Introduction: Chinese Lore Podcast

A quick explanation of what this show is and why I am undertaking this effort.

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Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast. This is a show where I retell classic Chinese novels and stories in English in a way that makes them more accessible and enjoyable for listeners who did not grow up immersed in Chinese culture. That means instead of just reading a straight translation of the stories, I retell them in a contemporary, conversational way, and I add in explanations and historical and cultural context where appropriate. To learn more about this podcast, visit chineselore.com. That’s chinese L-O-R-E.com.

I started this project back in 2014. I was motivated in part by a desire to introduce non-Chinese listeners to the great works that have left a lasting influence on Chinese culture. Imagine if you never heard of the works of Shakespeare or the Homeric epics. And yet, that is exactly the case for a significant swath of the world when it comes to Chinese literature. The works I’m covering have become an integral part of Chinese society, culture, language, and identity. Given that nearly one out of five people in the world live in China, it seems like it would be useful to have a greater understanding of Chinese culture, and I have always believed that one great way to understand a people is through the stories they tell about their own history and society. Often times, though, classic Chinese literature can be tough to get into for those not familiar with Chinese names and history. So I’m trying to make that introduction easier.

A quick word for those who have been following my work since the beginning. You will notice that the episodes from my first two podcasts in this effort — the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast and the Water Margin Podcast — have all been imported into this podcast’s feed. I did that so as to collect all my work in one place going forward, instead of creating a new podcast for every new novel I cover. So if you have already listened to those two previous podcasts, just go ahead and skip the first 300 or so episodes on this feed. 

For those of you who are discovering my work for the first time, just know that I was figuring it out as I went along at the beginning. The quality of the shows got significantly better as time went on, so bear with me through some of the early episodes. I promise it will be worth your while, because these are some amazing stories. So give it a listen, and thanks for checking out the show!