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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.
The First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 - 17 April 1895) was waged between Qing Dynasty China and the Japanese Empire, primarily over control of the Korean peninsula. In China, the war is commonly known as the War of Jiawu, while in Japan it is called the Japan-Qing War, and in Korea, the Qing-Japan War.<br/><br/> The war lasted 8 months altogether, and saw more than six months of unbroken victories and success by the Japanese land and naval forces against the numerically superior but militarily inferior Chinese army. The Japanese eventually took over the Chinese port city of Weihaiwei and forced the Qing government to sue for peace in February 1895, though the war would continue until April.<br/><br/> The Sino-Japanese War highlighted the stark failure of the Qing Empire to modernise and advance its armed forces, and resulted in regional dominance in East Asia shifting for the first time from China to Japan. The Korean peninsula, Joseon, was removed from the Chinese sphere of influence and fell under Japanese vassalage instead.
A carrack was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Genoese for use in commerce. They were widely used by Europe's 15th-century maritime powers, from the Mediterranean to northwest Europe, although each region had models of slightly different design. The Portuguese and the Spanish used them for oceanic travel and to explore the world.<br/><br/> With linguistic variation, these ships were called: caracca or nao in the Genoese dialect and in Castillian Spanish; nau in Portuguese; caraque or nef in French. The name ‘carrack’ probably derives from the Arab Harraqa, a type of ship that first appeared along the shores of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers roughly during the 9th century.<br/><br/> Carracks were ocean-going ships: large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages. They were usually square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. They had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. As the forerunner of the great ships of the age of sail, the carrack was one of the most influential ship designs in history; while ships became more specialized, the basic design remained unchanged throughout this time period.
The Jomon period is the time in Prehistoric Japan from about 16,500 years ago to about 2,300 years ago when Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity.<br/><br/> The name Jomon or 'cord-marked' was first applied by the American scholar Edward S. Morse who discovered shards of pottery in 1877. The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jomon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay. This pottery, dated to around 16,000 years ago, seems to be the second oldest in the world; the oldest one has now been found in China.
Flor do Mar or Flor de la Mar (Flower of the Sea), spelled Frol de la Mar in all Portuguese chronicles of the 16th century, was a Portuguese nau (carrack) of 400 tons, which over nine years participated in decisive events in the Indian Ocean until her sinking in November 1511.<br/><br/> Nobleman Afonso de Albuquerque was returning from the conquest of Malacca, bringing with him a large treasure trove for the Portuguese king, when the ship was lost off the coast of Sumatra. A replica of the Flor do Mar is housed in the Maritime Museum in Malacca (Melaka), Malaysia.
The Jomon period is the time in Prehistoric Japan from about 16,500 years ago to about 2,300 years ago when Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity.<br/><br/> The name Jomon or 'cord-marked' was first applied by the American scholar Edward S. Morse who discovered shards of pottery in 1877. The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jomon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay. This pottery, dated to around 16,000 years ago, seems to be the second oldest in the world; the oldest one has now been found in China.
The ‘Maqama’ are a collection of picaresque Arabic tales written in the form of rhymed prose in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The style was invented in the 10th century by Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadhani and extended by Abu Muhammed al-Qasim ibn Ali al-Hariri of Basra the following century.<br/><br/> The protagonists in the tales are invariably silver-tongued hustlers, especially the roguish Abu Zaid al-Saruji, who trick the narrator and who live on their wits and dazzle onlookers with displays of acrobatics, acting and by reciting poetry.
In the pottery of ancient Greece, a <i>kylix</i> is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot and usually two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The main alternative wine-cup shape was the <i>kantharos</i>, with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles.
The Hemudu culture (5500 to 3300 BCE) was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay area in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. The culture may be divided into early and late phases, before and after 4000 BCE respectively.<br/><br/> The Hemudu people lived in long, stilt houses. Communal longhouses were also common in Hemudu settlements. The Hemudu were one of the earliest cultures to cultivate rice. Scholars view the Hemudu culture as a source of many proto-Austronesian cultures.
A yi (Chinese: 匜; pinyin: yí) is a shape used in ancient Chinese ritual bronzes. It has the shape of half a gourd with a handle (often in the shape of a dragon) and usually supported by four legs. It is believed it was used to contain water for washing hands before rituals like sacrifices.
The zun is an ancient type of Chinese bronze or ceramic wine vessel with a round or square vase-like form, and sometimes in the shape of an animal.<br/><br/> The Zhou had long been vassals of the Shang, but eventually grew strong enough to defeat them in warfare in the 11th century BCE. They continued to hold sway until the 5th century BCE. Chinese boundaries were expanded, land reform was instituted and towns were built. Also, the declining years of the Zhou era produced two of China’s most influential thinkers, Kongfuzi (Confucius) and Laozi (Lao Tzu).
Sultan-ul-Hind, Moinuddin Chishti (Urdu/Persian: معین الدین چشتی‎) was born in 1141 and died in 1230 CE. Also known as Gharīb Nawāz 'Benefactor of the Poor' (غریب نواز), he is the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the Indian Subcontinent. He introduced and established the order in South Asia.<br/><br/> Ajmer (Sanskrit Ajayameru) was founded in the late 7th century CE by Dushyant Chauhan. The Chauhan dynasty ruled Ajmer in spite of repeated invasions by Turkic marauders from Central Asia across the north of India. Ajmer was conquered by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. However, the Chauhan rulers were allowed autonomy upon the payment of a heavy tribute to the conquerors. Ajmer remained subject to Delhi until 1365 when it was captured by the ruler of Mewar. In 1509, control of Ajmer was disputed between the Maharajas of Mewar and Marwar unitil it was conquered by the Marwar in 1532. The city was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1559. In the 18th century, control passed to the Marathas.<br/><br/> In 1818 the British forced the Marathas to cede the city for 50,000 rupees whereupon it became part of the province of Ajmer-Merwara, which consisted of the districts of Ajmer and Merwara and were physically separated by the territory of the Rajputana Agency. Ajmer-Merwara was directly administered by the British Raj, by a commissioner who was subordinate to the Governor-General's agent for Rajputana. Ajmer-Merwara remained a province of India until 1950, when it became the Ajmer State.<br/><br/> Ajmer state became part of Rajasthan state on 1 November 1956.
A servant of the royal Achaemenid court at Persepolis is shown carrying a covered vessel to the New Year's festival banquet. His clothing distinguishes him as a Mede. <br/><br/> The Medes had dominated the Persian region until overthrown by the Achaemenids in 550 BC. The Achaemenids became the ruling dynasty of Persia until 330 BC, when they were defeated by Alexander the Great. <br/><br/> This bas relief was probably part of a sculptural procession decorating the inner wall of the western staircase of the palace of King Darius I (r. 521-486 BCE)., A servant of the royal Achaemenid court at Persepolis is shown carrying a covered vessel to the New Year's festival banquet. His clothing distinguishes him as a Mede. <br/><br/> The Medes had dominated the Persian region until overthrown by the Achaemenids in 550 BC. The Achaemenids became the ruling dynasty of Persia until 330 BC, when they were defeated by Alexander the Great. <br/><br/> This bas relief was probably part of a sculptural procession decorating the inner wall of the western staircase of the palace of King Darius I (r. 521-486 BCE).
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece. The Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto (Turkish: İnebahtı; Greek: Ναύπακτος or Έπαχτος Naupaktos or Épahtos) met the Holy League forces, which had come from Messina.<br/><br/> The Victory of the Holy League prevented the Mediterranean Sea from becoming an uncontested highway for Muslim forces, protected Italy from a major Ottoman invasion, and prevented the Ottomans from advancing further into the southern flank of Europe. Lepanto was the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean fought entirely between galleys, and has been assigned great symbolic importance.
Đông Sơn was a prehistoric Bronze Age culture in Vietnam centered on the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam. At this time the first Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared. Its influence flourished in other neighbouring parts of Southeast Asia from about 500 BCE to 100 CE.
Image from the diary of Carl Johan Gethe, a cartographer on board the Gotha Leyon, which left Sweden on a three year trading expedition in 1746. Gethe's diary or Dagbok is titled: Dagbok hallen pa resan till Ost Indien begynt den 18 octobr: 1746 och slutad den 20 juni 1749 or ‘Diary of a journey to East India begun on 18 October 1746 and ending June 20, 1749’.<br><br/> The Swedish East India Company (Swedish: Svenska Ostindiska Companiet or SOIC) was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the Far East, and grew to become the largest trading company in Sweden during the 18th century. It closed in 1813.
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout South-East Asia and India, but primarily in China, perhaps most famously in Hong Kong. The etymology is somewhat obscure - Phonetic, from Chinese 'boat' (pinyin: chuan), also based on and pronounced as joong in Min Nan dialect. It entered English in the 17th century via Portuguese junco, from Malay jong.
A sampan (pinyin: shanban; Cantonese: sam-pan) is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from 3.5 to 4.5 m (11.5 to 14.8 ft) long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for fishing or transportation, in coastal areas or rivers. It is unusual for a sampan to sail far from land as they do not have the means to survive rough weather. The word 'sampan' comes from the original Cantonese term for the boats, 'three planks'. The name referred to the hull design, which consists of a flat bottom (made from one plank) joined to two sides (the other two planks). The design closely resembles Western boats like the scow or punt. Sampans may be propelled by poles, oars (particularly a single, long oar called a yuloh) or may be fitted with outboard motors.
The Ya Fu square lei (wine vessel) is regarded as a masterpiece of the Shang Dynasty (13th - 11th century BCE) and one of the greatest artifacts yet discovered from China's Bronze Age.<br/><br/> The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝; pinyin: Shāng cháo) or Yin Dynasty (Chinese: 殷代; pinyin: Yīn dài), according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BCE, succeeding the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty.
Majapahit was a vast island-based empire centred on the island of Java (modern-day Indonesia) from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada.<br/><br/>According to the Nagarakretagama (Desawarñana) written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, Sulu Archipelago, Manila, and East Timor, although the true nature of the Majapahit sphere of influence is still the subject of study among historians.<br/><br/>Majapahit was one of the last major empires of the region and is considered to be one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the history of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, one that is sometimes seen as the precedent for Indonesia's modern boundaries.
The Jim Thompson House is a museum in Bangkok. It is a complex of various old Thai structures that the American businessman Jim Thompson collected from all parts of Thailand in the 1950s and 60s.<br/><br/> James (Jim) Harrison Wilson Thompson (born March 21, 1906 in Greenville, Delaware - unknown) was an American businessman who helped revitalize the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and 1960s. A former U.S. military intelligence officer, Thompson mysteriously disappeared from Malaysia's Cameron Highlands while going for a walk on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967.
Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī (Mohammad-e Zakariā-ye Rāzi: Persian: محمد زکریای رازی), known as Rhazes or Rasis after medieval Latinists, (August 26, 865 – 925) was a Persian polymath, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher, and scholar.<br/><br/> Numerous 'firsts' in medical research, clinical care, and chemistry are attributed to him, including being the first to differentiate smallpox from measles, and the discovery of numerous compounds and chemicals including kerosene, among others.<br/><br/> Razi made fundamental and enduring contributions to the fields of medicine, alchemy, music, and philosophy, recorded in over 200 books and articles in various fields of science. He was well-versed in Persian, Greek and Indian medical knowledge and made numerous advances in medicine through his own observations and discoveries.<br/><br/> Educated in music, mathematics, philosophy, and metaphysics, he chose medicine as his professional field. As a physician, he was an early proponent of experimental medicine and has been described as the father of pediatrics. He was also a pioneer of ophthalmology. He was among the first to use Humoralism to distinguish one contagious disease from another. In particular, Razi was the first physician to distinguish between smallpox and measles through his clinical characterization of the two diseases.
Oiran (花魁) were the courtesans of Edo period Japan. The oiran were considered a type of yūjo (遊女) 'woman of pleasure' or prostitute. However, they were distinguished from the yūjo in that they were entertainers, and many became celebrities of their times outside the pleasure districts. Their art and fashions often set trends among the wealthy and, because of this, cultural aspects of oiran traditions continue to be preserved to this day.<br/><br/> The oiran arose in the Edo period (1600–1868). At this time, laws were passed restricting brothels to walled districts set some distance from the city center. In the major cities these were the Shimabara in Kyoto, the Shinmachi in Osaka, and the Yoshiwara in Edo (present-day Tokyo).<br/><br/> These rapidly grew into large, self-contained 'pleasure quarters' offering all manner of entertainments. Within, a courtesan’s birth rank held no distinction, which was fortunate considering many of the courtesans originated as the daughters of impoverished families who were sold into this lifestyle as indentured servants. Instead, they were categorized based on their beauty, character, education, and artistic ability.<br/><br/> Among the oiran, the tayū (太夫) was considered the highest rank of courtesan and were considered suitable for the daimyo or feudal lords. In the mid-1700s courtesan rankings began to disappear and courtesans of all classes were collectively known simply as 'oiran'.<br/><br/> The word oiran comes from the Japanese phrase oira no tokoro no nēsan (おいらの所の姉さ) which translates as 'my elder sister'. When written in Japanese, it consists of two kanji, 花 meaning 'flower', and 魁 meaning 'leader' or 'first', hence 'Leading Flower' or 'First Flower'.