Let’s say a modern-day Chinese person who speaks standard Mandarin went back in time while staying in the geographic location of China. How far back would they be able to go while still recognizing the languages spoken as Mandarin or at least some sort of dialect? I understand that the question may perhaps be absurd but I’m still curious. Chinese experts are preferred but anyone may answer. If further details are needed, just ask.

Edit: As a bonus, would anyone have any info on what old and Middle Chinese sounded like?

The best part is if desk-crouching really did work, you’d have a bunch of kids crouched under desks in the middle of a kill zone until they starved. They’d had to form a desk civilization

I watched the movie “The Resistance Banker” and got to know that Wally and his group of bankers robbed the Nazi government in Netherlands and used the money to finance the resistance movement as well as help families in hiding. Now since Anne Frank’s father Otto Frank was a businessman, and they were also living in Netherlands, I wonder if Wally or his group knew Anne Frank’s family.

Both land wars in Asia and about democracy vs communism. Even though China didn't back up the north Vietnamese with troops they still won! What's with the discrepancy??

I’m sorry I broke the rules but what were factories like during the beginning of the EIC’s conquest of India.

The First of half the book it talks about English and French “factories”. Just from context this doesn’t seem like the factories that I imagine when I think of a factory. A large building that takes in some raw good and makes a new output. That this is indeed a part of a factory but it seems like there is more to it. When they’re established here. The author does make separate mention of things like colonies. So my guess is it’s something between a colony and a single building I guess.They seem to be closer to forts or small towns in this context and I’m curious if anyone here can better describe to me what these “factories” were.

The whole thing just surprises me I never imagined some European going some where and saying hey can I build a factory here. But thinking about it that sounds like multinational corporations today they just don’t care about the colony part.

I've read an article that as much as 500 thousands Coptic Christians live in Sudan today. What's their origin? Are they a remnant of Christian populations of medieval Nubian kingdoms or are they more recent migrants who reintroduced Christianity into the region after it disappeared when Nubia fell?

The United States president James Monroe declared that no European power was to establish any new colonies or puppet kings in the Americas following December 1823. Is this something that the United States realistically could have enforced? The War of 1812 resulted in the US military suffering numerous defeats, and American industry at this time was not on par with that of the European powers like the UK and France (from what I remember hearing about American industry in the 1820s). How did a country that was shown to be militarily and industrially inferior manage to secure the Americas from European involvement?

It seems strange to me that Greeks were able to control their territories for so long, especially in the far east regions such as Bactria. How many Greeks made their way out there, was there a constant stream of Greeks emigrating east?

Looking to expand my library, and also, planning to major in history shortly; what are the best resources out there for my favorite war, the American Civil War?

Objective and well-sourced, I have thrown away far too many "lost cause" or Union propaganda stories.

Currently watching a show about a Medieval European royal court and it's full of affairs, premarital sex, etc. But the general population during that period was very sexually conservative and the influence of religion was very strong. Why the dichotomy?

Basically, I want to know what leisure activities they enjoyed? What sort of shops, stores and clubs existed in the market? What kind of alcohol they consumed?

And lastly how it began to change with Muslim Invaders conquering India?

I have seen a few questions here about alcohol and Native Americans. Most of them assume that alcohol was unknown in the Americas until Europeans introduced it, and some of them even imply this was meant as a way to bring Natives under European control. However, alcoholic beverages were common in Mesoamerica, and some forms of rudimentary distilleries have been found. The Aztecs had a goddess, Mayahuel, for pulque, an alcoholic beverage that is still consumed today. How did the idea that alcohol was an European introduction arise, and why is it so prevalent?