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Poland: Engraved portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer and mathematician, c. 1850. Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 - 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance astronomer and mathematician from Royal Prussia, part of the Kingdom of Poland. Copernicus was a polyglot and polymath, and obtained a doctorate in canon law. Throughout his life, he served also as a governor, diplomat, economist, physician, translator and classic scholar.
Changxi is a Chinese lunar deity worshipped in traditional Chinese folk religion. An ancient goddess form ancient times, the earliest historical information on Changxi came from the first copies of 'Shan Hai Jing', which have existed since the 4th century BCE.<br/><br/> Alongside the sun goddess Xihe, Changxi was one of the two wives of Di Jun, God of the Eastern Heaven. She gave birth to twelve moon daughters, who would each complete a full journey across the heavens every night. Her significance in the Chinese pantheon would wane over time, until she was 'demoted to a minor position'.<br/><br/> Changxi and Xihe are a representation of Yin and Yang, with Xihe's ten suns and Changxi's twelve moons reflecting the Chinese solar and lunar calenders.
Xihe, Mother of the Suns, was a solar deity from Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. Alongside Changxi, she was one of the two wives of Di Jun, God of the Eastern Heaven, and the mother of the ten three-legged sunbirds who lived in a mulberry tree in the East Sea known as the Fusang.<br/><br/> Every day, one of her sunbirds would travel with her on her sun chariot, pulled by a dragon-horse (kirin). Together they would bring light to the mortal world, but one day the sunbirds became restless and mischievous, and all left the Fusang at once. This resulted in great calamity throughout the earth, leading to the divine archer Houyi shooting down all but one of Xihe's errant offspring.
Li Gonglin, style name Boshi, pseudonym Longmian Jushi (Householder of Sleeping Dragon), was a Chinese painter, civil officer and archaeologist in the Northern Song Dynasty.<br/><br/> Born into a scholarly home near what is modern day Lu'an City, Li Gonglin passed the highest level of civil service examinations at 21 and became a civil officer. He became famous for his paintings of horses, then he turned to Buddhist and Daoist religious painting, as well as portraits and landscapes. His painting style was attributed to the style of Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: chanzu, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: chanzu, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
'Journey to the West' is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, its authorship has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey.<br/><br/> The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the Western Regions during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.<br/><br/> Zhangye is an important light industrial and agricultural centre at the heart of the Hexi Corridor with a population of about 200,000. It was originally an important garrison town designed to protect Silk Road traffic and keep the troublesome nomadic invaders out of China Proper.
'Journey to the West' is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, its authorship has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey.<br/><br/> The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the Western Regions during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.<br/><br/> Zhangye is an important light industrial and agricultural centre at the heart of the Hexi Corridor with a population of about 200,000. It was originally an important garrison town designed to protect Silk Road traffic and keep the troublesome nomadic invaders out of China Proper.
'Journey to the West' is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, its authorship has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey.<br/><br/> The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the Western Regions during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.<br/><br/> Zhangye is an important light industrial and agricultural centre at the heart of the Hexi Corridor with a population of about 200,000. It was originally an important garrison town designed to protect Silk Road traffic and keep the troublesome nomadic invaders out of China Proper.
Jin Ping Mei (Chinese: 金瓶梅; pinyin: Jīn Píng Méi), translated as The Plum in the Golden Vase or The Golden Lotus, is a Chinese naturalistic novel composed in vernacular Chinese during the late Ming Dynasty. The anonymous author took the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生), 'The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling', and his identity is otherwise unknown. The earliest known versions of the novel exist only in handwritten scripts; the first block-printed book was released only in 1610. The more complete version available today comprises one hundred chapters, amounting to over a thousand pages.<br/><br/> Jin Ping Mei takes its name from the three central female characters — Pan Jinlian (潘金蓮, whose given name means 'Golden Lotus'); Li Ping'er (李瓶兒, given name literally means, 'Little Vase'), a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Pang Chunmei (龐春梅, 'Spring plum blossoms'), a young maid who rises to power within the family. According to some Chinese critics, each of the three Chinese characters in its title symbolizes an aspect about human nature, such as mei (梅), plum blossoms, is metaphoric for sexuality.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, its authorship has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century.<br/><br/> In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the Western Regions during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras).<br/><br/> The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Originally published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty, its authorship has been ascribed to the scholar Wu Cheng'en since the 20th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey.<br/><br/> The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the Western Regions during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples — namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing — together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.
Title page from a Han-Nom edition of 'Luu Binh dien ca', woodblock printed in Hanoi, 1917. The work is a classical drama telling the story of two close friends, Luu Binh and Duong Le. Chu Nom is an obsolete writing system of the Vietnamese language. It makes use of Chinese characters (known as Han Tu in Vietnamese), and characters coined following the Chinese model. The earliest known example of Chu Nom dates to the 13th century. It was used almost exclusively by the Vietnamese elite, mostly for recording Vietnamese literature (formal writings were, in most cases, not done in Vietnamese, but in classical Chinese). It has almost been completely replaced by Quoc Ngu, a script based on the Latin alphabet.
Often thought of as an Arabian version of Romeo and Juliet, Layla and Majnun is a classical story of star-crossed lovers based on the true story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mulawwah from the northern Arabian Peninsula during the Umayyad era in the 7th century. In one version, he spent his youth together with Layla tending their flocks. In another version, upon seeing Layla he fell passionately in love with her. In both versions, however, he went mad when her father prevented him from marrying her. For that reason he came to be called Majnun, a synonym in Arabic for 'madman'.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: chanzu, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Nezami-ye Ganjavi (1141—1209) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. His heritage is widely celebrated and shared in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Tajikistan. Nezami is best known for his five long narrative poems, the ‘Panj Ganj’ or ‘Khamsa’ (Persian: Five Jewels), which are written in the Masnavi style (double-rhymed verses).
Title page from a Han-Nom edition of 'Luu Binh dien ca', woodblock printed in Hanoi, 1923. The text concerns a wife’s admonition to her husband as well as the promises of the husband. Chu Nom is an obsolete writing system of the Vietnamese language. It makes use of Chinese characters (known as Han Tu in Vietnamese), and characters coined following the Chinese model. The earliest known example of Chu Nom dates to the 13th century. It was used almost exclusively by the Vietnamese elite, mostly for recording Vietnamese literature (formal writings were, in most cases, not done in Vietnamese, but in classical Chinese). It has almost been completely replaced by Quoc Ngu, a script based on the Latin alphabet.
Jin Ping Mei or The Plum in the Golden Vase (also The Golden Lotus) is a Chinese novel composed in the vernacular (baihua) during the late Ming Dynasty. The author was Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng. Jin Ping Mei is sometimes considered to be the fifth classical novel after the Four Great Classical Novels. It is the first full-length Chinese fictional work to depict sexuality in a graphically explicit manner, and as such has a notoriety in China akin to Fanny Hill or Lady Chatterley's Lover in English. Jin Ping Mei takes its name from the three central female characters — Pan Jinlian, whose name means "Golden Lotus"); Li Ping'er (literally, "Little Vase"), a concubine of Ximen Qing; and Pang Chunmei ("Spring plum blossoms"), a young maid who rose to power within the family. Within more conservative Chinese societies, Jin Ping Mei is considered to be pornographic material, due to its contents.
Vietnam: Two pages from the Vietnamese literary classic 'Kim Van Kieu' (The Tale of Kim' handwritten in Han-Nom. Probably 19th century. Chu Nom is an obsolete writing system of the Vietnamese language. It makes use of Chinese characters (known as Han Tu in Vietnamese), and characters coined following the Chinese model. The earliest known example of Chu Nom dates to the 13th century. It was used almost exclusively by the Vietnamese elite, mostly for recording Vietnamese literature (formal writings were, in most cases, not done in Vietnamese, but in classical Chinese). It has almost been completely replaced by Quoc Ngu, a script based on the Latin alphabet.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: chanzu, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Title page from a Han-Nom edition of 'Kim Van Kieu' (The Tale of Kim'), woodblock printed in Hanoi, 1932. Chu Nom is an obsolete writing system of the Vietnamese language. It makes use of Chinese characters (known as Han Tu in Vietnamese), and characters coined following the Chinese model. The earliest known example of Chu Nom dates to the 13th century. It was used almost exclusively by the Vietnamese elite, mostly for recording Vietnamese literature (formal writings were, in most cases, not done in Vietnamese, but in classical Chinese). It has almost been completely replaced by Quoc Ngu, a script based on the Latin alphabet.
Ferghana horses were one of China's earliest major imports, originating in an area in Central Asia.<br/><br/> Dayuan, north of Bactria, was a nation centered in the Ferghana Valley of present-day Central Asia, and even as early as the Han Dynasty, China projected its military power to that area.<br/><br/> The Han imperial regime required Ferghana horses and imported such great numbers of them that the rulers of Ferghana closed their borders to such trade. That move resulted in a war that China won. In 102 CE, the Chinese required of the defeated Ferghana that they provide at least 10 of their finest horses for breeding purposes, and 3,000 Ferghana horses of ordinary quality.
Mystery surrounds this colorful multi-tiered Chinese temple with some historians saying it dates back to the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It is commonly believed that a shrine was founded at this site by Chinese seafarers after they spotted a light reflecting from a cave, which they used as a makeshift lighthouse for navigation. The temple was built some time later, mainly for the use of Chinese pilgrims.<br/><br/> Ko Si Chang was occupied by the French in 1893 and was the summer retreat of several Siamese kings, including King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) whose wondrous teak palace was moved in 1901 from Ko Si Chang to its present location in Dusit Park in Bangkok. The island is also home to a rare species of white squirrel.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.