{"podcast":{"title":"The History of China","slug":"the-history-of-china-487671","podcast_index_feed_id":487671,"rss_url":"http://feeds.feedburner.com/thehistoryofchina","website_url":"http://thehistoryofchina.wordpress.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f38dab30-3eac-11ed-85fa-371e959ff24d/image/443d59892af69c79735f6243d43648fe.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Chris Stewart","episode_count":386,"summary":"A journey through the 5000 years of history documented by one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. For all the episodes for free, as well as additional content, please subscribe and/or visit http://thehistoryofchina.wordpress.com.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-16T10:19:23.342658+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671"},"episode":{"title":"#321 - Opium War 6: Imperial Ouroboros","slug":"321-opium-war-6-imperial-ouroboros","published_at":"2026-03-10T17:56:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671/321-opium-war-6-imperial-ouroboros","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML4611304531.mp3?updated=1773165007","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML4611304531.mp3?updated=1773165007","summary":"The Ransom of Canton.The lame-duck Superintendent watches helplessly as a triumvirate of Qing officials arrives to reverse every compromise his predecessor had wrought... & promptly launches the most ambitious Chinese military operation of the entire war. In the midst of that rain-soaked battlefield, a brief skirmish between British soldiers and peasant militiamen plants the seed of a legend that will haunt Chinese politics for the next century. Time Period Covered:Feb. 1841–Oct. 1841 Major Historical Figures: The Qing Empire:The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]Yishan, Imperial Commissioner and Pacifier-General of the Rebellious (靖逆) [1790–1878]Longwen, Manchu nobleman and ministerial attaché [d. 1841]Yang Fang, Governor-General and military commander [c. 1770–1846]She Baoshun, Prefect of Canton [fl. 1840s]Yuqian, Imperial Commissioner for Military Operations in Zhejiang [fl. 1841] The British Empire:Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary [1784–1865]Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1801–1875]Sir Henry Pottinger, incoming Plenipotentiary to China [1789–1856]Sir Hugh Gough, Commander of British Land Forces [1779–1869]Captain William Hutcheon Hall, commanding HMS Nemesis [c. 1797–1878] Major Sources Cited:Wakeman, Frederic Jr. \"Canton Trade and the Opium War.\" The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.Wakeman, Frederic Jr. Strangers at the Gate: Social Disorder in South China, 1839–1861.Fay, Peter Ward. The Opium War, 1840–1842.Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"The Ransom of Canton.The lame-duck Superintendent watches helplessly as a triumvirate of Qing officials arrives to reverse every compromise his predecesso…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2243,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-china-487671/episodes/321-opium-war-6-imperial-ouroboros/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-china-487671/321-opium-war-6-imperial-ouroboros.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}