Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

History

History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Tattoo artist Jimmy Shy (left) and photographer Yu Chang took to the streets of Hong Kong to photograph people with tattoos. Their work has been made into a photobook, Hong Kong Traditional Tattoo. Photo: courtesy of Jimmy Shy
Books and literature

The sailors, artists and stories behind Hong Kong’s tattoo tradition

A photobook by Jimmy Shy and Yu Chang traces Hong Kong’s distinctive post-war tattoo style, while challenging the triad stereotype.

China-UK relations

Cracks in security? Qing dynasty ceramics damaged in British Museum display

videocam
12
Food and Drinks

Hong Kong’s most iconic baked goods might have Portuguese roots

Russia

Russia glosses over Stalin-era repression in reinvented museum

The ‘Museum of Memory’, which has elbowed out the Gulag History Museum, is set up to commemorate the ‘genocide of the Soviet people’.

Visitors attend a guided tour at the Museum of Memory in Moscow on August 12. Photo: AFP
A visitor exits the Museum of Memory in Moscow in August. Photo: AFP
Visitors attend a guided tour at the Museum of Memory in Moscow in August. Photo: AFP
Visitors attend a guided tour at the Museum of Memory in Moscow in August. Photo: AFP
Food and Drinks

How Vietnam’s twist on Hainan chicken rice tells a rich story of migration

In Hoi An, on Vietnam’s central coast, com ga is a dish steeped in migrants’ history and tangy flavours.

US-China relations

Chinese art takes long march home from US museums

Works amassed by America’s Gilded Age tycoons are returning to Chinese hands as wealthy collectors reshape a centuries-old art trade.

4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
South Korea

Why a film about a dictator has South Korea at war with itself

A blockbuster about the 1974 assassination attempt of former president Park Chung-hee is causing a political backlash.

A scene from “The Assassin(s)“. Photo: Handout
Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | I’m 80. It’s not too late to reconnect with my Chinese roots

I received a colonial education and went on to raise global citizens. Then came the reckoning that only age and a changing world could bring.

36
Science

Online claims revive mercury mystery around tomb of first Chinese emperor

A Weibo hashtag about ancient cinnabar sites has reignited debate over the ‘rivers and seas’ in Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum.

videocam
Hong Kong

In Focus | From street brawls to cybercrime: Hong Kong triads’ evolution amid new landscape

Former gang member and experts say today’s triads eschew traditional rites and crimes, and now recruit youths online in an age of digital fraud.

videocam
Illustration: Henry Wong
Chinese culture

China’s ‘mountain of immortals’: why millions flock to the peaks of Wudang

The sacred mountain range dotted with ancient Taoist temples attracts pilgrims and visitors praying for everything from peace to good weather.

Visitors climb up the stairs near the Golden Hall in Wudang Mountains in central China’s Hubei Province on Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Food and Drinks

Opinion | Disgusting Food Museum launches Hong Kong pop-up, but is it in good taste?

The Swedish museum’s pop-up in Kai Tak features everything from bovine genitalia to insects. Is it educational or a ‘freak show’?

videocam
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Why did Trump and Xi seal a deal on World War II soldiers’ missing remains?

Reviving the decades-long effort is one of the ‘least controversial’ ways the two nations can cooperate, observers say.

videocam
7
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When centuries of Chinese knowledge were destroyed by warlord who burned a city

Xiang Yu’s razing of the Qin capital Xianyang, which left libraries full of vital texts in ruin, was echoed centuries later in Warsaw.

Chinese actress Sun Li plays Xiang Yu during a stage production of Farewell My Concubine in New York in 2008. Xiang Yu is known for his demolition of the Qin dynasty capital in 206BC, during which his forces destroyed libraries and the thousands of books within them. Photo: Getty Images
2026 Xi-Trump summits

How China’s wartime cooperatives gave us ‘gung-ho’

Trump’s mention of a ‘Chinese phrase’ may have puzzled some, but the US Marine Corps adopted gung-ho from the name of wartime cooperatives.

Not only has gung-ho – derived from the Chinese gong he – entered the English dictionary, but it also features in the names of several awards associated with the US Marine Corps. Photo: The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Chinese culture

Who was Wang Zhenyi? Chinese female scientist who defied gender expectations

Wang shot for the stars with her work in astronomy and mathematics at a time when learned women did little more than write poetry.

Food and Drinks

History of mooncake moulds and their designs, and those preserving the craft

Mooncake artistry flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties, carved onto wooden moulds depicting flowers, birds and even deities.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Art

Fan Ho’s poetic photos of mid-20th century Hong Kong show in an unlikely place

An Italian palace in Turin is hosting a new exhibition of Fan’s works that capture everyday human activity in 1950s and 60s Hong Kong.

Different Directions (1958) by Fan Ho. Photo: Fan Ho Trust and Estate, courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery
Travel

Tapestry depicting England’s ‘most important event’ back in UK after 1,000 years

The Bayeux Tapestry is expected to draw 1 million visitors to the British Museum before its exhibition ends in July 2027.

Japan

Crouching dragons: the suicide divers Japan never sent to war

Sealed in diving suits with mines attached to poles, Japan’s ‘fukuryu’ frogmen waited beneath the waves for an invasion that never came.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | A Polish priest’s perilous mission to save a doomed Chinese dynasty

In 1651, the embattled Ming court, which included several Christian converts, sent Michal Boym to seek the Pope’s aid. It never came.

4
Michal Boym, also known as Bu Mige, was a 17th century Jesuit missionary dispatched to Europe to seek papal aid for the struggling Qing dynasty. Although his diplomatic endeavour failed, the knowledge he spread helped demystify China for European audiences. Photo: Wikipedia
Cinema

New book peeks behind the scenes of Sofia Coppola’s 2006 cult classic Marie Antoinette

Photographer Andrew Durham documents life on and off the lavish set of Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning cult classic, shot on location at the Palace of Versailles.

Making Marie Antoinette by Andrew Durham is a new book covering the 2006 film’s shooting on location at the Palace of Versailles, with Kirsten Dunst playing the film’s lead character. Photo: Courtesy of MACK
Hong Kong

As I see it | Why mainland Chinese despise the British – but Hongkongers don’t

Whereas Hong Kong people experienced a milder form of colonialism, mainland Chinese were subjected to the extremes of Western imperialism.

44
Wellness

He trained Jet Li. Wu Bin, 89, shares his secrets to great health in old age

Martial arts legend Wu Bin talks about mentoring Jet Li and other wushu stars, and how building good habits is key to health in older life.

From our archives

On This Day | Hong Kong mourns Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 – SCMP archive

Fifty years ago, Mao Zedong’s death sent shock waves around the world.

Mourners wearing black armbands attending the memorial service for China’s late leader Mao Zedong at the Bank of China building on September 16, 1976. Photo: Chan Kiu
Jewellery

The rise of the double-finger ring, from Hermès to Dior

Jewellery houses everywhere, including Cartier, Rick Owens and Jean Paul Gaultier, are turning the design into a statement of scale and attitude.

Ara Vartanian Ara x Mr Dean collection. Photo: Handout
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Amid ‘Lake America’ stink, the Chinese emperor whose renaming campaign backfired

Two thousand years ago, Wang Mang’s renaming of places, peoples and titles fuelled rebellions that ended both his regime and his life.

Chinese culture

Famous Chinese women in folklore, from Mulan to a dynasty-toppling consort

These women have inspired countless poems, books, movies and TV shows over the centuries, but what are their stories and why do they endure?

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement