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Shuten-doji or Shutendoji is a mythical <i>oni</i> or <i>yokai</i> (demon, devil, ogre, troll).<br/><br/> Hishikawa Moronobu (1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Hishikawa Moronobu (1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Hishikawa Moronobu (1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Hishikawa Moronobu (1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money and establish colonies.<br/><br/> The VOC was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.
Zeng Jing (Tseng Ching, ca. 1564-1647) was a Chinese painter during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was best known as a portrait painter.<br/><br/> Zeng was born in Putian in Fujian province. He lived and worked in Nanjing, but also moved around Hangzhou, Wuzhen, Ningbo, Songjiang, and other cities.<br/><br/> Zeng Jing painted using subtle light and shade, and he was considered by many critics as being significant for his assimilation of illusionist concave and convex method of western oil painting. A common feature of his portraiture is the presence of large areas of empty spaces surrounding the figure.
Shuten-doji or Shutendoji is a mythical <i>oni</i> or <i>yokai</i> (demon, devil, ogre, troll).<br/><br/> Hishikawa Moronobu (1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Hishikawa Moronobu (Japanese: 菱川 師宣; 1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Li Yu (Chinese: 李漁; pinyin: Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ; style name: 笠翁 Lìwēng) (1610–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher. Born in Rugao, in present day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial exams, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.<br/><br/> Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, 'The Carnal Prayer Mat'). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, 'House of Gathered Refinements').
Shivaji Bhosale (19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), was the founder of the Maratha Empire, which lasted until 1820, and at its peak covered much of the Indian subcontinent. An aristocrat of the Bhosle Maratha clan, Shivaji led a resistance against the Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur and the Mughal Empire and established Hindavi Swarajya ('self-rule of Hindu people'). He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital, and was crowned Chhatrapati ('paramount sovereign') of the Marathas in 1674.<br/><br/> Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and well-structured administrative organisations. He innovated military tactics, pioneering guerrilla warfare methods which employed strategic factors like geography, speed, and surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies.<br/><br/> From a small contingent of 2,000 soldiers inherited from his father, Shivaji created a force of 100,000 soldiers; he built and restored strategically located forts both inland and along the coast to safeguard his territory. He revived ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions, and promoted the usage of Marathi and Sanskrit, rather than Persian, in court and administration.
Hishikawa Moronobu (菱川 師宣, 1618 – July 25, 1694) was a Japanese painter and printmaker known for his advancement of the ukiyo-e woodcut style starting in the 1670s.<br/><br/> Moronobu was the son of a well-respected dyer and a gold and silver-thread brocade artisan in the village of Hodamura, Awa Province, near Edo Bay in present-day Kyonan, Chiba Prefecture. After moving to Edo, Moronobu, who had learned his father's craft, studied both Tosa and Kanō-style painting. He thus had a solid grounding in both decorative crafts and academic painting, which served him well when he then turned to ukiyo-e.
Historians define English coffeehouses as public social houses during the 17th and 18th centuries, in which patrons would assemble for conversation and social interaction, while taking part in the newly emerging coffee consumption habits of the time. Travellers introduced coffee as a beverage to England during the mid-17th century.<br/><br/> For the price of a penny, customers purchased a cup of coffee and admission to a coffeehouse, where men engaged in conversation. Topics discussed within the coffeehouses included politics and political scandals, daily gossip, fashion, current events, and debates surrounding philosophy and the natural sciences. Historians often associate English coffeehouses, during the 17th and 18th centuries, to the intellectual and cultural history of the Age of Enlightenment.
Cleopatra VII (69—30 BCE) was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt and last of the Ptolemaic dynasty.<br/><br/> Famed historically as a classic femme fatale, Cleopatra seduced Roman emperor Julius Caesar in order to secure her place on the Egyptian throne. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, Rome became divided between his heir, Gaius Octavian (later known as Augustus), and his military commander Mark Anthony. Cleopatra aligned herself with Mark Anthony and used her powers of seduction upon him. He fell in love with her and stayed with her at the Egyptian court in Alexandria. The couple had two children. But after losing the Battle of Actium, both Mark Anthony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than be taken to Rome as prisoners. Cleopatra famously killed herself on 12th August, 30 BCE, by the bite of an asp.<br/><br/> In this scene from her court in Alexandria, Cleopatra has bet her lover Mark Anthony that she could there and then host a banquet for the princely sum of 10 million sestertia. After Mark Anthony accepted the wager, Cleopatra removed one of her pearl earrings, dissolved it in vinegar, then drank it. She is in the process of removing her second earring to do likewise, but is stopped by the disapproving former Roman senator Lucius Plancus.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (February 23, 1646 - February 19, 1709) was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of 'dog shogun'.
Tokugawa Ietsuna (September 7, 1641-June 4, 1680) was the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Japan: 'A Man Reclines with one Wakashu and Converses with Another'. Ukiyo-e 'nanshoku' woodblock print by Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694), c. 1680.<br/><br/> Shunga is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex. The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life.
Yi Chae was a scholar who lived in late Joseon. This shows him at the age of 59. He is donning a black hat known as <i>dongpagwan</i> and a <i>simui</i>, a white scholar’s jacket. The white jacket has a collar in a contrasting black band. A large sash woven with threads in five colors, representing the four cardinal directions and the center, drapes down from the mid-chest level.
Copper engraving, 'De Stadt Colombe' [The Town of Colombo], from a Dutch book c. 1775, after the original engraving by Johannes Kip of 1680.<br/><br/> Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants.<br/><br/> A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by Lourenço de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. The British East India Company took over the coastal regions controlled by the Dutch in 1796, and in 1802 these provinces were declared a crown colony under direct rule of the British government, therefore the island was not part of the British Raj. The annexation of the Kingdom of Kandy in 1815 by the Kandyan convention, unified the island under British rule.<br/><br/> European colonists established a series of cinnamon, sugar, coffee, indigo cultivation followed by tea and rubber plantations and graphite mining. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was developed as the administrative centre and commercial heart with its harbor, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that introduced Western culture.<br/><br/> On 4 February 1948 the country gained its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. It changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Hishikawa Moronobu (Japanese: 菱川 師宣; 1618 – 25 July 1694) was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.
Yi Chae was a scholar who lived in late Joseon. This shows him at the age of 59. He is donning a black hat known as <i>dongpagwan</i> and a <i>simui</i>, a white scholar’s jacket. The white jacket has a collar in a contrasting black band. A large sash woven with threads in five colors, representing the four cardinal directions and the center, drapes down from the mid-chest level.<br/><br/>The eyes staring straight ahead are meticulously depicted with great detail. As the eyes were increasingly regarded as the windows to the moral universe of the subject, they were a focal point of portraits from the late Joseon.<br/><br/>This painting is designated as the 1483rd National Treasure of Korea.