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History

History
The latest news, analysis and opinion on History. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
People attend a memorial for the Nanking massacre victims in Nanjing, China’s Jiangsu province, last year. Photo: Xinhua
Japan

Japan museum under fire for ‘rewriting history’ with Nanking ‘incident’ label

Conservatives force the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to drop the word massacre, a move critics say downplays Japan’s wartime aggression.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Norman Bethune’s story still holds lessons for China-Canada relations

European Union

In D-Day speech, Hegseth urges Europe to counter ‘invasion’ of migrants

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Chinese culture

Who was Yang Guifei, the Chinese beauty blamed for toppling a dynasty?

One of ancient China’s ‘Four Beauties’, Yang besotted an emperor, was the target of a rebellion, and in death became a tragic romantic icon.

A painting depicts Yang Guifei being attended to by a court maid. The princess, regarded as one of the “Four Beauties” of ancient China, has gone down in infamy for contributing to the end of the Tang dynasty. But is this point of view fair?
Food and Drinks

Drink in Focus: Bamboo at Bar Anima

The bar’s signature cocktail, a classic reimagined with dry sherry, vermouth and bitters, also highlights the evolution of Hong Kong mixology.

From our archives

In pictures: Hong Kong’s fishing industry through the years

Commercial fishing was once much more integral to the city’s way of life, as SCMP photographers documented.

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China society

As I see it | How adversity has guided the path of Chinese civilisation through the ages

Recent findings by archaeologists suggest the push for innovative solutions is often borne out of the struggle to overcome severe challenges.

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Descendants of Chinese railroad workers gather during a ceremony for 12,000 Chinese immigrant labourers who worked on the Central Pacific Railroad between 1865 and 1869 being inducted into the Labor Hall of Honor, at the Department of Labor, in Washington DC, on May 9, 2014. Photo: Xinhua
My Life

How wartime Hong Kong became a passion for historian and author Tony Banham

Born in a British WWII hut, Tony Banham’s journey spans aviation, computing and historical research, leading to acclaimed works on his adopted hometown’s tumultuous past.

Italy

Milan restores bull mosaic’s bits worn down by an unusual tradition

Craftsman rebuilds animal’s cratered anatomy after visitors wear down the 19th century floor with their heels.

Hong Kong society

Bun king and queen scramble to victory once again at Cheung Chau festival

Kwok Ka‑ming wins the men’s crown for the 11th time while Janet Kung also successfully defends her title.

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Janet Kung and Kwok Ka-ming are the champions again. Photo: Karma Lo
China’s Communist Party

Video | How a rural French town became the cradle of Chinese communism

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century.

Late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was among the many Chinese students who studied in Montargis in the early 20th century
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Chinese culture

The dark story of Consort Wan, 17 years older than the emperor who loved her

Wan Zhen’er became a beloved consort of Emperor Chenghua against all conventions, but records indicate a pernicious side to her tale.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The earliest Chinese irons date back over 2,000 years. Here’s how they evolved

Long before electric irons, the Chinese had already developed sophisticated methods of pressing and smoothing garments.

Chinese culture

Origin of Hong Kong’s ‘peace buns’, Cheung Chau Bun Festival’s iconic snack

‘Ping on bao’ are both happily eaten and the focus of the festival’s famous bun scrambling competition. One baker explains how he makes them.

An employee of Kwok Kam Kee, a bakery on Hong Kong’s Cheung Chau island, prepares traditional ping on bao, or “peace buns”, ahead of the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Science

Can China team’s Greek dig unveil an untold truth in ancient world history?

A joint archaeological project between Greece’s culture ministry and a Chinese team of researchers is breaking new ground.

The Aetolia-Acarnania region in Greece held particular significance during the Hellenistic period when there were extensive cultural exchanges across Eurasia. Photo: Wikipedia
Art

How Asian artists at the 2026 Venice Biennale are making their voices heard

Using everything from baby dolls to tapestries, Asian artists’ perspectives are strongly reflected in a number of memorable exhibitions.

From our archives

In pictures: crossing the Hong Kong-mainland China border through the decades

Discover how Hong Kong-mainland border crossings transformed from slow, queue-filled journeys in the 1970s to today’s seamless high-speed rail trips.

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Jewellery

Why brands are adding bejewelled cufflinks to their menswear repertoires

Maisons including Dior, Graff, Tiffany & Co. and Cartier are crafting them in gold and adding diamonds and pearls.

Jacob Elordi wore black tie complete with cufflinks to the Oscars on March 15. Photo: EPA
Indonesia

Indonesia’s oil hub pitch collides with Asean’s trust deficit

Joint energy security is easy to endorse in principle, yet the bloc has a stubborn record of leaving its emergency frameworks untouched.

Lessons from China's history

Reflections | How the Chinese did laundry before washing machines: ash ‘soap’, stone beatings

Before chemical detergents and modern equipment, Chinese people kept their clothes clean with little more than river water, wood and ash.

Mainland China

Opinion | The West was never the whole world. It’s time to move on

As Asia reclaims its roots, the burden of reinvention now falls on the West. Its brief era of supremacy was a historical aberration.

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People walk past a television screen in Beijing broadcasting US President Donald Trump’s visit to China on Thursday. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

As I see it | Beijing had already won before the Trump-Xi summit even started

There’s a lesson for the US president in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

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US President Donald Trump (bottom right) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping upon arriving at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
American cinema

How Hollywood turned China’s Boxer rebellion into a racist Western

55 Days at Peking (1963) paints the historical event as an Orientalist Alamo, while white actors ‘yellowface’ as the main Chinese characters.

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Emmanuel Perrin, Panerai CEO, on its watches’ maritime heritage

The brand has long worked with the Italian Navy – resulting in ‘big, tough, functional watches’ that appeal to Sylvester Stallone and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Japan

Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ row stoked by statues abroad

The removal of wartime sex slave memorials in Germany and New Zealand has electrified certain LDP hardliners, risking a diplomatic rift.

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A former South Korean “comfort woman” holds the hand of a statue symbolising Japan’s wartime sex slaves in Seoul in 2021. Photo: Reuters
Art

Photographer’s snaps of 1970s Hong Kong given life by grandson 5 decades on

Jack Smith’s ‘Streets of Neon’ collection features five ‘extremely personal’ photos his grandad took of a Hong Kong that no longer exists.

A photo taken by Herbert Smith during his 1979 trip to Hong Kong titled “Painting in Neon (1979)”. It is among the five pictures featured in his grandson Jack Smith’s limited-time print collection “Streets of Neon: Hong Kong 1979”, in which the London-based archivist shares his grandfather’s adventures with the world five decades on. Photo: Herbert Smith
Russia

Putin criticises Nato at Victory Day parade in Moscow

At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance.

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Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Succession struggles in China’s past echoed in Malaysia’s 2026 royal crisis

Disputes over Negeri Sembilan’s next royal ruler recall how succession in China often fused dynastic legitimacy with aristocratic elections.

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