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The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
Lu Ya Daoren, commonly just known as Lu Ya, was a character from the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. Lu Ya was a hermit who resided on Mount West Kunlun, though he eventually came down to aid in the battle against the Shang Dynasty. He fought against the renowned general Zhao Gongming, killing him after a furious magical duel.
Cao Bao was a character from the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. A hermit who resided on Mount Wuyi, Cao Bao would play a role in the war between the Shang and Zhou armies. Entering the field of battle, he fought against the legendary General Zhao Gongming, managing to capture his weapons. He was later killed by Heavenly Master Wang Bian.
Originally built in the 16th century, Wat Pho is Bangkok's oldest temple. King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty (1736—1809) rebuilt the temple in the 1780s.<br/><br/> Officially called Wat Phra Chetuphon, it is one of Bangkok's best known Buddhist temples and is nowadays a major tourist attraction, located directly to the south of the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is famed for its Reclining Buddha and renowned as the home of traditional Thai massage.
Originally built in the 16th century, Wat Pho is Bangkok's oldest temple. King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty (1736—1809) rebuilt the temple in the 1780s.<br/><br/> Officially called Wat Phra Chetuphon, it is one of Bangkok's best known Buddhist temples and is nowadays a major tourist attraction, located directly to the south of the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is famed for its Reclining Buddha and renowned as the home of traditional Thai massage.
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world. The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people, home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.<br/><br/>During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the UN-backed South Korean forces several times, leaving the city heavily damaged after the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of Seoul and its metropolitan area to an estimated 2.5 million, more than half of them homeless.
Legend attributes the first Buddhist doctrine in Burma to 228 BC when Sonna and Uttara, two ambassadors of the Emperor Ashoka the Great of India, came to the country with sacred texts. However, the golden era of Buddhism truly began in the 11th century after King Anawrahta of Pagan (Bagan) was converted to Theravada Buddhism. Today, 89% of the population of Burma is Theravada Buddhist.
This landscape was originally painted on a silk scroll in the late 18th or early 19th century CE. Artist Zhu Henian was clearly a great admirer of 14th-century painter Huang Gongwang and imitated his simplistic but soothing style.
Taung Kalat is part of Mount Popa. Mount Popa is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level and is home to Burma's 37 Mahagiri Nats, or spirits. It is located in central Burma.<br/><br/> Nats are spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc). Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths.
Mount Popa is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level and is home to Burma's 37 Mahagiri Nats, or spirits. It is located in central Burma.<br/><br/> Nats are spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc). Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths.
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world. The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people, home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.<br/><br/>During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the UN-backed South Korean forces several times, leaving the city heavily damaged after the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of Seoul and its metropolitan area to an estimated 2.5 million, more than half of them homeless.
Mount Popa is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level and is home to Burma's 37 Mahagiri Nats, or spirits. It is located in central Burma.<br/><br/> Nats are spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc). Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths.
Taung Kalat is part of Mount Popa. Mount Popa is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level and is home to Burma's 37 Mahagiri Nats, or spirits. It is located in central Burma.<br/><br/> Nats are spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc). Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths.
Preah Khan (Temple of the Sacred Sword) was built in the late 12th century (1191) by Jayavarman VII and is located just north of Angkor Thom. The temple was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. It served as a Buddhist university at one time. The temple's primary deity is the boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara in the form of Jayavarman's father.
Preah Khan (Temple of the Sacred Sword) was built in the late 12th century (1191) by Jayavarman VII and is located just north of Angkor Thom. The temple was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. It served as a Buddhist university at one time. The temple's primary deity is the boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara in the form of Jayavarman's father.
Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Wat Phrathat Doi Kham or ‘Temple of the Golden Mount’, is located in Tambon Mae Hia, about 10km south of Chiang Mai Old City, in the lee of Doi Suthep. Temple records claim that the temple dates back over 1,300 years ‘to 687 AD’, during the pre-Lan Na period when the region was inhabited by the indigenous animist Lawa.<br/><br/> Chiang Mai (meaning "new city"), sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom.
Wat Tham Seua, the 'Temple of the Tiger Cave' is built into a cave set in a limestone cliff.<br/><br/> Surrounded by individual monk's residences, this is one of southern Thailand's best-known forest temples.<br/><br/> The main viharn or assembly hall extends into a long, shallow limestone cave displaying various grim reminders of mortality as a counterbalance to worldly desires. At the back of the cave a flight of marble stairs lead up to the 'tiger cave' itself. Within there is a venerated Buddha footprint on a gilded platform and a life-size figure of Ajaan Jamnien, the temple's enigmatic abbot.<br/><br/> The sprawling temple grounds are partly landscaped, and there are two separate stairways leading to a large Guan Yin image (the Mahayana Buddhist version of the Indian sage Avalokitesvara, known generally as 'the Chinese Goddess of Mercy'), and to another Buddha footprint.
Located some 10 km (6 miles) southwest of Phang Nga town, this cave-temple is particularly venerated by local people and ranks as one – indeed almost the only one – of Phang Nga town’s attractions beyond, of course, fabulous Phang Nga Bay.<br/><br/> Two small conjoined caves are packed with Buddha images of all shapes and sizes, including a reclining Buddha, various spirit flags and the statue of a seated hermit. At various times in the past the cave-temple has attracted royal visitors, and the royal seals of several past Chakri dynasty monarchs including Rama V (King Chulalongkorn), Rama VII and the current Rama IX (King Bhumibol Adulyadej)
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.
Originally built in the 16th century, Wat Pho is Bangkok's oldest temple. King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty (1736—1809) rebuilt the temple in the 1780s.<br/><br/> Officially called Wat Phra Chetuphon, it is one of Bangkok's best known Buddhist temples and is nowadays a major tourist attraction, located directly to the south of the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is famed for its Reclining Buddha and renowned as the home of traditional Thai massage.