Where the Middle Ages Begin
Coin in Jewellery from Bukhara NIYAZOVA, MAKHSUMA I. Numismática oriental / Oriental Numismatics Actas del XIII Congreso Internacional de Numismática (2003) From ancient times coins used as currency and as element of adornment or amulet. The shell known as “kauri” was a currency and ornament in the same time. Pierced coins famous from archaeological excavations in […]
SINO-WESTERN CONTACTS UNDER THE MONGOL EMPIRE By Herbert Franke Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol.6 (1966) Introduction: Contacts between Chinese civilization and that of the West — whatever we take “West” to mean in this context — have a long and tortuous history which for some periods is still far from […]
The Zheng He Voyages: A Reassessment By Geoff Wade Paper given at the New Dimensions in Humanities Education conference, 2008 Abstract: The Ming eunuch navigator Zheng He is lauded in contemporary China as a great maritime voyager, an ambassador of peace and friendship, and a potent symbol for Chinese patriotic education. The eunuch and his […]
An Important Waypoint on Passage of Navigation History: Zheng He’s Sailing to West Ocean By Jin Ding, Chaojian Shi and Adam Weintrit Paper given at the 7th International Navigational Symposium (2007) Abstract: Zheng He, a famous Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral of Ming Dynasty, sailed from China to many places throughout South Pacific, […]
Climate change, social unrest and dynastic transition in ancient China By Zhang Dian, Jim Chiyung, Lin Chusheng, He Yuanqing and Lee Fung Chinese Science Bulletin, Vol. 50 No. 2 (2005) Abstract: The evident connection between human evolution and climatic changes has been concurred by scientists. Although many people are trying to forecast the impacts of […]
The Transformation of Medieval Chinese Elites (850-1000 CE) By Nicolas Tackett PhD Dissertation, Columbia University, 2006 Abstract: Scholars of medieval China agree that between the late Tang (618-907) and the early Song (960-1279), Chinese society underwent a remarkable cultural, social, political, and economic transformation. One of the most dramatic aspects of this “Tang-Song transition” was the […]
The importance of Tang Dynasty mothers to the family education was shown in the following aspects: studies and moral character.
An Early Age of Commerce in Southeast Asia, 900–1300 CE By Geoff Wade Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 40:2 (2009) Abstract: One of the most influential ideas in Southeast Asian history in recent decades has been Anthony Reid’s Age of Commerce thesis, which sees a commercial boom and the emergence of port cities as […]
Simultaneous auroral observations described in the historical records of China, Japan and Korea from ancient times to AD 1700 Willis, D. M., Stephenson, F.R. Annales Geophysicae 18, (2000) Abstract Early auroral observations recorded in various oriental histories are examined in order to search for examples of strictly simultaneous and indisputably independent observations of the aurora […]
The Marvelous Tale of Lady Tan: Between Central and Local in Song-Yuan-Ming China By Anne Gerritsen Medieval History Journal, Vol.11:2 (2008) Abstract: This paper explores the story of Lady Tan across genres from biographical record to temple inscription and marvellous tale, highlighting different representations of ‘the local’ in these stories: the loss of local belonging […]
The World of Khubilai Khan: A Revolution in Painting Lecture by Maxwell K. Hearn Given at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 15, 2010 The Yuan Revolution: Art and Dynastic Change The Yuan Revolution: Art and Dynastic Change, a complement to the exhibition The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, […]
The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty – A Retrospective Lecture by James C. Y. Watt On October 8, 2010 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art This series of talks discusses in depth the exhibition The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, which highlights new art forms […]
Heresy and orthodoxy in Song dynasty China (960-1279 C.E.) By Robert Andrew Eddy Master’s Thesis, McGill University, 2007 Abstract: This thesis considers the question of heresy as it relates to the context of Song dynasty China (960-1279 C.E.). It analyzes the ways in which the Song Imperial authorities constructed a religious orthodoxy and defended it […]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present a major international exhibition devoted to the art of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)—one of the most dynamic and culturally rich periods in Chinese history—beginning September 28. Bringing together over 200 works drawn principally from China, with additional loans from Taiwan, Japan, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and […]
Ancient and Medieval Chinese Recipes for Aphrodisiacs and Philters: A Survey of Mawangdui and Dunhuang Manuscripts By Donald Harper Paper given at the Symposium on the History of Medicine in Asia: Past Achievements, Current Research and Future Directions (2003) Introduction: Near the end of a silk-sheet manuscript of recipes from Mawangdui 馬王堆 tomb 3 (burial dated to 168 […]
Rafe de Crespigny is Professor Emeritus at the Australian National University. He is considered to be one of the most important historians on early medieval China, focusing on the late second and third centuries, when the Han Dynasty collapsed and was replaced by the Three Kingdoms. Professor de Crespigny has written numerous books and articles […]
A Chinese in the Nubian and Abyssinian Kingdoms (8th Century): The visit of Du Huan to Molin-guo and Laobosa By Wolbert Smidt Chroniques yéménites, Vol. 9 (2001) Abstract: This article focuses on the first Chinese whose presence in Africa is clearly documented. Due to the geographical curiosity of the T’ang dynasty, extracts of an 8th […]
This is Ping Yao, a city in the Shanshi Province of China. The fortified town dates back to the Ming Dynasty. And remains intact. Ping Yao is a rare example of a city where remnants of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are well preserved. The townscape has remained unchanged for 600 years. Here, several traditional […]
The Great Wall of China looks like a giant dragon lying across the mountains and desert. It is the worlds largest man-made structure. The Chin dynasty built a long defensive wall to repel invaders from the north, during the 3rd century BC. Successive Emperors, from that time on up to the 17th Century, continued to […]
By Guy Gavriel Kay Publisher: Penguin Group Canada, March 30, 2010 ISBN: 9780670068098 Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the best known writers of historical fiction, having penned novels set in worlds very similar to medieval places like Spain, Provence and Byzantium. In his twelfth novel, Under Heaven, he uses 8th century China as his […]
China and the Trade in Cloves, Circa 960-1435 By Roderich Ptak Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 113, No. 1, (1993) Abstract: Throughout the late medieval period Moluccan cloves were exported to China, where they were mainly used as a breath-sweetener and in pharmacology. Depending on various factors, such as the political situation in […]
The West Shall Shake the East Awake: Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), A Jesuit in China By Francesco Guardiani Limina : Thresholds and borders ; proceedings of a St. Michael’s College symposium, eds. Guardiani F., Silano G. and Goering J. W. (Ottawa: Legas, 2005) Abstract: The first Westerner to set foot in mainland China with the declared […]
What is the book we associate with Polo’s name? With what purpose was it written? What claims does it make for itself? To what extent does it purport to represent Polo’s own experiences? Just where did Polo go?
A Study on the Earliest Representation of Garment & Accessories in the Figure Illustrations of ‘Nushi zhen’ By Yue Hu Asian Culture and History, Vol.1, No.2 (2009) Abstract: The earliest Chinese handscroll extant painting is the ‘Nushi zhen’ by Gu Kaizhi housed in the British Museum, which is now often considered to be a Tang […]
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