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Tianqi Emperor
The Tianqi Emperor (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627), personal name Zhu Youjiao (), was the 16th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1620 to 1627. He was the eldest son of the Taichang Emperor and a elder brother of the Chongzhen Emperor, who succeeded him. " Tianqi", the era name of his reign, means "heavenly opening". Biography Zhu Youjiao became emperor at the age of 15, following the death of his father, the Taichang Emperor, who ruled less than a month. He did not pay much attention to state affairs, and was accused of failing in his filial duties to his late father by not continuing the latter's wishes. It is possible that Zhu Youjiao suffered from a learning disability or something more. He was illiterate and showed no interest in his studies. However, he was an outstanding carpenter and craftsman, often spending vast amounts of time on woodworking and instructing his servants to sell his creations undercover on the market just to see how much they were w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanging Scroll
A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit East Asian painting and calligraphy. The hanging scroll was displayed in a room for appreciation; it is to be distinguished from the handscroll, which was narrower and designed to be viewed flat on a table in sections and then stored away again. Hanging scrolls are generally intended to be displayed for short periods of time and are then rolled up to be tied and secured for storage. The hanging scrolls are rotated according to season or occasion, and such works are never intended to be on permanent display. The painting surface of the paper or silk can be mounted with decorative brocade silk borders. In the composition of a hanging scroll, the foreground is usually at the bottom of the scroll while the middle and far distances are at the middle and top respectively. The traditional craft involved in creating a hanging scroll is considered an art in itself. Mountings for Chinese paintings can be divided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Xiao'aizhe
Empress Yi'an (Empress Xiao'aizhe) (1606–1644), of the Zhang clan, was the empress consort of the Tianqi Emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Empress Empress Zhang was selected to be the primary spouse and empress of the emperor in 1621. Her original name is not known, nor is that of her mother. Her father was Zhang Guoji (張國紀), who was elevated to the position of ''Bo'' (count) of Taikang when she became empress. Empress Zhang, though young, was described as calm and straightforward to her behavior, and strict but fair in palace affairs. The Tianqi Emperor, who has been described as badly educated and possibly mentally deficient, was deeply dependent upon the wet nurse Madame Ke and the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, and Empress Zhang is known to have opposed their influence. She reportedly informed the Emperor about the misdeeds of his two favorites, but he always refused to take action against them. In one incident, she subtly compared Wei Zhongxian to the eunuch Zh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the third son of the Longqing Emperor. His reign of 48 years (1572–1620) was the longest among all the Ming dynasty emperors and it witnessed several successes in his early and middle reign, followed by the decline of the dynasty as the emperor withdrew from his active role in government around 1600. Early reign (1572–1582) Zhu Yijun ascended the throne at the age of eight and adopted the regnal name "Wanli", thus he is historically known as the Wanli Emperor. For the first ten years of his reign, he was aided by a notable statesman, Zhang Juzheng, who governed the country as Wanli's regent. During this period, the Wanli Emperor deeply respected Zhang as a mentor and a valued minister. Archery competitions, equestrianism and calligr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanggongchang Explosion
The Wanggongchang Explosion ( zh, t=王恭廠大爆炸), also known as the Great Tianqi Explosion ( zh, t=天啟大爆炸, labels=no), Wanggongchang Calamity ( zh, t=王恭廠之變, labels=no) or Beijing Explosive Incident in the late Ming dynasty ( zh, t=晚明北京爆炸事件, labels=no), was a catastrophic explosion that occurred on May 30, 1626, during the late reign of Tianqi Emperor, at the heavily populated Ming China capital Beijing, and reportedly killed around 20,000 people. The epicenter was a major production center of gunpowder, but it is uncertain exactly what triggered the explosion. Background The Wanggongchang Armory was located about southwest of the Forbidden City, in modern-day central Xicheng District. It was one of the six gunpowder factories administered by the Ministry of Works in the Beijing area, and also one of the main storage facilities of armor, firearms, bows, ammunition, and gunpowder for the Shenjiying defending the capital. It was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donglin Movement
The Donglin movement () was an ideological and philosophical movement of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties of China. The movement was established in 1604, during the Wanli era of Ming, when Gu Xiancheng (1550–1612), a Grand Secretary, and Gao Panlong (高攀龍, 1562–1626), a scholar, restored the Donglin Academy in Wuxi with the financial backing of local gentry and officials. The motivation for restoring the Academy was concern about the state of the bureaucracy and its inability to bring about improvement. The movement represented a resort to moral Confucian traditions as a means of arriving at fresh moral evaluations. Thereafter the Academy became a centre of dissent for public affairs in the late Ming and early Qing periods. Many supporters of Donglin were found in the bureaucracy and it became deeply involved in factional politics. The movement got momentum when the Donglin Academy in Wuxi was joined by the academies of the nearby Wujin and Yixing. Donglin men carri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a way of life, Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE), Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Western Zhou dynasties (c. 1046–771 BCE). Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), but survived. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" Huang–Lao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism. A Confucian revival began during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). In the late Tan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters traditionally worked with natural wood and did rougher work such as framing, but today many other materials are also used and sometimes the finer trades of cabinetmaking and furniture building are considered carpentry. In the United States, 98.5% of carpenters are male, and it was the fourth most male-dominated occupation in the country in 1999. In 2006 in the United States, there were about 1.5 million carpentry positions. Carpenters are usually the first tradesmen on a job and the last to leave. Carpenters normally framed post-and-beam buildings until the end of the 19th century; now this old-fashioned carpentry is called timber framing. Carpenters learn this trade by being employed through an apprenticeship training—normally 4 years—a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madam Ke
Madame Ke (; c. 1588 – December 1627), was the nanny of the Tianqi Emperor (1605–1627), and known for her great influence during his reign as Emperor of China (Ming dynasty) from 1620 to 1627. Life The background of Madame Ke is rather vague and her original full name is Yinyue (印月), but she was a commoner from Dingxing in Baoding, married to a man named Hou Ba'er (a.k.a. Hou Er; d. c. 1608), and had a son named Hou Guoxing and a brother named Ke Guangxian. She was employed at the imperial court of the Forbidden city at the age of eighteen, and given the task of nanny or wet nurse to the future Tianqi Emperor after his birth in 1605. He had no contact with his biological mother, Consort Wang (d. 1619), and became completely dependent upon Madame Ke: she was reportedly so close to him that she kept all his baby hair and his nail cuttings in boxes, while he refused to be pacified at mealtime or at bedtime unless she was there. Madame Ke was described as an "alluring" beauty, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wet Nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures, the families are linked by a special relationship of milk kinship. Wet-nursing existed in cultures around the world until the invention of reliable formula milk in the 20th century. The practice has made a small comeback in the 21st century. Reasons A wet nurse can help when a mother is unable or unwilling to breastfeed her baby. Before the development of infant formula in the 20th century, wet-nursing could save a baby's life. There are many reasons why a mother is unable to produce sufficient breast milk, or in some cases to lactate at all. For example, she may have a chronic or acute illness, and either the illness itself, or the treatment for it, reduces or stops her milk. This absence of lactation may be temporary or permane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Zhongxian
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuch in Chinese history."Wei Zhongxian" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Online Academic Edition). Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. He is best known for his service in the court of the Zhu Youjiao (r. 1620–1627), when his power eventually appeared to rival that of the emperor. Mao Wenlong was one of the generals promoted by Wei Zhongxian. During Zhu Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
