The China History Podcast · Laszlo Montgomery

Ep. 359 | Plant Hunters during the Qing Dynasty (Part 1)

·52 min·4 clips
Nathaniel Ward's airtight case changed everything, allowing plant hunters to smuggle live specimens across oceans.
This episode explores the history of European plant hunters in China during the Qing Dynasty, focusing on their botanical explorations, the ethical implications of scientific imperialism, and key figures like Robert Fortune who smuggled tea plants to India. It covers the technological advancements like the Wardian case that enabled these activities and China's rich biodiversity that attracted foreign naturalists.

As heard by us

Botanical collecting becomes a plainspoken tour of Qing travel, empire, and taste.

Qing-era plant hunting is the thread, but the piece keeps its footing in the movement of people and goods. Montgomery follows the Macartney mission, the southbound turn through the Grand Canal, and later figures like Robert Fortune to show how Chinese plants slipped into…

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Why you'd press play

You want Qing China, embassy travel, and plant collecting turned into a neat history trail.

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