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Originally known as Di Xin, and sometimes Zhou Xin, King Zhou of Shang is the legendary last king of the Shang Dynasty of ancient China. His story and fall is famously told in the Ming Dynasty classic novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. It is said that in his early reign, he was intelligent enough to win all arguments, and strong enough to hunt wild beast barehanded.<br/><br/> His corruption and degradation begins with his bewitchment by his wicked wife Su Daji. Daji was supposedly possessed by a vixen spirit sent by the angry goddess Nuwa to punish King Zhou for having written obscene poems on the walls of her temple and lusting after her. He became cruel and decadent, giving himself over constantly to drinking and women, and often tortured others to amuse himself and his possessed wife, inventing new and painful methods of death and torture.<br/><br/> The people eventually rose up against King Zhou, led by the famous nobleman and sage Jiang Ziya. The Shang Dynasty was defeated and overthrown in 1046 BCE, and in response King Zhou gathered all his treasures around himself in the palace, which he subsequently set on fire and committed suicide. According to folklore, King Zhou begged for mercy from the gods after his death, and they deified him as a god of sodomy, creating the post specially for him.
Václav Hollar (13 July 1607 – 25 March 1677), was a Bohemian etcher, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar.<br/><br/> He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Václav Hollar (13 July 1607 – 25 March 1677), was a Bohemian etcher, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar.<br/><br/> He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and in deuterocanonical sources, as well as in the Qur'an.<br/><br/> Divine judgment by God was passed upon Sodom and Gomorrah and two neighboring cities, which were completely consumed by fire and brimstone. In Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with impenitent sin, and their fall with a proverbial manifestation of divine retribution.<br/><br/> Sodom and Gomorrah have been used as metaphors for vice and homosexuality viewed as a deviation. The story has therefore given rise to words in several languages, including the English word sodomy, used in sodomy laws to describe a sexual 'crime against nature'.<br/><br/> The historicity of Sodom and Gomorrah is still in dispute by archaeologists, as little archaeological evidence has ever been found in the regions where they were supposedly situated.
Originally known as Di Xin, and sometimes Zhou Xin, King Zhou of Shang is the legendary last king of the Shang Dynasty of ancient China. His story and fall is famously told in the Ming Dynasty classic novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. It is said that in his early reign, he was intelligent enough to win all arguments, and strong enough to hunt wild beast barehanded.<br/><br/> His corruption and degradation begins with his bewitchment by his wicked wife Su Daji. Daji was supposedly possessed by a vixen spirit sent by the angry goddess Nuwa to punish King Zhou for having written obscene poems on the walls of her temple and lusting after her. He became cruel and decadent, giving himself over constantly to drinking and women, and often tortured others to amuse himself and his possessed wife, inventing new and painful methods of death and torture.<br/><br/> The people eventually rose up against King Zhou, led by the famous nobleman and sage Jiang Ziya. The Shang Dynasty was defeated and overthrown in 1046 BCE, and in response King Zhou gathered all his treasures around himself in the palace, which he subsequently set on fire and committed suicide. According to folklore, King Zhou begged for mercy from the gods after his death, and they deified him as a god of sodomy, creating the post specially for him.
In Genesis 18 three beings, considered to have been angels appearing as men, came to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. After the angels received the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, his wife, God revealed to Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, 'because their sin is very grievous'.<br/><br/> In response, Abraham inquired of God if he would spare the city if 50 righteous people were found in it, to which God agreed he would not destroy it for the sake of the righteous yet dwelling therein. Two angels were sent to Sodom to investigate and were met by Abraham's nephew Lot, who convinced the angels to lodge with him, and they ate with Lot.
Abraham, originally Abram, is the first of the three biblical patriarchs. His story, told in chapters 11 through 25 of the Book of Genesis, plays a prominent role in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.<br/><br/> The narrative revolves around the themes of posterity and land. He was called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in a land which was already settled by the descendants of Canaan, but God promised it to Abraham and his posterity.<br/><br/> The Bible's internal chronology places Abraham around 2000 BCE. Despite this, there is nothing specific in the Genesis stories that can be definitively related to known history in or around Canaan in the early second millennium BCE.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was the first great war of the 20th century. It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden; and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea.<br/><br/> Russia sought a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean, for their navy as well as for maritime trade. Vladivostok was only operational during the summer season, but Port Arthur would be operational all year. From the end of the First Sino-Japanese War and 1903, negotiations between Russia and Japan had proved impractical. Japan offered to recognize Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea as a Japanese sphere of influence. Russia refused this, so Japan chose war to counter what it described as Russian aggression in Asia. After discussions broke down in 1904, the Japanese Navy attacked the Russian eastern fleet at Port Arthur, a naval base in the Liaotung province leased to Russia by China, which led to war. The Japanese defeated the Russians in a series of battles on land and at sea.<br/><br/> The resulting campaigns, in which the Japanese military attained victory over the Russian forces arrayed against them, were unexpected by world observers. Over time, the consequences of these battles would transform the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in a reassessment of Japan's recent entry onto the world stage.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.
Shunga (春画) or 'Spring Pictures' is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement. Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; 'spring' is a common euphemism for sex.<br/><br/> The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chonin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. As a subset of ukiyo-e it was enjoyed by all social groups in the Edo period, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.