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Donglü Town
Donglü (), also written as Donglu, is a village in Donglü Township (), in Qingyuan County, Baoding, Hebei province, China. It has become known for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of China, witnessed there in 1900, and the Marian shrine and pilgrimage site which have since developed. Geography Donglü is located about 140 kilometres south-west of the Chinese capital Beijing and about 20 kilometers to the southeast of Baoding, to which Qingyuan County administratively belongs. Religion In 2004 it was reported that as many as 7000 of Donglü's approximately 9000 residents are Catholic, giving the town probably a larger concentration of Catholics than any other place in China. The city is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baoding. Donglü is home to a Gothic-style church originally constructed in the late 1880s and rebuilt in 1992 after being reduced to ruins in 1941 during the Second World War when it caught fire due to Japanese artillery bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provinces Of The People's Republic Of China
The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of China, classified as 23 provinces (), five autonomous regions, four municipalities and two special administrative regions. The political status of Taiwan Province along with a small fraction of Fujian Province remain in dispute; those are under separate rule by the Republic of China, which is usually referred to as "Taiwan". Every province on Mainland China (including the island province of Hainan) has a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) provincial committee (), headed by a secretary (). The Committee Secretary is effectively in charge of the province, rather than the governor of the provincial government. The same arrangement exists for the autonomous regions and municipalities. Types of provincial level divisions Province The government of each standard province () is nominally led by a provincial committe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. Background Pilgrimages frequently involve a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into someone's own beliefs. Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with the divine, to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed", or any site that is seen to have special spiritual powers. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Lady Of Sheshan
Our Mother of Sheshan or Our Lady of Sheshan (佘山聖母), also known as Our Mother (or Lady) of Zo-sè (''Zo-sè'' being the original from the Shanghainese pronunciation of Sheshan), is a celebrated Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Chinese Roman Catholics. Among its religious devotees, the statue is sometimes known as Our Lady of Luck or Our Lady of Good Luck due to the Chinese symbology of ''"Fu"'' () associated with the styling posture of the entire image. The original image is currently enshrined in the National Shrine and Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan, in Shanghai, China. Background The city of Shanghai, located on the east coast of China, was an important access point to the Yangzi River Valley. As a treaty port it was also home to an international community. Shanghai served as the missionaries’ port of entry to China, a depot to gather supplies needed for the interior missions, a place of relaxation and safety from political strife, and a plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianity In China
Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years. While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its existence begins to surmount with the attestation of the Syriac-speaking ethnographer Bardesanes at the end of the 2nd century. Presently, verifiable evidence of Christianity's existence in China can only be dated back to the 7th century. The significant lack of evidence of Christianity's existence in China between the 3rd century and the 7th century can likely be attributed to the barriers placed in Persia by the Sassanids and the closure of the trade route in Turkestan. Both events prevented Christians from staying in contact with their mother church, the Syriac Antiochian Church, thereby halting the spread of Christianity until the reign of emperor T'sai-tsung, or Taizong (627-649). Taizong, who had studied the Christian Scriptures which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholicism In China
The Catholic Church in China (called Tiānzhǔ Jiào, 天主敎, literally "Religion of the Lord of Heaven" after the Chinese term for the Christian God) has a long and complicated history. John of Montecorvino was the first Roman Catholic missionary to reach China proper and first bishop of Khanbaliq during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). After the 1949 takeover by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Catholic and Protestant missionaries were expelled from the country and Christianity was generally characterized as a manifestation of western colonial imperialism. In 1957, the Chinese government established the Catholic Patriotic Association in Beijing, China, which rejects the authority of the Holy See and appoints its own preferential bishops. Since September 2018, however, the Pope has the power to veto any bishop which the Chinese government recommends. Chinese terms Terms used to refer to God in Chinese differ even among Christians. Arriving in China during the Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Security Forces
The Public Security Forces (PSF), formerly known as the Bahrain State Police, are the principal Bahraini law enforcement arm of the Ministry of Interior. They are commanded by Maj. Gen. Tarek Al Hasan and include all Ministry of Interior field units responsible for maintaining order and security in Bahrain. History The Bahrain Police Directorate was first established in 1961 to address internal security, and was headed by Shaikh Mohammed ibn Salman Al Khalifa. At the time of Bahrain's independence from Britain in 1971, the name of the Directorate was changed to the Ministry of Interior, and the State Police was renamed as Public Security Forces. Departments The following units and departments are among those that report directly to the PSF command: *The police departments of four of the governorates of Bahrain (Manama, Muharraq, Shamaliyah and Junubiyah). *The Special Forces Department. *The Special Protections Department. *The Counter Terrorism Centre. *The General Direct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He assumed as his papal motto "Pax Christi in Regno Christi," translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ." Pius XI issued numerous encyclicals, including '' Quadragesimo anno'' on the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's groundbreaking social encyclical ''Rerum novarum'', highlighting the capitalistic greed of international finance, the dangers of socialism/communism, and social justice issues, and ''Quas primas'', establishing the feast of Christ the King in response to anti-clericalism. The encyclical ''Studiorum ducem'', promulgated 29 June 1923, was written on the occasion of the 6th centenary of the canonization of Thomas Aquinas, whose thought is acclaimed as ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (), known as the "Boxers" in English because many of its members had practised Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as "Chinese boxing". After the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, villagers in North China feared the expansion of foreign spheres of influence and resented the extension of privileges to Christian missionaries, who used them to shield their followers. In 1898 Northern China experienced several natural disasters, including the Yellow River flooding and droughts, which Boxers blamed on foreign and Christian influence. Beginning in 1899, Boxers spread violence across Shandong and the North China Plain, destroying foreign property such as railroads and attacking or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North China
North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north of the Qinling–Huaihe Line, with its heartland in the North China Plain. In modern times, the area has shifted in terms of socio-political and economic composition. Nowadays unique, embracing a North Chinese culture, it is influenced by Marxism, Soviet Union, Soviet systems of industry while preserving a traditional Chinese indigenous culture. Agriculturally, the region cultivates wheat. Most inhabitants here speak variants of Northern Chinese languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin, which includes Beijing dialect and its cousin variants. The Beijing dialect is largely the basis of Standard Chinese (or Standard Mandarin), the official language of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Jin Chinese and Mongolian language, Mongolian ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church (building)
A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th through the 14th centuries, there was a wave of church construction in Western Europe. Sometimes, the word ''church'' is used by analogy for the buildings of other religions. ''Church'' is also used to describe the Christian religious community as a whole, or a body or an assembly of Christian believers around the world. In traditional Christian architecture, the plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross; the center aisle and seating representing the vertical beam with the Church architecture#Characteristics of the early Christian church building, bema and altar forming the horizontal. Towers or domes may inspire contemplation of the heavens. Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France. The style at the time was sometimes known as ''opus Francigenum'' (lit. French work); the term ''Gothic'' was first applied contemptuously during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious to revive the architecture of classical antiquity. The defining design element of Gothic architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. The use of the pointed arch in turn led to the development of the pointed rib vault and flying buttresses, combined with elaborate tracery and stained glass windows. At the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris, the choir was reconstructed between 1140 and 1144, draw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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