|
Liu Jingting
Liu Jingting (, ca.1587–ca. 1670) was a Chinese raconteur. Liu had a swarthy pockmarked face. Thus, he was nicknamed "Pockmarked Liu". His original surname is Cao. He had an unscrupulous adolescence in Taizhou, Jiangsu, Taizhou. Using an alias, he got off the indictment and fled toward Xuyi County, Xuyi, at the age of about 15. There, he began to live on storytelling. Liu flittered around the south of the Yangtze River (Jiangnan) later. He met Mo Houguang, a Confucian tutor, in Shanghai, Songjiang and was given instruction in storytelling. Improved with practice, Liu's performance won wide admiration. He was active in Nanjing since the 1620s, and was frequently invited by contemporary gentry. Besides, he had a good rapport with members of Revival Society (), a fraction against pro-Wei Zhongxian. When General Zuo Liangyu garrisoned Wuchang, Liu was recommended to him. Zuo excluded the rhetorical arguments from his Confucian scholars, but favour Liu's witty and lucid speech. Thus, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taizhou, Jiangsu
Tàizhōu is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province in eastern China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west. The 2020 Chinese census counted its population at 4,512,762 of whom 1,728,408 live in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of three urban districts ('' Hailing, Jiangyan and Gaogang''). Two county-level cities have more than 1 million inhabitants, Xinghua with 1,253,548 inhabitants and Taixing with 1,073,921 inhabitants, comprising two of the most important county-level cities in China. Hu Jintao, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, considers Taizhou his home town as did Mei Lanfang, one of the most famous Peking opera artists in modern Chinese history. Administration and population The prefecture-level city of Taizhou administers six county-level divisions, including two districts and four county-level cities. These are further divided into 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xuyi County
Xuyi County () is under the administration of Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China. The southernmost of Huai'an's county-level divisions, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian to the north and Chuzhou (Anhui) to the south and west. Xuyi is noted for production of crayfish. Etymology The meaning of Xuyi is debatable, and there are two major accounts. For one: sited on the top of a hill, the ancient city afforded an extensive view of the vicinity. In the ancient Chinese, "xu" means have one's eyes opened wide, while "yu" means look straight ahead. Thus, it was named after Xuyi, the posture of looking out. For another, it was named after Xuyi, an eastern hill outside the city. History This county was previously administered by Anhui province. When the ancient city of Sizhou whelmed in the Hongze Lake, its seat was transferred to the county in 1680 and then to the current seat of Si County in 1777. For the sake of managing the Hongze Lake, Xuyi was annexed to Jiangsu i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huang Zongxi
Huang Zongxi (; September 24, 1610 – August 12, 1695), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing. Biography Huang was a native of Yuyao in Zhejiang province. He was the son of Huang Zunsu, an official of the Ming court and an adherent of the Donglin Movement who died in prison after opposing the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian. Huang Zongxi became a licentiate in 1623 at the age of 14, and in the same year followed his father to Beijing, where his father held a post as a censor. The struggle between the Donglin faction and the eunuchs was reaching a climax during this period, and as a result the elder Huang was dismissed from office in 1625 and the two returned home. Soon after, Huang Zongxi was married to Ye Baolin. When Huang Zunsu was traveling in custody to Beijing in 1626, he introduced his son to Liu Zongzhou, a noted philosopher of the Wang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. With a population of 24.89 million as of 2021, Shanghai is the most populous urban area in China with 39,300,000 inhabitants living in the Shanghai metropolitan area, the second most populous city proper in the world (after Chongqing) and the only city in East Asia with a GDP greater than its corresponding capital. Shanghai ranks second among the administrative divisions of Mainland China in human development index (after Beijing). As of 2018, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 9.1 trillion RMB ($1.33 trillion), exceeding that of Mexico with GDP of $1.22 trillion, the 15th largest in the world. Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Zhongxian
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuch in Chinese history."Wei Zhongxian" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Online Academic Edition). Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. He is best known for his service in the court of the Zhu Youjiao (r. 1620–1627), when his power eventually appeared to rival that of the emperor. Mao Wenlong was one of the generals promoted by Wei Zhongxian. During Zhu Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zuo Liangyu
Zuo Liangyu () (1599–1645) was a Ming dynasty and Southern Ming general. He was born in Linqing, Shandong Province. Campaign against Zhang Xianzhong After defeating peasant rebels at She County, Hebei, Huixian and Wu'an and eliminating their presence in Shanxi and Henan provinces, Zuo went the forces of Zhang Xianzhong who were threatening Xiangyang in Hubei province (then part of Huguang). After setting up camp at Yunyang District and Fang County, Zuo's army fell into an ambush at Gucheng County, Hubei. 10,000 Ming soldiers were killed and only a few thousand escaped alive. During this campaign, soldiers consumed peach and jujube due to a shortage of grain. Zhang eventually led his followers to Sichuan province. Campaign against Li Zicheng Zuo, meanwhile, was forced to head back to Henan to confront the followers of the rebel leader Li Zicheng. Unsuccessful in his request for reinforcements to the Prince of Chu in Wuchang, Zuo and general Sun Chuanting engaged Li's forces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Peach Blossom Fan
''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in the 1644 collapse of the Ming dynasty.Acton, pxvii The play recounts the death of the Ming dynasty through the love story of its two main characters, young scholar Hou Fangyu ( 侯方域) and a courtesan named Li Xiangjun. The ''Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature'' has called it "China's greatest historical drama". An English translation published by the University of California Press was translated by Chen Shih-hsiang and Harold Acton, K.B.E. with Cyril Birch collaborating. Background In the early Qing dynasty, the rise and fall of the dynasty touched many poets and playwrights, especially intellectuals, which pushed them into thinking of the historical lessons taught by the downfall of the Ming. These writers, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Storytellers
Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of various ethnicities in contemporary China ** Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in the world and the majority ethnic group in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Singapore ** Ethnic minorities in China, people of non-Han Chinese ethnicities in modern China ** Ethnic groups in Chinese history, people of various ethnicities in historical China ** Nationals of the People's Republic of China ** Nationals of the Republic of China ** Overseas Chinese, Chinese people residing outside the territories of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan * Sinitic languages, the major branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family ** Chinese language, a group of related languages spoken predominantly in China, sharing a written script (Chine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th-century Storytellers
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French '' Grand Siècle'' dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. The semi-feudal territorial French nobility was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the Palace of Versailles from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
