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History

History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The 1776 painting of Huang Yadong by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Huang was brought to England from Guangzhou (Canton) by John Bradby Blake, an employee of the East India Company. This painting owned by the National Trust is part of the “Seeds of Exchange” exhibition at the Garden Museum in London. (Credit: National Trust)
Art

Extraordinary tale of Chinese-British collaboration revealed in new exhibition

The London show spotlighting an English botanist sheds light on 18th century science and exchanges between China and England.

Food and Drinks

How Okinawan food evolved with Chinese influences to become ‘truly unique’

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Trending in China

Compound Chinese surnames come from historic figures, ancient states; fewer than 100 remain

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | History of Chinese flatbreads reflects how food has echoes of faraway places

How ‘hubing’ came to China is reflected in Hong Kong’s Jenny Bakery cookies smelling like Malaysia’s Rotiboy coffee buns, Wee Kek Koon says.

Today, the descendants of “hubing” Chinese flatbreads survive in everyday foods like “shaobing” (pictured), the ubiquitous flatbread sold at neighbourhood food stalls, and “nang”, the naan-like Xinjiang flatbreads still baked by pressing the dough against the walls of clay ovens. Photo: Shutterstock
Denmark

Wreck of Danish flagship sunk by famed British admiral discovered after 225 years

Marine archaeologists find the Dannebroge, sunk during a brutal hours-long naval clash considered one of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s ‘great battles’.

Chinese culture

As I see it | Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

By insisting on the superiority of its own standards of judgment and experience, the West distorts the realities of other societies.

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The Philippines

Ahead of first Philippine visit since WWII, Japan’s past catches up with troops

Critics oppose the return of Japanese troops over Tokyo’s lack of a formal apology for the wartime abuse of Filipino ‘comfort women’.

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Philippine and Japanese aircraft patrol during a joint military exercise in February. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines-Public Affairs Office / AFP
Art

A riot of colourful artworks in Padua defines Italy’s Painted City

The World Heritage site’s colourful attractions include one of the earliest depictions of a kiss in Western painting.

South Korea

Death of South Korean ‘torture expert’ reopens authoritarian era wounds

Lee Geun-an, who was notorious for using methods such as ‘chicken roasting’ and water torture on victims, did not regret his past.

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Chinese culture

As I see it | How to win friends and influence people in ancient China

Although the ancient text Guiguzi may not be widely read, its contents remain a prescient guide for job interviews, marketing and even diplomacy.

Women, dressed in traditional Chinese outfits, seen in Beijing on January 14, 2026. Photo: AFP
Fame and celebrity

Meet RoseMarie Terenzio, close friend of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette

As the obsession over FX’s Love Story continues, some are turning to Terenzio’s books – JFK Jr and Fairy Tale Interrupted – for a more accurate account of ‘America’s prince’ and his wife.

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RoseMarie Terenzio, who wrote JFK Jr: An Intimate Oral Biography with Liz McNeil (right), pictured with JFK Jr in New York (left). Photos: @rmterenzio, @lizmcneil6/Instagram
United Nations

UN designates African slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’

US, Israel and Argentina opposed the UN measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained.

The Netherlands

Lost remains of French musketeer d’Artagnan may have been found in Dutch church

DNA testing is under way to verify ⁠the skeleton. D’Artagnan, fictionalised in Alexandre ⁠Dumas’ novel The ⁠Three Musketeers, died in 1673.

100 Top Tables: Cities of Gastronomy

International Cities of Gastronomy Fest Macao launches 10-day celebration

As the city hosts the 10-day celebration, its centuries-old fusion cuisine is embracing a new wave of global chefs and bold ideas.

Supported by
Macau Government Tourism Office
Home to a mix of cultures, traditions and flavours, Macau was already a pioneer of fusion food long before the term for this creative cuisine was invented. Photo: Getty Images
Britain

Truth battle: did UK king’s long march to Hastings in 1066 really happen?

The account of the legendary mission, taught in classrooms and museums, rests on what a historian now says is a misinterpretation of records.

The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the Normans took over England. Photo: Shutterstock
Tourism

‘Most beautiful’ cloister in Rome hides a dramatic and dark past

Two popes were elected, and Galileo interrogated by the Roman Inquisition, behind the walls of this Roman cloister, steps from the Pantheon.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How the Hakka spread in China and beyond, their cuisine reflecting hard lives

A people shaped by centuries of migration, Hakka communities are found across China and are prevalent in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

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Japan

Trump’s Pearl Harbour joke falls flat in Japan over his ‘disrespectful remarks’

As Japan faces pressure over the Iran war, some observers commend Takaichi for steering her meeting with Trump towards trade deals.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist while delivering remarks during a dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
Food and Drinks

‘A tough life’: the family behind Kowloon Walled City’s beloved fish ball maker

Roger Ha’s parents took Ha Ming Kee from a crude Kowloon Walled City venture to a successful fish ball chain. Now he has taken on the mantle.

Food and Drinks

Best things to do in Harbin, China’s ice festival mecca with a Russian accent

Visiting Harbin during its Ice and Snow Festival adds a range of winter fun on top of delicious food, Russian architecture and bathhouses.

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Fame and celebrity

Who was Lauren Bessette, Carolyn Bessette’s sister who died with her?

Ryan Murphy’s Love Story charts the whirlwind romance between Carolyn and JFK Jr – and new episodes feature Lauren Bessette, played by Sydney Lemmon.

Lauren Bessette died in the tragic plane crash that also killed her sister, Carolyn Bessette, and the latter’s husband, John F. Kennedy Jr. Photos: Facebook; AP
Trending in China

Ancient Chinese sentenced to flogging could hire others to take punishment for fee

Brutal centuries-old penal system saw lawbreakers beaten to death with iron-wrapped hammer fitted with barbs.

During the Ming dynasty, individuals sentenced to flogging could hire substitutes, known as Qingshou, to endure the punishment for a fee. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu
Japan

Japanese atomic bomb survivor who hugged Obama in Hiroshima dies at 88

Earlier this month, Shigeaki Mori warned that the world was at risk of another nuclear attack over the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

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Trending in China

Jar burials: a glimpse into ancient China’s compassion for infant deaths

New study indicates Neolithic cultures in China may have separated graves of perinatal infants; different treatment than older children.

China society

As I see it | Rescuing a key Confucian text from centuries of ignominy

The release of an authoritative translation of Kongzi Jia Yu finally places a once-suspected forgery among the traditional canon.

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Children read The Analects at a primary school in Hefei, Anhui province, in February 2014. Photo: Xinhua
Americas and the Caribbean

Spain’s king acknowledges ‘much abuse’ in conquest of the Americas

It was ⁠a rare admission by the Spanish crown, which has never issued a formal apology to former colonies.

Spain’s King Felipe at the Royal Palace in Madrid last November. Photo: AFP
Doing Good

Hong Kong has more coral reef species than the Caribbean – and they’re worth saving

Decades after pollution devastated Tolo Harbour’s reefs, Chinese University’s Coral Academy is reviving their ecosystems.

US, Israel war on Iran

Language Matters | Amid new oil crisis, how the word ‘oil’ evolved from its food-based origins

With roots in olive trees and sesame, the word ‘oil’ is now found in several common sayings, including a Chinese phrase for encouragement.

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