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Woodblock Printing
Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later on paper. Each page or image is created by carving a wooden block to leave only some areas and lines at the original level; it is these that are inked and show in the print, in a relief printing process. Carving the blocks is skilled and laborious work, but a large number of impressions can then be printed. As a Woodblock printing on textiles, method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from China date to before 220 AD. Woodblock printing existed in Tang China by the 7th century AD and remained the most common East Asian method of printing books and other texts, as well as images, until the 19th century. ''Ukiyo-e'' is the best-known type of moku hanga, Japanese woodblock art print. Most European uses of the technique for printing images on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Southern Qi
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mostly of writing and images. Modern books are typically composed of many pages bound together and protected by a cover, what is known as the ''codex'' format; older formats include the scroll and the tablet. As a conceptual object, a ''book'' often refers to a written work of substantial length by one or more authors, which may also be distributed digitally as an electronic book (ebook). These kinds of works can be broadly classified into fiction (containing invented content, often narratives) and non-fiction (containing content intended as factual truth). But a physical book may not contain a written work: for example, it may contain ''only'' drawings, engravings, photographs, sheet music, puzzles, or removable content like paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamond Sutra
The ''Diamond Sutra'' (Sanskrit: ) is a Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Buddhist sutra from the genre of ('perfection of wisdom') sutras. Translated into a variety of languages over a broad geographic range, the ''Diamond Sūtra'' is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia, and it is particularly prominent within the Chan Buddhism, Chan (or Zen) tradition, along with the ''Heart Sutra''. A copy of the Tang dynasty ''Diamond Sūtra'' was found among the Dunhuang manuscripts in 1900 by Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu and sold to Aurel Stein in 1907. It dates back to May 11, 868 CE and is broadly considered to be the oldest extant printed book, although other, earlier, printed materials on paper exist that predate this artifact. It is in the collection of the British Library. The book of the diamond sutra is also the first known creative work with an explicit public domain dedication, as its colophon (publishing), colophon at the end states that it was created "for unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein, (; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at Indian universities. Stein was also an ethnographer, geographer, linguist and surveyor. His collection of books and manuscripts bought from Dunhuang caves is important for the study of the history of Central Asia and the art and literature of Buddhism. He wrote several volumes on his expeditions and discoveries which include ''Ancient Khotan'', ''Serindia'' and ''Innermost Asia''. Early life Stein was born to Náthán Stein and Anna Hirschler, a Jewish couple residing in Budapest in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. His parents and his sister retained their Jewish faith but Stein and his brother, Ernst Eduard, were baptised as Lutherans. At home the family spoke German and Hungarian, Stein graduated from a secondary school in Budapest before going on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Mogao Caves. Dunhuang is situated in an oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (, meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and southern Siberia, and also controls the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor, which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang. Administratively, the county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the prefecture-level city of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mogao Caves
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves may also be known as the Dunhuang Caves; however, this term is also used as a collective term to include other Buddhist cave sites in and around the Dunhuang area, such as the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves, Yulin Caves, and Five Temple Caves. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The first caves were dug out in 366 CE as places of Buddhist meditation and worship; later the caves became a place of pilgrimage, and caves continued to be built at the site until the 14th century. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the China, Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turpan
Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the prefectural area has shifted a number of times, from Jiaohe ruins, Yar-Khoto (Jiaohe, to the west of modern Turpan) to Qocho (Gaochang, to the southeast of Turpan) and to Turpan itself. Names Historically, many settlements in the Tarim Basin, being situated between Chinese, Turkic, Mongolian, and Persian language users, have a number of cognate names. Turpan or Turfan is one such example. The original name of the city is unknown. The form Turfan, while older than Turpan, was not used until the middle of the 2nd millennium CE and its use became widespread only in the post-Mongol period. History Turpan has long been the centre of a fertile oasis (with water provided by the ''Turpan water system, karez'' canal system) and an important tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Sutra
The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai along with its derivative schools, the Japanese Tendai and Nichiren, Korean Cheontae, and Vietnamese Thiên Thai schools of Buddhism were established. It is also influential for other East Asian Buddhist schools, such as Zen. According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams, "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the ''Lotus Sūtra'' contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha—complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the ''Lotus Sūtra'' "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts," presenting "a radical re-vision of both the Buddhist path and of the person of the Buddha." Two central teachings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra
"Longer" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg and released in 1979 by Full Moon Records and Epic Records. The song can be found on Fogelberg's 1979 album '' Phoenix''. It was also included on his 1982 greatest hits album as well as various other retrospective and compilation recordings. Fogelberg, who had released more rock oriented songs throughout the 1970s, jokingly described "Longer" in the liner notes to one of his retrospective albums as "the song that put me on the elevators."Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) He wrote the song while vacationing in Maui, "lounging in a hammock one night and looking up at the stars. It just seems this song was drifting around the universe, saw me, and decided I'd give it a good home." Accompanying Fogelberg's vocals is an acoustic guitar (played by the singer) as well as a flugelhorn solo by Jerry Hey. Lyrically, the song compares ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort through her husband Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Emperor Gaozong and later as empress dowager through her sons Emperors Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Ruizong, from 660 to 690. She subsequently founded and ruled as Empress Regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 16 October 690 to 21 February 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China who is widely Mandate of Heaven, regarded as legitimate. Under her 45-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during a coup () and died a few months later. In early life, Wu was the concubine of Emper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xi'an
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern China. Its total population was 12.95 million as of the 2020 census, including an urban population of 9.28 million. Known as Chang'an throughout much of its history, Xi'an is one of China's Historical capitals of China, Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Western Zhou, Qin dynasty, Qin, Western Han, Sui dynasty, Sui, Northern Zhou and Tang dynasty, Tang. Xi'an is now the second-most popular tourist destination in China. The city was one of the terminal points on the Silk Road during the ancient and medieval eras, as well as the home of the 3rd-century BC Terracotta Army commissioned by Emperor Qin Shi Huan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahayana Buddhism
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Theravāda and Vajrayāna.Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. Vajrayāna or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna which makes use of numerous tantric methods Vajrayānists consider to help achieve Buddhahood. Mahāyāna also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus also called the "Bodhisattva Vehicle" (''Bodhisattvayāna''). Damien Keown (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
