Predictive History, Professor Jiang, No Ads

What is mind control, and how does it work? In his Wednesday, September 10, 2025 lecture to Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how mind control techniques originated in ancient Egypt. Priests developed these techniques to control the Pharaoh, and they became embedded into Egyptian mythology.Today, these ancient mind control techniques are still used. Please Support Professor Jiang:In order to openly and freely discuss controversial topics, Professor Jiang does not monetize his YouTube videos. If you have the means, please donate here: https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...If you'd like to delve deeper into the topic of mind control, please read Professor Jiang's most recent post on Substack, in which he discusses Manchurian Candidates:https://predictivehistory.substack.co...Notes and References:1. The Dark Side by Jane Mayer. You can read the book at any library, or purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Insi...2. Read about the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghr...3. Learn about the concept of Learned Helplessness here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned...4. Learn how the CIA was working with psychologists to torture prisoners here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...5. There is ample evidence that shows that prisoner abuse is more likely to turn them into terrorists: https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/...6. Read about MKUltra here: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/defau...7. Read about the case of Abu Zubaydah here: https://www.therenditionproject.org.u...8. This article explains that psychologists have their own issues: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/ar...

Where do secret societies come from? What do they teach? On Friday, September 5, 2025, Professor Jiang lectured on the development of the religious tradition in the West. References:1. The Book of Enoch2. The Gospel of Thomas3. Paradise Lost by John Milton4. The Book of Genesis5. "The Secret History of the World" by Mark BoothPlease Support Professor Jiang's Work: 1. If you'd like to delve deeper, please subscribe to Professor Jiang's Substack: https://predictivehistory.substack.com2. In order to discuss sensitive topics freely and openly, Professor Jiang does not monetize his YouTube videos. If you have the means, please consider making a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...

Why is there evil in the world? In his Thursday, August 28, 2025 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how secret societies operate, and why they're the true centers of power in the world. Please Support Professor Jiang's Work: 1. If you'd like to delve deeper into this topic, please subscribe to Professor Jiang's Substack: https://predictivehistory.substack.co...In his most recent post, Professor Jiang analyzes why America's rich and powerful would fly to Epstein Island. 2. In order to discuss sensitive topics freely and openly, Professor Jiang does not monetize his YouTube videos. If you have the means, please consider making a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...

The Western world is in decline. Immigration is tearing apart the social contract, and causing ethnic tensions. Young people cannot find work, and can no longer afford a house. Debt is crippling governments and households.In his Tuesday, August 26, 2025 class to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains that these trends are caused by the aging crisis, in which rich pensioners are dictating policy to the detriment of everyone else. He predicts that the gerontocracy will lead to the rise of militaristic and authoritarian governments. Please Support: If you'd like to delve deeper into this topic, please subscribe to Professor Jiang's Substack: https://predictivehistory.substack.co...In his most recent post, Professor Jiang offers a theory as to why Canada has so many Indian immigrants.In order to discuss sensitive topics freely and openly, Professor Jiang does not monetize his YouTube videos. If you have the means, please consider making a small donation: https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...

In this lecture, Professor Jiang explains the three theories as to why and how societies rise and fall: the financialization of society, elite over-production, and the civilization life cycle. Recommended Readings: 1. Please do yourself a favor, and read Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century.” It’s surprisingly clear and simple, and his evidence is striking and overwhelming. 2. It’s essential to read Peter Turchin. Start off with one of his earlier works: “War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires.” 3. C. Wright Mills’ “The Power Elite” is a classic sociological survey on the structure of power in society. You can read it for free here: https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet... If you'd like to read more about this topic, please read Professor Jiang's Substack post here: https://predictivehistory.substack.co...Please support Professor Jiang's work at https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...

In this lecture, Professor Jiang proposes that by studying geo-politics we can develop analytical frameworks that permit us to predict the future. If our predictions turn out to be accurate, we can use these validated frameworks to reveal the secret history of humanity. How does power work? Professor Jiang proposes that power is alchemy, and allows those in power to transform lead into gold. We are taught in science class that alchemy is a pseudo-science. But in fact we have achieved alchemy with the concept of money. Further Reading: If you enjoy this lecture and would like to delve deeper, please read Professor Jiang's Substack: https://predictivehistory.substack.co...Please support Professor Jiang's work: https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehi...

In this Tuesday, April 7, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains why the Americans invest so much into the myth of "no man left behind." Notes and References:1. "The Militarization of Movies and Television," a paper by Tanner Mirrlees:https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/s...

In this Thursday, April 2, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains Donald Trump's grand plan. Notes and References:1. "Foundations of Geo-Politics" by Aleksandr Dugin

In this Tuesday, March 31, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how an elite control the global financial system, and engineer financial collapses.Notes and References:1. "1929" by Andrew Ross Sorkin2. "Tower of Basel" by Adam Lebor

In this Thursday, March 26, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains that Israel has the most to benefit from the war between the United States and Iran.

In this Tuesday, March 24, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang argues that the US-Iran war marks the end of Pax Americana and globalization.

In this Thursday, March 19, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how internal conflicts determine foreign wars.

In this Tuesday, March 17, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how the world really works, and why there can be no peace between the United States and Iran.

In this Thursday, March 12, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how extreme eschatologies drive geo-politics.Notes and Reference:"Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem Schneerson" by Joseph Telushkin

In this Tuesday, March 10, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains why escalation control is more important than escalation dominance in the US-Iran War.

In this Thursday, March 5, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains that for Iran to triumph asymmetrically the people to become energetic, open, and cohesive.

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2026 lecture, Professor Jiang analyzes the US-Iran War.

In this Thursday, January 29, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains the origins of Communism.Notes and References:1. "Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels2. "Wall Street and the Russian Revolution" by Richard B. Spence

In this Tuesday, January 27, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains why America is more of a nation-game than it is a nation-state.

In this Thursday, January 22, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains how the British empire evolved into an offshore financial system.

In this Tuesday, January 20, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang uses game theory to explain how states rise and fall.

In this Thursday, January 15, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang uses the example of immigration to illustrate how games are rigged. Notes and References:"What Makes You Click: Mate Preferences and Matching Outcomes in Online Dating" (MIT Sloan Working Paper February 2006)Download the paper here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...

In this Tuesday, January 13, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang explains who succeeds, and why.Notes and References:1. The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischel2. Mindset by Carol Dweck3. Peak by K. Anders Ericsson

In this Thursday, January 8, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang uses game theory to explore the limitations of schools.

In this Tuesday, January 6, 2026 lecture to his Beijing high school students, Professor Jiang introduces the concept of game theory, and how it applies to the dating game.

In this final talk of the "Civilization" course, Jiang Xueqin explains the rise and fall of the American empire. At the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, America proposed that the dollar should be the world's reserve currency. In return for this "exorbitant privilege," America pledged that its currency could be exchanged for gold. But with America spending exorbitantly to fund the Vietnam War, the Space Race, and the Great Society, countries started to doubt this promise. After France withdrew all its gold from America, President Nixon announced that the dollar could no longer be converted to gold. To create new demand for the dollar, Nixon visited China, and brought it into the Pax Americana.After the fall of the Soviet Union, America financialized its economy, which led to the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. With Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the supremacy of the USD is more threatened than ever. In response, America may invade Iran, which would start World War III. References:1. Farewell Address of Dwight Eisenhower (Military Industrial Complex)2. The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides3. Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley 4. The Open Society by Karl PopperFurther Watching:1. The System of Money:    • The System of Money | Documentary Money Cr...  2. Who Controls All of Our Money?:    • Who Controls All of Our Money?  

How did a poor Georgian high school drop-out help lead a fringe and fanatical political party (the Bolsheviks) into absolute power in Russia? How was Stalin able to eliminate his competitors? How did he defeat Hitler in World War II? In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that Stalin was the "ubermensch," the man of steel who willed a new reality into being. Lenin could not have maintained the Bolsheviks without financing from Stalin's criminal activities. After the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War, Lenin was intent on stopping Stalin's rise to power. But Stalin outmaneuvered his adversaries, including Leon Trotsky, the heir to Lenin's legacy. After the Great Purge, Stalin created a cult of personality, and bent the entire state apparatus to his will. This proved pivotal in World War II when Stalin transformed the Soviet Union from a poor feudal nation into a global industrial power. References:1. State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin2. Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler3. Joseph Stalin's wiki bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_...4. Vladimir Lenin's wiki bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimi...Recommended Watching:I watched many YouTube videos to prepare for this lecture. Here are some recommendations.1. The Rest of History podcast on Operation Barbarossa:    • 182. Operation Barbarossa  2. Noj Rants on "Lenin's Non-Marxist Origins":   • The Non-Marxist Origins of Lenin (History ...  3. Zoomer Historian on "Operation Barbarossa Myth":    • Video  4. Russian History Museum on the Friendship between Lincoln and Czar Alexander II:   • The Tsar and the President: Alexander II a...  

Nationalism is the main cause of World War One. How and why did it originate?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that nationalism was a response to religious, economic, and cultural challenges in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.The Protestant Reformation produced a crisis of faith in people, and many made the nation-state into their new religion. The Industrial Revolution made the bourgeoisie the new dominant elite, and they demanded property rights that only the nation-state could guarantee. Rapid industrialization and urbanization caused alienation and disorientation, which led people to embrace the nation-state for community and direction. References:1. Seeing Like a State by James Scott2. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson3. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau4. The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt5. The Open Society by Karl Popper

Freud proposed the theory of the Oedipal Complex. Where did he get the idea? Why did it become so popular?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that Freud developed his psychological theories in order to protect the interests of the powerful. His protege Carl Jung would take Freud's theory of the unconscious, and turn it into a systemic model of human psychology. Because of modernist literature and art, this "cult of the self" has permeated throughout the entire culture, becoming the air we breathe. This has led to devastating social consequences, especially among the young.References:1. Aetiology of Hysteria by Sigmund Freud2. Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud3. Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud4. The Assault on Truth by Jeffrey Masson5. Ulysses by James Joyce6. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Why was Karl Marx -- who believed that industrial capitalism would evolve into a worker's paradise -- wrong? In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that while Marx understood the ills of capitalism he failed to appreciate the psychology of people. People strive for religious community, not economic equality. We want to connect with God, and we seek status. That's why those countries that did succeed in their communist revolutions devolved into theocracies dominated by cults of personalities. References:1. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels2. Letters of Karl Marx3. Three Lectures to Swiss Members by Mikhail Bakunin

What is the legacy of Immanuel Kant, considered our greatest philosopher?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that Kant's insights had a tremendous impact on the development of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and quantum mechanics. Kant's philosophical revolution was equivalent to that of the Copernican revolution in astronomy. With his precise logic, Kant showed us that we were active participants in the making of reality, rather than just passive observers. But Kant's epistemology had three major limitations:1. He argued we could never know true reality (the "things-in-themselves"), thus creating an ontological dilemma.2. He did not show us the source for our capacity to interpret the world. 3. He failed to show us why interpretations would be uniform across history and cultures. These problems led Hegel to develop his theory of the dialectic of the "geist," which will come to influence the development of both Marxism and the nation-state. References:1. The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant2. The Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant3. The Phenomenology of the Spirit by Friedrich Hegel

What explains the rise of Adolf Hitler?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that Hitler was a manifestation of the German obsession with the unity of will. After the humiliating defeat of World War I and amidst the economic turmoil of the Weimar Republic, Germans sought salvation and redemption in their civilization, especially the music of Richard Wagner and the philosophy of Frederick Nietzsche. They longed for an "ubermensch" to emerge, and Hitler rose to the occasion. References:1. The World as Will and Representation by Arthur Schopenhauer2. The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner 3. The Genealogy of Morals by Frederick Nietzsche 4. Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley5. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler

Why did Putin invade Ukraine?In this lecture to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that the war in Ukraine is a clash of civilizations. In his novels "Crime and Punishment" and "Brothers Karamazov" Fyodor Dostoevsky captures and expresses the Russian soul. As a Christian Orthodox people, the Russians believe the meaning of life is to accept the mystery, miracle, and authority of the human heart. This contrasts with Anglo-American civilization, which proposes a utilitarian and materialistic conception of the universe. References:1. "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy2. "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky3. "Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Oscar Wilde once quipped: "America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilisation in between."What did he mean by this?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that America in its attempt to become an "enlightened" civilization ultimately became an anti-civilization. Civilizations have history, culture, and values, and therefore they have prejudices. These prejudices often lead to conformity, stagnation, and close-mindedness. America was a diverse open society that was determined to embrace its diversity and openness. It would welcome immigrants from all corners of the world in order to achieve its Manifest Destiny.As such, the Founding Fathers focused on turning America into a "game" rather than a civilization. The Constitution became the basis for a fair, transparent, and competitive game that permitted all to achieve the American Dream. References:1.) Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin2.) Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson3.) Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay4.) Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln5.) Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

How did Shakespeare father the British empire?In this talk to his Beijing high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that it was Shakespeare's innovations in syntax and diction that transformed English into the linguistic Internet. Cultures, ideologies, and peoples could now meet on this Internet, and have their ideas and values pollinate and cross-breed within the framework of British civilization. References:1.) Hamlet by William Shakespeare2.) Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare3.) "To Autumn" by John Keats

How did England -- a poor and divided island -- become the world's greatest empire?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that England succeeded because it was a poor and divided island.Throughout most of its history, the different peoples of Britain were engaged in open co-operative competition. Their division meant that foreign invaders could come and conquer them, which led to creative destruction. The conflict and poverty within the island forced many to migrate, which led to colonial expansion.These structural forces would permit England to adopt the three major innovations that would allow it to dominate the globe. Its royal navy opened markets for British goods, and protected global trade. The Bank of England allowed for the financing of wars. The English language allowed England to project soft power.

In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains how the Dutch Golden Age gave birth to the Middle Class. With the transition from feudalism to market economics and from Catholicism to Calvinism, people changed their focus from accumulating status to accumulating wealth. This created the concept of "class." This concept brought with it certain pathologies (fears of disorder, failure, and germs) that expressed themselves in the Middle Class obsessions with money, art, and materialism.With his paintings, Johannes Vermeer captured the hypocrisies of Middle Class life during the Dutch Golden Age.

How did a young Corsican become Emperor of France in 1804?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that it was Napoleon's myth-making genius that seduced the French people, and killed the fledging French Republic.In this way, Napoleon was like Caesar and Hitler. Will Trump take America down the same path?

The French Revolution allowed for the meteoric rise of an idealistic provincial lawyer. During the Reign of Terror, Robespierre could have been king, but ultimately fell to the guillotine, like thousands of his victims. What explains his spectacular rise and fall?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that Robespierre saw himself as the Prophet of the French Revolution, and was determined to achieve the Revolution no matter what. For the weak and oppressed, Robespierre became Jesus, and as such he would come to share the same fate.

This video begins a three-part series on the French Revolution. The over-arching thesis is that the French Revolution was a religious crusade, and it was made successful by the contributions of three geniuses. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the Poet of the Revolution who dreamed of a better world based on Reason.Maximilien De Robespierre was the Prophet who had the courage and conviction to lead his people into this new world. Napoleon Bonaparte was the Prince who had the skill and resolve to conquer this new world, and make the world bend to his vision.In this first talk, we examine the major thinkers of the Enlightenment (mainly Descartes, Kant, and Rousseau), and how their ideas and arguments would underpin and drive the French Revolution.References:1. Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes2. Faust by Goethe3. "What is Enlightenment?" by Kant4. Emile by Rousseau5. Discourse on the Origins of Inequality by Rousseau6. The Social Contract by Rousseau

The Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, and Chinese were the first four gunpowder empires. So how did Europe come to conquer the world?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that it's because Europe adopted a whole society approach to warfare. Because of open co-operative competition within Europe, nations were forced to transition from feudalism to the nation-state, from agriculture to industry, and from religion to science. Though these transitions would turn Europe into the dominant military power in the world, they would also unleash social, economic, and political forces that would challenge the status quo, leading to the American and French Revolutions.

How did a few thousand Spanish Conquistadors subdue and conquer millions of Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans.Most scholars believe it's a combination of superior Spanish military technology, spreading of deadly infectious diseases, and internal tribal conflict that led to the demise of once powerful empires. In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that it was the religious practices and beliefs of the native peoples of Central and South America that made them vulnerable to invasion and conquest.The natives had a strict religious hierarchy that established priest-kings as divine beings. When the Spanish executed their priest-kings, they broke the ultimate taboo. This left many Aztecs and Incas helpless and hopeless. Reference:The Mayans' Popol Vuh ("Book of the Community") can be read for free here:https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/...

What is the Scientific Revolution, and how did it happen? Why did it happen in Europe, and not anywhere else? In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that the Scientific Revolution happened because of a change in focus from asking "What is Truth?" to asking "How can we know Truth?". To resolve the geocentric vs. heliocentric debate, Europeans pioneered the Scientific Method, a system of processes and protocols to test and refine hypotheses. This led to an explosion of technological innovation. Jiang Xueqin concludes by arguing that the Scientific Method has ossified into an imperial bureaucracy. Today, geniuses like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein would be shunned for their eccentricities. Have we come to the end of the Scientific Revolution? References:1. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn2. The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon3. The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby

In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains how the Protestant Reformation birthed capitalism. Martin Luther and John Calvin saw the Catholic Church as inherently and irredeemably corrupt. Martin Luther proposed "justification by faith," which argued that Christians can only be redeemed by their unwavering faith in God (regardless of how much money they donated to the Church). John Calvin proposed the concept of "double pre-destination," which argued that God at the beginning of time had decided the fate of all (and thus buying "indulgences" from the Catholic Church was pointless).In accepting these two doctrines and rejecting Papal authority, Protestants now had to prove to themselves that they were among the faithful elect. In their anxiety, they focused on the accumulation of money. References:1. Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" (You can download this classic for free at https://gpde.direito.ufmg.br/wp-conte...)2. Emile Durkheim's "On Suicide"3. Georg Simmel's "The Philosophy of Money"

The Renaissance was a re-imagining of Classical Greece in a Christian European context, a spirit that would birth modernity.How did it start?Scholars argued that the Renaissance came about due to a perfect storm of structural factors. The build-up of commercial trade, the re-discovery of Greco-Roman thinkers, and the development of intellectual centers (such as universities and monasteries) were among the most important. In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that it was Dante's Divine Comedy that would spark the confident self-expression and triumphant self-expression of the Renaissance.

What were the Crusades? Why did they start? Why did they end?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explores the history of Europe's late middle ages. He shows that while the Roman Catholic Church was dominant, there were still challenges to its authority. Muslims controlled the Holy Land, Muslim Iberia was more wealthy and innovative, and the Orthodox Church claimed sovereignty. As well, Catholic clerics were considered corrupt, which led to widespread dissent.In 1095, Pople Urban II hoped to channel his flock's religious energy, and direct it to warfare against Muslims and heretics in order to cement the authority of the Church. Crusaders captured Jerusalem, conquered the Iberian peninsula, and crushed the Cathars. The Crusades ended when a series of crises engulfed Europe in the fourteenth century. Biblical rains, famine, war, and the Black Death halved Europe's population. In his conclusion, Jiang explains that Europe's Crusading fever never died out. In the Age of Exploration, Europe's new Crusaders would cross the Atlantic.

Genghis Khan is considered the world's greatest conquerer. Why was he so successful?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that Genghis Khan had the same characteristics as other great conquerors, such as Sargon of Akkad, Philip of Macedon, and Julius Caesar.Genghis Khan believed that he had a divine mission to re-make the world. In overcoming hardship and defeat, Genghis Khan came to recognize his mission, and committed himself to completing it. He united the warring Mongol tribes into a professional, meritocratic, and innovative army that would go on to conquer most of the Asian continent.

Why did China stop being creative after the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE)? In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that it's because the Ming and Qing dynasties achieved a level of national unity that was not possible in the past. While this national unity ensured the longevity of the emperor and his imperial bureaucracy, it made the nation insular and stagnant. The imperial bureaucracy used three mechanisms to monopolize status, literacy, and culture. The "keju" (civil service examination) focused the energies and ambitions of local gentry. The "keju" tested for "wenyan" (classical literary Chinese), a language that was so difficult that students had to spend decades mastering it. Confucianism restricted openness and innovation. This lecture relies heavily on the scholarship of Professor Yuhua Wang, who is a Chinese historian at Harvard. You can watch his Youtube talk here:    • The Rise and Fall of Imperial China | Yuhu...   His book "The Rise and Fall of Imperial China" can be found here:https://press.princeton.edu/books/har...

The Abbasid Caliphate was considered the Golden Age of Islam. Before the Mongolian conquest, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad was the global center of learning and literacy. Muslim scientists and mathematicians were respected and influential even in Europe. Why did the Islamic world enter its Golden Age, while Europe was stuck in its Dark Ages? Why did this Golden Age come to an end? Why did Christianity eventually overtake the Islamic world? In this lecture to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that Islam was an intellectual revolution that combined the intimate inter-connectedness of paganism with the absolute clarity of monotheism. This revolution would initiate a new era of human creativity.

What was the Viking worldview? What was their value system? Why did they venture out into the world? Unfortunately, the Vikings maintained an oral tradition, most of which was lost after they converted to Christianity. What we do know about the Vikings comes from archaeology and the Norse mythology that was written down in the Poetic and Prose Edda.In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin attempts to re-constitute the Viking worldview, and argues that their core values were courage, loyalty, and resourcefulness. He explains the power and beauty of Norse mythology, and how such power and beauty could only be developed in the oral tradition. He refers to Professor Neil Price's lecture on the Viking worldview ("The Shape of the Soul"), which can be found here on Youtube:    • The Shape of the Soul: The Viking Mind and...