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Dunhuang Caves
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves may also be known as the Dunhuang Caves; however, this term is also used as a collective term to include other Buddhist cave sites in and around the Dunhuang area, such as the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves, Yulin Caves, and Five Temple Caves. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The first caves were dug out in 366 CE as places of Buddhist meditation and worship; later the caves became a place of pilgrimage, and caves continued to be built at the site until the 14th century. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Mogao Caves. Dunhuang is situated in an oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and southern Siberia, and also controls the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor, which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang. Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the prefecture-level city of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Bureau Of Statistics Of The People's Republic Of China
The National Bureau of Statistics () is a deputy-ministerial level agency directly under the State Council of China. Established in August 1952, the bureau is responsible for collection, investigation, research and publication of statistics concerning the nation's economy, population and other aspects of the society. Kang Yi has served as the commissioner of the bureau since 3 March 2022. Responsibilities The bureau's authority and responsibilities are defined in ''Statistics Law of the People's Republic of China''. It is responsible for the research of the nation's overall statistics and oversees the operations of its local counterparts. Organizations The bureau is overseen by a commissioner, several deputy commissioners (currently four), a chief methodologist, a chief economist, and a chief information officer. It is composed of 18 departments, oversees 12 affiliated institutions, and manages 32 survey organizations stationed in respective provinces. It also operates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Liang
The Northern Liang (; 397–439) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history. It was ruled by the Juqu (沮渠) family of Lushuihu ethnicity, though they are sometimes categorized as Xiongnu in some historiographies. Although Duan Ye of Han Chinese, Han ethnicity was initially enthroned as the Northern Liang ruler with support from the Juqu clan, Duan was subsequently overthrown in 401 and Juqu Mengxun was proclaimed monarch. All rulers of the Northern Liang proclaimed themselves "Chinese nobility#wang, wang" (translatable as either "prince" or "king"). It was also only known as "Liang" (涼) from 399 to 401 and from 431 to 433, as their rulers took on several lesser titles while they were acting as vassals. To distinguish with the other Liang states, they were given the prefix of "Northern" by historiographers as they controlled northern Gansu when they first established. They later went on to rule the entirety of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stelas ( ). is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted. Stelae were created for many reasons. Grave stelae were used for funerary or commemorative purposes. Stelae as slabs of stone would also be used as ancient Greek and Roman government notices or as boundary markers to mark borders or property lines. Stelae were occasionally erected as memorials to battles. For example, along with other memorials, there are more than half-a-dozen steles erected on the battlefield of Waterloo at the locations of notable actions by participants in battle. A traditional Wester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but Great Renunciation, renounced his Householder (Buddhism), home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana at Bodh Gaya, Bodh Gayā in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a Sangha, monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached ''parinirvana'' ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Vimutti, freedom from Avidyā (Buddhism), ignora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort through her husband Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Emperor Gaozong and later as empress dowager through her sons Emperors Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Ruizong, from 660 to 690. She subsequently founded and ruled as Empress Regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 16 October 690 to 21 February 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China who is widely Mandate of Heaven, regarded as legitimate. Under her 45-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during a coup () and died a few months later. In early life, Wu was the concubine of Emper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Former Liang Dynasty
The Former Liang (; 301–376) was a dynastic state, and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, in Chinese history. It was founded by Zhang Shi of the Han Chinese Zhang family. Its territories included present-day Gansu and parts of Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Xinjiang. All rulers of the Former Liang remained largely titularly under the court of the Eastern Jin dynasty as the Duke of Xiping except Zhang Zuo who proclaimed himself emperor (or king). However, at times the other Former Liang rulers also used the king title when imposed on them when they were forced to submit to their powerful neighbour states—initially the Former Zhao, then the Later Zhao, and finally the Former Qin. As the early rulers did not explicitly declare their independence, the official year of Former Liang's establishment is up to interpretation, but no earlier than 301, the year when Zhang Gui was appointed Inspector of Liang province. Historiographers gave the state the prefix of "Former" to distinguish it f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire. After overthrowing their previous overlords, the Yuezhi, the Xiongnu became the dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with the Chinese dynasties to the south-east were complex—alternating between various periods of peace, war, and subjugation. Ultimately, the Xiongnu were defeated by the Han dynasty in a Han–Xiongnu Wars, centuries-long conflict, which led to the confederation splitting in two, and forcible resettlement of large numbers of Xiongnu within Han borders. During the Sixteen Kingdoms era, listed as one of the "Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Wu Of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later – and remains the record for ethnic Han Chinese, Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Sinosphere, Chinese civilization, and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid legalism (Chinese philosophy), Legalist–Confucianism, Confucian doctrine. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including the development of the Music Bureau, Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly incre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
