1.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
2.
Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water
3.
English poetry
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This article focuses on poetry written in English from the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The article does not include poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, the earliest surviving English poetry, written in Anglo-Saxon, the direct predecessor of modern English, may have been composed as early as the 7th century. This is generally taken as marking the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry and it is possible to identify certain key moments, however. The Dream of the Rood was written before circa AD700, by and large, however, Anglo-Saxon poetry is categorised by the manuscripts in which it survives, rather than its date of composition. While the poetry that has survived is limited in volume, it is wide in breadth, beowulf is the only heroic epic to have survived in its entirety, but fragments of others such as Waldere and the Finnesburg Fragment show that it was not unique in its time. Other genres include much religious verse, from works to biblical paraphrase, elegies such as The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Ruin, and numerous proverbs, riddles. With one notable exception, Anglo-Saxon poetry depends on alliterative verse for its structure, with the Norman conquest of England, beginning in 1111 the Anglo-Saxon language rapidly diminished as a written literary language. The new aristocracy spoke predominantly Norman, and this became the language of courts, parliament. While Anglo-Norman or Latin was preferred for high culture, English literature by no means died out, other transitional works were preserved as popular entertainment, including a variety of romances and lyrics. With time, the English language regained prestige, and in 1362 it replaced French and Latin in Parliament, the reputation of Chaucers successors in the 15th century has suffered in comparison with him, though Lydgate and Skelton are widely studied. A group of Scottish writers arose who were believed to be influenced by Chaucer. The rise of Scottish poetry began with the writing of The Kingis Quair by James I of Scotland, the main poets of this Scottish group were Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas. The Renaissance was slow in coming to England, with the generally accepted start date being around 1509 and it is also generally accepted that the English Renaissance extended until the Restoration in 1660. However, a number of factors had prepared the way for the introduction of the new learning long before this start date. A number of medieval poets had, as noted, shown an interest in the ideas of Aristotle. The introduction of printing by Caxton in 1474 provided the means for the more rapid dissemination of new or recently rediscovered writers and thinkers. Caxton also printed the works of Chaucer and Gower and these books helped establish the idea of a poetic tradition that was linked to its European counterparts. In addition, the writings of English humanists like Thomas More and Thomas Elyot helped bring the ideas, the establishment of the Church of England in 1535 accelerated the process of questioning the Catholic world-view that had previously dominated intellectual and artistic life
4.
Tang dynasty
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The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. 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. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of 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. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
5.
Fleet Prison
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Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was several times. The prison was built in 1197 off what is now Farringdon Street, in 1381, during the Peasants Revolt, it was deliberately destroyed by Wat Tylers men. In 1666, during the Great Fire of London, it was burned down on the day of the fire. The warden of the prison, Sir Jeremy Whichcote, purchased Caron House in Lambeth after the fire to house the prisons debtors while the prison was rebuilt on the site at his own expense. During the 18th century, Fleet Prison was mainly used for debtors and it usually contained about 300 prisoners and their families. Like the Marshalsea prison, it was divided into a restrictive and arduous common side and a more open masters side, at that time, prisons were profit-making enterprises. Prisoners had to pay for food and lodging, there were fees for turning keys and for taking irons off, and Fleet Prison had the highest fees in England. There was even a grille built into the Farringdon Street prison wall, from 1613 on, there were also many clandestine Fleet Marriages. The boundary of the Liberties of the Fleet included the side of Ludgate Hill, the Old Bailey to Fleet Lane and along it until the Fleet Market. The head of the prison was termed the warden, who was appointed by letters patent and it became a frequent practice of the holder of the patent to farm out the prison to the highest bidder. This custom made the prison long notorious for the cruelties inflicted on prisoners, one purchaser of the office, Thomas Bambridge, who became warden in 1728, was of particularly evil repute. He was committed to Newgate Prison, and an act was passed to prevent his enjoying the office of warden, during the Gordon Riots in 1780 Fleet Prison was again destroyed and rebuilt in 1781–1782. The demolition yielded three million bricks,50 tons of lead and 40,000 square feet of paving, after lying empty for 17 years the site was sold to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway and became the site of their new Ludgate station. Roger de Saperton, fl.1381 Edmund Haslewood of Maidwell, such Cruelty reduces the Prisoners to Despair, insomuch, that many choose rather to shoot, hang or throw themselves out of the Window, than to be insulted, beaten and imposed upon by the Gaolers. If every Gaoler was allowed a yearly Sallary, in foreign Countries, where the Romish Religion prevails, what Crowds of People of both Sexes, from the highest Prince to the meanest Peasant, thrust themselves into Religious Houses. It is an apparent Injury to the Country, too obvious to be denied, that the many Prisons in England, where so many Thousands of both Sexes are detained, is a greater Loss and Injury to the King and Country. Other notable inmates include, Richard Onslow spent a time in the Fleet after being expelled from the Inner Temple for taking part in an affray in 1556
6.
Charles Churchill (satirist)
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Charles Churchill, was an English poet and satirist. Churchill was born in Vine Street, Westminster and he was admitted to St Johns College, Cambridge on 8 July 1748. He became curate of South Cadbury, Somerset, and, on receiving priests orders, two years later the elder Churchill died, and the son was elected to succeed him in his curacy and lectureship. His emoluments amounted to less than £100 a year, and he increased his income by teaching in a girls school and his marriage proved unhappy, and he began to spend much of his time in dissipation in the society of Robert Lloyd. He was separated from his wife in 1761, and would have been imprisoned for debt but for the help of Lloyds father. Churchill had already done work for the booksellers, and his friend Lloyd had had some success with a didactic poem. Churchills knowledge of the theatre was now made use of in the Rosciad and its immediate popularity was no doubt largely due to its personal character, but its vigour and raciness make it worth reading even now when the objects of Churchills wit are forgotten. Incidentally it contains a tribute to John Dryden, of whom Churchill was a devotee. He deprecated criticism by showing every possible civility to Churchill, who became a terror to the actors, thomas Davies wrote to Garrick attributing his blundering in the part of Cymbeline to my accidentally seeing Mr Churchill in the pit, it rendering me confused and unmindful of my business. Churchills satire made him enemies, and brought reprisals. In Night, an Epistle to Robert Lloyd, he answered the attacks made on him, the Rosciad had been refused by several publishers, and was finally published at Churchills own expense. He received a sum from the sale, and paid his old creditors in full. He now became an ally of John Wilkes, whom he regularly assisted with The North Briton weekly newspaper. His next poem, The Prophecy of Famine, A Scots Pastoral, was founded on a paper written originally for that newspaper. This violent satire on Scottish influence fell in with the current hatred of Lord Bute, and the Scottish place-hunters were as much alarmed as the actors had been. When Wilkes was arrested he gave Churchill a timely hint to retire to the country for a time, hogarth retaliated by a caricature of Churchill as a bear in torn clerical bands hugging a pot of porter and a club made of lies and North Britons. The Duellist is a virulent satire on the most active opponents of Wilkes in the House of Lords and he attacked Dr Johnson among others in The Ghost as Pomposo, insolent and loud, Vain idol of a scribbling crowd. In October 1764 he went to Boulogne to join Wilkes, there he was attacked by a fever of which he died on 4 November
7.
Jubilate Agno
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Jubilate Agno is a religious poem by Christopher Smart, and was written between 1759 and 1763, during Smarts confinement for insanity in St. Lukes Hospital, Bethnal Green, London. The poem was first published in 1939, under the title Rejoice in the Lamb, A Song from Bedlam, Stead from Smarts manuscript, which Stead had discovered in a private library. A Commission of Lunacy was taken out against Christopher Smart, and it is possible that Smart was confined by Newbery over old debts and a poor relationship between the two. Regardless, there is evidence that an incident took place in St. James’s Park in which he routed all the company, during this time, Smart was left alone, except for his cat Jeoffry and the occasional gawker. It is very possible that he felt homeless during this time and he had nothing else but to turn inwards and devote himself to God and his poetry. No specifics are known about Christopher Smarts day-to-day activities, and he was released from the asylum on January 30,1763, Jubilate Agno is divided into four fragments labeled A, B, C, and D. The whole work consists of over 1,200 lines, all the lines in some sections begin with the word Let, editing the work in 1950, W. H. Bond found that, The poem was intended as a reading. In Karina Williamsons 1980 edition, she made a decision and combined the Let. Using Williamsons combining of the two halves as a model, Guest claims that the For verses explore religion with a personal tone, in Jubilate Agno, Smart describes his writing as creating impressions. To accomplish this task, he incorporated puns and onomatopoeia in order to emphasize the significance of his poetic language. Jubilate Agno reflects an abandonment of traditional structures in order to explore complex religious thought. His Let verses join creation together as he writes his own version of Biblical poetry. Smart, in Jubilate Agno, plays on words and the meaning behind words in order to participate with the divine that exists within language, Fragment A of Jubilate Agno begins by combining the Patriarchs with animals. The beginning lines of the state the function of this action when they read, Let Noah and his company approach the throne of Grace. These two groups are combined together in order to combine the images of Noahs Ark and the Ark of Salvation in a manner that is similar to a Baptismal Service, for many of the pairs there is a logical or symbolic consistency. Biblical priests follow the Patriarchs, and their companions are the, unclean. The pairing slowly breaks down when later figures, such as political leaders, along with this transformation of pairing comes insects, legendary creatures, and finally seven birds at the end of the fragment
8.
Chinese poetry
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Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language. Poetry has consistently been held in high regard in China. Westerners also have found in it an interesting and pleasurable field of study, Classical Chinese poetry includes, perhaps first and foremost shi, and also other major types such as ci and qu. There is also a traditional Chinese literary form called fu, which defies categorization into English more than the other terms, during the modern period, there also has developed free verse in Western style. For example, lines from I Ching are often rhymed, but may not be considered to be poetry, a cross-cultural comparison to this might be the Pre-Socratic philosophical works in ancient Greece which were often written in verse versus free verse. The earliest extant anthologies are the Shi Jing, both of these have had a great impact on the subsequent poetic tradition. The elder of two works, the Shijing is a preserved collection of Classical Chinese poetry from over two millennia ago. The collection contains both aristocratic poems regarding life at the court and also more rustic poetry and images of natural settings. The Shijing poems are composed of four-character lines, rather than the five. The main techniques of espression are fu，bi and xing, during the Han Dynasty, the Chu Ci style of poetry contributed to the evolution of the fu style, typified by a mixture of verse and prose passages. The fu form remained popular during the subsequent Six Dynasties period, although it became shorter, the fu form of poetry remains as one of the generic pillars of Chinese poetry, although, in the Tang Dynasty, five-character and seven-character shi poetry begins to dominate. Many yuefu poems are composed of five-character or seven-character lines, in contrast to the lines of earlier times. A characteristic form of Han Dynasty literature is the fu, the poetic period of the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Six Dynasties era is known as Jianan poetry. An important collection of Han poetry is the Nineteen Old Poems, between and over-lapping the poetry of the latter days of the Han and the beginning period of the Six Dynasties was Jianan poetry. Examples of surviving poetry from this include the works of the Three Caos, Cao Cao, Cao Pi. The general and poet Lu Ji used Neo-Taoist cosmology to take literary theory in a new direction with his Wen fu, a high point of classical Chinese poetry occurred during the Tang period, not only was this period prolific in poets, but, also in poems. By this point, poetry was being composed according to regulated tone patterns, regulated and unregulated poetry were distinguished as ancient-style gushi poetry and regulated, recent-style jintishi poetry. Good examples of the gushi and jintishi forms can be found in, respectively, good examples of the jueju verse form can be found in the poems of Li Bai and Wang Wei
9.
George Keate
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George Keate was an English poet and writer. He was son of George Keate of Isleworth, Middlesex, who married Rachel Kawolski and he was born at Trowbridge in Wiltshire, where his father had property, on 30 November 1729. Together with Gilbert Wakefield, William Hayley, Francis Maseres, and others, on leaving school he was articled as clerk to Robert Palmer, steward to the Duke of Bedford. He entered the Inner Temple in 1751, was called to the bar in 1753, and made bencher of his inn in 1791, in 1850, Henderson inherited his familys money when his mother died. Keates money came from the dozens of houses that his family owned in Whitechapel, eight years after his death the income was worth £700 per year. For some years he lived abroad, mainly at Geneva, where he knew Voltaire, after settling in England Keate began to write. He was in turn poet, naturalist, antiquary, and artist, a founder member of the Society of Artists in 1761, he was one of those who left it for the Royal Academy in 1768. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, fanny Burney describes Keate in her Early Diary, especially his habit of talking about his own works. Other stories of Keate are in Richard Brinsley Peakes Memoirs of the Colman Family, during the last few years of life his health visibly declined, and he died suddenly at 10 Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, on 28 June 1797. He was buried at Isleworth on 6 July, and a marble monument, with bust by Joseph Nollekens, was placed near the spot where he and his wife. His specimens of shells were sold by auction after his death, Francis Douces gift of coins to the Bodleian Library included the collection of Keate. His works were, Ancient and Modern Rome,1760, a poem in blank verse, short Account of the Ancient History, present Government and Laws of the Republic of Geneva,1761, dedicated to Voltaire. Epistle from Lady Jane Grey to Lord Guildford Dudley, supposed to have written in the Tower a few days before they suffered,1762. The Alps, a Poem,1763, it was dedicated to Edward Young, Netley Abbey, an Elegy,1764, 2nd ed.1769, and often reprinted with John Bullars Visit to Netley Abbey. The Temple Student, an Epistle to a Friend,1765, Poem to the Memory of the celebrated Mrs. Cibber,1766, for Susannah Maria Cibber. Ferney, an Epistle to Voltaire,1768, sketches from Nature, taken and coloured in a Journey to Margate,1779,2 vols. an imitation of Laurence Sterne, which passed through several editions, and was translated into French. Poetical Works,1781,2 vols. they were dedicated to Dr and he was dissuaded by Voltaire from completing it. The Distressed Poet, a Serio-comic Poem,1787, describing his troubles through a protracted suit at common law with his architect, Mr. Adam
10.
Irish poetry
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Irish poetry includes poetry in two languages, Irish and English. The earliest surviving poems in Irish date back to the 6th century and this culminated in the work of the poets of the Irish Literary Revival in the late 19th and early 20th century. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe, the earliest examples date from the 6th century, and are generally short lyrics on themes from religion or the world of nature. They were frequently written by their authors in the margins of the illuminated manuscripts that they were copying. The best known example is Pangur Bán and it was practical for poems to be short because the Irish recognized that it was necessary to use any means necessary to make the poems lasting in their oral culture. To accomplish such a feat as well as they have, they used complicated rhyme schemes that would render a poem nonsensical if any of the key words were changed from the original version, in an oral culture, Irish poetry had many uses. A poem could be used to both the poet and the subject of the poem, oftentimes kings would commission poets to create a piece about them. Such poems would be passed on to descendants so they would remember the deeds of past generations. Kings would also commission poets to write poems of advertisement, speaking of the greatness and worthiness. Oral poetry, because it was in the vernacular, was used for entertainment. Poems that were entertaining could also be informative, teaching people lessons or offering them wisdom of experience for dealing with situations they would encounter in their everyday lives. Finally, poems, especially those featured in the sagas, were thought to be an instrument of the supernatural, Another source of early Irish poetry is the poems in the tales and sagas, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Unlike many other European epic cycles, the Irish sagas were written in prose, Irish bards formed a professional hereditary caste of highly trained, learned poets. As officials of the court of king or chieftain, they performed a number of official roles and they were chroniclers and satirists whose job it was to praise their employers and damn those who crossed them. It was believed that a well-aimed bardic satire, glam dicin, the Metrical Dindshenchas, or Lore of Places, is probably the major surviving monument of Irish bardic verse. It is a great onomastic anthology of naming legends of significant places in the Irish landscape, the earliest of these date from the 11th century, and were probably originally compiled on a provincial basis. As a national compilation, the Metrical Dindshenchas has come down to us in two different recensions. Knowledge of the real or putative history of local places formed an important part of the education of the elite in ancient Ireland, verse tales of Fionn and the Fianna, sometimes known as Ossianic poetry, were extremely common in Ireland and Scotland throughout this period
