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Fruit Pit Carving
Fruit pit carving (Chinese: 核雕; pinyin: hédiāo) is a Chinese folk handicraft in which the pits of peach, apricot, walnut, Chinese olive, yumberry and other drupes are used to create minute patterns of the Buddha, nature, or the Chinese zodiac that are said to repel evil spirits. The carved pits are also used to create jewelry and decorations. However, the art is now facing extinction because few black olive trees are planted in China and there are very few people interested in learning this art. Olive core carving has recently been recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Guangdong Province of China. History Fruit pit carving began in the Spring and Autumn Period (BC. 770- BC. 476), and the earliest example of the art dates from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), roughly 1000 years ago. However, it did not become popular until the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). At that time, even the emperor owned master carvings used as aristocratic decoration. Fruit pit carving became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria (modern-day Northeast China and Outer Manchuria). It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing dynasty lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phytelephas
''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious palms (family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are commonly known as ivory palms, ivory-nut palms or tagua palms; the scientific name ''Phytelephas'' means "plant ivory". This and the first two of the common names refer to the very hard white endosperm of their seeds (tagua nuts or jarina seeds), which resembles elephant ivory. They are medium-sized to tall palms reaching up to 20 m tall, with pinnate leaves. The "nut" is covered with pericarp, which gets removed by animals. The kernel is covered with a brown, flaky skin and shaped like a small avocado, roughly 4–8 cm in diameter. Uses Given trade restrictions in elephant ivory as well as animal welfare concerns, ivory palm endosperm is often used as a substitute for elephant ivory today, and traded under the names vegetable ivory, palm ivory, ''marfim-vegetal' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake. The fair was constructed on a site along the northern shore, between the Presidio and Fort Mason, now known as the Marina District. Exhibits and themes Among the exhibits at the Exposition was the '' C. P. Huntington'', the first steam locomotive purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad; the locomotive is now on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. A telephone line was also established to New York City so people across the continent could hear the Pacific Ocean. The Liberty Bell traveled by train on a nationwide tour from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to attend the exposition. The 1915 American Grand Prize and Vanderbilt C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which were moved from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing, as well as five other institutions throughout mainland China during the ROC retreat. These collections had been transferred to several locations before finally settling on present-day Shilin, Taipei and establishing the museum there in 1965, making it one of the largest of its type in the world. The museum's collection encompasses items spanning 8,000 years of Chinese history from the neolithic age to the modern period. The National Palace Museum shares its roots with the Palace Museum of Beijing, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. History Establishment in Beijing and relocation T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boat Carved From An Olive Stone
The Boat Carved from an Olive Stone () is a fruit pit carving of a boat made out of an olive pit. It is part of the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. Description The boat is a miniature carving of an olive pit, measuring only and is only tall. Inside the boat, there are a total of eight figures, with the Song Dynasty poet Su Tung-po sitting beside the window at the table. The sculpture features incredibly detailed carvings of windows on the side, with the center two panels movable. On top of the boat is a rolled up sail in rope. The full text of Su Tung-po's ''Latter Ode on the Red Cliff'' of more than 300 characters is engraved in details on the bottom of the boat, demonstrating the expert craftsmanship of the artist. The poem depicts the poet enjoying a boat ride with his friends on a full moon night at the site of Battle of Red Cliffs. The artist, Chen, recreated a miniature moment, with the boat being a symbol of seclusion holding men safely on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shandong Province
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest histories of continuous religious worship in the world. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weifang
Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the Laizhou Bay to the north. Its population was 9,386,705 at the 2020 census, of whom 3,095,520 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made up of four urban districts (''Kuiwen, Weicheng, Hanting and Fangzi'') and Changle County largely being urbanized. Weifang has numerous natural and historic sites, such as Shihu Garden (from the Late Ming and early Qing Dynasty), Fangong Pavilion (from the Song Dynasty), fossil sites (including dinosaur fossils, in Shanwang, Linqu), Mount Yi National Forest Park, Mount Qingyun and the Old Dragon Spring. Painted New Year woodcuts from Yangjiabu are also well known. The city is served by Weifang Nanyuan Airport to various cities across China. History In 750 BC King Weijazhung declared Weifang as his c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubei Province
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital, Wuhan, serves as a major transportation hub and the political, cultural, and economic hub of central China. Hubei's name is officially abbreviated to "" (), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the State of E of the Western Zhou dynasty of –771 BCE; a popular name for Hubei is "" () (suggested by that of the powerful State of Chu, which existed in the area during the Eastern Zhou dynasty of 770 – 256 BCE). Hubei borders the provinces of Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province. Hubei is the 7th-largest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiangsu Province
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the third smallest, but the fifth most populous and the most densely populated of the 23 provinces of the People's Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita of Chinese provinces and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part of the province. Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Jiangsu has been a national economic and commercial center, partly due to the construction of the Grand Canal. Cities such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and Shanghai (separated from Jiangsu in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changshu
Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yangtze River. Due to the mild climate and terrain there, it has enjoyed a high level of agricultural civilization since ancient times, and is named after this, for the first character of its name () means "always, often", while the second () means "ripe". The name of the adjacent county-level city of Taicang means "great granary". History Changshu first became an independent county in 540 AD, but in 581 was made subordinate to Suzhou. It was promoted to seat of a full prefecture in 1295, was rebuilt and fortified in the 14th century, but in 1370 was reduced again to the level of a county. In the 15th and 16th centuries Changshu was several times attacked by Japanese pirates. Changshu has traditionally been a market town for locally produced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Empire against the Qing dynasty of China. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars, which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing dynasty and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with the Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis. In 1860, British and French troops landed near Beijing and fought their way into the city. Peace negotiations quickly broke down and the British High Commissioner to China ordered the foreign troops to loot and destroy the Imperial Summer Palace, a complex of palaces and gardens at which Qing Dynasty emperors handled affairs of state. Dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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