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Perfect Shadows

Perfect Shadows

Written by: Dario Estrabao
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The corridors of power are full of danger, intrigue, and drama, yet nowhere is this more evident than in the leaders, for “uneasy is the head that wears a crown.” We'll be covering sovereigns and rulers from all over the world and all throughout history, but we'll also take the time to touch on generals, religious figures, influential players, and even some fictional characters!Copyright 2026 Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • #8 – Oda Nobunaga: The Unification of Owari
    Jan 4 2021
    Episode Notes

    Bibliography

    Jansen, Marius B. 2002. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Chaplin, Danny. 2018. Sengoku Jidai. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu: Three Unifiers of Japan. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

    Chase, Kenneth. 2009. Firearms: A Global History to 1700. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 

    Gyūichi Ōta. 2011. The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga. Edited by J. P. Lamers. Translated by J. S. A. Elisonas. Leiden, NL: Brill.

    Hall, John Whitney, and James L. McClain, eds. 2006. The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 4: Early Modern Japan. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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    26 mins
  • #7 – Qin Shi Huang
    Jul 27 2020

    Bibliography

    Chang, Chun-shu. 2007. The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Nation, State, & Imperialism in Early China, Ca. 1600 B.C. - A.D. 8. Vol. 1. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

    Clements, Jonathan. 2006. The First Emperor of China. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited.

    Lewis, Mark Edward. 2010. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Li, Su. 2018. The Constitution of Ancient China. Edited by Zhang Yongle and Daniel A. Bell. Translated by Edmund Ryden. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Man, John. 2007. The Terracotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation. London, UK: Bantam Press.

    Qian, Sima, and Raymond Dawson. 2007. The First Emperor: Selections From the Historical Records. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Sanft, Charles. 2008. “Progress and Publicity in Early China: Qin Shihuang, Ritual, and Common Knowledge.” Journal of Ritual Studies 22 (1): 21–37. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44368779?seq=1.

    Sanft, Charles. 2014. Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Shang, Yang. 2017. The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China. Edited by Yuri Pines. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

    Shi, Jie. 2014. “Incorporating All For One: The First Emperor's Tomb Mound.” Early China 37. https://doi.org/10.1017/eac.2014.14 .

    Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. 1986. The Cambridge History of China Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Willis, John E. 1994. “The First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shihuang).” In Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History, 33–50. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Xueqin, Li. 1985. “Qin After Unification.” In Eastern Zhou and Qin Civilizations, translated by K. C. Chang, 240–62. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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    33 mins
  • #6 – Shang Yang
    Jul 13 2020

    Bibliography

    Boesche, Roger. 2008. “Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ and the Legalism of Lord Shang.” Journal of Asian History 42, no. 1: 64-90. www.jstor.org/stable/41933478.

    Fields, Lanny B. 1983. “The Legalists and the Fall of Ch’in: Humanism and Tyranny.” Journal of Asian History 17: 1-39. www.jstor.org/stable/41930504.

    Goldin, Paul R. 2011. “Persistent Misconceptions About Chinese ‘Legalism.’” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 38, no. 1: 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6253.2010.01629.x.

    Hsiao, Kung-chuan. 1979. “Lord Shang and Han Fei Tzu.” In History of Chinese Political Thought, Volume 1: From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century, A.D.: 368–424. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Lewis, Mark Edward. 2010. The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Man, John. 2007. The Terracotta Army: China's First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation. London, UK: Bantam Press.

    Qian, Sima. 1993. Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty. Translated by Burton Watson. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

    Qian, Sima, and Raymond Dawson. 2007. The First Emperor: Selections From the Historical Records. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Yang, Shang. 2017. The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China. Edited by Yuri Pines. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

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    42 mins
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