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
#chinesehistory #china #geography #yangtzeriver #yellowriver #yangtze #beijing #luoyang #中国历史 #中国地理 #历史 #地理
@kevinelruler 9 ай бұрын
It's so hard to find quality geography content that's not western oriented. Thank you so much for this.
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you liked it!
@LaggingGames Жыл бұрын
This is an invaluable resource to understand historical Chinese geopolitics, great work man
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
thanks, glad you've found it helpful! I'm working on more videos on Chinese geography too so looking forward to sharing more in the future.
@imjustsam1745 8 ай бұрын
I've been binging after work all week. This channel is a gem.
@lexsongtw 9 ай бұрын
As a Taiwanese, I really wish our teacher had taught us this geography overview before diving into Chinese history. Even for me, this video helps clarify why many events unfolded the way they did. I learned a lot from it.
@gutyhuy3817 Жыл бұрын
I really like this, just wish it had even more in it, such as the Hetao plain, Min River, Pearl River, Liao River ans Liao Dong peninsula. Also some more mentions of Chengdu and Chongqing and historical Ba-Shu. Or how the Guangzhou and the pearl river delta connected China to the Maritime Silk Road. Still really good though.
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the feedback, and yes these are all topics I want to explore in a lot more detail in future videos. My thought is to have a few videos like this cover broader themes, but then really delve into detailed geography of specific regions after that.
@TukozAki 9 ай бұрын
@@gatesofkilikien If feasible these would be super interesting to watch. xie xie hen duo!
@talamioros 9 ай бұрын
@@TukozAkiI'm assuming you're learning Chinese and trying to practise it...I'd like to point out that you can't directly translate English "thank you very much" directly into Chinese (hence xie xie hen duo) A correct way to say it would fei chang gan xie 非常感谢!
@TukozAki 9 ай бұрын
fei chang gan xie @@talamioros :-) Please is this perfectly fine in a non formal context, or can 'xie xie' induces something like 'a lot' or 'many thanks' depending on the locutor's intonation, or does a slightly shorter common expression than the above exists to show someone 'deeper' gratitude? (ps wo shi fa guo ren)
@pat8988 9 ай бұрын
GatesOfKilikien, love the content, but please pause at the end of the sentences. Running the words all together makes comprehension more difficult.
@laturnich9507 Жыл бұрын
A marked improvement on the original video. Always happy to see the progression of your channel. Keep at it!
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Thanks for all your support too! It's been a lot of experimenting this past year, and I've definitely learned a lot.
@TheWhiskyDelta 8 ай бұрын
Fun notes on the yellow river. It's course originally was mostly more northerly before the more recent millenia (This is why Anyang was the Shang captial for example). It's changing course and intense flooding means that the central plains, despite it's immense farming wealth, has historically lacked major cities actually located within the plains. Instead all the major cities are found around the edge of the plains along mountainsides; Anyang, Luoyang, Kaifend, Xuchang etc. Even Xuzhou of Cao Cao, is located in a small hill region. Indeed if you go through the big cities today in the plains a great many have no significant history marked from before the modern era. And even those that do were usually just regional hubs. Compare that to the Yangtze where most cities have existed as major cities for thousands of years. The second fun thing of note is that the Bay of Bohai used to be far larger. The land Tianjin sits on didn't even exist 1000 years ago. When it was first founded Beijing may have been nearly coastal
@ChikaiCheng-ts1fi 4 ай бұрын
在兩千年前，上海還在海底，廣州城建在海岸線旁
@sevrent2811 Жыл бұрын
wow this was good. I've been looking for some more detailed explanations of Chinese history. Especially ones that consider Chinese culture/conciousness around it.
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Glad you liked it! This is one of my main goals for the channel - make the stuff that I grew up reading in Chinese more accessible to an English-speaking audience.
@user-nz3fn5nx3n 10 ай бұрын
Incredible video. Loved you mixing of American slang and Chinese enunciation/pronunciation. So many Chinese history videos I've watched now make much more sense. Shay a shay.
@gatesofkilikien 10 ай бұрын
Appreciate the feedback, and yes one of my goals for this channel is to make Chinese history more accessible in English. Chinese history has a lot of recurrent themes and "rules", so to speak, and they often could be applied to different time periods.
@Michael-el 9 ай бұрын
This is fabulous. I've always struggled to fully understand Chinese geography from a historical perspective, but you've presented this with great clarity. Many thanks!
@tieck4408 Жыл бұрын
Informative, pleasant, well-paced. Thank you!
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@Oustein 8 ай бұрын
Really interesting. The overview i didnt knew i wanted.
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad to hear you've enjoyed the video!
@Ufthak Жыл бұрын
Fantastic introductory video. Subscribed immediately. Would love to see more videos on how millennia of intensive agriculture and river flow manipulation made it progressively more difficult to manage the rivers in North China Plain and Yangtze.
@gordonwang6248 Жыл бұрын
Same here. Would be really interesting to know more on how river course changes, (especially the Yellow River) played a role in geopolitics at that time as well.
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Yes definitely, I plan to delve into these topics a lot more in the upcoming videos, and depending on the time period the position of the lower course of the Yellow River definitely did alter the balance of power between the different regions.
@TomMorrison-cc6xw 3 күн бұрын
Excellent! I've become quite enamored of Chinese history & this video explains so much that I had been confused about. Definitely subscribed & looking forward to binging on all your posts. Keep up the great work!
@dutrareis 8 ай бұрын
One of the best videos I've ever seen on this platform. Not only on history and geography, but overall. This was a masterclass.
@MenwithHill 9 ай бұрын
That's such a great idea ! This kind of information is extremely useful to process historical events and im very glad you made it. It truly helps.
@raiyaanda1st 9 ай бұрын
An excellent video. I have always been curious about China's geography but never got around to further reading. This was very informative and well structured. Looking forward to more of your content!
@eingrobernerzustand3741 4 ай бұрын
Ive Bookmarked a video of this channel half a year ago, and am now regretting not checking it out earlier as im bingewatching your content.
@lowersaxon 9 ай бұрын
Great, this is really core information and although packed densely you learn and understand a lot in a comfortably short time. Compliments sent out!
@cg9612 9 ай бұрын
This is so useful. I'm glad to find a discussion of the geography as the main topic. It brings together everything I've learned about China and its history in a coherent and historical whole.
@jpbcollins 9 ай бұрын
Absolutely brilliant! I’ve searched high and low online for exactly this-a primer on the basic geographic structure of China and East Asia. This answers so many questions. Bravo!
@kyudanpi4436 8 ай бұрын
As a Chinese born in China, I was surprised how well-made this video is. I have no complaints except that maybe you can mention why and how the deforestation took place (like due to climate change and population overgrowth, etc.). You are on the way to explain how the geography, economy, and social structures made China what it was in the past and what it is today. Keep up the great work!
@jsbae2 8 ай бұрын
This what is have always wanted to know. Thanks for your great work.
@joelsherpa2187 11 ай бұрын
I've been looking for a video on this topic for some time now. Great video! Can't wait for more!
@gatesofkilikien 11 ай бұрын
Awesome! Thank you! There's a lot of intricacies to Chinese historical geography, and this video is just meant as an overview. Looking forward to posting more as well.
@MrSiwat 9 ай бұрын
Outstanding details. Very interesting. Thank you so much for the video.
@treeinafield5022 9 ай бұрын
This is the first video I watched from you. Instant subscribe. This video was great, it's exactly what I was looking for while trying to learn more about Chinese history.
@richardengelhardt582 9 ай бұрын
Very well done. I will use it in my intro course to Chinese historical archaeology.
@tanewoodley9806 9 ай бұрын
That was fascinating, thank you posting. Concise but rich in information, well done 🙂
@NuisanceMan 6 ай бұрын
I really learned a lot from this dense-packed video. It makes sense out of a lot of what I've read about Chinese history.
@Menzobarrenza Жыл бұрын
Awesome video, man! This was super helpful, informative, detailed in the best way, and useful.
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Thanks, glad you've found it helpful!
@The_Sloth_Guy 9 ай бұрын
This is wonderful! Truly amazing video
@thomasfriesejr.9198 9 ай бұрын
One of the best videos I've seen in a long time. It connected so many dots in my understanding. Great job.
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@alaakela 9 ай бұрын
This is super! Very informative. Thank you!
@Markus9343 9 ай бұрын
Wow, YT normally suggests awful videos but this was an incredibly interesting video and really changed my perspective about what china really looks like.
@michellem3050 9 ай бұрын
That was really interesting - a helpful context for history and current events. Thanks.
@pieterpuk7684 9 ай бұрын
Great video. Relevant information, densely packed. I love it! Looking forward to watching more.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Awesome, thank you! I have a lot more planned as well, and looking forward to sharing them soon.
@yurigagarin9765 8 ай бұрын
Instant subscribe, what a little jewel of a channel
@justarandomaspie4132 9 ай бұрын
Great Video. Havent Seen many Videos wich Take such a intensive Look at how geography shapes (patterns of) History.
@RuthlessTragedy Жыл бұрын
Im seeing your videos everywhere now! i love this content speaking on the geography of China. What an incredible geography! thanks for sharing this amazing historical info as well!
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoy it! And it’s been very cool to see the channel grow over the past year too
@brianomahonyy 10 ай бұрын
I've been waiting for this video for over a decade :). Great Job!
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Appreciate the comment and glad you've found it helpful. I'm planning to work on a lot more videos focusing on the different regions/cities of China, so stay tuned.
@greenman6141 9 ай бұрын
Absolutely brilliant. Extremely helpful in trying to grasp so many things about such a large and ancient land.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've found it helpful!
@menhguin 9 ай бұрын
Just wanted to say I really enjoyed this video and your channel! I'm super fascinated by geography and Chinese history, and this just a really in-depth but easy-to-follow video on the topic.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Awesome! Thank you!
@sherlockehekatl467 9 ай бұрын
This was a great video that really helped me understand a lot of things I did not before thank you!!
@TK0_23_ 9 ай бұрын
Thank you. Much appreciated info.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate your support too!
@flaviocatarino4328 9 ай бұрын
Amazing video. Now I can understand much more the culture focus and history of China in a realistic sense of things. Superb work my friend.
@tfsweet Жыл бұрын
Such a great video. Very informative! Keep up the great work!!!
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Will do!
@Tinil0 8 ай бұрын
Oh man, thank you so much for this. As you know, a geographic understanding of an area is like...50% of the entire understanding of the history of the area, it influences EVERYTHING to the point where you think it's almost destiny how history played out because of the geography involved. I've always really lacked that with China and wanted to know more, so this is great. Understanding the core divides in Chinese history is so very important to understanding how and why stuff happened the way it did.
@mrtaiwan 9 ай бұрын
Wonderful and unique perspective on Chinese history. Thank you so much!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for the support!
@davepruitt 9 ай бұрын
Excellent video. Thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@micha2909 3 ай бұрын
Thank you! I learned a lot. It explains well why things happened the way they did.
@Realist968 8 ай бұрын
Astounding. I can't wait to watch all your videos!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you enjoyed this video, and hope you find the other ones helpful too!
@Realist968 8 ай бұрын
@@gatesofkilikien I sent these tow about 20 people i know.
@Lunariant 8 ай бұрын
Extremely insightful and beautifully presented. Thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@HandsomeBoh 7 ай бұрын
I studied history at one of the best universities in the world, listened to lectures by 易中天 and other famous professors, read most of the historical texts you refer to in your videos, even read countless academic papers, and I can decisively say that your videos are better than literally anything else out there! It’s a truly valuable resource for getting people up to speed rapidly. Chinese academics are often extremely biased towards established narratives; and Western academics are usually either super niche or somewhat clueless. Yours is the only resource I’ve seen which is concise, impartial, and accurate. What’s the best way to support you and help you continue to make new / better content?
@gatesofkilikien 7 ай бұрын
Thanks so much for your support, and yeah one of my main goals for these videos is to combine Chinese with western historiography. Like you said Chinese historiography, as rich in information as it is, tends to repeat certain narratives over and over again, whereas Western historiography, as much as the research methodologies are excellent, tends to gloss over a lot of things that I consider quite fundamental, like geography or a basic narrative history. It's one thing if records on all those things are lost, but given how rich the Chinese historic records are, I feel like all the fancy Western analytical techniques still need to be done in the setting of a good grasp of narrative history first, which also requires knowing geography. I appreciate your wanting to help the channel grow too, and I think right now being able to get your feedback on upcoming videos would be extremely helpful, especially since you're knowledgeable with both the Chinese and non-Chinese approaches to Chinese history. I'm experimenting with expanding the scope and improving the production techniques of the upcoming videos, so there will be trial and error involved.
@Discotekh_Dynasty 9 ай бұрын
This is the sort of thing I’ve been looking for for years, thank you my friend!
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Glad I could help! I’ve noticed too there’s just not a whole lot of resources on these things in English, so thought I’d do what I can to contribute.
@Discotekh_Dynasty 9 ай бұрын
@@gatesofkilikien well you’ve earned a subscribe from me 😊
@davidemuzio3719 9 ай бұрын
Man, really outstanding content especially since it is a small channel and it is still purely a passion project. Hope you grow big enough to be able to dedicate more time to this!
@Galloh 9 ай бұрын
This is great! Helps me contextualize a lot of things happening in China!
@paulrichter3645 Жыл бұрын
I love this content, I really hope you keep it going. Would you consider doing a video on how geography affected the Taiping Rebellion? I read a book on it last year called God's Chinese Son and was blown away by the strangeness and complexity of that story.
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Yes, and especially since the Taiping Rebellion affected such a large area, I'm thinking I'll start by covering the geography of individual regions, focusing more on the earlier time periods and then slowly working my way towards more modern periods. Southern China has a lot of micro-regions, although the general principles still tend to apply across time periods.
@gohanr1271 9 ай бұрын
this video was very informative and enlightening. the structure you apply makes it very easy to digest this information. only wish I saw this a few years ago in my history class!!
@andreaskallstrom9031 8 ай бұрын
Super good video! Thank you so much!!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you liked it!
@luker.6967 9 ай бұрын
Great stuff! Thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
My pleasure!
@noahh7946 9 ай бұрын
I was just discussing with a friend how few good English language resources there are for Chinese history online so I’m really excited to have found your channel! Been binging and it’s been really interesting content :)
@PizzaEntente Жыл бұрын
love it, i was suprised when i looked at the subscriber count, this is like big channel videos, thanks for the great video
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoy it! I spent most of this past year working through kinks, looking forward to growing it more over the coming years.
@xindu1151 9 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for this amazingly informational and entertaining video!
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've liked it!
@EresirThe1st 9 ай бұрын
What a great video, it really helped get China clear in my mind where previously it had been somewhat murky. Of course all the boundaries you mention at the start of the video no doubt backfired many times - once the outer defences were taken the interior was basically wide open for attack.
@stevewood8914 9 ай бұрын
Absolutely fascinating! I'd love to learn more, thank you
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've found it helpful!
@Ethan-cz8xq Жыл бұрын
I've picked up a lot of this from my own reading of Chinese history, but it is still so helpful to have it all just clarified and put in one place. Like + subscribed
@gatesofkilikien Жыл бұрын
thanks, glad you've found it helpful!
@arturocevallossoto5203 9 ай бұрын
Excellent visualization. Makes it all make sense.
@bushwakko 9 ай бұрын
This was really good! Thanks
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Glad you liked it!
@sksim6154 8 ай бұрын
Fantastic. Very helpful in helping me appreciate Chinese history. 多谢地理老师 。
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate the kind words too, and glad you found the video helpful!
@astrowarp 9 ай бұрын
very well made video, keep up the great work!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, will do!
@edwardwong654 9 ай бұрын
Wow this explains a lot. I will need to watch it again. Thanks for making it. Great idea.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks for the kind words, glad it was helpful!
@tylergermanowicz5756 9 ай бұрын
I greatly enjoyed and appreciated this video. Thank you.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
@nrm224 8 ай бұрын
Incredible work!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks a lot!
@martinmoomaw4801 8 ай бұрын
Excellent work
@jimmylam1486 9 ай бұрын
hank you! As a Chinese and have spent some time in studying Chinese History and Geography, I still find this video very useful, clear, concise and to the point. Great Work!
@pierremayer94 8 ай бұрын
Amazing piece of work! A lot of information in a short time yet everything is clear.
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate the kind words!
@lniswan9219 8 ай бұрын
Excellent video, I’ll be subscribing and going through your other content now. Keep it up!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate the support!
@BCarli1395 9 ай бұрын
Thank you for this informative video.
@brianphillips1864 9 ай бұрын
Lovely lecture. Do more please!
@nilsjonsson1133 9 ай бұрын
Immensely helpful video, thank you
@hansspiegl8684 9 ай бұрын
Very helpful - thank you!
@thafunktapus 9 ай бұрын
fascinating. very much enjoyed this video. thanks for posting. subscribed with bells on.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Appreciate it, thanks for the sub!
@maximuslluis 8 ай бұрын
This is incredibly easy to understand and seemingly (as an non-educated person in this topic) incredibly usefull to learn about Chinese history, the conditions of local folk and to understand the thought process of the people in power. I have been seeing all your videos and they all awesome, great work and thanks a lot for bringing this knowlege with this quality for free!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, great to hear they've been helpful! I know Chinese history can be such a hard nut to crack for non-Chinese speakers for a variety of reasons, so hopefully these videos can help make some of that easier.
@andynz7 8 ай бұрын
Ok I'm going to be binge-watching all the rest of your China videos now!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've enjoyed this video!
@henrignu7005 9 ай бұрын
Tour-de-force, concise and informative. Thank you for posting this video Subbed.
@Jordanehart 9 ай бұрын
Great video, thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Glad you liked it!
@mynameisforrest 9 ай бұрын
Thanks for combining history and geography in such a coherrent way. Learned so much about how China became what it is today. Going to check out more of your videos. Peace from Sweden!
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
@joeblack5393 9 ай бұрын
What an amazing video. Thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate it!
@brownvoltaire2722 8 ай бұрын
Awsomwe work.Its very rare to find good objective contents on Chinese history in English.Makes your work that much more valuable❤
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks a lot, appreciate it!
@hugosu6398 8 ай бұрын
Quality content! Keep up the good work man 💪
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks! Will do!
@Jhossack 9 ай бұрын
About to watch. It will be interesting to see the tone regarding past and present ideas of territorial sovereignty
@spacelemur7955 9 ай бұрын
Very nice video. I have been following the horrible floods of Aug 2023, and just the topographic map clarified the issue. The entire Yellow River plain seems to be the flat outwash through the gorge. You inspired me to look up more detailed geologic and geomorphic maps. Thanks! Also "loess" is a one-syllable word from German "löss" (or "löß"). I am looking forward to checking out other videos from you, as you give concise, clear presentations.
@user-fc7is6jo2e 9 ай бұрын
Outstanding! I really enjoyed your video and subscribed to your channel because of it. I fell in love with studying Chinese history when I was in Middle School thanks to a great teacher. That was 1981. I am retired now, but enjoyed traveling throughout China and teaching English as an adult, in addition to traveling all over the world. The information that you provided was excellent.
@jakedavidheilemann1208 9 ай бұрын
This was positively amazing though, thank you!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've liked it!
@ShummaAwilum 9 ай бұрын
Just earned yourself another subscriber. Love your presentation!
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Welcome aboard, thanks for the support!
@TheMrSneelock 9 ай бұрын
Wonderful! Thank you for your hard work!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate the support!
@LECityLECLEC 8 ай бұрын
Well done wonderful work!
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, appreciate the kind words!
@Spacemongerr 9 ай бұрын
This is very good. Straight-forward well-sorted information and no superflous fluff or nonsense. Thank you. Greetings from northern Europe.
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad it was helpful! Greetings from California as well.
@fellowintrovert664 8 ай бұрын
I Love China and Chinese history! This is really a very much appreciated and needed help, great Video and thank you ^^
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you found it helpful!
@realmikesally 9 ай бұрын
Thank you. This video is interesting and helpful.
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you liked it!
@Kasquede 8 ай бұрын
Excellent video, a perfect intro for new learners and a great refresher for others orienting themselves in Chinese history
@gatesofkilikien 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, glad you've found it helpful!
@importedriceco 9 ай бұрын
哇噢！这个讲得真不错 :) 深入浅出得覆盖了很多话题 油管上的观众真幸运，能看到你总结的这些内容
@gatesofkilikien 9 ай бұрын
谢谢，我也多年来觉得英文网络上关于中国叙事史和地理的资料奇缺，所以希望能通过油管给世界各地的观众介绍一些这方面的内容。