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Pangu is a deity and mythical being in Chinese mythology. He is often depicted as a primitive and hairy giant with a horned head and covered in furs. In some versions, he is the first living being in the universe, and created everything from the formless chaos that predated existence. Within this chaos, a cosmic egg coalesced for about 18,000 years, with the opposed principles of Yin and Yang perfectly balanced within.<br/><br/> Pangu emerged from the egg, and began creating the world by cutting Yin and Yang with his giant axe, with the clear Yang becoming the sky while the earth was formed from the murky Yin. He stood between them and pushed up the sky to keep them separated for 18,000 years, until he eventually died. His breath became the wind and clouds; his voice became the thunder; his left eye the sun while his right eye became the moon; his head turned into the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood turned into rivers; his muscles became fertile land; his facial hair turned into the stars and Milky Way; his fur became the forests; his bones and marrow became the minerals and diamonds of the world; and the flea in his fur became the wild animals of the world.<br/><br/> Pangu is still worshipped at some shrines in contemporary China, usually alongside Taoist symbols. His most important shrine is perhaps the Pangu King Temple in Guangdong Province.
Known by many names, Jiang Ziya was a Chinese noble and sage who played a criitical role in the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty and the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty afterwards. The last ruler of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou of Shang, was a tyrannical and depraved man corrupted by his possessed concubine Su Daji. After having dutifully served in the Shang court for twenty years, he found King Zhou's reign insufferable, and feigned madness to be excused from court life.<br/><br/> He was eventually found and recruited by King Wen of Zhou, reportedly at the age of seventy-two, after Jiang Ziya agreed to serve him. Given the title of Jiang Taigong Wang ('The Great Duke's Hope') and appointed as prime minister, he served King Wen's son, King Wu, after the former died. Once the people of Shang Dynasty had had enough of King Zhou's tyrannical rule and rose up against him, Jiang Ziya led an army to overthrow him, defeating the Shang army at the Battle of Muye in 1043 BCE. The Shang Dynasty fell, and the Zhou Dynasty rose in its place to rule over all of China.<br/><br/> He is also a prominent character in the Ming Dynasty classic novel 'Fengshen Yanyi', where he has mystical powers and is considered the archrival of Su Daji. After King Zhou's death, Su Daji was captured as she attempted to flee and executed on the order of Jiang Ziya himself. He is considered by some as the most famous Prime Minister in Chinese history, and one of the world's greatest strategists.
Tang dynasty tomb figures are pottery figures of people and animals made in the Tang dynasty of China (618–906) as grave goods to be placed in tombs. There was a belief that the figures represented would become available for the service of the deceased in the afterlife.<br/><br/> The figures are made of moulded earthenware with colour generally being added, though often not over the whole figure, or in logical places. Where the colouring was in paint it has often not survived, but in many cases it was in <i>sancai</i> ('three-colour') ceramic glaze, which has generally lasted well.
Ding Yu was a daughter of the painter Ding Yungong and a skilled painter in her own right.<br/><br/> Wang Qi was the chief author of the Sancai Tuhui, a celebrated Ming Dynasty encyclopedia published in 1609.
Guan Yu (-220 CE), style name Yunchang, was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor.<br/><br/> As one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan's true life stories have largely given way to fictionalised ones, most of which are found in the historical novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionised. Guan is respected as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness.<br/><br/> Guan was deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still worshipped by many Chinese people today, especially in southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among many overseas Chinese communities. He is a figure in Chinese folk religion, popular Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and small shrines to Guan are almost ubiquitous in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants.
Sancai (lliterally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty ( June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
Sancai (Chinese: 三彩; pinyin: sāncǎi; literally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
Sancai (Chinese: 三彩; pinyin: sāncǎi; literally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
The Sogdians established a trading network across the 2400 kilometres (1500 miles) from Sogdiana to China. In fact, the Sogdians turned their energies to trade so thoroughly that the Saka (Scythians) of the Kingdom of Khotan called all merchants suli, 'Sogdian', whatever their culture or ethnicity.<br/><br/> Sogdian contacts with China were initiated by the embassy of the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian during the reign of Wudi in the former Han Dynasty, 141–87 BCE.<br/><br/> Sancai (Chinese: 三彩; pinyin: sāncǎi; literally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
Sancai (Chinese: 三彩; pinyin: sāncǎi; literally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration. The sancai technique dates back to the Tang Dynasty.
Sancai (Chinese: 三彩; pinyin: sāncǎi; literally 'three colours') is a type of ceramics using three intermingled colors for decoration.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.
Zhuge Liang (CE 181-234) was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor.<br/><br/> His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname Wolong (literally Crouching Dragon). Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name – even his surname alone – has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.
The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese empress regnant, ruling in her own right.<br/><br/> The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), which at the time was the most populous city in the world, is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to, or surpassing that of, the earlier Han Dynasty—a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han Dynasty. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people.