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Wat Nanchang
Wat Nan Chang ( th, วัดหนานช้าง; "Nan Chang's Temple") is a ruined 16th or 17th century temple in the Wiang Kum Kam archaeological complex near modern Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Excavated from 2002 to 2003, the temple primarily provides evidence of ancient flooding in the region, having been inundated by some 1.8 meters of sediment. It is speculated that it was built to face a now dried up route of the Ping River, a major transportation and trade route of historic periods. Notably within the ' Wiang Kum Kam archaeological group, the site includes structures from two different historic periods that had been built directly on top of one another. It also faces north, whereas most of the other temples in the group face east. A stucco of a ''makara'' (a mythical sea creature from Indian mythology, blending crocodile, dolphin and elephant features) with a ''nāga'' protruding from its mouth was found associated with a stairway. Under the middle of the main ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiang Kum Kam
Wiang Kum Kam ( th, เวียงกุมกาม; nod, ᩅ᩠ᨿᨦᨠᩩᨾᨠᩣ᩠ᨾ) is an historic settlement and archaeological site along the Ping River, which was built by King Mangrai the Great as his capital before he moved it to Chiang Mai. It was flooded and abandoned more than 700 years ago; that move became more understandable in 2005, when the ancient city was flooded three separate times as the river overflowed its banks in that area of Chiang Mai. History Wiang Kum Kam is an ancient city ( th, เวียง ''wiang'' "walled city") located in Saraphi District in the northern region of Thailand, around south of the southeastern corner of Chiang Mai's city centre. According to the chronicles and archaeological evidence, the old city was built by King Mangrai around the latter part of the 13th century. The city was established as a new capital by the King after his victory over the Mon people's kingdom of Hariphunchai, modern Lamphun. Due to repeated floodin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in Thailand. It is north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands and has a population of 1.19 million people as of 2022, which is more than 66 percent of the total population of Chiang Mai province (1.8 million). Chiang Mai (meaning "New City" in Thai) was founded in 1296 as the new capital of Lan Na, succeeding the former capital, Chiang Rai. The city's location on the Ping River (a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River) and its proximity to major trading routes contributed to its historic importance. The city (''thesaban nakhon'', Thesaban#City-municipality, "city municipality") of Chiang Mai officially only covers most parts (40,2 km²) of the Mueang Chiang Mai district in the city centre and has a pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the extremity of Myanmar. Thailand also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city. Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ping River
The Ping River ( th, แม่น้ำปิง, , ), along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After passing Chiang Mai, it flows through the provinces of Lamphun, Tak, and Kamphaeng Phet. At the confluence with the Nan River at Nakhon Sawan (also named ''Paknam Pho'' in Thai), it forms the Chao Phraya River. Tributaries *Khlung River (2) * Suan Mak River (Joins the Ping at ) *Wang Chao River (Joins the Ping at ) * Pra Dang River (Joins the Ping at ) *Raka River (Placement in tributary tree is approximate, geographical coordinates unavailable due to poor satellite resolution) *Wang River (Joins the Ping at in the town of Tak) **Tributaries include Mo, Tui, Chang & Soi Rivers * Tak River (Joins the Ping at ) *Ko River (Joins the Ping at ) *Tun River (Placement in tributary tree is approximate, geographical coordinates unavailable due t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makara (Hindu Mythology)
''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, and of the god of the ocean, Varuna. Makara are considered guardians of gateways and thresholds, protecting throne rooms as well as entryways to temples; it is the most commonly recurring creature in Hindu and Buddhist temple iconography, and also frequently appears as a gargoyle or as a spout attached to a natural spring. Makara-shaped earrings called ''Makarakundalas'' are sometimes worn by Hindu deities, for example Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, and Chandi. Makara is also the insignia of the love god Kamadeva, who has no dedicated temples and is also known as ''Makaradhvaja'', "one whose flag depicts a makara". Etymology ''Makara'' is a Sanskrit word which means "sea-animal, crocodile". Josef Friedrich Kohl of Würzburg University and sever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nāga
The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. A female naga is called a Nagi, or a Nagini. According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years. They are principally depicted in three forms: as entirely human with snakes on the heads and necks, as common serpents, or as half-human, half-snake beings in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ''Nagaraja'' is the title given to the king of the nagas. Narratives of these beings hold cultural significance in the mythological traditions of many South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, and within Hinduism and Buddhism, they are the ancestral origins of the Nagavanshi Kshatriyas. Etymology In Sanskrit, a () ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qilin
The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of one-horned beasts. The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other cultures, such as Japanese and Korean mythology, where it is known as the kirin, and Vietnamese mythology, where it is known as the kỳ lân. Origins Earliest mention of this mythical horned beast is in the poem included in the Classic of Poetry (11th - 7th c. BCE). ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' mentioned that a ''lin'' () was captured in the 14th year of Duke Ai of Lu () (481 CE); '' Zuo Zhuan'' credited Confucius with identifying the ''lin'' as such. The bisyllabic form ''qilin'' ( ~ ), which carries the same generic meaning as ''lin'' alone, is attested in works dated to the Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE). Q''i'' denotes the male and ''lin'' denotes the fem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemaraj
The hemaraj ( th, เหมราช) is a creature found in Thai and possibly South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...n mythology. It is said to be the combination of a ''hem'' (an ill-defined creature in and of itself; usually likened to a swan but sometimes depicted more like a crocodile) and a lion. Public sign erected by the Thailand government's Fine Art Department explaining the archaeological discoveries at Wat Nanchang, Wiang Kum Kam, northern Thailand and photographed in August 2014. See also * Wat Nanchang, an archaeological site in northern Thailand at which a stucco hemaraj was discovered. References {{Asia-myth-stub Thai legendary creatures ... [...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] |
Ayutthaya Kingdom
The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is considered to be the precursor of modern Thailand and its developments are an important part of the History of Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom emerged from the mandala of city-states on the Lower Chao Phraya Valley in the late fourteenth century during the decline of the Khmer Empire. After a century of territorial expansions, Ayutthaya became centralized and rose as a major power in Southeast Asia. Ayutthaya faced invasions from the Toungoo dynasty of Burma, starting a centuries' old rivalry between the two regional powers, resulting in the First Fall of Ayutthaya in 1569. However, Naresuan ( 1590–1605) freed Ayutthaya from brief Burmese rule and expanded Ayutthaya militarily. By 1600, the kingdom's vassals included some city-states in the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred by the Yongle Emperor. Commissioned by the Yongle Emperor and later the Xuande Emperor, Zheng commanded seven expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. According to legend, his larger ships carried hundreds of sailors on four decks and were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded. As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whom Zheng assisted in the overthrow of the Jianwen Emperor, he rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing. Early life and family Zheng He was born Ma He () to a Muslim family of Kunyang, Kunming, Yunnan, during the Ming dynasty of China. He had an older brother and four sisters. Zheng He' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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