1.
Xuwen County
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Xuwen County is a county of Guangdong Province, China. It is under the administration of Zhanjiang city, Xuwen County is the southernmost county of Guangdong Province, at the southern end of the Leizhou Peninsula. Creators preference concentrated on her, thus the superior port came into being, thanks to Providence and she has experienced two-thousand-year ups and downs. Plain customs and folks seem to remain, ancient wells, commercial port and docks have testified history. Major attractions are involved with most scenic spots in 15 Townships, profound human civilization and scenery, landscapes, interests and ancient ruins, throw into sharp relief of Xuwen, the more lustrous pearl in South China. The main town in the county is Wencheng and it is located approximately 10 km north of Haian Port. Wencheng is the commercial, political, cultural, recreational and residential downtown area, nanshan township, Chengbei township and Haian Township surround her. There are nine main streets, Dongfang Road, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Dongping Road,12,3,4, xuhai Road, Dexin Road,1,2,3, Chengdong Avenue, Mulan Road, Wenta Road, Guisheng Road. There are two parks, two stadiums, five supermarkets, one five star hotel, one four star hotel, two 3-star hotels, four KFC style restaurants, four Classic Cantonese restaurants. SPA center has not been set up yet. High speed bullet train railway is being built connecting to Guangzhou and it will have been accomplished by the end of 2015
2.
Simplified Chinese characters
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Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
3.
Traditional Chinese characters
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Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
4.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
5.
History of China
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Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1500 BC under the Shang dynasty. Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Bamboo Annals describe a Xia dynasty, with thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the worlds oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization. Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy developed during the Zhou dynasty. This is one of multiple periods of failed statehood in Chinese history, between eras of multiple kingdoms and warlordism, Chinese dynasties have ruled parts or all of China, in some eras control stretched as far as Xinjiang and Tibet, as at present. In 221 BC Qin Shi Huang united the warring kingdoms and created for himself the title of emperor of the Qin dynasty. Successive dynasties developed bureaucratic systems that enabled the emperor to control vast territories directly, in the 21 centuries from 206 BC until AD1912, routine administrative tasks were handled by a special elite, the Scholar-officials. Young men were selected through difficult examinations and were well-versed in calligraphy and philosophy. What is now China was inhabited by Homo erectus more than a million years ago, recent study shows that the stone tools found at Xiaochangliang site are magnetostratigraphically dated to 1.36 million years ago. The archaeological site of Xihoudu in Shanxi Province is the earliest recorded use of fire by Homo erectus, the excavations at Yuanmou and later Lantian show early habitation. Perhaps the most famous specimen of Homo erectus found in China is the so-called Peking Man discovered in 1923–27, fossilised teeth of Homo sapiens dating to 125, 000–80,000 BC have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County in Hunan. The Neolithic age in China can be traced back to about 10,000 BC, Early evidence for proto-Chinese millet agriculture is radiocarbon-dated to about 7000 BC. The earliest evidence of cultivated rice, found by the Yangtze River, is carbon-dated to 8,000 years ago, farming gave rise to the Jiahu culture. At Damaidi in Ningxia,3,172 cliff carvings dating to 6000–5000 BC have been discovered, featuring 8,453 individual characters such as the sun, moon, stars, gods and these pictographs are reputed to be similar to the earliest characters confirmed to be written Chinese. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 BC, Dadiwan from 5800 BC to 5400 BC, Damaidi around 6000 BC, some scholars have suggested that Jiahu symbols were the earliest Chinese writing system. With agriculture came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, Later, Yangshao culture was superseded by the Longshan culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Bronze artifacts have been found at the Majiayao culture site, The Bronze Age is also represented at the Lower Xiajiadian culture site in northeast China. Sanxingdui located in what is now Sichuan province is believed to be the site of a ancient city. The site was first discovered in 1929 and then re-discovered in 1986, Chinese archaeologists have identified the Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu, linking the artifacts found at the site to its early legendary kings
6.
Traditional Chinese medicine
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It is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. TCM is widely used in China and is becoming prevalent in Europe. One of the tenets of TCM holds that the bodys vital energy circulates through channels, called meridians. Concepts of the body and of disease used in TCM reflect its ancient origins and its emphasis on dynamic processes over material structure, scientific investigation has not found histological or physiological evidence for traditional Chinese concepts such as qi, meridians, and acupuncture points. The TCM theory and practice are not based upon scientific knowledge, the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine remains poorly researched and documented. There are concerns over a number of toxic plants, animal parts. There are also concerns over illegal trade and transport of endangered species including rhinoceroses and tigers, a review of cost-effectiveness research for TCM found that studies had low levels of evidence, but so far have not shown benefit outcomes. Pharmaceutical research has explored the potential for creating new drugs from traditional remedies, proponents propose that research has so far missed key features of the art of TCM, such as unknown interactions between various ingredients and complex interactive biological systems. The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in such as the Yellow Emperors Inner Canon and the Treatise on Cold Damage, as well as in cosmological notions such as yin-yang. Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the Peoples Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of anatomy, in the 1950s, the Chinese government promoted a systematized form of TCM. TCMs view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, while health is perceived as the harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. Traces of therapeutic activities in China date from the Shang dynasty, which Shang elites usually attributed to curses sent by their ancestors. There is no evidence that the Shang nobility used herbal remedies, according to a 2006 overview, the Documentation of Chinese materia medica dates back to around 1,100 BC when only dozens of drugs were first described. By the end of the 16th century, the number of drugs documented had reached close to 1,900, and by the end of the last century, published records of CMM had reached 12,800 drugs. Stone and bone found in ancient tombs led Joseph Needham to speculate that acupuncture might have been carried out in the Shang dynasty. The earliest evidence for acupuncture in this sense dates to the second or first century BC, the Yellow Emperors Inner Canon, the oldest received work of Chinese medical theory, was compiled around the first century BC on the basis of shorter texts from different medical lineages. It was also one of the first books in which the doctrines of Yinyang. The Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and Miscellaneous Illnesses was collated by Zhang Zhongjing sometime between 196 and 220 CE, at the end of the Han dynasty
7.
Yellow Emperor
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Huangdis cult became prominent in the late Warring States and early Han period, when he was portrayed as the originator of the centralized state, as a cosmic ruler, and as a patron of esoteric arts. A large number of texts – such as the Huangdi Neijing, a classic, and the Huangdi Sijing. To this day the Yellow Emperor remains a powerful nationalist symbol, in the Warring States period, the term di on its own could also refer to the deities associated with the five sacred mountains and colors. Huangdi, the di, was one of the latter. The correlation of the colors in association with different dynasties was mentioned in the Lüshi Chunqiu, the character huang 黄 was often used in place of the homophonous huang 皇, which means august or radiant, giving Huangdi attributes close to those of Shangdi, the Shang supreme god. The Records of the Grand Historian, compiled by Sima Qian in the first century BCE, gives the Yellow Emperors name as Xuanyuan. Third-century scholar Huangfu Mi, who wrote a work on the sovereigns of antiquity, commented that Xuanyuan was the name of a hill where Huangdi had lived, qing-dynasty scholar Liang Yusheng argued instead that the hill was named after the Yellow Emperor. Xuanyuan is also the name of the star Regulus in Chinese and he is also associated to the broader constellations Leo and Lynx, of which the latter is said to represent the body of the Yellow Dragon, Huangdis animal form. Huangdi was also referred to as Youxiong and this name has been interpreted as either a place name or a clan name. According to British sinologist Herbert Allen Giles, that name was taken from that of hereditary principality. William Nienhauser, a translator of the Records of the Grand Historian, states that Huangdi was originally the head of the Youxiong clan. Rémi Mathieu, a French historian of Chinese myths and religion, translates Youxiong as possessor of bears, ye Shuxian has also associated the Yellow Emperor with bear legends common across northeast Asia people as well as the Dangun legend. In Han-dynasty texts the Yellow Emperor is also called upon as the Yellow God, certain accounts interpret him as the incarnation of the Yellow God of the Northern Dipper, another name of the universal god. According to a definition in apocryphal texts related to the Hétú 河圖, as a cosmological deity, the Yellow Emperor is known as the Great Emperor of the Central Peak, and in the Shizi as the Yellow Emperor with Four Faces. His Records of the Grand Historian begins with the Yellow Emperor, throughout most of Chinese history, the Yellow Emperor and the other ancient sages were considered to be real historical figures. Their historicity started to be questioned in the 1920s by historians like Gu Jiegang, Yang Kuan, a member of the same historiographical current, noted that only in the Warring States period had the Yellow Emperor started to be described as the first ruler of China. Yang thus argued that Huangdi was a transformation of Shangdi. Also in the 1920s, French scholars Henri Maspero and Marcel Granet published critical studies of Chinas accounts of high antiquity, most scholars now agree that the Yellow Emperor originated as a god who was later represented as a historical person
8.
Book of Han
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The Book of Han or History of the Former Han is a history of China finished in 111, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. It is also called the Book of Former Han, the work was composed by Ban Gu, a court official, with the help of his sister Ban Zhao, continuing the work of their father, Ban Biao. They modeled their work on the Records of the Grand Historian, a universal history and it is the best source, sometimes the only one, for many topics in this period. A second work, the Book of the Later Han covers the Eastern Han period from 25 to 220, and was composed in the fifth century by Fan Ye. This history developed from a continuation of Sima Qians Records of the Grand Historian, initiated by Ban Gus father, Ban Biao and this work is usually referred to as Later Traditions, which clearly indicates that the elder Bans work was meant to be a continuation. After Ban Biaos death, his eldest son Ban Gu was dissatisfied with what his father had completed and this distinguished it from Sima Qians history, which had begun with Chinas earliest legendary rulers. In this way, Ban Gu initiated the Jizhuanti format for dynastic histories that was to remain the model for the official histories until modern times. For the periods where they overlapped, Ban Gu adopted nearly verbatim much of Sima Qians material and he also incorporated at least some of what his father had written, though it is difficult to know how much. The completed work ran to a total of 100 fascicles 卷, and included essays on law, science, geography, Ban Gus younger sister Ban Zhao finished writing the book in 111,19 years after Ban Gu had died in prison. An outstanding scholar in her own right, she is thought to have written volumes 13–20 and 26, the Annals section and the three chapters covering the reign of Wang Mang were translated into English by Homer H. Dubs. Other chapters have been rendered into English by A. F. P, sargent, Nancy Lee Swann, and Burton Watson. Ban Gus history set the standard for the writings of later Chinese dynasties and it is regarded as one of the Four Histories 四史 of the Twenty-Four Histories canon, together with the Records of the Grand Historian, Records of the Three Kingdoms and History of the Later Han. Emperors biographies in strict annal form, which offer an overview of the most important occurrences. Each treatise describes an area of effort of the state, the biographies confine themselves to the description of events that clearly show the exemplary character of the person. Two or more people are treated in one article, as they belong to the same class of people. The last articles describe the relations between China and the various peoples beyond the frontiers and it is later recorded that in 57, the southern Wa kingdom of Na sent an emissary named Taifu to pay tribute to Emperor Guangwu and received a golden seal. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū in the 18th century, according to the Book of Wei, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago in the third century was called Yamatai and was ruled by the legendary Queen Himiko. Dorneich, Chris M. Chinese sources on the History of the Niusi-Wusi-Asi-Rishi-Arsi-Arshi-Ruzhi, shiji 110/Hanshu 94A, The Xiongnu, Synopsis of Chinese original Text and several Western Translations with Extant Annotations
9.
Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han
10.
Taoism
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Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao is an idea in most Chinese philosophical schools, in Taoism, however. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order, the Tao Te Ching, a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi, is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi. By the Han dynasty, the sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organizations. In earlier ancient China, Taoists were thought of as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, Zhuangzi was the best known of these, and it is significant that he lived in the south, where he was part of local Chinese shamanic traditions. Women shamans played an important role in this tradition, which was strong in the southern state of Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century. Institutional orders of Taoism evolved in various strains that in recent times are conventionally grouped into two main branches, Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor, throughout Chinese history, Taoism was nominated several times as a state religion. After the 17th century, however, it fell from favor, Chinese alchemy, Chinese astrology, Chan Buddhism, several martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history. Beyond China, Taoism also had influence on surrounding societies in Asia, Taoism also has a presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and in Southeast Asia. English speakers continue to debate the preferred romanization of the words Daoism and Taoism, the root Chinese word 道 way, path is romanized tao in the older Wade–Giles system and dào in the modern Pinyin system. In linguistic terminology, English Taoism/Daoism is formed from the Chinese loanword tao/dao 道 way, route, principle and the native suffix -ism. The debate over Taoism vs. Daoism involves sinology, phonemes, loanwords, Daoism is pronounced /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/, but English speakers disagree whether Taoism should be /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/. In theory, both Wade–Giles tao and Pinyin dao are articulated identically, as are Taoism and Daoism, an investment book titled The Tao Jones Averages illustrates this /daʊ/ pronunciations widespread familiarity. In speech, Tao and Taoism are often pronounced /ˈtaʊ/ and ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/, lexicography shows American and British English differences in pronouncing Taoism. Taoist philosophy or Taology, or the mystical aspect — The philosophical doctrines based on the texts of the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching and these texts were linked together as Taoist philosophy during the early Han Dynasty, but notably not before. It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing, however, the discussed distinction is rejected by the majority of Western and Japanese scholars
11.
Qibo
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Qibo, was a mythological Chinese doctor, employed by Yellow Emperor as his minister. It is said that he was enlightened with the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine by an ethereal being from the heavens and he was a doctor in shanggu shidai in legend. It is said that he had learned medicine from some celestial being like Guangchengzi, Chisongzi, Zhongnanzi and he recognized medicinal herb in daylight, learned Tao of health maintenance and mastered jingluo medicine. Zhongnanzi recommended Qibo to Yellow Emperor, while Yellow Emperor asked Tao to Guangchengzi in Kongtong Mountains, Qibo became the chancellor of Yellow Emperor. He sampled medicinal herbs by the order of Yellow Emperor, Yellow Emperor Neijing is the a book comprising the dialogues regarding medicinal problems between Yellow Emperor and Qibo
12.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
13.
Yin and yang
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Many tangible dualities are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. Duality is found in many systems, but Yin and Yang are parts of a Oneness that is also equated with the Tao. A term has been coined dualistic-monism or dialectical monism, Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The yin yang shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the element in each section. In Taoist metaphysics, distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real, so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole. In the ethics of Confucianism on the hand, most notably in the philosophy of Dong Zhongshu. The Chinese terms yīn 陰 or 阴 shady side and yáng 陽 or 阳 sunny side are linguistically analyzable in terms of Chinese characters, pronunciations and etymology, meanings, topography, and loanwords. The first phonetic yīn 侌 cloudy ideographically combines jīn 今 now, present and yún 云 cloud, the second phonetic yáng 昜 bright originally pictured 日 the sun with 勿 rays coming down. This phonetic is expanded with the sun radical into yáng 暘 rising sun, the mound, hill radical 阝full forms semantically specify yīn 陰 shady/dark side of a hill and yáng 陽 sunny/light side of a hill. Compare the Classical Chinese names for these two bodies, Tàiyīn 太陰 moon and Tàiyáng 太陽 sun. Reconstructions of Old Chinese have illuminated the etymology of modern Chinese words, Yin and yang are semantically complex words. A reliable Chinese-English dictionary gives the translation equivalents. Many Chinese place names or toponyms contain the word yang sunny side, similarly, yin refers to north side of a hill in Huayin 華陰, which is north of Mount Hua 華山 in Shaanxi province. English yin, yang, and yin-yang are familiar loanwords of Chinese origin, the Oxford English Dictionary defines, yin Also Yin, Yn. a. Also attrib. or as adj. and transf, comb. as yin-yang, the combination or fusion of the two cosmic forces, freq. attrib. Esp. as yin-yang symbol, a divided by an S-shaped line into a dark. Comb. yang-yin = yin-yang s. v. yin b, for the earliest recorded yin and yang usages, the OED cites 1671 for yin and yang,1850 for yin-yang, and 1959 for yang-yin
14.
Qi
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In traditional Chinese culture, qì or chi is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi literally translates as breath, air, or gas, and figuratively as material energy, life force, Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. Some elements of the concept of qi can be found in the energy when used in the context of various esoteric forms of spirituality. Notions in the West of energeia, élan vital, or vitalism are purported to be similar, despite widespread belief in the reality of qi, it is a non-scientific, unverifiable concept. The logograph 氣 is read with two Chinese pronunciations, the usual qì 氣 air, vital energy and the rare archaic xì 氣 to present food, pronunciations of 氣 in Sino-Xenic borrowings include, Japanese language ki, Korean language gi, and Vietnamese language khi. Reconstructions of the Middle Chinese pronunciation of 氣, standardized to IPA transcription, include, /kʰe̯iH/, /kʰĭəiH/, /kʰiəiH/, /kʰɨjH/, reconstructions of the Old Chinese pronunciation of 氣, standardized to IPA transcription, include, /*kʰɯds/, and /*C. qʰəp-s/. In addition, qì 炁 is an uncommon character especially used in writing Daoist talismans, historically, the word qì was generally written as 气 until the Han dynasty, when it was replaced by the 氣 graph clarified with mǐ 米 rice indicating steam. These oracle, bronze, and seal scripts graphs for qì 气 air, breath, etc. were anciently used as a loan character to write qǐ 乞 plead for, beg, ask. The regular script character qì 氣 is unusual because qì 气 is both the air radical and the phonetic, with mǐ 米 rice semantically indicating steam, vapor. This qì 气 air/gas radical, which was used in a few native Chinese characters like yīnyūn 氤氲 thick mist/smoke, was used to create new scientific characters for gaseous chemical elements. Some examples are based on pronunciations in European languages, fú 氟 fluorine and nǎi 氖 neon, others are based on semantics, qīng 氫 hydrogen and lǜ 氯 chlorine. Qi was an early Chinese loanword in English, romanized as, ki in Church Romanization in the century, chi in Wade–Giles in the mid-19th century. An early form of the idea comes from the writings of the Chinese philosopher Mencius, historically, the Huangdi Neijing/The Yellow Emperors Classic of Medicine is credited with first establishing the pathways through which qi circulates in the human body. The ancient Chinese described it as life force and they believed qi permeated everything and linked their surroundings together. They likened it to the flow of energy around and through the body, forming a cohesive, by understanding its rhythm and flow they believed they could guide exercises and treatments to provide stability and longevity. Although the concept of qi has been important within many Chinese philosophies, until China came into contact with Western scientific and philosophical ideas, they had not categorized all things in terms of matter and energy. Qi and li were fundamental categories similar to matter and energy, yuán qì is a notion of innate or pre-natal qi to distinguish it from acquired qi that a person may develop over the course of their lifetime. The earliest texts that speak of qi give some indications of how the concept developed, the philosopher Mo Di used the word qi to refer to noxious vapors that would in due time arise from a corpse were it not buried at a sufficient depth
15.
Wu Xing
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The Five Phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This order of presentation is known as the generation sequence. In the order of mutual overcoming, they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, the system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. The system is used as a reference in some forms of complementary and alternative medicine. Xing of Wu Xing means moving, a planet is called a star in Chinese. Wu Xing originally refers to the five planets that create five dimensions of earth life. Wu Xing is also translated as Five Elements and this is used extensively by many including practitioners of Five Element acupuncture. This translation arose by analogy with the Western system of the four elements. By the same token, Mù is thought of as Tree rather than Wood, the word element is thus used within the context of Chinese medicine with a different meaning to its usual meaning. It should be recognized that the phase, although commonly preferred, is not perfect. Phase is a translation for the five seasons mentioned below. Manfred Porkert attempts to resolve this by using Evolutive Phase for 五行 Wǔ Xíng and Circuit Phase for 五運 Wǔ Yùn, some of the Mawangdui Silk Texts also present the Wu Xing as five virtues or types of activities. Within Chinese medicine texts the Wu Xing are also referred to as Wu Yun or a combination of the two characters these emphasise the correspondence of five elements to five seasons, another tradition refers to the Wǔ Xíng as Wǔ Dé, the Five Virtues. Wood parts Earth Earth dams Water Water extinguishes Fire Fire melts Metal Metal chops Wood This cycle might also be called controls, according to Wu Xing theory, the structure of the cosmos mirrors the five phases. Each phase has a series of associations with different aspects of nature. In the ancient Chinese form of known as Feng Shui practitioners all based their art. All of these phases are represented within the trigrams, associated with these phases are colors, seasons and shapes, all of which are interacting with each other. Based on a directional energy flow from one phase to the next
16.
Warring States period
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The Warring States Period derives its name from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han dynasty. The political geography of the era was dominated by the Seven Warring States, namely, Qin, The State of Qin was in the far west, with its core in the Wei River Valley and Guanzhong. This geographical position offered protection from the states of the Central Plains, the Three Jins, Northeast of Qin, on the Shanxi plateau, were the three successor states of Jin. These were, Han, south, along the Yellow River, Zhao, the northernmost of the three. Qi, located in the east of China, centred on the Shandong Peninsula, described as east of Mount Tai, Chu, located in the south of China, with its core territory around the valleys of the Han River and, later, the Yangtze River. Yan, located in the northeast, centred on modern-day Beijing, late in the period Yan pushed northeast and began to occupy the Liaodong Peninsula Besides these seven major states, some minor states also survived into the period. Yue, On the southeast coast near Shanghai was the State of Yue, Sichuan, In the far southwest were the States of Ba and Shu. These were non-Zhou states that were conquered by Qin late in the period, in the Central Plains comprising much of modern-day Henan Province, many smaller city states survived as satellites of the larger states, though they were eventually to be absorbed as well. Zhongshan, Between the states of Zhao and Yan was the state of Zhongshan, the Spring and Autumn period was initiated by the eastward flight of the Zhou court. There is no one single incident or starting point for the Warring States era, some proposed starting points are as follows,481 BC, Proposed by Song-era historian Lü Zuqian, since it is the end of the Spring and Autumn Annals. 476–475 BC, The author, Sima Qian, of Records of the Grand Historian who chose the year of King Yuan of Zhou. 403 BC, The year when Han, Zhao and Wei were officially recognised as states by the Zhou court, author Sima Guang of Zizhi Tongjian tells us that the symbol of eroded Zhou authority should be taken as the start of the Warring States era. The Spring and Autumn period led to a few states gaining power at the expense of many others, during the Warring States period, many rulers claimed the Mandate of Heaven to justify their conquest of other states and spread their influence. Other major states also existed, such as Wu and Yue in the southeast, the last decades of the Spring and Autumn era were marked by increased stability, as the result of peace negotiations between Jin and Chu which established their respective spheres of influence. This situation ended with the partition of Jin, whereby the state was divided between the houses of Han, Zhao and Wei, and thus enabled the creation of the seven major warring states. This allowed other clans to gain fiefs and military authority, and decades of struggle led to the establishment of four major families. The Battle of Jinyang saw the allied Han, Zhao and Wei destroy the Zhi family, with this, they became the de facto rulers of most of Jins territory, though this situation would not be officially recognised until half a century later. The Jin division created a vacuum that enabled during the first 50 years expansion of Chu and Yue northward
17.
Joseph Needham
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Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham CH FRS FBA 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, 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 child of a London family. His father was a doctor, and his mother, Alicia Adelaïde, née Montgomery, was a composer from Oldcastle. Needham was educated at Oundle School before attending Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he received a BA in 1921, an Oxbridge MA in January 1925 and he had intended to study medicine but came under the influence of Frederick Hopkins, resulting in his switch to biochemistry. His three-volume work Chemical Embryology, published in 1931, includes a history of embryology from Egyptian times up to the early 19th century and his Terry Lecture of 1936 was published by Cambridge University Press in association with Yale University Press under the title of Order and Life. In 1939 he produced a work on morphogenesis that a Harvard reviewer claimed will go down in the history of science as Joseph Needhams magnum opus. Although his career as biochemist and an academic was well established, his career developed in unanticipated directions during, three Chinese scientists came to Cambridge for graduate study in 1937, Lu Gwei-djen, Wang Ying-lai and Shen Shih-Chang. Lu, daughter of a Nanjingese pharmacist, taught Needham Chinese, igniting his interest in Chinas ancient technological and he then pursued, and mastered, the study of Classical Chinese privately with Gustav Haloun. Under the Royal Societys direction, Needham was the director of the Sino-British Science Co-operation Office in Chongqing from 1942 to 1946, during this time he made several long journeys through war-torn China and many smaller ones, visiting scientific and educational establishments and obtaining for them much needed supplies. His longest trip in late 1943 ended in far west in Gansu at the caves in Dunhuang at the end of the Great Wall where the earliest dated printed book - a copy of the Diamond Sutra - was found. The other long trip reached Fuzhou on the east coast, returning across the Xiang River just two days before the Japanese blew up the bridge at Hengyang and cut off part of China. In 1944 he visited Yunnan in an attempt to reach the Burmese border, everywhere he went he purchased and was given old historical and scientific books which he shipped back to Britain through diplomatic channels. They were to form the foundation of his later research, on his return to Europe, he was asked by Julian Huxley to become the first head of the Natural Sciences Section of UNESCO in Paris, France. In fact it was Needham who insisted that science should be included in the organisations mandate at a planning meeting. He devoted his energy to the history of Chinese science until his retirement in 1990, in 1948, Needham proposed a project to the Cambridge University Press for a book on Science and Civilisation in China. Within weeks of being accepted, the project had grown to seven volumes and his initial collaborator was the historian Wang Ling, whom he had met in Lizhuang and obtained a position for at Trinity. The first years were devoted to compiling a list of every mechanical invention and abstract idea that had been made and conceived in China
18.
Mawangdui Silk Texts
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The Mawangdui Silk Texts are Chinese philosophical and medical works written on silk which were discovered at the Mawangdui site in Changsha, Hunan, in 1973. Scholars arranged them into 28 types of silk books and their approximately 120,000 words cover military strategy, mathematics, cartography and the six classical arts, ritual, music, archery, horsemanship, writing and arithmetic. The texts were buried in tomb number three at Mawangdui, and were hidden until their late-20th-century discovery, some were previously known only by title, and others are previously-unknown commentaries on the I Ching attributed to Confucius. In general, they follow the sequence as the received versions (versions which were passed down by copying and recopying texts collected and collated during the fifth century AD. However, in important aspects they differ noticeably from the received texts known before their discovery. The Chinese characters in the texts are often only fragments of the characters used in later traditional versions. Many characters are formed by combining two characters, one indicating a general category of meaning, and the other to guide pronunciation. Where the traditional texts have both components, the silk texts frequently give only the half of the character. There are several hypotheses to explain this, The scribe may have been too lazy to write the full form of many characters, the earlier of two silk texts may have been a scribe taking dictation as quickly as they could write. In English, dog has two apparently-unrelated meanings, a mammal, or to pursue with unflagging patience. English speakers do not write dog, even in the sentence The feral dog dogged the human invaders of its territory until they left the area. A similar understanding may have been assumed in the ancient writings and it may have been a form of jargon, similar writing of partial characters are found in ancient Chinese musical scores. Partial characters and their derivatives are building blocks for the systems of some historical and modern languages. In addition to partial characters mentioned above, the two-silk texts sometimes use different from those in later versions. This is similar to the English She flowered the table compared with She floured the table, most received versions of the Tao Te Ching are in substantial agreement, and most text is simple and straightforward. Occasionally two versions will have a homonym, and a text with a character which is a synonym for one of the first two characters is useful. In 1990, sinologist Victor H. Mair translated the Ma-wang-tui version, the two silk books are part of the Cultural Relics from the Mawangdui Tombs collection at the Hunan Provincial Museum. Hong Kong, The Chinese University Press, I Ching = The classic of changes, the first English translation of the newly discovered Mawangdui texts of I Ching
19.
Ming dynasty
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The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Empire of the Great Ming – for 276 years following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming, described by some as one of the greatest eras of orderly government, although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683. He rewarded his supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia, the rise of new emperors and new factions diminished such extravagances, the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor during the 1449 Tumu Crisis ended them completely. The imperial navy was allowed to fall into disrepair while forced labor constructed the Liaodong palisade, haijin laws intended to protect the coasts from Japanese pirates instead turned many into smugglers and pirates themselves. The growth of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch trade created new demand for Chinese products and produced an influx of Japanese. This abundance of specie remonetized the Ming economy, whose money had suffered repeated hyperinflation and was no longer trusted. While traditional Confucians opposed such a prominent role for commerce and the newly rich it created, combined with crop failure, floods, and epidemic, the dynasty collapsed before the rebel leader Li Zicheng, who was defeated by the Manchu-led Eight Banner armies who founded the Qing dynasty. The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty, consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dykes of the Yellow River. A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the Red Turbans in 1351, the Red Turbans were affiliated with the White Lotus, a Buddhist secret society. Zhu Yuanzhang was a peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352. In 1356, Zhus rebel force captured the city of Nanjing, with the Yuan dynasty crumbling, competing rebel groups began fighting for control of the country and thus the right to establish a new dynasty. In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his archrival and leader of the rebel Han faction, Chen Youliang, in the Battle of Lake Poyang, arguably the largest naval battle in history. Known for its ambitious use of ships, Zhus force of 200,000 Ming sailors were able to defeat a Han rebel force over triple their size, claimed to be 650. The victory destroyed the last opposing rebel faction, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang in uncontested control of the bountiful Yangtze River Valley, Zhu Yuanzhang took Hongwu, or Vastly Martial, as his era name. Hongwu made an effort to rebuild state infrastructure. He built a 48 km long wall around Nanjing, as well as new palaces, Hongwu organized a military system known as the weisuo, which was similar to the fubing system of the Tang dynasty. With a growing suspicion of his ministers and subjects, Hongwu established the Jinyiwei, some 100,000 people were executed in a series of purges during his rule
20.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
21.
History of the Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty, founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang, was the second imperial dynasty of China. It followed the Qin dynasty, which had unified the Warring States of China by conquest, interrupted briefly by the Xin dynasty of Wang Mang, the Han dynasty is divided into two periods, the Western Han and the Eastern Han. These appellations are derived from the locations of the capital cities Changan and Luoyang, the third and final capital of the dynasty was Xuchang, where the court moved in 196 CE during a period of political turmoil and civil war. The Han dynasty ruled in an era of Chinese cultural consolidation, political experimentation, relative economic prosperity and maturity, there was unprecedented territorial expansion and exploration initiated by struggles with non-Chinese peoples, especially the nomadic Xiongnu of the Eurasian Steppe. This agreement was broken when Emperor Wu of Han launched a series of campaigns which eventually caused the fissure of the Xiongnu Federation. The Han court established trade and tributary relations with rulers as far west as the Arsacids, Buddhism first entered China during the Han, spread by missionaries from Parthia and the Kushan Empire of northern India and Central Asia. From its beginning, the Han imperial court was threatened by plots of treason and revolt from its subordinate kingdoms, yet much more volatile and consequential for the dynasty was the growing power of both consort clans and the eunuchs of the palace. This event triggered an age of war as the country became divided by regional warlords vying for power. Following the Han, China was split into three states, Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu, these were reconsolidated into one empire by the Jin dynasty. The Zhou dynasty had established the State of Qin in Western China as an outpost to breed horses and act as a buffer against nomadic armies of the Rong, Qiang. After conquering six Warring States by 221 BCE, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, with control over much of China proper, he affirmed his enhanced prestige by taking the unprecedented title huangdi, or emperor, known thereafter as Qin Shi Huang. Han-era historians would accuse his regime of employing ruthless methods to preserve his rule, Qin Shi Huang died of natural causes in 210 BCE. Yet by this point others had rebelled, among them Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang and they were joined by Liu Bang, a man of peasant origin and supervisor of convicts in Pei County. Mi Xin, grandson of King Huai I of Chu, was declared King Huai II of Chu at his powerbase of Pengcheng with the support of the Xiangs, while other kingdoms soon formed in opposition to Qin. However, the new kingdoms of Chu, Yan, and Qi came to Zhaos aid, Xiang Yu defeated Zhang at Julu and in 207 BCE forced Zhang to surrender. While Xiang was occupied at Julu, King Huai II sent Liu Bang to capture the Qin heartland of Guanzhong with an agreement that the first officer to capture this region would become its king. Liu Bang gained Ziyings submission and secured the Qin capital of Xianyang, persuaded by his chief advisor Zhang Liang not to let his soldiers loot the city, he instead sealed up its treasury. The Standard Histories allege that when Xiang Yu arrived at Xianyang two months later in early 206 BCE, he looted it, burned it to the ground, and had Ziying executed
22.
Feast at Hong Gate
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Its location in present-day China is roughly at Hongmenbao Village, Xinfeng Town, Lintong District, Xian, Shaanxi province. The main parties involved in the banquet were Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, the Feast at Hong Gate is often memorialised in Chinese history, fiction and popular culture. Between 209 BC and 206 BC, rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty, some of these insurgent forces claimed to be restoring the former six states which were annexed by the Qin state in a series of wars from 230–221 BC. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were two prominent leaders who emerged from among the rebels, in 208 BC, Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang installed King Huai II as the nominal ruler of the Chu state while they were actually the ones in power. In late 208 BC, Xiang Liang was killed in action at the Battle of Dingtao so the Chu military came under King Huai IIs control, in late 207 BC, Liu Bangs rebel army conquered Wu Pass and seized control of Guanzhong and the Qin capital Xianyang. The last Qin emperor Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang, marking the end of the Qin dynasty, after occupying Xianyang, Liu Bang gave strict orders to his men, forbidding them from looting and pillaging the city and harming the civilian populace. Liu Bang also sent troops to garrison at Hangu Pass to block Xiang Yu from entering Guanzhong, around the time, Xiang Yus force had just defeated a Qin army led by Zhang Han at the Battle of Julu. When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, he was displeased to hear that Liu Bang had already occupied Guanzhong, so he attacked and conquered the pass, Liu Bang and his army were based in Bashang then. The strengths of Xiang Yu and Liu Bangs forces then were estimated to be 400,000 and 100,000 respectively, Cao Wushang also added that Liu Bang had seized all the riches of Xianyang for himself. Xiang Yu was furious when he heard this and planned to attack Liu Bang, Xiang Yus advisor Fan Zeng felt that Liu Bang posed a threat to his lord so he urged Xiang Yu to eliminate Liu Bang as soon as possible. One of Xiang Yus uncles, Xiang Bo, shared a friendship with Liu Bangs advisor Zhang Liang. Xiang Bo feared for his friends life so he sneaked to Liu Bangs camp to warn Zhang Liang about the peril he was in, Liu Bang was shocked when Zhang Liang related the news to him, and he sought advice from Zhang to avoid danger. Zhang Liang instructed Liu Bang to enlist the help of Xiang Bo to reduce Xiang Yus suspicions. When Xiang Bo returned to Xiang Yus camp later, he assured his nephew that Liu Bang had no ill intentions, the following day, Liu Bang brought around 100 men with him to meet Xiang Yu at Hong Gate, where Xiang had prepared a banquet to entertain him. Liu Bang expressed that he managed to enter Guanzhong first because of sheer luck, Liu Bang also explained that the misunderstanding was caused by vile words from someone plotting to sow discord between him and Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu then pointed out that it was Cao Wushang who told him about Liu Bangs supposed intentions and he invited Liu Bang to partake in the banquet. The main parties involved in the feast were seated in the arrangement, Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo faced east, Fan Zeng faced south, Liu Bang faced north. During the banquet, Fan Zeng made signals and hinted many times to Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang, Fan Zeng then summoned Xiang Yus cousin Xiang Zhuang, instructing him to pretend to perform a sword dance to entertain the guests and find an opportunity to assassinate Liu Bang
23.
Rebellion of the Seven States
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This was an attempt to consolidate Liu family rule over the parts of China that were not ruled directly from the capital under the commandery system. During the reign of Emperor Wen, these princes were still setting their own laws, many princes were effectively ignoring the imperial governments authority within their own principalities. When Emperor Jing became emperor in 157 BC, the principality of Wu was especially domineering. Emperor Jing already had a relationship with his cousin-once-removed Liu Pi, Prince of Wu. The principality of Wu enjoyed, among other resources, abundant copper. When Emperor Jing was still Crown Prince Qi, Liu Pis heir apparent Liu Xian had been on a visit to the capital Changan. During arguments over the game, Liu Xian offended Crown Prince Qi, Liu Pi hated Emperor Jing for causing the death of Liu Xian. He carved out the commandery of Changshan from the Principality of Zhao and he carved out six counties from the principality of Jiaoxi, based on Liu Ang, the Prince of Jiaoxi, embezzling funds from the sales of titles intended for paying border patrol costs. Carving out the commanderies of Huiji and Yuzhang from the Principality of Wu, based on various offences by Liu Pi, in response to these actions, Liu Pi organized a rebellion. The seven actively participating princes were, Liu Pi, Prince of Wu, Liu Wu, Prince of Chu Liu Ang, Prince of Jiaoxi. Two other principalities--Qi and Jibei --agreed to join but neither actually did, three other princes were persuaded to join but either refused or merely did not join, Liu An, Prince of Huainan Liu Ci, Prince of Lujiang Liu Bo, Prince of Hengshan. The seven princes also requested help from the independent kingdoms of Donghai and Minyue. Donghai and Minyue sent troops to participate in the campaign, but the Northern Xiongnu, after promising to do so. The seven princes claimed that Chao Cuo was aiming to wipe out the principalities, the four principalities on the periphery of Qi aimed to conquer Qi and divide it. Zhao forces headed west but stayed within the borders to wait for Wu and Chu forces, a suggestion by a Gen. Huan to ignore all cities on the way and leapfrog to attack Luoyang and seize the plentiful food and weapons supply near Luoyang. A suggestion to concentrate the forces to attack Liang and destroy it first, Liu Pi accepted the final suggestion, concerned that if he gave Tian a large force he might rebel, and that Huans plan was too dangerous. In accordance with instructions left by Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing commissioned Zhou Yafu as the commander of his forces to face the main rebel force--the joint forces of Wu. He commissioned Li Ji, the Marquess of Quzhou, to attack Zhao, dou Ying was put in command of Li and Luans forces, to coordinate them at his headquarters set at Yingyang
24.
Han conquest of Gojoseon
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The Wiman Joseon–Han War was a campaign launched by the Chinese Han Dynasty against Wiman Joseon between 109 and 108 BC. It resulted in the fall of Gojoseon, since the time that Wi Man took the Gojoseon throne, relations between Han and Gojoseon had been deteriorating. After an audience with the king, She He failed in securing the passage of the envoys. While returning to his nation, She He killed Wi Jang, due to this action, the king sent out troops to kill She He. The direct pretext for war came when King Ugeo had the Han envoy executed. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu launched a Han military campaign into Gojoseon, two forces—totaling about 50,000 troops led by Yang Fu and Xun Zhi respectively—set out from the Han empire to invade the kingdom. A navy sailed from Qi across the Bohai Sea towards Gojoseon, while an army marched through Liaodong and headed towards Wanggeom, the capital of Gojoseon. In a series of attempts by the Han forces to take the city in the first year of the war. Xun Zhi, having overall command from the Emperor Wu, imprisoned Yang Fu and unified the Han forces, Wiman Joseon officials such as No In, Han Eum, Sam, Wang Gyeop insisted on surrendering to the Han, but King Ugeo disagreed. Eventually, in April of 108 BC, three of the ministers surrendered to the Han and Sam later let King Ugeo be assassinated, under the leadership of Minister Seong Gi, the people of Gojoseon still struggled against the Han. But, Seong Gi was also assassinated and the city fell to the Han. After the war, four Han commanderies were founded to administer the former Gojoseon territories, namely Lelang, Xuantu, Zhenfan, the most significant commandery was located in Lelang, which controlled the region until 313 AD. The conquest of Gojoseon in 108 BC by Han, ultimately led to the Proto-Three Kingdoms period of Korea, Korea divided, The thirty-eighth parallel and the Demilitarized Zone. Culture contact and culture change, The Korean Peninsula and its relations with the Han Dynasty commandery of Lelang, constructing Korean origins, A critical review of archaeology, historiography, and racial myth in Korean state-formation theories. A new understanding of Kija Chosŏn as a historical anachronism, west, Barbara A. Encyclopedia of the peoples of Asia and Oceania
25.
Southward expansion of the Han dynasty
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The southward expansion of the Han dynasty comprises a series of military campaigns and expeditions in what is now modern South China and Northern Vietnam. Military expansion to the south began under the previous Qin dynasty, campaigns were dispatched against the Yue tribes, leading to the annexation of Minyue by the Han in 135 BCE and 111 BCE, Nanyue in 111 BCE, and Dian in 109 BCE. Chinese culture influenced the conquered territories, and merged with native traditions. Han influences are apparent in artifacts excavated in the Baiyue tombs of southern China and this influence extended to the kingdoms of Southeast Asian, where contact led to trade and diplomacy. The demand for Chinese silk established trade routes between Europe, the Middle East, and China, military campaigns against the Baiyue began under the Qin, the dynasty that preceded the Han. The First Emperor of the Qin desired the resources of the Baiyue and he sent a large campaign against Lingnan in 214 BC, comprising conscripted merchants and soldiers. Military garrisons were installed, the Lingqu Canal was constructed, the collapse of the Qin caused the dissolution of Qin administration in southern China. Indigenous Yue kingdoms emerged in the former Qin territories, including the Nanyue kingdom in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam, Minyue in Fujian, supported by the Han, Minyue was established in 202 BC and Eastern Ou in 192 BC after the fall of the Qin dynasty. Zhao Tuo, a former Chinese commander of the Qin, established Nanyue in 208 BC after the death of the emperor Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Gaozu, first emperor of the Han dynasty, approved Zhao Tuos new title as king. Zhao was born in the city of Zhending in Central China, in 180 BC, Zhao offered to submit as a vassal state and the Han accepted, a decision partly based on his familys northern Chinese ancestry. Military campaigns were launched against the Baiyue under the reign of the Han emperor Han Wudi, Eastern Ou requested Han military assistance when Minyue invaded the kingdom in 138 BC. Supreme commander Tian Fen opposed Han intervention. Tian told the emperor that the Yue tribes could not be trusted, battles between the Yue tribes occurred frequently, and Tian believed that protecting them was not a responsibility of the Han court. The Han official Zhuang Zhu convinced the emperor to intervene in the war, zhuangs argument was based on the emperors role as the Son of Heaven, a concept in Chinese political philosophy. Now a small country has come to report its distress to the Son of Heaven, if he does not save it, to whom can it turn for aid. And how can the Son of Heaven claim that the rulers of all states are like sons to him if he ignores their pleases. The Minyue surrendered after a Han naval force led by Zhuang Zhu was dispatched from Shaoxing in northern Zhejiang, the Yue tribes of Eastern Ou were transferred to the north, between the Yangtze River and Huai River. A second intervention was launched in 135 BC after Minyue, ruled by Zou Ying, invaded Nanyue, Zhao asked the Han for their support, and the emperor responded by sending an army led by Wang Hui and Han Anguo against Minyue. Zou Ying was assassinated with a spear by his younger brother Zou Yushan, Ying beheaded the corpse and gave the head to a messenger, who delivered it to Wang as a sign of Minyues surrender
26.
Han campaigns against Minyue
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The Han campaigns against Minyue were three Han Dynasty military campaigns dispatched against the Minyue state. The first campaign was in response to Minyues invasion of Eastern Ou in 138 BC, in 135 BC, a second campaign was sent to intervene in a war between Minyue and Nanyue. After the campaign, Minyue was split into Minyue, ruled by a Han proxy king, Dongyue was defeated in a third military campaign in 111 BC and the former Minyue territory was annexed by the Han Dynasty. The Qin Dynastys military incursions in the south of what is now China began a period of expansion continued under the next dynasty. After the fall of the Qin, Minyue was established in 202 BC and they were rewarded with greater autonomy in return for their contributions to the revolt against the Qin. The local rulers of the Minyue region had also sided with Liu Bangs Han instead of Xiang Yus Chu during the Chu–Han Contention, Minyue was created by carving out the former Qin province of Minzhong, with Dongye as the capital, into a new kingdom ruled by Zou Wuzhu. A decade later, Zou Yao was granted control over Donghai, the title was bestowed with a declaration by the Han emperor that Zou Yan, the chief of Min, achieved great merit and his people supported the Han cause. The Han historian Sima Qian claims both rulers were descendants of Goujian, the 5th century BC ruler of Yue, the family had lost their status as rulers during the Qins wars of unification, when they were demoted to local chieftains. In 138 BC, Minyue invaded the Eastern Ou, prompting Eastern Ou to request the intervention of Han forces, the Han court was divided over offering military support. The concept of Chinese centrality among nations persuaded the court to dispatch an army, in accordance with Chinese political philosophy, the ruler or Son of Heaven held a mandate that obligated the emperor to help smaller countries in need. Otherwise, as the Han official Zhuang Zhu phrased it, how could we treat the myriad kingdoms as our children, a Han naval force led by Zhuang Zhu departed from Shaoxing in northern Zhejiang towards Minyue. The Minyue surrendered before the arrival of the Han troops, there were plans to move the residents of Eastern Ou to the area between the Huai River and Yangtze River, following a request by the king of Eastern Ou. In 135 BC, war broke out when Minyue invaded Nanyue, Zhao Mo, the king of Nanyue, asked for and received the military assistance of the Han. In 180 BC, Zhao had offered to submit as a vassal and the Han agreed, an army led by the generals Wang Hui and Han Anguo was ordered to invade Minyue. The campaign was cut short by palace infighting in the Minyue court, panicked at news of an invasion, the younger brother of the Minyue king Zou Ying, Zou Yushan, conspired with the royal court to depose Ying. Yushan killed his brother with a spear, decapitated the corpse, the Han forces withdrew soon after. Zhao Mo was grateful for the speed of the intervention against Minyue, the Han official Zhuang Zhu was dispatched to meet with the Nanyue emperor, who expressed his gratitude. Zhao sent his son, the prince Zhao Yingqi, to the Han capital at Changan, in the aftermath of the campaign, Minyue had split into a dual monarchy, Minyue and Dongyue
27.
Han conquest of Nanyue
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The Han–Nanyue War was a military conflict between the Han empire and the Nanyue kingdom. During the reign of Emperor Wu, the Han forces launched a campaign against Nanyue. In the south of China and northern Vietnam, Zhao Tuo had established himself as the King of Nanyue, although Zhaos ancestors originated from Zhengding, the Han frontier in the south was not threatened and there was no indication that Zhao Tuo would encroach on Han territory. Eventually, in 196 BC, Emperor Gaozu sent Lu Jia on a mission to Nanyue to recognize Zhao Tuo. Nevertheless, relations between Han and Nanyue were sometimes strained, Zhao Tuo resented Empress Lüs ban on exports of metal wares and female livestock to Nanyue. He eventually proclaimed himself an emperor in his own right, more specifically, in 183 BC, he retorted by proclaiming himself the Martial Emperor of the South, which implied a status on equal footing with the emperor of China. Two years later, Nanyue attacked the Changsha kingdom, territory belonging to the Han empire, in 180 BC, Lu Jia led a diplomatic mission to Nanyue. During negotiations, he succeeded in convincing Zhao Tuo to give up on his title as emperor, in 135 BC, King Zhao Mo of Nanyue appealed to the Han court for help against attacking Minyue forces. The Han court responded swiftly and this led to Zhao Mos agreement to send his son to serve palace duties in Changan. Even though Nanyue neglected to pay homage to the Han court. She was Chinese herself and was married to Zhao Yingqi, who had served at Changan during his princehood, however, many Nanyue ministers opposed this suggestion. Lü Jia was the primary Nanyue official to oppose the idea, in 112 BC, the opposition retaliated violently and executed the Queen Dowager, King Zhao Xing, and several Han emissaries. This provocation triggered the mobilization of a large Han naval force into Nanyue, the forces comprised six armies, who traveled by sea, directly southward, or from Sichuan along the Xi River. In 111 BC, General Lu Bode and General Yang Pu advanced towards Panyu and this resulted in the surrender of Nanyue to the Han empire later that year. After the fall of Panyu, Tây Vu Vương revolted against the First Chinese domination by the Western Han dynasty and he was killed by his assistant Hoàng Đồng. After the conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC, the Han empire established nine new commanderies to administer the former Nanyue territories, Han control proceeded to expand further southwestward by military means after the conquest. The conquest also made it possible to extend Han maritime trade further to countries in Southeast Asia, two counties were founded by Emperor Wu of Han in 111 BC in honor of this war. Qins campaign against the Yue tribes Loewe, Michael, the Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, The Chin and Han Empires,221 B. C. –A. D
28.
Han conquest of Dian
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Dian was placed under Han rule in 109 BC, after Emperor Wudi dispatched an army against the kingdom as the empire expanded southward. Dian was a kingdom in southwestern China. Han Chinese textual sources record the claim that it was established by Zhuang Qiao and he had been sent to area as part of failed Chu military campaign. The Qin was overthrown by the Han, and the commanderies of the new dynasty, Ba and Shu, the earliest Han expedition against Dian was led by Tang Meng in 135 BC, who established the Jianwei commandery in the region. The Han had been attracted to the wealth of the kingdom, which traded cattle, fruit, horses, Han soldiers opened up new trade routes, then expanded further north, toward an area near Shu. The commandery was later abandoned because of rising costs and the wars against the Xiongnu to the north of China. A later Chinese expedition, heading south to established a trade route after a report on Central Asian trade in 122 BC, was captured by the Dian for four years, a military campaign dispatched by Emperor Wudi in 109 BC invaded and annexed Dian. The Yizhou commandery was established in the former kingdom, Dians surrender was verified by archaeologists, who discovered an imperial seal inscribed by the Han for the king of Dian. There were a series of rebellions by the Dian against Han rule. The first two incidents occurred in 86 BC and 83 BC, a rebellion in 35BC–28 BC was suppressed by Chen Li, governor of the Zangge commandery. More violence surfaced during Wang Mangs usurpation of the Han emperor, Wang responded by dispatching military campaigns against the southwest. One campaign lost 70% of its soldiers due to illness, another, with 100,000 men and double the supplies, had little success. There was also a rebellion in 42–45 and 176, during Emperor Mingdis reign in 57–75, the Han expanded further, and established a new commandery in Yunnan, Yongchang, west of the former Dian kingdom in Yizhou. In 114, tribes residing west of the Yuesui commandery accepted Han rule, Emperor Huangti embarked on a sinicization campaign during his reign between 146 and 168 that introduced Chinese ethics and culture to the tribes. The continued to be periodic rebellions, follow by their suppression by the Han, the sinicization of the Dian began after the Han annexation of 109 BC and is apparent in the artifacts uncovered by archaeologists in the area. Mirrors, coins, ceramics, and bronzes manufactured in Han style have been found in Yunnan, Emperor Huangti encouraged the teaching of Chinese belief systems in Dian. Dian artifacts, once visually distinct from the Han, borrowed heavily from Han imports by 100 BC, the Cambridge Illustrated History of China. The Formation of Chinese Civilization, An Archaeological Perspective, the Arts of China to Ad 900
29.
First Chinese domination of Vietnam
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The first Chinese domination is a period in Vietnamese history during which Vietnam was under Chinese rule from the north. It is the first of four periods of Chinese domination of Vietnam, Vietnamese resistance to Han rule culminated in the rebellion of the Trưng Sisters, who expelled the Han in 40 AD and briefly ruled Vietnam until being defeated by the returning Han army in 43 AD. The Vietnamese paid heavy tributes and taxes to the Hans, the Han mandarins tried to occupy large areas of land and changed them into Chinese style farms and brought Chinese peasants to work them. However, implementation of an administrative system and the Sinicization was not easy, frequent uprisings. Under foreign rule, the Vietnamese people had to adopt foreign writing system, but lost much of their spoken language, during the first century of Chinese rule, Vietnam was governed leniently, and the Lạc lords maintained their feudal offices. In the first century A. D. However, modern Vietnamese now believe that the information is true, Vietnamese historians have sought to construct a fantasy of a continuous succession since the Hung Kings of local political units in Vietnam. Vietnamese scholars and historians have debated whether to regard Zhao Tuo as part of the orthodox succession of rulers or as enemy invader. The Jiaqing Emperor refused Gia Longs request to change his countrys name to Nam Việt, Gia Longs Đại Nam thực lục contains the diplomatic correspondence over the naming. There is a dispute as to whether the period of the Triệu dynasty was part of the first Chinese domination of Vietnam, the Trưng Sisters incited a victorious armed revolt against Han authorities, took over 65 cities. They were crowned the queens in 40, renaming the country Lĩnh Nam and this marked the end of the first Chinese domination of Vietnam
30.
Trung sisters' rebellion
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In 40 AD the Vietnamese leader Trưng Trắc and her sister Trưng Nhị rebelled against Chinese authorities in Jiaozhi. Han China dispatched General Ma Yuan to lead an army to strike down the Yue rebellion of the Trung sisters, in 43 AD, the Han army fully suppressed the uprising and regained complete control. The Trung sisters were captured and beheaded by the Han forces, in March of 40 AD, the Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, led the Yue people to rise up in rebellion against the Han. It began at the Red River Delta, but soon spread to other Yue tribes along the coast to the north and south, the uprising gained the support of about sixty-five towns and settlements. Trung Trac was proclaimed as the queen, even though she gained control over the countryside, she was not able to capture the fortified towns. The Han government responded rather slowly to the emerging situation, in May or June of 42 AD, Emperor Guangwu gave the orders to initiate a military campaign. General Ma Yuan was placed in command of the campaign to suppress the rebellion and he was given the title Fubo Jiangjun. Ma Yuan and his staff began mobilizing a Han army in southern China, from Guangdong, Ma Yuan dispatched a fleet of supply ships along the coast. He led the Han army through difficult terrain towards the Red River Delta, the rebellion was stricken down in April or May. The Trung sisters were captured and decapitated, by the end of 43 AD, the Han army had taken full control over the region by defeating the last pockets of resistance. General Ma Yuan aggressively siniziced the culture and customs of the people, removing their tribal ways. He melted down the Yue bronze drums, their chieftains symbol of authority, to cast a statue of a horse, one reason for the defeat is the desertion by rebels because they did not believe they could win under a womans leadership. The fact that women were in charge was blamed as a reason for the defeat by historical Vietnamese texts, when the enemy is at the gate, the woman goes out fighting. Has been recited as evidence of womens stature, wang Mang, the restoration of the Han dynasty, and Later Han. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, The Chin, the Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, The Chin and Han Empires,221 B. C. –A. D
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Second Chinese domination of Vietnam
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The second Chinese domination marks a period when Vietnam fell into Chinese control for a second time, between the end of the Trưng Sisters and the start of the Anterior Lý Dynasty. The Trung sisters independence rule was one of the few relatively brief interruptions during the Chinese domination of Vietnam which continued from 111 BC to 939. After the defeat of the Trung sisters, the Eastern Han dynasty strengthened its control over the region in 43, as the Han dynasty weakened, the prefect of Giao Chỉ, Shi Xie, ruled Vietnam as an autonomous warlord and was posthumously deified by later Vietnamese Emperors. Even when the Eastern Han dynasty split into the Three Kingdoms in 220, a female rebel named Triệu Thị Trinh briefly pushed the Chinese rulers out in 248, but was soon overthrown. Then Vietnam was under Jin China and the first half of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the domination ended by 544, when Lý Nam Đế came to power. Local rebellions were organized by, Chu Đạt 156–160 Lương Long 178–181 Khu Liên 192, Triệu Chỉ 299–319 Lương Thạch 319–323 Lý Trường Nhân and Lý Thúc Hiến 468–485 Taylor, Keith Weller
32.
Xin dynasty
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The Xin dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD. It interrupted the Han dynasty, dividing it into the periods of the Western Han, the sole emperor of the Xin dynasty, Wang Mang, was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, after several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in 9 AD. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler and he died in the siege, and the Han dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan. Wars With the Xiongnu - A translation from Zizhi tongjian Chapter 13–17 - pp 404–601 ISBN 978-1-4490-0605-1
33.
Red Eyebrows
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The Red Eyebrows or Chimei was one of the two major agrarian rebellion movements against Wang Mangs short-lived Xin dynasty, the other being Lülin. It was so named because the rebels painted their eyebrows red, when their path was blocked by the army of Liu Xius newly established Eastern Han regime, they surrendered to him. The rebellions were numerous and fractured, two key examples are discussed below. The case of Mother Lü was an unusual one. Her son was an official at the Haiqu county government. Mother Lü, who was a landowner, sold off her property. When she gathered thousands, she stormed the county seat in the year 17 and she then led her men to the sea, but died soon afterwards. Fan Chong had his own rebellion in 18, also in the modern Rizhao region and he used Mount Tai as his base, and he was able to gather about 10,000 men. He soon entered into an alliance with other rebel leaders Pang An, Xu Xuan, Xie Lu, and Yang Yin, pooling resources with them, in 19, at the behest of his official Tian Kuang, Wang Mang oddly reacted to the agrarian rebellions by raising taxes. This only aggravated the agrarian rebels, Wang, who by this point had distrusted Tian due to his military successes, refused and summoned him back to the capital Changan. About this time, Mother Lü died, and her followers joined forces with Fan Chongs forces and it should be noted that by this point, Fan and the other rebel leaders still lacked any real political ambition—even as they were showing genuine military abilities. The only rules of law that they had among the rebels was one who murders would die. The only titles for the leaders were county educator, county clerk. By 22, the forces that Jing and Wang led against Fan and other generals were in shambles. Wang Mang reacted by sending two of his generals, Wang Kuang and Lian Dan with a massive regular force. Wang and Lian, while capable generals on the battlefield, also failed to maintain military discipline. This led to a lament by the people victimized by their forces. The Taishi is relatively mild, but Gengshi wants to kill me, in winter 22, Wang and Lian had some successes against the Chimei leader Suolu Hui, capturing the city of Wuyan
34.
Lulin
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The name Lulin came from the Lulin Mountains, where the rebels had their stronghold for a while. In 17 AD, the Jing Province was suffering a famine that was exacerbated by the corruption. The victims of the famine were reduced to consuming wild plants, two men named Wang Kuang and Wang Feng, both from Xinshi became arbiters in some of these disputes, and they became the leaders of the enfamined people. They were later joined by others, including Ma Wu, Wang Chang. Within a few months,7,000 to 8,000 men gathered together under their commands and they had their base at Lulin Mountain, and their modus operandi was to attack and pillage villages far from the cities for food. This carried on for years, during which they grew to tens of thousands in size. Wang sent messengers issuing pardons in hopes of causing these rebels to disband, some, in order to flatter Wang Mang, told him that these were simply evil resistors who needed to be killed, or that this was a temporary phenomenon. Wang listened to those who flattered him and generally relieved those who told the truth from their posts, further, Wang made no further attempts to pacify the rebels, but instead decided to suppress them by force. In reality, the rebels were forced into rebellion to survive, and they were hoping that eventually, as a result, they never dared to attack cities. When the governor tried to retreat, his route was temporarily cut off by Ma Wu. Instead, the Lulin rebels roved near the area, capturing many women, by this point, they had 50,000 men. In 22, the Lulin rebels suddenly suffered a plague of an unspecified nature. This led to the breakup of the group into 3 force, Wang Chang and Cheng Dan moved to the west, toward Nan Commandery, this branch was known as the Xiajiang Force. Wang Feng, Wang Kuang, Ma Wu, and two other leaders Zhu Wei and Zhang Ang moved to the north, toward Nanyang Commandery, this branch was known as the Xinshi Force. Around this time, there was another group of rebels led by Chen Mu. These rebels at this time still generally lacked political ambition and they were, however, soon spurred on by someone who was. He had a brother, Liu Xiu who, by contrast, was a careful and deliberate man, around this time, there were prophecies being spread about that the Lius would return to power, and many men gathered about Liu Yan, requesting that he lead them. He then joined his forces with the Lulins Xinshi and Pinglin Forces and his sister Liu Yuan and brother Liu Zhong both died in the battle
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Military history of Goguryeo
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The military history of Goguryeo involves wars with other Korean kingdoms, Chinese dynasties, nomadic states and tribes, and Wa Japan. Goguryeo and Baekje were two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, both claimed descent from the ancient Korean kingdom of Buyeo, onjo, the founder of Baekje, was said to be the second son of Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo. Despite the common ancestry, the relationship between Goguryeo and Baekje was often contentious, during the 4th century, Geunchogo expanded Baekjes territory to the north at the expense of Goguryeo. In 369, Gogukwon, the monarch of Goguryeo, attacked Baekje with 20,000 troops, in 371, Geungusu led 30,000 troops and attacked the fortress of Pyongyang, slaying Gogukwon in battle. Gogukyang, a son of Gogukwon, invaded Baekje in 386, in 392, Gwanggaeto the Great led an attack on Baekje with 40,000 troops, capturing 10 walled cities. In response, Asin, the monarch of Baekje, launched a counterattack on Goguryeo in 393 but was defeated, Asin invaded Goguryeo once more in 394, but was defeated again. After suffering multiple defeats against Goguryeo, Baekjes political stability began to crumble, in 395, Baekje was defeated once more by Goguryeo and was pushed south to its capital of Wiryeseong on the Han River. In the following year, in 396, Gwanggaeto led an assault on Wiryeseong by land and sea, using the Han River, Gwanggaeto captured the Baekje capital and the defeated Asin submitted to him, surrendering a prince and 10 government ministers. Henceforth, Baekje lost its dominance in the central Korean peninsula, in 400, Silla requested aid from Goguryeo in repelling an allied invasion by Baekje, Gaya, and Wa. Gwanggaeto dispatched 50,000 troops and annihilated the enemy coalition, in 433, Baekje and Silla formed an alliance to balance the Goguryeo threat to the north. In 472, Gaero, the ruler of Baekje, requested an alliance with Northern Wei against Goguryeo. In 475, Jangsu, the son of Gwanggaeto, launched an invasion by land and sea against Baekje, Baekje had no choice but to move its capital to mountainous Ungjin,80 miles to the south, which provided a natural protection for the devastated kingdom. In 479, Baekje and Silla reaffirmed their alliance through marriage, in 551, a Baekje–Silla alliance attacked Goguryeo in order to capture the important Han River region from Goguryeo, planning to split it between them. Baekje attacked Silla in 612,624, and 627, Goguryeo and Baekje formed an alliance in 642 aimed toward territorial restoration against Silla. King Uija of Baekje attacked Silla and captured around 40 strongpoints in 642, in 655, the Goguryeo–Baekje alliance captured 30 fortresses from Silla. In 245, Dongcheon ordered an attack on Silla, but the two entered into friendly relations in 248. Nulji, the king of Silla, who had been a vassal of Jangsu, Jangsu invaded Silla in 468, expanding his domain into parts of Gangwon Province, and again in 489, capturing 7 walled cities and expanding his domain into parts of North Gyeongsang Province. In 643, under attack by the Goguryeo–Baekje alliance, the Silla court dispatched Kim Chunchu to the Tang dynasty to request military assistance, leading to Emperor Taizongs campaign against Goguryeo
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Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions
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Some were executed, some were released but lost their civil rights. The restrictions on civil liberties imposed on the partisans were not lifted until 184 when Emperor Ling was concerned that the partisans would join the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He put the five eunuchs and their associates into powerful positions, as a result, a number of Confucian officials who served in the imperial administration began a conscious effort to form a coalition to drive out the influence of the eunuchs. In the realm of public opinion, they were supported by university students in the capital, the matter came to a head in 166 over a murder case. Zhang Cheng, a fortuneteller in Luoyang, had foretold that a pardon would be forthcoming. Li Ying, one of the foremost Confucian scholars in government who was serving as the governor of the province, arrested the Zhangs. Li, in anger, disregarded the pardon and executed the Zhangs anyway, however, Li did not anticipate that eunuchs friendly to Zhang would then accuse Li and the other officials of encouraging university students to criticize government and the emperor. Emperor Huan also issued an arrest order for other university students—and it was this arrest order that coined the term the partisans, Chen Fan continued to protest, and was removed from his post. The next year, Dou Wu submitted a petition requesting leniency for the partisans. Another official, Huo Xu, also submitted a similar petition, further, the eunuchs became concerned that the university students interrogation logs often mentioned their own younger family members, and therefore also wanted to investigation to end. Therefore, under their urging, Li, Du, Chen, and their civil liberties were stripped for life. Early 168, Emperor Huan died without an heir, Empress Dou became empress dowager and regent, and her father Dou Wu and Chen Fan became the leading officials at court. They selected Liu Hong, the 12-year-old Marquess of Jieduting, as the new emperor, Empress Dou continued to serve as regent. Under the advice of her father and Chen, she restored the rights of the partisans, and in fact made many of them imperial officials. Later in 168, concerned that the eunuchs were exerting too much influence with the young emperor, when word got out, the eunuchs instead incarcerated Empress Dowager Dou to get her seal and mobilized the imperial guards and had Chen arrested and executed. Dou Wu resisted, but was defeated after a campaign in and near the capital. The eunuchs immediately removed the partisans from government and again suspended their civil liberties, the eunuchs were not content with just removing the partisans from government. In 169, they persuaded the 13-year-old Emperor Ling that the partisans were intent on rebellion, the leading partisans, including Li, Du, Fan Pang, were arrested and executed
37.
Way of the Five Pecks of Rice
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At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in the Hanzhong valley, north of Sichuan. In 215 CE, the state was incorporated into Cao Caos Kingdom of Wei, the Celestial Masters believed that qi pervaded everything, and in order to achieve immortality, the correct balance of qi had to be present within the body. Having a poor quantity of qi in the body, would result in illness, meditation could be used to restore qi to the body, but sex was to be avoided, as it could result in the loss of qi. If there was the balance of qi within the body upon death. If not, an adherent would be transported to a prison where he would face eternal torment. The Hanzhong state was divided into 24 regions which were led by an official, each district had a civil register which recorded peoples names and ranks. Three times a year, the registers were updated at the time as an important feast. While a childs rank rose automatically, adults had to raise their own rank through religious achievement or marriage, higher ranked people had more divine generals at their command, which could be used to fight demons that caused bad luck or disease. The state had a system of law that encouraged confession and benevolence rather than strict punishment, criminals were asked to confess their crimes and meditate, and were given public work to do as a sentence. Few texts written by the Hanzhong Celestial Masters survive, with the most important being the Xianger commentary to the Dao De Jing, while the Hanzhong state lasted for only twenty-five years, their beliefs influenced all subsequent Daoist movements. The movement was called the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. The movement spread rapidly, particularly under his son Zhang Heng, the Zhangs were able to convert many groups to their cause, such as the Bandun Man, which strengthened their movement. In 184, Zhang Xiu rebelled against the Han Dynasty, in 191, Zhang Lu and Zhang Xiu were sent to conquer the Hanzhong valley, just north of Sichuan, which was under Zhang Xius control. During the subsequent battle, Zhang Xiu was killed, and Zhang Lu founded the state of Zhanghan. In 215, Cao Cao, the ruler of the Kingdom of Wei attacked the Hanzhong state, and forced Zhang Lu to flee to Eastern Sichuan, Zhang was given a title and land, as were several other family members and generals. His followers were forced to resettle in other parts of China, with one group being sent to the Changan area, Zhang and his family relocated to Cao Caos administrative headquarters in Ye, located in todays Henan province. Shortly after the surrender, Zhang Lu died and was succeeded by his son, the Celestial Masters later reemerged in the 4th and 5th centuries as two distinct offshoots, the Northern and Southern Celestial Masters. The only significant Celestial Master text that survives from the Hanzhong period is the Xianger commentary to the Dao De Jing and this text gives insight into the Celestial Masters’ physiological beliefs, meditation practices and rituals
38.
Yellow Turban Rebellion
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The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in the year 184 during the reign of Emperor Ling and it took 21 years until the uprising was suppressed in the year 205. The revolt was used as the opening event in Luo Guanzhongs historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The situation was aggravated by smaller floods along the lower course of the Yellow River. The peasants were further oppressed by high taxes imposed in order to fund the construction of fortifications along the Silk Road, in this situation, landowners, landless peasants, and unemployed former-soldiers formed armed bands, and eventually private armies, setting the stage for armed conflict. At the same time, the Han central government was weakening internally, Ten of the most powerful eunuchs formed a group known as the Ten Attendants, and Emperor Ling referred to one of them as his foster father. The government was regarded as corrupt and incapable and the famines. Because of its plan for a new beginning, the Taoist sect of Zhang Jue was to prove to be the Han dynastys most dangerous enemy, in preparation for his revolt, Zhang Jue sent disciples out to gain support and organize followers throughout north China. They were helped by local political discontent, and by droughts, the rebels even had allies in the imperial court, and they were able to make their preparations while government officials were either ignorant of their intentions or intimidated by their power. The rebellion was led by Zhang Jue and his two younger brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, who were born in Julu, the brothers had founded a Taoist religious sect in present-day Shandong. They were healers, usually accepting patients pro bono who could not afford to pay them, Zhang Jue was said to be a sorcerer and styled himself as the Great Teacher. When the year is jiǎzǐ, there will be prosperity under heaven, since all the three brothers were healers, they spread it easily by telling their patients to spread it amongst the peasants. Zhang Jue used a form of Taoism to cure the sick by confession of sins, the characters jiazi became a symbol of the coming change and later, when the followers of Zhang Jue went to battle they wore a yellow cloth bound about their heads as a badge. From this there came the term Yellow Turbans, nearly all of the religious practices of the sect were communal activities. Regardless, it is likely that any discrepancies found within the Way were suppressed by later Taoist sects. The rebels were concentrated in three areas. The group led by Zhang Jue and his two brothers gained their support from the region just north of the Yellow River, near Zhang Jues home territory of Julu and his base in Wei Commandery. A second major rising took place in Guangyang and Zhuo commanderies in You Province, the third center of rebellion was in the three commanderies of Yingchuan, Runan and Nanyang
39.
End of the Han dynasty
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The end of the Han dynasty refers to the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 AD, which roughly coincides with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynastys last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, eventually, one of those warlords, Cao Cao, was able to gradually reunify the empire, ostensibly under Emperor Xians rule, but the empire was actually controlled by Cao Cao himself. Cao Caos efforts to reunite the Han empire were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 /209. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 when Cao Caos son and heir, Cao Pi, Cao Pi became the emperor of a new state, Cao Wei. A year later, in response to Cao Pis usurpation of the Han throne, Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han, and in 229, Sun Quan followed suit, declaring himself emperor of Eastern Wu. The period from Emperor Xians abdication in 220 to the reunification of China under the Jin dynasty in 265 was known as the Three Kingdoms era in Chinese history. Towards the end of the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, Emperor Ling, convinced by Liu Yan, changed the Inspectors titles to Governor and granted them the authority to levy taxes and command armed forces within the borders. Liu Yan was commissioned as the Governor of Yi Province, while other important officials also became Governors, including Liu Yu. The increased influence of these provincial governors formed the basis on which later warlords would control large regions of the Han empire, Emperor Ling died in 189 and was succeeded by his 13-year-old son, Liu Bian, who became known as Emperor Shao. Empress He, now empress dowager, became regent to the emperor, while her older brother, General-in-Chief He Jin. He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to exterminate all the Ten Attendants, a group of ten influential eunuch officials in the court, after the eunuchs discovered He Jins plot, they lured him into the palace and murdered him. In response, Yuan Shao led the guards on an indiscriminate massacre of the palace eunuchs. Dong Zhuo arrived on the scene and found Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu, the young emperor appeared nervous and fearful, while the prince remained calm and composed, and gave orders to Dong Zhuo to escort them back to the palace. Dong Zhuo used the opportunity to control of state power. Not long later, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu, in the spring of 190, several provincial officials and warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, claiming that he was set on usurping the throne and had effectively kidnapped Emperor Xian. Yuan Shao, Administrator of Bohai, was nominated to be the leader of the coalition, the coalition armies was stationed at Henei and appeared to be ready to move on the capital Luoyang. However, the coalition was actually rather disorganized, and Yuan Shao did not have command over the entire alliance. Besides, the members were also hesitant to directly confront Dong Zhuo
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Society and culture of the Han dynasty
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The Han dynasty was a period of Ancient China divided into the Western Han and Eastern Han periods, when the capital cities were located at Changan and Luoyang, respectively. It was founded by Emperor Gaozu of Han and briefly interrupted by the regime of Wang Mang who usurped the throne from a child Han emperor, the Han dynasty was an age of great economic, technological, cultural, and social progress in China. Its society was governed by an emperor who shared power with an official bureaucracy and its laws, customs, literature, and education were largely guided by the philosophy and ethical system of Confucianism, yet the influence of Legalism and Daoism could still be seen. Members of the class who aspired to hold public office were required to receive a Confucian-based education. Slaves were at the bottom of the order, yet they represented only a tiny portion of the overall population. Retainers attached themselves to the estates of landowners, while medical physicians. People of all social classes believed in deities, spirits, immortals. Families were patrilineal, which made the father the head of the house. Arranged marriages were the norm, while a new wife was expected to join the clan of her husband, having sons over daughters was considered extremely important for the sake of carrying on ancestor worship. Although girls and women were expected by custom and Confucian tradition to behave passively towards their male relatives, women also engaged in various professions in and outside of the home and were given protection under the law. The empress was superior in status to the relatives of her consort clan, while the mother of the emperor—the empress dowager—had the authority to override his decisions. At the apex of Han society was the emperor, a member of the Liu family and his subjects were not allowed to address him by name, instead they used indirect references such as under the steps to the throne or superior one. If a commoner, government minister, or noble entered the palace without official permission, an emperor could pardon anyone and grant general amnesties. The emperors most powerful relative was the dowager, widow to the previous emperor. If the grandmother of a grand empress dowager—was still alive during his reign. Emperors often sought the approval of the empress dowager for their decisions, if an emperor was only a child, he acted merely as a figurehead while the empress dowager dominated court politics. She not only had the right to issue edicts and pardons, below the empress dowager were the empress and imperial concubines. Although she was the wife of the emperor, the position at court was not secure
