A Holiday Gift Enjoyable All Year Around:Masterpiece Podcasts – Collection of Chinese Classic Novels
NTD TV Live
NTD Live TV
Audio Podcasts:
(Audio)NEWS/VIEWS/NOVELS
Capitol Report
China in Focus
Morning News
News at Noon
Evening News
China Insider with David Zhang(Ganjing World)
China Uncensored(Old to New)
At a time when our nation is portrayed as increasingly polarized, media often ignore viewpoints and stories that are worthy of attention. American Thought Leaders, hosted by The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek, features in-depth discussions with some of America’s most influential thought leaders on pertinent issues facing our nation today.
To understand the significance of the sweeping military purges in China and how Beijing is reacting to America’s war with Iran, I’m sitting down with eminent China scholar Robert Suettinger, a former CIA and State Department intelligence analyst, a senior advisor at The Stimson Center, and author of “The Conscience of the Party: Hu Yaobang, China’s Communist Reformer.”
“There’s no question of the fact that Xi Jinping is now less of a dominant leader than he was six or eight months ago,” Suettinger says.
Earlier this year, Xi purged two top generals from the CCP’s military brass, on the heels of earlier purges last year. Now, only two of the originally seven members of the Central Military Commission remain. One of them is Xi himself; the other one, General Zhang Shengmin, is a political commander and has, like Xi, no combat experience.
After the January purges, Xi issued an order to the military demanding that everyone acknowledge him as the head of the military commission. “The silence from all those military commands has been deafening and has been noticed by everybody,” Suettinger says.
In the Chinese Communist Party itself, Xi is also facing trouble.
The CCP is not a monolithic party, he told me, but a complex entity with many competing factions: “There’s a Shanghai group, there’s a Shandong group, there’s a Shaanxi group, and they all don’t like each other,” Suettinger says.
Suettinger believes that Xi’s many purges have unified opposition against him not only in the military but also within the Communist Party. “Xi is hated by almost everybody in China,” he said.
Another reason the cracks in the system, as he put it, are beginning to be more evident, is that the Chinese economy hasn’t been doing well in many years: “The Chinese people are very unhappy that their wealth opportunities are disappearing. Graduates coming out of colleges are not able to find good jobs. People who have good jobs are losing them. People who are operating in the gig economy are losing their jobs. The farmers don’t have anything to do when they go back home.”
People outside of China don’t usually know how poor vast numbers of Chinese citizens still are, Suettinger told me. China’s Premier Li Keqiang himself stated in May 2020 during a press conference that 600 million people live below the poverty line and don’t even earn enough to rent a room in mid-sized Chinese cities.
Where is China’s totalitarian system headed? The system, Suettinger argued, is way more fragile than it looks. “It is brittle, and when it breaks, it tends to break hard, and it tends to melt in ways that are not predictable,” he said.
Notably, the CCP has not come out to meaningfully support its longtime ally, Iran. The CCP has long utilized Iran to distract America and keep its focus on the Middle East, Suettinger says, but now, to Beijing’s chagrin, America is effectively neutralizing this longtime CCP proxy.
Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Journey to the West(Voice-Over-Painting)
One of most popular Chinese Classical Novels, written 500 years ago. It depicts an epic spiritual and physical pilgrimage, by 5 Buddha’s Disciples, that lasted 14 years, covered thousands of miles, endured 81 tribulations and finally reached divine enlightenment. From the origin of the Universe to the planning and undertaking of the jouney to the climax ending, the novel presents a panoramic holistic view of the Chinese civilization.
One of most popular Chinese Classical Novels, written 500 years ago. It depicts an epic spiritual and physical pilgrimage, by 5 Buddha’s Disciples, that lasted 14 years, covered thousands of miles, endured 81 tribulations and finally reached divine enlightenment. From the origin of the Universe to the planning and undertaking of the jouney to the climax ending, the novel presents a panoramic holisticview of the Chinese civilization. *AI-translated from Chinese text”Xi You Ji”(Public Domain);
*Narrated by 2 AI voices in dialogue(Courtesy of Google NotebookLM)
One of the most celebrated Chinese Classical Novels, written by Luo Guanzhong, 600 years ago. It rolls out an unique era in history when China was torn apart into three warring kingdoms. The novel is famous for its depictions of the three Peach Garden Sworn Brothers’ loyalty, its portrayals of brilliance of the strategists of the time, such as Zhuge Liang, its meticulous recounts of some of the most famous military battles in history, such as the Red Cliff Battle, and its detailed dissects of the strategies that enabled the underdogs in these battles to upset the corresponding military might.
One of the most celebrated Chinese Classical Novels, written by Luo Guanzhong, 600 years ago. It rolls out an unique era in history when China was torn apart into three warring kingdoms. The novel is famous for its depictions of the three Peach Garden Sworn Brothers’ loyalty, its portrayals of brilliance of the strategists of the time, such as Zhuge Liang, its meticulous recounts of some of the most famous military battles in history, such as the Red Cliff Battle, and its detailed dissects of the strategies that enabled the underdogs in these battles to upset the corresponding military might.
*AI-translated from Chinese text”San Gui Yan Yi”(Public Domain);
*Narrated by 2 AI voices in dialogue(Courtesy of Google NotebookLM)
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels. It tells General Yue Fei’s life story, and his lasting legacy. Yue Fei was the Grand Marshall of Song Dynasty against the Jurchern Invasion. It can be said that no other historical figure like Yue Fei evokes so much admiration and sympathy among Chinese people. Yue Fei’s heroic, patriotic endeavor, his martial art and military prowess, his brotherly love for his generals and soldiers, his unwavering loyalty to the country, his filial piety to his family, and his forbearance towards persecution and execution, all set extraordinary standards for the later generations.
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels. It tells General Yue Fei’s life story, and his lasting legacy. Yue Fei was the Grand Marshall of Song Dynasty against the Jurchern Invasion. It can be said that no other historical figure like Yue Fei evokes so much admiration and sympathy among Chinese people. Yue Fei’s heroic, patriotic endeavor, his martial art and military prowess, his brotherly love for his generals and soldiers, his unwavering loyalty to the country, his filial piety to his family, and his forbearance towards persecution and execution, all set extraordinary standards for the later generations.
*Narrated by 2 AI voices in dialogue(Courtesy of Google NotebookLM)
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels, written 500 years ago by Xu Zhonglin. It sets the Pre-Confucian,Pre-Buddhis scene 3000 years ago between the warring Shang and Zhou Dynasties and depicts a grand social and celestial upheaval that contrsts virtue vs vice, love vs lust, loyalty vs betrayal, righteousness vs corruption, benevolence vs cruelty, humility vs envy, gods vs demons, and “Mandate of Heaven” vs tyranny.
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels, written 500 years ago by Xu Zhonglin. It sets the Pre-Confucian,Pre-Buddhis scene 3000 years ago between the warring Shang and Zhou Dynasties and depicts a grand social and celestial upheaval that contrsts virtue vs vice, love vs lust, loyalty vs betrayal, righteousness vs corruption, benevolence vs cruelty, humility vs envy, gods vs demons, and “Mandate of Heaven” vs tyranny. **AI Contribution:Courtesy of Google NotebookLM
Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels by Chu Renhuo. It is a fictionalized account of the turbulent transition from the collapse of the Sui dynasty to the rise of the Tang dynasty. One striking and unique aspect of the novel is that it tells the stories of the women of the era as much as the men: different walks of life, various colours and stripes, from loyal wives, to devoted daughters; from martial women to romantic heroines; from political manipulators to cunning queens, such as Mulan, Wu Zetian and Yang Guifei and so on. All had their own stories, the good, the bad and the ugly. The novel dramatizes how personal ambition, loyalty, love, jealousy, and moral choices, men and women alike, tangle in karmic cycles and shape history.
One of the most popular Chinese Classical Novels by Chu Renhuo. It is a fictionalized account of the turbulent transition from the collapse of the Sui dynasty to the rise of the Tang dynasty. One striking and unique aspect of the novel is that it tells the stories of the women of the era as much as the men: different walks of life, various colours and stripes, from loyal wives, to devoted daughters; from martial women to romantic heroines; from political manipulators to cunning queens, such as Mulan, Wu Zetian and Yang Guifei and so on. All had their own stories, the good, the bad and the ugly. The novel dramatizes how personal ambition, loyalty, love, jealousy, and moral choices, men and women alike, tangle in karmic cycles and shape history.
**AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM**
Considered the Pinacle of Chinese Literature this novel is an 18th-century Chinese masterpiece by Cao Xueqin. It chronicles the rise and fall of the noble Jia clan, focusing on the tragic love triangle between the idealistic Jia Baoyu and his cousins Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, set against a backdrop of opulence and eventual familial ruin. The novel presents a thought-provoking view that wealth, fame, career, and romantic love are dream-like, fleeting, and “transient”. Only being virtuous can make a difference.
Considered the Pinacle of Chinese Literature this novel is an 18th-century Chinese masterpiece by Cao Xueqin. It chronicles the rise and fall of the noble Jia clan, focusing on the tragic love triangle between the idealistic Jia Baoyu and his cousins Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, set against a backdrop of opulence and eventual familial ruin. The novel presents a thought-provoking view that wealth, fame, career, and romantic love are dream-like, fleeting, and “transient”. Only being virtue can make a difference. **AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM
This novel tells Jigong’s life stories – his yuoth, his cultivation and enlightment, his “ragged and mad” appearance, his comedian demeanour, and the miracles he practiced to help the needies and punish the bullies.
This novel tells Jigong’s life stories – his yuoth, his cultivation and enlightment, his “ragged and mad” appearance, his comedian demeanour, and the miracles he practiced to help the needies and punish the bullies.
**AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM
The Generals of the Yang Family
This novel a legendary saga based on the 10th-century Northern Song Dynasty, focusing on a family of loyal warriors—including Yang Ye, his seven sons, and female generals—who sacrifice their lives to defend China against the Liao dynasty. Known for supreme loyalty, they fight against foreign invaders and internal court corruption, spanning generations of sacrifice, particularly highlighted by the widows who later take up arms.
This Chinese Classic Novel by Xiong Damu is a legendary saga based on the 10th-century Northern Song Dynasty, focusing on a family of loyal warriors—including Yang Ye, his seven sons, and female generals—who sacrifice their lives to defend China against the Liao dynasty. Known for supreme loyalty, they fight against foreign invaders and internal court corruption, spanning generations of sacrifice, particularly highlighted by the widows who later take up arms. **AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM**Contents generated from the original Chinese text
One Reaps What One Sows. It’s time for the world to join the epic endeavor to end the CCP’s rule without a war, just like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Please sign the “End CCP” Petition. By rejecting the CCP you will join the 300 million+ courageous Chinese CCP Quitters in choosing and securing a bright future.
