|
Li Si
Li Si (Mandarin: ; BCSeptember or October 208 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and calligrapher of the Qin dynasty. He served as Chancellor (or Prime Minister) from 246 to 208 BC under two rulers: Qin Shi Huang, the king of the Qin state and later the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty; and Qin Er Shi, Qin Shi Huang's eighteenth son and the Second Emperor.Sima Qian, ''Records of the Grand Historian'' Concerning administrative methods, Li Si "indicated that he admired and utilized the ideas of Shen Buhai", repeatedly referring to the technique of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, but regarding law followed Shang Yang. John Knoblock, a translator of classical Chinese texts, considered Li Si "one of the two or three most important figures in Chinese history"; Li Si assisted the Emperor Shi Huangdi in unifying the laws, governmental ordinances, weights and measures, and standardized chariots, carts, and the characters used in writing... acilitatingthe cultural unification of Chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li (surname 李)
Li or Lee (; ) is a common Chinese-language surname, it is the 4th name listed in the famous '' Hundred Family Surnames.'' Li is one of the most common surnames in Asia, shared by 92.76 million people in China, and more than 100 million in Asia. It is the second most common surname in China as of 2018, the second most common surname in Hong Kong, and the 5th most common surname in Taiwan, where it is usually romanized as "Lee". The surname is pronounced as () in Cantonese, ''Lí'' ( poj) in Taiwanese Hokkien, but is often spelled as "Lee" in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and many overseas Chinese communities. In Macau, it is also spelled as "Lei". In Indonesia it is commonly spelled as "Lie". The common Korean surname, "Lee" (also romanized as "I", "Yi", "Ri", or "Rhee"), and the Vietnamese surname, " Lý", are both derived from Li and written with the same Chinese character (李). The character also means "plum" or "plum tree". Demographics and distribution Li, Lee 李 is one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xun Kuang
Xun Kuang (; BCE), better known as Xunzi (; ), was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism who lived during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity. By his time, Confucianism had suffered considerable criticism from Daoist and Mohist thinkers, and Xunzi is traditionally regarded as a synthesizer of these traditions with earlier Confucian thought. The result was a thorough and cohesive revision of Confucianism, which was crucial to the philosophy's ability to flourish in the Han dynasty and throughout the later history of East Asia. His works were compiled in the eponymous '' Xunzi'', and survive in excellent condition. Unlike other ancient compilations, his authorship of these texts is generally secure, though it is likely that Western Han Dynasty historian Liu Xiang organized them into their present form centuries after Xunzi's death. Born in the State of Zha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waist Chop
Waist chop or waist cutting (), also known as cutting in two at the waist, was a form of execution used in ancient China. As its name implies, it involved the condemned being sliced in two at the waist by an executioner. History Waist chopping first appeared during the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC – 256 BC). There were three forms of execution used in the Zhou dynasty: '' chēliè'' (車裂; quartering the prisoner alive), ''zhǎn'' (斬; waist chop), and ''shā'' (殺; beheading). Sometimes the chopping was not limited to one slice. Gao Qi, a Ming dynasty poet, was sentenced by the Hongwu Emperor to be sliced into eight parts for his politically satirical writing. An episode not attested in the official histories recounts that in 1734, Yu Hongtu (俞鴻圖), the Education Administrator of Henan, was sentenced to a waist chop. After being cut in two at the waist, he remained alive long enough to write the Chinese character ''cǎn'' (慘; "cruel, awful") seven times with his own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Punishments
The Five Punishments () was the collective name for a series of physical penalties meted out by the legal system of pre-modern dynastic China. Over time, the nature of the Five Punishments varied. Before the time of Western Han dynasty Emperor Han Wendi (r. 180–157 BC) they involved tattooing, cutting off the nose, amputation of one or both feet, castration and death. Following the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–907 AD) these were changed to penal servitude, banishment, death, or corporal punishment in the form of whipping with bamboo strips or flogging with a stick. Although the Five Punishments were an important part of Dynastic China's penal system they were not the only methods of punishment used. Origin The earliest users of the Five Punishments are believed by some to be the Sanmiao Clan (三苗氏). Other sources claim they originated with Chiyou, the legendary creator of metalwork and weapons and leader of the ancient Nine Li (九黎) ethnic group. During the subs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder brother of Meng Yi. He descended from a great line of military generals and architects. His grandfather, , was a general from the era of King Zhao; and his father, Meng Wu, was also a general who served as a deputy to Wang Jian. Life In 224 BC, having recently conquered Wei, the Qin king Ying Zheng appointed Li Xin as commander-in-chief and Meng Tian as his vice-general to lead a 200,000 strong army in an assault against Chu. The invasion was successful at first, Meng Tian's army took Qigui but then, both Li Xin and Meng Tiang armies were effectively annihilated by Chu troops under Xiang Yan and Lord Changping. Following this defeat, Ying Zheng appointed Qin generals Wang Jian and Meng Wu as commanders of a 600,000 Qin army in order to finally achi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fusu
Fusu (died 210BC) was the eldest son and heir apparent of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. Life After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, the First Emperor supposedly ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be buried alive, though an account given by Wei Hong in the 2nd century added another 700 to the figure. Fusu counselled that, with the country newly unified, and enemies still not pacified, such a harsh measure imposed on those who respect Confucius would cause instability.(於是使御史悉案问诸生，诸生传相告引，乃自除犯禁者四百六十馀人，皆阬之咸阳，使天下知之，以惩後。益发谪徙边。始皇长子扶苏谏曰：「天下初定，远方黔首未集，诸生皆诵法孔子，今上皆重法绳之，臣恐天下不安。唯上察之。」) ''Shiji'' vol. 6. However, he was unable to change his father's mind, and instead was sent to guard the frontier, where Meng Tian was statio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burning Of Books And Burying Of Scholars
The burning of books and burying of scholars (), also known as burning the books and executing the ru scholars, refers to the purported burning of texts in 213 BCE and live burial of 460 Confucian scholars in 212 BCE by the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty. This was alleged to have destroyed philosophical treatises of the Hundred Schools of Thought, with the goal of strengthening the official Qin governing philosophy of Legalism. Modern historians doubt the details of the story, which first appeared more than a century later in the Han Dynasty official Sima Qian's '' Records of the Grand Historian.'' As a court scholar, Sima had every reason to denigrate the earlier emperor to flatter his own, and later Confucians did not question the story. As one recent historian put it, their message was, "If you take our life, Heaven will take the life of your dynasty." Modern scholars agree that Qin Shi Huang indeed gathered and destroyed many works that he regarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prophecy
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or preternatural knowledge, for example of future events. They can be revealed to the prophet in various ways depending on the religion and the story, such as visions, divination, or direct interaction with divine beings in physical form. Stories of prophetic deeds sometimes receive considerable attention and some have been known to survive for centuries through oral tradition or as religious texts. Etymology The English noun "prophecy", in the sense of "function of a prophet" appeared from about 1225, from Old French ''profecie'' (12th century), and from ''prophetia'', Greek ''propheteia'' "gift of interpreting the will of God", from Greek ''prophetes'' (see prophet). The related meaning, "thing spoken or written by a prophet", dates fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. The history of agriculture began thousands of years ago. After gathering wild grains beginning at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers began to plant them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs and cattle were domesticated over 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture in the twentieth century came to dominate agricultural output, though about 2 billion people still depended on subsistence agriculture. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials (such as rubber). Food classes include cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, cooking oils, meat, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others. Medicine has been practiced since prehistoric times, and for most of this time it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge), frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jianzhuke Shu
The Jianzhuke Shu () was a petition to Ying Zheng, King of Qin, written by Li Si in 243 BC. Written in response to an order to expel all officers serving in the State of Qin who were not born in Qin, it successfully persuaded Ying Zheng to rescind the expulsion order, and also began Li Si's career as a leading politician in Qin. Background During the Warring States period, it was common practice for learned men whose careers might have been frustrated in their homelands to travel to other countries in search of service and patronage. Li Si himself was such an individual, having been born in the State of Chu but unable to progress in an official career there. The initial policy of openness to outsiders changed in 244 BC, due to the controversy surrounding the Zhengguo Canal; the State of Han had dispatched Zheng Guo, a skilled engineer, to Qin on the pretext of helping them build an irrigation canal. Subsequently, however, it was discovered that this was really a scheme by Han t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han (state)
Han (, Old Chinese: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Warring States period of ancient China. It is conventionally romanized by scholars as Hann to distinguish it from the later Han dynasty (). It was located in central China (modern-day Shanxi and Henan) in a region south and east of Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Zhou. It was ruled by a royal family who were former ministers in the state of Jin that had slowly gained power from the Jin royal family until they were able to divide Jin into the three new states of Han, Wei and Zhao with the assistance of two other ministerial families. The state of Han was small and located in a mountainous and unprofitable region. Its territory directly blocked the passage of the state of Qin into the North China Plain.. Although Han had attempted to reform its governance (notably under Chancellor and "Legalist" Shen Buhai who improved state administration and strengthened its military ability) these reforms were not e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
