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Toyohara Chikanobu, better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu, was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan's Meiji period. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity.<br/><br/> In 1875 (Meiji 8), he decided to try to make a living as an artist. He travelled to Tokyo. He found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced <i>nishiki-e</i> artworks. In his younger days, he had studied the Kanō school of painting; but his interest was drawn to <i>ukiyo-e</i>.<br/><br/> Like many <i>ukiyo-e</i> artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to women's fashions. As well as a number of the other artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki actors in character, and is well-known for his impressions of the <i>mie</i> (formal pose) of kabuki productions.<br/><br/> Chikanobu was known as a master of <i>bijinga</i>, images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in women's fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time. For example, in Chikanobu's images in Mirror of Ages (1897), the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keio era, 1865-1867.
The <i>sueng</i> (also spelled <i>seung</i> or <i>süng</i>) is a plucked fretted lute from the northern region of Thailand. The instrument is made from hardwood and its strings (numbering either four or six and arranged in courses of two) are most often made of steel wire. It has nine bamboo frets.<br/><br/> The <i>sueng</i> is part of a northern Thai traditional ensemble called the <i>salo-so (saw)-sueng</i> ensemble, along with the <i>salo</i> (3-string spike fiddle) and <i>pi so</i> (free reed pipe).
Water Puppetry or Múa rối nước, literally 'puppets that dance on water' originated in the Red River Delta. The puppets are carved from water-resistant wood to represent traditional rural lifestyles and mythical creatures. Standing behind the watery stage, waist-deep in water, the hidden puppeteers skillfully manoeuvre their wooden charges to the music of a traditional orchestra.
An elegant and beautiful woman sits on the floor with her two children and various pets.<br/><br/> The exquisitely dressed lady is tuning the strings she has just wound onto her instrument, a pipa lute. A silver box containing rolls of spare strings lies open on the floor beside her.
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 pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 26. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa.<br/><br/> The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China.
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).
Totoya Hokkei was a Japanese printmaker and book illustrator. He initially studied painting with Kano Yosen (1735-1808), the head of the Kobikicho branch of the Kano School and <i>okaeshi</i> (official painter) to the Tokugawa shogunate.<br/><br/> Together with Teisai Hokuba (1771-1844), Hokkei was one of Katsushika Hokusai's best students.
The musician on the left is playing a <i>gekkin</i> or Chinese lute (<i>yueqin</i>), while the one on the right is accompanying her with a <i>kiyoshi fue</i> or bamboo flute (<i>Qingdi</i> or 'Qing flute'). Both instruments are associated with Chinese Qing Dynasty music in traditional Japan.
The city of Wuwei has a population of around 500,000, mainly Han Chinese, but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.<br/><br/> Wuwei’s most famous historic artefact, the celebrated Han Dynasty (BC206-220AD) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu, was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou, the horse’s likeness – depicted at an elegant, flying gallop, with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow – is everywhere to be seen, most notably at the centre of Wuwei’s downtown Wenhua Square.
The dutar (also dotar or doutar) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uighurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks.<br/><br/> The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
The dutar (also dotar or doutar) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uighurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Tajiks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks.<br/><br/> The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.<br/><br/> Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han Dynasty), when in 76 BCE the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.<br/><br/> Ptolemy spoke of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a 'Kasia Regio', probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar is formed.<br/><br/> The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam. The celebrated Old Uighur prince Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam late in the 10th century and his Uighur kingdom lasted until 1120 but was distracted by complicated dynastic struggles.<br/><br/> The Uighurs employed an alphabet based upon the Syriac and borrowed from the Nestorian, but after converting to Islam widely used also an Arabic script. They spoke a dialect of Turkic preserved in the Kudatku Bilik, a moral treatise composed in 1065.
Ragamala Paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on Ragamala or the 'Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical nodes, Ragas. They stand as a classical example of the amalgamation of art, poetry and classical music in medieval India. Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of Indian painting, starting in the 16th and 17th centuries and are today named accordingly, as Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthan or Rajput Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings and French villas in the city reflect this. Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890, including 12,100 French.
Hang Trong painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Hàng Trống) is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut painting that originated from the area of Hàng Trống and Hàng Nón streets in Old Hanoi's 36 Streets District.<br/><br/> In the past, Hang Trong painting was an essential element of the Tết holiday in Hanoi, but today this tradition has almost disappeared and authentic Hang Trong paintings are found only in museums or fine art galleries.
Naxi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.<br/><br/> The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India.<br/><br/> The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.
Naxi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.<br/><br/> The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India.<br/><br/> The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.
Naxi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.<br/><br/> The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India.<br/><br/> The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.
Naxi music is 500 years old, and with its mixture of literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, as well as some Tibetan influences, it has developed its own unique style and traits. There are three main styles: Baisha, Dongjing, and Huangjing, all using traditional Chinese instruments.<br/><br/> The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India.<br/><br/> The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.