|
Hua Xia
''Huaxia'' (華夏, ) is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people. Etymology The earliest extant authentic attestion of the concept ''Huáxià'' is in the historical narrative and commentary Zuo zhuan (finished around 300 BCE). In Zuo zhuan, Huaxia refers to the central states (中國 '' Zhōngguó'') in the Yellow River valley, dwelt by the Huaxia people, ethnically equivalent to Han Chinese in pre-imperial discourses. According to Confucianist Kong Yingda's "True Meaning of '' Chunqiu Zuo zhuan''", ''xià'' () "grand" signified the "greatness" () in the ceremonial etiquettes of the central states, while ''huá'' () "flower" or "blossom" was used in reference to the "beauty" () in the clothing that those states' denizens wore. History Origin Han historian Sima Qian asserts that Xia was the name of the state enfeoffed to lege ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Yuan (painter)
Ma Yuan (; c. 1160–65 – 1225) was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. His works, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the so-called Ma-Xia (馬夏) school of painting, and are considered among the finest from the period. His works has inspired both Chinese artists of the Zhe School, as well as the early Japanese painters Shūbun and Sesshū. Biography Ma Yuan was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) into a family of painters. His great grandfather Ma Fen served as painter in attendance at the Northern Song court in early 12th century, and both his grandfather Ma Xingzu and his father Ma Shirong held the same position at the Southern Song court in Hangzhou. At some point after 1189, Ma Yuan received the same position under Emperor Guangzong. He evidently enjoyed a high reputation at the court and was a favorite of Emperor Ningzong (who wrote several poems inspired by Ma Yuan's paintings); but nothing more is known about his life. He died in 122 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
He Zun
The He ''zun'' () is an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel of the ''zun'' shape.Xinhuanet.com.Xinhuanet.com." ''何尊.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-01. It dates from the era of Western Zhou (1046–771 BC), specifically the early years of the dynasty, and is famous as the oldest artifact with the written characters meaning "Middle Kingdom" — : "China" — in a bronze inscription on the container.big5.7qiji.com.China's 7 wonders (中國七大奇蹟)" ''何尊.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-01. Today it is in the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi. Dimension and significance The vessel, dating to the 5th year of the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, is 38.8cm tall, 28.8cm in diameter and weighs 14.6kg. Inside the container, at the base, it contains 12 rows of 122 inscribed Chinese characters. Of the 122 characters, 119 are identified while 3 are unknown. The inscription contains the phrase 宅𢆶𠁩或 () inscribed in early Zhou form, structurally different to the modern form of the cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Surname
Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the Western tradition in which surnames are written last. Around 2,000 Han Chinese surnames are currently in use, but the great proportion of Han Chinese people use only a relatively small number of these surnames; 19 surnames are used by around half of the Han Chinese people, while 100 surnames are used by around 87% of the population. A report in 2019 gives the most common Chinese surnames as Wang and Li, each shared by over 100 million people in China. The remaining top ten most common Chinese surnames are Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu and Zhou. Two distinct types of Chinese surnames existed in ancient China, namely ''xing'' () ancestral clan names and ''shi'' () branch lineage names. Later, the two terms began to be used i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yu The Great
Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominently in the Chinese legend of "Great Yu Who Controlled the Waters" (). The dates which have been proposed for Yu's reign predate the oldest-known written records in China, the oracle bones of the late Shang dynasty, by nearly a millennium. Yu's name was not inscribed on any artifacts which were produced during the proposed era in which he lived, nor was it inscribed on the later oracle bones; his name was first inscribed on vessels which date back to the Western Zhou period (c. 1045–771 BC). The lack of substantial contemporary documentary evidence has caused some controversy over Yu's historicity. Thus, proponents of his existence theorize that stories about his life and reign were orally transmitted in various areas of China until the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fengjian
''Fēngjiàn'' ( zh, c=封建, l=enfeoffment and establishment) was a political ideology and governance system in ancient China, whose social structure formed a decentralized system of confederation-like government based on the ruling class consisting of the Son of Heaven (king) and nobles, and the lower class consisting of commoners categorized into four occupations (or "four categories of the people", namely gentries, peasants, laborers and merchants). The system dated back at least to the Shang dynasty, but was formally coined during the Western Zhou dynasty when the Zhou kings enfeoffed their clan relatives and fellow warriors as vassals. Through the ''fengjian'' system, the king would allocate an area of land to a noble, establishing him as the ''de facto'' ruler of that region and allowing his title and fief to be legitimately inherited by his descendants. This created large numbers of local domains, which became autonomous states. The rulers of these vassal states, kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Chinese States
Ancient Chinese states () were typified by variously sized city-states and territories that existed in China prior to its unification by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE. In many cases these were vassal states and fiefs established in the '' fengjian'' system characterized by tributes paid to the ruling Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE). Such states and fiefs would again emerge during later dynasties as a political expedient when required. Rulers of these states were known as ''zhuhou'' (). Background According to the sinocentric viewpoint and the Mandate of Heaven, China was the center of the world and the incumbent emperor its only ruler; all other would-be potentates and rulers were merely vassals of the Middle Kingdom. As a result, from the earliest times the Chinese viewed the world as a series of concentric spheres of influence emanating outward from their capital. Within the closest circle lay the vassal states who pledged allegiance to the Zhou ruler. Apart from the Zhou dynasty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years beginning from the rise of the legendary Yellow Emperor and the formation of the first Chinese polity to the reigning sovereign of Sima Qian's time, Emperor Wu of Han. As the first universal history of the world as it was known to the ancient Chinese, the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' served as a model for official history-writing for subsequent Chinese dynasties and the Chinese cultural sphere (Korea, Vietnam, Japan) up until the 20th century. Sima Qian's father Sima Tan first conceived of the ambitious project of writing a complete history of China, but had completed only some preparatory sketches at the time of his death. After inheriting his father's position as court historian in the imperial court, he was determined to fulfill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the ChuHan contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to as "Han characters". The emperor was at the pinnacle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Barbarians
Four Barbarians is the common English translation of the Chinese term ''sìyí'' 四夷 for various peoples living outside the borders of ancient China, namely, the '' Dōngyí'' "Eastern Barbarians", '' Nánmán'' "Southern Barbarians", '' Xīróng'' "Western Barbarians", and '' Běidí'' "Northern Barbarians". Ultimately, the four barbarian groups were either partly assimilated through Sinicization and absorbed into the Chinese Civilization in the later Chinese Dynasties or emigrated away from the Chinese heartland. Terminology The Chinese mytho-geography and cosmography of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE) was based upon a round heaven and a square earth. '' Tiānxià'' 天下 " verywhereunder heaven; the world" encompassed Huáxià 華夏 "China" (also known as ''Huá'', ''Xià'', etc.) in the center surrounded by non-Chinese "barbarian" peoples. The ''Four Barbarians'' construct, or a similar one, was a logical necessity for the ancient ''tiānxià'' system. Liu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanfu
''Hanfu'' () is the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese. There are several representative styles of ''hanfu'', such as the (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt), the and the , and the (an upper-body garment with ku trousers). Traditionally, ''hanfu'' consists of a ''paofu'' robe, or a ''ru'' jacket worn as the upper garment with a ''qun'' skirt commonly worn as the lower garment. In addition to clothing, hanfu also includes several forms of accessories, such as headwear, footwear, belts, jewellery, and handheld fans. Nowadays, the hanfu is gaining recognition as the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group, and has experienced a growing fashion revival among young Han Chinese people in China and in the overseas Chinese diaspora. After the Han dynasty, ''hanfu'' developed into a variety of styles using fabrics that encompassed a number of complex textile production techniques, part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring And Autumn Annals
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 BC. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged in annals form. Because it was traditionally regarded as having been compiled by Confucius (after a claim to this effect by Mencius), it was included as one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature. The ''Annals'' records main events that occurred in Lu during each year, such as the accessions, marriages, deaths, and funerals of rulers, battles fought, sacrificial rituals observed, celestial phenomena considered ritually important, and natural disasters. The entries are tersely written, averaging only 10 characters per entry, and contain no elaboration on events or recording of speeches. During the Warring States period (475221), a number of commentaries to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kong Yingda
Kong Yingda (; 574 – 648), courtesy names Chongyuan () and Zhongda (), was a Chinese philosopher during the Sui and Tang dynasty. An amorous Confucianist, who is considered one of the most influential Confucian scholars in Chinese history. His most important work is the ''Wujing Zhengyi'' ("Correct Meaning of the Five Classics"), which became the standard curriculum for the Imperial Examinations, and the basis for all future official commentaries of the Five Classics. He was also "skilled at mathematics and the calendar." Early life Kong Yingda was born 574 in Hengshui, Jizhou (), in the state of Northern Qi of the Northern Dynasties. He was said to be a 32nd-generation descendant of Confucius, and his father Kong An (), grandfather Kong Shuo (), and great-grandfather Kong Linggui () all served as high-ranking government officials. Kong began studying Confucian classics in childhood. He later became a pupil of Liu Zhuo ( 劉焯), a renowned scholar of the time, and studied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
