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Thulhaadhoo (Tuladu) is a small island located at the extreme south-western rim of South Maalhosmadulu Atoll (Baa Atoll) to the north-west of Malé. It has long been renowned throughout the Maldives as an island of skilled lacquer-workers, and today this craft is enjoying a revival.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
Thulhaadhoo (Tuladu) is a small island located at the extreme south-western rim of South Maalhosmadulu Atoll (Baa Atoll) to the north-west of Malé. It has long been renowned throughout the Maldives as an island of skilled lacquer-workers, and today this craft is enjoying a revival.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
Thulhaadhoo (Tuladu) is a small island located at the extreme south-western rim of South Maalhosmadulu Atoll (Baa Atoll) to the north-west of Malé. It has long been renowned throughout the Maldives as an island of skilled lacquer-workers, and today this craft is enjoying a revival.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
Thulhaadhoo (Tuladu) is a small island located at the extreme south-western rim of South Maalhosmadulu Atoll (Baa Atoll) to the north-west of Malé. It has long been renowned throughout the Maldives as an island of skilled lacquer-workers, and today this craft is enjoying a revival.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The Betel (Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties.<br/><br/> Chewing areca nut is an increasingly rare custom in the modern world. Yet once, not so long ago, areca nut – taken with the leaf of the betel tree and lime paste – was widely consumed throughout South and Southeast Asia by people of all social classes, and was considered an essential part of daily life.
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).
Chu was a hegemonic, Zhou dynasty era state. From King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE, the rulers of Chu declared themselves kings on an equal footing with the Zhou kings.<br/><br/> Though initially inconsequential, removed to the south of the Zhou heartland and practising differing customs, Chu began a series of administrative reforms, becoming a successful expansionist state during the Spring and Autumn Period. With its continued expansion Chu became a great Warring States period power, and its culture a major influence on the Han dynasty.
Thulhaadhoo (Tuladu) is a small island located at the extreme south-western rim of South Maalhosmadulu Atoll (Baa Atoll) to the north-west of Malé. It has long been renowned throughout the Maldives as an island of skilled lacquer-workers, and today this craft is enjoying a revival.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).
The small but historic town of Hoi An is located on the Thu Bon River 30km (18 miles) south of Danang. During the time of the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777) and even under the first Nguyen Emperors, Hoi An - then known as Faifo - was an important port, visited regularly by shipping from Europe and all over the East.<br/><br/> By the late 19th Century the silting up of the Thu Bon River and the development of nearby Danang had combined to make Hoi An into a backwater. This obscurity saved the town from serious fighting during the wars with France and the USA, so that at the time of reunification in 1975 it was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp.
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Malay-Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.<br/><br/> Members of this community in Malaysia identify themselves as 'Nyonya-Baba' or 'Baba-Nyonya'. Nyonya is the term for the females and Baba for males. It applies especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who adopted partially or in full Malay-Indonesian customs to become partially assimilated into the local communities.<br/><br/> While the term Peranakan is most commonly used among the ethnic Chinese for those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements), it may also be applied to the Baba-Yaya community in Phuket and other provinces of southern Thailand.
The Temple of Literature or Van Mieu is one of Vietnam’s foremost cultural treasures. Founded in 1070 by King Ly Thanh Tong of the Early Ly Dynasty, the temple was originally dedicated both to Confucius and to Chu Cong, a member of the Chinese royal family credited with originating many of the teachings that Confucius developed five hundred years later. The site was selected by Ly Dynasty geomancers to stand in harmony with the Taoist Bich Cau temple and the Buddhist One Pillar Pagoda, representing the three major fonts of Vietnamese tradition.<br/><br/> Six years later, in 1076, the Quoc Tu Giam, or ‘School for the Sons of the Nation’, was established at the same location when King Ly Nhan Tong (1072-1127) established Vietnam’s first university. The tradition of Confucian education flourished at the Temple of Literature, with the custom of offering a cloak to successful candidates beginning in 1374, whilst in 1484 the first stele bearing the names of doctoral graduates was erected.
Lacquerware is still today a traditional product in the Pagan region as lacquer resin is extracted from indigenous trees.<br/><br/> The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj.<br/><br/> To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then and now used for political prisoners. Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s.<br/><br/> Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on Jan. 4, 1948.
'A Prince visiting a Dervish who has abandoned his Way of Life', lacquerware miniature from Sadi's Gulistan painted c. 1610 for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir (20 September 1569 – 8 November 1627 was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian meaning 'Conqueror of the World'. Nur-ud-din or Nur al-Din is an Arabic name which means; 'Light of the Faith'. Born as Prince Muhammad Salim; he was the third and eldest surviving son of Mogul Emperor Akbar.
'A vizier persuading a prince to spare the life of a young thief', lacquerware miniature from Sadi's Gulistan painted c. 1610 for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir (20 September 1569 – 8 November 1627 was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian meaning 'Conqueror of the World'. Nur-ud-din or Nur al-Din is an Arabic name which means; 'Light of the Faith'. Born as Prince Muhammad Salim; he was the third and eldest surviving son of Mogul Emperor Akbar.
'A man swoons when he sees the prince he loves', lacquerware miniature from Sadi's Gulistan painted c. 1610 for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627). Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir (20 September 1569 – 8 November 1627 was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian meaning 'Conqueror of the World'. Nur-ud-din or Nur al-Din is an Arabic name which means; 'Light of the Faith'. Born as Prince Muhammad Salim; he was the third and eldest surviving son of Mogul Emperor Akbar.
Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).