Today I realized I made the wrong homework for this week, so I had to do much more work than normal. Luckily I like to do homework, so it’s not a big problem.
Question of the day: Do you have pre-test rituals and what are they? A good meal and coffee, hehe
The May Fourth Movement – so famous in China it doesn’t need a year, although 1919 – the year it happened – has become legendary too. On that date, some three thousand students marched through Beijing demonstrating against Japanese imperialism and started a political movement that would become identified with Chinese demands for “science” and “democracy” through the next century. They shouted such slogans as “Struggle for the sovereignty externally, get rid of the national traitors at home”, “Do away with the ‘Twenty-One Demands’”, and “Don’t sign the Versailles Treaty”. They voiced their anger at the Allied betrayal of China, denounced the government’s spineless inability to protect Chinese interests, and called for a boycott of Japanese products. Demonstrators insisted on the resignation of three Chinese officials they accused of being collaborators with the Japanese. After burning the residence of one of these officials and beating his servants, student protesters were arrested, jailed, and severely beaten
From the Cultural Revolution to Tian’an Men Square protests in 1986 and 1989, May Fourth echoes through China’s modern history. The Chinese Communist Party still claims the movement as its point of origin.
Here are five ways into this fascinating topic – famous in China, little-known in the West.
1. Jonathan Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Viking Penguin 1981): still the classic account of the May Fourth generation and their revolution. Sweeping account that goes from the late Qing all the way to the end of the Cultural Revolution, with May Fourth intellectuals at its heart.
2. Lu Xun, Diary of a Madman. Iconic short story by China’s major modern writer, written on the eve of the seminal events of May Fourth, 1919. Searing indictment of traditional Confucian society. Translations into English by Gladys Yang and William Lyell.
4. Chen Duxiu, “Call to Youth.” Chen’s call to China’s youth to “save the nation” in 1919 symbolizes the May Fourth Movement’s attempt to overcome Confucian attempts to venerate age and instead celebrate youth.
5. “Acting Out Democracy: Political Theater in Modern China,” Joseph W. Esherick and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, in Journal of Asian Studies (November 1990) – classic article on how the 1989 student protesters in China “acted out” their political protests with references to the past.
Yuan Zai in the drama was arguably even more manipulative than Lin Jiulang, and this is somewhat historically accurate, though like Lin Jiulang’s historical counterpart Li Linfu, Yuan Zai also had some accomplishments, like promoting people who were good at finances. However, after he became the chancellor during Emperor Daizong’s reign (Daizong is the eldest son of Suzong), he became extremely corrupt, only giving promotions to people who gave him gifts. While chancellor, Yuan Zai was also a major political opponent against Li Bi. But because he was corrupt, and because people envied his power within the court, Yuan Zai gradually fell out of favor with Emperor Daizong. Eventually, Yuan Zai (and his entire family) was ordered to commit suicide.
Yuan Zai’s relationship with his wife Wang Yunxiu, however, was very different from the depiction in the drama. Yuan Zai married Wang Yunxiu even before he came to Chang'an in pursuit of a better career. In fact, Wang Yunxiu was the one who encouraged him to do so. Before setting out for Chang'an, the pair exchanged poems with each other (both poems are in the collection “Complete Collection of Tang-era Poems”, or 《全唐诗》), so the love was probably mutual and not manufactured for a purpose.
Yao Runeng (姚汝能):
Historically, Yao Runeng was not the descendant of the famous Tang dynasty chancellor Yao Chong (姚崇). Actually, he was a relative “nobody”, just like Zhang Xiaojing. So it was fitting that the real Yao Runeng would be the author of the book (“The Deeds of An Lushan”) that contained the only real record about Zhang Xiaojing.
About that book he wrote: it’s been speculated that the big boss behind the Persian gold coins was An Lushan, who was the perpetrator of the rebellion that destroyed Chang'an a mere 10 years later. Since Yao Runeng was given a gold coin in the last episode, him being the real-life author of a book about An Lushan and the rebellion becomes rather interesting.
Cheng Shen (程参)/ historical: Cen Shen (岑參):
Like He Zhizhang, Cen Shen was also known more for his poetry. While He Zhizhang was more well-known but only has 19 surviving poems, Cen Shen has a whopping 360 surviving poems, mostly about his travels near the border.
Yan Yuhuan (严羽幻)/ historical: Yang Yuhuan (楊玉環):
Yan Yuhuan’s historical counterpart, Yang Yuhuan, is arguably the most historically famous female from the drama. Heck, she might be one of the the most famous women from Chinese history, period. Her fame came from her looks, so much so that she became one of the four most beautiful women of Chinese history. It was no wonder that Li Longji/Xuanzong (the emperor depicted in the drama) was captivated by her. She was also distantly related to Yang Guozhong, the treacherous chancellor that Zhang Xiaojing killed (according to Yao Runeng’s book).
Unfortunately for Yang Yuhuan, during the rebellion, everyone thought she was the cause of the unrest (not true; there were many many other causes) and a “bad influence” for the emperor , so the emperor ordered her to hang herself. In short, she became another sacrifice in a society controlled by men.
Xu Hezi (许合子)/ historical: Xu Hezi (許鶴子):
If the real Yan Yuhuan’s story was the tragedy of a beautiful Tang-era woman, the real Xu Hezi’s story was the tragedy of a Tang-era female entertainer. The historical Xu Hezi was also a famous singer of commoner descent, but when the rebellion happened, she was forced to escape Chang'an, and died a lowly entertainer/prostitute.
Guo Lishi (郭利仕)/ historical: Gao Lishi (高力士):
Li Bi’s “uncle Guo” wasn’t explicitly mentioned as a eunuch in the drama, though his headwear gave it away (his headwear is called “long jin”/籠巾, and is usually reserved for eunuchs in historical dramas). Historically, Gao Lishi was a powerful eunuch who was first favored by Wu Zetian (the first and only female Chinese emperor), then Li Longji/Xuanzong. Gao Lishi was very corrupt: rumors suggest he had more money than the national treasury. However, he was also very loyal. Upon hearing of Li Longji/Xuanzong’s death in 762 AD, he fell ill out of grief, and died.
Others:
(These people who appeared in the drama were also taken from history, and because their roles in the drama were small, I will only list their names here. It is worth noting, however, that although their roles seemed small in the drama, they were all influential people in Tang court in 744 AD)
Gan Shoucheng (甘守诚/甘守誠)
Mao Shun (毛顺/毛順)
Jiao Sui (焦遂)
Chen Xuanli (陈玄礼/陳玄禮)
Ji Wen (吉温/吉溫)
Luo Xishi (罗希奭/羅希奭)
Wang Hong (王鉷)
Chen Xilie (陈希烈/陳希烈)
Pei Dunfu (裴敦复/裴敦復)
Wei Jian (韦坚/韋堅)
Huangfu Weiming (皇甫惟明)
Li Jingzhong (李静忠/李靜忠)/ later changed to Li Fuguo (李輔國)
About a month ago, I finished The Longest Day in Chang'an, a period cdrama set in mid-Tang dynasty, 744 AD to be exact. Since it is a period drama, there’s bound to be characters adopted from history, so here’s a list of all the characters (that I could find) who actually existed:
Zhang Xiaojing (张小敬):
This one came as quite a surprise, because in traditional Chinese historiography, only people who significantly impact an era get to be recorded, but then the name “Zhang Xiaojing” appeared in one line of The Deeds of An Lushan (《安祿山事蹟》), by Yao Runeng of all people: “cavalryman Zhang Xiaojing shot Yang Guozhong off his horse, then proceeded to decapitate and mutilate his body”. Considering that Yang Guozhong (楊國忠) was regarded as a “treacherous” chancellor and this was roughly a decade later from when the story took place, when the An Shi Rebellion was in full swing and Chang'an had fallen to rebel forces, this almost vigilante-like “Zhang Xiaojing” seems to be the historical original that inspired the character.
Li Bi (李必)/ historical: Li Bi (李泌):
In stark contrast with the “obscure hero” Zhang Xiaojing, Li Bi was very much famous. Why? Dude was an important adviser to 3 different Tang emperors, basically a chancellor without an official title, and actually became a chancellor for the third emperor. For that reason, he has 2 official biographies in The Old Book of Tang (《舊唐書》) and The New Book of Tang (《新唐書》), some records in Zizhi Tongjian (《資治通鑑》), a rather fantastic account by his son while his son was on death row (《鄴侯家傳》; surviving version: 《鄴侯外傳》), and an English Wikipedia page. On a side note about the Wikipedia page: it says Li Bi was a “controversial figure”, but never quite pointed out why. It’s because in historical sources, people praised Li Bi for his abilities, but often add how he was a Daoist and “loved to talk about the supernatural”. This wasn’t surprising, since Daoist ideas were often looked down upon by Confucian scholars. Despite getting unfairly judged for his personal beliefs, Li Bi was still a brilliant strategist, involved in everything from war to politics to foreign policy.
He Zhizheng (何执正)/ historical: He Zhizhang (賀知章):
At first people only suspected that He Zhizheng was He Zhizhang, because of how similar the names sounded, and this was 100% confirmed when the drama attributed the poem lines “Who knows who the tailor is, who’s cut your leaves so fine? It’s/ The vernal winds past February, sharp as the scissors’ blades” (不知細葉誰裁出 二月春風似剪刀; translation courtesy of Andrew W.F. Wong) to him. The lines come from the poem “An Ode to the Willow” (《詠柳》) by He Zhizhang, known by most Chinese people in China due to it being in the elementary school literature textbooks. He was definitely more famous for being a poet than for being a scholar-official. Unfortunately, only 19 of his poems survived to the present day. He Zhizhang has official biographies in Old Book of Tang (under the “scholars” section), and New Book of Tang (under the “secluded literati” section). He also has an English Wikipedia page.
Lin Jiulang (林九郎)/ historical: Li Linfu (李林甫):
Like the character Lin Jiulang, Li Linfu was also a chancellor (for 19 years!), and arguably just as sleazy and manipulative. As an example, the Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince Li Yao, and Prince Li Ju were killed because of a scheme that he participated in. In the story, the Crown Prince Li Heng was rightfully intimidated by Li Linfu, since Li Linfu caused the death of his brothers. Li Linfu did have a more endearing side: while not busy doing his chancellor day job or concocting schemes, Li Linfu was apparently a pretty good painter. Li Linfu was also a descendant of the royal family, but this wasn’t obvious in the drama, due to the different surname.
Li Linfu had an official biography in Old Book of Tang and a Wikipedia page.
Li Longji (李隆基) (posthumous title: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang):
Li Longji was a prominent emperor of the Tang dynasty, so he has a very detailed Wikipedia page, but his reign was significant in other ways too. His reign was simultaneously regarded as a “climax” of the Tang dynasty, and also the start of its decline, marked by the An Shi Rebellion. Since the story took place roughly a decade before the rebellion, smack-dab in the “good days” of the dynasty, it portrayed many of the problems that led to its decline.
After the An Shi Rebellion officially began, Li Longji fled with his court to the mountainous Sichuan when Chang’an fell. Though his son, Li Heng, did eventually take back Chang’an, the city never quite recovered after that.
Li Heng (李亨) (posthumous title: Emperor Suzong of Tang):
Being another emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Heng also had a pretty detailed Wikipedia page, so I’m going to relay a fun little (and probably not real?) story between him and Li Bi that came from the aforementioned account by Li Bi’s son’.
After the An Shi Rebellion began, Li Heng went to Ling Wu and went through coronation there to become the emperor. Soon after, he sought out his friend Li Bi for help in putting down the rebellion. Li Bi came and like a few other people, proved to be of great help, so Li Heng was worried about how to reward them for their irreplaceable contribution. Li Heng went to Li Bi one day and asked him what he would want for his reward. Li Bi’s answer was surprisingly simple: “I am a devout Daoist, so I don’t care about worldly rewards of money or political status. I only want to take a nap on Your Majesty’s legs.”
So one day, when Li Bi went to take a nap, Li Heng came to his place, told the servants to leave, and snuck into Li Bi’s bedroom to sit at the edge of the bed. Then he moved Li Bi’s head onto his legs, so Li Bi would have his wish fulfilled.
The above story may have been just a story made up by Li Bi’s son, but the official history texts did mention (in Li Bi’s biography) how Li Heng and Li Bi were such good friends that they always went out together on the same carriage, so hey, there’s a possibility.
In speaking of “Taoist thought” I have often throughout this work used the term as a convenient shorthand for “primeval Chinese thought.” Strictly speaking, this usage is historically incorrect. Laozi is traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoism and is associated with “primordial” or “original” Taoism. Whether he actually existed is disputed. According to tradition the classic text attributed to him, the Tao Te Ching, was written around the 6th century BCE. The oldest extant text, however, dates to the late 4th century BCE. The earliest strata of the I Ching predate both these historical periods by many centuries, if not millennia. Taoism derived its cosmological notions from the philosophy of yin and yang, and from that of the Five Phases or Five Elements. Both these schools of thought were overwhelmingly influenced and shaped by exposure to the oldest known text of ancient Chinese classics, the I Ching.[1]
The actual symbolic logic of Taoism, although derived from the I Ching is extremely simplistic compared with that of the original upon which it is based. Whereas the philosophy of yinandyang as presented in the Tao Te Ching comprises little more than a two-dimensional cycle of two-valued elements, in the I Ching these two represent vectors in a six-dimensional combinatorial manifold of 64 hexagrams (1,2). Clearly, it is a difference like that between night and day. It is, in fact, a literal comparing of 22 with 26, the latter holding many more possibilities. The actual difference[2] in the logic and geometry emerging from the two is greater even than it appears at first. It eventuates not from just a simple geometric progression but from a mandalic intertwining and association of logical elements that give rise to different amplitudes of dimension as well as to a greater number of dimensions. This mandalic interweaving leads also to a richer catalogue of relationship types.[3]
Long viewed as mainly an ancient text of Chinese divination,theI Chingencompasses many more categories of thought - - - among them symbolic logic, geometry, and combinatorics. As a treatise which deals with combinatorics alone, it soars without equal, the first known compendium of combinatorial elements and still one of the finest. The logic and geometry that are embedded in the hexagram system of the I Ching are best understood in terms of dimensions and vectors akin to those in Cartesian systematics, and of logic gates analogous to the truth tables of Boolean algebra. And still the cognoscente will want to explore beyond the pertinency of these disciplines as also beyond Taoism to find the full meaning and intent of the I Ching.[4]
Having existed for millenia, and itself a treatise regarding change[5] in its many aspects, it would be inconceivable that the I Ching as we have it today is as it was in its beginnings. Popular at all societal levels through its entire existence, reinterpretations and reworkings have been myriad. Confucianism in particular interlaced its own brand of philosophical and “ethical-sociopolitical teachings” during and after the fifth century BCE. Other schools of thought added their unique perspectives to what became essentially a massive melting pot of schematization, one not always self-consistent by any means.
When one attempts to uncover the original face of the I Ching the difficulties encountered soon appear insurmountable. If involved in such a venture, it is imperative to bear in mind the bedrock strata of the work were in some ways more ingenuous, and in some more intricate, than the traditional version that has come down to us. The earliest layers arose in context of a preliterate oral tradition with all the many unique aspects of being that entails. In some ways the golden age of the I Ching ended with coming of the written word and literacy. The multidimensional logic that was readily accommodated by an oral tradition foundered and eventually was all but lost in the unrelenting techno-sociological onslaught of script with its associated inevitable linearity. Anyone who hopes to excavate the buried multidimensional logic of the primordial I Ching can expect to do a good deal of laborious digging.
[1] Two diagrams known as bagua (or pa kua) that figure prominently in the I Ching and its Commentaries predate their appearances in the I Ching. The Lo Shu Square is sometimes associated with the Later Heaven arrangement of the bagua or trigrams, and the Yellow River Map is sometimes associated with the Earlier Heaven arrangement of trigrams. Both are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE. Although part of Chinese mythology, they played an important role in development of Chinese philosophy. The Lo Shu Square is intimately connected with the legacy of the most ancient Chinese mathematical and divinatory traditions. The Lo Shu is the unique normal magic square (1,2) of order three (every normal magic square of order three is derived from Lo Shu by rotation or reflection). [Wikipedia]
[2] Taking into account both changing lines and unchanging lines of hexagrams there are four possible variants for each line: unchanging yin, unchanging yang, changing yin, and changing yang. This results in a total of 46 or 4096 possible different line combinations for each six-line figure. This allows for an enormous number of logical / geometric configurations, all of which map to various points of the mandalic cube or, in terms of Cartesian coordinates, to discretized points of the three-dimensional cube bounded by the eight Cartesian triads which have coordinates of +1 and/or -1 in all possible combinations (corresponding to the eight trigrams.)
To this point changing lines have not been discussed to avoid overcomplicating already complicated matters too soon. Changing lines play an indispensable role in all changes of yin lines to yang lines and vice versa, and therefore, in changes of one hexagram to another. They are also essential elements in formation of the geometric line segment generated by the I Ching hexagrams which I have earlier referred to as the "Taoist line“ and which we have yet to broach fully. Mandalic line segments uniformly comprise sixteen interrelated elements, hexagrams with changing and/or unchanging lines. Though various mandalic line segments have different compositions in terms of six-dimensional hexagrams, these hexagrams can always be reduced in logical and geometrical terms to sixteen bigram forms containing changing and/or unchanging lines. These bigram sets are all identical. No other variants are possible, since 42 equals 16. In this sense there is a single species of mandalic line segment but one which takes on different characteristics in different dimensional contexts. Every hexagram has a commentary appended to each of its six lines, which annotation is intended to be reflected upon only if the line is a changing one at time of consulting the oracle. Justly put, this system is brilliant beyond belief.
[3] Understand here that ‘relationship types’ may variously refer to human relationships in a society, to particle relationships in context of the atom, or to any other species of relationship one might imagine.
[4] For an exhaustive listing of linkstoI Ching related materials on the Web see here.
[5] Indeed, an alternative name of the I Ching in English is Book of Changes. The ensconced multidimensional logic encoded in the original work purports to be a microcosm describing all possible pathways of change, and their incessant changing relationships in the greater macrocosm of the universe.
Please note: The content and/or format of this post may not be in finalized form. Reblog as a TEXT post will contain this caveat alerting readers to refer to the current version in the source blog. A LINK post will itself do the same. :)
Scroll to bottom for links to Previous / Next pages (if existent). This blog builds on what came before so the best way to follow it is chronologically. Tumblr doesn’t make that easy to do. Since the most recent page is reckoned as Page 1 the number of the actual Page 1 continually changes as new posts are added. To determine the number currently needed to locate Page 1 go to the most recent post which is here. The current total number of pages in the blog will be found at the bottom. The true Page 1 can be reached by changing the web address mandalicgeometry.tumblr.com to mandalicgeometry.tumblr.com/page/x, exchanging my current page number for x and entering. To find a different true page(p) subtract p from x+1 to get the number(n) to use. Place n in the URL instead of x (mandalicgeometry.tumblr.com/page/n) where n = x + 1 - p. :)
Let’s remove the common misperceptions surrounding Beijing Opera as a Chinese art form to better understand its unique and multifaceted storytelling approach.
Here are five common myths eager to be dispelled:
1. Beijing Opera is the oldest form of Chinese Opera
Beijing Opera (京剧, Jīngjù) aka Peking Opera clocks in at a youthful 200 years old and is only one of the 360+ local Chinese operas. By comparison, the influential Kun Opera (昆剧, Kūnjù) musical theater finds its roots in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, and originated more than 600 years ago.
Ever wondered how the Quotations from Chairman Mao started as an internal military handbook and became a blockbuster advice guide with total copies in print rivaling the Bible?
Our curiosity got the better of us during the China National Day (October 1st) Golden Week, so we decided to investigate the phenomenon of Mao’s Little Red Book as a product marketing case study and conduct an open experiment (acknowledging the imperfect nature of such comparisons) following the lifecycle of the “Mao brand” from inception to its peak of popularity. Welcoming your input, we offer this template as a starting point:
1931 / Brand “Soft Launch”
Mao Zedong was proclaimed Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Republic of China, and later, Chairman of the Politburo, Chairman of the Military Commission, Chairman of the Communist Party, and so on.
1934 / Brand Enhancement
Mao consolidated power and built key alliances in the crucible of the Long March. The subsequent victories over the Japanese and the Nationalists added to his aura of invincibility, as a soldier immune to death and injury.
References and Allusions to Male Same-Sex Relations in Chinese Literature
I am tired at this point of reading and watching Danmei/Dangai and be exposed to the same “cut sleeve” reference to allude to male same-sex attraction and relationships.
Don’t get me wrong, I thank the creative team and the writers for finding such a unique (?) way of bypassing censorship but there are so many more literary and historical references that they could use to allude to same-sex attraction. I’m kinda over the same old “Cut Sleeve” reference.
Here are some of the most popular allusions used by writers in Chinese literature to reference male same-sex desire.
The Four Male Love Icons of Chinese Literature
I’m pretty sure that, if you are into Chinese history, folk, literature, etc, you have heard of the four beauties of ancient and imperial China. You have the four most beautiful Chinese women and the four most handsome Chinese men.
The same thing is true for the tradition of male same-sex love. Those are:
Mizi Xia (彌子瑕) and Duke Ling of Wey (衛靈公)
Lord Longyang (龍陽君) and King Anxi of Wei (魏安僖王）
Prince Zixi, Lord of È (鄂君子皙), and the Yue man (越人)
Emperor Ai of Han (漢哀帝) and Dong Xian (董賢)
Other literary allusions include:
Pan Zhang (潘章) and Wang Zhongxian (王仲先)
Lord Chan of Anling (安陵君) and King Xuan of Chu (楚宣王）
Hu Tian Bao (胡天保) as Tu’er Shen (兔兒神)
The four revered bottoms of Chinese literature and history are:
Mizi Xia (彌子瑕)
Longyang (龍陽君)
Dong Xian (董賢)
Chan (纏), Lord of Anling (安陵君)
If you ever come across a poem or prose that mentions any of those names to refer to a male beauty, just know that it’s an allusion to their stories. They were considered the peak of bottom literary reference.
May 13th, 1989: 300,000 Chinese students mobilize in Tiananmen Square for hunger strikes. The Tiananmen Square protests were from April 15th to June 4th, 1989.
going through the started, but never finished text. so happy that i picked this up & believe its testimony to everything at the right time. really didn’t know much if anything at all about the chairman. not only does this text include a brief biography, but also the works of mao & his wife. really an eye opener into the driving force behind his mission. also got a change to brush up on world history as well as marxism, communism, socialism, etc. while reading this text i was so captivated that i watched documentaries, scholarly interviews, & did a bit more research. this book is so short and easy to read that i highly suggest it. although it does its best to set the stage, i could see if someone did not posses the basics of world politics or marxism it could be a bit much, but you wouldn’t be completely lost.
another don’t know how it got in the library, but am happy to give it a home. i would suggest borrowing this book, if so moved, yes purchase. however, there may be & probably are better text out there on mao Tse-tung, which i would suggest reading. he is an interesting man.
In 220 CE, Chinese warlord Cao Cao died. Historical records indicate that he was a talented administrator, and he strengthened the agricultural base and military power of the Han Dynasty. He was also an accomplished poet, responsible for establishing the Jian'an style of verse. Additionally, he was devastatingly handsome; so much so that to this day, people will talk about wanting some hot Cao Cao.
We found this *very minimally catalogued* scrapbook recently during a Special Collections inventory and were fascinated by the early twentieth century photos it contains. Two of our staff members are currently working on translating the captions and identifying the photos, and we already know that it contains pictures of Korea and Mongolia as well as photos of China.
Want to contribute to this project? We’ve made the scrapbook entirely online here and have enabled users to post comments:
On this day in 1959, Tenzin Gyatso - the fourteenth Dalai Lama, a central figure of Vajrayana Buddhism - fled Tibet for India. He fled following the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule which broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, where the Dalai Lama lived. Fearing for his safety, he and around twenty of his entourage fled Lhasa on March 17th and embarked on a 15 day journey on foot over the Himalayan mountains to Dharamsala in India where they had been offered asylum. No news was heard of the Dalai Lama, and many feared their spiritual and political leader had been killed during the arduous journey. However, on March 30th he crossed into India and people learned that he was safe. He was followed by around 80,000 Tibetans who settled in the same area of India, leading to it becoming known as ‘Little Lhasa’. This place became the home to the Tibetan government-in-exile. Tibet remains under Chinese rule, and the Dalai Lama continues to try to find a peaceful negotiation for Tibetan self rule.
I have tried my best to scour and compile it into a usable list.
“The Science and Civilisation in China series is the work of Joseph Needham, C.H., F.R.S., F.B.A. (1900-1995) and an international team of over 30 collaborators. Publishedby Cambridge University Press in seven volumes since 1954, from vol. 4 onward, each volume is divided into a number of parts. e project is now proceeding under the guidance of the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute, chaired by Christopher Cullen.”
Weibo has blocked alteration of personal info, editing of comments and uploading of photos. Overseas users are blocked from uploading videos and photos. The above functions are blocked until 5th Jun 2017 2400 as far as the grapevine goes. We all know why. Despite attempts to block out 4th June & Tiananmen, people are talking about “look up tomorrow’s date” as a reference.
Translation:
老朱专用MK42: [resigned sarcastic smiling wave] Silent for 2 days, it’s meaningless [to stay here right now] since [ I ] can’t upload photos, goodbye. [‘what can we do’ gesture]
刘啊刘6A6: To be honest, this has nothing to do with ‘Shitty Lang’ (T/N: 渣浪 zha1lang4 is a derogatory nickname for Sina Weibo 新浪(xin1lang4) 微博), obviously it’s because of “That Time Of Tomorrow That Shall Not Be Spoken Of”.
BA_KON: To remain silent for 2 more days [facepalms]
I also recommend readers to read:
Hong Kong Free Press’ Guide to events commemorating the 28th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre
In the past, the candle emoji was blocked, along with pictures from the massacre and the famous photo of the man blocking the tanks. The numbers 4 and 6 and the combination of them are very sensitive to the government too. I wonder if anyone will block posts on Queen Elizabeth considering she just had her 64th anniversary on the throne.
Tang dynasty women playing polo, paintings by Wang Kewei
The word polo is thought to derive from the Tibetan pulu, the wood from which the ball was made.
Much controversy surrounds the origin of polo. Tibet, China, Iran, India, and Central Asia have all been proposed as homelands for the game. It remains possible that the game had more than one point of origin, though a recent study has argued convincingly that polo developed in northeastern Iran out of the equestrian chase games played by the mounted nomads of Central Asia in the last centuries before the Common Era.
Polo probably was introduced to China sometime between the end of the Han period (206 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.) and the early part of the Tang dynasty (618-907). It seems likely that it was introduced by the Xianbei tribes that controlled northern China from the fourth to sixth century. The ruling house of the Tang dynasty, the Li family, itself had Xianbei ancestry, at least on the maternal side. The Xianbei, because of their nomadic origins, had a great fondness for horses, a trait that (like many aspects of their culture) was inherited by the Tang dynasty. It is also notable that the Xianbei accorded higher status and more physical freedom to women than the Han Chinese, so women became avid polo players under the Tang dynasty.
The emperors of the Tang dynasty such as Zhongzong, Xuanzong, Muzong, Jingzong, Xuanzong, Xizong, and Zhaozong were all supporters and participants themselves in the polo sport. In the 6th year of the Tianbao era (747), Emperor Tang Xuanzong issued a special order, and declared that polo would become one of the subjects for military training.
Polo was wildly popular during the Tang dynasty but it was also dangerous; riders thrown from their horses were frequently injured or killed. So sometimes donkeys were used instead of horses - as a safer alternative.
The Tang era terracotta figurines of polo players, both male and female, were unearthed in China. The game is also depicted on paintings and on frescoes in excavated tombs.
From Tang times on, the education of the upper class became more bookish, and martial skills, such as horsemanship, archery, and swordsmanship, came to play a lesser role in the elite life. So polo also gradually lost its popularity and completely fade away by the Qing dynasty.
Women stopped playing polo much earlier - when the conservative Neo-Confucian teaching grew in popularity after the Tang dynasty fall. For women, Neo-Confucianism placed extra emphasis on chastity, obedience and diligence. A good wife should have no desire other than to serve her husband, no ambition other than to produce a son, and no interest beyond subjugating herself to her husband’s family. Of course, this left no space for physical training, horsemanship and sport.
This is awesome AND educational! I love it! I also knew immediately that it was Tang dynasty, because it had horses and the Tang dynasty was OBSESSED with horse. Especially statues of them. So pro tip: if you see Chinese artwork and are wondering what dynasty it’s from? Look for the horses, if they’re there it’s probably Tang dynasty.
This is called Lion City in the province of Zhejiang. Media outlets that covered this story of course referred to it as China’s Atlantis. I mean I get that’s a totally decent frame of reference but it’s one of my peeves but I digress.
Okay. But really though: it’s not as though this city is mythological or you know lost to civilisations such as it were. The Chinese government decided in 1959 we need a hydroelectric something here because city planning reasons and flooded the city. They renamed it Qingdao Lake
Can’t help but hear this in my head: THEY PAVED PARADISE AND PUT UP A PAAARKING LOT
Anyhow, long story short, depending on where you measure the city is 85-131 feet or 25-40 meters under water. And you can take snorkelling tours of it!
DO IT.
It is interesting that the government was all like history schmistory and flooded a city. It’s choosing economic development over conservation. Though in an ultimate twist of fate this cavalier attitude in a way makes the village more fascinating. And it looks like from the photo’s wooden structures are still pretty pristine considering their age. I mean I know their can’t be too many advantages to um… “conservation by flooding” technique but in a way at least the city remains for the most part undisturbed though with increased tourism that is of course a double edged sword.
Oh and all these photo’s were taken by Nat. Geo China, proving again they are metal as heck to get the. best. shots.ever.
“Weaving the history of technology and culture together with the history of cross-cultural/religious encounters, Joseph W. Ho tells a great story. Developing Mission sheds new light on the literature of the history of US missionaries in China.”
LadyFu Hao was a queen, general and high priestess of the Shang dynasty in Eastern China during the 13th Century BCE.
Fu Hao first became known when she married the Shang king, Wu Ding, and became one of his 60 wives. Fu Hao took advantage of the semi-matriarchal slave society to ascend through the ranks of the royal household, gain a leading position in the Shang army and become Wu Ding’s most favoured wife.
As a warrior Fu Hao gained notoriety for her efforts against the Tu-Fang, who despite having been fierce rivals of the Shang for generations were completely defeated by Fu Hao in a single decisive battle. She went on to become the Shang’s most powerful military leader commanding a force of 13,000 soldiers with several other generals in service to her. She led successive military campaigns against the neighboring kingdoms of the Yi,QiangandBa. The last of these involved her leading the earliest recorded ambush in Chinese history.
Like other war chiefs Fu Hao was granted a fiefdom of land from the territories she conquered, from which she derived her own income. She was also an active politician and spiritual leader, acting as an adviser to the king and performing religious rituals as a high priestess. These were unusual roles for a woman at the time and reflected the faith that Wu Ding placed in her.
Following Fu Hao’s death the Shang’s military dominance weakened under attacks by the Gong, causing Wu Ding to make repeated sacrifices and prayers to Fu Hao’s spirit to defend them against invasion. Over the centuries Fu Hao’s accomplishments descended into myth and many historians did not believe that she had really existed until her tomb was uncovered at Yinxu in 1976. The tomb contained detailed records of her life on oracle bone, as well as an arsenal of weapons including battle-axes bearing her personal inscription.
