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Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre is a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), who was especially renowned for his depictions of historical and mythical scenes. This print portrays tenth-century princess Takiyasha summoning a skeleton spectre to frighten Mitsukuni.<br/><br/> The princess is reciting a spell written on a handscroll. She summons up a giant skeleton which comes rearing out of a terrifying black void, crashing its way through the tattered palace blinds with its bony fingers to menace Mitsukuni and his companion. Princess Takiyasha was the daughter of the provincial warlord Taira no Masakado who tried to set up an 'Eastern Court' in Shimōsa Province, in competition with the emperor in Kyōto. However, his rebellion was put down in the year 939 and Masakado was killed.<br/><br/> After his death, Princess Takiyasha continued living in the ruined palace of Sōma. This print shows the episode from the legend when the emperor's official, Ōya no Mitsukuni, comes to search for surviving conspirators.
Takiyasha-hime, whose name translates as 'waterfall demon princess' was the daughter of Taira-no-Masakado, a samurai who had risen up in a rebellion against the emperor and tried to set up his own court before being killed in 939 CE. Takiyasha survived the purge that followed, along with her brother Satsuki-hime, and the two of them began plotting their revenge, learning frog magic on Mount Tsukuba.<br/><br/> They returned to the ruined family fortress of Soma Castle in Shimosa province, and began rebuilding their forces, bolstered by Takiyasha's raised army of yokai (demons/spirits). However, they were eventually defeated by the efforts of the warrior Oya-no-Taro Mitsukuni. Mitsukini battled through Takiyasha's forces and eventually cut her down, ending her short rebellion before it could truly begin.<br/><br/> Takiyasha's story became popular during the Edo Period, and has been depicted in various novels, woodblock prints and <i>kabuki</i> dramas.
One of the curiosities at Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted.<br/><br/> When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.<br/><br/> All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku feature wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor servant girl. Her ghost is said still to haunt 'Okiku's Well' at Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Temple) with its low sweeping roofs epitomising the classic Luang Prabang style, was built in 1560 by King Setthathirat (1548–71) and was patronised by the monarchy right up until 1975.<br/><br/> The temple was spared by the Black Flag gangs that sacked Luang Prabang in 1887.<br/><br/> Luang Prabang was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. The city is nowadays a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s.<br/><br/> Among his short stories, some of the most memorable are those dealing with the lives of Western, mostly British, colonists in the Far East. They typically express the emotional toll the colonists bear by their isolation. 'Rain', 'Footprints in the Jungle', and 'The Outstation' are considered especially notable.<br/><br/> Maugham was one of the most significant travel writers of the inter-war years, and can be compared with contemporaries such as Evelyn Waugh and Freya Stark. His best efforts in this line include 'The Gentleman in the Parlour', dealing with a journey through Burma, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam, and 'On a Chinese Screen', a series of very brief vignettes that might have been sketches for stories left unwritten.
William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s.<br/><br/> Among his short stories, some of the most memorable are those dealing with the lives of Western, mostly British, colonists in the Far East. They typically express the emotional toll the colonists bear by their isolation. 'Rain', 'Footprints in the Jungle', and 'The Outstation' are considered especially notable.<br/><br/> Maugham was one of the most significant travel writers of the inter-war years, and can be compared with contemporaries such as Evelyn Waugh and Freya Stark. His best efforts in this line include 'The Gentleman in the Parlour', dealing with a journey through Burma, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam, and 'On a Chinese Screen', a series of very brief vignettes that might have been sketches for stories left unwritten.
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.<br/><br/> The Mahabharata is an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four 'goals of life'. Among the principal works and stories in the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
The Story of the Western Wing or <i>Xixixiang Ji</i>, also translated as Romance of the Western Chamber, is one of the most famous Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the Yuan dynasty playwright Wang Shifu, and set during the Tang dynasty (618-907).<br/><br/> it is the story of a young couple consummating their love without parental approval, and has been seen both as a 'lover's bible' and 'potentially dangerous', as readers were considered in danger of pining away under its influence.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 - April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. His best known works include <i>Typee</i> (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel <i>Moby Dick</i> (1851). His work was almost forgotten during his last thirty years. <br/><br/> His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor, exploration of literature and philosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change. He developed a complex, baroque style: the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusion extends to scripture, myth, philosophy, literature, and the visual arts.
Utagawa Yoshitaki ( April 13, 1841 – June 28, 1899), also known as Ichiyosai Yoshitaki, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He was active in both Edo (Tokyo) and Osaka and was also a painter and newspaper illustrator.<br/><br/> Yoshitaki was a student of Utagawa Yoshiume (1819–1879). He became the most prolific designer of woodblock prints in Osaka from the 1860s to the 1880s, producing more than 1,200 different prints, almost all of kabuki actors.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese artist and Ukiyo-e woodblock print master.<br/><br/> He is widely recognized as the last great master of Ukiyo-e, a type of Japanese woodblock printing. He is additionally regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional woodblock printing.<br/><br/> By the end of his career, Yoshitoshi was in an almost single-handed struggle against time and technology. As he worked on in the old manner, Japan was adopting Western mass reproduction methods like photography and lithography. Nonetheless, in a Japan that was turning away from its own past, he almost singlehandedly managed to push the traditional Japanese woodblock print to a new level, before it effectively died with him.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 - April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. His best known works include <i>Typee</i> (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel <i>Moby Dick</i> (1851). His work was almost forgotten during his last thirty years. <br/><br/> His writing draws on his experience at sea as a common sailor, exploration of literature and philosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of American society in a period of rapid change. He developed a complex, baroque style: the vocabulary is rich and original, a strong sense of rhythm infuses the elaborate sentences, the imagery is often mystical or ironic, and the abundance of allusion extends to scripture, myth, philosophy, literature, and the visual arts.
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges KBE (24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986), was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish-language literature.<br/><br/> His best-known books, <i>Ficciones</i> (Fictions) and <i>El Aleph</i> (The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are compilations of short stories interconnected by common themes, including dreams, labyrinths, libraries, mirrors, fictional writers, philosophy, and religion. Borges' works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre.
One of the curiosities at Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted.<br/><br/> When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.<br/><br/> All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku feature wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor servant girl. Her ghost is said still to haunt 'Okiku's Well' at Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s.<br/><br/> Among his short stories, some of the most memorable are those dealing with the lives of Western, mostly British, colonists in the Far East. They typically express the emotional toll the colonists bear by their isolation. 'Rain', 'Footprints in the Jungle', and 'The Outstation' are considered especially notable.<br/><br/> Maugham was one of the most significant travel writers of the inter-war years, and can be compared with contemporaries such as Evelyn Waugh and Freya Stark. His best efforts in this line include 'The Gentleman in the Parlour', dealing with a journey through Burma, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam, and 'On a Chinese Screen', a series of very brief vignettes that might have been sketches for stories left unwritten.
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.<br/><br/> The Mahabharata is an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four 'goals of life'. Among the principal works and stories in the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
Warwick Goble (22 November 1862 – 22 January 1943) was an illustrator of children's books. He specialized in Orientalist and Indian themes.<br/><br/> Goble was born in Dalston, north London, the son of a commercial traveller, and educated and trained at the City of London School and the Westminster School of Art. He worked for a printer specializing in chromolithography and contributed to the Pall Mall Gazette and the Westminster Gazette.<br/><br/> In 1909, he became resident gift book illustrator for MacMillan and produced illustrations for <i>The Water Babies</i>, <i>Green Willow, and Other Japanese Fairy Tales</i>, <i>The Complete Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer</i>, <i>Stories from the Pentamerone</i>, <i>Folk Tales of Bengal</i>, <i>The Fairy Book</i>, and <i>The Book of Fairy Poetry</i>.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
One of the curiosities at Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted.<br/><br/> When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.<br/><br/> All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku feature wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor servant girl. Her ghost is said still to haunt 'Okiku's Well' at Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
The Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on September 8, 1900, in the city of Galveston, Texas, in the United States. It had estimated winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the deadliest hurricane in US history.<br/><br/> The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of deaths or injuries of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998's Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States.<br/><br/> The hurricane occurred before the practice of assigning official code names to tropical storms was instituted, and thus it is commonly referred to under a variety of descriptive names. Typical names for the storm include the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and, especially in older documents, the Galveston Flood. It is often referred to by Galveston locals as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.<br/><br/> Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.<br/><br/> Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Damarwulan is a Javanese legendary hero who appears in a cycle of stories used in the performance of wayang klitik, as well as Langendriya (female dance-opera) and ketoprak (popular theater). These stories tell of the struggles between the Majapahit and Blambangan kingdoms, in which Damarwulan gains honor. The stories are especially popular in East Java.<br/><br/>The Damarwulan legend is associated with the Majapahit court at the time of the queen Suhita, at which time there was a war with Blambangan. However, the names of the characters Damar Wulan ('radiance of the moon') and Menak Jingga ('red knight') suggest that it may incorporate elements of an older sun-moon myth. It is uncertain when the story was first recorded and by whom.
Damarwulan is a Javanese legendary hero who appears in a cycle of stories used in the performance of wayang klitik, as well as Langendriya (female dance-opera) and ketoprak (popular theater). These stories tell of the struggles between the Majapahit and Blambangan kingdoms, in which Damarwulan gains honor. The stories are especially popular in East Java.<br/><br/>The Damarwulan legend is associated with the Majapahit court at the time of the queen Suhita, at which time there was a war with Blambangan. However, the names of the characters Damar Wulan ('radiance of the moon') and Menak Jingga ('red knight') suggest that it may incorporate elements of an older sun-moon myth. It is uncertain when the story was first recorded and by whom.
Lu Xun (or Lu Hsun), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (Chou Shu-jen), September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936. One of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. Lu Xun was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of the Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.<br/><br/> Built in 1894 by the 72 Chen (usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese) clans, the Chen Family Temple (Chenjia Si), also known as the Chen Clan Academy (simplified Chinese: 陈家祠; traditional Chinese: 陳家祠; pinyin: Chén Jiā Cí) is an academic temple in Guangzhou (Canton). The academy was built for the clans juniors', a place to live and prepare for the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty.
Lu Xun (or Lu Hsun), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (Chou Shu-jen), September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936. One of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. Lu Xun was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of the Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.<br/><br/> Built in 1894 by the 72 Chen (usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese) clans, the Chen Family Temple (Chenjia Si), also known as the Chen Clan Academy (simplified Chinese: 陈家祠; traditional Chinese: 陳家祠; pinyin: Chén Jiā Cí) is an academic temple in Guangzhou (Canton). The academy was built for the clans juniors', a place to live and prepare for the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty.
Maqāma (literally 'assemblies') are an (originally) Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century. Both authors' maqāmāt center on trickster figures whose wanderings and exploits in speaking to assemblies of the powerful are conveyed by a narrator.<br/><br/> Manuscripts of al-Harīrī's Maqāmāt, anecdotes of a roguish wanderer Abu Zayd from Saruj, were frequently illustrated with miniatures.
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis.<br/><br/> Thought to have started in China, it travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1346. From there, probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe.<br/><br/> The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60 percent of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century.<br/><br/> The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The plague returned at various times, killing more people, until it died out in Europe in the 19th century.
Carl Crow (1884-1945) was a Missouri-born newspaperman, businessman, and author who managed several newspapers and then opened the first Western advertising agency in Shanghai, China, which he ran for 19 years, creating much of what is thought of today as the sexy China Girl poster and calendar advertisements. In the 1930s and 1940s, Crow wrote 13 books, including his story about why he is a Confucian, Master Kung: The Story of Confucius (1937). Crow was also founding editor of the Shanghai Evening Post. He died in Manhattan.<br/><br/> Carl Crow arrived in Shanghai in 1911 and made the city his home for a quarter of a century, working there as a journalist, newspaper proprietor, and groundbreaking ad-man. He also did stints as a hostage negotiator, emergency police sergeant, gentleman farmer, go-between for the American government, and propagandist. As his career progressed, so did the fortunes of Shanghai. The city transformed itself from a dull colonial backwater when Crow arrived, to the thriving and ruthless cosmopolitan metropolis of the 1930s when Crow wrote his pioneering book 400 Million Customers, which encouraged a flood of business into China in an intriguing foreshadowing of today’s boom.
Watercolour painting of Rama and Lakshmana in Conference with Sugriva, the Monkey King, and other companions. Scene from the Story of the Burning of Lanka, Folio from a Ramayana (Story of Rama), Maharashtra, c.1850.<br/><br/> The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than 2300 years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or "Romance of Rama" in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with British and Chinese Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. Well-known US units in this theater included the Flying Tigers, transport and bomber units flying the Hump, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built Ledo Road, and the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), otherwise known as Merrill's Marauders.
This painting depicts a Biblical tale about Simon hosting Jesus Christ for dinner. In front of the table, a sinful woman is overcome and washes the Messiah's feet with her tears before drying them with her hair and then anointing them with fragrance from the pot that lies beside her. Simon is incensed that Jesus is allowing the prostitute to touch him, but Christ admonishes him, saying that the woman's sins are forgiven. Some of Jesus' disciples look on through the window with astonished expressions.<br/><br/> The woman later becomes a consort of Jesus and is known as Mary Magdalene.
The Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on September 8, 1900, in the city of Galveston, Texas, in the United States. It had estimated winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the deadliest hurricane in US history.<br/><br/> The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of deaths or injuries of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998's Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States.<br/><br/> The hurricane occurred before the practice of assigning official code names to tropical storms was instituted, and thus it is commonly referred to under a variety of descriptive names. Typical names for the storm include the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and, especially in older documents, the Galveston Flood. It is often referred to by Galveston locals as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm.
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language (part of the greater Afroasiatic language family) that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate. The name of the language is derived from the city of Akkad, a major centre of Mesopotamian civilization.
Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.<br/><br/> The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants. A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by Lourenço de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north.<br/><br/> The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. The British East India Company took over the coastal regions island controlled by the Dutch in 1796, in 1802 these provinces were declared a crown colony under direct rule of the British government, therefore the island was not part of the British Raj. The annexation of the Kingdom of Kandy in 1815 by the Kandyan convention, unified the island under British rule.<br/><br/> European colonists established a series of cinnamon, sugar, coffee, indigo cultivation followed by tea and rubber plantations and graphite mining. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was developed as the administrative centre and commercial heart with its harbor, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches.<br/><br/> On 4 February 1948 the country gained its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. It changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Captain William Story, born August 18, 1774, was one of 18 siblings and the half-brother of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. Under his command, the ship Friendship of Salem anchored at Canton from October 10 through November 5, 1803.<br/><br/> After a pirate attack off the Sumatran coast, Captain Story chose to pursue the life of merchant and ship owner in his hometown of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Often thought of as an Arabian version of Romeo and Juliet, Layla and Majnun is a classical story of star-crossed lovers based on the true story of a young man called Qays ibn al-Mulawwah from the northern Arabian Peninsula during the Umayyad era in the 7th century. In one version, he spent his youth together with Layla tending their flocks. In another version, upon seeing Layla he fell passionately in love with her. In both versions, however, he went mad when her father prevented him from marrying her. For that reason he came to be called Majnun, a synonym in Arabic for 'madman'.
Lu Xun (or Lu Hsun), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (Chou Shu-jen), September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936. One of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. Lu Xun was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of the Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.<br/><br/> Built in 1894 by the 72 Chen (usually romanised as Chan in Cantonese) clans, the Chen Family Temple (Chenjia Si), also known as the Chen Clan Academy (simplified Chinese: 陈家祠; traditional Chinese: 陳家祠; pinyin: Chén Jiā Cí) is an academic temple in Guangzhou (Canton). The academy was built for the clans juniors', a place to live and prepare for the imperial examinations during the Qing Dynasty.
A collection of 100 English nursery rhymes, in English with a parallel rendering into Malay. The collection is illustrated by Malayan scenes and a number of rhymes have been given musical accompaniments. There is a glossary at the back to aid understanding of the Malay.
Jin Midi (lived 134–86 BC) was born a prince of the nomadic Xiongnu, a confederation of Central Asian tribes that once dominated the eastern Eurasian Steppe. He was captured by Han-dynasty Chinese forces and made a slave who tended horses in the imperial stables. However, he gained the trust of Emperor Wu when he thwarted an assassination attempt against him. When Emperor Wu lay dying at his bedside, he designated Jin Midi, Huo Guang, and Shangguan Jie as regents to rule on behalf of his son Liu Fuling, then crown prince and later Emperor Zhao of Han.
The Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on September 8, 1900, in the city of Galveston, Texas, in the United States. It had estimated winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) at landfall, making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the deadliest hurricane in US history.<br/><br/> The hurricane caused great loss of life with the estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 individuals; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of deaths or injuries of any Atlantic hurricane, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and 1998's Hurricane Mitch. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States.<br/><br/> The hurricane occurred before the practice of assigning official code names to tropical storms was instituted, and thus it is commonly referred to under a variety of descriptive names. Typical names for the storm include the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Great Galveston Hurricane, and, especially in older documents, the Galveston Flood. It is often referred to by Galveston locals as The Great Storm or The 1900 Storm.
A collection of 100 English nursery rhymes, in English with a parallel rendering into Malay. The collection is illustrated by Malayan scenes and a number of rhymes have been given musical accompaniments. There is a glossary at the back to aid understanding of the Malay.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> 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.
Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس‎, trans. al-ʼAndalus, Spanish: Al-Ándalus, Portuguese: Al-Andalus) was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (often given the generic name of Moors), at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries underwent constant changes due to wars with the Christian Kingdoms.<br/><br/> Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus was divided into five administrative areas roughly corresponding to Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania. As a political domain or domains, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms.<br/><br/> Rule under these kingdoms saw the rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centres in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.