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Legend Of The White Snake (film)
The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It has since been presented in a number of major Chinese operas, films, and television series. The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story in printed form appears to be ''The White Maiden Locked for Eternity in the Leifeng Pagoda'' () in Feng Menglong's ''Stories to Caution the World'', which was written during the Ming dynasty. The legend is now counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being ''Lady Meng Jiang'', ''Butterfly Lovers'', and ''The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl''. Basic story Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, disguises himself as a '' tangyuan'' vendor at the Broken Bridge near the West Lake in Hangzhou. A boy called Xu Xian () buys some ''tangyuan'' from Lü Dongbin without knowing that they are actually immortality pills. After eating them, he does not feel hungry for the next three days so he go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quarters of which is water. Longevity Hill is about high and has many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich with splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty. The central Kunming Lake, covering , was entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. Inspired by the gardens in South China, in the Summer Palace there are over 3,000 various Chinese ancient buildings that house a collection of over 40,000 kinds of valuable historical relics from each dynasty. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baishe Niangniang
Bai Suzhen ( zh, t=白素貞), also known as Lady Bai ( zh, c=白娘子, links=no), is a mythological figure in Chinese folk religion. She is a one-thousand-year-old white snake spirit and the title character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales". The legend has been adapted into several Chinese operas, films, television series and other media. In some versions of the legend, Bai Suzhen becomes a goddess; her worshippers refer to her as Madam White Snake ( zh, c=白蛇娘娘, links=no). Legend After one thousand years of disciplined training in Taoism on Mount Emei, the white snake, Bai Suzhen, is transformed into a woman by the essence of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. She decides to go out into the human world and do good deeds in order to become immortal. She is later accepted by the goddess Lishan Laomu as a disciple. On a visit to West Lake, she falls in love with a young man named Xu Xian and soon becomes his wife. Eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work which recontextualizes or breaks continuity with the former. There are various motivations for applying retroactive continuity, including: * To accommodate desired aspects of sequels or derivative works which would otherwise be ruled out. * To respond to negative fan reception of previous stories. * To correct and overcome errors or problems identified in the prior work since its publication. * To change or clarify how the prior work should be interpreted. * To match reality, when assumptions or projections of the future are later proven wrong. Retcons are used by authors to increase their creative freedom, on the assumption that the changes are unimportant to the audience compared to the new story which can be tol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filial Piety
In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late Warring States-Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue between Confucius and his student Zengzi—is about how to set up a good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics. In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe"). Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the theatre of ancient Greece, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its theme (arts), themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kasaya (clothing)
''Kāṣāya'', kāṣāya; pi, kāsāva/kāsāya; si, කසාවත; }, are the robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term ''cīvara'', which references the robes without regard to color. Origin and construction Buddhist kāṣāya are said to have originated in ancient India as a set of robes for the devotees of Gautama Buddha. A notable variant has a pattern reminiscent of an Asian rice field. Original kāṣāya were constructed of discarded fabric. These were stitched together to form three rectangular pieces of cloth, which were then fitted over the body in a specific manner. The three main pieces of cloth are the ''antarvāsa'', the ''uttarāsaṅga'', and the '. Together they form the "triple robe," or ''ticīvara''. The ticīvara is described more fully in the Theravāda Vinaya (Vin 1:94 289). Antarvāsa (Antaravāsaka) The antarvāsa is the inner ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Examination
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection started in earnest during the Sui dynasty (581–618) then into the Tang dynasty of 618–907. The system became dominant during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and lasted for almost a millennium until its abolition in the late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905. Aspects of the imperial examination still exist for entry into the civil service of contemporary China, in both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). The exams served to ensure a common knowledge of writing, Chinese classics, and literary style among state officials. This common culture helped to unify the empire, and the ideal of achievement ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuangyuan
''Zhuangyuan'', or ''trạng nguyên'' in Vietnamese, variously translated into English as principal graduate, primus, or optimus, was the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score on highest level of the Imperial examination, (in the Tang dynasty) and (in the Song dynasty) in ancient China and Vietnam. In China, Fu Shanxiang is known as the first (and last) female zhuangyuan ''(nü zhuangyuan'') in Chinese history, but under the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, not the regular imperial exams. After the Taipings captured the city of Nanjing, they offered an exam for women in January 1853 in which Fu attained the highest score. In Vietnam, the first trạng nguyên in history was Lê Văn Thịnh, who lived in the Lý dynasty era and was the one who persuaded the Song to give back 6 districts of Quảng Nguyên (today Hà Giang province) to Vietnam. The first female trạng nguyên ''(nữ trạng nguyên'') is Nguyễn Thị Duệ who later become a consort of the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haw Par Villa 13, Dec 14
Haw or HAW may refer to: Fruit * many species of hawthorn (''Crataegus'') ** Haw flakes, Chinese sweets made from the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn, ''Crataegus pinnatifida'' * several species of ''Viburnum'', including: ** ''Viburnum rufidulum'' ** ''Viburnum prunifolium'' ** ''Viburnum nudum'' Places * New Haw, a village in Surrey, England * Haw River, a tributary of the Cape Fear River in north central North Carolina ** Haw River Valley AVA * Hawaii, United States * Haverfordwest Aerodrome, in Pembrokeshire, Wales (IATA airport code) People * Adrian Hardy Haworth (1767–1833), English entomologist and botanist with standard author abbreviation Haw. * Horace Tabor (1830–1899), American prospector, businessman and politician Surname * Brian Haw (1949–2011), protester in London's Parliament Square * Chris Haw (born 1981), American writer * Jack Haw (1902–1975), Australian rules footballer * Jesse Haw (born 1971), American businessman and politician * Johannes Haw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Emei
Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are known as Daxiangling. A large surrounding area of countryside is geologically known as the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province, a large igneous province generated by the Emeishan Traps volcanic eruptions during the Permian Period. Administratively, Mount Emei is located near the county-level city of the same name (Emeishan City), which is in turn part of the prefecture-level city of Leshan. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. As a sacred mountain Mount Emei is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China, and is traditionally regarded as the bodhimaṇḍa, or place of enlightenment, of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra is known in Mandarin as Pǔxián Púsà (). Sources of the 16th and 17th centuries all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Realgar Wine
Realgar wine or Xionghuang wine (Chinese: , ''Xiónghuáng Jiǔ'') is a Chinese alcoholic drink that consists of huangjiu ("yellow wine") dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral (As4S4). It is traditionally consumed as part of the Dragon Boat Festival at the height of summer. Tradition Realgar solution has been sprinkled around the house as an repellent against snakes and insects since ancient times. In this sense, realgar was considered to be a universal antidote against poison by traditional Chinese medicine, which therefore advocated its use for protection against disease, snakes, and evil spirits. The Dragon Boat Festival coincides with what Chinese astronomy considers the height of summer and ''yang'''s force for the year. Adults were advised to consume ''huangjiu'' (as alcohol is considered ''yin'') dosed with realgar powder; children too young to consume alcohol would wear an amulet containing realgar or have a ("king") drawn on their forehead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. Names The English language name for the holiday is Dragon Boat Festival, used as the official English translation of the holiday by the People's Republic of China. It is also referred to in some English sources as Double Fifth Festival which alludes to the date as in the original Chinese name. Chinese names by region ''Duanwu'' (), as the festival is called in Mandarin Chinese, literally means "starting/opening horse", i.e., the first "horse day" (according to the Chinese zodiac/Chinese calendar system) to occur on the month; however, despite the literal meaning being '' wǔ'', "the ay of thehorse in the animal cycle", this character has also been interchangeably construed as ''wǔ'' () meaning "five". Hence ''Duanwu'', the "festival on the fifth day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
