- published: 28 Nov 2008
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- author: theevilskull
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Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire (/ækəˈmɛnɪˌdi/; Old Persian: Parsā, name of ruling dynasty: Haxāmanišiya) (c. 550–330 BCE), sometimes known as First Persian Empire, was an Iranian empire in Southwest Asia, founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation. It expanded to eventually rule over significant portions of the ancient world which at around 500 BCE stretched from the Indus Valley in the east, to Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece making it the biggest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenid Empire would eventually control Egypt as well. It was ruled by a series of monarchs who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads.
Calling themselves the Parsa after their original Aryan tribal name Parsua, Persians settled in a land which they named Parsua, bounded on the west by the Tigris River and on the south by the Persian Gulf. This became their heartland for the duration of the Achaemenid Empire. It was from this region that eventually Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) would advance to defeat the Median, the Lydian, and the Babylonian Empires, opening the way for subsequent conquests into Egypt and Asia minor.
wn.com/Achaemenid_Empire -
Akkadian Empire
Coordinates: 33°6′N 44°6′E / 33.1°N 44.1°E / 33.1; 44.1
The Akkadian Empire (Akkadian URUAkkad KI, Hittite KUR A.GA.DÈ.KI "land of Akkad"; Biblical Hebrew אַכַּד Akkad) was an empire centered in the city of Akkad (Sumerian: Agade) and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate).
The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests of its founder Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BC). Under Sargon and his successors, Akkadian language was briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.[citation needed]
The precise archaeological site of the city of Akkad has not yet been found.[citation needed] The form Agade appears in Sumerian, for example in the Sumerian King List; the later Assyro-Babylonian form Akkadû ("of or belonging to Akkad") was likely derived from this. The etymology and meaning of Akkad (written a.ga.dèKI or URIKI) are unknown. Centuries later, the neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus mentioned in his archaeological records that Ishtar's worship in Agade was later superseded by that of the goddess Anunit, whose shrine was at Sippar—suggesting proximity of Sippar and Agade. Despite numerous searches, the city has never been found. One theory holds that Agade was situated opposite Sippar on the left bank of the Euphrates, and was perhaps the oldest part of the city of Sippar. Another theory is that the ruins of Akkad are to be found beneath modern Baghdad. Reputedly it was destroyed by invading Gutians with the fall of the Akkadian Empire.
wn.com/Akkadian_Empire -
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (German: Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling Kaisertum Österreich) was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire as a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 to 1918) was itself dissolved by the victors at the end of World War I and broken into separate new states.
The term "Austrian Empire" is also used for the Habsburg possessions before 1804, which had no official collective name, although Austria is more frequent; the term of Austria-Hungary has also been used.[citation needed]
The Austrian Empire was founded by the Habsburg monarch Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (who became Emperor Francis I of Austria), as a state comprising his personal lands within and outside of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
wn.com/Austrian_Empire -
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche (Hangul: 백제; Hanja: 百濟, Korean pronunciation: [pɛk̚tɕ͈e]) (18 BCE – 660 CE) was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla.
Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jumong and So Seo-no, at Wiryeseong (present-day southern Seoul). Baekje, like Goguryeo, claimed to succeed Buyeo, a state established in present-day Manchuria around the time of Gojoseon's fall.
Baekje alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula. At its peak in the 4th century, Baekje controlled most of the western Korean peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang, and may have even held territories in China, such as in Liaoxi, though this is controversial. It became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan.
In 660, it was defeated by an alliance of Silla and Chinese Tang Dynasty, submitting to Unified Silla.
wn.com/Baekje -
Balhae
Balhae (698 – 926) (Hangul:발해, Korean pronunciation: [paɾɦɛ], Bohai [渤海] in Chinese, Бохай in Russian) was a Korean kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo that existed during the North South states period of Korea along with Unified Silla. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a former Goguryeo general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin (振, Zhen in Chinese), later called Balhae. It was a successor state to Goguryeo.
Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria (Northeast China) and Primorsky Krai, and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. It was defeated by the Khitans in 926, and most of its northern territories were absorbed into the Liao Dynasty while the southern parts were absorbed into Goryeo.
The earliest extant recorded mention of Balhae come from the Old Book of Tang, which was compiled between 941 to 945. Southern Manchuria and northern Korea were previously the territory of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo fell to the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty in 668. The Tang annexed much of western Manchuria, while Silla unified the Korean peninsula south of the Taedong River and became Unified Silla. In the New Book of Tang, it was recorded that the founder of Balhae, Dae Joyeong (大祚榮) was a former Goguryeo general.
wn.com/Balhae -
Battle of Talas
The Battle of Talas (or Battle of Artlakh) (怛罗斯会战) (معركة نهر طلاس) in 751 AD was an especially notable conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty, then under Emperor Xuanzong (together with various other peoples and nations associated with the geographical territory involved) for control not only of the Syr Darya region, but also a strategic area of Central Asia. The Battle of Talas marked the end of the Tang Dynasty's western expansion of their territory, this representing the furthest point of territorial expansion to the west by the Tang, or any prior or subsequent Chinese dynasties. Leading up to this battlefield showdown, the Tang army had proceeded further and further westward, in a series of military events during the course of which various cities and states were conquered or overthrown. Meanwhile, a new power had arisen in the region. Beginning with a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate, largely centered in Khurasan, not too far from Talas, the rising Abbasid Caliphate decisively defeated the rival Umayyad Caliphate, in the Battle of the Zab, in 750, which thus freed up their armies for other purposes, one of which would be challenge the Tang expansion into the region. In July, 751, both the Tang troops and the Abbasid troops met in the valley of the Talas River, where the Tang forces were defeated. The Battle of Talas is important because of the resulting changes in the political fortunes of the rival sides, and in the region generally, not to mention the economic importance of control over this strategic region along the Silk Road. There is also a tradition that Chinese prisoners captured as the result of the battle allowed for the transference of paper-making technology to the Middle East and eventually Europe.
wn.com/Battle_of_Talas -
Belitung shipwreck
Coordinates: 2°45′39.00″S 107°35′42.66″E / 2.76083°S 107.5951833°E / -2.76083; 107.5951833
The Belitung shipwreck (also called the Tang shipwreck or Batu Hitam shipwreck) is the wreck of an Arabian dhow which sailed a route from Africa to China around 830 AD. The ship completed the outward journey but sank on the return journey, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia. It is unclear why the ship was so far from its expected route back from China. Belitung is to the south-east of the Singapore Strait by 380 miles (610 km), and this secondary route is more normal for ships travelling from the Java Sea, which is south of Belitung Island.
The wreck has given archaeologists two major discoveries: an enormous collection of Tang Dynasty artifacts (the single largest consignment of Tang Dynasty export goods ever discovered), the so called "Tang Treasure"; and the Arabian dhow, which gives a new insight into the trade routes between China and the Middle East during that period. The treasure has been kept as one collection and, during the excavation, the efforts to preserve the integrity of the site and its cargo have resulted in detailed archaeological evidence. This evidence has given new insight into the construction methods used in shipbuilding, and the items and style of artefacts has revealed previously unknown facts about the trade between the two areas.
wn.com/Belitung_shipwreck -
Berbera
Berbera (Somali: Barbara, Arabic: بربرة) is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia. It was for centuries the capital of the Somaliland region and also the colonial capital of British Somaliland from 1870 to 1941 when it was moved to Hargeisa. Located strategically on the oil route, Berbera has a deep sea port that was completed in 1962, and which is still the main commercial seaport for Somaliland.
Berbera preserves the ancient name of the coast along the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden. It is thought to be the city Malao described as 800 stadia beyond the city of the Avalites, described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which was written by a Greek merchant in the first century CE. In the Periplus it is described as
an open roadstead, sheltered by a spit running out from the east. Here the natives are more peaceable. There are imported into this place the things already mentioned, and many tunics, cloaks from Arsinoe, dressed and dyed; drinking-cups, sheets of soft copper in small quantity, iron, and gold and silver coin, not much. There are exported from these places myrrh, a little frankincense, (that known as far-side), the harder cinnamon, duaca, Indian copal and macir, which are imported into Arabia; and slaves, but rarely.
wn.com/Berbera -
Bohai Sea
Coordinates: 38°42′N 119°54′E / 38.7°N 119.9°E / 38.7; 119.9
Bohai Sea (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: Bó Hǎi; Wade–Giles: Po-hai), also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China. It is approximately 78,000 km2 (30,116 sq. mi) in area and its proximity to Beijing, the capital of the Peoples Republic of China, makes it one of the busiest seaways in the world.
Until the early 20th century, Bo Hai was often called the Gulf of Chihli (直隸海灣 Zhílì Hǎiwān) or the Gulf of Pechihli or Pechili (北直隸海灣 Běizhílì Hǎiwān). Zhili and Beizhili were historic provinces in the area surrounding Beijing.
The Bohai Sea is bounded by the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas. It has become one of busiest sea routes in recent times. There are three major bays inside the Bohai Sea: Laizhou Bay to the south, Liaodong Bay to the north, and Bohai Bay to the west. At the easternmost end of the Bohai Sea, between the southernmost end of the Liaodong Peninsula and northernmost end of the Shandong Peninsula, is the Bohai Strait (渤海海峡). A few of the rivers entering the gulf include the Yellow, Hai, Liao, and Luan Rivers. There are a few important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf, including the Shengli Field. Important island groups or islands in the gulf include the Changshan Islands (长山列岛), Changxing Island, and Xizhong Island (西中岛). The PRC provincial-level divisions that have a Bohai Sea coastline are, from the south, going clockwise: Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Tianjin Municipality, and Liaoning Province
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British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.
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Cairo
Cairo (
/ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
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Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba (Arabic: خلافة قرطبة; trans. Khilāfat Qurṭuba) ruled the Iberian peninsula (Al-Andalus) and part of North Africa, from the islamic Qurtuba (Córdoba) city, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba. In January 929, Abd-ar-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph (Arabic: خليفة) of Qurtuba in place of his original title Emir of Córdoba (Arabic: أمير قرطبة 'Amīr Qurṭuba). Abd-ar-Rahman III was a member of the Umayyad dynasty; the same dynasty who held the titles of Emir of Córdoba since 756. The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula. The Caliphate was practically disintegrated due to civil war (fitna) between descendants of the last legitimate Caliph Hisham II and the successors of his prime minister (hayib) Al-Mansur. The shell of the Caliphate existed until 1031 when, after years of infighting, it fractured into a number of independent Taifa kingdoms. Despite these fractures, the Islamic civilisation in Iberia, one of the most culturally florid periods of European civilisation, continued until 1492 when its last bastion, the Alhambra in Granada, was formally surrendered to the Christians.
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Changsha
Changsha (simplified Chinese: 长沙; traditional Chinese: 長沙; pinyin: Chángshā; Wade–Giles: Chang-sha) is the capital city of Hunan, in south-central China, located on the lower reaches of Xiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River. Its municipality covers an area of 11,819 sq. kilometers and, according to the 2010 Census, a population of 7,044,118 inhabitants.
Changsha was important from the time of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). In AD 750–1100 Changsha was an important commercial city, and its population increased greatly. Under the Qing dynasty, from 1664, it was the capital of Hunan province, and it was a major rice market. It was besieged during the Taiping Rebellion but never fell. Changsha was the site of Mao Zedong's conversion to communism. It was the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45 and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Rebuilt since 1949, the city is now a major port and a commercial and industrial center.
The origins of the name "Changsha" are lost in antiquity. The name first appears in the 11th century BC, during the reign of King Cheng of the Zhou dynasty, a vassal lord from the Changsha area sent a type of softshell turtle known as "Changsha softshell turtle" (Chinese: 长沙鼈) as tribute to the Zhou king. In the 2nd century AD, historian Ying Shao wrote that the Qin dynasty use of the name Changsha for the area was a continuance of its old name.
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Daming Palace
Coordinates: 34°17′02″N 108°57′58″E / 34.284°N 108.966°E / 34.284; 108.966
The Daming Palace was the imperial palace complex of the Tang Dynasty, located in its capital Chang'an. It served as the royal residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years. Today, it is designated as a national heritage site of China. The area is located northeast of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
The palace was originally known as Yong'an Palace, but was renamed to Daming Palace in 635. In 662, after renovations to the palace, it was renamed to Penglai Palace. In 670, it was named to Hanyuan Palace. Eventually, in 701, the name of the palace became Daming Palace again.
The former royal residence was the Taiji Palace, built in the previous Sui Dynasty. It was considered an inhospitable place during the summer as it was built on low-lying lands of Chang'an, plagued by dampness and heat. In 634, Emperor Taizong launched the construction of the Daming Palace at Longshou Plateau. He ordered the construction of the summer palace for his retired farther, Emperor Gaozu, as an act of filial piety. However, Emperor Gaozu never bore witnessed to the palace's completion before his death in 635, so construction halted thereafter. Construction commenced once again in 662 after Empress Wu commissioned the court architect Yan Liben to design the palace in 660. In 663, the construction of the palace was completed under the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Emperor Gaozong had launched the extension of the palace with the construction of the Hanyuan Hall in 662, which was finished in 663. In 5 June 663, the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty began to move from the Taiji Palace into the yet to be completed Daming Palace. The Daming Palace would become the seat of the imperial court the very same year of its completion, eventually becoming the political center of the empire.
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Daqin Pagoda
The Daqin Pagoda (大秦塔) is a Buddhist pagoda in Chang'an, Shaanxi Province, located about two kilometres to the west of Louguantai temple. The pagoda has been controversially claimed as a Nestorian Christian church from the Tang dynasty.
The Daqin Pagoda is first attested in 1064, when the Chinese poet Su Shi visited it and wrote a well-known poem about it, "Daqin Temple". His younger brother Su Zhe also wrote an "echoing" poem referring to the monks at the temple. An earthquake severely damaged the pagoda in 1556 and it was finally abandoned. Due to the earthquake, many of the underground chambers of the complex are no longer reachable.
In 2001 the pagoda was claimed by Martin Palmer, the translator of several popular books on Sinology, including Zhuangzi and I Ching, , as a Nestorian Christian church from the Tang dynasty, in his controversial book The Jesus Sutras. According to Palmer, the church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Nestorian missionaries. Daqin is the name for the Roman Empire in the early Chinese language documents of the 1st and 2nd centuries, by the mid-9th century it was also used to refer to the mission churches of the Syriac Christians.
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Dunhuang
Dunhuang (Chinese: 敦煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng, also as simplified Chinese: 炖煌; traditional Chinese: 燉煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng in ancient times meaning 'Blazing Beacon') is a city (pop. 187,578 (2000)) in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu (沙州), or 'City of Sands', a name still used today, "or Dukhan as the Turkis call it." It is best known for the nearby Dunhuang Caves.
It is situated in a rich oasis containing Crescent Lake (月牙泉) and Mingsha Shan (鸣沙山, literally "Echoing-Sand Mountain"). Mingsha Shan is so named for the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon.
It commands a very strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia, as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Gansu Corridor which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang.
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Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire (Dutch: Nederlands-koloniale Rijk) comprised the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing Portuguese and Spanish settlements, and not on discovery and colonization. For this, they were aided by their skills in shipping and trade and the surge of nationalism accompanying the struggle for independence from Spain. Alongside the British, the Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of indirect state capitalist corporate colonialism, via the Dutch East and West India Companies. Dutch exploratory voyages such as those led by Willem Barents, Henry Hudson and Abel Tasman revealed to Europeans vast new territories.
With Dutch naval power rising rapidly as a major force from the late 16th century, the Netherlands dominated global commerce during the second half of the 17th century during a cultural flowering known as the Dutch Golden Age. The Netherlands lost many of its colonial possessions, as well as its global power status, to the British when the metropole fell to French armies during the Revolutionary Wars. The restored portions of the Dutch Empire, notably the Dutch East Indies and Suriname, remained under Dutch control until the decline of European imperialism following World War II.
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Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II, both members of the House of Braganza—a branch of the Capetian dynasty. A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese colonial Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese Prince regent, later King Dom João VI (John VI), fled from Napoleon I's invasion of Portugal and established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. João VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir, Pedro, to rule Brazil as regent.
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Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国; Romaji: Dai Nippon Teikoku; literally Great Imperial State of Japan; officially Great Japan or Empire of Great Japan; commonly as Imperial Japan or the Japanese Empire) was an empire and world power that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947.
Imperial Japan's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (富国強兵?, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army") led to its emergence as a world power, eventually culminating in its membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region. At the height of its power in 1942, the Japanese Empire ruled over a land area spanning 7,400,000 square kilometres (2,857,000 sq mi), making it one of the largest maritime empires in history.
After several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Pacific War, the Empire of Japan also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples of the countries it conquered. After suffering many defeats and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on 3 May 1947, officially dissolving the Empire. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose title is simply that ("the nation of Japan" Nippon-koku) or just "Japan" .
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia (
/ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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First French Empire
The First French Empire (French: Empire Français), also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France. It was the dominant power of much of continental Europe during the early 19th century.
Napoleon became Emperor of the French (L'Empereur des Français, pronounced: [ɑ̃.pʁœʁ dɛ fʁɑ̃.sɛ]) on 18 May 1804 and crowned Emperor on 2 December 1804, ending the period of the French Consulate, and won early military victories in the War of the Third Coalition against Austria, Prussia, Russia, Portugal, and allied nations, notably at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) and the Battle of Friedland (1807). The Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 ended two years of bloodshed on the European continent.
The subsequent series of wars known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 130 départements, ruled over 44 million subjects, maintained an extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Duchy of Warsaw, and could count Prussia and Austria as nominal allies. Early French victories exported many ideological features of the French Revolution throughout Europe. Seigneurial dues and seigneurial justice were abolished, aristocratic privileges were eliminated in all places except Poland, and the introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems, and legalized divorce. Napoleon placed relatives on the thrones of several European countries and granted many noble titles, most of which were not recognized after the empire fell.
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Foguang Temple
Foguang Temple (Chinese: 佛光寺) is a Buddhist temple located five kilometres from Doucun, Wutai County, Shanxi Province of China. The major hall of the temple is the Great East Hall, built in 857 AD, during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). According to architectural records, it is the third earliest preserved timber structure in China. It was rediscovered by the 20th century architectural historian Liang Sicheng (1901–1972) in 1937, while an older hall at Nanchan Temple was discovered by the same team a year later. The temple also contains another significant hall dating from 1137 called the Manjusri Hall. In addition, the second oldest existing pagoda in China (after the Songyue Pagoda), dating from the 6th century, is located in the temple grounds. Today the temple is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and is undergoing restoration.
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Former Shu
Great Shu (Chinese: 大蜀, Pinyin: Dàshǔ) called in retrospect Former Shu (Chinese: 前蜀, Pinyin: Qiánshǔ) was one of the Ten Kingdoms formed during the chaotic period between the rules of the Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty. It existed 907-925 CE.
The country's name changed from "Shu" to "Han" (Chinese: 漢, Pinyin: Hàn) in 917-918, which is not to be confused with another simultaneous Chinese kingdom during the same Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, Great Han (Chinese: 大漢, Pinyin: Dàhàn) which was initially called Great Yue (Chinese: 大越, Pinyin: Dàyuè) until 918 or 919, and is called in retrospect Southern Han (simplified Chinese: 南汉; traditional Chinese: 南漢; pinyin: Nán Hàn), 917–971 CE.
Wang Jian was named military governor of western Sichuan by the Tang court in 891. As the Tang Dynasty weakened and eventually fell in 907, Wang was able to expand his holdings into eastern Sichuan and took the title of emperor as the Tang fell in 907.
The Shu was based in its capital of Chengdu and controlled most of present-day Sichuan, parts of southern Gansu and Shaanxi, part of western Hubei and all of contemporary Chongqing. Not only did it border the Later Liang Dynasty, the successor to the Tang Dynasty in the north, but it also bordered the Chinese kingdoms of Nanping and Chu and the non-Chinese peoples to the south (formerly Nanzhao and soon to be the Kingdom of Dali and Amdo Tibet.
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Fujian
Coordinates: 25°54′N 118°18′E / 25.9°N 118.3°E / 25.9; 118.3
Fujian (help·info) (Chinese: 福建), formerly romanised as Fukien or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou (a former name for Jian'ou) two cities in Fujian, during the Tang Dynasty. With a Han majority, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China.
Most of Fujian is administered by the People's Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Thus, there are two provinces (in the sense of government organizations): the Fujian Province administered by the People's Republic of China and the Fujian Province of the Republic of China.
Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. From the Keqiutou site (7450–5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving.
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Fustat
Fustat (also Fostat, Al Fustat, Misr al-Fustat and Fustat-Misr, and in Arabic: الفسطاط, al-Fusţāţ), was the first capital of Egypt under Arab rule. It was built by the Arab general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Arab conquest of Egypt in AD 641, and featured the Mosque of Amr, the first mosque built in Egypt and in all of Africa.
The city reached its peak in the 12th century, with a population of approximately 200,000. It was the center of administrative power in Egypt, until it was ordered burned in 1168 by its own vizier, Shawar, to keep its wealth out of the hands of the invading Crusaders. The remains of the city were eventually absorbed by nearby Cairo, which had been built to the north of Fustat in 969 when the Fatimids conquered the region and created a new city as a royal enclosure for the Caliph. The area then fell into disrepair for hundreds of years and was used as a garbage dump.
Today, Fustat is part of Old Cairo, with few buildings remaining from its days as capital, though there have been many archaeological digs which have taken advantage of the wealth of buried material in the area. Many ancient items recovered from the site are on display in Cairo's Museum of Islamic Art.
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Fuzhou
Fuzhou (Chinese: 福 州; pinyin: Fúzhōu, [fǔtʂóʊ] (
listen); Fuzhou dialect: Hók-ciŭ) is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (闽东, lit. East of Fujian) linguistic and cultural area.
Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north (or left) bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River. All along its northern border lies Ningde, and Ningde's Gutian County lies upriver. Fuzhou's counties south of the Min border on Putian, Quanzhou, Sanming and Nanping municipalities. Its population is 7,115,370 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 4,408,076 inhabitants are urban standing around 61.95%, while rural population is at 2,707,294 standing around 38.05%.
In older publications, the name "Fuzhou" was variously romanized as Foochow, Fuchow, Fuh-chau, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew or Hokchew.
The Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties, a Chinese geographical treatise published in the 9th century AD, says that Fuzhou's name came from "Mt. Fu", a mountain located northwest of the city. The mountain's name was then combined with -zhou, meaning "settlement" or "prefecture", in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States Period, the Han Chinese referred to the Fuzhou area as Ye (Chinese: 冶), though they did not conquer the area until the Qin Dynasty. The city's name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948.
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Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.
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Gaspar Strait
Gaspar Strait separates Belitung and Bangka islands in Indonesia. It connects the Java Sea to the South China Sea.
These straits, formed between the large islands Banca and Billiton, are generally called Gaspar Straits, after the Spanish captain from Manila, who passed through them in 1724; but Captain Hurle, returning from China in the English ship Macclesfield, had previously passed through them, in March 1702. Pulo Leat, or Middle Island, separates these straits into two principal branches; that to the westward, between it and the S.E. part of Banca, is often called Macclesfield Strait; and the eastern branch, situated between Middle Island, and Long Island, near Billiton, is generally called Clements' Strait, after Captain Clements, who commanded the fleet from China, that went through this branch in July 1781. Gaspar Island, or Pulo Glassa, 2°24′42″S 107°4′10″E / 2.41167°S 107.06944°E / -2.41167; 107.06944, lies approximately 24 miles north of Middle Island 2°52′0″S 107°4′0″E / 2.866667°S 107.066667°E / -2.866667; 107.066667 and approximately 18 miles from Tanjong Brekat 2°34′21″S 106°50′43″E / 2.5725°S 106.84528°E / -2.5725; 106.84528.
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German Empire
The German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich) is the common name given to the state officially named the Deutsches Reich (literally: "German Realm"), designating Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.
The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent territories (most of them ruled by royal families). While the Kingdom of Prussia contained most of the population and most of the territory of the Reich; the Prussian leadership became supplanted by German leaders and Prussia itself played a lesser role. As Dwyer (2005) points out, Prussia's "political and cultural influence had diminished considerably" by the 1890s. Its three largest neighbors were rivals Imperial Russia to the east and France to the west and ally Austria-Hungary to the south.
After 1850, Germany industrialized rapidly, with a foundation in coal, iron (and later steel), chemicals and railways. From a population of 41 million people in 1871, it grew to 68 million in 1913. From a heavily rural nation in 1815, it was now predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological and scientific giant, receiving more Nobel Prizes in science than Britain, France, Russia and the United States combined.
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Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire (existed before c. 830 until c. 1235) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE. When Ghana's ruling dynasty began is uncertain, it is first mentioned in documentary sources around 830 CE by Al-Kwarizmi. The domestication of the camel, which preceded Muslims and Islam by several centuries, brought about a gradual change in trade, and for the first time, the extensive gold, ivory trade, and salt resources of the region could be sent north and east to population centers in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.
The Empire grew rich from the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt. This trade produced an increasing surplus, allowing for larger urban centres. It also encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the lucrative trade routes.
The first written mention of the kingdom comes from Arabic-language sources some time after the conquest of North Africa by Muslims, when geographers began compiling comprehensive accounts of the world known to Islam around 800. The sources for the earlier periods are very strange as to its society, government or culture, though they do describe its location and note its commercial relations. The Cordoban scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri collected stories from a number of travelers to the region, and gave a detailed description of the kingdom in 1067/1068 (460 AH). He claimed that the Ghana could "put 200,000 men into the field, more than 40,000 of them archers" and noted they had cavalry forces as well.
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Gilgit
Gilgit (Urdu, Shina: گلگت) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt and in Wakhi and Khowar it is called Gilt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in Gilgit Baltistan for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.[citation needed]
Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.[citation needed]
The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.[citation needed]
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Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ (Korean pronunciation: [koɡuɾjʌ]) was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province.
Along with Baekje and Silla, Goguryeo was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo was an active participant in the power struggle for control of the Korean peninsula as well as associated with the foreign affairs of neighboring polities in China and Japan.
The Samguk Sagi, a 12th century CE Goryeo text, indicates that Goguryeo was founded in 37 BC by Jumong, a prince from Buyeo, although there is archaeological and textual evidence that suggests Goguryeo culture was in existence since the 2nd century BCE around the fall of Gojoseon, an earlier kingdom that also occupied southern Manchuria and northern Korea.
Goguryeo was a major dynasty in Northeast Asia, until it was defeated by a Silla-Tang alliance in 668 CE. After its defeat, its territory was divided among the Unified Silla, Balhae, and Tang dynasty.
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BCE – 220 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and Chinese characters are referred to as "Han characters".
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Hangzhou
Hangzhou (Chinese: 杭州; Hangzhou dialect: ɦaŋ tsei; Mandarin pinyin: Hángzhōu Mandarin pronunciation: [xɑ̌ŋtʂóʊ] ( listen)), formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. It is governed as a sub-provincial city. As of 2010, the entire administrative division ("shì", 杭州市) or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people. The built up area of the Hangzhou municipality had a resident population of 6.242 million in 2010 (urban and suburban districts), of which 3.56 million lived in the six urban core districts.
A core city of the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou has a position on the Hangzhou Bay 180 kilometres (110 mi) southwest of Shanghai that gives it economic power. It has been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery. The city's West Lake is its best-known attraction.
The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu inhabited Yuyao, an area (now a city) 100 kilometers south-east of Hangzhou, as far back as seven thousand years ago when rice was first cultivated in southeastern China. The area immediately surrounding the modern city of Hangzhou was inhabited five thousand years ago by the Liangzhu culture, so named for the small town of Liangzhu not far to the northwest of Hangzhou where the ancient jade carving civilization was first discovered.
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Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (simplified Chinese: 杭州湾; traditional Chinese: 杭州灣; pinyin: Hángzhōu Wān), is an inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai. The Qiantang River flows into the bay.
It lies south of Shanghai, and ends at the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou Bay contains many small islands collectively called the Zhoushan Islands.
The bay is known for hosting the world's largest tidal bore, being up to 9 metres (30 ft) high, and travelling up to 40 km (25 mi) per hour. The tidal bore is especially high during the Mid-Autumn Festival when several thousand tourists come to watch the magnificent Qiantang Tidal Bore.[citation needed]
The bay is spanned by the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which was linked up on June 14, 2007 and opened on 1 May, 2008. The then second-longest bridge in the world, it cuts the trip between eastern Zhejiang and Shanghai from 400 to 80 kilometres (250 to 50 miles).
Coordinates: 30°17′07″N 120°55′26″E / 30.2852°N 120.924°E / 30.2852; 120.924
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Hanoi
Hanoi (Hà Nội; listen), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,760 km (1,090 mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City.
October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city.
Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake, in central Hanoi
Emperor Lý Thái Tổ made Thăng Long (Hanoi) his capital in the 11th century
Colonial Hanoi
Modern Hanoi
Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. One of the first known permanent settlements is the Co Loa citadel (Cổ Loa) founded around 200 BC.
Hanoi has had many names throughout history, all of them of Sino-Vietnamese origin. During the Chinese domination of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình (Chinese: 宋平, Sòngpíng, "Song Peace") and Long Đỗ (Chinese: 龍肚, Lóngdù, "Dragonbelly"). In 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La (Chinese: 大羅, Dàluó, "Big Net").
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Hebei
Coordinates: 39°18′N 116°42′E / 39.3°N 116.7°E / 39.3; 116.7
Hebei (help·info) (Chinese: 河北; pinyin: Héběi; Postal map spelling: Hopeh) is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "冀" (jì), named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the river", referring to its location completely above the Yellow River.
In 1928, Hebei was formed after the central government dissolved the province of Chih-li (直隸), which means "Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court)".
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.
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Heian kyō
Heian-kyō (平安京, literally "tranquility and peace capital"), was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180.
Emperor Kammu established it as the capital in 794, moving the Imperial Court there from nearby Nagaoka-kyō at the recommendation of his advisor Wake no Kiyomaro and marking the beginning of the Heian period of Japanese history. Modelled after the Tang Dynasty Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern day Xi'an), it remained the chief political center until 1185, when the samurai Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in the Genpei War, moving administration of national affairs to Kamakura and establishing the Kamakura shogunate.
Though political power would be wielded by the samurai class over the course of three different shogunates, Heian remained the site of the Imperial Court and seat of Imperial power, and thus remained the official capital. In fact, even after the seat of Imperial power was moved to Tokyo in 1868, since there is no law which makes Tokyo the capital, there is a view that Kyoto legally or officially remains the capital even today.
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Henan
Coordinates: 33°54′N 113°30′E / 33.9°N 113.5°E / 33.9; 113.5
Henan (Chinese: 河南; pinyin: Hénán; Wade–Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" (yù), named after Yuzhou (豫州 Yù Zhōu), a Han Dynasty state (zhou) that included parts of Henan. Although the name of the province (河南) means "south of the river", approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River, also known as the "Huang He".
Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan (中原 zhōngyuán) or Zhongzhou (中州 zhōngzhōu) which literally means "central plains" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper. Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 5,000 years of history, and remained China's cultural, economical, and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Numerous heritages have been left behind including the ruins of Shang Dynasty capital city Yinxu and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou are located in Henan.
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Herat
Herāt (Persian / Pashto: هرات) is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. The city is linked with Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif via highway 1 or the ring road that stretches across the country. It is also linked to the city of Mashad in Iran through the border town of Islam Qala.
Situated in a fertile area, Herāt dates back to the Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine. The city has a number of historic sites, including the Citadel of Alexander and the Mosallah Complex. During the Middle Ages Herāt became one of the important cities of Khorasan, as it was known as the pearl of Khorasan. It was made independent in 1717 from the Safavid dynasty by the Afghans until 1736 when the Hotaki dynasty was defeated by the Afsharids, which finally became part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. It saw some actions during the 19th century Anglo-Afghan wars. Much of the city has been spared from destructions that occurred in other cities of Afghanistan during the 1978-present wars.
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Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (Amharic: የአፍሪካ ቀንድ?, Arabic: القرن الأفريقي, Somali: Geeska Afrika, Tigrinya: ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ?) (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in ancient and medieval times as Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.
It covers approximately 2,000,000 km² (770,000 sq mi) and is inhabited by roughly 100 million people (Ethiopia: 85 million, Somalia: 9.3 million, Eritrea: 5.2 million, and Djibouti: 0.86 million). Regional studies on the Horn of Africa are carried out, among others, in the fields of Ethiopian Studies as well as Somali Studies.
The Horn of Africa is almost equidistant from the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. It consists chiefly of mountains uplifted through the formation of the Great Rift Valley, a fissure in the Earth's crust extending from Turkey to Mozambique and marking the separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates. Most of the region is mountainous which arose through faults resulting from the Rift Valley, with the highest peaks in the Semien Mountains of northwestern Ethiopia.[citation needed]
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Huai River
The Huai River (Chinese: 淮河; pinyin: Huái Hé) is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east. However, the Huai River does not flow all the way to the sea, making it notoriously vulnerable to flooding.
The Huai River-Qin Mountains line is generally regarded as the geographical dividing line between North China and South China. This line approximates the 0 degree January isotherm and the 800 mm isohyet in China.
The Huai river has a length of 1,078 kilometers and a drainage area of 174,000 square kilometers.
The Huai River originates in Tongbai Mountain in Henan province. It flows through southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu, entering the Yangtze River at Jiangdu, Yangzhou.
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Idrisid dynasty
The Idrisids (Arabic: الأدارسة al-Idārisah, Berber: Idrisiyen) were a Zaydi-Shia dynasty of Morocco, ruling from 788 to 985. It was named after its founder Idriss I, the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali. Idrisids are traditionally regarded as the founders of the Moroccan state.
The founder of the dynasty was Idris ibn Abdallah (788–791), who traced his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. After the battle of Fakh, near Mecca, between the Abbasids and a Shiite party, he fled to the Maghreb. He first arrived in Tangier, at that time the most important city of Morocco, and by 788 he had settled in Volubilis.
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India
India (
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s
, Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.
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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or
i/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
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Italian Empire
The Italian Empire (Italian: Impero Italiano) was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. One of the last remaining areas open to colonisation was on the African continent.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Italy had annexed Eritrea and Somalia, and had wrested control of portions of the Ottoman Empire, including Libya, though it was defeated in its attempt to conquer Ethiopia. The Fascist government under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini which came to power in 1922 sought to increase the size of the empire further. Ethiopia was successfully taken, four decades after the previous failure, and Italy's European borders were expanded. An official "Italian Empire" was proclaimed on 9 May 1936 following the conquest of Ethiopia. Italy sided with Nazi Germany during World War II and initially enjoyed successes. However, Allied forces eventually captured Italian overseas colonies and by the time Italy itself was invaded in 1943, its empire had all but ceased to exist.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Jokhang
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāosì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.
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Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram or Kanchi, is a famous temple city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It served as the Capital city of the Pallava Kingdom. It is also known by its former names Kanchiampathi, Conjeevaram, and the nickname "The City of Thousand Temples". It is now the Administrative headquarters of Kanchipuram district. Kanchipuram is located 72 kilometers from Chennai, the capital city of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India.
Kanchipuram is considered one of the seven holiest cities to the Hindus of India. In Hinduism, a kṣetra is a sacred ground, a field of active power, a place where moksha, final release can be obtained. The Garuda Purana enumerates seven cities as providers of moksha, namely Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Avantikā, Dvārakā and Kanchipuram.
Among the major Hindu temples in Kanchipuram are some of the most prominent Vishnu Temples and Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu like the Varadharaja Perumal Temple for Vishnu and the Ekambaranatha Temple which is the "earth abode" of Shiva. Kamakshi Amman Temple, Kumara Kottam, Kachapeshwarar Temple, and the Kailasanathar Temple are some of the other prominent temples.
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Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.[citation needed]
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Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, which was the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. Angkor bears testimony to the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. Modern researches by satellites have revealed Angkor to be the largest pre-industrial urban center in the world.
The history of Angkor as the central area of settlement of the historical kingdom of Kambujadesa is also the history of the Khmer from the 9th to the 13th centuries.
From Kambuja itself — and so also from the Angkor region — no written records have survived other than stone inscriptions. Therefore the current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilization is derived primarily from:
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Korea
Korea (/kəˈriːə/ kə-REE-ə; Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – (see etymology) is an East Asian region that is divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest the origins of the Korean people might have been Altaic language-speaking people from south-central Siberia,[dubious – discuss] who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The Three Kingdoms of Korea was first united during the Silla dynasty under the king Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in the 14th century, using the world's first movable metal type printing press. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1388.
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Korean Empire
The Korean Empire (Hangul: 대한제국; Hanja: 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; literally Great Korean Empire) is the name of the state of Korea that existed from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910. It succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.
In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. Japan became terrified by the speed of the modernisation the Korean Empire was having and decided to speed up its plans for annexation. This was further speeded by the assassination of Ito Hirobumi. On August 22, 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan, which defeated the Russian Empire in 1905.
The Sino-Japanese War marked the rapid decline of any power the Joseon Dynasty of Korea had managed to hold against foreign interference, as the battles of the conflict itself had been fought on Korean soil and the surrounding seas. With its newfound preeminence over the waning and weak Qing Dynasty, Japan had delegates negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing emissaries, through which Japan wrested control over the Liaodong Peninsula from the Qing (a move designed to prevent the southern expansion of Japan's new rival, Russia), and, more importantly over Korea. However, Russia recognized this agreement as an act against its interests in northeastern China and eventually brought France and Germany to its side in saying that the Liaodong Peninsula should be repatriated to the Qing China.
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Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: Kuçar, Kuchar) Uyghur (كۇچار), Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po (bai in pinyin?); Sanskrit: Kucina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and south of the Muzat River. (The area lies in present day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China; Kuqa City itself is the county seat of that prefecture's Kuqa County). Its population was given as 74,632 in 1990.
According to the Book of Han, Kucha was the largest of the 'Thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions,' with a population of 81,317, including 21,076 persons able to bear arms. During the periods of Tang domination during the Early Middle Ages, the city of Kucha was usually one of the 'Four Garrisons' of An-hsi (Anxi) the 'Pacified West'., typically the capital of it. During periods of Tibetan domination it was usually at least semi-independent. It fell under Uighur domination and became an important center of the later Uighur Kingdom after the Kirghiz destruction of the Uighur steppe empire in 840.
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Kyoto
Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi?, "Capital City") (Japanese pronunciation: [kʲoːto] ( listen)) is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.
Although archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, relatively little is known about human activity in the area before the 6th century AD, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. Emperor Kammu selected the village of Uda, at the time in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province, for this honor.
The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Chang'an, became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as Kamakura (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still a legal capital: see Capital of Japan.)
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Later Liang Dynasty
The Later Liang (simplified Chinese: 后梁; traditional Chinese: 後梁; pinyin: Hòu Liáng) (June 1, 907–923) was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour (and then murdered him). The Later Liang dynasty would last until 923 when it was destroyed by the Later Tang Dynasty.
Zhu Wen initially allied himself as Huang Chao’s lieutenant. However, he took Huang’s best troops and established his own power base as a warlord in Kaifeng. By 904, he had exerted control over both of the twin Tang Dynasty capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. Tang emperor Zhaozong was ordered murdered by Zhu in 904 and the last Tang emperor, Ai Di (Emperor Ai of Tang), was deposed three years later. Emperor Ai of Tang was murdered in 908, also ordered by Zhu.
Meanwhile, Zhu Wen declared himself emperor of the new Later Liang in Kaifeng in 907. The name Liang refers to the Henan region in which the heart of the regime rested.
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Leshan Giant Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha (simplified Chinese: 乐山大佛; traditional Chinese: 樂山大佛; pinyin: Lèshān Dàfó) was built during the Tang Dynasty (618–907AD). It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. It is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world.
The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. It was not damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Construction was started in 713, led by a Chinese monk named Haitong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels traveling down the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. After his death, however, the construction was stuck due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, a jiedushi decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Haitong's disciples in 803.
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Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 辽朝; traditional Chinese: 遼朝; pinyin: Liáo Cháo; Khitan language: Mos Jælut), also known as the Khitan Empire (simplified Chinese: 契丹国; traditional Chinese: 契丹國; pinyin: Qìdān Guó; Khitan: Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur), was an empire in East Asia that ruled over Mongolia and portions of Kazakhstan, the Russian Far East, and northern China proper between 907–1125. It was founded by the Khitan Great Khan Abaoji around the time of the collapse of the Han Chinese Tang Dynasty.
The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people, led by Yelü Dashi, established Western Liao Dynasty, also known as Kara-Khitan Khanate, which ruled over parts of Central Asia for almost a century before being conquered by Genghis Khan's Mongolian army.
The Khitan were a Mongolic tribe who originally formed a part of Tanshihuai's Xianbei state before submitting along with the Kumo Xi to the Yuwen chieftains after the state's disintegration. They considered themselves descendants of the legendary Qishou Khagan, who was descended from Tanshihuai (reigned 157–181). The Kumo Xi and Khitan separated as one body from the Yuwen after the Yuwen were defeated by Murong Huang of the Murong tribe in 344. In 388 the Khitan separated from the Kumo Xi. This began the written history of the Khitan as an independent tribe. In the period of Zhenjun (r. 440–449) they 'asked for paying tribute' (any presentation of gifts by foreigners were seen as submissive 'tribute') and presented famous steeds to the court of the Northern Wei. In the Xianzu period (466–470) Mofuhe Hechen of the Khitan leading the eight Khitan tribes (Xiwandan, Hedahe, Fufuyu, Yuling, Rilian, Pijie, Li and Tuliuyu) presented famous steeds and high quality fur to the Northern Wei at their capital Datong and the Khitan were 'allowed' to trade in the area of modern-day Miyun County of Beijing City.
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Luoyang
Luoyang (simplified Chinese: 洛阳; traditional Chinese: 洛陽; pinyin: Luòyáng; Postal map spelling: Loyang; IPA: [lwɔ̂jɑ̌ŋ]) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.
Situated on the central plain of China, one of the cradles of the Chinese civilization, Luoyang was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
The origin of the name "Luoyang" is the city's location to the north side ("yang") of the Luo River. The river flows from west to east and the sun is on south of the river, so that the sun shine is always on north side of the river. Luoyang has had several names over the centuries, including "Luoyi" (洛邑) and "Luozhou (洛州)", though Luoyang has been its primary name. It has been called, during various periods, "Dongdu" (东都, meaning the Eastern Capital, during the Tang Dynasty), "Xijing" (西京, meaning the West Capital, during the Song Dynasty), or "Jingluo" (京洛, meaning the general capital for China).
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Malacca
Malacca (Malay: Melaka), (dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south. The capital is Malacca City, which is 148 km south east of Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, 235 km north west to Johor's largest city Johor Bahru and 95 km north west to Johor's second largest city Batu Pahat. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008.
Although it was the location of one of the earliest Malay sultanates, the monarchy was abolished when the Portuguese conquered it in 1511. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri or Governor, rather than a Sultan, acts as the head of state now.
Before the arrival of the first Sultan, Malacca was a fishing village inhabited by local Malays. Malacca was founded by Parameswara, also called Iskandar Shah or Sri Majara, the last Raja of Singapura (present day Singapore) following a Majapahit attack in 1377. He found his way to Malacca around 1400 where he found a good port—it was accessible in all seasons and on the strategically located narrowest point of the Malacca Straits.
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Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.
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Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million.
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Mogao Caves
The Mogao Caves or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: 莫高窟; pinyin: Mògāo kū), also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas (Chinese: 千佛洞; pinyin: qiān fó dòng), form a system of 492 temples 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves may also be known as the Dunhuang Caves, however, this term also include other Buddhist cave sites in the Dunhuang area, such as the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, and the Yulin Caves farther away. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The first caves were dug out 366 AD as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China.
Dunhuang was established as a frontier garrison outpost by the Han Dynasty Emperor Wudi to protect against the Xiongnu in 111 BC. It also became an important gateway to the West, a centre of commerce along the Silk Road, as well as a meeting place of various people and religions such as Buddhism.
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Mongolia
Mongoliai/mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/ (Mongolian: Монгол улс (help·info), literally Mongol country/state) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic.
The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Gökturks and others. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols returned to their earlier pattern of constant internal conflict and occasional raids on the Chinese borderlands. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mongolia came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the 17th century, all of Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Qing Dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence from the Republic of China, and until 1945 to gain international recognition.
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Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire, Shahan-e-Gurkhani, Shahan-e-Mughal, Sultanate-e-Mughliya, Daulat-e-Mughliya (Persian: شاهان گورکانی Shāhān-e Gūrkānī; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت; self-designation: گوركانى Gūrkānī ), or Mogul (also Moghul) Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were direct descendants of Genghis Khan through Chagatai Khan and Timur. The Mughal Empire began in 1526; at the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent—extending from Bengal in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south. According to "Babur-Nama", Kazakh tribal aristocracy along with number of other Turkic soldiers participated actively in the campaign of Babur, which made great influence over the development of Mughal Empire. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).
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Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県, Nagasaki-ken?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.
Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki. Facing China and Korea, the region around Hirado was a traditional center for both traders and pirates.
During the 16th century, Catholic missionaries and traders from Portugal arrived and became active in Hirado and Nagasaki, which became a major center for foreign trade. After being given free rein in Oda Nobunaga's period, the missionaries were forced out little by little, until finally, in the Tokugawa era, Christianity was banned under the Sakoku national isolation policy, during which time, Japanese foreign trade was restricted to Chinese and Dutch traders based at Dejima in Nagasaki; however, Kirishitan (Japanese Christian) worship continued underground. These Kakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians) were tried at every step, forced to step on fumi-e ("trample pictures", images of the Virgin Mary and saints) to prove that they were non-Christian. With the banishment of all Catholic missionaries, traders from Catholic countries were also forced out of the country. Along with them, their children, half Japanese and half European, were also forced to leave the country. The majority was sent to Jagatara (Jakarta) and are still remembered by the locals as the people who wrote the poignant letters which were smuggled across the sea to their homeland. Today, Nagasaki has a prominent Chinatown and Catholic churches - and the Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki have been proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.
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Near East
The Near East (French: Proche-Orient) is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other. The term originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire, which had been settled to the north by the Great Turkish War of the late 17th century, ending with the Treaty of Karlowitz, June 26, 1699. This war determined that Austria, Hungary and the Ukraine would not be in the Ottoman Empire and therefore ultimately would not be Near Eastern.
The term Near East was in use exclusively during the 2nd half of the 19th century. In the 1st half of the 20th century it began to share the geographical stage with the term, Middle East. Since then Near East and Middle East have been approximately synonymous. Near East is used in some historic contexts and Middle East in others with no major semantic difference.
At the beginning of the 19th century the Ottoman empire included all of the Balkan Peninsula north to the southern edge of the Hungarian plain, but by 1914 had lost all of it except Constantinople to the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the independence of Greece and various smaller wars of independence resulting in the creation of "the Balkan States". Some of these states were independent and some were still nominally under the Ottomans although occupied by Austro-Hungarian troops. Up until 1912 the Ottomans retained a band of territory including Albania, Macedonia and Thrace, which were lost in the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913.
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Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, 150 km north of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal, they form part of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
Northern Group:
Central Group:
Southern Group (Sambelong):
Indira Point (6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E) is the southernmost point of the Great Nicobar Island and India itself, about 150 km north of Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Nicobar Islands are part of a great island arc created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate with Eurasia. The collision lifted the Himalayas and most of the Indonesian islands, and created a long arc of highlands and islands, which includes the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and the islands off the west coast of Sumatra, including the Banyak Islands and Mentawai Islands.
The climate is warm and tropical, with temperatures ranging from 22 to 30°C. Rainfall is heavy due to annual monsoons and measures around 3000 to 3800 mm each year. The vegetation of the Nicobars is typically divided into the coastal mangrove forests and the interior evergreen and deciduous Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. Additionally, several islands contain extensive inland grasslands, though these are thought to result from human intervention.
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Nine Pinnacle Pagoda
Coordinates: 36°25′15.62″N 117°7′49.73″E / 36.4210056°N 117.1304806°E / 36.4210056; 117.1304806
The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda or Jiuding Pagoda (Chinese: 九顶塔; pinyin: Jiǔ Dǐng Tǎ, sometimes translated as "Nine Roof Pagoda") is an 8th century pavilion-style brick pagoda located in central Shandong Province, China. It is noted for its unique roof design featuring nine small pagodas.
The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda is located near Qinjiazhuang Village, Liubu Town, in Licheng District, under the administration of Jinan City, about 33 kilometers southeast of the city of Jinan proper.
The pagoda was erected during the Tang Dynasty between the years 742 and 756 AD. The pagoda is made entirely from bricks laid tightly with joint gaps of about 1 centimeter. The pagoda's floor plan is an equilateral octagon in which all of the eight side walls are curved inwards. These concave walls are another distinguishing feature not found in other pagodas of the period. The main body of the pagoda contains only a single storey and the most elaborate feature of the structure are nine small pagodas that decorate the roof. This design may have been chosen to reflect the Chinese saying derived from a story of the Warring States Period which reads: One word, nine ding vessels (Chinese: 一言, 九鼎; pinyin: Yī Yán, Jiǔ Dǐng). The saying means that a promise given carries a lot of weight (like the literal weight of the nine heavy ding vessels).
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Nomad
Nomadic people (Greek: νομάδες, nomádes, "those who let pasture herds"), commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world.
Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but traditional nomadic behavior is increasingly rare in industrialized countries. Nomadic cultures are discussed in three categories according to economic specialization: hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads, and "peripatetic nomads".
Nomadic hunting and gathering, following seasonally available wild plants and game, is by far the oldest human subsistence method. Pastoralists raise herds, driving them or moving with them, in patterns that normally avoid depleting pastures beyond their ability to recover. Peripatetic nomads, who offer the skills of a craft or trade to those with whom they travel, are most common in industrialized nations.
Many groups of 'nomadic' hunter-gatherers (also known as foragers) moved from campsite to campsite, following game and wild fruits and vegetables. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were hunter-gatherers until around 10,000 years ago.
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North China Plain
The North China Plain (simplified Chinese: 华北平原; traditional Chinese: 華北平原; pinyin: Huáběi Píngyuán) is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. The plain is bordered on the north by the Yanshan Mountains and on the west by the Taihang Mountains edge of the Shanxi ('western mountains') plateau. To the south, it merges into the Yangtze Plain. From northeast to southeast, it fronts the Bohai Sea, the highlands of Shandong Peninsula, and the Yellow Sea. The Yellow River flows through the middle of the plain into Bohai Sea.
Below the Sanmenxia Dam is the multipurpose Xiaolangdi Dam, located in the river's last valley before the North China Plain, a great delta created from silt dropped at the Huang He's mouth over the millennia. The North China Plain extends over much of Henan, Hebei, and Shandong provinces. and merges with the Yangtze delta in northern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The Yellow River meanders over the fertile, densely populated plain emptying into the Bohai Sea. The plain is one of China's most important agricultural regions, producing corn, sorghum, winter wheat, vegetables, and cotton. Its nickname is "Land of the yellow earth."
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Northern Wei
The Northern Wei Dynasty (Chinese: 北魏朝; pinyin: Běi Wèi Cháo), also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓拔魏), Later Wei (後魏), or Yuan Wei (元魏), was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 (de jure until 535). Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change", the Northern Wei Dynasty is particularly noted for unifiying northern China in 439: this was also a period of introduced foreign ideas; such as Buddhism, which became firmly established. Many antiques and art works, both Daoist and Buddhist, from this period have survived. During the Taihe period (477-499) of Emperor Xiaowen, court advisers instituted sweeping reforms and introduced changes that eventually led to the dynasty moving its capital from Datong to Luoyang, in 494. It was the time of the construction of the Buddhist cave sites of Yungang by Datong during the mid-to-late 5th century, and towards the latter part of the dynasty, the Longmen Caves outside the later capital city of Luoyang, in which more than 30,000 Buddhist images from the time of this dynasty have been found. It is thought the dynasty originated from the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe. The Tuoba renamed themselves the Yuan as a part of systematic Sinicization. Towards the end of the dynasty there was significant internal dissension resulting in a split into Eastern Wei Dynasty and Western Wei Dynasty.
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Northern Zhou
The Northern Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: 北周朝; pinyin: Bĕi Zhōu Cháo) followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.
Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and Eastern Wei in 535. After Yuwen Tai's death in 556, Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue (Emperor Xiaomin), establishing Northern Zhou. The reigns of the first three emperors (Yuwen Tai's sons) -- Emperor Xiaomin, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Wu were dominated by Yuwen Hu, until Emperor Wu ambushed and killed Yuwen Hu in 572 and assumed power personally. With Emperor Wu as a capable ruler, Northern Zhou destroyed rival Northern Qi in 577, taking over Northern Qi's territory. However, Emperor Wu's death in 578 doomed the state, as his son Emperor Xuan was an arbitrary and violent ruler whose unorthodox behavior greatly weakened the state. After Emperor Xuan's death in 580 (when he was already titularly retired emperor (Taishang Huang), Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian seized power, and in 581 seized the throne from Emperor Xuan's son Emperor Jing, establishing Sui. The imperial Yuwen clan, including the young Emperor Jing, was subsequently slaughtered by Yang Jian.
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Ordos Desert
The Ordos Desert, also known as the Mu Us Desert, (simplified Chinese: 鄂尔多斯沙漠; traditional Chinese: 鄂爾多斯沙漠; pinyin: È'ěrduōsī Shāmò) is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China (centered ca. 39°N 109°E / 39°N 109°E / 39; 109). The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km². It comprises two large deserts: the 7th largest desert in China, the Kubuqi Desert (库布其沙漠/庫布齊沙漠; pinyin: Kùbùqí Shāmò) in the north, and the 8th largest desert in China, the Maowusu Desert (毛乌素沙漠/毛烏素沙漠; pinyin: Máowūsù Shāmò), in the south.
The Ordos Desert is almost completely encircled by the Great Bend of the Yellow River (Ordos Loop) in the west, north, and east. Mountain ranges separate the Ordos from the Gobi Desert north and east of the Yellow River. The mountain chains separating the Ordos from the central Gobi in the north of the great bend of the Yellow River are: the Kara-naryn-ula, the Sheitenula, and the Yin Mountains, which link on to the south end of the Greater Khingan Mountains. In the south and east, the Great Wall of China separates the Ordos from fertile loess lands. The Ordos covers the southern section of the Inner Mongolia, an Autonomous Region of China, the Ningxia, an Autonomous Entity of China, and the Chinese Provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.
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Pamir Mountains
Coordinates: 39°N 72°E / 39°N 72°E / 39; 72
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable translation from the Persian.
In other languages they are called: Kyrgyz Памир тоолору; Persian: رشته کوه های پامیر Reshte Kūh-hāye Pāmīr; Tajik: Кӯҳҳои Помир; Pashto: د پامير غرونه; Uyghur: پامىر ئېگىزلىكى; Urdu: پامیر کوهستان; Hindi: पामीर पर्वतमाला; Chinese: 帕米尔高原; pinyin: Pàmǐ'ěr Gāoyuán. Another Chinese name is Congling (cōnglǐng 葱嶺) (Wade-Giles: Ts'ung-ling) or "Onion Range" (after the wild onions growing in the region).
The precise extent of the Pamir Mountains is debatable. They lie mostly in Gorno-Badakhshan province, Tajikistan and Badakshan Province, Afghanistan. To the north they join the Tian Shan mountains along the Alay Valley of Kyrgyzstan. To the south they join the Hindu Kush mountains along the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and also Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan. To the east they may end on the Chinese border or extend to the range that includes Kongur Tagh which is sometimes included in the Kunlun Mountains.
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Parthian Empire
The Parthian (pronounced /ˈpɑrθiən/) Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid (/ˈɑrsəsɪd/) Empire (Modern Persian: اشکانیان Ashkāniān), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. Its latter name comes from Arsaces I of Parthia who, as leader of the Parni tribe, founded it in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the Parthia region in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.
The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, though it eventually saw a gradual revival of Iranian traditions. The Arsacid rulers were titled the "King of Kings", as a claim to be the heirs to the Achaemenid Empire; indeed, they accepted many local kings as vassals where the Achaemenids would have had centrally appointed, albeit largely autonomous, satraps. The court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of central government shifted from Nisa, Turkmenistan to Ctesiphon along the Tigris (south of modern Baghdad, Iraq), although several other sites also served as capitals.
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Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean.
The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the "Persian Gulf War" or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, oil and petroleum spillages during wars in the region.
Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are recognized internationally. The name Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization.
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Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire (Ultramar Português) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history. In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999 or the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa in 1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography and maritime technology such as the caravel, in order that they might find a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the crown's secret design, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil on the South American coast. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts and factories as they went. By 1571, a string of outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia. This commercial network brought great wealth to Portugal.
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Qianling Mausoleum
Coordinates: 34°34′23.37″N 108°13′6.94″E / 34.5731583°N 108.2185944°E / 34.5731583; 108.2185944
The Qianling Mausoleum (Chinese: 乾陵; pinyin: Qiánlíng) is a Tang Dynasty (618–907) tomb site located in Qian County, Shaanxi province, China, and is 85 km (53 mi) northwest from Xi'an, formerly the Tang capital. Built by 684 (with additional construction until 706), the tombs of the mausoleum complex house the remains of various members of the royal Li family. This includes Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–83), as well as his wife, the Zhou Dynasty usurper and China's first (and only) governing empress Wu Zetian (r. 690–705). The mausoleum is renowned for its many Tang Dynasty stone statues located above ground and the mural paintings adorning the subterranean walls of the tombs. Besides the main tumulus mound and underground tomb of Gaozong and Wu Zetian, there is a total of 17 smaller attendant tombs or peizang mu. Presently, only five of these attendant tombs have been excavated by archaeologists, three belonging to members of the royal family, one to a chancellor of China, and the other to a general of the left guard.
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Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in contemporary Northeastern China. The Aisin Gioro leader, Nurhachi, who was originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, began unifying the Jurchen clans in the late sixteenth century. By 1635, Nurhachi's son Hong Taiji could claim they constituted a single and united Manchu people and began forcing the Ming out of Liaoning in southern Manchuria. In 1644, the Ming capital Beijing was sacked by a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell. When Li Zicheng moved against Ming general Wu Sangui, the latter made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Manchurian army. Under Prince Dorgon, they seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun Dynasty. Complete pacification of China was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.
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Qinghai
Coordinates: 36°00′N 96°00′E / 36°N 96°E / 36; 96
Qinghai ( listen (help·info)) (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade–Giles: Ching Hai, pronounced [tɕʰíŋxàɪ̯]); Oirat Mongolian: Көкнуур (transcribed into Cyrillic); Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་; Salar:[citation needed]) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest.
A large part of Qinghai's area, until the early 20th century most often referred to by its Mongol name Kokonur in English, lies outside of China proper and has been an ethnic melting pot for centuries, mixing Tibetan, Han Chinese, Mongol, and Turkic influences. The eastern part of the area of Qinghai was under the control of the Han Dynasty about 2000 years ago. It was a battleground during the Tang and subsequent Chinese dynasties when they fought against successive Tibetan tribes.
In the middle of 3rd century CE, nomadic people related to Xianbei migrated to pasture lands around Koko Nur (Qinghai Lake) and established Tuyuhun Kingdom. Since the 7th century, Tuyuhun Kingdom was attacked by both the Tibetan Empire and Tang Dynasty as both of them sought control over trade routes. Military conflicts severely weakened the kingdom and it was incorporated into the Tibetan Empire. After the disintegration of the Tibetan Empire, small local factions emerged. They were under titular authority of China and Tibet but maintained their autonomy. During the period of Mongol Yuan Dynasty's administrative rule of Tibet, majority of Qinghai belonged to one of the three commandaries of the Tibetan region divided at that time, namely Amdo (Tibetan: ཨ༌མདོ; Chinese: 安多; pinyin: Ānduō).
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
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Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (Persian: سلسلهٔ صفويان; Azerbaijani: صفویلر) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "gunpowder empires", along with its neighbours, the Ottoman and Mughal empires.
The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Azerbaijani,Kurdish and Turkmen, which included intermarriages with Georgian and Pontic Greek dignitaries). From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over all of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sassanid Empire to establish a unified Iranian state.
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Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (French: Le Second Empire Français) was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.
Although the machinery of government was almost the same under the Second Empire as it had been under the First, its founding principles were different. The function of the Empire, as Emperor Napoleon III often repeated, was to guide the people internally towards justice and externally towards perpetual peace. Holding his power by universal male suffrage, and having frequently, from his prison or in exile, reproached previous oligarchical governments with neglecting social questions, he set out to solve them by organising a system of government based on the principles of the "Napoleonic Idea", i.e. of the emperor, the elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, and as such supreme; and of himself, the representative of the great Napoleon I of France, "who had sprung armed from the French Revolution like Minerva from the head of Jove", as the guardian of the social gains of the revolutionary period.
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Shandong
Coordinates: 36°24′N 118°24′E / 36.4°N 118.4°E / 36.4; 118.4
Shandong (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 山东; traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade–Giles: Shan1-tung1) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north-south and east-west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has emerged as one of the most populous (95,793,065 inhabitants at the 2010 Census) and most affluent provinces in the People's Republic of China (GDP of 3.94 trillion CNY in 2010).
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Shanxi
Coordinates: 37°42′N 112°24′E / 37.7°N 112.4°E / 37.7; 112.4
Shanxi (help·info) (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" (pinyin: Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The name Shanxi literally means "mountain's west", which refers to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the north and is made up mainly of a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. The capital of the province is Taiyuan.
Shanxi, the territory of state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 403 BC), underwent a three-way split into the states of Han, Zhao and Wei in 403 BC, the traditional date taken as the start of the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC). By 221 BC all of these states had fallen to the state of Qin, which established the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC).
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Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.
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Silla
Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) (Korean pronunciation: [ɕilːa]) was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in Asian history. Although it was founded by King Park Hyeokgeose, who is also known to be the originator of the Korean family name Park (박, 朴), the dynasty was to see the Gyeongju Kim (김, 金) clan hold rule for most of its 992-year history. What began as a chiefdom in the Samhan confederacies, once allied with China, Silla eventually conquered the other two kingdoms, Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. Thereafter, Unified Silla or Later Silla, as it is often referred to, occupied most of the Korean Peninsula, while the northern part re-emerged as Balhae, a successor-state of Goguryeo. After nearly 1000 years of rule, Silla fragmented into the brief Later Three Kingdoms, handing over power to its successor dynasty Goryeo in 935.
From its founding until its growth into a full-fledged kingdom, Silla was recorded with various hanja phonetically approximating its native Korean name: 斯盧 (사로, Saro), 斯羅 (사라, Sara), 徐那(伐) (서나[벌], Seona[beol]), 徐耶(伐) (서야[벌], Seoya[beol]), 徐羅(伐) (서라[벌], Seora[beol]), and 徐伐 (서벌, Seobeol). In 503, King Jijeung standardized on the characters 新羅(신라), which in Modern Korean is pronounced "Shilla".
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) comprised territories and colonies administered by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its political and economic power when it became the foremost global power. Its establishment in the 15th century ushered in the modern global era and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned six centuries, from the first voyages to the Americas in 1492 until the independence of its last African colonies in the 1970s.
After the War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), Spain had emerged with a personally unified monarchy, with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs or los Reyes Catolicos between the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon: the internal and foreign policy was coordinated although the rule was separate. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile. That same year Christopher Columbus commanded the first Spanish exploratory voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the Discovery of America and Europe's eventual colonial engagement in the New World. The Americas thereby became the focus of Spanish exploration and colonization.
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Sufala
Sufala (Arabic: سفالة، Sfala) is a village in Sitra, Bahrain, located in the eastern coast of the island.
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Suzhou
Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州; pinyin: Sūzhōu; Suzhou dialect: [səu tsøʏ]), previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part of the Yangtze River Delta region. Administratively, Suzhou is a prefecture-level city with an urban population of over 4 million expanding to over 10 million in the administrative area.
Originally founded in 514 BCE, Suzhou has over 2,500 years of rich history, and relics of the past are abundant to this day. The city's canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it has also been an important centre for China's silk industry. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of the East" or "Venice of China".
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Taiyuan
Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; pinyin: Tàiyuán [tʰâɪɥǎn]) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains.
From around 859BC the area was held by the Rong people. In 662 they were driven out by the Beidi.
Taiyuan was an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi (simplified Chinese: 赵简子; traditional Chinese: 趙簡子) in 497 BC, named Jinyang (t 晉陽, s 晋阳). It served as the capital of Zhao. It was renamed Taiyuan following its conquest by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. Under the later Han dynasty, it was the capital of Bing Province (Bingzhou). For a time in the 6th century, the city was a secondary capital of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi states, growing into a fairly large city and also becoming a center of Buddhism. A new city was built in AD 562, which was later linked to the old city during the Tang Dynasty in AD 733. From that time until the middle of the Tang dynasty (618–907), the construction of the cave temples at Tianlong Mountain just southwest of the city, continued. The dynastic founder of the Tang began his conquest of the empire with Taiyuan as a base and using the support of its local aristocracy. It was periodically designated as the Tang's northern capital and grew into a heavily fortified military base.
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Tajikistan
Tajikistan (i/tɑːˈdʒiːkɨstɑːn/, /təˈdʒiːkɨstæn/, or /tæˈdʒiːkiːstæn/; Тоҷикистон [ˈtɔjikɪsˈtɔn]), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Cumhuriyi Tocikiston; Persian: جمهوری تاجیکستان Jomhuri-ye Tajikestan; Russian: Республика Таджикистан, Respublika Tadzhikistan), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Gilgit Baltistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan are separated from Tajikistan by the narrow Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in the south.
Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). Mountains cover over 90% of this Central Asian republic.
After independence, Tajikistan suffered from a devastating civil war which lasted from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. Trade in commodities such as cotton, aluminium and uranium has contributed greatly to this steady improvement.
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Vietnam
Vietnam ( listen), formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; listen), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 91.5 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "South Viet", and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
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Warsangali Sultanate
The Warsangali Sultanate (Somali: Saldanadda Warsangeli, Arabic: سلطنة الورسنجلي) was a Somali imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Gerad Dhidhin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.
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Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià; Wade-Giles: Hsi Hsia; literally "Western Xia") or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.
The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometers. The state suffered from devastating destruction by the Mongols who founded Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), including most of its written records and architecture. Its founders and history therefore remained controversial until recent research conducted both in the West and within China. They occupied the area of important trade route between North China and Central Asia, the Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on land and water.
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Wuyue
Kingdom of Wuyue (simplified Chinese: 吴越国; traditional Chinese: 吳越國; pinyin: Wúyuè Guó; Shanghainese: [ɦuɦyɪʔ kuəʔ]), 907-978, was a small independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Qian family, which remains widespread in the kingdom's former territory.
The Qian (simplified Chinese: 钱; traditional Chinese: 錢) family had been providing military leaders to the Tang Dynasty beginning in 887. Qian Liu was named Prince of Yue in 902, with the title of Prince of Wu added two years later. In 907, when the Tang Dynasty fell and was replaced in the north by the Later Liang Dynasty, military leaders in the south formed their own kingdoms. Qian Liu used his position to proclaim himself the King of Wuyue. This signaled the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period which would last until the founding of the Song Dynasty in 960.
The name Wuyue comes from the combination of Wu Kingdom and Yue Kingdom, two ancient kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period from 770 to 476 BC.
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Xin Dynasty
The Xin Dynasty (Chinese: 新朝; pinyin: Xīn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsin Ch'ao; literally "New Dynasty") was a Chinese dynasty (although strictly speaking it had only one emperor) which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The sole emperor of the Xin Dynasty, Wang Mang (王莽), was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, Wang Mang rose to power. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in AD 9. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang'an was besieged by peasant rebels in AD 23. He died in the siege, and the Han Dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan.
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Xinjiang
Xinjiang (XUAR) (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ, ULY: Shinjang; Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
It is home to a number of different ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, and Mongol. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are located in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4.3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.
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Xumi Pagoda
The Xumi Pagoda (simplified Chinese: 须弥塔; traditional Chinese: 須彌塔; pinyin: Xūmí tǎ; Wade–Giles: Hsümi T'a) or Sumeru Pagoda, also known as Summer Pagoda is a Chinese pagoda of the Buddhist Kaiyuan Monastery west of Zhengding, Hebei province, China. This square-base stone and brick pagoda was built in the year 636 AD during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It stands at a height of 48 m (157 ft) and has been well preserved since its initial construction. The monastery that once surrounded the pagoda, however, has largely been destroyed, with the exception of a few structures.
The pagoda has nine tiers of eaves and a crowning spire, along with artwork of stone carvings at the corners of the stone platform that makes up its base. The interior of the pagoda is hollow and lacks a staircase to reach the higher floors. Its style of eaves in gradual tiers resembles that of other Tang pagodas, such as the Small Wild Goose and Giant Wild Goose pagodas. Near the arched doorway leading into the pagoda is a colossal stone body of a bixi, a Chinese mythical beast in the shape of a tortoise-like dragon. The left side of the statue had been broken off and missing, until it was found in the year 2000, during an excavation at a nearby street.
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Yangzhou
Yangzhou (simplified Chinese: 扬州; traditional Chinese: 揚州; pinyin: Yángzhōu; former spellings: Yang-chou, Yangchow, Yang-chow; literally "Rising Prefecture") is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across the river to the south. Historically it is one of the wealthiest of China's cities, known at various periods for its great merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars.
Its population is 4,414,681 at the 2010 census and its built up area is home to 2,146,980 inhabitants including three urban districts plus currently in the agglomeration.
The prefecture-level city of Yangzhou administers seven county-level divisions. There are three districts, two county-level cities and one county:
These are further divided into 98 township-level divisions, including 87 towns and townships, and 11 subdistricts.
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Yellow Sea
Coordinates: 35°0′N 123°0′E / 35°N 123°E / 35; 123
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden yellow.
The innermost bay of the Yellow Sea is called the Bohai Sea (previously Pechihli Bay or Chihli Bay). Into it flow both the Yellow River (through Shandong province and its capital Jinan) and Hai He (through Beijing and Tianjin). Deposits of sand and silt from those rivers contribute to the sea color.
The Yellow Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms — the others being the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the White Sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Yellow Sea (which it also names as "Hwang Hai") as follows:
On the South. The parallel of 33°17' North from Saisyu To (Quelpart) [now known as Jeju-do] to the mainland [of China].
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Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝, p Yuán Cháo; Mongolian: Их Юань улс) was the branch of Mongol Borjigin dynasty established by Kublai Khan. Although the Mongols had ruled northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style. His realm – the Great Yuan Empire (t 大元帝國, s 大元帝国, p Dà Yuán Dìguó) – was by this point isolated from the other khanates and controlled only most of present-day China and its surrounding areas including modern Mongolia. It was the first non-Han dynasty to rule all of China and lasted until 1368, after which its remnants in Mongolia were known as the Northern Yuan.
The Yuan is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and as an imperial Chinese dynasty. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan Dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song Dynasty and preceding the Ming Dynasty. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu.
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Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang (Pashto: زرنج Persian: زرنج) is a border town in south-western Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 49,851 people as of 2004. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is situated next to Milak, Iran. It is linked by highways with Lashkar Gah to the east, Farah to the north and Zabol in Iran to the west. Zaranj serves as the border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, which is of significant importance to the trade-route between Central Asia and the Middle East.
Like in the rest of Afghanistan, no exact population numbers are unavailable. The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) along with UNHCR and Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Afghanistan estimated the population of the district to be around 49,851 (2004). The main population of Zaranj city is Tajik, followed by Baluchs and the remaining is Pashtun.
Zaranj is an ancient city which derives its name from Old Persian Zaranka ("waterland"; cf. Pashto dzaranda). In Greek, this word became Drangiana. Other historical names for Zaranj include Zirra, Zarangia, Zarani etc.
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Zhejiang
Coordinates: 29°12′N 120°30′E / 29.2°N 120.5°E / 29.2; 120.5
Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: Zhèjiāng; Wade–Giles: Che-chiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to its first character, "浙".
Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century to eleventh century BC). Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang. The Yue state was heavily influenced by the Chinese civilization further north. Under King Goujian of Yue, Yue reached its zenith and was able to wipe out the powerful state of Wu to its immediate north, in 473 BC. Then, in 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by the state of Chu, which was to the west. In 221 BC, the state of Qin completed the conquest of the last of the formerly independent states of China, including the state of Chu. This conquest made what is now Zhejiang part of a unified Chinese empire.
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Zhengguo Canal
The Zhengguo Canal, Zhengguoqu or Chengkuo Canal (simplified Chinese: 郑国渠; traditional Chinese: 鄭國渠; pinyin: Zhèng Guó Qú), named after its designer, Zheng Guo, is a large canal located in Shaanxi province, China. The canal irrigates the Guanzhong plain, north of Xi'an. Together with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Lingqu Canal, it is one of the three biggest water conservation projects before the Qin Dynasty in ancient China. The canal connects the Jing and Luo rivers, northern tributaries of the Wei River.
Historian Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian wrote of the Zhengguo Canal:
The plan to drain the resources of the State of Qin back-fired as Qin successfully completed the canal, which irrigated c. 27 000 square kilometres of additional agricultural land, providing the kingdom with sufficient resources to increase the size of its already massive armies. To this day the land surrounding the Zhengguo Canal is extremely fertile.
By the time of its completion in 246 BC, during the Han Dynasty, the canal was already much silted. Under the supervision of Bai Gong, a new canal was cut to feed the irrigation in 95 BC. For the next 2000 years re-cutting and moving the canal's feeder mouth upstream of the Jing River became a pattern as silt built up in the canals and river deepened its bed, diminishing water flow and the efficiency of the system.
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Almohad Caliphate
The Almohad Dynasty (Berber: Imweḥḥden, from Arabic الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun, "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a MoroccanBerber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.
The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling Almoravids, extending their power over all of the Maghreb. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
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Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra (Sanskrit: अमोघवज्र amoghavajra; Chinese: 不空, pīnyīn: Bùkōng, Japanese: Fukū; Korean: 불공) (705–774) was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.
Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went to China at age 10 after his father's death. In 719, he was ordained into the saṃgha by Vajrabodhi and became his disciple. After all foreign monks were expelled from China in 741, he and some associates went on a pilgrimage to gather texts, visiting Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and India. During this voyage, he apparently met Nagabodhi, master of Vajrabodhi, and studied the Tattvasaṃgraha system at length. He returned to China in 746 with some five hundred volumes.
In 750, he left the court to join the military governorship of Geshu Han, for whom he conducted large-scale tantric initiations at field headquarters. In 754, he translated the first portion of the Tattvasaṃgraha (T. 865), the central yoga tantra of Esoteric Buddhism, which became one of his most significant accomplishments. He regarded its teachings as the most effective method for attaining enlightenment yet devised, and incorporated its basic schema in a number of writings. Amoghavajra was captured in general An Lushan's rebellion but in 757 was freed by loyalist forces, whereupon he performed rites to purify the capital and consolidate the security of the Tang state. Two years later, he initiated the emperor Suzong as a cakravartin. In 765, Amoghavajra used his new rendition of the Scripture for Humane Kings in an elaborate ritual to counter the advance of a 200,000-strong army of Tibetans and Uyghurs which was poised to invade Changan. Its leader, Pugu Huaien, dropped dead in camp and his forces dispersed.
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An Lushan
An Lushan (simplified Chinese: 安禄山; traditional Chinese: 安祿山; pinyin: Ān Lùshān, a transcription of the common Sogdian name Rokhshan meaning "the Bright") (ca. 703?– 29 January 757) was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in China. His name was also transcribed into Chinese as Āluòshān (阿犖山) or Gáluòshān (軋犖山), and he was posthumously named Prince La of Yan (燕剌王) by his deputy Shi Siming.
An Lushan was of Sogdian and Tujue origin, at least by adoption. He rose to prominence defending the northeastern border from the Khitan and other northern threats. He was summoned to Chang'an, the Tang capital, several times and managed to get the favor of Chancellor Li Linfu and Emperor Xuanzong. This allowed An Lushan to amass significant military power in northeast China. After the death of Li Linfu, his opposition with rival generals (Geshu Han) and Yang Guozhong created military tension within the Empire. The promotion of Yang Guozhong to Chancellor precipitated the catastrophic An Lushan Rebellion, which lasted from 755 to 763. Viewed as paranoid and dangerous, he was assassinated in 757 by his own son, An Qingxu, plunging his Yan dynasty into a turmoil that eventually led to its final collapse in 763.
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Baekje
Baekje or Paekche (Hangul: 백제; Hanja: 百濟, Korean pronunciation: [pɛk̚tɕ͈e]) (18 BCE – 660 CE) was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla.
Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jumong and So Seo-no, at Wiryeseong (present-day southern Seoul). Baekje, like Goguryeo, claimed to succeed Buyeo, a state established in present-day Manchuria around the time of Gojoseon's fall.
Baekje alternately battled and allied with Goguryeo and Silla as the three kingdoms expanded control over the peninsula. At its peak in the 4th century, Baekje controlled most of the western Korean peninsula, as far north as Pyongyang, and may have even held territories in China, such as in Liaoxi, though this is controversial. It became a significant regional sea power, with political and trade relations with China and Japan.
In 660, it was defeated by an alliance of Silla and Chinese Tang Dynasty, submitting to Unified Silla.
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Bai Shouyi
Bai Shouyi (February 1909 – March 21, 2000) (simplified Chinese: 白寿彝; traditional Chinese: 白壽彝; pinyin: Bái Shòuyì), also known as Djamal al-Din Bai Shouyi, was a prominent Chinese Muslim historian, thinker, social activist and ethnologist who revolutionized recent Chinese historiography and pioneered in relying heavily on scientific excavations and reports. A Marxist philosophically, his studies thus take a very class-centric view and reasoning. Born a son of a Hui merchant in Kaifeng, he became literate in Arabic from his mother and aunt.
Bai argued for the need for increased awareness of Islam and Muslims by the Chinese population in general in 1937, since Muslims numbered 50 million in China alone, and western works were the only works available for non-Muslim Chinese to study Muslims living right with them in China. He said Muslims in western China could either stand as a "defensive wall", or "hinder ...national defence", depending on whether conduct to them was good or bad.
He died in Beijing at the age of 91.
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Bayanchur Khan
Bayanchur Khan[citation needed] (known also as Moyanchur Khan) (Chinese: 藥羅葛磨延啜; pinyin: Yàolúogě Mòyánchùo), was an Uyghur khagan from 747 to 759 AD. His official titles were "Ay Tengrida Qut Bolmish" and "El Etmish Bilge Qaghan" ("born with glory on Moon Heaven" and "state settled wise ruler"). His Tang Dynasty-invested title was Yingwuweiyuanpiqiejuo Khan (英武威遠毗伽闕可汗) or Yingwu Khan (英武可汗) in short. He was succeeded in the Uyghur Khaganate by his son Bogu Tekin (759-779 AD)
Bayanchur succeeded his father, Guli Peilo, who had headed the rebellion against the Göktürks, annihilated them and had established in 744 the Uyghur Khaganate ( known as third uyghur " El " or khaganate ).
Bayanchur Khan belonged to the ruling Yaghlaqar ("people of the Sun") tribe of the on-uyghur confederation of ten tribes ( known as northern alliance ) and toquz-oghuz confederation of nine tribes ( known as southern alliance ). At that time both allied confederations adopted a name, Uyghur, which composed of two elements: Uy or Uymak ("to bond") and Ghur ("the people"), i.e. " United people " or " free confederation of people (Erkin Budun), voluntarily bound into an alliance ".
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Bi Sheng
Bì Shēng (simplified Chinese: 毕升; traditional Chinese: 畢昇; Wade–Giles: Pì Shēng) (990–1051 AD) was the inventor of the first known movable type technology. Bi Sheng's system was made of Chinese porcelain and was invented between 1041 and 1048 during Song Dynasty China.
Bi Sheng was a commoner and his ancestry and details were not recorded. He was recorded only in the Writings Beside the Meng Creek (夢溪筆談 Mengxi Bitan, or Dream Pool Essays) by Chinese scholar, official, and polymath scientist Shen Kuo (沈括) (1031–1095). Writings Beside the Meng Creek, however, gave detailed and sufficient description on the technical details of Bi Sheng's invention of movable type:
However, Bi Sheng's fragile clay types were not practical for large-scale printing. Afterwards, in 1230, metal movable type printing was developed in Korea. The government official Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333 AD) improved Bi Sheng's fragile clay types by innovation through wood, as his process increased the speed of typesetting as well. Later in China by 1490 the bronze movable type was developed by the wealthy printer Hua Sui (1439–1513).
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Bianji
Bianji (fl. 7th century) was a Buddhist monk who lived in the Tang Dynasty. He was also the translator and author of Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. Little is known about his life, apart from that he translated several Buddhist scriptures and sutras. He was executed by Emperor Taizong for having an illicit affair with the emperor's daughter Princess Gaoyang.
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Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty, also known as the Buyid Empire or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه Āl-e Buye), also known as Buwaihids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah Iranian dynasty that originated from Daylaman in Gilan. They founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day Iran and Iraq in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The founders of the Būyid confederation were ‘Alī ibn Būyah and his two younger brothers, al-Hassan and Aḥmad. Originally a soldier in the service of the Ziyārīds of Ṭabaristān, ‘Alī was able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general from Baghdad named Yaqut in 934. Over the next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the 'Abbāsid Caliphate. While they accepted the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad, the Būyid rulers assumed effective control of the state.
The first several decades of the Būyid confederation were characterized by large territorial gains. In addition to Fars and Jibal, which were conquered in the 930s, and central Iraq, which submitted in 945, the Būyids took Kermān (967), Oman (967), the Jazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), and Gorgan (981). After this, however, the Būyids went into a slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and local dynasties under their rule becoming de facto independent.
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Chen Shuda
Chen Shuda (陳叔達) (died 635), courtesy name Zicong (子聰), formally initially Duke Miao of Jiang (江繆公), later Duke Zhong of Jiang (江忠公), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Chen Dynasty, who, after Chen's destruction, served as an official for the succeeding Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, becoming a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Gaozu of Tang and Emperor Taizong of Tang.
It is not known when Chen Shuda was born. He was the 17th of 42 sons of Emperor Xuan of Chen. His mother was Consort Yuan, a concubine of Emperor Xuan who carried the rank of Zhaorong (昭容), the eighth highest rank among imperial consorts, who had two other sons -- his older brother Chen Shuwen (陳叔文), later created the Prince of Jinxi, and his younger brother Chen Shutan (陳叔坦), later created the Prince of Xinhui.
In 582, just after Emperor Xuan died and was succeeded by Chen Shuda's oldest brother Chen Shubao the Crown Prince, Chen Shubao created Chen Shuda, along with his other brothers Chen Shuyan (陳叔儼), Chen Shushen (陳叔慎), and Chen Shuyu (陳叔虞), princes, and Chen Shuda's title was Prince of Yiyang. Chen Shuda was also given a minor general title. In 587, Chen Shubao made him the mayor of the capital Jiankang. During Chen Shubao's reign, Chen Shuda was one of the officials known for literary talent, and Chen Shubao often invited him, along with those other officials, into the palace to feast, write poems, and recite them with him and some of the concubines with literary talent as well. Once, he impressed the chancellor Xu Ling (徐陵) by writing a poem that had 10 rhymes during a feast.
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Confucius
Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism.
Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but only many years after his death.
Confucius's principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children (and in traditional interpretations of husbands by their wives), and family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself", an early version of the Golden Rule.
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Di Renjie
Dí Rénjié (Chinese: 狄仁傑; pinyin: Dí Rénjié) (630 – August 15, 700), courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), formally Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor during her reign. He was one of the most celebrated officials of Wu Zetian's reign and was credited with moderating her reign from being considered one of terror to one of greater efficiency and honesty.
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Dou Jiande
Dou Jiande (竇建德) (573 – August 3, 621) was a leader of the agrarian rebels who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui near the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. Generally considered the kindest and most able of the agrarian rebel leaders of the time, he was eventually able to capture the modern Hebei region and declare himself initially the Prince of Changle, and then the Prince of Xia. In 621, when the Tang Dynasty general Li Shimin (the later Emperor Taizong) attacked Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng, who ruled the modern Henan region, Dou believed that if Tang were able to destroy Zheng, his own Xia state would suffer the same fate, and therefore went to Wang's aid, against the advice of his strategist Ling Jing (凌敬) and his wife Empress Cao. Li defeated him at the Battle of Hulao, capturing him. Li's father Emperor Gaozu of Tang subsequently put Dou to death. Xia territory was briefly seized by Tang, but soon Dou's general Liu Heita rose against Tang rule, recapturing Dou's territory, and held out against Tang until 623.
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Du Fu
Du Fu (Chinese: 杜甫; pinyin: Dù Fǔ; Wade–Giles: Tu Fu; 712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Bai (Li Bo), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest.
Although initially he was little-known to other writers, his works came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages. He has been called the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage" by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire".
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Du You
Du You (Chinese: 杜佑; pinyin: Dù Yòu; Wade–Giles: Tu Yu) (735 – December 23, 812), courtesy name Junqing (君卿), formally Duke Anjian of Qi (岐安簡公), was a Chinese scholar, historian and chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, who devoted thirty-six years to the compilation of the Tongdian, a historical encyclopedia with 200 sections (volumes), a collection of laws, regulations, and general events from ancient times to his own. He was born to an official family in what is now Xi'an, Shaanxi, almost eighteen years before the abrupt rebellion of An Lushan. Du was "a political thinker on a grand scale," comparable to Ibn Khaldun, according to Robert G. Hoyland.
Du You was born in 735, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an and traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Chu, Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Jin Dynasty (265-420), Northern Zhou, and Tang. Du You's great-grandfather Du Xingmin (杜行敏), grandfather Du Que (杜愨), and father Du Xiwang (杜希望) all served as officials in Tang governments.
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Duan Chengshi
Duan Chengshi (Chinese: 段成式; Wade–Giles: Tuan Ch'engshih) (died 863) was an author and scholar of the Tang Dynasty in China. He was born to a wealthy family in present day Zibo, Shandong. A descendant of the early Tang official Duan Zhixuan 段志玄 (-642), and the son of Duan Wenchang 段文昌, a high official under Tang Xuanzong, his family background enabled him to obtain office without taking the Imperial exams. As a poet, he was associated with Li Shangyin and Wen Tingyun.
Duan is best known outside of China for being the author of an early version of Cinderella, called Ye Xian. In 853, the story first appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, which was published shortly after he returned to Chang'an after his term of acting Governor of Jizhou (now known as Ji'an in Jiangsu). It is believed that it was a folktale told by peasants before it was recorded on paper. Some people even believe that the French author Charles Perrault copied Duan's version, only he renamed it and slightly altered it.
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Emperor Ai of Tang
Emperor Ai of Tang (Chinese: 唐哀帝) (892–908), also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan (昭宣帝), born Li Zuo (Chinese: 李祚), later known as Li Zhu (Chinese: 李柷), was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 904 to 907. Emperor Ai was the son of Emperor Zhaozong.
Emperor Ai ascended the throne at the age of 11 after his father, the Emperor Zhaozong, was assassinated on the orders of the paramount warlord Zhu Quanzhong in 904, and while Emperor Ai was emperor, the Tang court, then at Luoyang, was under the control of officials Zhu put in charge. In 905, under the instigation of his associates Liu Can and Li Zhen, Zhu had Emperor Ai issue an edict summoning some 30 senior aristocrats at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern Anyang, Henan), near the Yellow River; the aristocrats were thereafter ordered to commit suicide, and their bodies were thrown into the Yellow River. Less than two years later in 907, Zhu made his final move against Emperor Ai himself, forcing the young emperor to abdicate to him. In Zhu's new Later Liang Dynasty, the former Tang emperor carried the title of Prince of Jiyin, but in 908, Zhu had the prince poisoned, at the age of 15.
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Emperor Gong of Sui
Emperor Gong of Sui (隋恭帝) (605 – September 14, 619), personal name Yang You (楊侑), was an emperor of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. Traditionally, he was considered the last emperor of the dynasty because he was the one who formally yielded the throne to the founding emperor to the succeeding Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan), although after him, his brother Yang Tong claimed the throne and continued to do so until 619. Li had rebelled against the rule of Yang You's grandfather Emperor Yang of Sui in 617 and captured the capital Chang'an later that year, seizing Yang You and declaring him emperor, although only the commanderies under Li's control recognized him as emperor; the rest of the commanderies continued to recognize Emperor Yang as emperor. In 618, after news arrived that Emperor Yang had been killed by the general Yuwen Huaji, Li had the young emperor yield the throne to him. The former emperor died the following year, probably on the new emperor's orders.
Yang You was born in 605, as a son of Yang Zhao, the son and crown prince of Emperor Yang. His mother was Yang Zhao's wife, Crown Princess Wei. He was probably the youngest of Yang Zhao's three sons—he was clearly younger than Yang Tan (楊倓), born in 603, and probably younger than Yang Tong, whose birth year is unknown, based the order in which they were eventually created imperial princes. However, under Confucian principles of succession, he would have been considered Yang Zhao's proper heir, as his mother was Yang Zhao's wife, while Yang Tan's and Yang Tong's mothers were concubines.
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Emperor of China
The Emperor of China (Chinese: 皇帝; pinyin: Huángdì, pronounced [xu̯ɑ̌ŋ tî]) refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven (Chinese: 天子; pinyin: tiānzǐ, pronounced [ti̯ɛ́n tsɨ̀]), a title that predates the Qin unification, the Emperor was recognized as the ruler of "All under heaven" (i.e., the world). In practice not every Emperor held supreme power, though this was most often the case.[citation needed]
Emperors from the same family are generally classified in historical periods known as Dynasties. Most of China's imperial rulers have commonly been considered members of the Han ethnicity, although recent scholarship tends to be wary of applying current ethnic categories to historical situations. During the Yuan and Qing dynasties China was ruled by ethnic Mongols and Manchus respectively after being conquered by them. The orthodox historical view over the years sees these as non-native dynasties that were sinicized over time, though some more recent scholars argue that the interaction between politics and ethnicity was far more complex. Nevertheless, in both cases these rulers had claimed the Mandate of Heaven to assume the role of traditional emperors in order to rule over China proper.
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Emperor Temmu
Emperor Temmu (天武天皇, Tenmu-tennō?, c. 631 – October 1, 686) was the 40th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Temmu's reign lasted from 672 until his death in 686.
Temmu was the youngest son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Saimei, and the younger brother of the Emperor Tenji. His name at birth was Prince Ōama (大海人皇子:Ōama no ōji). He was succeeded by Empress Jitō, who was both his niece and his wife. During the reign of his elder brother, Emperor Tenji, Temmu was forced to marry several of Tenji's daughters because Tenji thought those marriages would help to strengthen political ties between the two brothers. The nieces he married included Princess Unonosarara, today known as the Empress Jitō, and Princess Ōta. Temmu also had other consorts whose fathers were influential courtiers.
Temmu had many children, including his crown prince Kusakabe by Princess Unonosarara; Princess Tōchi; Prince Ōtsu and Princess Ōku by Princess Ōta (whose father also was Tenji); and Prince Toneri, the editor of Nihonshoki and father of Emperor Junnin. Through Prince Kusakabe, Temmu had two emperors and two empresses among his descendents. Empress Shōtoku was the last of these imperial rulers from his lineage.
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Emperor Tenji
Emperor Tenji (天智天皇, Tenji-tennō?, 626 – January 7, 671), also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Tenji's reign spanned the years from 661 through 671.
He was the son of Emperor Jomei, but was preceded as ruler by his mother Empress Saimei.
Prior to his accession, he was known as Prince Naka-no-Ōe (中大兄皇子, Naka-no-Ōe no Ōji?).
As prince, Naka no Ōe played a crucial role in ending the near-total control the Soga clan had over the imperial family. In 644, seeing the Soga continue to gain power, he conspired with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro to assassinate Soga no Iruka in what has come to be known as the Isshi Incident. Although the assassination did not go exactly as planned, Iruka was killed, and his father and predecessor, Soga no Emishi, committed suicide soon after. Following the Isshi Incident, Iruka's adherents dispersed largely without a fight, and Naka no Ōe was named heir apparent. He also married the daughter of his ally Soga no Kurayamada, thus ensuring that a significant portion of the Soga clan's power was on his side.
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Emperor Uda
Emperor Uda (宇多天皇, Uda-tennō?, May 5, 867 – July 19, 931) was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Sadami (定省?) or Chōjiin-tei.
Emperor Uda was the third son of Emperor Kōkō. His mother was Empress Dowager Hanshi, a daughter of Prince Nakano (who was himself a son of Emperor Kammu). Uda had five Imperial consorts and 20 Imperial children. Particularly important sons include:
In ancient Japan, there were four noble clans, the Gempeitōkitsu (源平藤橘). One of these clans, the Minamoto clan (源氏), is also known as Genji. Some of Uda's grandchildren were granted the surname Minamoto (Minamoto is the most used surname for former Japanese royalty.). In order to distinguish Uda's descendants from other Minamoto clan families (源氏) or Genji, they became known as the Uda Genji (宇多源氏). Some of the Uda Genji moved to Ōmi province and known as Sasaki clan (佐々木氏) or Ōmi Genji (近江源氏).
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Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (simplified Chinese: 汉武帝; traditional Chinese: 漢武帝; pinyin: Hàn Wǔdì; Wade–Giles: Han Wu-ti; 156–87 BC), personal name Liu Che (劉徹), was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty of China, ruling from 141 BC to 87 BC. Emperor Wu is best remembered for the vast territorial expansion that occurred under his reign, as well as the strong and centralized Confucian state he organized. He is cited in Chinese history as the greatest emperor of the Han dynasty and one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. Emperor Wu's effective governance made the Han Dynasty one of the most powerful nations in the world.
As a military campaigner, Emperor Wu led Han China through its greatest expansion—at its height, the Empire's borders spanned from modern Kyrgyzstan in the west, to Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south. Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi of modern Uzbekistan. This resulted in further missions to Central Asia. Although historical records do not describe him as a follower of Buddhism, exchanges probably occurred as a consequence of these embassies, and there are suggestions that he received Buddhist statues from central Asia, as depicted in Mogao Caves murals.
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Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 - April 11, 618), personal name Yang Guang (楊廣), alternative name Ying (英), nickname Amo (阿摩), known as Emperor Ming (明帝) during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.
Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but was renamed by his father, after consulting with oracles, to Yang Guang. Yang Guang was made the Prince of Jin after Emperor Wen established Sui Dynasty in 581. In 588 he was put in charge of the overall command of the five armies that invaded the southern Chen Dynasty, and was widely praised for the success of this campaign. These military achievements, as well as his machinations in finding faults with his older brother Yang Yong, allowed him to become crown prince in 600 after Emperor Wen believed in the accusations against Yang Yong. After the death of his father in 604—a death that most traditional historians believed to be a murder ordered by Yang Guang, although they admit a lack of direct evidence—Yang Guang ascended the throne as Emperor Yang.
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Enchin
Enchin (円珍?) (814–891) was a Japanese Buddhist monk the founder of the Jimon School of Tendai Buddhism, and Chief Abbot of Miidera at the foot of Mount Hiei. After succeeding to the post of Tendai Zasu, or Chief Tendai Abbot, in 873, a strong rivalry developed between his followers and those of Ennin's at the Enryakuji; (note: Ennin had died in 864).
The rivalry was largely geographical, and was not based much on sectarian differences over interpretations of practice or doctrine; nevertheless, the friction between the followers of the two zasu finally broke out into a violent conflict. Rivalres between the followers of different zasu was not anything new at that time. During his twelve years on Hiei, Enchin himself had seen a conflict between direct disciples of Saichō (namely Enchō and Kosho) and the disciples of his own master, the second Tendai zasu Gishin. After the death of Gishin his main follower Enshu was elected to be the third zasu but Enchō and Kosho objected and finally forced Enshu with his followers to leave Mount Hiei.
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Ennin
Ennin (圓仁 or 円仁?, AD 793 or 794 - 864), who is better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (慈覺大師), was a priest of the Tendai school.
He was born into the Mibu (壬生) family in present-day Tochigi Prefecture, Japan and entered the Buddhist priesthood at Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei (Hieizan) near Kyoto at the age of 14.
In 838, his trip to Tang Dynasty China marked the beginning of a set of tribulations and adventures. Initially, he studied under two masters and then spent some time at Wutaishan (五臺山; Japanese: Godaisan), a mountain range famous for its numerous Buddhist temples in Shanxi Province in China. Later he went to Chang'an (Japanese: Chōan), then the capital of China, where he was ordained into both mandala rituals. He also wrote of his travels by ship while sailing along the Grand Canal of China.
Ennin was in China when the anti-Buddhist emperor Wuzong of Tang took the throne in 840, and he lived through the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of 842-846. As a result of the persecution, he was deported from China, returning to Japan in 847.
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Gan De
Gan De (Chinese: 甘德; Wade–Giles: Kan Te, fl. 4th century BC) was a Chinese astronomer/astrologer born in the State of Qi also known as the Lord Gan (Gan Gong). Along with Shi Shen, he is believed to be the first in history known by name to compile a star catalogue, preceded by the anonymous authors of the early Babylonian star catalogues and followed by the Greek Hipparchus who is the first known in the Western tradition to have compiled a star catalogue.
Gan De made some of the first detailed observations of Jupiter in recorded history. He described the planet as "very large and bright". In one of his observations on Jupiter, he reported a "small reddish star" next to Jupiter. The historian Xi Zezong has claimed that this was a naked-eye observation of Ganymede in the summer of 365 BC, long before Galileo Galilei's celebrated discovery of the same in 1610 (all four of the brightest moons are technically visible to the unaided eye, but in practice are normally hidden by the glare of Jupiter). By occluding Jupiter itself behind a high tree limb perpendicular to the satellites' orbital plane to prevent the planet's glare from obscuring them, one or more of the Galilean moons might be spotted in favorable conditions. However, Gan De reported the color of the companion as reddish, which is puzzling since the moons are too faint for their color to be perceived with the naked eye. Shi and Gan together made fairly accurate observations of the five major planets.
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Gautama Siddha
Gautama Siddha, (fl. 8th century) astronomer, astrologer and compiler of Indian descent, known for leading the compilation of the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era during the Tang Dynasty. He was born in Chang'an, and his family was originally from India, according to a tomb stele uncovered in 1977 in Xi'an. The Gautama family had probably settled in China over many generations, and might have been present in China prior even to the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. He was most notable for his translation of Navagraha calendar into Chinese. He also introduced Indian numerals with zero (〇) in 718 in China as a replacement of counting rods.
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Guo Ziyi
Guo Ziyi (Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo Tzu-i) (697 – July 9, 781), formally Prince Zhongwu of Fenyang (汾陽忠武王), was a general during the Tang Dynasty who ended the An Shi Rebellion, and participated in expeditions against the peoples of Huihe (Uyghurs) and Tubo (Tibetans). He is reputed to be one of the greatest generals in Chinese history and was revered as the best general in East Asia during his lifetime. During his life, Guo Ziyi was a Nestorian Christian. After his death, he was immortalized in Chinese mythology as the God of Wealth and Happiness.
Guo Ziyi was born into a family of a middle-class civil servant in Hua Prefecture (華州, present-day Hua County in Shaanxi).
In 735, or thereabouts, while still a common soldier, Guo Ziyi, was saved from a court martial by the poet Li Bo, who intervened on his behalf with the local commander.
Unlike other members of his family, Guo Ziyi entered political life through a martial test (a test for military officers) instead of a literary test (for civil servants). In 749 AD, he passed a martial test and became an officer in the border regions of the Tang Empire and quickly rose through the ranks to become a Jiedushi (regional military governor).
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Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks (Old Turkic:
Türük or 
Kök Türük or Türük;Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 (Modern Chinese: Pinyin: Tūjué, Wade-Giles: T'u-chüeh, Middle Chinese (Guangyun): dʰuət-kĭwɐt), the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons succeeded the Rouran as the main power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade. Gök means "sky" in modern Turkish.
The Göktürks became the new leading element amongst the disparate steppe peoples in Central Asia, after they rebelled against the Rouran Khaganate. Under their leadership, the Turkic Khaganate rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in Central Asia. From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound together the nomadic Turkic tribes into an empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts.[citation needed]
According to Chinese sources, the meaning of the word Tūjué was "combat helmet" (兜鍪; Pinyin: dōumóu, Wade-Giles: tou-mou), reportedly because the shape of the Jinshan (金山 jīnshān, Altai Mountains), where they lived, was similar to a combat helmet - hence they called themselves 突厥 (Tūjué / T'u-chüeh).
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Han Gan
Han Gan (Chinese: 韩干/韓幹) (c. 706-783) was a Tang Dynasty painter.
He came from a poor family in either Chang'an, modern day Xi'an, Shaanxi; Lantian, modern day Shaanxi; or Daliang, modern day Kaifeng, Henan. As a young man, Han Gan was recognized by Wang Wei, a prominent poet, who sponsored Han in learning arts. After his studies, Han became a painter in the Tang court.
Han painted many portraits and Buddhistic themed paintings during his career; however, he is most widely remembered for his paintings of horses. He was reputed to be able to not only portray the physical body of the horse, but also its spirit. His reputation rose and surpassed that of his teacher. Horse painters of later generations studied Han.
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Han Yu
Han Yu (traditional Chinese: 韓愈; simplified Chinese: 韩愈; pinyin: Hán Yù) (768–824), born in Nanyang, Henan, China, was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet, during the Tang dynasty. The Indiana Companion calls him "comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe" for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition (p. 397). He stood for strong central authority in politics and orthodoxy in cultural matters. He is also among China's finest prose writers, second only to Sima Qian, and first among the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song". Song Dynasty poet Su Shi praised Han Yu that he had written prose which "raised the standards after 8 dynasties of literary weaknesses" (文起八代之衰).
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Harsha
Harsha or Harsha Vardhana or Harshvardhan (Hindi: हर्षवर्धन) (c. 590—647) was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana. At the height of his power his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, Orissa and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain north of the Narmada River. He belonged to Bargurjar clan of Gurjars.
After the downfall of the prior Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century CE, North India reverted to small republics and small monarchical states ruled by fractured fragments of Gupta rulers. Harsha, a Buddhist convert, united the small republics from Punjab to central India, and they, at an assembly, crowned Harsha king in April 606 AD when he was merely 16 years old.
They were descended from a certain Pushyabhuti who founded and ruled the kingdom of Sthanvisvara or modern Thanesar, an ancient Hindu pilgrimage centre and one of the 51 Shaktipeeth's, now a small town in the vicinity of the newly created Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana north of Delhi. The name Pushpabhuti is the key to Harsha's origins and the relevant reference point is an inscription dated 181 AD and found at Gunda in the state of Gujarat. That inscription mentions a general of Rudrasimha I or Rudrasingh by the name Rudrabhuti.Rudradaman I, an ancestor of Rudrasimha I had conquered the Yaudheya, who were the original masters of Haryana.
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Hou Junji
Hou Junji (侯君集) (died April 29, 643) was a major general and chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, particularly known for his campaigns against Gaochang and Tuyuhun. In 643, he was implicated in a plot by Emperor Taizong's crown prince Li Chengqian to overthrow Emperor Taizong, and he was executed.
It is not known when Hou Junji was born, and little is known about his family background other than that he was from Bin Prefecture (豳州, roughly modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). It was said that he was pretentious and always wanted to appear impressive. He favored using bow and arrows, and while he never achieved greatness in archery, became known for his fighting abilities. At a point early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu, who was then still trying to reunify China after the collapse of Sui Dynasty, Hou came to serve under Emperor Gaozu's son, the major general Li Shimin the Prince of Qin. While serving under Li Shimin, for his accomplishments, Hou was created the Viscount of Quanjiao. He also became a close associate of Li Shimin, often offering his strategies.
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Huang Chao
Huang Chao (simplified Chinese: 黄巢; traditional Chinese: 黃巢; pinyin: Huáng Cháo; Wade–Giles: Huang Ch'ao, died 884) was the leader of the Huang Chao Rebellion (Chinese: 黃巢之亂, 874-884), known in mainland China as the Huang Chao Revolution (simplified Chinese: 黄巢起义; traditional Chinese: 黃巢起義; pinyin: Huáng Cháo Qǐyì) in China that seriously weakened the once mighty Tang Dynasty of China. The dynasty, which was one of the strongest in the world at the time, dissolved within a few decades after the rebellion, and the empire broke up into competing states of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.
The Tang Dynasty, established in 618, had already passed its golden age and entered its long decline beginning with the An Lushan Rebellion by Sogdian general An Lushan. The power of provincial military governors (Jiedushi) increased greatly after imperial troops crushed the Anshi rebels. The morals of these generals also decayed as their power increased, the resentment of common people against the inability of the government grew, and their grievances exploded into several rebellions during the mid-9th century. Many impoverished farmers, tax-burdened landowners and merchants, as well as many large salt smuggling operations, formed the base of the anti-government rebellions of this period. Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao were two of the important rebel leaders during this era.
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Huangbo Xiyun
Huángbò Xīyùn (simplified Chinese: 黄檗希运; traditional Chinese: 黄檗希運; Wade–Giles: Huang-po Hsi-yün; literally "Xiyun of Mt. Huangbo", Japanese: Ōbaku Kiun) (died 850) was an influential Chinese master of Zen Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.
Huángbò was a disciple of Baizhang Huaihai (720-840), and the teacher of Linji Yixuan (died 866) (Wade-Giles: Lin-chi I-hsüan; Japanese: Rinzai Gigen).
Very little about Huángbò‘s life is known for certain as, unlike other Transmission of the Lamp literature, there is no biographical information included with Huángbò‘s collection of sayings and sermons, the Ch’uan-hsin Fa-yao (Essential of Mind Transmission) and the Wan-ling Lu (Record of Wan-ling: Japanese: Enryōroku).
He was born in Fujian, China. The records indicated that Huángbò was extraordinarily tall.
Huángbò began his monastic life on Mt. Huangbo in Fuzhou (Fu-chien) province, receiving the Buddhist name Hsi-yun. As was the custom of the times, he traveled around seeking instructions from various Chan masters. He visited Mt. Tiantai and sought teachings from the National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong (Wade-Giles: Nan-yang Hui-chung; Japanese: Nan’yō Echū). At some point he may also have studied under Nanquan Puyuan (748-835) (Wade-Giles: Nan-ch’üan P’u-yüan; Japanese: Nansen Fugan), a student of Mazu Daoyi (Wade-Giles: Ma-tsu Tao-i; Japanese: Baso Dōitsu) (709-788)
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Hunnic Empire
The Hunnic empire was formed under the reign of Attila, centered in present-day Hungary; its territory included parts of Germany, the Balkans, and Ukraine. It bordered the Eastern Roman Empire to the southeast and the Western Roman Empire to the west and southwest; its other boundaries are uncertain. The empire dissolved after Attila's death in 453 as a result of struggles over succession and leadership, finally disappearing around 469.
The origins of the Huns that swept through Europe during the 4th Century remain unclear; they may have been connected with the Xiongnu and the later Northern Xiongnu, defeated and dispersed by China some three centuries before. However, most mainstream historians consider them as a group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with mixed origin.[citation needed] There was a Hunnic language, and Gothic seems also to have been used as a lingua franca.
European accounts first mention the Huns in the lands north-west of the Caspian Sea about 370, when they conquered a tribe of Alans to their west. Pushing further westward, the Huns subjugated many Ostrogoths. In 395, a Hun raid across the Caucasus mountains devastated Armenia, then captured Erzurum, besieged Edessa and Antioch, and even reached Tyre.
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Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia.
The official language of the empire was Quechua, although hundreds of local languages and dialects of Quechua were spoken. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu which can be translated as The Four Regions or The Four United Provinces.
There were many local forms of worship, most of them concerning local sacred "Huacas", but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship of Inti—the sun god—and imposed its sovereignty above other cults such as that of Pachamama. The Incas considered their King, the Sapa Inca, to be the "child of the sun."
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Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples (Iranic peoples) are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group that comprise the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of the Indo-European-speaking peoples. Their historical areas of settlement were on the Iranian plateau, and comprised most of Iran and certain areas of Central Asia such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and most of Afghanistan, some parts of western Pakistan, northern Iraq and eastern Turkey, and scattered parts of the Caucasus Mountains. Their current distribution spreads across the Iranian plateau, and stretches from Pakistan's Indus River in the east to eastern Turkey in the west, and from Central Asia and the Caucasus in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south – a region that is sometimes called the Iranian cultural continent, or Greater Persia by scholars, and represents the extent of the Iranian languages and influence of the Persian People, through the geopolitical reach of the Persian empire.
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Jacques Gernet
Professor Jacques Gernet (born December 22, 1921, Algiers) is an eminent French sinologist of the second half of the 20th century. His best-known work is The Chinese Civilization, a 900 page summary of Chinese history and civilization which has been translated into many languages.
Gernet obtained a degree in classics at Algiers in 1942, then served in World War II from 1942-1945. In 1947 he received his degree in Chinese from the National School of Oriental Languages, and in 1948 from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE). He then became a member of the French School of the Far East, before being a researcher at CNRS and Scholar of the Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan. He received his Doctor of Letters in 1956.
From 1955-1976 Gernet served as director of studies at the EPHE, VIe section, then at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He taught Chinese language and culture at the Faculty of Arts from the Sorbonne in 1957, first as a lecturer, then as professor from 1959. In 1968 he founded the Unit of teaching and research of languages and civilizations of East Asia (University of Paris-VII), and was its director until 1973. He entered the Collège de France, where he was chair in social and intellectual history of China (1975–1992).
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Jia Dan
Jia Dan (simplified Chinese: 贾耽; traditional Chinese: 賈耽; pinyin: Jiǎ Dān) (730 – October 27, 805), courtesy name Dunshi (敦詩), formally Duke Yuanjing of Wei (魏元靖公), was a Chinese scholar-official, general, geographer, and cartographer from Cangzhou, Hebei during the Tang Dynasty of China.
Jia Dan was born in 730, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from Cang Prefecture (滄州, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) and traced its ancestry to the Han Dynasty official Jia Yi, through officials of Cao Wei, Jin Dynasty (265-420), Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty. Both his grandfather Jia Zhiyi (賈知義) and father Jia Yuanyan (賈元琰) served as county-level officials.
During Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742-756), Jia Dan passed the imperial examinations and was made the sheriff of Linqing County (臨清, in modern Liaocheng, Shandong). After he submitted suggestions on the matters of the times to Emperor Xuanzong, he was moved to be the sheriff of Zhengping County (正平, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) — closer to the capital Chang'an, and therefore considered a promotion despite it being the same level of office. While the general Wang Sili (王思禮) served as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), Wang invited him to serve as secretary. While serving under Wang, Jia was promoted to be the deputy mayor of Taiyuan Municipality and deputy military governor. He later served as the prefect of Fen Prefecture (汾州, in modern Linfen, Shanxi) for seven years and was known for ruling the prefecture well.
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Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS,FBA (9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995), also known as Li Yuese (simplified Chinese: 李约瑟; traditional Chinese: 李約瑟; pinyin: Lǐ Yuēsè: Wade-Giles: Li Yüeh-Sê), was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British Academy in 1971. In 1992, the Queen conferred on him the Companionship of Honour and the Royal Society noted he was the only living person to hold these three titles.
Needham was the only child of a London family. His father was a doctor and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde Montgomery (1863–1945), was a French-Irish composer and music teacher. Needham was educated at Oundle School, before receiving his bachelor's degree in 1921 from University of Cambridge, master's degree in January 1925 and doctorate in October 1925. He had intended to study medicine but came under the influence of Frederick Gowland Hopkins and switched to Biochemistry.
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Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.[citation needed]
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Khitan people
The Khitan people (Chinese: 契丹; pinyin: Qìdān; Persian: ختن, Khitan), or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally from Mongolia and Manchuria (the northeastern region of modern day China) from the 4th century. As the Liao Dynasty they dominated a vast area north of, and including parts of, China; but have left few relics that have survived until today. After the fall of Liao in 1125, many Khitans moved further west and established the state of Kara Khitai, which was finally destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1218.
There is no consensus on the etymology of the name of Khitan. There are basically three speculations. Feng Jiasheng argues that it comes from the Yuwen chieftains' names. Zhao Zhenji thinks that the term originated from Xianbei and means "a place where Xianbei had resided". Japanese scholar Otagi Matuo considers Khitan's original name is "Xidan", which means "the people who are similar to the Xi people" or "the people who inhabit among the Xi people".
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Kim Yushin
Kim Yushin (595 – 1 July 673) was a general in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol of Silla and King Munmu of Silla. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state. This would have given him a very high position in the Silla bone rank system, which governed the political and military status that a person could attain.
Much of what we know about Kim's life comes from the detailed account in the Samguk Sagi, Yeoljeon 1-3, and the much briefer record in the Samguk Yusa, vol. 1.
Kim Yushin was the son of General Kim Seohyeon and Lady Manmyeong, who was a daughter of King Jinheung of Silla. He was born in Gyeyang, Jincheon County in 595, became a Hwarang warrior at just 15 and was an accomplished swordsman and a Gukseon (국선, 國仙; Hwarang leader) by the time he was 18 years old. By the age of 34 (in 629) he had been given total command of the Silla armed forces. Three years after Princess Deokman became Queen Seondeok of Silla, who kept Kim Yushin as commander in chief of the royal army.
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Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush or Kush was an ancient African state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan.
Established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, it was centered at Napata in its early phase. After king Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century, until they were expelled by Psamtik I in 656 BC.
During Classical Antiquity, the Kushite imperial capital was at Meroe. In early Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia. The Kushite kingdom with its capital at Meroe persisted until the 4th century AD, when it weakened and disintegrated due to internal rebellion. The Kushite capital was subsequently captured by the Beja Dynasty, who tried to revive the empire. The Kushite capital was eventually captured and destroyed by the kingdom of Axum. After the collapse of the Kushite empire several states emerged in its former territories, among them Nubia.
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Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: Kuçar, Kuchar) Uyghur (كۇچار), Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po (bai in pinyin?); Sanskrit: Kucina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and south of the Muzat River. (The area lies in present day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China; Kuqa City itself is the county seat of that prefecture's Kuqa County). Its population was given as 74,632 in 1990.
According to the Book of Han, Kucha was the largest of the 'Thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions,' with a population of 81,317, including 21,076 persons able to bear arms. During the periods of Tang domination during the Early Middle Ages, the city of Kucha was usually one of the 'Four Garrisons' of An-hsi (Anxi) the 'Pacified West'., typically the capital of it. During periods of Tibetan domination it was usually at least semi-independent. It fell under Uighur domination and became an important center of the later Uighur Kingdom after the Kirghiz destruction of the Uighur steppe empire in 840.
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Laity
In religious organizations, the laity consists of all people who are not a part of or independent of the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who has not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order (for example a nun or lay brother).
In the past in Christian cultures, the term lay priest was sometimes used to refer to a secular priest, a diocesan priest who is not a member of a religious order. Terms such as lay priest, lay clergy and lay nun were once used in Buddhist cultures to indicate ordained persons who continued to live in the wider community instead of retiring to a monastery. In recent centuries, the term is often used more generally, in the context of any specialized profession, to refer to those who are not members of that profession.
The word lay derives from the Anglo-French lai (from Late Latin laicus, from the Greek λαϊκός, laikos, of the people, from λαός, laos, the people at large).
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Laozi
Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozi; Wade–Giles: Lao Tzu; also romanized as Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Laosi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (often simply referred to as Laozi). His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of philosophical Taoism (pronounced as "Daoism"). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of Taoist philosophy, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or "One of the Three Pure Ones".
According to Chinese traditions, Laozi lived in the 6th century BCE. Historians variously contend that Laozi is a synthesis of multiple historical figures, that he is a mythical figure, or that he actually lived in the 5th–4th century BCE, concurrent with the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period.
A central figure in Chinese culture, both nobility and common people claim Laozi in their lineage. He was honored as an ancestor of the Tang imperial family, and was granted the title Taishang xuanyuan huangdi, meaning "Supreme Mysterious and Primordial Emperor". Throughout history, Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements.
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Li Bai
Li Bai (Chinese: 李白; pinyin: Lǐ Bái and/or Lǐ Bó, 701 – 762, also well known as Li Po, among other transliterations) was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. Regarded as one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty, often called China's "golden age" of poetry, Li Bai was both a prolific and a profound poet, as well as one who stretched the rules of versification of his time. Around a thousand yet existing poems are attributed to him. Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems.
In the area of Chinese cultural influence, Li Bai's poetry has been much esteemed from his lifetime through the present day. His influence also extends to the West through many translations, adaptations, and much inspiration.
Li (李) is the family name, or surname; however, he has been and is known by various names. His given name is written with a Chinese character (白), which is romanized variously as Po, Bo, Bai, Pai, and other variants. Even in Hanyu Pinyin there is ambiguity, as Bái is the common variant and Bó the literary variant. His style name, also known as courtesy name, was Tài Bái (太白), literally "Great White," a reference to the planet Venus. Thus, combining the family name with the style name, his name appears in variants such as Li Tai Bo, Li Tai Bai, Li T'aipo, and others). Less commonly in English, he also may be known by the pseudonym (hao), Qīnglián Jūshì (青蓮居士), meaning Householder of the Azure Lotus, or the nicknames Poet Transcendent (simplified Chinese: 诗仙; traditional Chinese: 詩仙; pinyin: Shīxiān), Wine Immortal (Chinese: 酒仙; pinyin: Jiǔxiān), Banished Transcendent (Chinese: 謫仙人; pinyin: Zhéxiānrén), Poet Knight-Errant (simplified Chinese: 诗侠; traditional Chinese: 詩俠; pinyin: Shīxiá, or "Poet-Hero"). In works in which the English transliteration is derived through Japanese, his name may be given as Ri Haku. All of these variants, and more, with or without hyphenation, have been historically attested to.
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Li Chongrun
Li Chongrun (李重潤) (682 – October 8, 701), né Li Chongzhao (李重照), formally Crown Prince Yide (懿德太子), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasties Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. He was the only son of Emperor Zhongzong (Li Zhe/Li Xian) and Emperor Zhongzong's second wife Empress Wei. In 701, he offended his grandmother Wu Zetian by discussing about Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong with his sister Li Xianhui (李仙蕙) the Lady Yongtai and her husband Wu Yanji (武延基) the Prince of Wei, and he, along with Li Xianhui and Wu Yanji, were forced to commit suicide. He was posthumously honored as crown prince after his father Emperor Zhongzong was restored to the throne in 705 and in 706, Emperor Zhongzong provided Li Chongrun with an honorable burial by interring his remains at the Qianling Mausoleum.
Li Chongrun, then named Li Chongzhao, was born in 682, to then-Crown Prince Li Zhe and Li Zhe's wife Crown Princess Wei. Shortly after Li Chongzhao's birth, Li Zhe's father Emperor Gaozong created Li Chongzhao the unprecedented title of Deputy Crown Prince (皇太孫, Huang Taisun) and gave him a staff. When Emperor Gaozong became ill at the eastern capital Luoyang late in 683, Emperor Gaozong summoned Li Zhe to Luoyang and left the capital Chang'an, where Li Zhe was previously in charge, nominally under Li Chongzhao, but with the chancellor Liu Rengui actually in charge. Later that year, Emperor Gaozong died, and Li Zhe succeeded him (as Emperor Zhongzong), although Li Zhe's mother Empress Wu wielded actual power, as empress dowager.
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Li Jiancheng
Li Jiancheng (李建成) (589 – July 2, 626), formally Crown Prince Yin (隱太子, literally, "the hidden crown prince"), nickname Pishamen (毗沙門), was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Emperor Gaozu (Li Yuan) and therefore was designated crown prince after the founding of the dynasty in 618. However, although he himself was fairly capable as a general, he was overshadowed by the contributions of his younger brother Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, and the brothers contended for power for years, with Li Jiancheng aided by another younger brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi. In 626, Li Shimin, fearing that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were about to kill him, laid an ambush for them at Xuanwu Gate outside the palace and killed them. Li Shimin then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).
Li Jiancheng was born in 589, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. He was the oldest son of Li Yuan the Duke of Tang, a hereditary noble, and Li Yuan's wife Duchess Dou, who was herself the daughter of Dou Yi (竇毅) the Duke of Shenwu and Northern Zhou's Princess Xiangyang. Duchess Dou would subsequently give birth to three of Li Jiancheng's younger brothers -- Li Shimin, Li Xuanba (李玄霸, who died in 614), and Li Yuanji. She also gave birth to a sister of Li Jiancheng's, the eventual Princess Pingyang, although it was not clear whether she was older or younger than Li Jiancheng. At some point, Li Jiancheng received the title of Heir Apparent of Tang.
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Li Jing
Li Jing (李靖, pinyin: Lǐ Jìng) (571 – July 2, 649), né Yaoshi (藥師/药师, pinyin: Yàoshī), formally Duke Jingwu of Wei (衛景武公), was a general and one time chancellor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. In 630, Li Jing defeated the Eastern Tujue (Göktürk) Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi with just 3,000 cavalry soldiers in a surprise attack, allowing Tang to subjugate Eastern Tujue and reduce it to a vassal state. He and Li Shiji were considered the two most prominent early Tang generals.
Li Jing was born in 571, during Sui Dynasty's predecessor state Northern Zhou. His clan was from the Chang'an region. His grandfather Li Chongyi (李崇義) served as a provincial governor during Northern Wei, and his father Li Quan (李詮) served as a commandery governor during Sui. In his youth, Li Jing was said to be handsome and ambitious, and was talented both in literary and military matters. His maternal uncle was the great Sui general Han Qinhu (韓擒虎), and it was said that Han was impressed by his talent, stating, "You are the only person that I can talk to about Sun Tzu's and Wu Qi's strategies."
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Li Linfu
Li Linfu (Chinese: 李林甫) (died January 3, 753), nickname Genu (Chinese: 哥奴), formally the Duke of Jin (Chinese: 晉公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor for 18 years (734–752), during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong—one of the longest terms of service for a chancellor in Tang history, and the longest during Xuanzong's reign.
Li was known for his flattery of the Emperor and skill in the political scene, which enabled him to remain powerful throughout his lengthy duration as chancellor. His treachery in cutting off all routes for all potential political challengers, including false accusations against other officials and the granting of key military commands to non-Han commanders, were blamed for the deterioration of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, which culminated in the An-Shi Rebellion after Li Linfu's death. Xuanzong himself admitted after the An Lushan Rebellion broke out (when Li had died) that Li was most adept at removing political rivals and being jealous of any potential challengers, a factor which resulted in the Tang administration lacking seriously competent officials during the Tianbao era.
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Li Shiji
Li Shiji (李世勣) (594 – December 31, 669), né Xu Shiji (徐世勣), later known in the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang as Li Ji (李勣), courtesy name Maogong (懋功), formally Duke Zhenwu of Ying (英貞武公), was one of the most celebrated generals early in the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was initially a follower of Li Mi, one of the rebel rulers rebelling against the preceding Sui Dynasty, and he submitted to Tang after Li Mi did so, upon which Emperor Gaozu, impressed with his loyalty to Li Mi, bestowed on him the imperial clan name of Li. He later participated in destroying Xu Yuanlang and Fu Gongshi, two of Tang's competitors on Tang's campaign to reunify China. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu's son Emperor Taizong, he participated in the successful campaigns destroying Eastern Tujue and Xueyantuo, allowing Tang to become the dominant power in eastern Asia, and also served as a chancellor. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, he served as chancellor and the commander of the army against Goguryeo, destroying Goguryeo in 668. He died the next year. He and Li Jing were considered the two most prominent early Tang generals.
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Li Yuanji
Li Yuanji (李元吉) (603 – July 2, 626), formally Prince La of Chao (巢剌王), more commonly known by the title of Prince of Qi (齊王), nickname Sanhu (三胡), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was a son of the dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan), and in the intense rivalry developed between his older brothers Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince and Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, he sided with Li Jiancheng and often advocated drastic actions against Li Shimin, including assassination. In 626, Li Shimin, fearing that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were about to kill him, laid an ambush for them at Xuanwu Gate outside the palace and killed them. Li Shimin then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).
Li Yuanji was born in 603, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. He was the fourth and final son of Li Yuan the Duke of Tang, a hereditary noble, and Li Yuan's wife Duchess Dou, who was herself the daughter of Dou Yi (竇毅) the Duke of Shenwu and Northern Zhou's Princess Xiangyang. He had three older brothers by Duchess Dou -- Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Xuanba (李玄霸, who died in 614). She also gave birth to an older sister of Li Yuanji's, the eventual Princess Pingyang.
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Liang Shidu
Liang Shidu (梁師都) (died June 3, 628) was an agrarian leader who rebelled against the rule of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty near the end of the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui. He, claiming the title of Emperor of Liang with the aid from Eastern Tujue, retained the modern northern Shaanxi and western Inner Mongolia region for over a decade, but was gradually weakened by attacks from Tang Dynasty, whose founding emperor Emperor Gaozu and successor Emperor Taizong had eliminated the rival contenders for power one by one, leaving Liang isolated. In 628, with Eastern Tujue in internal turmoil and unable to come to his aid, Emperor Taizong launched another attack on Liang. Liang's cousin Liang Luoren (梁洛仁) assassinated him and surrendered, completing Tang's drive to reunite China after Sui's collapse.
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Linghu Defen
Linghu Defen (令狐德棻) (582–666), formally Duke Xian of Pengyang (彭陽憲公), was an official of the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. During Tang, he was a major proponent for the compilation of the histories of Sui and its predecessor Northern Zhou and was eventually put in charge of compiling Northern Zhou's official history Book of Zhou, which was completed in 636.
Linghu Defen was born in 582, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. His ancestors had been from a prominent clan of Dunhuang, but had later relocated to Yi Province (宜州, roughly modern Tongchuan, Shaanxi). His father Linghu Xi (令狐熙) served as an official during Emperor Wen's reign but died in anger after being imprisoned due to false accusations of corruption. Late in the reign of Emperor Wen's son Emperor Yang, Linghu Defen was made the magistrate of Yaocheng County (藥城, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), but as by that time the Sui realm was had been thrown into a state of confusion due to agrarian rebellions, Linghu never took office. In 617, after the general Li Yuan the Duke of Tang rose in rebellion against Emperor Yang's rule, Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong (李神通) rose as well and made Linghu a member of his staff. In late 617, after Li Yuan captured the capital Chang'an and declared Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor (as Emperor Gong), retaining power as regent, he invited Linghu to serve as a secretary on his staff.
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Liu Zhiji
Liu Zhiji (simplified Chinese: 刘知几; traditional Chinese: 劉知幾; pinyin: Liú Zhījī; Wade–Giles: Liu Chihchi) (661–721), courtesy name Zixuan (子玄), was a Chinese historian and author of the Shitong born in present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu during the Tang Dynasty. Liu's father Liu Zangqi and elder brother Liu Zhirou were officials, famous for their literary compositions. He received his Imperial Examination degree in 680, and began working on several compilations with others in the court in 699. In 708, he decided to resign himself and started compiling the Shitong.
Stephen W. Durrant calls Liu Zhiji "one of ancient China's most critical and brilliant readers" (The Cloudy Mirror, 71-72: Liu is quoted criticizing Sima Qian's style for verbosity and deliberately setting apart the chronologically close accounts).
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Liu Zongyuan
Liu Zongyuan (Chinese: 柳宗元; pinyin: Liǔ Zōngyuán; Wade-Giles: Liu Tsungyüan) (773–819), courtesy name Zihou (子厚), was a Chinese writer who lived in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi, along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song.
His civil service career was initially successful, but in 805 he fell from favour because of his association with a failed reformist movement. He was exiled first to Yongzhou, Hunan, and then to Liuzhou, Guangxi, where he eventually became the city Governor. His exile allowed his literary career to flourish: he produced poems, fables, reflective travelogues and essays synthesizing elements of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Liu's best-known travel pieces are the Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou (永州八游记). Around 180 of his poems are extant, of which five have been collected in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment. One of his most famous poems has been often translated into English as "Winter Snow", or something similar: this poem has also been depicted in Chinese Painting many times.
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Lu Tong
Lu Tong (simplified Chinese: 卢仝; traditional Chinese: 盧仝; pinyin: Lú Tóng; Wade–Giles: Lú Tung, or Lotung, Lo-tung, 790–835) was a Chinese poet of Tang Dynasty known for his lifelong study of the "Tea Culture". He was a peculiar man who never became an official, and is better known for his love of tea than his poetry.
Lu Tong, his name is also Yuchuanzi, from Jiyuan Henan, Chinese mid-Tang Dynasty poet, four literati after the generation Lu Zhaolin. Most of his poetry was devoted to tea and tea ceremony.
Lu Tong when young was smart, before 20 years old went into inclusion at Shaoshi Mountain, Songshan, he refused to be an official. He was in Han Yu's good graces later, and moved to Luoyang. In November 20, 835AD, eve of Ganlu Incident, Lu Tong was a guest in the home of Wang Ya who was a prime minister. He was killed with Wang Ya when the incident broken out on November 21. “Lu Tong had no hair, and died due to a nail in the back of the head”. The “Jiyuan County Annals” that Xiao Yingzhi with friends written in Qianlong period records: There is a “Tomb of Lu Tong” in Wushantou and 12 miles away from the northwest county. In the poem “Crying for Lu Tong”, his good friends Jia Dao said: “He wore white clothes once in forty years of his life.”.
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Lu Yu
Lu Yu (Chinese: 陆羽; pinyin: Lù Yǔ) (733–804) is respected as the Sage of Tea for his contribution to Chinese tea culture. He is best known for his monumental book The Classic of Tea (Chinese: 茶经; pinyin: chájīng), the first definitive work on cultivating, making and drinking tea.
Lu was born in 733 in Tianmen, Hubei. For six years Lu Yu stayed in Houmen mountain studying under the guidance of master Zou Fuzi. During this period Lu Yu often brewed tea for his teacher. He also took care of fellow students' health with his remarkable knowledge in tea and herbs that he learned while at the Longgai Monastery.
Whenever time permitted between his studies Lu Yu often went to the countryside to gather tea leaves and herbs. In one of those trips Lu Yu stumbled upon a spring underneath a 6-foot round rock and the water from the spring was extremely clear and clean. When Lu Yu brewed tea with this spring water he found the tea tasted unexpectedly better than usual. From then on Lu Yu realised the importance of quality water in brewing tea.
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Ma Jun
Ma Jun (fl. 220–265),style name Deheng (徳衡), was a Chinese mechanical engineer and government official during the Three Kingdoms era of China. His most notable invention was that of the South Pointing Chariot, a directional compass vehicle which actually had no magnetic function, but was operated by use of differential gears (which applies equal amount of torque to driving wheels rotating at different speeds). It is because of this revolutionary device (and other achievements) that Ma Jun is known as one of the most brilliant mechanical engineers and inventors of his day (alongside Zhang Heng of the earlier Eastern Han Dynasty). The device was re-invented by many after Ma Jun, including the astronomer and mathematician Zu Chongzhi (429-500 AD). In the later medieval dynastic periods, Ma Jun's South Pointing Chariot was combined in a single device with the distance-measuring odometer.
According to his friend and contemporary poet and philosopher Fu Xuan (217-278 AD), Ma Jun was born in Fufeng, located in the Wei River valley between Wugong and Baoji. In his youth Ma Jun traveled throughout modern day Henan province, and obtained a minor literary degree, or bo shi. Despite this degree, Ma Jun was relatively poor in his youth, yet found means to gain recognition by employing his natural genius in creating mechanical contraptions and inventions.
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Manichaeism
Manichaeism ( /ˈmænɨkiːɪzəm/; in Modern Persian آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móní Jiào) was a major gnostic religion, originating in Sassanid era Babylonia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manichaeus or Manes) (c. 216–276 CE) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.
Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came. Its beliefs, based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements, contained elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
Manichaeism thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was widespread among the legions of the Roman Empire, who considered it a soldier's religion, and it was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical paganism. Manichaeism survived longer in the East than in the West, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China, contemporary to the decline in China of the Church of the East – see Ming Dynasty.
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Mazu Daoyi
Mǎzŭ Dàoyī (709–788) (Chn: 馬祖道一, WG: Ma-tsu Kiangsi Tao-yi, Jpn: Baso Dö-itsu) was an influential abbot of the Chinese Ch'an School (Chn: Ch'an-tsung) of Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty. His teaching style of "strange words and extraordinary actions" became paradigmatic Zen lore.
Mazu family name was Ma (Ma-tsu meaning Ma the Father or Master Ma). He was born in 709 in Sichuan province (northwest of Chengdu). During his years as master Mazu lived in Kiangsi province, from which he derived his Chinese name Kiangsi Tao-i).
In the Transmission of the Lamp (Ching-te Ch'uan-teng-lu, compiled in 1004) Mazu is described as follows:
According to the Transmission of the Lamp (1004) Mazu was a student of Nanyue Huairang (677-744), in Hunan province by Hengshan
Traditionally a story in the entry on Nanyue Huairang in the Transmission of the Lamp is regarded as Mazu's enlightenment-account, though the text does not claim it as such. An earlier and more primitive version of this story appears in the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (transcribed in 952):
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Medes
The Medes (/midz/) (from Old Persian Māda-) were an ancient Iranian people who lived in Iran in an area known as Media and spoke a northwestern Iranian language referred to as the Median language. Their arrival to the region is associated with the first wave of Iranian tribes in the late second millennium BCE (the Bronze Age collapse) through the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
In the 7th century BCE a unified Median state was formed which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East. An alliance with the Babylonians helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BCE which resulted in the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal centre) beyond their original homeland (central-western Iran) and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Halys River in Anatolia. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great who established the next Iranian dynasty—the Achaemenid Empire.
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Mongols
Mongols (Mongolian: Монголчууд (help·info)), Mongolchuud) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. Owing to wars and migrations, Mongols are also found in some Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia (a smaller number of Mongols can also be found in Xinjiang in northwest China). The Buryat branch of the Mongol ethnic group can be found in the autonomous republic of Buryatia, Russia. Ethnic Mongols are bound together by a common language and culture. They speak languages belonging to the Mongolic languages. The contiguous territories inhabited by ethnic Mongols is also known as Greater Mongolia[disambiguation needed 
]. There are approximately 10 million ethnic Mongols in total.
A definition includes the Mongols proper, who can be approximately divided into the eastern Mongols (the Khalkha Mongols, the Inner Mongolians, the Buryats), and the Oirats. In a wider sense, the Mongol people includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.
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Muhammad
Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632; also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God, and most consider him to be the last prophet of God Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40, that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.
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Nathan Sivin
Nathan Sivin (born 11 May 1931), also known as Xiwen (Chinese: 席文) is an American author, scholar, sinologist, historian, essayist, and currently professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife, the artist Carole Sivin.
The major areas of study and focus in Nathan Sivin's career and written publications have been in the history of science and technology in China, Traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese philosophy, and Chinese religious beliefs. He speaks four different foreign languages and has traveled abroad to many countries, on four continents, numerous times since the 1960s. In his written works he has also collaborated with many other prominent sinologists, such as G.E.R. Lloyd and Joseph Needham.
From 1954 until 1956, Sivin was enrolled in an 18 month language program for Chinese at the U.S. Army Language School. He then went on to receive his Bachelor of Science degree with a chemistry minor at MIT in June 1958. He received his MA in history of science at Harvard University in 1960, and his Ph.D. in history of science at Harvard University in 1966. He received an honorary M.A. at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Ouyang Xiu
Ouyang Xiu (simplified Chinese: 欧阳修; traditional Chinese: 歐陽脩; pinyin: Ōuyáng Xiū; Wade–Giles: Ou-yang Hsiu) (1007 – September 22, 1072) was a Chinese statesman, historian, essayist, calligrapher and poet of the Song Dynasty. He is also known by his courtesy name of Yongshu, and was also self nicknamed The Old Drunkard 醉翁, or Householder of the One of Six 六一居士 in his old age. Due to the multi-faceted nature of his talents, he would be regarded in Western parlance as a Renaissance man.
Ouyang was one of the major players in the Qingli Reforms of the 1040s and was in charge of creating the New History of the Tang Dynasty. He was also regarded as one of the great masters of prose of the Tang and Song era. He was also a noted writer of both shi and ci poetry.
He was born in Mianyang, Sichuan where his father was a judge, though his family comes from present day Jishui (then known as Luling), Jiangxi. His family was relatively poor, not coming from one of the old great lineages of Chinese society. Losing his father when he was three, his literate mother was responsible for much of his early education. He was unable to afford traditional tutoring and was largely self-taught. The writings of Han Yu, a literatus from the late Tang Dynasty was particularly influential in his development. He passed the jinshi degree exam in 1030 on his third attempt at the age of 22.
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Ouyang Xun
Ouyang Xun (Chinese: 歐陽詢; Wade–Giles: Ou-yang Hsun) (557–641), courtesy name Xinben (信本), was a Confucian scholar and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty. He was born in Hunan, Changsha, to a family of government officials; and died in modern Anhui province.
He was a talented student who read widely in the classics. He served under the Sui Dynasty in 611 as Imperial Doctor. He served under the Tang Dynasty as censor and scholar at the Hongwen Academy. There he taught calligraphy. He was a principal contributor to the Yiwen Leiju.
He became the Imperial Calligrapher and inscribed several major imperial steles. He was considered a cultured scholar and a government official. Along with Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang he became known as one of the Three Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang.
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Pei Ju
Pei Ju (裴矩) (547?-627), courtesy name Hongda (弘大), formally Duke Jing of Anyi (安邑敬公), was a high level official during the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. He was praised by traditional Chinese historians for his ability and lack of corruption, but blamed him for flattering Emperor Yang of Sui and contributing to Sui's downfall by encouraging many external military campaigns that drained Sui's resources.
Pei Ju's clan was originally from Hedong Commandery (河東, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). His grandfather Pei Tuo (裴佗) was an official for Northern Wei, and his father Pei Nazhi (裴訥之) served as an official during Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei and Eastern Wei's successor state Northern Qi. Pei Nazhi died when Pei Ju was young, and Pei Ju was raised by his uncle Pei Rangzhi (裴讓之), himself a famed official during the time.
In his youth, Pei Ju was known for his knowledge and intelligence. He served on the staff of Gao Zhen (高貞) the Prince of Beiping and then of Gao Renying (高仁英) the Prince of Gaoping, both sons of Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi. After Northern Qi was destroyed by rival Northern Zhou in 577, it was said that Pei was stuck at his position. When the Northern Zhou general Yang Jian served as the commandant at Ding Province (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei), he invited Pei to serve as his secretary. Pei later left Yang Jian's service when his mother died, to observe a mourning period. In 580, Yang Jian seized power as regent over the young Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou. He sent messengers to summon Pei, and Pei served on his staff as a secretary.
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Pei Xiu
Pei Xiu (224–271), style name Jiyan (季彥), was a minister, geographer, and cartographer of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history, as well as the subsequent Jin Dynasty. Pei Xiu was very much trusted by Sima Zhao, and participated in the suppression of Zhuge Dan's coup. Following Sima Yan taking the throne of the newly established Jin Dynasty, he and Jia Chong had Cao Huang deprived of his position to accord to the will of heaven. In the year 267, Pei was appointed as the Minister of Works for the Jin Dynasty.
Pei Xiu outlined and analyzed the advancements of cartography, surveying, and mathematics up until his time. He criticized earlier Han Dynasty maps for their lack of precision and quality when representing scale and measured distances, although 20th century archeological excavations and findings of maps predating the 3rd century prove otherwise. There is also evidence that Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) was the first to establish the grid reference system in Chinese cartography.
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Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian has persisted over the centuries although some modern Western sources use Iranic/Iranian as a wider term that includes the term Persian as well as related Iranian languages and ethnic groups. However, these terms have been used both synonymously as well as in a complementary fashion since ancient times; as the Ancient Iranian peoples such as the Old Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians and Avesta peoples considered themselves to be part of the greater Iranian ethnic stock.
The term Persian translates to "from or of Persis" which is a region north of the Persian Gulf located in Pars, Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, united all other Iranian empires (such as the Medes and the Elamites), and expanded the Persian cultural and social influences by incorporating the Babylonian empire, and the Lydian empire. Although not the first Iranian empire, the Achaemenid empire is the first Persian empire well recognized by Greek and Persian historians for its massive cultural, military and social influences going as far as Athens, Egypt, and Libya.
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Princess Pingyang
Princess Pingyang (simplified Chinese: 平阳公主; traditional Chinese: 平陽公主; pinyin: Píngyáng Gōngzhǔ), formally Princess Zhao of Pingyang (平陽昭公主) (598 - 623) was the daughter of Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan), the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. She helped him to seize power and eventually take over the throne from Sui Dynasty by organizing an "Army of the Lady" (娘子軍), commanded by herself, in his campaign to capture the Sui capital Chang'an.
The future Princess Pingyang was the third daughter of Li Yuan the Duke of Tang, a hereditary duke during Sui Dynasty. She was his third daughter, but the only daughter of his wife Duchess Dou, who also bore four sons -- Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Xuanba (李玄霸), and Li Yuanji. Eventually, Li Yuan gave her in marriage to Chai Shao (柴紹), the son of Chai Shen (柴慎) the Duke of Julu.
In 617, Li Yuan, then the general in charge at Taiyuan was planning to rebel against Emperor Yang of Sui, by whom he had been imprisoned before. He sent messengers to his daughter and son-in-law Chai Shao, then at the Sui capital Chang'an, summoning them back to Taiyuan. Chai worried that they would not be able to escape together easily, and when he consulted her, she told him to go and that she, as a woman, would be able to hide more easily. He therefore secretly headed for Taiyuan and, after first meeting Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, whom Li Yuan had similarly recalled from Hedong (河東, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), reported to Taiyuan.
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Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping (Chinese: 太平公主; pinyin: Tàipíng Gōngzhǔ, lit. "Princess of Peace", personal name unknown) (died 2 August 713) was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong and was powerful during the reigns of her mother and her elder brothers Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong (both of whom reigned twice), particularly during Emperor Ruizong's second reign.
Eventually, however, a rivalry developed between her and her nephew, Emperor Ruizong's crown prince Li Longji, and after Emperor Ruizong yielded the throne to Li Longji (as Emperor Xuanzong) in 712, the conflict came to the political forefront, and in 713, Emperor Xuanzong, according to historical records, believing that she was planning to overthrow him, acted first, executing a large number of her allies and forcing her to commit suicide.
It is not known when Princess Taiping was born, but it is known that she was the youngest of six known children of Emperor Gaozong and his second wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian). In 670, when Empress Wu's mother Lady Yang died, Empress Wu had Princess Taiping become a Taoist nun to gain divine favor on behalf of her grandmother Lady Yang. At a later point, when Emperor Gaozong was negotiating a peace treaty with Tufan, the king of Tufan requested to marry Princess Taiping, and Emperor Gaozong declined — and, as an excuse, built a Taoist temple named Taiping Temple (太平觀) and commissioned her as the abbess of the temple.
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Princess Wencheng
Princess Wencheng (Tibetan: Mung-chang Kungco, Chinese: 文成公主, pinyin: Wénchéng Gōngzhǔ) (died 680) was a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of China's Tang Dynasty, who left China in 640, according to records, arriving the next year in Tibet to marry the thirty-seven year old Songtsän Gampo (605?–650 CE) the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet, in a marriage of state as part of a peace treaty along with large quantities of gold. She is popularly known in Tibet as Gyasa, or 'Chinese wife'. The princess is portrayed as a Buddhist and, along with Songtsän Gampo's Nepalese wife, Bhrikuti Devi, is said to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet. The details regarding Wencheng are scarce and there is uncertainty amongst historians as to whether she truly existed.[citation needed]
The Chinese records mention receiving an envoy in 634 from Songtsän Gampo wherein the king requested (Tibetan sources say demanded) to marry a Chinese princess and was refused. In 635/636 the Tibetan king's forces attacked and defeated the 'A zha people (Chinese: Tüyühün), who lived around Lake Koko Nor in present-day Qinghai, along an important trade route into China. After a campaign against China in 635–6 (OTA l. 607) (during which Chinese won) the Chinese emperor agreed (under threat of force, according to Tibetan histories) to marry a Chinese princess to king Songtsän Gampo as part of the diplomatic settlement. As a marriage of state, the union must be considered a success as peace between China and Tibet prevailed for the remainder of Songtsen Gampo's reign.
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Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.
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Shennong
Shennong (Chinese: t 神農, s 神农, p Shénnóng; Japanese: Shinno, 神農; Korean: 신농, Sinnong; Vietnamese: Thần Nông), which mean "Divine Farmer", also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains (t 五穀先帝, s 五谷先帝, p Wǔgǔxiāndì), was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived during the time of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, some 5,000 years ago. Shennong has been thought to have taught the ancient Chinese not only their practices of agriculture, but also the use of herbal drugs.
"Shennong" can also be taken to refer to his people, the Shennong-shi (t 神農氏, s 神农氏, p Shénnóngshì) or "Clan of Shinong". Since shì can mean both "clan" and "maiden name" and serve as a masculine honorific like "mister" or "sir", it is sometimes used in reference to his people, sometimes in reference to the individual.
In Chinese mythology Shennong, besides having taught humans the use of the plow together with other aspects of basic agriculture, the use of medicinal plants, and having been a god of the burning wind (perhaps in some relationship to the Yan Emperor mythos and/or slash-and-burn agriculture, in which the ash produced by fire fertilizes the fields), was sometimes said to be a progenitor to, or to have had appointed as one of his ministers, Chi You; and like him, they were both ox-headed, sharp-horned, bronze-foreheaded, and iron-skulled. One difference between mythology and science is exemplified in Chinese mythology: Shennong and Huangdi (often known as "the Yellow Emperor") were supposedly friends and fellow scholars, despite the 500 years or seventeen or eighteen generations between the first Shennong and Huangdi; and, that together they shared the alchemical secrets of medicine, immortality, and making gold.
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Shi Shen
Shi Shen (Chinese: 石申; Wade–Giles: Shih Shen, fl. 4th century BC) was a Chinese astronomer and contemporary of Gan De born in the State of Wei, also known as the Master Shi Shen (Shi Shenfu).
Shi is credited with positioning the 121 stars found in the preserved texts. Shen also made the earliest surviving undated record of sunspot observation, which is sometimes erroneously credited to Gan De. He assumed that these spots were eclipses that began at the center of the sun and spread outward. Although he was wrong, he recognised the spots for what they were – solar phenomena.
His works included the 8-volume Astronomy, the one-volume Celestial Map and the one-volume Star Catalogue of Shi. The latter two are now believed to be written by his school followers. Most of his works did not survive intact, but a few of his crucial writings were preserved in the Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era.
Shi Shen wrote the Shi Shen astronomy (石申天文, Shi Shen tienwen).
Gan De and Shi Shen are widely quoted across a number of astronomical texts after their time, though they should not be confused with other books sharing similar names that were not written by them. One example is the Star Manual of the Masters Gan and Shi (甘石星經, Gan Shi Xingjing), which was actually compiled by Ma Xian (馬顯) circa 579 AD as an appendix to a calendar treatise.
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Shi Siming
Shi Siming (史思明) (703 – 18 April 761), or Shi Sugan (史窣干), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who followed his childhood friend An Lushan in rebelling against Tang, and who later succeeded An Lushan's son An Qingxu as emperor of the Yan state that An Lushan established.
It is not known when Shi Sugan was born, other than that he was born one day before his friend An Lushan and that they grew up together. He was of Tujue extraction, and was said to be thin with smooth skin, with an impatient disposition. After both he and An grew up, they were both known for their bravery. However, he was poor and of low social station, and was looked down by the people of his locale. However, a Lady Xin, a daughter of local gentry, insisted on marrying him despite her family's opposition, and she was eventually successful in doing so.
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Silla
Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) (Korean pronunciation: [ɕilːa]) was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in Asian history. Although it was founded by King Park Hyeokgeose, who is also known to be the originator of the Korean family name Park (박, 朴), the dynasty was to see the Gyeongju Kim (김, 金) clan hold rule for most of its 992-year history. What began as a chiefdom in the Samhan confederacies, once allied with China, Silla eventually conquered the other two kingdoms, Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. Thereafter, Unified Silla or Later Silla, as it is often referred to, occupied most of the Korean Peninsula, while the northern part re-emerged as Balhae, a successor-state of Goguryeo. After nearly 1000 years of rule, Silla fragmented into the brief Later Three Kingdoms, handing over power to its successor dynasty Goryeo in 935.
From its founding until its growth into a full-fledged kingdom, Silla was recorded with various hanja phonetically approximating its native Korean name: 斯盧 (사로, Saro), 斯羅 (사라, Sara), 徐那(伐) (서나[벌], Seona[beol]), 徐耶(伐) (서야[벌], Seoya[beol]), 徐羅(伐) (서라[벌], Seora[beol]), and 徐伐 (서벌, Seobeol). In 503, King Jijeung standardized on the characters 新羅(신라), which in Modern Korean is pronounced "Shilla".
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Sima Guang
Sīmǎ Guāng (simplified Chinese: 司马光; traditional Chinese: 司馬光; pinyin: Sīmǎ Guāng; Wade–Giles: Ssu-ma Kuang) (1019–1086) was a Chinese historian, scholar, and high chancellor of the Song Dynasty, jinshi 1038.
Sima Guang was born in 1019 in present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi to a wealthy family, and obtained early success as a scholar and officer. When he was barely twenty, he passed the Imperial examination with the highest rank of jìnshì (進士 "metropolitan graduate"), and spent the next several years in official positions.
In 1064, Sima presented to Emperor Yingzong of Song a book of five volumes (巻), the Liniantu (歷年圖 "Chart of Successive Years"). It chronologically summarized events in Chinese history from 403 BCE to 959 CE, and was something like a prospectus for sponsorship of his ambitious project in historiography. These dates were chosen because 403 BCE was the beginning of the Warring States period, when the ancient State of Jin was subdivided, which eventually led to the establishment of the Qin Dynasty; and because 959 CE was the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period and the beginning of the Song Dynasty.
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Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese people are the majority population of the island of Sri Lanka. They constitute 74.5% of the Sri Lankan population and number approximately 15 million. The Sinhalese identity is based on language, historical heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a small but significant percentage of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity. The Sinhalese are mostly found in North central, Central, South and West Sri Lanka. According to legend they are the descendants of the exiled Prince Vijaya who arrived from North-East India to Sri Lanka in 543 BCE.
The Sinhalese are also known as "Hela" or "Sinhala". These synonyms find their origins in the two words Sinha (meaning "lion") and Hela (meaning "pristine"). The name Sinhala translates to "lion people" and refers to the myths regarding the descent of the legendary founder of the Sinhalese people, the prince Vijaya. The royal dynasty from ancient times on the island was the Sinha (Lion) royal dynasty and the word Sinha finds its origins here. Sri Lanka has got its old name "Sinhale" or "Heladiva" after Sinhalese who built up the civilization of the island. The former names of the country "Serendib", "Seylan" and "Ceylon" have derived from the old name "Sinhale". Another synonyms clarification for Sinhala is siw (four) Hela (Pristine). Raksha, Yaksha, Deva, Naga were the four powerful hela tribes.
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Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia ([pronunciation?]; Old Persian: Suguda-; Ancient Greek: Σογδιανή, Sogdianē; Persian: سغد Soġd; Tajik: Суғд, سغد Suġd; Uzbek: Sơģd; Chinese: 粟特 Sùtè) was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (i. 16). Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created. This region is listed second after Airyana Vaeja, Land of the Aryans, in the Zoroastrian book of Vendidad or "Videvdat", indicating the importance of this region from ancient times. Sogdiana, at different times, included territories around Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand and Shahrisabz in modern Uzbekistan. The inhabitants of Sogdiana were the Sogdians, an Eastern Iranian people who are among the ancestors of modern-day Tajik, Pashun and Yaghnobi peoples.
The Sogdian states, although never politically united, were centered around the main city of Samarkand. Sogdiana lay north of Bactria, east of Khwarezm, and southeast of Kangju between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and the Jaxartes (Syr Darya), embracing the fertile valley of the Zeravshan (ancient Polytimetus). Sogdian territory corresponds to the modern provinces of Samarkand and Bokhara in modern Uzbekistan as well as the Sughd province of modern Tajikistan.
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Somali people
Somalis (Somali: Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الصوماليون) are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Ethnic Somalis number around 15-17 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (more than 10 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Yemen (a little under 1 million), Kenya (900,000), Djibouti (464,600), and an unknown but large number live in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.
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Song Yingxing
Song Yingxing (Traditional Chinese:宋應星; Simplified Chinese:宋应星; Wade Giles: Sung Ying-Hsing; 1587-1666 AD), born in Yichun of Jiangxi, was a Chinese scientist and encyclopedist who lived during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was the author of an encyclopedia that covered a wide variety of technical subjects, including the use of gunpowder weapons. Comparing him to the famous French encyclopedist Denis Diderot, the British sinologist and historian Joseph Needham called Song Yingxing, "The Diderot of China."
Song Yingxing achieved only modest wealth and influence during his life. Born in 1587 to a gentry family of reduced circumstances, he participated in the imperial examinations, and passed the provincial test in 1615, at the age of 28. However, he was repeatedly unsuccessful in the metropolitan examination. Song sat for the test five times, the last being in 1631 at the age of 44. After this last failure, he held a series of minor positions in provincial government. The works for which Song is known today all date from 1636 to 1637. The repeated trips to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination likely provided him with the broad base of knowledge demonstrated in the works. Song retired from public life in 1644, after the fall of the Ming dynasty.
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Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city of Gao, where a Songhai state had existed since the 11th century. Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River in present day Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Songhai state has existed in one form or another for over a thousand years if one traces its rulers from the first settlement in Gao to its semi-vassal status under the Mali Empire through its continuation in Niger as the Dendi Kingdom.
The Songhai are thought to have settled at Gao as early as 800 CE, but did not establish it as the capital until the 11th century, during the reign of Dia Kossoi. However, the Dia dynasty soon gave way to the Sonni, proceeding the ascension of Sulaiman-Mar, who gained independence and hegemony over the city and was a forbear of Sonni Ali. Mar is often credited with wresting power away from the Mali Empire and gaining independence for the small Songhai kingdom at the time.
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Songtsän Gampo
Songtsän Gampo (Tibetan:
སྲོང་བཙན་སྒམ་པོ་, Wylie: Srong-btsan sGam-po, 569–649?/605–649?) was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (Tibetan: Bod; Chinese: 吐蕃; pinyin: Tǔbō / Tǔfán), by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese records, his name is given as Sōngzàngānbù (松贊干布) or Qìzōnglòngzàn (棄宗弄贊).
His mother, the queen, is identified as 'Bri-bza' Thod-dkar-ma. The dates of his birth and when he took the throne are not certain. In Tibetan accounts, it is generally accepted that he was born in in an ox-year, which means one of the following dates: 557, 569, 581, 583, 605 or 617 CE.) He is thought to have ascended the throne at age thirteen (twelve by Western reckoning), by this reckoning c. 629 CE.
There are difficulties with this position, however, and several earlier dates for the birth of Songtsän Gampo have been suggested, including 569, 593 or 605. The question must remain open.
It is said that Songtsän Gampo was born at Gyama, in Maldro (a region to the northeast of modern Lhasa), the son of the Yarlung king Namri Songtsen. The book The Holder of the White Lotus says that it is believed that he was a manifestation of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, of whom the Dalai Lama are similarly believed to be a manifestation of. He is also said to have had webbed hands and feet, a deformed face and odd skin; the early Tibetans saw him as a god and enthroned him. His identification as a cakravartin or incarnation of Avalokiteśvara began in earnest in the indigenous Buddhist literary histories of the 11th. century.
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Su Dingfang
Su Dingfang (traditional Chinese: 蘇定方; simplified Chinese: 苏定方; pinyin: Sū Dìngfāng; Wade–Giles: Su Tingfang) (591–667), formal name Su Lie (蘇烈) but went by the courtesy name of Dingfang, formally Duke Zhuang of Xing (邢莊公), was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who succeeded in destroying the Western Tujue in 657. He was born in Wuyi (武邑, in modern Hengshui, Hebei). Su Dingfang's victory over Western Tujue expanded the western borders of the Tang Empire to their farthest extent. He was also instrumental in conquering Baekje in 660.
Su Dingfang was born in 591, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. Toward the end of the reign of Emperor Wen's son and successor Emperor Yang of Sui, the empire was engulfed in agrarian rebellions, and Su Dingfang's father Su Yong (蘇邕) led a local militia in combating the agrarian rebels. Su Dingfang was then in his teenage years, and often served as part of Su Yong's forward troops. After Su Yong died, Su Dingfang took over the militia and continued to battle the agrarian rebels. According to Su Dingfang's biography in the Book of Tang, he was the one who defeated and killed one of the major rebel generals, Zhang Jincheng (張金稱), in battle. He also defeated another rebel general, Yang Gongqing (楊公卿).
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty-five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.
Turkic languages are spoken as a native language by some 165 to 200 million people; and the total number of Turkic speakers is over 300 million, including speakers of a second language. The Turkic language with the greatest number of speakers is Turkish proper, or Anatolian [and Balkan] Turkish, the speakers of which account for about 40% of all Turkic speakers.
Characteristic features of Turkish, such as vowel harmony, agglutination, and lack of grammatical gender, are universal within the Turkic family. There is also a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the various Oghuz languages, which include Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, Balkan Gagauz Turkish and Oghuz influenced Crimean Tatar.
The characteristic features of the Turkic languages are vowel harmony, extensive agglutination by means of suffixes and other affixes, and lack of noun classes or grammatical gender. Subject–object–verb word order is universal within the family. All of these distinguishing characteristics are shared with the Mongolic, Tungusic, and Korean language families, as well as (with the exception of vowel harmony) with Japonic, which are considered by some linguists to be genetically linked with the Turkic languages in an Altaic language family.
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Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in northern, central and western Asia, northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The term Turkic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people including existing societies such as the Turkish, Azerbaijani, Chuvashes, Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyzs, Turkmens, Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Bashkirs, Qashqai, Gagauzs, Yakuts, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, Karakalpaks, Karachays, Nogais and as well as past civilizations such as the Göktürks, Kumans, Kipchaks, Avars, Bulgars, Turgeshes, Khazars, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Mamluks, Timurids and possibly Huns and the Xiongnu.
The distribution of people of Turkic cultural background ranges from Siberia, across Central Asia, to Eastern Europe. As of 2011[update] the largest groups of Turkic people live throughout Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, in addition to Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Turkic people are found within Crimea, East Turkistan region of western China, northern Iraq, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, and the Balkans: Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, and former Yugoslavia. A small number of Turkic people also live in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Small numbers inhabit eastern Poland and the south-eastern part of Finland. There are also considerable populations of Turkic people (originating mostly from Turkey) in Germany, United States, and Australia, largely because of migrations during the 20th century.
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Uthman Ibn Affan
Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان, strict transliteration: ʻUthmān ibn ʻAffān) (c. 579 – 17 July 656) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third of the Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliphs.
Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraish tribe. He was a companion of Muhammad who assumed the role of leader (caliph) of the Muslim Empire at the age of 65 following Umar ibn al-Khattab. Under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars in 650 (present-day Iran), some areas of Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan) in 651 and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s. Some of Uthman's notable achievements were the economic reforms he introduced, and the compilation of the Qur'an into the unified, authoritative text that is known today.
Uthman was born in Ta’if, which is situated on a hill, and the presumption is that he was born during the summer months, since wealthy Meccans usually spent the hot summers in the cooler climate of Ta’if. He was born into the wealthy Umayyad (Banu Umayya) clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, seven years after Muhammad. Uthman's father, Affan, died young while travelling abroad but left a large inheritance to Uthman. Uthman followed the same profession as his father, and his business flourished, making him one of the richest men among the Qurayshi tribe.
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Uyghur people
The Uyghurs (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر, ULY: Uyghur; [ʔʊjˈʁʊː]; simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; pinyin: Wéiwú'ěr) are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. An estimated 80% of Xinjiang's Uyghurs live in the southwestern portion of the region, the Tarim Basin.
The largest community of Uyghurs outside Xinjiang in China is in Taoyuan County, in south-central Hunan province. Outside of China, significant diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities are found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey.
Uyghur is often pronounced /ˈwiːɡər/ by English speakers, though the most acceptable English pronunciation is ooy-goor. Several alternate romanizations also appear: Uighur, Uygur and Uigur. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region provincial government recommends that the generic ethnonym [ʔʊjˈʁʊː], adopted in the early 20th century for this Turkic people, be transcribed as "Uyghur".
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Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi (Ch.金剛智) (671–741) was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism.
Vajrabodhi was the second of three Vajrayana missionaries to eighth-century China. He was born of a South Indian brahmin family, and his father was a priest for the royal house. Vajrabodhi probably converted to Buddhism at the age of sixteen, although some accounts place him at the Buddhist institution of Nālandā at the age of ten.
He studied all varieties of Buddhism and was said to have studied for a time under the famous Buddhist logician Dharmakīrti. Under Santijnana, Vajrabodhi studied Vajrayāna teachings and was duly initiated into yoga.
Leaving India, Vajrabodhi traveled to Sri Lanka and Srivijaya (present-day Sumatra), where he apparently was taught a Vajrayāna tradition distinct from that taught at Nālandā. From Srivijaya he sailed to China via the escort of thirty-five Persian merchant-vessels, and by AD 720 was ensconced in the Jianfu Temple at the Chinese capital, Chang'an (present-day Xian). Accompanying him was his soon-to-be-famous disciple, Amoghavajra.
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Wang Xuance
Wang Xuance (Chinese: 王玄策 (pinyin wáng xuáncè), fl. 7th century) was a Tang Dynasty guard officer and diplomat. In 648, Tang Taizong sent him to India in response to Harshavardhana sending an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harshavardhana had died and the new king attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates. This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then mounting a joint of over 7,000 Nepalese mounted infantry and 1,200 Tibetan infantry and attack on the Indian state on June 16. The success of this attack won Xuance the prestigious title of the "Grand Master for the Closing Court." He also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China.
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Wei Zheng
Wei Zheng (Chinese: 魏徵; Wade–Giles: Wei Cheng) (580–643), courtesy name Xuancheng (玄成), formally Duke Wenzhen of Zheng (鄭文貞公), was a Chinese politician and the lead editor of the Book of Sui, composed in 636. He served as a chancellor of Tang Dynasty for about 13 years, during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
Wei was born to a poor family in modern Hebei, and joined Li Mi's rebellion against Sui Dynasty during his youth. After Li Mi's submission to Tang Dynasty, Wei became a Tang official and eventually served on the staff of Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince, the oldest son of Tang's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu. As such, he served against the interests of Li Jiancheng's younger brother Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, with whom Li Jiancheng was locked in an intense rivalry. In 626, Li Shimin ambushed and killed Li Jiancheng, and then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to yield the throne to him. Rather than punishing Wei, however, he was impressed with Wei's faithfulness to Li Jiancheng, and he made Wei an important official, eventually a chancellor. Wei's promotion to this position gave him far broader freedom to criticise others, particularly the emperor, than other officers of the court. He emphasized propriety and opposed overextending the state. His advice and criticism were not always accepted, but in accordance with Confucian etiquette, the emperor would concede to his suggestions with some regularity.
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Wu Daozi
Wu Daozi (or Wu Tao-tzu) (simplified Chinese: 吴道子; traditional Chinese: 吳道子; pinyin: Wú Dàozǐ; Wade–Giles: Wu Tao-tzu) (680–740) was a Chinese artist of the Tang Dynasty, famous for initiating new myths in his artwork.
Wu Daozi is considered to be the greatest Chinese painter in the Tang Dynasty. He is also considered by many Chinese to be the greatest Chinese painter of all time. Sadly, many of his works, mostly murals, have been destroyed.
The Eighty-Seven Celestials is considered to be one of the only authentic works remaining. The Presentation of Buddha was purchased from a German lady by another famous Chinese artist, only to end up in the hands of the Japanese. After extensive research and dating, it has been revealed that the work had been produced in the Song Dynasty. Many speculate that this is a reproduction of the original.
Many of his murals were created on temple walls. Since he was extremely famous, many monks asked him to create their temples walls. However, many of these murals were destroyed, along with the temples.
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Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (simplified Chinese: 武则天; traditional Chinese: 武則天; pinyin: Wǔ Zétiān, Mandarin pronunciation: [ù tsɯ̯ʌ̌ tʰi̯ɛ́n]) (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao (武曌), often referred to as Tian Hou (天后) during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu (武后, Wǔ Hòu) in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant (Huangdi). As de facto ruler of China first through her husband and her sons from 665 to 690, not unprecedented in Chinese history, she then broke all precedents when she founded her own dynasty in 690, the Zhou (周) (interrupting the Tang Dynasty), and ruled personally under the name Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant (聖神皇帝) and variations thereof from 690 to 705. Her rise and reign has been criticized harshly by Confucian historians but has been viewed in a different light after the 1950s.
Wu was born in Lizhou (利州) (modern day Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province) in 624, the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu of Tang’s reign. In the same year, a total eclipse of the Sun was visible across China. Her father Wu Shihuo was engaged in the timber business and the family was relatively well off. During the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan (李淵) (who would go on to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang), whilst holding appointments in both Hedong and Taiyuan, Li stayed in the Wu household many times and became close to the Wu family. After Li Yuan overthrew Emperor Yang, he was generous to the Wu family, providing them with money, grain, land and clothing. Once the Tang Dynasty became established, Wu Shihou held a succession of senior ministerial posts including governor of Yangzhou, Lizhou and Jingzhou (荊州) (modern day Jiangling County, Hubei Province).
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Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (Chinese: 匈奴; pinyin: Xiōngnú; Wade–Giles: Hsiung-nu; Middle Chinese Guangyun: [xi̯woŋ˥˩nu˩]) were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources. What little is known of their titles and names comes from Chinese transliterations of their language.
The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. Proposals by scholars include Turkic, Mongolic, Iranian,Yeniseian,Tocharian, and Uralic. The name Xiongnu may be cognate to the name Huns, but the evidence for this is controversial.
Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC report them as having created an empire under Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC. This empire stretched beyond the borders of modern-day Mongolia. After defeating the previously dominant Yuezhi in the 2nd century BC, Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of eastern Asia. They were active in southern Siberia, Mongolia, western Manchuria, and the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Relations between early Chinese dynasties and the Xiongnu were complex, with repeated periods of military conflict and intrigue alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties.
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Xu Jingzong
Xu Jingzong (許敬宗) (592 – September 20, 672), courtesy name Yanzu (延族), formally Duke Gong of Gaoyang (高陽恭公), was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Allied with Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), Xu Jingzong was exceedingly powerful during most of Emperor Gaozong's reign.
Xu Jingzong was born in 592, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. His ancestors had served as officials of the Southern Dynasties during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period for generations and claimed to be originally from Gaoyang Commandery (高陽, roughly modern Baoding) before moving south of the Yangtze River in light of Jin Dynasty's loss of the north. Xu Jingzong's father Xu Shanxin (許善心) was serving as an emissary of Chen Shubao, the last emperor of Chen Dynasty, to Emperor Wen, whose Sui Dynasty then ruled the north, in 589, when Sui destroyed Chen to end the Southern and Northern Dynasties period and reunify China. Emperor Wen was impressed with Xu Shanxin's profound sadness (rather than abject submission) at the fall of his state, and made him an official in his own administration.
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Xuanzang
Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; pinyin: Xuánzàng; Wade–Giles: Hsüan-tsang Sanskrit: ह्वेनसांग) (c. 602 – 664) was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period. Born in Henan province of China in 602 or 603, from boyhood he took to reading sacred books, including the Chinese Classics and the writings of the ancient sages.
While residing in the city of Luoyang, Xuanzang entered Buddhist monkhood at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dynasty, he went to Chengdu in Sichuan (Szechuan), where he was ordained at the age of twenty. He later traveled throughout China in search of sacred books of Buddhism. At length, he came to Chang'an, then under the peaceful rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Here Xuanzang developed the desire to visit India. He knew about Faxian's visit to India and, like him, was concerned about the incomplete and misinterpreted nature of the Buddhist scriptures that had reached China.
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Xue Zongzheng
Xue Zongzheng (Chinese: 薛宗正, born 1935) is a renowned Chinese historian, a director of Ancient History at the Institute of History in Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, and a professor of History at the Xinjiang Normal University. Born in Jinan, Shandong, he was graduated in history from the Peking University in 1958, specialized in the fronter policy of ancient China and the history of Central Asia. He published several books in the Chinese language.
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Xueyantuo
The Xueyantuo (薛延陀) (Seyanto, Se-yanto, Se-Yanto) or Syr-Tardush were an ancient Tiele people and khanate in central/northern Asia who were at one point vassals of the Gokturks, later aligning with China's Tang Dynasty against the Eastern Gokturks.
Initially the Xue and the Yantuo were two separate tribes. The Xue appeared earlier as Xinli but were not referred to again until the 7th century. After Yishibo, the Xueyantuo founded a short-lived Qaghanate over the steppe under Zhenzhu Khan, his son Duomi Khan and nephew Yitewushi Khan, the last of which eventually surrendered to the Chinese.
On March 27, 630, the Xueyantuo allied with the Chinese to defeat the Eastern Qaghanate in the Yin Mountains. Illig Qaghan escaped, but was handed over to the Chinese by his subordinate qaghan on May 2.
After Eastern Gokturk Illig Qaghan Ashina Duobi was defeated by Tang in 630, the Xueyantuo effectively took over control of the Eastern Gokturks former territory, at times submissive to Tang and at times warring with Tang and the subsequent khan of the Eastern Gokturks that Tang supported, the Qilibi Khan Ashina Simo.
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Yan Liben
Yan Liben (Chinese: 閻立本; pinyin: Yán Lìběn; Wade–Giles: Yen Li-pen) (c. 600-673), formally Baron Wenzhen of Boling (博陵文貞男), was a Chinese painter and government official of the early Tang Dynasty. His most renowned work is the Thirteen Emperors Scroll. He also painted the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion, under Emperor Taizong of Tang, commissioned in 643 to commemorate 24 of the greatest contributors to Emperor Taizong's reign, as well as 18 portraits commemorating the 18 great scholars who served Emperor Taizong when he was the Prince of Qin. Yan's paintings included painted portraits of various Chinese emperors from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) up until the Sui Dynasty (581-618) period. His works were highly regarded by the Tang writers Zhu Jingxuan and Zhang Yanyuan, who noted his paintings were "works among the glories of all times".
From the years 669 to 673, Yan Liben also served as a chancellor under Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong (r. 649-683).
It is not known when Yan Liben was born. His ancestors were originally from Mayi (馬邑, in modern Shuozhou, Shanxi), but had relocated to the Guanzhong region (i.e., the region around Chang'an) several generations prior to Yan Liben. Yan Liben's father Yan Pi (閻毘) was the deputy director of palace affairs during Sui Dynasty, and both Yan Liben and his older brother Yan Lide (閻立德) were known for their abilities in architectural matters and service to the imperial government in that area.
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Yan Zhenqing
Yan Zhenqing (simplified Chinese: 颜真卿; traditional Chinese: 顏真卿; pinyin: Yán Zhēnqīng; Wade–Giles: Yen Chench'ing) (709–785) was a leading Chinese calligrapher and a loyal governor of the Tang Dynasty. His artistic accomplishment in Chinese calligraphy parallels the greatest master calligraphers throughout the history, and his regular script style, Yan, is often imitated.
Yan Zhenqing was born in Wannian, near the Tang capital Chang'an, to a reputed academic family which served the court for many generations. One of his ancestors was Yan Zhitui, a scholar-official during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. His great-great grandfather Yan Shigu was a famous linguist while his father Yan Weizhen (顏惟貞) was Tang princes' private tutor and a great calligrapher himself. Under the influence of the family tradition and the strict instruction of his mother, Lady Yin (殷氏), Yan Zhenqing worked hard since his childhood and was well-read in literature and Confucianism.
In 734, at the age of 22, Yan Zhenqing qualified from the national wide imperial examination and was granted the title of Jinshi (a rough equivalent of the modern day doctorate). He then gained the rare opportunity of taking a special imperial examination that was set for candidates with extraordinary talents, again excelling in it. With outstanding academic background, Yan Zhengqing rose rapidly through the bureaucratic ladder: he was appointed vice-magistrate of Liquan District (醴泉尉), then later Investigating Censor (監察禦史) and Palace Censor (殿中侍禦史). His uprightness and outspoken style were hailed by the common people, but angered Grand Councilor Yang Guozhong; as a result, in 753, he was sent out of the capital as the governor of Pingyuan [disambiguation needed].
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Yan Zhitui
Yan Zhitui (Chinese: 顏之推; pinyin: Yán Zhītuī; Wade–Giles: Yen2 Chih1-T'ui1, 531–591) was a Chinese scholar, calligrapher, painter, musician, and government official who served four different Chinese states during the late Southern and Northern Dynasties: the Liang Dynasty in southern China, the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties of northern China, and their successor state that reunified China, the Sui Dynasty. Yan Zhitui was a supporter of Buddhism in China despite criticism by many of his Confucian-taught peers. Yan was also the first person in history to mention the use of toilet paper.
Yan Zhitui's ancestors were originally from Linyi in modern-day Shandong Province. After the fall of the Jin Dynasty's capital city of Chang'an, the Yan family migrated south below the Yangtze River in the year 317. At the Eastern Jin's new capital of Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing) the Yan family became prominent amongst the elite families. The Yan family provided many officials that served the governments of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the succeeding Liang Dynasty in southern China. There was one dissident of the Yan family, though; upon the transition of the Southern Qi to Liang regimes in the year 502, Yan Zhitui's grandfather refused to serve the Liang court out of continuing loyalty to the Southern Qi. When Emperor Wu of Liang assumed the throne and control over southern China, Zhitui's grandfather starved himself to death in an act of piety towards the dynasty he once served. Despite this act of devotion from his grandfather, Zhitui's father decided to serve Emperor Wu and the new Liang Dynasty.
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Yang Guifei
Yang Yuhuan (traditional Chinese: 楊玉環; simplified Chinese: 杨玉环; pinyin: Yáng Yùhuán) (26 June,[citation needed] 719 — 15 July 756), often known as Yang Guifei (simplified Chinese: 杨贵妃; traditional Chinese: 楊貴妃; pinyin: Yáng Guìfēi; literally "Imperial Consort Yang") (with Guifei being the highest rank for imperial consorts during her time), known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen (太真), was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years.
During the An Lushan Rebellion, as Emperor Xuanzong and his cortege were fleeing from the capital Chang'an to Chengdu, the emperor's guards demanded that he put Yang to death because they blamed the rebellion on her cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her family. The emperor capitulated and reluctantly ordered his attendant Gao Lishi to strangle Yang to death.
Yang was born in 719 during the Tang Dynasty, early in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Her great-great-grandfather Yang Wang (楊汪) was a key official during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, and, after the fall of the Sui Dynasty, served one of the contenders to succeed Sui, Wang Shichong; Yang Wang was then killed when Wang Shichong was defeated by Tang forces in 621. Yang Wang was from Huayin (華陰; in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), but his clan subsequently relocated to Yongle (永樂; in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi).
wn.com/Yang_Guifei -
Yeon Gaesomun
Yeon Gaesomun (Hangeul:연개소문 Hanja:淵 蓋蘇文 or 伊梨 柯須弥)(603–666) was a powerful and controversial military dictator and Generalissimo[citation needed] in the waning days of Goguryeo, which was one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Yeon is also remembered for a number of successful resistance in military conflicts with Tang Dynasty under Emperor Li Shimin and his son Emperor Gaozong. Their failure to Yeon was the only defeat that Emperor Li Shimin ever suffered on the battlefield.
Traditional Korean histories paint Yeon as a despotic leader, whose cruel policies and disobedience to his monarch led to the fall of Goguryeo. However, his achievements in defending Goguryeo against Chinese onslaughts have inspired Korean nationalist historians, most notably the 19th century Korean historian and intellectual Shin Chaeho, to term Yeon the greatest hero in Korean history. Many Korean scholars today echo Shin and praise Yeon as a soldier-statesman without equal in Korean history, though other scholars strongly disagree. Chinese and Japanese scholars continue to hold an unfavorable view of Yeon[citation needed].
wn.com/Yeon_Gaesomun -
Yeon Namsaeng
Yeon Namsaeng (연남생, 淵男生) (634–679) was the eldest son of the Goguryeo Dae Mangniji (대막리지, 大莫離支) Yeon Gaesomun (603?-665). In 665, Yeon Namsaeng succeeded his father and became the 2nd Dae Magniji of Goguryeo.
Yeon Namsaeng was said to have become Dae Magniji sometime before the death of Yeon Gaesomun, who is said to have stepped down from the position and took the honorary position of Tae Dae Magniji.
After the death of his father, Yeon Namsaeng prepared for war with the Tang, and set out on an inspection of the border fortresses in Yodong, and other fortresses throughout the kingdom. He left his brothers, Yeon Namgeon and Yeon Namsan, in charge of Pyeongyang before he left. Namgeon and Namsan took advantage of their brother's absence and took control of Pyeongyang and the Royal Courts. They falsely accused Namsaeng of being a traitor, and forced the King Bojang to order Namsaeng's arrest. With nowhere else to go, Namsaeng fled to Tang China at the urge of his son, who had escaped death at the hands of his uncles. Namsaeng fled to the Tang, and received a high position in the Tang military.
wn.com/Yeon_Namsaeng -
Yeon Namsan
Yeon Namsan (淵男産, 연남산) (639–701) was the third son of the Goguryeo military leader and dictator Yeon Gaesomun (603?–665).
The course of his career shadowed closely that of his elder brother Yeon Namsaeng. From an early age he was appointed Seonin (선인, 先人), and rising through the ranks of sohyeong (소형, 小兄), daehyeong (대형, 大兄) uidu daehyeong (위두대형, 位頭大兄) and junggun juhwal (중군주활, 中軍主活) (all obscure Goguryeo ranks whose exact nature is unknown.)
Following Yeon Gaesomun's death around 666 Namsan joined forces with his elder brother Yeon Namgeon against their oldest brother Namsaeng, whose ultimately fled to Tang China to seek its aid. However, upon the fall of Goguryeo in 668 Namsan submitted to Tang. In Tang Namsan was accorded the office of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments (Sizai shaoqing 司宰少卿).
Following his death from illness he was buried along with his eldest brother in Luoyang. His tomb stele was later discovered in the Tang eastern capital of Luoyang, along with that of Namsaeng.
wn.com/Yeon_Namsan -
Yi Xing
Yi Xing (Chinese: 一行; pinyin: Yī Xíng; Wade–Giles: I-Hsing, 683–727), born Zhang Sui (traditional Chinese: 張遂; simplified Chinese: 张遂), was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, mechanical engineer,and Buddhist monk of the Tang Dynasty (618–907). His astronomical celestial globe featured a clockwork escapement mechanism, the first in a long tradition of Chinese astronomical clockworks.
In the early 8th century, the Tang court put Yi Xing in charge of a terrestrial-astronomical survey. This survey had many purposes. It was established in order to obtain new astronomical data that would aid in the prediction of solar eclipses. The survey was also initiated so that flaws in the calendar system could be corrected and a new, updated calendar installed in its place. The survey was also essential in determining the measurement of the length of meridian arc. This would resolve the confusion created by the earlier practice of using the difference between shadow lengths of the sun observed at the same time at two places to determine the ground distance between them. This was the same process used by the ancient Greek Eratosthenes (276–196 BC).
wn.com/Yi_Xing -
Yuan Zhen
Yuan Zhen (Chinese: 元稹; pinyin: Yuán Zhěn; Wade–Giles: Yüan Chen) (779 – September 2, 831), courtesy name Weizhi (微之), was a politician of the middle Tang Dynasty, but is more known as an important Chinese writer and poet, particularly for work Yingying's Biography (鶯鶯傳), which was often adapted for other treatments, including operatic and musical ones. He was briefly chancellor during the reign of Emperor Muzong.
A native of Luoyang, Yuan Zhen was a descendant of Northern Wei's imperial family. He lost his father at the age of seven and moved to Fengxiang (鳳翔), near today's Baoji, Shanxi with his mother Lady Zheng (鄭氏). Yuan began his writings at the age of fifteen. He was a member of Bai Juyi's literary circle and a key figure in the ancient literature revival. He was a friend of Bai Juyi and also of Xue Tao, a courtesan and famous poet who might have been his lover. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen made a "Green Mountain pact" to retire together as Taoist recluses once they had accumulated enough funds, but Yuan's untimely death kept them from achieving that dream. In 813, Yuan wrote a grave inscription for Du Fu, which contains some of the earliest known praise for his predecessor's works.
wn.com/Yuan_Zhen -
Yuwen Huaji
Yuwen Huaji (宇文化及) (died 619) was a general of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against Emperor Yang of Sui, killing him. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao led Emperor Yang's elite Xiaoguo Army (驍果) north, but was then repeatedly defeated by Li Mi, Li Shentong (李神通), and finally Dou Jiande. Believing that his defeat was near and wanting to be emperor before his ultimate defeat, he poisoned Yang Hao and declared himself the emperor of a Xu state. Dou captured him in 619 and killed him.
It is not known when Yuwen Huaji was born. He was the oldest son of the Sui Dynasty official Yuwen Shu, a close associate of Yang Guang the Prince of Jin, the son of Sui's founder Emperor Wen, and played a large role in helping Yang Guang displacing his older brother Yang Yong as Emperor Wen's crown prince in 600. Thereafter, Yuwen Huaji served as a guard commander for Yang Guang's palace. It was said that he often rode strong horses at a high speed through the streets of the capital Chang'an, holding a sling and shooting stones from the sling, and several times, he was removed from his post for receiving bribes, but each time Yang Guang persuaded Emperor Wen to restore him, and Yang Guang gave a daughter (the Princess Nanyang) to Yuwen Huaji's brother Yuwen Shiji in marriage.
wn.com/Yuwen_Huaji -
Zhang Heng
Zhang Heng (simplified Chinese: 张衡; traditional Chinese: 張衡; pinyin: Zhāng Héng; Wade–Giles: Chang Hêng; AD 78–139) was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar from Nanyang, Henan. He lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220) of China. He was educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, and began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stances on certain historical and calendrical issues led to Zhang being considered a controversial figure, which prevented him from becoming an official court historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian, in Hebei. He returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
wn.com/Zhang_Heng -
Zhang Jiuling
Zhang Jiuling (simplified Chinese: 张九龄; traditional Chinese: 張九齡; Wade–Giles: Chang Chiu-ling) (673–740), courtesy name Zishou (子壽), nickname Bowu (博物), formally Count Wenxian of Shixing (始興文獻伯), was a prominent minister, noted poet and scholar of the Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.
Zhang Jiuling was born in 673, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. His family was from Qujiang (曲江) in Shao Prefecture (韶州, roughly modern Shaoguan, Guangdong), which was at the time a relatively remote area of the Tang empire. His family traced its ancestry to the Jin Dynasty (265-420) chancellor Zhang Hua. His great-grandfather Zhang Junzheng (張君政) served as the secretary general of Shao Prefecture, and therefore settled there. His grandfather Zhang Zizhou (張子冑) served as a county magistrate, and his father Zhang Hongyu (張弘愈) served as a county secretary general.
Zhang Jiuling was said to be intelligent in his childhood and capable in literary skills. In 685, when he was 12, he had an occasion to write a letter to Wang Fangqing, then the prefect of Guang Prefecture (廣州, roughly modern Guangzhou, Guangdong). Wang was impressed and commented, "This child will do great things in the future." When the official Zhang Shuo was exiled to the region, he met Zhang Jiuling and was impressed, and treated Zhang Jiuling with kindness. Zhang Jiuling later passed the imperial examinations and scored the highest on that occasion. He was made a Xiaoshu Lang (校書郎), a clerk at the imperial institute Hongwen Paviliion (弘文館). Later, while Li Longji was crown prince under his father Emperor Ruizong (r. 710-712), he summoned those in the empire known for their literary talent and personally examined them. Zhang scored the highest on this occasion as well, and was made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a consultant at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng).
wn.com/Zhang_Jiuling -
Zhang Xuan
Zhang Xuan (Chinese: 張萱; pinyin: Zhāng Xuān; Wade–Giles: Chang Hsüan) (713–755) was a Chinese painter who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618–907).
Zhang Xuan painted many pieces of art, one of his best known paintings is Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven Silk, of which a single copy survives painted by Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1125) in the early 12th century. He also painted the Spring Outing of the Tang Court, which was later remade by Li Gonglin.
Jo Mamma
wn.com/Zhang_Xuan -
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (Chinese: 朱熹, October 18, 1130, Youxi, Fujian Province, China – April 23, 1200, China) was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China. His contribution to Chinese philosophy included his assigning special significance to the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean (the Four Books), his emphasis on the investigation of things (gewu), and the synthesis of all fundamental Confucian concepts.
wn.com/Zhu_Xi -
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi (simplified Chinese: 庄子; traditional Chinese: 莊子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ; Wade–Giles: Chuang Tzŭ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi. His name Zhuangzi (English "Master Zhuang", with Zi being an honorific) is sometimes spelled Zhuang Tze, Zhuang Zhou, Chuang Tsu, Chuang Tzu, Chouang-Dsi, Chuang Tse, or Chuangtze.
The only account of the life of Zhuangzi is a brief sketch in chapter 63 of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, where he is described as a minor official from the town of Meng (in modern Anhui) in the state of Song, living in the time of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi (late 4th century BCE). Sima Qian writes:
The validity of his existence has been questioned by some, including himself (See below) and Russell Kirkland, who writes:
wn.com/Zhuangzi
RELEASE
ALBUMS
- A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty
- The Sun
- Nine Fourth
- Paradise
- Choice
- Soaring Bird
- The Moon Hangs High
- Don't Go Hiding
- Legend
- Internationale
- Screaming Train
- Joy Sad
- Knight of Romantic
- Drinking and Mad
- Pathway
- Ritual of Apotheosis
- Promises
- Trace Back
- Desperate Lie
- Song of the Wind
- Joy Sad (instrumental)
- Knight of Romantic (instrumental)
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Tang Dynasty - Pathway | Chinese Heavy Metal
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
China's first metal band Tang Dynasty song taken from their newest album Knight of Romantic
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Pathway_|_Chinese_Heavy_Metal
China's first metal band Tang Dynasty song taken from their newest album Knight of Romantic
【New Frontier HQ】 Chinese Civilization (13) The Tang Dynasty / Part 01
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 24:59
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Channel: CCTV-9 International Program: New Frontier Documentary Date: 2008-12-03 Description: Chinese Civilization (13) The Tang Dynasty / Part 01 Video Series ID: k2wQCetndxyJ2pncXTN6Yg==
http://wn.com/【New_Frontier_HQ】_Chinese_Civilization_13_The_Tang_Dynasty_Part_01
Channel: CCTV-9 International Program: New Frontier Documentary Date: 2008-12-03 Description: Chinese Civilization (13) The Tang Dynasty / Part 01 Video Series ID: k2wQCetndxyJ2pncXTN6Yg==
- published: 10 Oct 2011
- views: 6257
- author: cctv9documentary
Tang Dynasty Band for 2008 New Album Ethnic Prog Art Rock
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:14
- Updated: 14 Sep 2012
Tang Dynasty, the pioneering metal-prog rock band from China have been at it for almost two decades, and have had their share of fantastic success and harsh tragedy; they are spending the remainder of 2007 in the studio for the recording and pre-production of their upcoming new album slated for release in the peculiarly nationally important year of 2008.
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Band_for_2008_New_Album_Ethnic_Prog_Art_Rock
Tang Dynasty, the pioneering metal-prog rock band from China have been at it for almost two decades, and have had their share of fantastic success and harsh tragedy; they are spending the remainder of 2007 in the studio for the recording and pre-production of their upcoming new album slated for release in the peculiarly nationally important year of 2008.
- published: 05 Dec 2007
- views: 22194
- author: WangDianshi
A Dream Return To Tang Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:04
- Updated: 22 Dec 2012
The best rock n' roll in china! Tang Dynasty.
http://wn.com/A_Dream_Return_To_Tang_Dynasty
Tang and Song Dynasties of China
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:42
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
The Tang Dynasty from 618 AD to about 850 AD, and the Song Dynasty from about 960 to 1279 AD, were two of China's most successful era. THey constructed major infrastructure projects to unite the empire, and reached out across Asia to control the trade routes. But both were subject to the pressures of history.
http://wn.com/Tang_and_Song_Dynasties_of_China
The Tang Dynasty from 618 AD to about 850 AD, and the Song Dynasty from about 960 to 1279 AD, were two of China's most successful era. THey constructed major infrastructure projects to unite the empire, and reached out across Asia to control the trade routes. But both were subject to the pressures of history.
- published: 27 Jan 2011
- views: 6277
- author: Andrew Watt
Tang dynasty Chinese swords- the ancestor of Japanese swords
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:55
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
From Wikipedia, The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; Middle Chinese: dhɑng[1]) (18 June 618--4 June 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization — equal to or surpassing that of the earlier Han Dynasty — as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang Dao is one of greatest invention in Tang dynasty. here is two links that offer more information about Tang Dao. thomaschen.freewebspace.com www.shadowofleaves.com
http://wn.com/Tang_dynasty_Chinese_swords_the_ancestor_of_Japanese_swords
From Wikipedia, The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; Middle Chinese: dhɑng[1]) (18 June 618--4 June 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization — equal to or surpassing that of the earlier Han Dynasty — as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang Dao is one of greatest invention in Tang dynasty. here is two links that offer more information about Tang Dao. thomaschen.freewebspace.com www.shadowofleaves.com
- published: 27 Apr 2008
- views: 71046
- author: xiao789123
L'internationale
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:03
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
one of the most famous Chinese metal band 'Tang Dynasty' live in Germany 1993
http://wn.com/L'internationale
one of the most famous Chinese metal band 'Tang Dynasty' live in Germany 1993
- published: 27 Jul 2006
- views: 87942
- author: martin wang
Tang Dynasty Dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Tang Dynasty Dance in Xian and originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. Not sure how accurate it is but supposedly it has been recreated here in accordance with historical records though I imagine it has been highly stylized. Non the less very beautiful and entertaining.
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Dance
Tang Dynasty Dance in Xian and originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. Not sure how accurate it is but supposedly it has been recreated here in accordance with historical records though I imagine it has been highly stylized. Non the less very beautiful and entertaining.
- published: 11 Jul 2007
- views: 73299
- author: Allen Taylor
LIVE！ 唐朝（Tang Dynasty）选择1994 in Hong Kong
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:41
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
This is a fantastic live ever in Chinese Rock History！
http://wn.com/LIVE！_唐朝（Tang_Dynasty）选择1994_in_Hong_Kong
This is a fantastic live ever in Chinese Rock History！
- published: 08 Aug 2006
- views: 39382
- author: courtney050609
Returning to Han and Tang dynasty 重回汉唐
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:42
- Updated: 06 Aug 2012
This MV is made by the people who love Hans cultur---"Hans clothes". About Hans clothes(also called Hanfu): The hanfu is the dress of Han chinese people however during the Qing dynasty was lost.All people in the empire including manchus, mongols and Hans were required to shave their heads and wear manchu dress(Qipao) . So Hanfu was lost for a very long times. However many peolpe are doing their best to revive Hanfu.
http://wn.com/Returning_to_Han_and_Tang_dynasty_重回汉唐
This MV is made by the people who love Hans cultur---"Hans clothes". About Hans clothes(also called Hanfu): The hanfu is the dress of Han chinese people however during the Qing dynasty was lost.All people in the empire including manchus, mongols and Hans were required to shave their heads and wear manchu dress(Qipao) . So Hanfu was lost for a very long times. However many peolpe are doing their best to revive Hanfu.
- published: 24 Feb 2008
- views: 15145
- author: bechame911
Lecture 4B - Tang Dynasty Landscape Painting
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 71:20
- Updated: 02 Sep 2012
Landscape painting in the Tang dynasty takes two directions: a detailed and colorful style, and the beginnings of an ink-monochrome style. Examples of both in surviving copies and fragments, along with a tomb wall painting. a rubbing from a stone engraving, and the background landscape from a Buddhist image are shown and discussed in this lecture.
http://wn.com/Lecture_4B_Tang_Dynasty_Landscape_Painting
Landscape painting in the Tang dynasty takes two directions: a detailed and colorful style, and the beginnings of an ink-monochrome style. Examples of both in surviving copies and fragments, along with a tomb wall painting. a rubbing from a stone engraving, and the background landscape from a Buddhist image are shown and discussed in this lecture.
- published: 28 Feb 2011
- views: 2026
- author: UCBerkeleyEvents
The Evolution of Chinese Armor 3: Tang Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:59
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Tang Dynasty revised video: www.youtube.com The beast heads on the armor are believed to be the extra protection against axe and mace blows to the shoulder and belly area. 唐朝: en.wikipedia.org Musics: Fearless Opening Soundtrack Sakura Sakura by Rin References: 画说中国历代甲胄(Illustrate Ancient Chinese Armor) by David Chen 陈大威e9studio.com tieba.baidu.com www.madefuns.com www.360doc.com hfsword.com wiudwing.blogspot.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com steppes.proboards.com
http://wn.com/The_Evolution_of_Chinese_Armor_3_Tang_Dynasty
Tang Dynasty revised video: www.youtube.com The beast heads on the armor are believed to be the extra protection against axe and mace blows to the shoulder and belly area. 唐朝: en.wikipedia.org Musics: Fearless Opening Soundtrack Sakura Sakura by Rin References: 画说中国历代甲胄(Illustrate Ancient Chinese Armor) by David Chen 陈大威e9studio.com tieba.baidu.com www.madefuns.com www.360doc.com hfsword.com wiudwing.blogspot.com www.chinahistoryforum.com www.360doc.com steppes.proboards.com
- published: 09 Nov 2010
- views: 8505
- author: firearthwater
Tang Dynasty Opera in Xi'an - White Ramie cloth dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:29
- Updated: 18 Sep 2012
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Opera_in_Xi'an_White_Ramie_cloth_dance
China 中国: Xi'an Tang Dynasty Stage Show © 2008 Stephanos
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:42
- Updated: 04 Apr 2012
China: Xi'an 'Tang Dynasty Stage Show' Filmed by Wm Kai Stephanos ---on June 9, 2007 in Xi'an China © 2008 Wm Kai Stephanos To Download from iTunes- deimos.apple.com
http://wn.com/China_中国_Xi'an_Tang_Dynasty_Stage_Show_©_2008_Stephanos
China: Xi'an 'Tang Dynasty Stage Show' Filmed by Wm Kai Stephanos ---on June 9, 2007 in Xi'an China © 2008 Wm Kai Stephanos To Download from iTunes- deimos.apple.com
- published: 01 Mar 2008
- views: 10070
- author: unit45x
Tang Dynasty Show
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:18
- Updated: 20 Oct 2012
The Tang Dynasty Dinner Show is a performance of Chan' an music and dance originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. It has been recreated in accordance with historical records and displays ancient art and relics discovered in Xian.
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Show
The Tang Dynasty Dinner Show is a performance of Chan' an music and dance originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. It has been recreated in accordance with historical records and displays ancient art and relics discovered in Xian.
- published: 13 May 2007
- views: 5205
- author: martialartscinema
Tang Dynasty Dance Highlights
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:03
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Tang Dynasty Dance in Xian viewed while on vacation. This is some highlights from various dances they performed. I have another uploaded that shows an entire dance performance. These dances originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. Not sure how accurate it is but supposedly it has been recreated here in accordance with historical records though I imagine it has been highly stylized. Non the less very beautiful and entertaining.
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Dance_Highlights
Tang Dynasty Dance in Xian viewed while on vacation. This is some highlights from various dances they performed. I have another uploaded that shows an entire dance performance. These dances originated in China's Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. Not sure how accurate it is but supposedly it has been recreated here in accordance with historical records though I imagine it has been highly stylized. Non the less very beautiful and entertaining.
- published: 17 Jul 2007
- views: 7727
- author: Allen Taylor
Chinese Internationale - Rock version by Tang Dynasty
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:24
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
China
http://wn.com/Chinese_Internationale_Rock_version_by_Tang_Dynasty
Ancient Chinese Dance of Tang Dynasty II
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:50
- Updated: 24 Sep 2012
http://wn.com/Ancient_Chinese_Dance_of_Tang_Dynasty_II
Discovering China - The Tang Dynasty and Military Strategist Sun Bin
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:27
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
Hi and welcome to Discovering China, coming up this week... A glimpse at the Golden Age of Chinese civilization; And the story of one of China's great military strategists. Although Chinese history is 5000 years long, historians do agree on a definite Golden Age. Ben Hedges now brings you the story of the Tang Dynasty. We now feature yet another of China's outstanding military figures. Margaret Trey introduces you to Sun Bin—the famous crippled military general, strategist, and philosopher from the fourth Century BC. He's the author of Sun Bin's Art of War—not to be confused with Sun Zi's Art of War. Discovering China is again moving to a new YouTube channel, NTD on China. This is NTD's dedicated China channel. Here's a glimpse of what you can catch on the new channel. That's all for this week. On next weeks show, you can catch some of the best of our 2012 season.
http://wn.com/Discovering_China_The_Tang_Dynasty_and_Military_Strategist_Sun_Bin
Hi and welcome to Discovering China, coming up this week... A glimpse at the Golden Age of Chinese civilization; And the story of one of China's great military strategists. Although Chinese history is 5000 years long, historians do agree on a definite Golden Age. Ben Hedges now brings you the story of the Tang Dynasty. We now feature yet another of China's outstanding military figures. Margaret Trey introduces you to Sun Bin—the famous crippled military general, strategist, and philosopher from the fourth Century BC. He's the author of Sun Bin's Art of War—not to be confused with Sun Zi's Art of War. Discovering China is again moving to a new YouTube channel, NTD on China. This is NTD's dedicated China channel. Here's a glimpse of what you can catch on the new channel. That's all for this week. On next weeks show, you can catch some of the best of our 2012 season.
- published: 22 Dec 2012
- views: 237
- author: NTDonChina
Tang Dynasty Dinner Show - White Sleeve Dance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:43
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
The second number performed by the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show in Xi'an, China. The program description says: "This is a kind of folk dance which was very popular at the imperial court in the Tang Dynasty. It originated from the Wu Kingdom, today JiangSu province, as early as the Jin Dynasty (AD 256-316) and became very popular in China during the Tang Dynasty. In ancient China, ramie was the main material used to make the long sleeves for dancing. The background song is 'On the White Ramie,' written by Li Bai, a very famous poet in the Tang Dynasty."
http://wn.com/Tang_Dynasty_Dinner_Show_White_Sleeve_Dance
The second number performed by the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show in Xi'an, China. The program description says: "This is a kind of folk dance which was very popular at the imperial court in the Tang Dynasty. It originated from the Wu Kingdom, today JiangSu province, as early as the Jin Dynasty (AD 256-316) and became very popular in China during the Tang Dynasty. In ancient China, ramie was the main material used to make the long sleeves for dancing. The background song is 'On the White Ramie,' written by Li Bai, a very famous poet in the Tang Dynasty."
- published: 03 Aug 2010
- views: 23428
- author: impsythealmighty
Introduction: New Tang Dynasty Television
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:11
- Updated: 19 Oct 2012
A brief overview of our English programming For more information visit: english.ntdtv.com
http://wn.com/Introduction_New_Tang_Dynasty_Television
A brief overview of our English programming For more information visit: english.ntdtv.com
- published: 03 Aug 2006
- views: 19635
- author: NTDTV
Classical Chinese Poetry - Tang Libai
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:31
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
For higher resolution watch ntdtv.org to watch more on youtube : youtube.com choose playlist and then "Journey to the east" The Tang Dynasty, from 618 to 907 AD, is regarded as one of the most prosperous dynasties in China's long history. it was marked by a strong and benevolent rule, successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion, and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style. It was also the golden age of Chinese art and literature. Shi, the classical form of Chinese poetry, developed two thousand years ago in the late Han Dynasty, reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty. Most Tang poems cosist of four or eight lines, with five and seven Chinese characters in each line and follow certain regulations. In this video is a famous peom of that time.
http://wn.com/Classical_Chinese_Poetry_Tang_Libai
For higher resolution watch ntdtv.org to watch more on youtube : youtube.com choose playlist and then "Journey to the east" The Tang Dynasty, from 618 to 907 AD, is regarded as one of the most prosperous dynasties in China's long history. it was marked by a strong and benevolent rule, successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion, and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style. It was also the golden age of Chinese art and literature. Shi, the classical form of Chinese poetry, developed two thousand years ago in the late Han Dynasty, reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty. Most Tang poems cosist of four or eight lines, with five and seven Chinese characters in each line and follow certain regulations. In this video is a famous peom of that time.
- published: 28 Feb 2008
- views: 14564
- author: NTDTV
New Tang Dynasty (NTD)Television
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:06
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
About New Tang Dynasty (NTD)Television For more news and videos visit ☛ english.ntdtv.com Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ me.lt Overview Headquartered in New York City, New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television serves more than 100 million potential viewers in China and around the world. Founded by Chinese Americans, and rooted in traditional Chinese culture, NTD serves as a unique bridge between the East and the West. NTD News, the company's flagship program, strives to provide insightful coverage of China with the highest ethical standards of Western journalism. NTD News broadcasts directly into parts of mainland China via satellite, providing a truthful, uncensored Chinese-language alternative to China's state-run media. NTD News also provides its global viewers with important news about China and the rest of the world in more than a dozen non-Chinese languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Persian, and Hebrew. In addition to news, NTD promotes traditional Chinese arts and culture through a wide variety of TV shows and events. NTD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization primarily funded by individual donations. Mission & Background NTD's mission is to: • Bring truthful and uncensored information into and out of China • Restore and promote traditional Chinese culture and values • Facilitate mutual understanding between the East and West NTD seeks to be the world's most trusted authority on news and information about China. Besides NTD, no ...
http://wn.com/New_Tang_Dynasty_NTDTelevision
About New Tang Dynasty (NTD)Television For more news and videos visit ☛ english.ntdtv.com Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ me.lt Overview Headquartered in New York City, New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television serves more than 100 million potential viewers in China and around the world. Founded by Chinese Americans, and rooted in traditional Chinese culture, NTD serves as a unique bridge between the East and the West. NTD News, the company's flagship program, strives to provide insightful coverage of China with the highest ethical standards of Western journalism. NTD News broadcasts directly into parts of mainland China via satellite, providing a truthful, uncensored Chinese-language alternative to China's state-run media. NTD News also provides its global viewers with important news about China and the rest of the world in more than a dozen non-Chinese languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Persian, and Hebrew. In addition to news, NTD promotes traditional Chinese arts and culture through a wide variety of TV shows and events. NTD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization primarily funded by individual donations. Mission & Background NTD's mission is to: • Bring truthful and uncensored information into and out of China • Restore and promote traditional Chinese culture and values • Facilitate mutual understanding between the East and West NTD seeks to be the world's most trusted authority on news and information about China. Besides NTD, no ...
- published: 20 Jun 2011
- views: 8843
- author: NTDTV
photo: AP / Virginie Nguyen Huang
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For other uses, see Tang Dynasty (disambiguation).
| Tang 唐 |
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 |
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| Capital | Chang'an (618–904) Luoyang (904–907) |
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| Language(s) | Middle Chinese | ||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion | ||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||
| - Li Yuan takes over the throne of the Sui Dynasty | June 18, 618 | ||||||||||||||||||
| - disestablished by Wu Zetian | October 16, 690 | ||||||||||||||||||
| - Re-established | March 3, 705 | ||||||||||||||||||
| - Zhu Quanzhong usurps authority; the end of Tang rule | June 1, 907 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||
| - 715 est.[1] | 5,400,000 km2 (2,084,952 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||
| - 866 est. | 3,700,000 km2 (1,428,578 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||
| - 7th century est. | 50,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| - 9th century est. | 80,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Chinese coin, Chinese cash | ||||||||||||||||||
|
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| The Tang Dynasty was disrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne. | |||||||||||||||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANCIENT | |||||||
| 3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors | |||||||
| Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC | |||||||
| Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC | |||||||
| Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BC | |||||||
| Western Zhou | |||||||
| Eastern Zhou | |||||||
| Spring and Autumn Period | |||||||
| Warring States Period | |||||||
| IMPERIAL | |||||||
| Qin Dynasty 221 BC–206 BC | |||||||
| Han Dynasty 206 BC–220 AD | |||||||
| Western Han | |||||||
| Xin Dynasty | |||||||
| Eastern Han | |||||||
| Three Kingdoms 220–280 | |||||||
| Wei, Shu and Wu | |||||||
| Jin Dynasty 265–420 | |||||||
| Western Jin | 16 Kingdoms 304–439 |
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| Eastern Jin | |||||||
| Southern and Northern Dynasties 420–589 |
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| Sui Dynasty 581–618 | |||||||
| Tang Dynasty 618–907 | |||||||
| (Second Zhou 690–705) | |||||||
| 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms 907–960 |
Liao Dynasty 907–1125 |
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| Song Dynasty 960–1279 |
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| Northern Song | W. Xia | ||||||
| Southern Song | Jin | ||||||
| Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 | |||||||
| Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 | |||||||
| Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 | |||||||
| MODERN | |||||||
| Republic of China 1912–1949 | |||||||
| People's Republic of China 1949–present |
Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949–present |
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The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; IPA: [tʰɑ̌ŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ]; Middle Chinese: Dâng) (June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.
The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.[2][3][4]a[›] Yet, even when the central government was breaking down and unable to compile an accurate census of the population in the 9th century, it is estimated that the population had grown by then to about 80 million people.[5][6] With its large population base, the dynasty was able to raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inner Asia and the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it indirectly controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful cultural influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
The Tang Dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability, except during the An Shi Rebellion and the decline of central authority in the latter half of the dynasty. Like the previous Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty maintained a civil service system by drafting officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of regional military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era; it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry.[7] Two of China's most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Zhou Fang. There was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works.
There were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became a major influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state and decline in influence. Although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. The weakened central government largely withdrew from managing the economy, though the country's mercantile affairs stayed intact and commercial trade continued to thrive regardless.
Contents
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History[link]
Establishment[link]
Main article: Transition from Sui to Tang
The Li family belonged to the northwest military aristocracy prevalent during the reign of the Sui emperors.[8][9] The mothers of both Emperor Yang of Sui (r. 604–617) and the founding emperor of Tang were sisters, making these two emperors of different dynasties first cousins.[2] Li Yuan (later to become Emperor Gaozu of Tang, r. 618–626) was the Duke of Tang and former governor of Taiyuan when other government officials were fighting off bandit leaders in the collapse of the Sui Empire, caused in part by a failed Korean campaign.[8][10] With prestige and military experience, he later rose in rebellion along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang (d. 623) who raised her own troops and commanded them.[11] In 617, Li Yuan occupied Chang'an and acted as regent over a puppet child emperor of the Sui, relegating Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang, or retired emperor/father of the present emperor.[11] With the news of Emperor Yang's murder by his general Yuwen Huaji (d. 619), on June 18, 618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang.[11][12]
Li Yuan ruled until 626 before being forcefully deposed by his son Li Shimin, Prince of Qin. Li Shimin had commanded troops since the age of 18, had prowess with a bow, sword, lance, and was known for his effective cavalry charges.[2][13] Fighting a numerically superior army, he defeated Dou Jiande (573–621) at Luoyang in the Battle of Hulao on May 28, 621.[14][15] In a violent elimination of royal family due to fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushed and killed two of his brothers, Li Yuanji (b. 603) and Crown Prince Li Jiancheng (b. 589) in the Xuanwu Gate Incident on July 2, 626.[16] Shortly thereafter, his father abdicated in his favor and Li Shimin ascended the throne. He is conventionally known by his temple name Taizong (唐太宗). Although killing two brothers and deposing his father contradicted the Confucian value of filial piety,[16] Taizong showed himself to be a capable leader who listened to the advice of the wisest members of his council.[2] In 628, Emperor Taizong held a Buddhist memorial service for the casualties of war, and in 629 had Buddhist monasteries erected at the sites of major battles so that monks could pray for the fallen on both sides of the fight.[17] This was during the campaign against Eastern Tujue, a Göktürk khanate that was destroyed after the capture of Jiali Khan Ashini Duobi by the famed Tang military officer Li Jing (571–649), who later became a Chancellor of the Tang Dynasty. With this victory, the Turks accepted Taizong as their Khagan, or Great Khan (天可汗), in addition to his rule as the Son of Heaven.[18][19]
Administration and politics[link]
Initial reforms[link]
Taizong set out to solve internal problems within the government which had constantly plagued past dynasties. Building upon the Sui legal code, he issued a new legal code that subsequent Chinese dynasties would model theirs upon, as well as neighboring polities in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.[2] The earliest law code to survive though was the one established in the year 653, which was divided into 500 articles specifying different crimes and penalties ranging from ten blows with a light stick, one hundred blows with a heavy rod, exile, penal servitude, or execution.[20] The legal code clearly distinguished different levels of severity in meted punishments when different members of the social and political hierarchy committed the same crime.[21] For example, the severity of punishment was different when a servant or nephew killed a master or an uncle than when a master or uncle killed a servant or nephew.[21] The Tang Code was largely retained by later codes such as the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) code of 1397,[22] yet there were several revisions in later times, such as improved property rights for women during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).[23][24]
The Tang had three departments (省, shěng), which were obliged to draft, review, and implement policies respectively. There were also six ministries (部, bù) under the administrations that implemented policy, each of which was assigned different tasks. These divisional state bureaus included the personnel administration, finance, rites, military, justice, and public works—an administrative model which would last until the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).[25] Although the founders of the Tang related to the glory of the earlier Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), the basis for much of their administrative organization was very similar to the previous Southern and Northern Dynasties.[2] The Northern Zhou (557–581) divisional militia (fubing) was continued by the Tang government, along with farmer-soldiers serving in rotation from the capital or frontier in order to receive appropriated farmland. The equal-field system of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534) was also kept, although there were a few modifications.[2]
Although the central and local governments kept an enormous number of records about land property in order to assess taxes, it became common practice in the Tang for literate and affluent people to create their own private documents and signed contracts.[26] These had their own signature and that of a witness and scribe in order to prove in court (if necessary) that their claim to property was legitimate.[26] The prototype of this actually existed since the ancient Han Dynasty, while contractual language became even more common and embedded into Chinese literary culture in later dynasties.[26]
The center of the political power of the Tang was the capital city of Chang'an (modern Xi'an), where the emperor maintained his large palace quarters, and entertained political emissaries with music, sports, acrobatic stunts, poetry, paintings, and dramatic theater performances. The capital was also filled with incredible amounts of riches and resources to spare. When the Chinese prefectural government officials traveled to the capital in the year 643 to give the annual report of the affairs in their districts, Emperor Taizong discovered that many had no proper quarters to rest in, and were renting rooms with merchants.[27] Therefore, Emperor Taizong ordered the government agencies in charge of municipal construction to build every visiting official his own private mansion in the capital.[27]
Imperial examinations[link]
Main article: Imperial examination
Following the Sui Dynasty's example, the Tang abandoned the nine-rank system in favor of a large civil service system.[28] Students of Confucian studies were potential candidates for the imperial examinations, the graduates of which could be appointed as state bureaucrats in the local, provincial, and central government. There were two types of exams that were given, mingjing ('illuminating the classics examination') and jinshi ('presented scholar examination').[29] The mingjing was based upon the Confucian classics, and tested the student's knowledge of a broad variety of texts.[29] The jinshi tested a student's literary abilities in writing essay-style responses to questions on matters of governance and politics, as well as their skills in composing poetry.[30] Candidates were also judged on their skills of deportment, appearance, speech, and level of skill in calligraphy, all of which were subjective criteria that allowed the already wealthy members of society to be chosen over ones of more modest means who were unable to be educated in rhetoric or fanciful writing skills.[31] There was a disproportionate number of civil officials coming from aristocratic as opposed to non-aristocratic families.[31] The exams were open to all male subjects whose fathers were not of the artisan or merchant classes,[32] although having wealth or noble status was not a prerequisite in receiving a recommendation.[31] In order to promote widespread Confucian education, the Tang government established state-run schools and issued standard versions of the Five Classics with selected commentaries.[21]
This competitive procedure was designed to draw the best talent into government. But perhaps an even greater consideration for the Tang rulers, aware that imperial dependence on powerful aristocratic families and warlords would have destabilizing consequences, was to create a body of career officials having no autonomous territorial or functional power base. The Tang law code ensured equal division of inherited property amongst legitimate heirs, allowing a bit of social mobility and preventing the families of powerful court officials in becoming landed nobility through primogeniture.[33] As it turned out, these scholar-officials acquired status in their local communities and in family ties, while they also shared values that connected them to the imperial court. From Tang times until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, scholar-officials functioned often as intermediaries between the grassroots level and the government. Yet the potential of a widespread examination system was not fully realized until the Song Dynasty, where the merit-driven scholar official largely shed his aristocratic habits and defined his social status through the examination system.[34][35][36] As historian Patricia Ebrey states of the Song period scholar-officials:
The examination system, used only on a small scale in Sui and Tang times, played a central role in the fashioning of this new elite. The early Song emperors, concerned above all to avoid domination of the government by military men, greatly expanded the civil service examination system and the government school system.—[37]
Nevertheless, the Sui and Tang dynasties institutionalized and set the foundations for the civil service system and this new elite class of exam-drafted scholar-officials.
Religion and politics[link]
From the outset, religion played a role in Tang politics. In his bid for power, Li Yuan had attracted a following by claiming descent from the Daoist sage Laozi (fl. 6th century BC).[38] People bidding for office would have monks from Buddhist temples pray for them in public, in return for cash donations or gifts if the person was to be selected. Before the persecution of Buddhism in the 9th century, Buddhism and Daoism were accepted side by side, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (r. 712–56) invited monks and clerics of both religions to his court.[39] At the same time Xuanzong exalted the ancient Laozi by granting him grand titles, wrote commentary on the Daoist Laozi, set up a school to prepare candidates for examinations on Daoist scriptures, and called upon the Indian monk Vajrabodhi (671–741) to perform Tantric rites to avert a drought in the year 726.[39] In 742 Emperor Xuanzong personally held the incense burner during the ceremony of the Ceylonese monk Amoghavajra (705–74) reciting "mystical incantations to secure the victory of Tang forces."[39] While religion played a role in politics, politics also played a role in religion. In the year 714, Emperor Xuanzong forbade shops and vendors in the city of Chang'an to sell copied Buddhist sutras, instead giving the Buddhist clergy of the monasteries the sole right to distribute sutras to the laity.[40] In the previous year of 713, Emperor Xuanzong had liquidated the highly lucrative Inexhaustible Treasury, which was run by a prominent Buddhist monastery in Chang'an. This monastery collected vast amounts of money, silk, and treasures through multitudes of anonymous people's repentances, leaving the donations on the monastery's premise.[41] Although the monastery was generous in donations, Emperor Xuanzong issued a decree abolishing their treasury on grounds that their banking practices were fraudulent, collected their riches, and distributed the wealth to various other Buddhist monasteries, Daoist abbeys, and to repair statues, halls, and bridges in the city.[41]
Taxes and the census[link]
The Tang Dynasty government attempted to create an accurate census of the size of their empire's population, mostly for effective taxation and matters of military conscription for each region. The early Tang government established both the grain tax and cloth tax at a relatively low rate for each household under the empire. This was meant to encourage households to enroll for taxation and not avoid the authorities, thus providing the government with the most accurate estimate possible.[2] In the census of 609, the population was tallied by efforts of the government at a size of 9 million households, or about 50 million people.[2] Again, the Tang census of the year 742 approximated the size China's population to about 50 million people.[4] Patricia Ebrey writes that even if a rather significant number of people had avoided the registration process of the tax census, the population size during the Tang had not grown significantly since the earlier Han Dynasty (the census of the year 2 recording a population of roughly 58 million people in China).[2][42] S.A.M. Adshead disagrees, estimating that there were about 75 million people by 750.[43]
In the Tang census of the year 754, there were 1,859 cities, 321 prefectures, and 1,538 counties throughout the empire.[44] Although there were many large and prominent cities during the Tang, the rural and agrarian areas comprised the majority of China's population at some 80 to 90%.[45] There was also a dramatic migratory shift of the population from northern to southern China, as the North held 75% of the overall population at the dynasty's inception, but by its end was reduced to 50%.[46]
Chinese population size would not dramatically increase until the Song Dynasty period, where the population doubled to 100 million people due to extensive rice cultivation in central and southern China, coupled with rural farmers holding more abundant yields of food that they could easily provide the growing market.[47]
Military and foreign policy[link]
Further information: Imperial Guards (Tang Dynasty)
Protectorates and tributaries[link]
The 7th century and first half of the 8th century is generally considered the zenith era of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Tang Xuanzong brought the Middle Kingdom to its golden age while the Silk Road thrived, with sway over Indochina in the south, and to the west Tang China was master of the Pamirs (modern-day Tajikistan) and protector of Kashmir bordering Persia.[48]
Some of the kingdoms paying tribute to the Tang Dynasty included Kashmir, Nepal, Khotan, Kucha, Kashgar, Japan, Korea, Champa, and kingdoms located in Amu Darya and Syr Darya valley.[49][50] Turkic nomads addressed the Emperor of Tang China as Tian Kehan.[19] After the widespread Göktürk revolt of Shabolüe Khan (d. 658) was put down at Issyk Kul in 657 by Su Dingfang (591–667), Emperor Gaozong established several protectorates governed by a Protectorate General or Grand Protectorate General, which extended the Chinese sphere of influence as far as Herat in Western Afghanistan.[51] Protectorate Generals were given a great deal of autonomy to handle local crises without waiting for central admission. After Xuanzong's reign, military governors (jiedushi) were given enormous power, including the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes, and pass their titles on hereditarily. This is commonly recognized as the beginning of the fall of Tang's central government.[52][53]
Soldiers and conscription[link]
By the year 737, Emperor Xuanzong discarded the policy of conscripting soldiers that were replaced every three years, replacing them with long-service soldiers who were more battle-hardened and efficient.[54] It was more economically feasible as well, since training new recruits and sending them out to the frontier every three years drained the treasury.[54] By the late 7th century, the fubing troops began abandoning military service and the homes provided to them in the equal-field system. The supposed standard of 100 mu of land allotted to each family was in fact decreasing in size in places where population expanded and the wealthy bought up most of the land.[55] Hard-pressed peasants and vagrants were then induced into military service with benefits of exemption from both taxation and corvée labor service, as well as provisions for farmland and dwellings for dependents who accompanied soldiers on the frontier.[56] By the year 742 the total number of enlisted troops in the Tang armies had risen to about 500,000 men.[54]
Turkic and Western regions[link]
Main articles: Protectorate General to Pacify the West, Protectorate General to Pacify the North, and Inner Asia during the Tang Dynasty
The Sui and Tang carried out very successful military campaigns against the steppe nomads. Chinese foreign policy to the north and west now had to deal with Turkic nomads, who were becoming the most dominant ethnic group in Central Asia.[58][59] To handle and avoid any threats posed by the Turks, the Sui government repaired fortifications and received their trade and tribute missions.[30] They sent royal princesses off to marry Turkic clan leaders, a total of four of them in 597, 599, 614, and 617. The Sui stirred trouble and conflict amongst ethnic groups against the Turks.[60][61] As early as the Sui Dynasty, the Turks had become a major militarized force employed by the Chinese. When the Khitans began raiding northeast China in 605, a Chinese general led 20,000 Turks against them, distributing Khitan livestock and women to the Turks as a reward.[3] On two occasions between 635 to 636, Tang royal princesses were married to Turk mercenaries or generals in Chinese service.[61] Throughout the Tang Dynasty until the end of 755, there were approximately ten Turkic generals serving under the Tang.[62][63] While most of the Tang army was made of fubing Chinese conscripts, the majority of the troops led by Turkic generals were of non-Chinese origin, campaigning largely in the western frontier where the presence of fubing troops was low.[64] Some "Turkic" troops were nomadisized Han Chinese, a desinicized people.[65]
Civil war in China was almost totally diminished by 626, along with the defeat in 628 of the Ordos Chinese warlord Liang Shidu; after these internal conflicts, the Tang began an offensive against the Turks.[66] In the year 630, Tang armies captured areas of the Ordos Desert, modern-day Inner Mongolia province, and southern Mongolia from the Turks.[3][67] After this military victory, Emperor Taizong won the title of Great Khan amongst the various Turks in the region who pledged their allegiance to him and the Chinese empire (with several thousand Turks traveling into China to live at Chang'an). On June 11, 631, Emperor Taizong also sent envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to persuade the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners who were captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier; this embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China.[68][69]
While the Turks were settled in the Ordos region (former territory of the Xiongnu), the Tang government took on the military policy of dominating the central steppe. Like the earlier Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty (along with Turkic allies) conquered and subdued Central Asia during the 640s and 650s.[30] During Emperor Taizong's reign alone, large campaigns were launched against not only the Göktürks, but also separate campaigns against the Tuyuhun, the Tufan, the Xiyu states, and the Xueyantuo.
The Tang Empire competed with the Tibetan Empire for control of areas in Inner and Central Asia, which was at times settled with marriage alliances such as the marrying of Princess Wencheng (d. 680) to Songtsän Gampo (d. 649).[70][71] A Tibetan tradition mentions that after Songtsän Gampo's death in 649 C.E., Chinese troops captured Lhasa.[72] The Tibetan scholar Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa believes that the tradition is in error and that "those histories reporting the arrival of Chinese troops are not correct" and claims that the event is mentioned neither in the Chinese annals nor in the manuscripts of Dunhuang.[73] There was a long string of conflicts with Tibet over territories in the Tarim Basin between 670–692 and in 763 the Tibetans even captured the capital of China, Chang'an, for fifteen days during the An Shi Rebellion.[74][75] In fact, it was during this rebellion that the Tang withdrew its western garrisons stationed in what is now Gansu and Qinghai, which the Tibetans then occupied along with the territory of what is now Xinjiang.[76] Hostilities between the Tang and Tibet continued until they signed a formal peace treaty in 821.[77] The terms of this treaty, including the fixed borders between the two countries, are recorded in a bilingual inscription on a stone pillar outside the Jokhang temple in Lhasa.[78]
During the Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656), the son of the last ruler of the Sassanid Empire, Prince Pirooz, fled to Tang China.[49][79] According to the Book of Tang, Pirooz was made the head of a Governorate of Persia in what is now Zaranj, Afghanistan. During this conquest of Persia, the Islamic Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (r. 644–656) sent an embassy to the Tang court at Chang'an.[63] By the 740s, the Arabs of Khurasan had established a presence in the Ferghana basin and in Sogdiana. At the Battle of Talas in 751, Qarluq mercenaries under the Chinese defected, helping the Arab armies of the Islamic Caliphate to defeat the Tang force under commander Go Seonji (d. 756, also known as Gao Xianzhi, a general of Goguryeo descent). Although the battle itself was not of the greatest significance militarily, this was a pivotal moment in history; it marks the spread of Chinese papermaking[80][81] into regions west of China as captured Chinese soldiers revealed secrets of Chinese papermaking to the Arabs. These techniques ultimately reached Europe by the 12th century through Arab-controlled Spain. Although they had fought at Talas, on June 11, 758, an Abbasid embassy arrived at Chang'an simultaneously with the Uyghur Turks bearing gifts for the Tang Emperor.[82] From even further west, a tribute embassy came to the court of Taizong in 643 from the Patriarch of Antioch.[83] In 788-9 the Chinese concluded a military alliance with the Uighur Turks who twice defeated the Tibetans, in 789 near the town of Kuch'eng in Jungharia, and in 791 near Ning-hsia on the Yellow River.[84]
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Korea and Japan[link]
See also: Protectorate General to Pacify the East
In the east, the Chinese military campaigns were less successful than elsewhere. Like the emperors of the Sui Dynasty before him, Taizong established a military campaign in 644 against the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo in the Goguryeo-Tang War; however, this led to its withdrawal in the first campaign because they failed to overcome the successful defense led by General Yeon Gaesomun. Allying with the Korean Silla Kingdom, the Chinese fought against Baekje and their Yamato Japanese allies in the Battle of Baekgang in August 663, a decisive Tang–Silla victory. The Tang Dynasty navy had several different ship types at its disposal to engage in naval warfare, these ships described by Li Quan in his Taipai Yinjing (Canon of the White and Gloomy Planet of War) of 759.[85] The Battle of Baekgang was actually a restoration movement by remnant forces of Baekje, since their kingdom was toppled in 660 by a joint Tang–Silla invasion, led by notable Korean general Kim Yushin (595–673) and Chinese general Su Dingfang. In another joint invasion with Silla, the Tang army severely weakened the Goguryeo Kingdom in the north by taking out its outer forts in the year 645. With joint attacks by Silla and Tang armies under commander Li Shiji (594–669), the Kingdom of Goguryeo was destroyed by 668.[48]
Although they were formerly enemies, the Tang accepted officials and generals of Goguryeo into their administration and military, such as the brothers Yeon Namsaeng (634–679) and Yeon Namsan (639–701). From 668 to 676, the Tang Empire would control northern Korea. However, in 671 Silla began fighting the Tang forces there. At the same time the Tang faced threats on its western border when a large Chinese army was defeated by the Tibetans on the Dafei River in 670.[86] By 676, the Tang army was driven out of Korea by Unified Silla.[87] Following a revolt of the Eastern Turks in 679, the Tang abandoned its Korean campaigns.[86]
Although the Tang had fought the Japanese, they still held cordial relations with Japan. There were numerous Imperial embassies to China from Japan, diplomatic missions that were not halted until 894 by Emperor Uda (r. 887–897), upon persuasion by Sugawara no Michizane (845–903).[88] The Japanese Emperor Temmu (r. 672–686) even established his conscripted army on that of the Chinese model, his state ceremonies on the Chinese model, and constructed his palace at Fujiwara on the Chinese model of architecture.[89]
Many Chinese Buddhist monks came to Japan to help further the spread of Buddhism as well. Two 7th century monks in particular, Zhi Yu and Zhi You, visited the court of Emperor Tenji (r. 661–672), whereupon they presented a gift of a South Pointing Chariot that they had crafted.[90] This 3rd century mechanically driven directional-compass vehicle (employing a differential gear) was again reproduced in several models for Tenji in 666, as recorded in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[90] Japanese monks also visited China; such was the case with Ennin (794–864), who wrote of his travel experiences including travels along China's Grand Canal.[91][92] The Japanese monk Enchin (814–891) stayed in China from 839 to 847 and again from 853 to 858, landing near Fuzhou, Fujian and setting sail for Japan from Taizhou, Zhejiang during his second trip to China.[93][94]
Trade and spread of culture[link]
Through use of the land trade along the Silk Road and maritime trade by sail at sea, the Tang were able to gain many new technologies, cultural practices, rare luxury, and contemporary items. From the Middle East, India, Persia, and Central Asia the Tang were able to acquire new ideas in fashion, new types of ceramics, and improved silver-smithing.[95] The Chinese also gradually adopted the foreign concept of stools and chairs as seating, whereas the Chinese beforehand always sat on mats placed on the floor.[96] To the Middle East, the Islamic world coveted and purchased in bulk Chinese goods such as silks, lacquerwares, and porcelain wares.[97] Songs, dances, and musical instruments from foreign regions became popular in China during the Tang Dynasty.[98][99] These musical instruments included oboes, flutes, and small lacquered drums from Kucha in the Tarim Basin, and percussion instruments from India such as cymbals.[98] At the court there were nine musical ensembles (expanded from seven in the Sui Dynasty) representing music from throughout Asia.[100]
There was great contact and interest in India as a hub for Buddhist knowledge, with famous travelers such as Xuanzang (d. 664) visiting the South Asian subcontinent. After a 17-year long trip, Xuanzang managed to bring back valuable Sanskrit texts to be translated into Chinese. There was also a Turkic–Chinese dictionary available for serious scholars and students, while Turkic folksongs gave inspiration to some Chinese poetry.[101][102] In the interior of China, trade was facilitated by the Grand Canal and the Tang government's rationalization of the greater canal system that reduced costs of transporting grain and other commodities.[103] The state also managed roughly 32,100 km (19,900 mi) of postal service routes by horse or boat.[104]
Silk Road[link]
The Silk Road was the most important pre-modern Eurasian trade route. During this period of the Pax Sinica, the Silk Road reached its golden age, whereby Persian and Sogdian merchants benefited from the commerce between East and West. At the same time, the Chinese empire welcomed foreign cultures making it very cosmopolitan in its urban centers.
Although the Silk Road from China to the West was initially formulated during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (141–87 BC), it was reopened by the Tang in 639 when Hou Junji (d. 643) conquered the West, and remained open for almost four decades. It was closed after the Tibetans captured it in 678, but in 699, during Empress Wu's period, the Silk Road reopened when the Tang reconquered the Four Garrisons of Anxi originally installed in 640,[105] once again connecting China directly to the West for land-based trade.[106] The Tang captured the vital route through the Gilgit Valley from Tibet in 722, lost it to the Tibetans in 737, and regained it under the command of the Goguryeo-Korean General Gao Xianzhi.[107] After the An Shi Rebellion ended in 763, the Tang Empire had once again lost control over many of its outer western lands, as the Tibetan Empire largely cut off China's direct access to the Silk Road.[77] An internal rebellion in 848 ousted the Tibetan rulers, while Tang China regained its western territories from Tibet in 851, which contained crucial grazing areas and pastures for raising horses that the Tang Dynasty desperately needed.[77][108]
Despite the many western travelers coming into China to live and trade, many travelers, mainly religious monks, recorded the strict border laws that the Chinese enforced.[97] As the monk Xuanzang and many other monk travelers attested to, there were many Chinese government checkpoints along the Silk Road that examined travel permits into the Tang Empire.[97] Furthermore, banditry was a problem along the checkpoints and oasis towns, as Xuanzang also recorded that his group of travelers were assaulted by bandits on multiple occasions.[97]
The Silk Road also had an impact on Tang Dynasty art. Horses became a significant symbol of prosperity and power as well as an instrument of military and diplomatic policy. Horses were also revered a relative of the dragon.[109]
Seaports and maritime trade[link]
Chinese envoys had been sailing through the Indian Ocean to India since perhaps the 2nd century BC,[110][111] yet it was during the Tang Dynasty that a strong Chinese maritime presence could be found in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, into Persia, Mesopotamia (sailing up the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq), Arabia, Egypt, Aksum (Ethiopia), and Somalia in the Horn of Africa.[112] From the same Quraysh tribe of Muhammad, Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas sailed from Ethiopia to China during the reign of Emperor Gaozu. He later traveled back to China with a copy of the Quran, establishing China's first mosque, the Mosque of Remembrance, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. To this day he is still buried in a Muslim cemetery at Guangzhou.
During the Tang Dynasty, thousands of foreigners came and lived in numerous Chinese cities for trade and commercial ties with China, including Persians, Arabs, Hindu Indians, Malays, Sinhalese, Khmers, Chams, Jews and Nestorian Christians of the Near East, and many others.[113][114] In 748, the Buddhist monk Jian Zhen described Guangzhou as a bustling mercantile center where many large and impressive foreign ships came to dock. He wrote that "many big ships came from Borneo, Persia, Qunglun (Indonesia/Java)...with...spices, pearls, and jade piled up mountain high",[115][116] as written in the Yue Jue Shu (Lost Records of the State of Yue). After Arab and Persian pirates burned and looted Guangzhou in 758,[77] the Tang government reacted by shutting the port down for roughly five decades, as foreign vessels docked at Hanoi instead.[117] However, when the port reopened it continued to thrive. In 851 the Arab merchant Suleiman al-Tajir observed the manufacturing of Chinese porcelain in Guangzhou and admired its transparent quality.[118] He also provided a description of Guangzhou's mosque, its granaries, its local government administration, some of its written records, the treatment of travellers, along with the use of ceramics, rice-wine, and tea.[119] However, in another bloody episode at Guangzhou in 879, the Chinese rebel Huang Chao sacked the city, and purportedly slaughtered thousands of native Chinese, along with foreign Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the process.[120][121][122] Huang's rebellion was eventually suppressed in 884.
Vessels from Korean Silla, Balhae and Hizen Province of Japan were all involved in the Yellow Sea trade, which Silla dominated.[123] After Silla and Japan reopened renewed hostilities in the late 7th century, most Japanese maritime merchants chose to set sail from Nagasaki towards the mouth of the Huai River, the Yangzi River, and even as far south as the Hangzhou Bay in order to avoid Korean ships in the Yellow Sea.[123][124] In order to sail back to Japan in 838, the Japanese embassy to China procured nine ships and sixty Korean sailors from the Korean wards of Chuzhou and Lianshui cities along the Huai River.[125] It is also known that Chinese trade ships traveling to Japan set sail from the various ports along the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.[126]
The Chinese engaged in large-scale production for overseas export by at least the time of the Tang. This was proven by the discovery of the Belitung shipwreck, a silt-preserved shipwrecked Arabian dhow in the Gaspar Strait near Belitung, which had 63,000 pieces of Tang ceramics, silver, and gold (including a Changsha bowl inscribed with a date: "16th day of the seventh month of the second year of the Baoli reign", or 826 AD, roughly confirmed by radiocarbon dating of star anise at the wreck).[127] Beginning in 785, the Chinese began to call regularly at Sufala on the East African coast in order to cut out Arab middlemen,[128] with various contemporary Chinese sources giving detailed descriptions of trade in Africa. The official and geographer Jia Dan (730–805) wrote of two common sea trade routes in his day: one from the coast of the Bohai Sea towards Korea and another from Guangzhou through Malacca towards the Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka and India, the eastern and northern shores of the Arabian Sea to the Euphrates River.[129] In 863 the Chinese author Duan Chengshi (d. 863) provided a detailed description of the slave trade, ivory trade, and ambergris trade in a country called Bobali, which historians suggest was Berbera in Somalia.[130] In Fustat (old Cairo), Egypt, the fame of Chinese ceramics there led to an enormous demand for Chinese goods; hence Chinese often traveled there (this continued into later periods such as Fatimid Egypt).[131][132] From this time period, the Arab merchant Shulama once wrote of his admiration for Chinese seafaring junks, but noted that their draft was too deep for them to enter the Euphrates River, which forced them to ferry passengers and cargo in small boats.[133] Shulama also noted that Chinese ships were often very large, with capacities up to 600–700 passengers.[129][133]
Empress Wu and Emperor Xuanzong[link]
Usurpation of Wu Zetian[link]
Although she entered Emperor Gaozong's court as the lowly consort Wu Zhao, Wu Zetian rose to the highest seat of power in 690, establishing the short-lived Later Zhou Dynasty. Empress Wu's rise to power was achieved through cruel and calculating tactics, popular conspiracy theory stated that she killed her own baby girl and blamed it on Gaozong's empress so that the empress would be demoted.[31] Emperor Gaozong suffered a stroke in 655, and Wu began to make many of his court decisions for him, discussing affairs of state with his councilors, who took orders from her while she sat behind a screen.[134] When Empress Wu's eldest son, the crown prince, began to assert his authority and advocate policies opposed by Empress Wu, he suddenly died in 675. Many suspected he was poisoned by Empress Wu. Although the next heir apparent kept a lower profile, in 680 he was accused by Wu of plotting a rebellion and was banished (and later forced to commit suicide).[135]
In 683, Emperor Gaozong died. He was succeeded by Emperor Zhongzong, his eldest surviving son by Wu. Zhongzong tried to appoint his wife's father as chancellor: after only six weeks on the throne, he was deposed by Empress Wu in favor of his younger brother, 12 year old Emperor Ruizong.[135] Wu was the real power. This provoked a group of Tang princes to rebel in 684; Wu's armies suppressed them within two months.[135] In 690, she forced Ruizong to step down from the throne. She became China's first female emperor while Ruizong became crown prince. She ruled until 705, when a palace coup forced her to abdicate in favor of Zhongzong. She died soon after.[136]
To legitimize her rule, she circulated a document known as the Great Cloud Sutra, which predicted that a reincarnation of the Maitreya Buddha would be a female monarch who would dispel illness, worry, and disaster from the world.[137][138] She even introduced numerous revised written characters to the written language, which reverted back to the originals after her death.[139] Arguably the most important part of her legacy was diminishing the power of the northwest aristocracy, allowing people from other clans and regions of China to become more represented in Chinese politics and government.[140][141]
Rise of Xuanzong[link]
There were many prominent women at court during and after Wu's reign, including Shangguan Wan'er (664–710), a female poet, writer, and trusted official in charge of Wu's private office.[142] In 706 the wife of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Empress Wei (d. 710), convinced her husband to staff government offices with his sister and her daughters, and in 709 requested that he grant women the right to bequeath hereditary privileges to their sons (which before was a male right only).[143] Empress Wei eventually poisoned Zhongzong, whereupon she placed his fifteen year old son upon the throne in 710.[39] Two weeks later, Li Longji (the later Emperor Xuanzong) entered the palace with a few followers and slew Empress Wei and her faction.[39] He then installed his father Emperor Ruizong (r. 710–712) on the throne.[39] Just as Emperor Zhongzong was dominated by Empress Wei, so too was Ruizong dominated by Princess Taiping.[144] This was finally ended when Princess Taiping's coup failed in 712 (she later hung herself in 713) and Emperor Ruizong abdicated to Emperor Xuanzong.[39][143]
During the 44-year reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the Tang Dynasty was brought to its height, a golden age, a period of low economic inflation, as well as a toning down of the excessively lavish lifestyle of the imperial court.[103][141] Seen as a progressive and benevolent ruler, Xuanzong even abolished the death penalty in the year 747, and all executions had to be approved beforehand by the emperor himself (which was relatively few, considering that there were only 24 executions in the year 730 alone).[145] Xuanzong bowed to the consensus of his ministers on policy decisions and made efforts to fairly staff government ministries with different political factions.[144] His staunch Confucian chancellor Zhang Jiuling (673–740) worked to reduce deflation and increase the money supply by upholding the use of private coinage, although his aristocratic and technocratic successor Li Linfu (d. 753) favored government monopoly over the issuance of coinage.[146] After 737 most of Xuanzong's confidence rested in his long-standing chancellor Li Linfu, who championed a more aggressive foreign policy employing non-Chinese generals. This policy ultimately created the conditions for a massive rebellion against Xuanzong.[147]
Decline[link]
An Shi Rebellion and catastrophe[link]
Main article: An Lushan Rebellion
The Tang Empire was at its height of power up until the middle of the 8th century, when the An Shi Rebellion (December 16, 755 – February 17, 763) destroyed the prosperity of the empire. An Lushan was a half-Sogdian, half-Turk Tang commander since 744, had experience fighting the Khitans of Manchuria with a victory in 744,[52][148] yet most of his campaigns against the Khitans were unsuccessful.[149] He was given great responsibility in Hebei, which allowed him to rebel with an army of more than one hundred thousand troops.[52] After capturing Luoyang, he named himself emperor of a new, but short-lived, Yan state.[148] Despite early victories scored by Tang General Guo Ziyi (697–781), the newly recruited troops of the army at the capital were no match for An Lushan's die-hard frontier veterans, so the court fled Chang'an.[52] While the heir apparent raised troops in Shanxi and Xuanzong fled to Sichuan province, they called upon the help of the Uyghur Turks in 756.[150] The Uyghur khan Moyanchur was greatly excited at this prospect, and married his own daughter to the Chinese diplomatic envoy once he arrived, receiving in turn a Chinese princess as his bride.[150] The Uyghurs helped recapture the Tang capital from the rebels, but they refused to leave until the Tang paid them an enormous sum of tribute in silk.[52][150] Even Abbasid Arabs assisted the Tang in putting down An Lushan's rebellion.[150][151] The Tibetans took hold of the opportunity and raided many areas under Chinese control, and even after the Tibetan Empire had fallen apart in 842 (and the Uyghurs soon after) the Tang were in no position to reconquer Central Asia after 763.[52][152] So significant was this loss that half a century later jinshi examination candidates were required to write an essay on the causes of the Tang's decline.[153] Although An Lushan was killed by one of his eunuchs in 757,[150] this time of troubles and widespread insurrection continued until rebel Shi Siming was killed by his own son in 763.[150]
One of the legacies that the Tang government left since 710 was the gradual rise of regional military governors, the jiedushi, who slowly came to challenge the power of the central government.[53] After the An Shi Rebellion, the autonomous power and authority accumulated by the jiedushi in Hebei went beyond the central government's control. After a series of rebellions between 781 and 784 in today's Hebei, Shandong, Hubei and Henan provinces, the government had to officially acknowledge the jiedushi's hereditary ruling without accreditation. The Tang government relied on these governors and their armies for protection and to suppress locals that would take up arms against the government. In return, the central government would acknowledge the rights of these governors to maintain their army, collect taxes and even to pass on their title to heirs.[52][154] As time passed, these military governors slowly phased out the prominence of civil officials drafted by exams, and became more autonomous from central authority.[52] The rule of these powerful military governors lasted until 960, when a new civil order under the Song Dynasty was established. Also, the abandonment of the equal-field system meant that people could buy and sell land freely. Many poor fell into debt because of this, forced to sell their land to the wealthy, which led to the exponential growth of large estates.[52] With the breakdown of the land allocation system after 755, the central Chinese state barely interfered in agricultural management and acted merely as tax collector for roughly a millennium, save a few instances such as the Song's failed land nationalization during the 13th century war with the Mongols.[155]
With the central government collapsing in authority over the various regions of the empire, it was recorded in 845 that bandits and river pirates in parties of 100 or more began plundering settlements along the Yangtze River with little resistance.[156] In 858, enormous floods along the Grand Canal inundated vast tracts of land and terrain of the North China Plain, which drowned tens of thousands of people in the process.[156] The Chinese belief in the Mandate of Heaven granted to the ailing Tang was also challenged when natural calamities occurred, forcing many to believe the Heavens were displeased and that the Tang had lost their right to rule. Then in 873 a disastrous harvest shook the foundations of the empire; in some areas only half of all agricultural produce was gathered, and tens of thousands faced famine and starvation.[156] In the earlier period of the Tang, the central government was able to meet crises in the harvest, as it was recorded from 714–719 that the Tang government responded effectively to natural disasters by extending the price-regulation granary system throughout the country.[156] The central government was able then to build a large surplus stock of foods to ward off the rising danger of famine and increased agricultural productivity through land reclamation.[103][156] In the 9th century, however, the Tang government was nearly helpless in dealing with any calamity.
Rebuilding and recovery[link]
Although these natural calamities and rebellions stained the reputation and hampered the effectiveness of the central government, the early 9th century is nonetheless viewed as a period of recovery for the Tang Dynasty.[157] The government's withdrawal from its role in managing the economy had the unintended effect of stimulating trade, as more markets with less bureaucratic restrictions were opened up.[158][159] By 780, the old grain tax and labor service of the 7th century was replaced by a semiannual tax paid in cash, signifying the shift to a money economy bolstered by the merchant class.[151] Cities in the Jiangnan region to the south, such as Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou prospered the most economically during the late Tang period.[158] Although weakened after the An Shi Rebellion, in 799 the Tang government's salt monopoly accounted for over half of the government's revenues, while the salt commission became one of the most powerful state agencies, run by capable ministers chosen as specialists in finance.[52] S. A. M. Adshead writes that this salt tax represents "the first time that an indirect tax, rather than tribute, levies on land or people, or profit from state enterprises such as mines, had been the primary resource of a major state."[160] Even after the power of the central government was in decline since the mid 8th century, it was still able to function and give out imperial orders on a massive scale. The Tangshu (Book of Tang) compiled in the year 945 recorded that in 828 the Tang government issued a decree that standardized irrigational square-pallet chain pumps in the country:
In the second year of the Taihe reign period [828 AD], in the second month...a standard model of the chain pump was issued from the palace, and the people of Jingzhao Fu (d footnote: the capital) were ordered by the emperor to make a considerable number of machines, for distribution to the people along the Zheng Bai Canal, for irrigation purposes.
The last great ambitious ruler of the Tang Dynasty was Emperor Xianzong of Tang (r. 805–820), his reign period aided by the fiscal reforms of the 780s, including the government monopoly on the salt industry.[162] He also had an effective well trained imperial army stationed at the capital led by his court eunuchs; this was the Army of Divine Strategy, numbering 240,000 in strength as recorded in 798.[163] Between the years 806 and 819, Emperor Xianzong conducted seven major military campaigns to quell the rebellious provinces that had claimed autonomy from central authority, managing to subdue all but two of them.[94][164] Under his reign there was a brief end to the hereditary jiedushi, as Xianzong appointed his own military officers and staffed the regional bureaucracies once again with civil officials.[94][164] However, Xianzong's successors proved less capable and more interested in the leisure of hunting, feasting, and playing outdoor sports, allowing eunuchs to amass more power as drafted scholar-officials caused strife in the bureaucracy with factional parties.[164] The eunuchs' power became unchallenged after Emperor Wenzong of Tang's (r. 826–840) failed plot to have them overthrown; instead the allies of Emperor Wenzong were publicly executed in the West Market of Chang'an, by the eunuchs' command.[158]
Collapse[link]
In addition to natural calamities and jiedushi amassing autonomous control, the Huang Chao Rebellion (874–884) resulted in the sacking of both Chang'an and Luoyang, and took an entire decade to suppress.[165] Although the rebellion was defeated by the Tang, it never recovered from that crucial blow, weakening it for the future military powers to take over. There were also large groups of bandits, in the size of small armies, that ravaged the countryside in the last years of the Tang, who smuggled illicit salt, ambushed merchants and convoys, and even besieged several walled cities.[120]
Zhu Wen, originally a salt smuggler who had served under the rebel Huang, surrendered to Tang forces. By helping to defeat Huang, he was granted a series of rapid military promotions.[166] In 907 the Tang Dynasty was ended when Zhu Wen, now a military governor, deposed the last emperor of Tang, Emperor Ai of Tang, and took the throne for himself (known posthumously as Emperor Taizu of Later Liang). He established the Later Liang Dynasty, which inaugurated the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. A year later the deposed Emperor Ai was poisoned to death by Zhu Wen.
Although cast in a negative light by many for usurping power from the Tang, Zhu Wen turned out to be a skilled administrator. Emperor Taizu of Later Liang was also responsible for the building of a large seawall, new walls and roads for the burgeoning city of Hangzhou, which would later become the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.[166]
Society and culture[link]
See also: Tang Dynasty art
Both the Sui and Tang Dynasties had turned away from the more feudal culture of the preceding Northern Dynasties, in favor of staunch civil Confucianism.[2] The governmental system was supported by a large class of Confucian intellectuals selected through either civil service examinations or recommendations. In the Tang period, Daoism and Buddhism reigned as core ideologies as well, and played a large role in people's daily lives. The Tang Chinese enjoyed feasting, drinking, holidays, sports, and all sorts of entertainment, while Chinese literature blossomed and was more widely accessible with new printing methods.
Leisure in the Tang[link]
Much more than earlier periods, the Tang era was an era renowned for its time reserved for leisure activity, especially for those in the upper classes.[167] Many outdoor sports and activities were enjoyed during the Tang, including archery,[168] hunting,[169] horse polo,[170] cuju football,[171] cockfighting,[172] and even tug of war.[173] Government officials were granted vacations during their tenure in office. Officials were granted 30 days off every three years to visit their parents if they lived 1,000 miles / 1,600 kilometres away, or 15 days off if the parents lived more than 167 miles / 269 kilometres away (travel time not included).[167] Officials were granted nine days of vacation time for weddings of a son or daughter, and either five, three, or one days/day off for the nuptials of close relatives (travel time not included).[167] Officials also received a total of three days off for their son's capping initiation rite into manhood, and one day off for the ceremony of initiation rite of a close relative's son.[167]
Traditional Chinese holidays such as Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Cold Food Festival, and others were universal holidays. In the capital city of Chang'an there was always lively celebration, especially for the Lantern Festival since the city's nighttime curfew was lifted by the government for three days straight.[174] Between the years 628 and 758, the imperial throne bestowed a total of sixty-nine grand carnivals nationwide, granted by the emperor in the case of special circumstances such as important military victories, abundant harvests after a long drought or famine, the granting of amnesties, the installment of a new crown prince, etc.[175] For special celebration in the Tang era, lavish and gargantuan-sized feasts were sometimes prepared, as the imperial court had staffed agencies to prepare the meals.[176] This included a prepared feast for 1,100 elders of Chang'an in 664, a feast for 3,500 officers of the Divine Strategy Army in 768, and a feast for 1,200 women of the palace and members of the imperial family in the year 826.[176] Drinking wine and alcoholic beverages was heavily ingrained into Chinese culture, as people drank for nearly every social event.[177] A court official in the 8th century allegedly had a serpentine-shaped structure called the 'Ale Grotto' built with 50,000 bricks on the groundfloor that each featured a bowl from which his friends could drink.[178]
Chang'an, the Tang capital[link]
Main article: Chang'an
Although Chang'an was the site for the capital of the earlier Han and Jin dynasties, after subsequent destruction in warfare, it was the Sui Dynasty model that comprised the Tang era capital. The roughly square dimensions of the city had six miles (10 km) of outer walls running east to west, and more than five miles (8 km) of outer walls running north to south.[17] The royal palace, the Taiji Palace, stood north of the city's central axis.[179] From the large Mingde Gates located mid-center of the main southern wall, a wide city avenue stretched from there all the way north to the central administrative city, behind which was the Chentian Gate of the royal palace, or Imperial City. Intersecting this were fourteen main streets running east to west, while eleven main streets ran north to south. These main intersecting roads formed 108 rectangular wards with walls and four gates each, and each ward filled with multiple city blocks. The city was made famous for this checkerboard pattern of main roads with walled and gated districts, its layout even mentioned in one of Du Fu's poems.[180] During the Heian period, the city of Heian kyō (present-day Kyoto) of Japan like many cities was arranged in the checkerboard street grid pattern of the Tang capital and in accordance with traditional geomancy following the model of Chang'an.[30] Of these 108 wards in Chang'an, two of them (each the size of two regular city wards) were designated as government-supervised markets, and other space reserved for temples, gardens, ponds, etc.[17] Throughout the entire city, there were 111 Buddhist monasteries, 41 Daoist abbeys, 38 family shrines, 2 official temples, 7 churches of foreign religions, 10 city wards with provincial transmission offices, 12 major inns, and 6 graveyards.[181] Some city wards were literally filled with open public playing fields or the backyards of lavish mansions for playing horse polo and cuju football.[182] In 662, Emperor Gaozong moved the imperial court to the Daming Palace, which became the political center of the empire and served as the royal residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years.[183]
The Tang capital was the largest city in the world at its time, the population of the city wards and its suburban countryside reaching 2 million inhabitants.[17] The Tang capital was very cosmopolitan, with ethnicities of Persia, Central Asia, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, India, and many other places living within. Naturally, with this plethora of different ethnicities living in Chang'an, there were also many different practiced religions, such as Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Islam being practiced within. With widely open access to China that the Silk Road to the west facilitated, many foreign settlers were able to move east to China, while the city of Chang'an itself had about 25,000 foreigners living within.[97][184] Exotic green-eyed, blond-haired Tocharian ladies serving wine in agate and amber cups, singing, and dancing at taverns attracted customers.[185] If a foreigner in China pursued a Chinese woman for marriage, he was required to stay in China and was unable to take his bride back to his homeland, as stated in a law passed in 628 to protect women from temporary marriages with foreign envoys.[186] Several laws enforcing segregation of foreigners from Chinese were passed during the Tang dynasty. In 779 the Tang dynasty issued an edict which forced Uighurs in the capital, Chang'an, to wear their ethnic dress, stopped them from marrying Chinese females, and banned them from passing off as Chinese.[187]
Chang'an was the center of the central government, the home of the imperial family, and was filled with splendor and wealth. However, incidentally it was not the economic hub during the Tang Dynasty. The city of Yangzhou along the Grand Canal and close to the Yangtze River was the greatest economic center during the Tang era.[113][188]
Yangzhou was the headquarters for the Tang's government monopoly on salt, and the greatest industrial center of China; it acted as a midpoint in shipping of foreign goods that would be organized and distributed to the major cities of the north.[113][188] Much like the seaport of Guangzhou in the south, Yangzhou boasted thousands of foreign traders from all across Asia.[188][189]
There was also the secondary capital city of Luoyang, which was the favored capital of the two by Empress Wu. In the year 691 she had more than 100,000 families (more than 500,000 people) from around the region of Chang'an move to populate Luoyang instead.[113] With a population of about a million, Luoyang became the second largest capital in the empire, and with its close proximity to the Luo River it benefited from southern agricultural fertility and trade traffic of the Grand Canal.[113] However, the Tang court eventually demoted its capital status and did not visit Luoyang after the year 743, when Chang'an's problem of acquiring adequate supplies and stores for the year was solved.[113] As early as 736, granaries were built at critical points along the route from Yangzhou to Chang'an, which eliminated shipment delays, spoilage, and pilfering.[190] An artificial lake used as a transshipment pool was dredged east of Chang'an in 743, where curious northerners could finally see the array of boats found in southern China, delivering tax and tribute items to the imperial court.[191]
Literature[link]
Main articles: Chinese literature and Chinese poetry
The Tang period was a golden age of Chinese literature and art. There are over 48,900 poems penned by some 2,200 Tang authors that have survived until modern times.[192][193] Perfecting one's skills in the composition of poetry became a required study for those wishing to pass imperial examinations,[194] while poetry was also heavily competitive; poetry contests amongst esteemed guests at banquets and courtiers of elite social gatherings was common in the Tang period.[195] Poetry styles that were popular in the Tang included gushi and jintishi, with the renowned Tang poet Li Bai (701–762) famous for the former style, and Tang poets like Wang Wei (701–761) and Cui Hao (704–754) famous for their use of the latter. Jintishi poetry, or regulated verse, is in the form of eight-line stanzas or seven characters per line with a fixed pattern of tones that required the second and third couplets to be antithetical (although the antithesis is often lost in translation to other languages).[196] Tang poems in particular remain the most popular out of every historical era of China. This great emulation of Tang era poetry began in the Song Dynasty; in that period, Yan Yu (嚴羽; active 1194–1245) asserted that he was the first to designate the poetry of the High Tang (c. 713–766) era as the orthodox material with "canonical status within the classical poetic tradition."[197] Yan Yu reserved the position of highest esteem among all Tang poets for Du Fu (712–770),[197] who was not viewed as such in his own era, and was branded by his peers as an anti-traditional rebel.[198]
There were other important literary forms besides poetry during the Tang period. There was Duan Chengshi's (d. 863) Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, an entertaining collection of foreign legends and hearsay, reports on natural phenomena, short anecdotes, mythical and mundane tales, as well as notes on various subjects. The exact literary category or classification that Duan's large informal narrative would fit into is still debated amongst scholars and historians.[199]
Short story fiction and tales were also popular during the Tang, one of the more famous ones being Yingying's Biography by Yuan Zhen (779–831), which was widely circulated in his own time and by the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) became the basis for plays in Chinese opera.[200][201] Timothy C. Wong places this story within the wider context of Tang love tales, which often share the plot designs of quick passion, inescapable societal pressure leading to the abandonment of romance, followed by a period of melancholy.[202] Wong states that this scheme lacks the undying vows and total self-commitment to love found in Western romances such as Romeo and Juliet, but that underlying traditional Chinese values of inseparableness of self from one's environment (including human society) served to create the necessary fictional device of romantic tension.[203]
There were large encyclopedias published in the Tang. The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia was compiled in 624 by the chief editor Ouyang Xun (557–641) as well as Linghu Defen (582–666) and Chen Shuda (d. 635). The encyclopedia Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era was fully compiled in 729 by Gautama Siddha (fl. 8th century), an ethnic Indian astronomer, astrologer, and scholar born in the capital Chang'an.
Chinese geographers such as Jia Dan wrote accurate descriptions of places far abroad. In his work written between 785 and 805, he described the sea route going into the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and that the medieval Iranians (whom he called the people of Luo-He-Yi) had erected 'ornamental pillars' in the sea that acted as lighthouse beacons for ships that might go astray.[205] Confirming Jia's reports about lighthouses in the Persian Gulf, Arabic writers a century after Jia wrote of the same structures, writers such as al-Mas'udi and al-Muqaddasi. The Tang Dynasty Chinese diplomat Wang Xuance traveled to Magadha (modern northeastern India) during the 7th century.[206] Afterwards he wrote the book Zhang Tianzhu Guotu (Illustrated Accounts of Central India), which included a wealth of geographical information.[207]
Many histories of previous dynasties were compiled between 636 and 659 by court officials during and shortly after the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. These included the Book of Liang, Book of Chen, Book of Northern Qi, Book of Zhou, Book of Sui, Book of Jin, History of Northern Dynasties and the History of Southern Dynasties. Although not included in the official Twenty-Four Histories, the Tongdian and Tang Huiyao were nonetheless valuable written historical works of the Tang period. The Shitong written by Liu Zhiji in 710 was a meta-history, as it covered the history of Chinese historiography in past centuries until his time. The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, compiled by Bianji, recounted the journey of Xuanzang, the Tang era's most renowned Buddhist monk.
The Classical Prose Movement was spurred large in part by the writings of Tang authors Liu Zongyuan (773–819) and Han Yu (768–824). This new prose style broke away from the poetry tradition of the 'piantiwen' style begun in the ancient Han Dynasty. Although writers of the Classical Prose Movement imitated 'piantiwen', they criticized it for its often vague content and lack of colloquial language, focusing more on clarity and precision to make their writing more direct.[208] This guwen (archaic prose) style can be traced back to Han Yu, and would become largely associated with orthodox Neo-Confucianism.[209]
Religion and philosophy[link]
Main articles: Religion in China and Chinese philosophy
Since ancient times, the Chinese believed in a folk religion that incorporated many deities. The Chinese believed that the afterlife was a reality parallel to the living world, complete with its own bureaucracy and afterlife currency needed by dead ancestors.[210] Funerary practices included providing the deceased with everything they might need in the afterlife, including animals, servants, entertainers, hunters, homes, and officials. This ideal is reflected in Tang dynasty art.[109] This is also reflected in many short stories written in the Tang about people accidentally winding up in the realm of the dead, only to come back and report their experiences.[210]
Buddhism, originating in India around the time of Confucius, continued to flourish during the Tang period and was adopted by the imperial family, becoming thoroughly sinicized and a permanent part of Chinese traditional culture. In an age before Neo-Confucianism and figures such as Zhu Xi (1130–1200), Buddhism had begun to flourish in China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and became the dominant ideology during the prosperous Tang. Buddhist monasteries played an integral role in Chinese society, offering lodging for travelers in remote areas, schools for children throughout the country, and a place for urban literati to stage social events and gatherings such as going-away parties.[211] Buddhist monasteries were also engaged in the economy, since their land property and serfs gave them enough revenues to set up mills, oil presses, and other enterprises.[212][213][214] Although the monasteries retained 'serfs', these monastery dependents could actually own property and employ others to help them in their work, including their own slaves.[215]
The prominent status of Buddhism in Chinese culture began to decline as the dynasty and central government declined as well during the late 8th century to 9th century. Buddhist convents and temples that were exempt from state taxes beforehand were targeted by the state for taxation. In 845 Emperor Wuzong of Tang finally shut down 4,600 Buddhist monasteries along with 40,000 temples and shrines, forcing 260,000 Buddhist monks and nuns to return to secular life;[28][216] this episode would later be dubbed one of the Four Buddhist Persecutions in China. Although the ban would be lifted just a few years after, Buddhism never regained its once dominant status in Chinese culture.[28][216][217][218] This situation also came about through new revival of interest in native Chinese philosophies, such as Confucianism and Daoism. Han Yu (786–824)—who Arthur F. Wright stated was a "brilliant polemicist and ardent xenophobe"—was one of the first men of the Tang to denounce Buddhism.[219] Although his contemporaries found him crude and obnoxious, he would foreshadow the later persecution of Buddhism in the Tang, as well as the revival of Confucian theory with the rise of Neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty.[219] Nonetheless, Chán Buddhism gained popularity amongst the educated elite.[28] There were also many famous Chan monks from the Tang era, such as Mazu Daoyi, Baizhang, and Huangbo Xiyun. The sect of Pure Land Buddhism initiated by the Chinese monk Huiyuan (334–416) was also just as popular as Chan Buddhism during the Tang.[220]
Rivaling Buddhism was Daoism, a native Chinese philosophical and religious belief system that found its roots in the book of the Daodejing (attributed to Laozi in the 6th century BC) and the Zhuangzi. The ruling Li family of the Tang Dynasty actually claimed descent from the ancient Laozi.[222] On numerous occasions where Tang princes would become crown prince or Tang princesses taking vows as Daoist priestesses, their lavish former mansions would be converted into Daoist abbeys and places of worship.[222] Many Daoists were associated with alchemy in their pursuits to find an elixir of immortality and a means to create gold from concocted mixtures of many other elements.[223] Although they never achieved their goals in either of these futile pursuits, they did contribute to the discovery of new metal alloys, porcelain products, and new dyes.[223] The historian Joseph Needham labeled the work of the Daoist alchemists as "proto-science rather than pseudo-science."[223] However, the close connection between Daoism and alchemy, which some sinologists have asserted, is refuted by Nathan Sivin, who states that alchemy was just as prominent (if not more so) in the secular sphere and practiced more often by laymen.[224]
The Tang Dynasty also officially recognized various foreign religions. The Assyrian Church of the East, otherwise known as the Nestorian Christian Church, was given recognition by the Tang court. In 781, the Nestorian Stele was created in order to honor the achievements of their community in China. A Christian monastery was established in Shaanxi province where the Daqin Pagoda still stands, and inside the pagoda there is Christian-themed artwork. Although the religion largely died out after the Tang, it was revived in China following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.[225]
Tang women[link]
Concepts of women's social rights and social status during the Tang era were notably liberal-minded for the period. However, this was largely reserved for urban women of elite status, as men and women in the rural countryside labored hard in their different set of tasks; with wives and daughters responsible for more domestic tasks of weaving textiles and rearing of silk worms, while men tended to farming in the fields.[45] There were many women in the Tang era who gained access to religious authority by taking vows as Daoist priestesses.[222] The head mistresses of the bordellos in the North Hamlet of the capital Chang'an acquired large amounts of wealth and power.[226] Their high-class courtesans, who likely influenced the Japanese geishas,[227] were well respected. These courtesans were known as great singers and poets, supervised banquets and feasts, knew the rules to all the drinking games, and were trained to have the utmost respectable table manners.[226]
Although they were renowned for their polite behavior, the courtesans were known to dominate the conversation amongst elite men, and were not afraid to openly castigate or criticize prominent male guests who talked too much or too loudly, boasted too much of their accomplishments, or had in some way ruined dinner for everyone by rude behavior (on one occasion a courtesan even beat up a drunken man who had insulted her).[228] When singing to entertain guests, courtesans not only composed the lyrics to their own songs, but they popularized a new form of lyrical verse by singing lines written by various renowned and famous men in Chinese history.[192]
It was fashionable for women to be full-figured (or plump). Men enjoyed the presence of assertive, active women.[229][230] The foreign horse-riding sport of polo from Persia became a wildly popular trend amongst the Chinese elite, and women often played the sport (as glazed earthenware figurines from the time period portray).[229] The preferred hairstyle for women was to bunch their hair up like "an elaborate edifice above the forehead,"[230] while affluent ladies wore extravagant head ornaments, combs, pearl necklaces, face powders, and perfumes.[231] A law was passed in 671 which attempted to force women to wear hats with veils again in order to promote decency, but these laws were ignored as some women started wearing caps and even no hats at all, as well as men's riding clothes and boots, and tight-sleeved bodices.[232]
There were some prominent court women after the era of Empress Wu, such as Yang Guifei (719–756), who had Emperor Xuanzong appoint many of her relatives and cronies to important ministerial and martial positions.[39]
Tea, food, and necessities[link]
During the earlier Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589), and perhaps even earlier, the drinking of tea (Camelia sinensis) became popular in southern China. Tea was viewed then as a beverage of tasteful pleasure and with pharmacological purpose as well.[192] During the Tang Dynasty, tea became synonymous with everything sophisticated in society. The Tang poet Lu Tong (790–835) devoted most of his poetry to his love of tea. The 8th century author Lu Yu (known as the Sage of Tea) even wrote a treatise on the art of drinking tea, called the Classic of Tea (Chájīng).[233] Although wrapping paper had been used in China since the 2nd century BC,[234] during the Tang Dynasty the Chinese were using wrapping paper as folded and sewn square bags to hold and preserve the flavor of tea leaves.[234] Indeed, paper found many other uses besides writing and wrapping during the Tang era. Earlier, the first recorded use of toilet paper was made in 589 by the scholar-official Yan Zhitui (531–591),[235] and in 851 an Arab Muslim traveler commented on how the Tang era Chinese were not careful about cleanliness because they did not wash with water when going to the bathroom; instead, he said, the Chinese simply used paper to wipe themselves.[235]
In ancient times, the Chinese had outlined the five most basic foodstuffs known as the five grains: sesamum, legumes, wheat, panicled millet, and glutinous millet.[236] The Ming Dynasty encyclopedist Song Yingxing (1587–1666) noted that rice was not counted amongst the five grains from the time of the legendary and deified Chinese sage Shennong (the existence of whom Yingxing wrote was "an uncertain matter") into the 2nd millenniums BC, because the properly wet and humid climate in southern China for growing rice was not yet fully settled or cultivated by the Chinese.[236]
During the Tang, the many common foodstuffs and cooking ingredients in addition to those already listed were barley, garlic, salt, turnips, soybeans, pears, apricots, peaches, apples, pomegranates, jujubes, rhubarb, hazelnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, walnuts, yams, taro, etc.[237] The various meats that were consumed included pork, chicken, lamb (especially preferred in the north), sea otter, bear (which was hard to catch, but there were recipes for steamed, boiled, and marinated bear), and even Bactrian camels.[237] In the south along the coast meat from seafood was by default the most common, as the Chinese enjoyed eating cooked jellyfish with cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, cardamom, and ginger, as well as oysters with wine, fried squid with ginger and vinegar, horseshoe crabs and red crabs, shrimp, and pufferfish, which the Chinese called 'river piglet'.[238] Some foods were also off-limits, as the Tang court encouraged people not to eat beef (since the bull was a valuable draft animal), and from 831 to 833 Emperor Wenzong of Tang even banned the slaughter of cattle on the grounds of his religious convictions to Buddhism.[239] From the trade overseas and over land, the Chinese acquired peaches from Samarkand, date palms, pistachios, and figs from Persia, pine seeds and ginseng roots from Korea, and mangoes from Southeast Asia.[240][241] In China, there was a great demand for sugar; during the reign of Harsha (r. 606–647) over North India, Indian envoys to Tang China brought two makers of sugar who successfully taught the Chinese how to cultivate sugarcane.[242][243] Cotton also came from India as a finished product from Bengal, although it was during the Tang that the Chinese began to grow and process cotton, and by the Yuan Dynasty it became the prime textile fabric in China.[244]
Methods of food preservation were important, and practiced throughout China. The common people used simple methods of preservation, such as digging deep ditches and trenches, brining, and salting their foods.[245] The emperor had large ice pits located in the parks in and around Chang'an for preserving food, while the wealthy and elite had their own smaller ice pits.[246] Each year the emperor had laborers carve 1000 blocks of ice from frozen creeks in mountain valleys, each block with the dimension of 0.91 m (3 ft) by 0.91 m by 1.06 m (3½ ft).[246] There were many frozen delicacies enjoyed during the summer, especially chilled melon.[246]
Science, technology, and medicine[link]
Main article: Science and technology of the Tang Dynasty
Further information: History of science and technology in China, List of Chinese inventions, and List of Chinese discoveries
Engineering[link]
Technology during the Tang period was built also upon the precedents of the past. Advancements in clockworks and timekeeping included the mechanical gear systems of Zhang Heng (78–139) and Ma Jun (fl. 3rd century) gave the Tang engineer, astronomer, and monk Yi Xing (683–727) inspiration when he invented the world's first clockwork escapement mechanism in 725.[247] This was used alongside a clepsydra clock and waterwheel to power a rotating armillary sphere in representation of astronomical observation.[248] Yi Xing's device also had a mechanically timed bell that was struck automatically every hour, and a drum that was struck automatically every quarter hour; essentially, a striking clock.[249] Yi Xing's astronomical clock and water-powered armillary sphere became well known throughout the country, since students attempting to pass the imperial examinations by 730 had to write an essay on the device as an exam requirement.[250] However, the most common type of public and palace timekeeping device was the inflow clepsydra. Its design was improved c. 610 by the Sui-dynasty engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai. They provided a steelyard balance that allowed seasonal adjustment in the pressure head of the compensating tank and could then control the rate of flow for different lengths of day and night.[251]
There were many other mechanical inventions during the Tang era. This included a 0.91 m (3 ft) tall mechanical wine server of the early 8th century that was in the shape of an artificial mountain, carved out of iron and rested on a lacquered-wooden tortoise frame.[252] This intricate device used a hydraulic pump that siphoned wine out of metal dragon-headed faucets, as well as tilting bowls that were timed to dip wine down, by force of gravity when filled, into an artificial lake that had intricate iron leaves popping up as trays for placing party treats.[252] Furthermore, as the historian Charles Benn describes it:
Midway up the southern side of the mountain was a dragon…the beast opened its mouth and spit brew into a goblet seated on a large [iron] lotus leaf beneath. When the cup was 80% full, the dragon ceased spewing ale, and a guest immediately seized the goblet. If he was slow in draining the cup and returning it to the leaf, the door of a pavilion at the top of the mountain opened and a mechanical wine server, dressed in a cap and gown, emerged with a wooden bat in his hand. As soon as the guest returned the goblet, the dragon refilled it, the wine server withdrew, and the doors of the pavilion closed…A pump siphoned the ale that flowed into the ale pool through a hidden hole and returned the brew to the reservoir [holding more than 16 quarts/15 liters of wine] inside the mountain.
Although the use of a teasing mechanical puppet in this wine-serving device was certainly ingenious, the use of mechanical puppets in China date back to the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC)[254] while Ma Jun in the 3rd century had an entire mechanical puppet theater operated by the rotation of a waterwheel.[254] There was also an automatic wine-server known in the ancient Greco-Roman world, a design of Heron of Alexandria that employed an urn with an inner valve and a lever device similar to the one described above. There are many stories of automatons used in the Tang, including general Yang Wulian's wooden statue of a monk who stretched his hands out to collect contributions; when the amount of coins reached a certain weight, the mechanical figure moved his arms to deposit them in a satchel.[255] This weight-and-lever mechanism was exactly like Heron's penny slot machine.[256] Other devices included one by Wang Ju, whose "wooden otter" could allegedly catch fish; Needham suspects a spring trap of some kind was employed here.[255]
In the realm of structural engineering and technical Chinese architecture, there were also government standard building codes, outlined in the early Tang book of the Yingshan Ling (National Building Law).[257] Fragments of this book have survived in the Tang Lü (The Tang Code),[258] while the Song Dynasty architectural manual of the Yingzao Fashi (State Building Standards) by Li Jie (1065–1101) in 1103 is the oldest existing technical treatise on Chinese architecture that has survived in full.[257] During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712–756) there were 34,850 registered craftsmen serving the state, managed by the Agency of Palace Buildings (Jingzuo Jian).[258]
Woodblock printing[link]
Woodblock printing made the written word available to vastly greater audiences. One of the world's oldest surviving printed documents is a miniature Buddhist dharani sutra unearthed at Xi'an in 1974 and dated roughly from 650 to 670.[259] The Diamond Sutra is the first full-length book printed at regular size, complete with illustrations embedded with the text and dated precisely to 868.[260][261] Among the earliest documents to be printed were Buddhist texts as well as calendars, the latter essential for calculating and marking which days were auspicious and which days were not.[262] With so many books coming into circulation for the general public, literacy rates could improve, along with the lower classes being able to obtain cheaper sources of study. Therefore, there were more lower class people seen entering the Imperial Examinations and passing them by the later Song Dynasty.[34][263][264] Although the later Bi Sheng's movable type printing in the 11th century was innovative for his period, woodblock printing that became widespread in the Tang would remain the dominant printing type in China until the more advanced printing press from Europe became widely accepted and used in East Asia.[265] The first use of the playing card during the Tang Dynasty was an auxiliary invention of the new age of printing.[266]
Medicine[link]
The Chinese of the Tang era were also very interested in the benefits of officially classifying all of the medicines used in pharmacology. In 657, Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683) commissioned the literary project of publishing an official materia medica, complete with text and illustrated drawings for 833 different medicinal substances taken from different stones, minerals, metals, plants, herbs, animals, vegetables, fruits, and cereal crops.[267] In addition to compiling pharmacopeias, the Tang fostered learning in medicine by upholding imperial medical colleges, state examinations for doctors, and publishing forensic manuals for physicians.[244] Authors of medicine in the Tang include Zhen Qian (d. 643) and Sun Simiao (581–682), the former who first identified in writing that patients with diabetes had an excess of sugar in their urine, and the latter who was the first to recognize that diabetic patients should avoid consuming alcohol and starchy foods.[268] As written by Zhen Qian and others in the Tang, the thyroid glands of sheep and pigs were successfully used to treat goiters; thyroid extracts were not used to treat patients with goiter in the West until 1890.[269]
Cartography[link]
In the realm of cartography, there were further advances beyond the map-makers of the Han Dynasty. When the Tang chancellor Pei Ju (547–627) was working for the Sui Dynasty as a Commercial Commissioner in 605, he created a well-known gridded map with a graduated scale in the tradition of Pei Xiu (224–271).[271][272] The Tang chancellor Xu Jingzong (592–672) was also known for his map of China drawn in the year 658.[272] In the year 785 the Emperor Dezong had the geographer and cartographer Jia Dan (730–805) complete a map of China and her former colonies in Central Asia.[272] Upon its completion in 801, the map was 9.1 m (30 ft) in length and 10 m (33 ft) in height, mapped out on a grid scale of one inch equaling one hundred li (Chinese unit of measuring distance).[272] A Chinese map of 1137 is similar in complexity to the one made by Jia Dan, carved on a stone stele with a grid scale of 100 li.[273] However, the only type of map that has survived from the Tang period are star charts. Despite this, the earliest extant terrain maps of China come from the ancient State of Qin; maps from the 4th century BC that were excavated in 1986.[274]
Alchemy, gas cylinders, and air conditioning[link]
The Chinese of the Tang period employed complex chemical formulas for an array of different purposes, often found through experiments of alchemy. These included a waterproof and dust-repelling cream or varnish for clothes and weapons, fireproof cement for glass and porcelain wares, a waterproof cream applied to silk clothes of underwater divers, a cream designated for polishing bronze mirrors, and many other useful formulas.[275] The vitrified, translucent ceramic known as porcelain was invented in China during the Tang, although many types of glazed ceramics preceded it.[132][276]
Ever since the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), the Chinese had drilled deep boreholes to transport natural gas from bamboo pipelines to stoves where cast iron evaporation pans boiled brine to extract salt.[277] During the Tang Dynasty, a gazetteer of Sichuan province stated that at one of these 182 m (600 ft) 'fire wells', men collected natural gas into portable bamboo tubes which could be carried around for dozens of km (mi) and still produce a flame.[278] These were essentially the first gas cylinders; Robert Temple assumes some sort of tap was used for this device.[278]
The inventor Ding Huan (fl. 180 AD) of the Han Dynasty invented a rotary fan for air conditioning, with seven wheels 3 m (10 ft) in diameter and manually powered.[279] In 747, Emperor Xuanzong had a "Cool Hall" built in the imperial palace, which the Tang Yulin (唐語林) describes as having water-powered fan wheels for air conditioning as well as rising jet streams of water from fountains.[280] During the subsequent Song Dynasty, written sources mentioned the air conditioning rotary fan as even more widely used.[281]
Historiography[link]
See also: Chinese historiography
The first classic work about the Tang is the Book of Tang by Liu Xu (887–946 AD) et al. of the Later Jin, who redacted it during the last years of his life. This was edited into another history (labelled the New Book of Tang) in order to distinguish it, which was a work by the Song historians Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), Song Qi (998–1061), et al. of the Song Dynasty (between the years 1044 and 1060). Both of them were based upon earlier annals, yet those are now lost.[282] Both of them also rank among the Twenty-Four Histories of China. One of the surviving sources of the Book of Tang, primarily covering up to 756, is the Tongdian, which Du You presented to the emperor in 801. The Tang period was again placed into the enormous universal history text of the Zizhi Tongjian, edited, compiled, and completed in 1084 by a team of scholars under the Song Dynasty Chancellor Sima Guang (1019–1086). This historical text, written with 3 million Chinese characters in 294 volumes, covered the history of China from the beginning of the Warring States (403 BC) until the beginning of the Song Dynasty (960).
See also[link]
- Di Renjie
- Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup
- I Ching (monk)
- Kaiyuan Za Bao (government newspaper for officials)
- List of Tang Emperors
- List of tributaries of Imperial China
- Nine Pinnacle Pagoda
- Qianling Mausoleum
- Tang Dynasty family tree
- Tang-Gokturk wars
- Tang poetry
- Wei Zheng
- Yan Zhenqing
- Taxation in premodern China
Notes[link]
^ a: During the reign of the Tang the world population grew from about 190 million to approximately 240 million, a difference of 50 million. See also medieval demography.
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- Graff, David Andrew (2000), "Dou Jiande's dilemma: Logistics, strategy, and state", in van de Ven, Hans, Warfare in Chinese History, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 77–105, ISBN 90-04-11774-1
- Graff, David Andrew (2008), "Provincial Autonomy and Frontier Defense in Late Tang: The Case of the Lulong Army", in Wyatt, Don J., Battlefronts Real and Imagined: War, Border, and Identity in the Chinese Middle Period, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 43–58, ISBN 978-1-4039-6084-9
- Guo, Qinghua (1998), "Yingzao Fashi: Twelfth-Century Chinese Building Manual", Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain 41: 1–13
- Harper, Damian (2005), China, Footscray, Victoria: Lonely Planet, ISBN 1-74059-687-0
- Hsu, Mei-ling (1988), "Chinese Marine Cartography: Sea Charts of Pre-Modern China", Imago Mundi 40 (1): 96–112, DOI:10.1080/03085698808592642
- Hsu, Mei-ling (1993), "The Qin Maps: A Clue to Later Chinese Cartographic Development", Imago Mundi 45 (1): 90–100, DOI:10.1080/03085699308592766
- Huters, Theodore (June 1987), "From Writing to Literature: The Development of Late Qing Theories of Prose", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies: 51–96
- Kang, Jae-eun (2006), The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism, translated by Suzanne Lee, Paramus: Homa & Sekey Books, ISBN 1-931907-37-4
- Kiang, Heng Chye (1999), Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats: The Development of Medieval Chinese Cityscapes, Singapore: Singapore University Press, ISBN 9971-69-223-6
- Kitagawa, Hiroshi; Tsuchida, Bruce T. (1975), The Tale of the Heike, Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press
- Levathes, Louise (1994), When China Ruled the Seas, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-70158-4
- Liu, Pean (1991), "Viewing Chinese ancient navigation and shipbuilding through Zheng He's ocean expeditions", Proceedings of the International Sailing Ships Conference in Shanghai
- Liu, Zhaoxiang (2000), History of Military Legal System, et al., Beijing: Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, ISBN 7-5000-6303-2
- Needham, Joseph (1986a), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, Taipei: Caves Books
- Needham, Joseph (1986b), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Engineering, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering, Taipei: Caves Books
- Needham, Joseph (1986c), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics, Taipei: Caves Books
- Needham, Joseph (1986d), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing, Taipei: Caves Books
- Needham, Joseph (1986e), Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 4, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts, Taipei: Caves Books
- Nishijima, Sadao (1986), "The Economic and Social History of Former Han", in Twitchett, Denis; Loewe, Michael, Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 545–607, ISBN 0-521-24327-0
- Pan, Jixing (1997), "On the Origin of Printing in the Light of New Archaeological Discoveries", Chinese Science Bulletin 42 (12): 976–981, DOI:10.1007/BF02882611, ISSN 1001-6538
- Reed, Carrie E. (January–March 2003), "Motivation and Meaning of a 'Hodge-podge': Duan Chengshi's 'Youyang zazu'", Journal of the American Oriental Society: 121–145
- Reischauer, Edwin O. (1940), "Notes on T'ang Dynasty Sea Routes", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 5 (2): 142–164, DOI:10.2307/2718022, JSTOR 2718022
- Richardson, H. E. (1985), A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions, Royal Asiatic Society, Hertford: Stephen Austin and Sons
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- Sen, Tansen (2003), Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600–1400, Manoa: Asian Interactions and Comparisons, a joint publication of the University of Hawaii Press and the Association for Asian Studies, ISBN 0-8248-2593-4
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- Stein, R. A. (1972) [1962], Tibetan Civilization (1st English ed.), Stanford: Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-0806-1
- Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (2004), "The Tang Architectural Icon and the Politics of Chinese Architectural History", The Art Bulletin 86 (2): 228–254, DOI:10.2307/3177416, JSTOR 3177416
- Studwell, Joe (2003), The China Dream: The Quest for the Last Great Untapped Market on Earth, New York: Grove Press, ISBN 0-8021-3975-2
- Sun, Guangqi (1989), History of Navigation in Ancient China, Beijing: Ocean Press, ISBN 7-5027-0532-5
- Tang, Zhiba (1991), "The influence of the sail on the development of the ancient navy", Proceedings of the International Sailing Ships Conference in Shanghai
- Temple, Robert (1986), The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention, with a foreword by Joseph Needham, New York: Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-671-62028-2
- Twitchett, Denis (2000), "Tibet in Tang's Grand Strategy", in van de Ven, Hans, Warfare in Chinese History, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 106–179, ISBN 90-04-11774-1
- Wang, Yongxing (2003), Draft Discussion of Early Tang Dynasty's Military Affairs History, Beijing: Kunlun Press, ISBN 7-80040-669-5
- Whitfield, Susan (2004), The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith, Chicago: Serindia, ISBN 1-932476-12-1
- Wood, Nigel (1999), Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0-8122-3476-6
- Woods, Frances (1996), Did Marco Polo go to China?, United States: Westview Press, ISBN 0-8133-8999-2
- Wong, Timothy C. (1979), "Self and Society in Tang Dynasty Love Tales", Journal of the American Oriental Society 99 (1): 95–100, DOI:10.2307/598956, JSTOR 598956
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- Yu, Pauline (December 1998), "Charting the Landscape of Chinese Poetry", Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR), pp. 71–87
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199.
Further reading[link]
- Abramson, Marc S. (2008), Ethnic Identity in Tang China, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-4052-8
- Cotterell, Arthur (2007), The Imperial Capitals of China: An Inside View of the Celestial Empire, London: Pimlico, ISBN 978-1-84595-009-5
- Chen, Guocan, "Hebei Sanzhen (Three Jiedushi of Hebei)", Encyclopedia of China (1st ed.), http://203.72.198.245/web/Content.asp?ID=51439&Query=1
- Chen, Zhen, "Jiedushi", Encyclopedia of China (1st ed.), http://203.72.198.245/web/Content.asp?ID=51618
- de la Vaissière, E. (2005), Sogdian Traders. A History, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 90-04-14252-5
- Schafer, Edward H. (1967), The Vermilion Bird: T’ang Images of the South, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tang Dynasty |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Art of the Tang Dynasty |
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Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article T’ang. |
- The Tang Dynasty, Minnesota State University Emuseum
- The Tang Dynasty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Home of 300 Tang Poems, University of Virginia
- Tang art with video commentary, from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- Paintings of Sui and Tang dynasties
| Preceded by Sui Dynasty |
Dynasties in Chinese history 618–907 |
Succeeded by Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms |
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| Tang Dynasty | |
|---|---|
 Tang Dynasty performing in 2004. |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Beijing, China |
| Genres | Progressive rock, art rock, folk metal, heavy metal |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | China Fire-Magic Stone-Rock Records (1992-1997), Jingwen Records (1998-2001), Jingguan Records (present) |
| Associated acts | Budaoweng, Black Panther, Breathing, White Angel, The Micro-organists, Spring and Autumn |
| Members | |
| Ding Wu Zhao Nian Gu Zhong Chen Lei |
|
| Past members | |
| Andrew Szabo Zhang Ju (deceased) Kaiser Kuo Yu Yang Liu Yijun |
|
Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo) is a Chinese rock/metal band formed in 1988. They are often credited as being the first heavy metal band in China.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Tang Dynasty rose to fame with their first major album A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty (1991/2). The album officially sold about 2,000,000 authentic copies throughout Asia and abroad, not counting the multitudes more of pirated copies. Their sound is part progressive rock and artistic metal and part traditional Chinese vocal technique with lyrical poetry and musical arrangements meant to hearken back to the glorious days of ancient Chinese civilization; in particular, the art and cultural epitome of Chinese history as popularly represented by the era of the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty soon became the icon of Chinese hard rock music, and their guitarist Liu Yijun, also known as "Lao Wu", became the first rock guitar hero in China.[citation needed] In 1991, the band released its metal/rock version of The Internationale in Chinese.
Bassist Zhang Ju, died on May 11, 1995 while riding his motorcycle from fellow rock bassist friend Chen Jin's home, when an accident occurred involving a collision with a truck on the Zizhuqiao freeway overpass in western Beijing. Gu Zhong became bass player, but in August Liu Yijun left the band. Original founding member Kaiser Kuo, a Chinese-American who formed the band with Ding Wu and Zhang Ju in 1988, rejoined as guitarist in January 1996.
The band's 1998 release Epic was their second album, seven years after their debut record. Epic did maintain a level of artfully composed series of new prog-metal rock songs that helped bring success to their debut album, but may otherwise be described as a little bit more of a straight-ahead rock album with somewhat less ethnic orientation.[citation needed] The album received lukewarm reviews. Nevertheless, the album was still popular enough to elicit waves of unauthorized copies in the pirated market. That year, Kaiser Kuo again parted company with Tang Dynasty and later formed another well-recognized metal/rock band, Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu).
Kuo was replaced by former Iron Kite frontman Yu Yang, and then by young guitar virtuoso Chen Lei in late 2000. After some more member changes, Lao Wu rejoined the group in 2002.
Tang Dynasty released their third album Knight of Romantic ("Langman Qishi") in mid-2008, featuring "Feng Shan Ji" as the album's lead track. [1] Tang Dynasty appear in the Western documentary by Sam Dunn, Global Metal, released that same year.[2]
In January 2009, Lao Wu announced his second departure of the band due to "personal reasons"; he is now working with an Austrian neo-classical rock artist on an album stated to be out by 2010. Vocalist Ding is currently filling the spot of the second guitarist.[3] In February 2010, Ding Wu announced that the band was preparing for the fourth release that due out later in the year.[4]
Members[link]
- Ding Wu – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Zhao Nian – drums, percussion
- Gu Zhong – bass
- Chen Lei – guitar
- Former members
- Andrew Szabo – drums
- Zhang Ju (deceased) – bass
- Kaiser Kuo – guitar
- Yu Yang – guitar
- Liu "Lao Wu" Yijun – guitar
Discography[link]
- Studio albums
- A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty (1992)
- Epic (1998)
- Knight of Romantic (2008)
See also[link]
References[link]
External links[link]
- Culture Express variety show hosted by Ji Xiaojun, featuring Tang Dynasty in studio for upcoming new record
- Tang Dynasty page from Rock in China site
- "Kaiser Kuo, Tang Dynasty, Spring and Autumn", from China Beat radio program
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For other uses, see Sun Bin (footballer).
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Sun Bin (simplified Chinese: 孙膑; traditional Chinese: 孫臏; pinyin: Sūn Bìn; died 316 BC) was a military strategist who lived during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. An alleged descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun Bin was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He was accused of treason while serving in the Wei state and was sentenced to face-tattooing (criminal branding) and had his kneecaps removed, rendering him a handicap for the rest of his life. Sun escaped from Wei later and rose to prominence in the Qi state, by serving as a military strategist and commander. He led Qi to victory against the Wei state at the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling. Sun authored the military treatise Sun Bin's Art of War, which was rediscovered in a 1972 archaeological excavation after being lost for almost 2000 years. Some historians have speculated that Sun Bin might be actually the same person as his alleged ancestor, Sun Tzu.[citation needed]
Contents |
Biography[link]
Early life[link]
An alleged descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun Bin was recognized for his brilliance at an early age, while he was still studying military strategy under the tutelage of the hermit Guiguzi. He could recite The Art of War, which made Guiguzi remark that all his other students should look up to Sun Bin as a role model. Pang Juan, a fellow student of Sun Bin, became sworn brothers with Sun. Pang left early and went to serve the Wei state as a military general, making his name after scoring victories in a few battles. Sun Bin, who was still studying with their teacher then, was invited to enter the service of Wei and he became Pang's colleague. However, Pang was secretly jealous of Sun, because he perceived that Sun Bin was more talented, and had learnt more about military strategy from their teacher than him.
Mutilation[link]
Pang Juan framed Sun Bin for treason and reported him to King Hui of Wei, who ordered Sun Bin to be executed. Pang pretended to plead for mercy on Sun's behalf, and the king condemned Sun to face-tattooing and removal of the kneecaps, effectively branding Sun as a criminal and rendering him a handicap for the rest of his life. Pang pretended to take pity on Sun and treated him well, while trying to trick Sun into compiling his knowledge on military strategy into a book, and Pang would kill him after that. Sun Bin realized Pang's true intentions later and feigned madness. Pang attempted to test whether Sun had really become insane or not, so he had Sun locked up in a pigsty. Sun appeared to enjoy himself there and he even consumed animal faeces, remarking that it was delicious. Pang believed that Sun was really mad and lowered his guard. Sun Bin managed to escape from the Wei state later with the help of diplomats from the Qi state.
Service in Qi[link]
Main articles: Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling
In the Qi state, Sun Bin became a retainer (guest) in the residence of Tian Ji, a military general. Once, King Wei of Qi invited Tian Ji to a racing competition between their horses. Sun Bin suggested a strategy to Tian Ji on how to utilize his horses to his advantage, and Tian won two out of three rounds in the race. The king was impressed with Tian's victory, and Tian admitted that he won with the help of Sun Bin, and he recommended Sun as a talent to the king. King Wei wanted to appoint Sun Bin as the commander of the Qi armies, but Sun declined, as his handicap prevented him from riding on horses. Sun was appointed as chief military advisor instead and served as Tian Ji's deputy.
In 354 BC, Wei state attacked the Zhao state, with Pang Juan leading the Wei army, and besieged the Zhao capital city of Handan. Zhao requested help from Qi, and the king of Qi commissioned Sun Bin and Tian Ji to lead an army to help Zhao. Sun Bin proposed the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" and the Qi army attacked the Wei capital city of Daliang (present-day Kaifeng), forcing the Wei army to turn back to save the city and effectively lifting the siege on Handan. The Wei army was ambushed and defeated by the Qi forces at the Battle of Guiling.
In 342 BC, the Wei army led by Pang Juan invaded the Han state, an ally of the Qi state, and Han requested help from Qi. Sun Bin and Tian Ji were put in charge of the Qi army again to counter the Wei forces. Sun used a strategy of feigning defeat in a series of skirmishes with the Wei forces, in order to lure Pang Juan to pursue him. Sun ordered the Qi troops to reduce the number of cooking stoves they used, to create a false impression that the Qi army was shrinking in size. The pursuing Wei forces led by Pang Juan spotted the trend by observing the marks left behind by the stoves, and Pang fell for Sun Bin's ruse. Eager to defeat Sun Bin, Pang continued the pursuit and fell into an ambush in a narrow valley laid by the Qi forces. The Wei army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Maling and Pang Juan committed suicide, while the crown prince of Wei was captured by the Qi forces. In traditional folklore, Sun Bin carved the words "Pang Juan dies under this tree" on a tree in the ambush area. When Pang arrived there, he saw that there were carvings on the tree so he lit a torch for a closer look. Right then, using the torch as the target, the Qi troops lying in ambush attacked. Pang committed suicide after being hit by many enemy arrows.
Sun Bin retired from service because of political entanglement in the court and led a reclusive life as a hermit in the later part of his life.
Sun Bin's Art of War[link]
Main article: Sun Bin's Art of War
Sun Bin's Art of War (孫臏兵法) is a military treatise authored by Sun Bin. The book was believed to be lost after the Han Dynasty, and although there were numerous references to it in post-contemporary texts, some historians still believed that the book was never written and could be a forgery. However, in April 1972, archaeologists excavated several fragments of scrolls from a tomb in Linyi, Shandong province. Sun Bin's Art of War was found among the scrolls. Although ancient texts mention that the original Sun Bin's Art of War was 89 chapters long, the rediscovered copy had 16 verifiable chapters only. As fragments of Sun Tzu's The Art of War were discovered as well, historians believed that some of the chapters might actually belong to The Art of War instead.
The newly discovered text provided historians with a different perspective on the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling. In addition, when compared to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Sun Bin's Art of War contained one major difference from the former. The former advised against siege warfare, while the latter suggested tactics for attacking a besieged city. This paralled a shift in strategic consideration of siege warfare during the later stages of the Warring States Period.
Popular culture[link]
Sun Bin is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.
His rivalry with Pang Juan is portrayed in the 2011 film The Warring States.
See also[link]
References[link]
- The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. Sawyer, Ralph D. ISBN 0-8133-1228-0
- Sun Pin: The Art of Warfare. Lau, D.C. and Ames, Roger T. ISBN 0-345-37991-8
| Persondata | |
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| Name | Sun Bin |
| Alternative names | |
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| Date of birth | |
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The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; IPA: [tʰɑ̌ŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ]; Middle Chinese: Dâng) (June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.
The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Yet, even when the central government was breaking down and unable to compile an accurate census of the population in the 9th century, it is estimated that the population had grown by then to about 80 million people. With its large population base, the dynasty was able to raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inner Asia and the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it indirectly controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful cultural influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
