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Hua Sui
Hua Sui (; 1439–1513 AD) was a Chinese scholar, engineer, inventor, and printer of Wuxi, Jiangsu province during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD). He belonged to the wealthy Hua family that was renowned throughout the region. Hua Sui is best known for creating China's first metal movable type printing in 1490 AD.Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 215. Metal movable type printing Metal movable type printing had been invented in Korea during the earlier 13th century, but there is no concrete evidence that suggests Hua Sui's metal type print was influenced by Korean printing. Earlier wooden and ceramic types Movable type was invented and improved in China centuries before Hua Sui. As written by the polymath Chinese scientist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), the commoner and artisan Bi Sheng (990–1051) was the first to invent movable type, with his ceramic type invented in the Qingli period (1041–1048).Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201. During the Yuan dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Zhen (official)
Wang Zhen (, 1290–1333) was a Chinese mechanical engineer, agronomist, inventor, writer, and politician of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). He was one of the early innovators of the wooden movable type printing technology. His illustrated agricultural treatise was also one of the most advanced of its day, covering a wide range of equipment and technologies available in the late 13th and early 14th century. Life and works Wang Zhen was born in Shandong province, and spent many years as an official of both Anhui and Jiangxi provinces.Needham, Volume 6, Part 2, 59. From 1290 to 1301, he was a magistrate for Jingde, Anhui province, where he was a pioneer of the use of wooden movable type printing. The wooden movable type was described in Wang Zhen's publication of 1313, known as the ''Nong Shu'' (), or ''Book of Agriculture''. Although the title describes the main focus of the work, it incorporated much more information on a wide variety of subjects that was not limited to the sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changzhou
Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the northwest, Wuxi to the east, and the province of Zhejiang to the south. Changzhou is located in the highly developed Yangtze Delta region of China extending from Shanghai going northwest. The population of Changzhou city was 4,592,431 at the 2010 census.Linked from the OEChere The city is the birthplace of Zhou Youguang who created the pinyin romanization system. History "The Ruins of Yancheng" (), comprise the remains of a walled city located in the Wujin district of Changzhou that was founded over 3000 years ago at the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty. The earliest record of a settlement on the site of modern Changzhou is as a commandery founded in 221 BC at the beginni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pen Ts'ao, Woodblock Book 1249-ce
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity which had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell. Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph. All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing. Types Modern Pens commonly used today can be categorized based on the mechanism of the writing tip and the type of ink: * A ballpoint pen dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Pool Essays
''The Dream Pool Essays'' (or ''Dream Torrent Essays'') was an extensive book written by the Chinese polymath and statesman Shen Kuo (1031–1095), published in 1088 during the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. Shen compiled this encyclopedic work while living in forced retirement from government office, naming the book after his private estate near modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. The ''Dream Pool Essays'' was heavily reorganized in reprint editions by later Chinese authors from the late 11th to 17th centuries. In modern times it has been translated from Chinese into several languages. These include English, German, French, and Japanese translations. The ''Dream Pool Essays'' covers a range of topics including discoveries and advancements in Traditional Chinese medicine, mathematics, astronomy, science and technology, optics, architecture and civil engineering, metallurgy, and early archaeology. Observations of the natural world included those of wildlife, meteorol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on '' factual information'' concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.Béjoint, Henri (2000)''Modern Lexicography'', pp. 30–31. Oxford University Press. Encyclopedias have existed for around 2,000 years and have evolved considerably during that time as regards language (written in a major international or a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a Golden age (metaphor), golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The House of Li, Lǐ family () founded the dynasty, seizing power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire and inaugurating a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty was formally interrupted during 690–705 when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Zhou dynasty (690–705), Wu Zhou dynasty and becoming the only legitimate Chinese empress regnant. The devast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifacts, History of archaeology, archaeological and historic Archaeological site, sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory." The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' first cites "archaeologist" from 1824; this soon took over as the usual term for one major branch of antiquarian activity. "Archaeology", from 1607 onwards, initially meant what is now seen as "ancient history" generally, with the narrower modern sense first seen in 1837. Today the term "antiquarian" is often used in a pejorative sense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of art such as sculptures, statues or fountains and parks. Larger memorials may be known as monuments. Types The most common type of memorial is the gravestone or the memorial plaque. Also common are war memorials commemorating those who have died in wars. Memorials in the form of a cross are called intending crosses. Online memorials are often created on websites and social media to allow digital access as an alternative to physical memorials which may not be feasible or easily accessible. When somebody has died, the family may request that a memorial gift (usually money) be given to a designated charity, or that a tree be planted in memory of the person. Those temporary or makeshift memorials are also called grassroots memoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands, with a combined area of . The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', has an area of , with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. The capital, Taipei, forms along with New Taipei City and Keelung the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Other major cities include Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries in the world. Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city of Taipei is home to an estimated population of 2,646,204 (2019), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro district. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or just the city itself. Taipei has been the seat of the ROC central govern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiao Zi
''Jiaozi'' (; ; pinyin: jiǎozi) are Chinese dumplings commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. ''Jiaozi'' are folded to resemble Chinese sycee and have great cultural significance attached to them within China. ''Jiaozi'' are one of the major dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year throughout Northern China and eaten all year round in the northern provinces. Though considered part of Chinese cuisine, ''jiaozi'' are popular in other parts of East Asia and in the Western world, where a fried variety is sometimes called potstickers in North America and Chinese dumplings in the UK and Canada. The English-language term "potsticker" is a calque of the Mandarin word "guotie" (鍋貼). ''Potsticker'' was used by Buwei Yang Chao and her husband Yuen Ren Chao in the book '' How to Cook and Eat in Chinese'', which was first published in 1945. In northern China, however, "guotie" specifically refers to a type of pan-fried ''jiaozi'' with its ends left open rather than j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
