The scholarly amateurs looked upon such people with some contempt, and the art of the literati became a separate tradition that was increasingly refined and rarefied to the point that, from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onward, an assumed awkwardness in technique was admired as a mark of the amateur and gentleman.

The Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 bce). In the Shang dynasty and particularly at Anyang, the craft of jade carving made a notable advance. Ceremonial weapons and fittings for bronze weapons were carved from jade; ritual jades included the bi, cong, and symbols of rank.Plaques and dress ornaments were carved from thin slabs of jade, but there are also small figurines, …

The Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 bce). The Shang dynasty saw several important advances in pottery technology, including the development of a hard-bodied, high-fire stoneware and pottery glazes.A small quantity of stoneware is covered with a thin, hard, yellowish green glaze applied in liquid form to the vessel. Shang potters also developed a fine soft-bodied white ware, …

Shijing, (Chinese: “Classic of Poetry”) Wade-Giles romanization Shih-ching, the first anthology of Chinese poetry. It was compiled by the ancient sage Confucius (551–479 bc) and cited by him as a model of literary expression, for, despite its numerous themes, the subject matter was always “expressive of pleasure without being licentious, and of grief without being hurtfully excessive ...

Dec 05, 2022 · Qin Shi Huang, also called Shihuangdi, Wade-Giles romanization Shih-huang-ti, personal name (xingming) Zhao Zheng or Ying Zheng, (born c. 259 bce, Qin state, northwestern China—died 210 bce, Hebei), emperor (reigned 221–210 bce) of the Qin dynasty (221–207 bce) and creator of the first unified Chinese empire (which collapsed, however, less than four years …

Jan 31, 2022 · FOX FILES combines in-depth news reporting from a variety of Fox News on-air talent. The program will feature the breadth, power and journalism of rotating Fox News anchors, reporters and producers.

The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong (traditional Chinese: 孫悟空; simplified Chinese: 孙悟空) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West (traditional Chinese: 西遊記; simplified Chinese: 西游记) and many later stories and adaptations.

The power acquired by the Daoist is de, the efficacy of the Dao in the human experience, which is translated as “virtue.” Laozi viewed it, however, as different from Confucian virtue: The “superior virtue” of Daoism is a latent power that never lays claim to its achievements; it is the “mysterious power” (xuande) of Dao present in the heart of the sage—“persons of superior ...

Precipitation in China generally follows the same pattern as temperatures, decreasing from the southeast to the northwest. The annual total of certain areas along the southeastern coast amounts to more than 80 inches (2,000 mm). The Yangtze valley receives about 40 to 45 inches (1,000 to 1,150 mm). Farther north, in the Huai River valley, the annual rainfall decreases to …

From the 1220s into the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation. Following this, they began their invasion into heartland Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of then-fragmented Poland, culminating in the Battle of Legnica (9 April 1241), and the Kingdom of Hungary, culminating in the Battle of …

Yue Fei, Wade-Giles romanization Yüeh Fei, (born 1103, Tangyin, Henan province, China—died January 27, 1142, Lin’an [now Hangzhou], Zhejiang province), one of China’s greatest generals and national heroes. In 1126 North China was overrun by the nomadic Juchen (Jin), and the Song capital at Kaifeng was taken. The former emperor Huizong, who had abdicated in 1125, …

Bi Sheng (畢昇) (990–1051) developed the first known movable-type system for printing in China around 1040 AD during the Northern Song dynasty, using ceramic materials. As described by the Chinese scholar Shen Kuo (沈括) (1031–1095): . When he wished to print, he took an iron frame and set it on the iron plate. In this he placed the types, set close together.

Although the Cultural Revolution largely bypassed the vast majority of the people, who lived in rural areas, it had highly serious consequences for the Chinese system as a whole. In the short run, of course, the political instability and the zigzags in economic policy produced slower economic growth and a decline in the capacity of the government to deliver goods and …

One of China’s oldest surviving pagodas is at Songyue Monastery on Mount Song in Henan province. It is a 12-sided stone structure built during the Bei (Northern) Wei dynasty (386–534/535 ce) of the Six Dynasties period. The Hōryū Temple in Nara prefecture, Japan, rebuilt after a fire in 670, is part of a group of Buddhist monuments in the area that were …