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Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin is a legendary Chinese scholar and poet who lived during the Tang dynasty whose lifetime supposedly spanned two hundred and twenty years. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the Chinese cultural sphere by Daoists, he is one of the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals. Lü is also a historical figure and mentioned in the official history book ''History of Song''. He is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of neidan, or internal alchemy. He is also depicted in art dressed as a scholar carrying a sword to dispel evil spirits. Character Lü Dongbin is usually portrayed as a scholarly, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom/enlightenment and to learn the Tao. However, he is often portrayed as having some character "flaws," not an uncommon theme for the colorful Taoist immortals, all of whom in general have various eccentricities: *He is portrayed as having bouts of drunkenness, which was not un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lü (surname)
Lü () is the pinyin (Lǚ with the Tone (linguistics), tone diacritic) and Wade–Giles romanisation of a Chinese surname, most commonly (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese) and (Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese). Romanization Lü is the standard pinyin spelling of the Chinese character 吕/呂. However, when input of the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not possible, the surname is commonly romanized as Lu or Lv (v being the pinyin input shorthand for ü). On 31 October 2011, the National Standardization Committee of China issued ''The Chinese phonetic alphabet spelling rules for Chinese names'', which stipulates that Lü should be spelled Lyu in such situation. The rule came into effect on 1 February 2012. In Cantonese the name is commonly romanized as Lui. Possible characters 吕/呂 吕/呂 is the List of common Chinese surnames, 47th most common surname in China, shared by 5.6 million people, or 0.47% of the Chinese population as of 2002. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quanzhen School
The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn'', "All-True", Complete Perfection, Integrating Perfection or Complete Reality) is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Daoism in China. It originated in the Shandong peninsula in 1170. One of its founders was master Wang Chongyang (1113–1170). When the Mongols invaded China the Quanzhen Taoists exerted great effort in keeping the peace, thus saving most Han Chinese lives. Qiu Chuji, a major disciple of Wang, founded the Dragon Gate lineage (龍門派 ''Lóngmén pài''), along with the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. This tradition remains one of the largest Taoist sects in China today. Scriptures According to Louis Komjathy, the three most important scriptures in the Quanzhen school are: * The '' Dàodéjīng'' * The '' Qīngjìng Jīng'' (清静经, ''Classic of Clarity and Stillness''). * '' Yǐnfújīng'' (''Scripture on the Inner Talisman''), a sixth century text. Komjathy writes that "these texts emphasi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Division of the Mongol Empire, its division. It was established by Kublai (Emperor Shizu or Setsen Khan), the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from the Borjigin clan, and lasted from 1271 to 1368. In Chinese history, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty. Although Genghis Khan's enthronement as Khagan in 1206 was described in Chinese language, Chinese as the Han Chinese, Han-style title of Emperor of China, Emperor and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Han style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Zhiyuan
Ma Zhiyuan (, 1250–1321), courtesy name Dongli (), Chinese dramatist, playwright, and poet during the Yuan dynasty.Cihai: Page 1132-1133. Among his achievements is the development and popularizing of the ''sanqu'' () lyric type of Classical Chinese poetry forms. The poem "Autumn Thoughts" () is the most widely known of his sanqu poems. His sanqu poems were collected in the book "Dongli Yuefu" (), where there were 104 single ''sanqu'' (Xiaoling 小令) and 17 song suites (Taoshu 套數). Works Poems Ma Zhiyuan's ''sanqu'' poem "Autumn Thoughts" (), composed to the metric pattern Tianjingsha (), uses ten images in twenty-two monosyllables to preamble a state of emotion, and is considered as the penultimate piece in Chinese poetry to convey the typical Chinese male literati's melancholy during late autumn: : ''Autumn Thoughts'' : Over old trees wreathed with rotten vines fly evening crows; : Under a small bridge near a cottage a stream flows; : On ancient road in the west wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the chief of the executive under either a monarch or a president in a republican form of government. In parliamentary systems of government (be they constitutional monarchies or parliamentary republics), the Prime Minister (or occasionally a similar post with a different title, such as the Chancellor of Germany) is the most powerful politician and the functional leader of the state, by virtue of commanding the confidence of the legislature. The head of state is typically a ceremonial officer, though they may exercise reserve powers to check the Prime Minister in unusual situations. Under some presidential systems, such as South Korea and Peru, the prime minister is the leader or the most s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa, especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger, with 97% of production in Developing country, developing countries. The crop is favoured for its Agricultural productivity, productivity and short growing season under hot dry conditions. The millets are sometimes understood to include the widely cultivated sorghum; apart from that, pearl millet is the most commonly cultivated of the millets. Finger millet, proso millet, and foxtail millet are other important crop species. Millets may have been consumed by humans for about 7,000 years and potentially had "a pivotal role in the rise of multi-crop agriculture and settled farming societies". Etymology The word ''millet'' is derived via Old French ''millet, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shandong on the east. At the 2010 census, its population was 9,174,683 inhabitants whom 2,845,790 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of 5 urban districts. Yongnian District in Handan and Shahe City in Xingtai have largely formed into a single conurbation. Handan is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities#East Asia, oldest cities in China, first settled around 6500 BC by the Cishan culture. Throughout the city's long history, it contributed significantly to Chinese culture, serving as the capital of Zhao (state), State of Zhao, was northern China's political, economic and cultural center, and home to Tai chi and the first compass, made from stones collected in the nearby Mount Ci (magnet mountain). Handan is designate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in what is now the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, China's first emperor, held his imperial court and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the Terracotta Army. From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang dynasty, the area that came to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a substantial part of its southern suburbs. Thus, Tang Chang'an was eight t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daoist Immortal Lü Dongbin Crossing Lake Dongting
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhongli Quan
Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Jidao, is a Chinese mythology, Chinese mythological figure and one of the Eight Immortals in the Taoism, Taoist pantheon. He is also known as Han Zhongli because he was said to have been born in the Han dynasty. In legend, he holds a peach and wields a large feather Fan (implement), fan which can resurrect the dead and transform stones into silver or gold. Life Zhongli was born in Yanjing. According to legend, bright beams of light filled the labour room during his birth. After he was born, he did not stop crying until seven full days had passed. He was destined for greatness from the day he was born by showing features such as a broad forehead, thick ears, long eyebrows, deep eyes, red nose, square mouth, high cheeks, and scarlet lips. Stories depict that either seven days or seven years later, he began to speak, and the first sentence he uttered was, "my feet have wandered in the purple palace of the [immortals], my name is recorded in the capital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicial and executive powers. In other parts of the world, such as China, magistrate is a word applied to a person responsible for administration over a particular geographic area. Today, in some jurisdictions, a magistrate is a judicial officer who hears cases in a lower court, and typically deals with more minor or preliminary matters. In other jurisdictions (e.g., England and Wales), magistrates are typically trained volunteers appointed to deal with criminal and civil matters in their local areas. Original meaning In ancient Rome, the word '' magistratus'' referred to one of the highest offices of state. Analogous offices in the local authorities, such as '' municipium'', were subordinate only to the legislature of which they generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Examination
The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started Imperial examination in Chinese mythology, early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection started in earnest during the Sui dynasty (581–618), then into the Tang dynasty (618–907). The system became dominant during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and lasted for almost a millennium until its abolition during the late Qing reforms, late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905. The key sponsors for abolition were Yuan Shikai, Yin Chang and Zhang Zhidong. Aspects of the imperial examination still exist for entry into the civil service of both China and Taiwan. The exams served to ensure a common knowledge of writing, Chinese classics, and literary style among state officials. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
