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The Carnal Prayer Mat
''Rouputuan'', also known as ''Huiquanbao'' and ''Juehouchan'', and translated as ''The Carnal Prayer Mat'' or ''The Before Midnight Scholar'', is a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel published under a pseudonym but usually attributed to Li Yu. It was written in 1657 and published in 1693 during the Qing dynasty. It is divided into four volumes of five chapters apiece. It was published in Japan in 1705 as ''Nikubuton'' with a preface proclaiming it the greatest erotic novel of all time. The novel had a controversial status in Chinese literature, and has long been banned and censored; recent scholarship treats the work as an allegory which uses its unabashed pornographic nature to attack Confucian puritanism. The prologue comments that sex is healthy when taken as if it were a drug, but not as if it were ordinary food. Plot summary Set during the Yuan dynasty in the 14th century, the novel's protagonist, Weiyangsheng (未央生; lit. "Unrealised One" or "Unfinished One"), visits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Yu (author)
Li Yu (, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; courtesy name: 笠翁 Lìwēng; 1611–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Life and writings Born in Rugao, in present-day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial examination, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market. Li was an actor, producer, and director as well as a playwright, who traveled with his own troupe. His play ''Fēngzhēng wù'' (風箏誤, "Errors caused by the Kite") remains a favorite of the Chinese Kun opera stage. His biographers call him a "writer-entrepreneur" and the “most versatile and enterprising writer of his time”. Li is the presumed author of '' Ròu pútuán'' (肉蒲團, ''The Carnal Prayer Mat''), a well-crafted comedy and a classic of Chinese erotic literature. He also wrote a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchu Language
Manchu (Manchu:, ) is a critically endangered East Asian Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was one of the official languages of the Qing dynasty (1636–1912) of China, although today the vast majority of Manchus speak only Mandarin Chinese. Several thousand can speak Manchu as a second language through governmental primary education or free classes for adults in classrooms or online. The Manchu language enjoys high historical value for historians of China, especially for the Qing dynasty. Manchu-language texts supply information that is unavailable in Chinese, and when both Manchu and Chinese versions of a given text exist they provide controls for understanding the Chinese. Like most Siberian languages, Manchu is an agglutinative language that demonstrates limited vowel harmony. It has been demonstrated that it is derived mainly from the Jurchen language though there are m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1650s Novels
Year 165 ( CLXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Orfitus and Pudens (or, less frequently, year 918 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 165 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * A Roman military expedition under Avidius Cassius is successful against Parthia, capturing Artaxata, Seleucia on the Tigris, and Ctesiphon. The Parthians sue for peace. * Antonine Plague: A pandemic breaks out in Rome, after the Roman army returns from Parthia. The plague significantly depopulates the Roman Empire and China. * Legio II ''Italica'' is levied by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. * Dura-Europos is taken by the Romans. * The Romans establish a garrison at Doura Europos on the Euphrates, a control point for the commercial ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1693 Books
Events January–March * January 11 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: Mount Etna erupts, causing a devastating earthquake that affects parts of Sicily and Malta. * January 22 – A total lunar eclipse is visible across North and South America. * February 8 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a Royal charter. * February 27 – The publication of the first women's magazine, titled ''The Ladies' Mercury'', takes place in London. It is published by the Athenian Society. * March 27 – Bozoklu Mustafa Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, after Sultan Ahmed II appoints him as the successor of Çalık Ali Pasha. April–June * April 4 – Anne Palles becomes the last accused witch to be executed for witchcraft in Denmark, after having been convicted of using powers of sorcery. King Christian V accepts her plea not to be burned alive, and she is beheaded before her body is set afire. * April 5 – The Order of Saint Louis, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1657 Books
Events January–March * January 8 – Miles Sindercombe and his group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed, in their attempt to assassinate Oliver Cromwell, by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London, and arrested. * February 4 – Oliver Cromwell gives Antonio Fernandez Carvajal the assurance of the right of Jews to remain in England. * February 23 – In England, the ''Humble Petition and Advice'' offers Lord Protector Cromwell the crown. * March 2 – The Great Fire of Meireki in Edo, Japan, destroys most of the city and damages Edo Castle, killing an estimated 100,000 people. * March 23 – Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60): By the Treaty of Paris, France and England form an alliance against Spain; England will receive Dunkirk. April–June * April 20 **In the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife during the Anglo-Spanish War, English Admiral Robert Blake attempts to seize a Spanish treasure fleet. ** The Jews of New Amsterdam (later Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qing Dynasty Novels
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] |
17th-century Chinese Novels
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 more easily ke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Erotic Novels
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 (Chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong University Press
Hong Kong University Press is the university press of the University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi .... It was established in 1956 and publishes more than 50 titles per year in both Chinese and English. Most works in English are on cultural studies, film and media studies, Chinese history and culture. Brief Hong Kong University Press was established in 1956. At the beginning of the establishment, the press mainly published several books on studies done by the university's own faculty every year. It now releases between 30 and 60 new titles a year. All HKUP publications are approved by a committee of HKU faculty and staff, which bases its decisions on the results of a rigorous peer-review process. HKUP publishes most of its books (especially the acad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was established in London in 1851 by the German-born Paul Reuter. It was acquired by the Thomson Corporation of Canada in 2008 and now makes up the media division of Thomson Reuters. History 19th century Paul Reuter worked at a book-publishing firm in Berlin and was involved in distributing radical pamphlets at the beginning of the Revolutions in 1848. These publications brought much attention to Reuter, who in 1850 developed a prototype news service in Aachen using homing pigeons and electric telegraphy from 1851 on, in order to transmit messages between Brussels and Aachen, in what today is Aachen's Reuters House. Reuter moved to London in 1851 and established a news wire agency at the London Royal Exchange. Headquartered in London, Reuter' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extreme Ecstasy
Extreme may refer to: Science and mathematics Mathematics *Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set *Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function Science *Extremophile, an organism which thrives in or requires "extreme" *Extremes on Earth *List of extrasolar planet extremes Politics *Extremism, political ideologies or actions deemed outside the acceptable range *The Extreme (Italy) or Historical Far Left, a left-wing parliamentary group in Italy 1867–1904 Business *Extreme Networks, a California-based networking hardware company *Extreme Records, an Australia-based record label *Extreme Associates, a California-based adult film studio Computer science *Xtreme Mod, a peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows Sports and entertainment Sport *Extreme sport *Extreme Sports Channel A global sports and lifestyle brand dedicated to extreme sports and youth culture *Los Angeles Xtreme, a defunct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex And Zen
''Sex and Zen'' (, ''The Carnal Prayer Mat's Stash of Illicit Love'') is a 1991 Hong Kong erotic sex comedy film directed by Michael Mak, and starring Lawrence Ng and Amy Yip. The film is loosely based on ''The Carnal Prayer Mat'', a Chinese erotic novel by seventeenth century author and playwright Li Yu. Plot The story is about Mei Yeung-Sheng, a lustful scholar (Lawrence Ng), who dares to challenge the moral teachings of the Sack Monk. The monk attempts to lecture the scholar that spiritual enlightenment transcends the passions of the flesh but the scholar, who enjoys women, doesn't agree. However, Master Iron Doors, the most powerful man in the town, marries his daughter Huk-Yeung (Amy Yip) to the scholar. The daughter is a virgin and has been taught that sex is dirty. Choi Kun-Lun, the flying thief (Lo Lieh), tells the scholar that stealing other men's wives requires good lovemaking skills and equipment. He promises to help the scholar only if he has a horse's penis. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
