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History

History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A model of a Microraptor (front) is wheeled out for display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The crow-sized Microraptor was one of the smallest-known dinosaurs, weighing about 430 grams. Photo: Reuters
Science

Why were there no teeny-tiny dinosaurs like we have with mammals and birds?

New research investigates why there were never any dinosaurs the size of, say, a mouse, and it seems like mammals could be to blame.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Even Confucius was buff? How ancient China prized strength and fitness

China’s Communist Party

Open Questions | Wang Gungwu on lessons of Chinese history and Cold War

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China-Japan relations

‘Ghosts of the 20th century’: how China and Japan clash over post-WWII narrative

In quest to win trust of Asian neighbours, Beijing is intensifying its rhetoric against Tokyo’s changing defence posture.

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Amid an escalating diplomatic crisis, China and Japan are trying to define each other’s international identity. Photo: Shutterstock
Chinese culture

The Chinese sex worker who built an empire in America’s Old West

Ah Toy rose from new immigrant to madam running a chain of successful brothels, fighting racism, sexism and the authorities on the way.

Climate change

Infographic: a powerful new El Nino cycle begins. Is the world ready?

Discover the history and science behind El Nino, the ‘Pacific fever’ that turbocharges extreme weather globally.

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Britain

As I see it | How ‘evil’ was the British Empire? Centuries of theft and destruction

From Indian colonisation to the opium trade, an empire of avarice and brutality was powered by the East India Company.

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A lithograph by James Henry Lynch, originally drawn by Michael Angelo Hayes, depicts the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot, at the storming of the forts of Amoy on August 26, 1841, during the First Opium War. Image: Getty Images
Hong Kong society

From meteorites to Monet: Shenzhen’s new museums draw Hongkongers beyond dining

Museum-goers say Shenzhen’s new cultural venues offer exhibitions and scale hard to find in Hong Kong.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | As Jolie-Pitt kids change their surname, why ancient Chinese did the same

From an emperor who demanded no one share his surname to personal protection and punishment, the reasons for name changes in China were many.

United States

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

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US Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise with South Korea as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 20, 2025. Photo: AP
Accidents and disasters in China

On This Day | 1976 earthquake in China’s Tangshan kills over 240,000 people – SCMP archive

On this day 50 years ago, the deadliest earthquake in recorded history razed the mining town of Tangshan in China’s Hebei province.

Survivors search for their loved ones and belongings on July 30, 1976 among the ruins in Tangshan City after an earthquake struck the city in the early morning of July 28, 1976. Photo: AFP
Fashion

The pinstripe suit is having its biggest moment in years

Sombr chose Valentino for the Met Gala, Kristen Stewart wore Tom Ford, and Nick Jonas suited up for Milan Fashion Week in Ralph Lauren Purple Label.

Thailand

Thailand monastery added to Unesco heritage list, boosting tourism hopes

The Phra Mahathat monastery, the site has served as a regional Buddhist centre since its founding in the 8th century, according to Unesco.

Animals

Rare snake fossil offers new insight into the reptiles’ early evolution

One of the best-preserved early snake fossils, the Tametara mirim fossil dates back around 75 to 85 million years to the Cretaceous Period.

Our new paper is out! Meet Tametara mirim, a new fossil snake from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. With this astonishing new discovery, we tried to settle the ecological origin of snakes, but we ended up finding an unexpected hidden neurological and ecological diversity! This was an incredible project of which to be part, with an awesome team involved, and I’m so incredibly happy it is finally published. Such an amazing opportunity for me to learn more about snake neuroanatomy. Also, let’s appreciate how tiny the fossil is! So cute
Japan

Unesco adds ancient Japanese capitals Asuka, Fujiwara to World Heritage list

With the addition, Japan now has 22 cultural and five natural World Heritage sites.

The Asuka Palace ruins in Asuka village, Nara prefecture, are seen on April 20. Photo: Kyodo/AP
Myanmar

‘Defanging’ Aung San: Myanmar’s generals wage war on memory

Removing statues of the country’s founding father appears aimed at stripping democratic legitimacy from his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi.

US-China relations

How America’s 250-year China dream became its greatest strategic challenge

Historians trace how US hopes of trade, reform and friendship gave way to rivalry with the power it once sought to transform.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | When Chinese emperors and prime ministers fell out, the results could be deadly

Imperial China relied on officials to run government affairs under the emperor, but as history shows, this power dynamic was a fragile one.

Emperor Shenzong, who ruled during China’s Song dynasty, came to feel threatened by his prime minister, Wang Anshi, who subsequently fell from power. The power balance between those at the top of a country’s hierarchy and those who run its government causes problems in parts of the world now as it did then. Photo: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
China-South Korea relations

South Korea returns looted Qing dynasty lions to China in cultural diplomacy win

Experts believe the marble sculptures guarded an imperial residence before they were taken by Japanese invaders in the early 20th century.

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Food and Drinks

‘Piece of history’: old cookbook exhibition traces Hong Kong’s culinary past

‘Treasured Recipes’ at PMQ Taste Library features food-themed books and magazines spanning decades to show how the city’s food scene evolved.

Austria

Hitler’s birthplace reopens as a police station to deter neo-Nazis

Following a years-long legal saga and redesign, Austria aims to erase the building’s allure for pilgrimages.

Police officers outside the building where Adolf Hitler was born. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong culture

Hong Kong brands that rose hand in hand with the city over generations

From the 100-year-old Garden Bakery to TikTok-fave Twemco, these brands tell the story of the city’s evolution into a major metropolis.

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War and conflict

As I see it | Hegemony or balance of power? What the wars of ancient China teach us

A new book on the Spring and Autumn period and its experiments in conflict and diplomacy helps explain today’s global order.

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Japan

Video | Japan revises law to expand imperial family

Revised law does not address possibility of a woman becoming emperor, despite wide public support.

Vietnam

Vietnam arrests 3 publishing bosses over controversial Ho Chi Minh book

Authorities say ‘Stories with Thanh’, which recounts the Communist Party founder’s years abroad, ‘distorts history’.

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A woman rides a motorbike past a poster with a portrait of the late former president Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi on August 31, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE
South Korea

South Korea under emergency advisory as heatwave days increase

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.

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A woman uses a fan to shelter from the sun on a street in Seoul Sunday. Photo: AFP
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | A history of Chinese fans and how they kept people cool in summer

Fans have long been used in China for cooling and cooking and as artistic status symbols. We look at the tool’s reinvention over 3,000 years.

China economy

As I see it | How the New Left won the battle of ideas for 21st-century China

Their revisionism challenges the neoliberal perspective which treats Maoist command economics and Deng-era capitalist reforms as diametrically opposed.

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