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Shen-Nung
Shennong ( zh, c=神農, p=Shénnóng), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born , was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerated as a culture hero in China and Vietnam. In Vietnamese, he is referred to as . Shennong has at times been counted amongst the Three Sovereigns (also known as "Three Kings" or "Three Patrons"), a group of ancient deities or deified kings of prehistoric China. Shennong has been thought to have taught the ancient Chinese not only their practices of agriculture, but also the use of herbal medicine. Shennong was credited with various inventions: these include the hoe, plow (both style and the plowshare), axe, digging wells, agricultural irrigation, preserving stored seeds by using boiled horse urine (to ward off the borers), trade, commerce, money, the weekly farmers market, the Chinese calendar (especially the division into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yan Emperor
The Yan Emperor () or the Flame Emperor was a legendary ancient Chinese emperor in pre-dynastic times. Some modern Chinese scholars have identified the Sheep's Head Mountains (''Yángtóu Shān'') Weibin District, Baoji as his homeland and territory. A long debate has existed over whether or not the Yan Emperor was the same person as the legendary Shennong. An academic conference held in China in 2004 achieved general consensus that the Yan Emperor and Shennong were the same person. Another possibility is that the term "Yan Emperor" or "Flame Emperor" was a title, held by dynastic succession of tribal lords, with Shennong being known as ''Yandi'' perhaps posthumously. Accordingly, the term "Yan Emperor''s''" or "Flame Emperor''s''" would be generally more correct. The succession of these Yan or Flame emperors, from Shennong, the first Yan Emperor, until the time of the last Yan Emperor's defeat by the Yellow Emperor, may have been some 500 years. Historical records No wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment. Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possessed intrinsic value as a commodity; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value. Its value is consequently derived by social convention, having been declared by a government or regulatory entity to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private", in the case of the United States dollar. The money supply of a country comprises all currency in circulation (banknotes and coins currently issued) and, depending on the particular definiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiji
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BC by the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian, building upon work begun by his father Sima Tan. The work covers a 2,500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time, and describes the world as it was known to the Chinese of the Western Han dynasty. The ''Shiji'' has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization". After Confucius and Qin Shi Huang, "Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures." The ''Shiji'' set the model for all subsequent dynastic histories of China. In contrast to Western historiographical conventions, the ''Shiji'' does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Zhen
Sima Zhen (; 679–732), courtesy name Zizheng (Tzu-cheng; 子正), was a Tang dynasty Chinese historian born in what is now Jiaozuo, Henan. Sima Zhen was one of the most important commentators on the ''Shiji The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st cen ...''. His commentary is known as the ''Shiji Suoyin'' (), which means "Seeking the Obscure in the ''Records of the Grand Historian''". References Further reading * Schwaab-Hanke, Dorothee, ''Why did Sima Zhen want to correct the Shiji's account of High Antiquity?'' Paper submitted to the IJSCS Conference 'Thought, Body, Culture. New Approaches to Chinese Historical Studies', to be held at the National Ts'ing-hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Nov. 12-14, 2004. Clicherefor her ''preliminary draft''. External links— China ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as a deity individually or as part of the Wufang Shangdi, Five Regions Highest Deities () in Chinese folk religion. Regarded as the initiator of Chinese culture, he is traditionally credited with numerous innovations – including the traditional Chinese calendar, Taoism, wooden houses, boats, carts, the compass needle, "the earliest forms of writing", and cuju, ''cuju'', a ball game. Calculated by Jesuits in China, Jesuit missionaries, as based on various Chinese chronicles, Huangdi's traditional reign dates begin in either 2698 or 2697 BC, spanning one hundred years exactly, later accepted by the twentieth-century promoters of a universal calendar starting with the Yellow Emperor. Huangdi's cult is first attested in the Warring States peri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiyou
Chiyou () is a mythological being that appears in Chinese mythology. He was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe () in ancient China. He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era in Chinese mythology. According to the Song dynasty history book '' Lushi'', Chiyou's surname was Jiang (), and he was a descendant of the Flame Emperor. Chiyou is often associated with chaos and war, earning him the status of a demon god in later mythological interpretations, especially in northern China. In some Daoist traditions, he is considered a demon or evil god representing war and violence. His image has also been used as a protective figure, especially by soldiers, who see him as a war deity capable of offering protection in battle. Conversely, for some Hmong people, Chiyou or Txiv Yawg was a sagacious mythical king. He has a particularly complex and controversial ancestry, as he may fall under Dongyi Miao or even Man, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or "slash", is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year. Then, the Biomass (ecology), biomass is burned, resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the Soil fertility, soil fertile, as well as temporarily eliminating weed and pest species. After about three to five years, the plot's productivity decreases due to depletion of nutrients along with weed and pest invasion, causing the farmers to abandon the field and move to a new area. The time it takes for a swidden to recover depends on the location and can be as little as five years to more than twenty years, after which the plot can be slashed and burned again, repeating the cycle. In Bangladesh and India, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species being recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively, ''C. ruderalis'' may be included within ''C. sativa'', or all three may be treated as subspecies of ''C. sativa'', or ''C. sativa'' may be accepted as a single undivided species. The plant is also known as hemp, although this term is usually used to refer only to varieties cultivated for non-drug use. Hemp has long been used for fibre, seeds and their oils, leaves for use as vegetables, and juice. Industrial hemp textile products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fibre. ''Cannabis'' also has a long history of being used for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug known by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion and Taoism, especially older popular forms of it. Many narratives recounting characters and events from ancient times exhibit a dual tradition: one that presents a more historicized or euhemerized interpretation, and another that offers a more mythological perspective. Numerous myths delve into the creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvest Festival
A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. Harvest festivals typically feature feasting, both family and public, with foods that are drawn from crops. In United Kingdom, Britain, thanks have been given for successful harvests since Paganism, pagan times. Harvest festivals are held in September or October depending on local tradition. The modern Harvest Festival celebrations include singing hymns, prayer, praying, and decorating Church (building), churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival, Harvest Home, Harvest Thanksgiving or Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving. In British and English-Caribbean churches, chapels and schools, and some Canadian churches, people bring in produce from the garden, the allotment (gardening), allotment or far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or process it further into a cigar-shaped stick. They can use it indirectly, with acupuncture needles, or burn it on the patient's skin. Moxibustion is promoted as a treatment for a wide variety of conditions, but its use is not backed by good evidence and it carries a risk of adverse effects. Terminology The first Western remarks on moxibustion can be found in letters and reports written by Portuguese missionaries in 16th-century Japan. They called it ''botão de fogo'' (), a term originally used for round-headed Western cautery irons. Hermann Buschoff, who published the first Western book on this matter in 1674 (English edition 1676) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientific knowledge, and it has been characterized as quackery. There is a range of acupuncture technological variants that originated in different philosophies, and techniques vary depending on the country in which it is performed. However, it can be divided into two main foundational philosophical applications and approaches; the first being the modern standardized form called eight principles TCM and the second being an older system that is based on the ancient Daoist '' wuxing'', better known as the five elements or phases in the West. Acupuncture is most often used to attempt pain relief, though acupuncturists say that it can also be used for a wide range of other conditions. Acupuncture is typically used in combination with other forms o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
