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Xue Susu
Xue Susu (; also known as Xue Wu (薛五), Xuesu (薛素), Sujun, among other pen names) (1564–1650? C.E.) was a Chinese courtesan during the Ming Dynasty. She was an accomplished painter and poet who was particularly noted for her figure paintings, which included many Buddhist subjects. Her works are held in a number of museums both in China and elsewhere. Her skill at mounted archery was commented upon by a number of contemporary writers, as were her masculine, martial tendencies; these were regarded as an attractive feature by the literati of the period. She lived in Eastern China, residing for most of her life in the Zhejiang and Jiangsu districts. After a career as a celebrated courtesan in Nanjing, Xue Susu was married about four times. During her later life, she eventually opted for the life of a Buddhist recluse. Biography Xue was born in either Suzhou or Jiaxing (contemporary sources disagree). According to the historian Qian Qianyi she spent at least some of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suzhou
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the Eastern Han dynasty, mostly due to emigration from Northern and southern China, northern China. From the 10th century onwards, it has been an important economic, cultural, and commercial center, as well as the largest non-capital city in the world, until it was overtaken by Shanghai. Since Chinese economic reform, economic reforms began in 1978, Suzhou attained GDP growth rates of about 14% in 35 years. In 2023, Suzhou had 5 million registered residents. Suzhou is listed as the 48th List of cities by scientific output, cities by scientific output according to the Nature Index 2022. The city is home to universities, including Soochow University (Suzhou), Soochow University, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qinhuai District
Qinhuai District () is one of 11 District of China, districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China. Administrative subdivisions Qinhuai has administrative jurisdiction over the following 12 subdistricts of the People's Republic of China, subdistricts: In 2013, Baixia District, Baixia merged into Qinhuai gaining seven additional subdistricts. Important areas in Qinhuai District * Caoqiao Mosque * Temple of Confucius, Fuzimiao * Gate of China, Nanjing, Zhonghua Gate * Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, Bao'ensi Tourism The county houses many ancient bridges, such as Xuanjin Bridge. See also *Qinhuai Lantern Fair References External links Official website of Qinhuai District government {{authority control Districts of Nanjing County-level divisions of Jiangsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Lake
The West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. Situated to the west of Hangzhou's former Hangzhou City Walls, walled city, the lake has a surface area of , stretching from north to south and from east to west. In the lake are four causeways, three artificial islands, and the Gushan, the only natural island. Gentle hills surround the lake on its north, west, and south sides, with the Leifeng Pagoda, Leifeng and Baochu Pagoda, Baochu pagodas standing in pair on the south and north banks. Several famous temples are nestled in the mountains west of the lake, including the temples of Lingyin Temple, Lingyin and Jingci Temple, Jingci. A tourist attraction since the Tang dynasty (618–907), the lake has influenced Chinese poetry, poets and Chinese painting, painters throughout History of China, Chinese history for its natural beauty and historic relics. By the Song dynasty (960–1279), during which the Historical capitals of China, dynastic capital moved to Hangzhou, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shen Defu
Shen Defu () (1578–1642) was a Chinese writer and bureaucrat during the Ming Dynasty. He lived in Zhejiang. In 1618, he achieved the rank of ''juren'' in the Imperial examinations, but failed an exam for promotion to the rank of ''jinshi'' a year later. His principal work was the ''Wanli ye huo bian'' (Unofficial Gleanings of the Wanli Era, ), which he completed in 1607. Perhaps because he failed to move beyond the rank of provincial office, in this text he inveighs again the excesses of imperial office holders, including extravagant dress. He was married for several years to the courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ... Xue Susu. References {{Authority control Ming dynasty historians 1578 births 1642 deaths Historians from Beijing 17th-century Chinese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and List of islands of Japan, thousands of smaller islands, covering . Japan has a population of over 123 million as of 2025, making it the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh-most populous country. The capital of Japan and List of cities in Japan, its largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the List of largest cities, largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37 million inhabitants as of 2024. Japan is divided into 47 Prefectures of Japan, administrative prefectures and List of regions of Japan, eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of Geography of Japan, the countr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hu Yinglin
Hu Yinglin (; 1551–1602), also known as Hu Yuanrui, was a Chinese scholar, writer and bibliophile during the late Ming dynasty. A native of Lanxi, he produced over 1,000 works of scholarship. His two most noted works are the ''Shaoshishan fang bicong'' 少室山房筆叢 (''Notes from Shaoshishan Studio'', a work of historical and literary criticism) and the ''Shisou'' 詩藪 (''Thickets of criticism''), which is a treatise on poetry. Hu earned the rank of ''juren'' (a low-level degree) in the Imperial Examinations of 1576. He travelled extensively collecting works for his personal library, the ''Eryou shanfang'', often selling his clothes or his wife's jewellery in order to fund the purchase of texts. He eventually amassed a collection of more than 42,300 bamboo scrolls and around 20,000 paper books. In later life, prevented from travelling due to ill health, Hu created an "armchair travel studio" (''wouyou shi''); since he was unable to visit the Five Great Mountains, he had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youxia
''Youxia'' () was a type of ancient Chinese warrior folk hero celebrated in classical Chinese poetry and fictional literature. It literally means "wandering vigilante", but is commonly translated as " knight-errant" or less commonly as "cavalier", "adventurer", "soldier of fortune" or "underworld stalwart". Background Of the two characters of the term, ''yóu'' (遊) literally means to "wander", "travel" or "move around", and ''xiá'' (俠) means someone with power who helps others in need. The term refers to the way these solitary men travelled the land using physical force or political influence to right the wrongs done to the common people by the powers that be, often judged by their personal codes of chivalry. ''Youxia'' do not come from any particular social class. Various historical documents, wuxia novels and folktales describe them as being princes, government officials, poets, musicians, physicians, professional soldiers, merchants, monks and even humble farmers and bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Go (game)
# Go is an abstract strategy game, abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to fence off more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to the present day. A 2016 survey by the International Go Federation's 75 member nations found that there are over 46 million people worldwide who know how to play Go, and over 20 million current players, the majority of whom live in East Asia. The Game piece (board game), playing pieces are called ''Go equipment#Stones, stones''. One player uses the white stones and the other black stones. The players take turns placing their stones on the vacant intersections (''points'') on the #Boards, board. Once placed, stones may not be moved, but ''captured stones'' are immediately removed from the board. A single stone (or connected group of stones) is ''captured'' when surrounded by the opponent's stones on all Orthogona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Rihua
Li Rihua (1565–1635) was a Chinese bureaucrat, artist and art critic from Jiaxing, during the late Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of .... He wrote an extensive diary, the ''Weishuixuan riji'' (Water-Tasting Gallery Diary), from 1609 to 1616, which detailed his many acquisitions as an art collector. The diary is so named because Li had a reputation as a connoisseur of tea, and was particularly skilled at selecting the best water with which to brew it. He made inscriptions on several paintings of courtesan Xue Susu. In the autumn of 1612, Li Rihua's disciples brought him a statue of Guanyin hand-embroidered by Xue Susu and a volume of "Prajna Heart Sutra", which Li Rihua rated as "extremely exquisite". References {{Authority control Chinese art critics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin has been more commonly depicted as female in China and most of East Asia since about the 12th century. Due to sociogeographical factors, Guanyin can also be historically depicted as genderless or adorning an androgynous apprentice. On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin's attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated. Guanyin has been incorporated in other religions, including Taoism and Chinese folk religion. Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a sacred lotus in religious art, lotus and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī. Guanyin is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity" with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Sutra
The ''Heart Sūtra'', ) is a popular sutra in Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title ' translates as "The Heart of the Prajnaparamita, Perfection of Wisdom". The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness (''śūnyatā''), emptiness is form." It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan, as well as other source languages. Summary of the sutra In the sutra, Avalokiteśvara addresses Sariputta, Śariputra, explaining the fundamental emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, known through and as the five aggregates of human existence (skandhas): form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), volitions (saṅkhāra), perceptions (saṃjñā), and mind (vijñāna). Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is Emptiness (śūnyatā). Emptiness is Form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty—that is, Pratītyasamutp� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
