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Lessons from China's history

Lessons from China's history
Wee Kek Koon draws parallels between current events and trends and episodes and attitudes in China’s past.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran, calls for regime change in Iran in Washington in 2026. For years, he has sought to cast himself as a unifying figure for opponents of the Islamic Republic. Photo: EPA
Chinese history

Reflections | What an exiled royal’s plea to Chinese emperor can teach Iran’s Reza Pahlavi

A Persian prince’s attempts to restore his family’s throne from abroad highlight how political legitimacy is tough to forge in faraway lands.

Chinese history

Reflections | Modern Singapore knows that vigilance is key. So did an ancient Chinese minister

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Reflections | After Andrew’s arrest, how high-born criminals were treated in ancient China

Chinese history

Reflections | As Kim Jong-un grooms daughter to rule, a Chinese princess’s fatal ambition

Princess Anle’s radical petition to inherit the throne set in motion a chain of events that would see her decapitated in her own boudoir.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sits next to his teenage daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who is thought to be his likely successor as the country’s supreme leader. In ancient China, one princess with ambitions of ruling the country became a cautionary tale. Photo: EPA-EFE/KCNA
Chinese history

Reflections | Visit to Singapore’s Chinatown reveals the surprising roots of Buddhist deities

Many Chinese might not know that Buddhist deities like Ne Zha, Sun Wukong and Yanluo Wang are reimaginings of Hindu gods.

Chinese history

Reflections | What do common Lunar New Year snacks in China, Singapore and Malaysia symbolise?

Lunar New Year treats in China vary from those in Singapore and Malaysia, for which some question whether they are truly ‘Chinese’.

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Chinese history

Reflections | How Chinese new year cards went from elites’ greetings to bribery instruments

Wishing someone a happy new year was a highly formal affair among people of status in imperial China and some cards were even collected.

In imperial China, wishing someone a happy new year was anything but casual. Among people of status, it was a highly formal affair, governed by etiquette, hierarchy and a good deal of social anxiety. Photo: Sina
Chinese history

Reflections | Was Chinese princess sent to marry a Malaysian sultan a real person?

Hang Li Po’s 15th-century marriage allegedly sealed Malacca and China’s friendly relations. Proof of her existence is scant. Does it matter?

Chinese history

Reflections | What a Chinese hero’s fatal love of raw fish warns us about uncooked food

The recent sale of the most expensive tuna in Tokyo reflects sushi’s popularity, but an episode in Chinese history shows raw food’s dangers.

Chinese history

Reflections | How ancient Chinese dental practices were often similar to those used today

From gargling with medicinal concoctions to chewing sticks, people in China addressed dental health with considerable ingenuity.

Brushing one’s teeth is a basic part of oral hygiene today. Centuries ago, Chinese people used chewing sticks, among other methods, to keep their teeth clean. Photo: Shutterstock
Chinese culture

Reflections | Chinese diners’ preference for warm water is not as ancient as you’d think

The ‘ancient Chinese wisdom’ about warm water being good for you is rooted in 20th-century health campaigns, not aeons of tradition.

Many Chinese people prefer to drink warm water over cold water. This is a legacy of 20th-century public health campaigns, not ancient wisdom. Photo: Shutterstock
China economy

Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

China was an unmatched power in the Song and Ming dynasties, with greater concentrated authority. But it consolidated, rather than colonised.

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History

Reflections | Chinese historical myths that are accepted as fact, and why they’ve endured

Like Singapore’s ‘ejection’ from Malaysia, Chinese history contains fallacies, including ones about Sun Yat-sen and Empress Dowager Cixi.

Chinese history

Reflections | Malaysia’s unusual creation still affects it today. China mulled doing similar

Malaysia was born as a federation in 1963, with some states considered ‘special’. China also once toyed with federal ideals.

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A view of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, including the Petronas Twin Towers. Today, the states of Sabah and Sarawak want to regain the special status they were granted during the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Photo: Reuters
Labubu

Reflections | Ancient China’s Labubu-like doll craze also saw fans splurge silly money

Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today.

Labubus hang for sale at a market in New York’s Times Square in November 2025. The dolls’ unprecedented popularity has led their value to surge as many buy them as investments and keep them entombed in plastic cases. Photo: Reuters
Science

US green tech retreat echoes mistake of China’s Qing dynasty before collapse

While Washington pulls back on climate, Beijing is making it possible for developing nations to leapfrog into a cleaner energy era.

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Chinese history

Reflections | In wake of Tai Po blaze, China’s long and difficult struggle fighting fire

The qualities that made buildings beautiful in premodern Chinese cities also made them dangerously flammable, and fire was a constant threat.

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Chinese history

Reflections | ‘Mar-a-Lago faces’ echo Chinese elites’ unhealthy attempts to please a king

King Ling of Chu’s preference for his officials to be thin-waisted saw them practically starve themselves in efforts to win royal approval.

US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks during the Republican National Convention in July 2024. Guilfoyle is one of Trump’s allies said to have a “Mar-a-Lago face”, which typically features inflated lips and sharply sculpted contours. Photo: AP
Chinese history

Reflections | From slapping body parts to National Games, China’s history of exercise

Used to train soldiers long before its benefits were taught to regular folk, exercise has become a matter of national resilience in China.

Chinese culture

Shameful period? How China’s Qing dynasty brought both wealth and humiliation

China’s final dynasty saw the arts and economy thrive under Manchu rule. But internal and external struggles corroded centuries of stability.

Chinese history

Reflections | Andrew’s loss of ‘prince’ title echoes the downfall of China’s past royals

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s fall from prince to commoner mirrors how many disgraced royals in imperial China also lost their titles.

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at the coronation ceremony of King Charles and Queen Camilla, in London, in May 2023. Last month, Charles moved to strip Andrew of his princely title entirely. Photo: Reuters
Chinese history

Reflections | How Asean differs from the alliances of China’s Warring States Period

Asean’s consensus-driven approach, based on non-aggression, generally fosters regional peace, unlike the factious alliances in China’s past.

(From left) Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, from left, East Timor’s Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao and East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta during the 47th Asean summit, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025. Despite criticisms, Asean’s consensus-driven approach fosters regional peace. Photo: AP
Chinese history

Reflections | How Trump’s new ballroom echoes the grand monuments of China’s emperors

Many monuments built by the emperors of old were architectural marvels and stunning spectacles of power, but perilous in consequence.

History

Reflections | Like Trump’s Time photo, Chinese emperor’s portraits were often unflattering

The contradictory portraits of Zhu Yuanzhang, one of China’s most controversial rulers, reflect his complex historical image.

Chinese history

Reflections | The small Chinese state that once played peacekeeper like Singapore today

Long ago, the Chinese state of Song repeatedly helped end conflicts between powerful neighbours with a diplomatic heft that belied its size.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talk at the 10th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting, in Canberra, Australia, in October 2025. Singapore plays an important peacekeeping role on the world stage today. Photo: AAP Image via AP
Chinese history

Reflections | How ancient Chinese sects have foretold Rapture-like divine ends for millennia

Christian groups prophesise paradisiacal new beginnings today, but similar visions existed throughout imperial Chinese history.

In Christianity, the Rapture refers to Jesus’ return to Earth to guide his followers to heaven before the apocalypse. Photo: TNS
Singapore

Reflections | ‘I shall do harm’: the ancient Chinese traitor who boosted his country’s enemy

Zhonghang Yue’s reforming of Xiongnu puts the negative attitude often seen towards Malaysians-turned-Singaporeans into perspective.

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Reflections | How the lion became a symbol of Chinese identity and cultural exchange

From homes to temples, lion figures are ubiquitous in China. Why is an animal that has never lived in the wild there so culturally relevant?

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