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Peng (state)
Dapeng or Great Peng (), also known simply as Peng, was a Chinese Bronze Age state that was centered at Xuzhou and Qiuwan ( Tongshan District) in northern Jiangsu. First mentioned on oracle bones dating to the early 11th century BC, Dapeng was a contemporary of the late Shang dynasty, with whom it shared an ambiguous relationship. At times, the two polities were allies and trading partners, but on at least two occasions war broke out between them, eventually leading to Dapeng's destruction by King Di Xin of Shang around 1060 BC. History According to the Spring and Autumn period's '' Guoyu (Discourses of the States)'', the Han dynasty's '' Shiben (Genealogy)'', and the Tang dynasty's '' Kuodi Zhi (Record of Geography)'', Dapeng was founded by Peng Zu (lit. "Ancestor of Peng"), who was made a marquis by the kings of the Shang dynasty. After his death, the state declined under his descendants. Due to the lack of contemporary written sources, it remains impossible to verify this in ...
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Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of the three-age system, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age. Conceived as a global era, the Bronze Age follows the Neolithic, with a transition period between the two known as the Chalcolithic. The final decades of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean basin are often characterised as a period of widespread societal collapse known as the Late Bronze Age collapse (), although its severity and scope are debated among scholars. An ancient civilisation is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age if it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from producing areas elsewhere. Bronze Age cultures were the first to History of writing, develop writin ...
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Yinxu
Yinxu (; ) is a Chinese archeological site corresponding to Yin, the final capital of the Shang dynasty (). Located in present-day Anyang, Henan, Yin served as the capital during the Late Shang period () which spanned the reigns of 12 Shang kings and saw the emergence of oracle bone script, the earliest known Chinese writing. Along with oracle bone script and other material evidence for the Shang's existence, the site was forgotten for millennia. Its rediscovery in 1899 resulted from an investigation into oracle bones that were discovered being sold nearby. The rediscovery of Yinxu marked the beginning of decades of intensive excavation and study. It is one of China's oldest and largest archeological sites, and was selected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2006. Yinxu is located in northern Henan, near modern Anyang and the borders Henan shares with Hebei and Shanxi. Public access to the site is permitted. Traditional history According to the 2nd century ''Shuowen Jiezi'' ...
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Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of one country, two systems. Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages,. the territory is now one of the world's most signific ...
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Orientations
''Orientations'' is a bimonthly print magazine published in Hong Kong and distributed worldwide since 1969. History ''Orientations'' was launched in 1969 by Adrian Zecha (who was later the founder of Aman Resorts) to showcase Asian art and culture through a dedicated magazine. The name was a play on the word 'Orient' which was what Asia was referred to back then. Under Elizabeth Knight in 1981, the editorial was reshaped to focus on Asian Art. Yifawn Lee is the current publisher and editor who joined the magazine in 2008. In 2014, she founded ''Asian Art Hong Kong'' as a platform to provide art-related lectures and events. In 2021, Asian Art in Hong Kong was rebranded as ''Orientations Art Circle''. In 2020, the print magazine was also launched as a digital edition. Description ''Orientations'' is a bimonthly print magazine on the many and varied aspects of the arts of East and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, from the latest sch ...
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Gumie
Gumie () was a small state during the Zhou dynasty and Spring and Autumn period (722–479 BCE) running from southwest of Yue, in China's modern day southwestern Zhejiang province, around the cities of Jinhua and Quzhou, to Yushan in northern Jiangxi Province. It is believed to be a remnant polity of the Dongyi people who populated much of Eastern China. It was conquered by King Goujian of Yue during the height of Yue expansionism, after which the area fell under Chu control after the fall of Yue to Chu. Eventually, the area was conquered by Qin after the conquest of Chu by Qin. Its ruling clan is believed to have been the same as that of Xu, that of Ying (). Tomb complex A tomb complex that has been discovered in Qujiang District, Quzhou City of Zhejiang Province is likely the royal burial site of Gumie. Four of the ten tombs have been excavated between 2018 and 2021. See also * Dongyi * Dapeng (state) * Xu (state) Xu (), also called Xu Rong () or Xu Yi () by its ...
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Dongyi
The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula and Japanese Archipelago. Dongyi refers to different group of people in different periods. As such, the name "Yí" was something of a catch-all and was applied to different groups over time. According to the earliest Chinese record, the '' Zuo Zhuan'', the Shang dynasty was attacked by King Wu of Zhou while attacking the Dongyi and collapsed afterward. Ancient inhabitants of Eastern China Oracle bone inscriptions from the early 11th century BCE refer to campaigns by the late Shang king Di Yi against the ''Rénfāng'' (), a group occupying the area of southern Shandong and Jianghuai (northern Anhui and Jiangsu). Many Chinese archaeologists apply the historical name "Dongyi" to the archaeological Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BCE). Other ...
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Human Sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/priestly figure, spirits of veneration of the dead, dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein a monarch's servants are killed in order for them to continue to serve their master in the next life. Closely related practices found in some tribe, tribal societies are human cannibalism, cannibalism and headhunting. Human sacrifice is also known as ritual murder. Human sacrifice was practiced in many human societies beginning in prehistoric times. By the Iron Age with the associated developments in religion (the Axial Age), human sacrifice was becoming less common throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia, and came to be looked down upon as barbarian, barbaric during classical antiquity. In the New World, Americas, however, human sacrifice cont ...
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Xu (state)
Xu (), also called Xu Rong () or Xu Yi () by its enemies, was an independent Huaiyi state of the Chinese Bronze Age that was ruled by the Ying family () and controlled much of the Huai River valley for at least two centuries. It was centered in northern Jiangsu and Anhui. An ancient but originally minor state that already existed during the late Shang dynasty, Xu was subjugated by the Western Zhou dynasty around 1039 BC, and was gradually sinified from then on. It eventually regained its independence and formed a confederation of 36 states that became powerful enough to challenge the Zhou empire for supremacy over the Central Plain. Able to consolidate its rule over a territory that stretched from Hubei in the south, through eastern Henan, northern Anhui and Jiangsu, as far north as southern Shandong, Xu's confederation remained a major power until the early Spring and Autumn period. It reached its apogee in the mid 8th century BC, expanding its influence as far as Zhejiang i ...
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Huai River
The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China. Historically draining eastwards directly into the Yellow Sea, erosion from floods have changed the course of the river such that it now primarily discharges into the Yangtze. The Huai River is, to this day, notoriously vulnerable to flooding. The Qinling–Huaihe Line, formed by the Huai River and the Qin Mountains, is sometimes regarded as the geographical dividing line between northern and southern China. This line approximates the January isotherm and the isohyet in China. Course The Huai River originates in Tongbai Mountain in Henan province. It flows through southern Henan, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu where it pools into Lake Hongze. Nowadays the Huai River then runs southwards as the Sanhe River by w ...
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Li Xueqin
Li Xueqin (, 28 March 1933 – 24 February 2019) was a Chinese historian, archaeologist, and palaeographer. He served as Director of the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Sinology of Tsinghua University, Chairman of the Pre-Qin History Association of China, and participated in the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project. Early life and education Li was born 28 March 1933 in Beijing. After finishing middle school in 1948, he tested number one in the entrance examination of the electrical engineering department of the National Beiping High School of Industry. However, he was unable to attend the school because a medical examination misdiagnosed him with tuberculosis. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1951, where he studied philosophy and logic under professor Jin Yuelin. At Tsinghua, Li's main hobby was studying the oracle bones in the library, putting together pieces of ...
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Chen Mengjia
Chen Mengjia (; 20 April 19113 September 1966) was a Chinese scholar, poet, paleographer and archaeologist. He was considered the foremost authority on oracle bones and was Professor of Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was married to the poet and translator Zhao Luorui (aka Lucy Chao, 1912–1998). Chen died in 1966, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution after being labeled a "capitalist intellectual" and Rightist and being persecuted by officials. Peter Hessler, Oracle Bones, Harper Collins, New York, 2006. . Life Chen was born and raised in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. His father was a Presbyterian minister. In his youth Chen had been a poet, under the pen name Wanderer, his first poem was published when he was 18. He was a member of the Crescent Moon Society in Shanghai, a group of romantic poets during the early 20th century. In 1932 he joined the resistance against Japanese aggression in Shanghai during the January 28 Incident. At that time he also s ...
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Sima Qian
Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China covering more than two thousand years from the rise of the legendary Yellow Emperor and formation of the first Chinese polity to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, during which Sima wrote. As the first universal history of the world as it was known to the ancient Chinese, the ''Shiji'' served as a model for official histories for subsequent dynasties across the Sinosphere until the 20th century. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, first conceived of the ambitious project of writing a complete history of China, but had completed only some preparatory sketches at the time of his death. After inheriting his father's position as court historian in the imperial court, he was determined to fulfill his father's dying wish of composing and putting together th ...
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