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Jia (vessel)
A ''jia'' is a ritual vessel type found in both pottery and bronze forms; it was used to hold libations of wine for the Ancestor veneration in China, veneration of ancestors. It was made either with four legs or in the form of a tripod and included two pillar-like protrusions on the rim that were possibly used to suspend the vessel over heat. The earliest evidence of the ''Jia'' vessel type appears during the Neolithic Period (c. 5000–2000 BCE). It was a prominent form during the Shang dynasty, Shang and early Western Zhou dynasties, but had disappeared by the mid-Western Zhou. Symbolism The vessels had a ceremonial function. They were decorated with varying geometric designs and zoomorphic motifs, possibly symbolizing varying religious beliefs. There are several theories as to the origin and meaning of the symbolic iconography. Early Chinese scholars extended their traditional beliefs as regarded the symbolic meanings of the designs and motifs. They believed them to have a re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Jia
3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies. Evolution of the Arabic digit The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic numerals, Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation, its earliest forms aligned vertically. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nāgarī script rotated the lines clockwise, so they appeared horizontally, and ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script, the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Ding
Wu Ding (; died ); personal name (), was a king of the Chinese Shang dynasty who ruled the central Yellow River valley. He is the earliest figure in Chinese history mentioned in contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were once thought to be little more than legends until oracle script inscriptions on bones dating from his reign were unearthed at the ruins of his capital Yin (near modern Anyang) in 1899. Oracle bone inscriptions from his reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197 BC ±10 years, closely according with regnal dates derived by modern scholars from received texts, epigraphic evidence, and astronomical calculations. Wu Ding's reign is characterized by a prosperous period of the late Shang state, with a wide network of allies and subordinates. The first inscriptions unequivocally recognized as Chinese appeared during his reign, together with new technological innovations. More than half of Shang inscriptions date to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drinkware
upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glassware. Drinkware Drinkware, beverageware (in other words, cups, jugs and ewers) is a general term for a vessel intended to contain beverages or liquid foods for drinking or consumption. * Beaker * Beer glassware * Bottle * Coffee cup * Cup * Dwarf ale glass * Heavy baluster glass * Jar * Mazagran * Mug * Pythagorean cup * Quaich * Sake cup (''ochoko'') * Stemware * Tazza * Teacup * Tiki mug * Trembleuse * Tumblers * Vitrolero The word ''cup'' comes from Middle English ', from Old English, from Late Latin ', drinking vessel, perhaps variant of Latin ', tub, cask. The first known use of the word cup is before the 12th century. Tumblers Tumblers are flat-bottomed drinking glasses. * Collins glass, for a tall mixed drink ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twenty-Four Histories
The ''Twenty-Four Histories'', also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are a collection of official histories detailing the dynasties of China, from the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in the 4th millennium BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century. The Han dynasty official Sima Qian established many of the conventions of the genre, but the form was not fixed until much later. Starting with the Tang dynasty, each dynasty established an official office to write the history of its predecessor using official court records, partly in order to establish its own link to the earliest times. As fixed and edited in the Qing dynasty, the whole set contains 3,213 volumes and about 40 million words. It is considered one of the most important sources on Chinese history and culture. The title ''Twenty-Four Histories'' dates from 1775, which was the 40th year in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. This was when the last volume, the '' History of Ming'', was reworked and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Song (Yuan Dynasty)
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term ''history'' refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past. Historical research relies on primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives of several sources to develop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Peach Blossom Fan
''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in the 1644 collapse of the Ming dynasty.Acton, pxvii The play recounts the death of the Ming dynasty through the love story of its two main characters, young scholar Hou Fangyu ( 侯方域) and a famous geji named Li Xiangjun. The ''Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature'' has called it "China's greatest historical drama". An English translation published by the University of California Press was translated by Chen Shih-hsiang and Harold Acton, K.B.E. with Cyril Birch collaborating. Background In the early Qing dynasty, the rise and fall of the dynasty touched many poets and playwrights, especially intellectuals, which pushed them into thinking of the historical lessons taught by the downfall of the Ming. These writers, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kong Shangren
Kong Shangren (; 1648–1718) was a Qing dynasty dramatist and poet best known for his '' chuanqi'' play '' The Peach Blossom Fan''"Frommer's China", Simon Foster et al., 2010, p. 383, about the last days of the Ming dynasty. Born in Qufu, Kong was a 64th-generation descendant of Confucius. He guided the Kangxi Emperor when he visited Qufu. ''The Peach Blossom Fan'' tells the story of the love story between the scholar Hou Fangyu and the courtesan Li Xiangjun, against the dramatic backdrop of the short history of the Southern Ming. It remains a favourite of the Kun opera (kunqu) stage. Kong Shangren is known as the author of a curious poem dedicated to the eyeglasses, a Western innovation brought to Macau by the Portuguese. Spence, ''The Search for Modern China ''The Search for Modern China'' is a 1990 non-fiction book by Jonathan D. Spence, published by Century Hutchinson and W. W. Norton & Company. It covers the period 1600 to 1989. According to Spence, the goal was to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Of The Red Chamber
''Dream of the Red Chamber'' or ''The Story of the Stone'' is an 18th-century Chinese novel authored by Cao Xueqin, considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It is known for its psychological scope and its observation of the worldview, aesthetics, lifestyles, and social relations of High Qing China. The intricate strands of its plot depict the rise and decline of a family much like Cao's own and, by extension, of the dynasty itself. Cao depicts the power of the father over the family, but the novel is intended to be a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants. At a more profound level, the author explores religious and philosophical questions, and the writing style includes echoes of the plays and novels of the late Ming, as well as poetry from earlier periods. Cao apparently began composing it in the 1740s and worked on it until his death in 1763 or 1764. Copies of his uncompleted manuscript circulated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duanfang
Duanfang (; 20 April 1861 – 27 November 1911), courtesy name Wuqiao (), was a Manchu people, Manchu politician, educator and collector who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He was a member of the Tohoro () clan and the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners. Life Duanfang was actually Han Chinese even though he was under a Manchu banner. Some Han Chinese joined Manchu Eight Banners, banners directly, instead of joining the separate Han Chinese banners. Han Chinese in the Manchu banners became Manchucized. The Manchu White Banner were joined by some Zhejiang Han Chinese with the family name Tao (surname), Tao who defected to the Manchus towards the end of the Ming dynasty. Their last name was changed to the Manchu sounding "Tohoro". Duanfang was one of their descendants. The Manchu bannermen typically used their first/personal name to address themselves and not their last name, while Han bannermen used their last name and first in normal Chinese custom. Duanfang followed the Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erlitou Culture
The Erlitou culture () was an early Bronze Age society and archaeological culture. It existed in the Yellow River valley from approximately 1900 to 1500 BC. A 2007 study using radiocarbon dating proposed a narrower date range of 1750–1530 BC. The culture is named after Erlitou, an archaeological site in Yanshi, Luoyang, Yanshi, Henan. It was widely spread throughout Henan and Shanxi and later appeared in Shaanxi and Hubei. Most archaeologists consider Erlitou the first state (polity), state-level society in China. Chinese archaeologists generally identify the Erlitou culture as the site of the Xia dynasty, but there is no firm evidence, such as surviving written records, to substantiate such a linkage, as the earliest evidence of Chinese writing dates to the Late Shang period. Erlitou site The Erlitou culture may have evolved from the matrix of Longshan culture. Originally centered around Henan and Shanxi province, the culture spread to Shaanxi and Hubei provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hu (vessel)
A ''hu'' is a type of wine vessel that has a pear-shaped cross-section. Its body swells and flares into a narrow neck, creating S-shaped profile. While it is similar to You (vessel), ''you'' vessel, ''hu'' usually has a longer body and neck. The shape of ''hu'' probably derives from its ceramic prototype prior to the Shang dynasty, Shang dynasty (1600–1045 BC). They usually have handles on the top or rings attached to each side of neck. Many extant ''hu'' lack lids while those excavated in such tombs as Fu Hao's indicate that this type of vessel might be originally made with lids. Although it is more often to see ''hu'' having a circular body, there also appears ''hu'' in square and flat rectangular forms, called ''fang hu'' and ''bian hu' in Chinese. In addition, ''hu'' often came to be found in a pair or in a set together with other types of vessels. As wine had played an important part in the Shang ritual, the hu vessel might be placed in the grave of an ancestor as part o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gu (vessel)
A ''gu'' is a type of ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel from the Shang dynasty, Shang and Zhou dynasty, Zhou dynasties (1600–256 BC). It was used to drink wine or to offer ritual libations. A ''gu'' is tall and slender, with a slightly flared base that tapers to a slim center section before widening again into a trumpet-like mouth, wider than the base. Its surface is often decorated with ''taotie ''. The beginning of the ''gu'' vessel The ''gu'' vessel was known for its use as a wine-drinking vessel. It is said to have developed from other elaborate cups that also had high stems and were found in Neolithic cultures. Inscriptions have been found on ancient vessels stating that it was common to drink wine in Chinese cultures. The creation of a vessel such as the ''gu'' makes sense in modern times because of its shape. The long stem made it easy to hold and sip from, while still allowing it to take on unique and elegant features. The drinking of wine was made from this cup. Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
