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Shan Hai Jing
The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed since the 4th century BCE, but the present form was not reached until the early Han dynasty. It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels. Authorship The exact author(s) of the book and the time it was written are still undetermined. It was originally thought that mythical figures such as Yu the Great or Boyi wrote the book. However, the consensus among modern Sinologists is that the book was not written at a single time by a single author, but rather by numerous people from the period of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han dynasty. The first known editor of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han Chinese, Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump state, rump regimes ruled by remnants of the House of Zhu, Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the naval history of China, navy's dockyards in Nanjin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinology
Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the examination which Chinese scholars made of their own civilization." The field of sinology was historically seen to be equivalent to the application of philology to China and until the 20th century was generally seen as meaning "Chinese philology" (language and literature). Sinology has broadened in modern times to include Chinese history, epigraphy and other subjects. Terminology The terms "sinology" and "sinologist" were coined around 1838 and use "sino-", derived from Late Latin ''Sinae'' from the Greek ''Sinae'', from the Arabic ''Sin'' which in turn may derive from ''Qin'', as in the Qin dynasty. In the context of area studies, the European and the American usages may differ. In Europe, Sinology is usually known as ''Chinese S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Jia (Taoist)
Wang Jia (; died 390 CE), courtesy name Zinian (子年), was a Chinese Taoist hermit and scholar. He is known as the compiler of 拾遺記 (''Shi Yi Ji ''Shi Yi Ji'' () is a Chinese mythological / historical treatise compiled by the Taoist scholar Wang Jia (died 390). The title of the work has been variously translated into English as ''Record of Heretofore Lost Works'', ''Researches into Lost ...''), whose title has been variously translated as ''Record of Heretofore Lost Works'', ''Researches into Lost Records'', ''Record of Gleanings'', or ''Forgotten Tales''. This work is based on "apocryphal" versions of early (legendary) Chinese history, which must have been produced during the Eastern Han Dynasty. For example, his version of the story of Yu the Great has a yellow dragon and a black turtle helping Yu to create the geographical features of China, and to name them - details not found in '' Shan Hai Jing'' (especially, notes 90 and 97) Notes References Jin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shi Yi Ji
''Shi Yi Ji'' () is a Chinese mythological / historical treatise compiled by the Taoist scholar Wang Jia (died 390). The title of the work has been variously translated into English as ''Record of Heretofore Lost Works'', ''Researches into Lost Records'', ''Record of Gleanings'', or ''Forgotten Tales''. The verb ''shiyi'' (拾遺) is translated by modern dictionaries as "to appropriate lost property", or, when used in book titles, "to make up for omissions". Accordingly, the work is based on "apocryphal" versions of early (legendary) Chinese history, which must have been produced during the Eastern Han Dynasty. For example, ''Shi Yi Ji'''s version of the story of Yu the Great has a yellow dragon and a black turtle helping Yu to create the geographical features of China, and to name them – details not found in the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bai Ze
Bái Zé (), or in Japanese language, Japanese is a mythical cow-like beast from Chinese legend. Its name literally means "white marsh". The ''Bái Zé'' was encountered by the Yellow Emperor or ''Huáng Dì'' while he was on patrol in the east. Thereafter the creature dictated to ''Huáng Dì'' a guide to the forms and habits of all 11,520 types of supernatural creatures in the world, and how to overcome their hauntings and attacks. The emperor had this information written down in a book called the ''Bái Zé Tú'' (白泽图/白澤圖). This book no longer exists, but many fragments of it survive in other texts. In Japan The common Japanese image generally depicts the ''hakutaku'' as a "cow or monstrous cat creature with nine eyes and six horns, arranged in sets of three and two on both its flanks and its man-like face. It is also commonly depicted as having the body of a lion and eight eyes, known for having a horn or multiple horns on their heads." However, the number of ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythological Geography
Chinese mythological geography refers to the related mythological concepts of geography and cosmology, in the context of the geographic area now known as "China", which was typically conceived of as the center of the universe. The "Middle Kingdom" thus served as a reference point for a geography sometimes real and sometimes mythological, including lands and seas surrounding the Middle Land, with mountain peaks and sky (Heaven or heavens) above, with sacred grottoes and an underworld below, and even sometimes with some very abstract other worlds. Mythological geography of China "Chinese mythology" refers to mythology associated with the geographic area now known as "China", and in traditional Chinese mythology often known as the "Middle Kingdom". Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Chinese mythology is far from monolithic, not being an integrated system, even among just Han people. Chinese mythology is encountered in the traditions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bestiary
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson. This reflected the belief that the world itself was the Word of God and that every living thing had its own special meaning. For example, the pelican, which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus. Thus the bestiary is also a reference to the symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature. History The bestiary — the medieval book of beasts — was among the most popular illuminated texts in northern Europe during the Middle Ages (about 500–1500). Medieval Christians understood every element of the world as a manifestation of God, and bestiaries largely focused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classic Of History
The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorical prose attributed to figures of ancient China, and served as the foundation of Chinese political philosophy for over 2,000 years. The ''Book of Documents'' was the subject of one of China's oldest literary controversies, between proponents of different versions of the text. A version was preserved from Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying of scholars by scholar Fu Sheng, in 29 sections (''pian'' 篇). This group of texts were referred to as "Modern Script" ''jinwen'' 今文, because written with the script in use at the beginning of the Western Han dyansty. According to Western Han dynasty documents, new textual material was discovered in the wall of Confucius' family estate in Qufu by his descendant Kong Anguo in the late 2nd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flood Myth
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these Mythology, myths and the primaeval water (classical element), waters which appear in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the social cleansing, cleansing of humanity, in preparation for wikt:rebirth, rebirth. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who "represents the human craving for life". The List of flood myths, flood-myth motif Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, occurs in many cultures, including the Mesopotamian flood stories, Native American in North America, the Genesis flood narrative, ''manvantara-sandhya'' in Hinduism, and Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology. Mythologies One example of a flood myth is the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Many scholars believe that this account was copied from the Akkadian language, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action. Medicine in traditional China encompassed a range of sometimes competing health and healing practices, folk beliefs, literati theory and Confucian philosophy, herbal remedies, food, diet, exercise, medical specializations, and schools of thought. In the early twentieth century, Chinese cultural and political modernizers worked to eliminate traditional practices as backward and unscientific. Traditional practitioners then selected elements of philosophy and practice and organized them into what they called "Chinese medicine" (''Zhongyi''). In the 1950s, the Chinese government sponsored the integration of Chinese and Western medicine, and in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, promoted Chinese medicine as inexpensive a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Jin is a toneless pinyin romanization of various Chinese names and words. These have also been romanized as Kin and Chin (Wade–Giles). "Jin" also occurs in Japanese and Korean. It may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) (晉國; 907–923), Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Jīn 金 * Jin dynasty (1115–1234) (金朝), also known as the Jurchen Jin * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor of the Qing dynasty Others * Jin (Korean state) (辰國), precursor of the Jinhan Confederation * Balhae (698–713), originally known as Jin (震) Places * Jin Prefecture (Shanxi) (晉州), a former Chinese prefecture centered on present-day Linfen, Shanxi * Jin Prefecture (S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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