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Tian Qilang
"Tian Qilang" () is a short story by Pu Songling first published in ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (1740). The story revolves around Wu Chengxiu, who befriends the title character, a young hunter, and the series of unfortunate events they experience thereafter. In writing "Tian Qilang", Pu was heavily influenced by biographies of famous assassins in ''Records of the Grand Historian'' by Sima Qian; Pu's story has in turn been adapted into a television series story arc, a film, and a play. Plot Liaoyang resident Wu Chengxiu () hears, in his dreams, the name of the one who "can share your trials and tribulations", and he rushes to enquire about Tian Qilang. He learns that Tian is a twenty-year-old hunter who lives with his mother in a dilapidated shack. Attempting to form a friendship with him, Wu first offers him gold, which he refuses; then Wu pays Tian a handsome sum for a few animal hides. However, Tian does not accept Wu's invitation to his residence, and his mother c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Censorate
The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the Censorate was a branch of the centralized bureaucracy, paralleling the Six Ministries and the five Chief Military Commissions, and was directly responsible to the emperor. The investigating censors were "the eyes and ears" of the emperor and checked administrators at each level to prevent corruption and malfeasance, a common feature of that period. Popular stories told of righteous censors revealing corruption as well as censors who accepted bribes. Generally speaking, they were feared and disliked, and had to move around constantly to perform their duties. Internal structure The Censorate was divided into three branches (). * The Palace Branch () was responsible for monitoring the behavior of official ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Qingyun
Liu Qingyun (; 1841 – 1900), courtesy name Guxiang, was a Chinese playwright and poet. She has been described as "the most prolific woman playwright of the nineteenth century". Early life and family Liu Qingyun was born during the Qing dynasty in 1841 or 1842 in Donghai (modern day Lianyungang), Jiangsu. Her father, Liu Yuntang, was a successful businessman and also a "high official", and was around fifty when Qingyun, his first child, was born. Her mother was surnamed Wang. Afterwards, Wang bore two more girls. At a young age, Qingyun already demonstrated exceptional linguistic capabilities, and proved to be talented in painting and writing poetry. Aged eighteen, she wed Qian Meipo, who hailed from an affluent family in Haizhou. The couple had no biological children, although they adopted a girl named Mincai when Liu was around thirty years old. Career and death As a playwright, Liu's works were well-received by contemporary critics. Liu was influenced by the works of Pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. However, there are exceptions to this rule, including black-and-white fine art photography, as well as many film motion pictures and art film(s). Photography Contemporary use Since the late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black-and-white. The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color. 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white. Computing In computing terminology, ''black-and-white'' is sometimes used to refer to a binary image consisting solely of pure black pixels and pure white ones; what would normally be called a black-and-white image, that is, an image containing shades of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhang Shichuan
Zhang Shichuan (; 1889–1953 or 1890–1954), also credited as S. C. Chang, was a Chinese entrepreneur, film director, and film producer, who is considered a founding father of Chinese cinema. He and Zheng Zhengqiu made the first Chinese feature film, ''The Difficult Couple'', in 1913, and cofounded the Mingxing (Star) Film Company in 1922, which became the largest film production company in China under Zhang's leadership. Zhang directed about 150 films in his career, including ''Laborer's Love'' (1922), the earliest complete Chinese film that has survived; ''Orphan Rescues Grandfather'' (1923), one of the first Chinese box-office hits; ''The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple'' (1928), the first martial arts film; and ''Sing-Song Girl Red Peony'' (1931), China's first sound film. After the destruction of Mingxing's studio by Japanese bombing during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai, Zhang Shichuan made films for the China United Film Production Company (Zhonglian) in Japanese-occupied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yu Rang
Yu Rang (traditional 豫讓; simplified 豫让, ?-453 BC) was a famous Chinese assassin in the Spring and Autumn period. Life according to the legend Yu Rang was an assassin in the early days of the Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded .... He lived in the Jin (Chinese state), State of Jin (晉) around 450 BC. He was a grandson of Bi Yang. Background Yu was the family-minister of Fan Jishe and Zhonghang Yin who were two of six influential ministers of the Jin State. But Jishe and Zhonghang Yin did not appreciate his services properly, so he left those families and served :zh:荀瑶, Zhi Yao (智伯瑶) (also known as Zhi Bo). Zhi Yao appreciated Yu Rang very much. In a cruel conflict, the Fan Family and Zhonghang Family were defeated by the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Prince Dan
Crown Prince Dan () was a crown prince of the State of Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was also called Yan Dan (). He lived in the State of Qin as a hostage, but returned to Yan in 232 BC. He sent Jing Ke to assassinate King Zheng of Qin, who later assumed the title Qin Shi Huang and became the first Emperor of China, but Jing failed. King Xi of Yan, Dan's father and the last king of Yan, ordered the execution of Dan to please Qin after the Yan capital Ji fell to Qin. Invasion of Qin did halt for few years, during which time the states of Wei and Chu were conquered. Meanwhile, the King Xi of Yan moved to the Liaodong Commandery. The state of Yan was conquered in 222 BC and King Xi was captured. All except King Xi were featured in the Chinese period epic ''The Emperor and the Assassin''. Prince Dan is also featured in the 2004 TV series ''Assassinator Jing Ke ''Assassinator Jing Ke'' is a 2004 Chinese television series based on a semi-fictional sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Wenxing
Wang Wen-hsing () was born in Fuzhou, Fujian, in 1939 and grew up in Taiwan. He obtained a BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures from National Taiwan University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri .... He returned to NTU's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to teach, retiring in 2005 at the rank of Professor.(In Chinese.Retired Faculty, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University Retrieved February 5, 2012. His first novel, '' Family Catastrophe'' (), was published in 1972, a story about a runaway father and a son who takes over the household in his stead. He has also published a novel entitled ''Backed Against the Sea'' () as well as several collections of short ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspense
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it affects a character for whom one has sympathy. However, suspense is not exclusive to fiction. In drama In literature, films, television, and plays, suspense is a major device for securing and maintaining interest. It may be of several major types: in one, the outcome is uncertain and the suspense resides in the question of ''who, what, or how''; in another, the outcome is inevitable from foregoing events, and the suspense resides in the audience's anxious or frightened anticipation in the question of ''when''. Readers feel suspense when they are deeply curious about ''what'' will happen next, or when they know what is likely to happen but don’t know ''how'' it will happen. Even in historical fiction, with characters whose life stori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romance Of The Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 by Western Jin. The novel is based primarily on the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (), written by Chen Shou. The story – part historical and part fictional – romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. While the novel follows hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. ''Romance of the Three Kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esperanto
Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communication, or "the international language" (). Zamenhof first described the language in '' Dr. Esperanto's International Language'' (), which he published under the pseudonym . Early adopters of the language liked the name ''Esperanto'' and soon used it to describe his language. The word translates into English as "one who hopes". Within the range of constructed languages, Esperanto occupies a middle ground between "naturalistic" (imitating existing natural languages) and ''a'priori'' (where features are not based on existing languages). Esperanto's vocabulary, syntax and semantics derive predominantly from languages of the Indo-European group. The vocabulary derives primarily from Romance languages, with substantial contributions from Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tian (surname)
Tián (), or T'ien in Wade-Giles is a Chinese surname. An alternative transliteration of "田" from Cantonese is Tin, from Hokkien is Thinn. It appeared in the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' text from the early Song Dynasty. It also means "field". In 2019 it was the 34th most common surname in Mainland China. The same character is Jeon in Korean hanja and is 16th most common in South Korea. Origins * perhaps from a fief called Tian (田), which in Old Chinese is pronounced similar to (陳) in Qi state, which was granted to Chen Wan (陳完), a Prince in the State of Chen, who fled to Qi in order to escape persecution. The Qi clan also went on to rule Qi for many generations. * possibly dates even further back to the post name of an official in charge of the management of farmlands who served the Shang dynasty * adopted in place of the Chinese surname Huang (黃) by the son of the official Huang Zicheng during the Ming Dynasty, in order to avoid persecution. Notable people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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