Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Govardhan (fl. 17th century) was a well-known Indian painter from the period of the Mughal Empire. The son of painter Bhavani Das, Govardhan joined imperial service during the reign of Emperor Akbar, and continued serving the imperial court during the reign of Shah Jahan. He was one of the illustrators of the <i>Baburnama</i>.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
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.
Rati is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama (Kamadeva), the god of love. A constant companion of Kama, she is often depicted with him in legend and temple sculpture. She also enjoys worship along with Kama. Rati is often associated with the arousal and delight of sexual activity, and many sex techniques and positions derive their Sanskrit names from hers.<br/><br/> The Hindu scriptures stress her beauty and sensuality. They depict her as a maiden who has the power to enchant the god of love. When the god Shiva burnt her husband to ashes, it was Rati, whose beseeching or penance, leads to the promise of Kama's resurrection. Often, this resurrection occurs when Kama is reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna. Separated from his parents at birth, Rati – under the name of Mayavati – plays a critical role in the upbringing of Pradyumna. She acts as his nanny, as well as his lover, and tells him the way to return to his parents by slaying the demon-king, who is destined to die at his hands. Later, Kama-Pradyumna accepts Rati-Mayavati as his wife.
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.
Born in present-day Gambia around 1753, little is known of Phillis Wheatley’s early life. When 7 or 8 years old, she was kidnapped and shipped from the Gambia to Boston; her purchasers named her Phillis after the ship that brought her to Massachusetts.<br/><br/> Living in their household as a servant, she was permitted to learn to read, and not long after began writing poetry; her first published poem appeared in 1767. She left no account of her life in Africa or the middle passage, and her life ended sadly in Boston in 1784. Her portrait was made when she was about 20 years old.
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.
Ukiyo-e, or 'pictures of the floating world', is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that flourished in Japan from the 17th through 19th centuries. It was aimed at the prosperous merchant class in the urbanizing Edo period (1603–1867). Amongst the popular themes were depictions of beautiful women; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica.<br/><br/> Edo (modern Tokyo) became the seat of government for the military dictatorship in the early 17th century. The merchant class at the bottom of the social order found themselves the greatest beneficiaries of the city's rapid economic growth. Many indulged in the entertainments of kabuki theatre, courtesans, and geisha of the pleasure districts. The term ukiyo ('floating world') came to describe this hedonistic lifestyle.
Tian Hongzheng, courtesy name Andao, formally Duke Zhongmin of Yi, was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty.<br/><br/> Under his governance, Weibo Circuit (headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), which had not been under imperial control for decades, submitted to imperial control.
Edward Bangs Drew (1843 - 1924) joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1864 after earning his BA degree from Harvard. In 1868, Drew was appointed a Commissioner of the Service, a position he held for decades.<br/><br/> During that time he collected photographs that document clothing, customs, and daily life in 19th century China, and of Drew's life and career, including family and social gatherings, public appearances, and events and ceremonies.
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.<br/><br/> Sultan Alauddin Muhammad Da'ud Syah II (1864 – 6 February 1939) was the thirty-fifth and last sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He reigned from 1875 to 1903 in opposition to the Dutch colonial state. He surrendered to the Dutch in 1903.<br/><br/> The Dutch provided the sultan with a comfortable house and a monthly allowance of 1,200 guilders. In 1907 it was revealed that the sultan had secretly helped plan attacks on Dutch positions. The colonial authorities therefore resolved to exile him to Java and from thence to Ambon. In 1918 he was allowed to settle in Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara) in Batavia (Jakarta). The ex-sultan died there on 6 February 1939 and is buried in Rawamangun.
This grave figurine is abstract and modernistic in appearance. Traces of red paint, representing textile patterns, remain on the figure's carved robe.<br/><br/> Typically of costume in this period, the face is the only visible part of the attendant's body; even her hands are concealed and clasped beneath long sleeves, in the formal posture of waiting for orders.
Edward Bangs Drew (1843 - 1924) joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1864 after earning his BA degree from Harvard. In 1868, Drew was appointed a Commissioner of the Service, a position he held for decades.<br/><br/> During that time he collected photographs that document clothing, customs, and daily life in 19th century China, and of Drew's life and career, including family and social gatherings, public appearances, and events and ceremonies.
Empress Myeongseong (19 October 1851 – 8 October 1895), also known as Queen Min, was the first official wife of King Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. In 1902 she received the posthumous name Hyoja Wonsŏng Jŏnghwa Hapchŏn Honggong Sŏngdŏk Myŏngsŏng Taehwanghu (Korean Hangul: 효자원성정화합천홍공성덕명성태황후, Hanja: 孝慈元聖正化合天洪功誠德明成太皇后), often abbreviated as Myŏngsŏng Hwanghu (Hangul: 명성황후, Hanja: 明成皇后), meaning Empress Myeongseong.
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world. The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people, home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.<br/><br/>During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the UN-backed South Korean forces several times, leaving the city heavily damaged after the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of Seoul and its metropolitan area to an estimated 2.5 million, more than half of them homeless.
The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin (四十七士 Shi-jū-shichi-shi), also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the Genroku Akō incident (元禄赤穂事件 Genroku akō jiken) took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century. One noted Japanese scholar described the tale as the country's 'national legend'. It recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushidō.<br/><br/> The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for two years to kill Kira.<br/><br/> In turn, the ronin were themselves ordered to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. With much embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that all good people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the almost mythical tale was only enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when it is suggested many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.<br/><br/> Fictionalized accounts of these events are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays including bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names of the ronin were changed.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown.
Auguste Pavie (1847 - 1925) was the founding father of French influence in Laos. After a long career in Cambodia and Cochinchina, Pavie became the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885, eventually becoming the first Governor-General and plenipotentiary minister of the newly formed French colony of Laos.
Yahyâ ibn Mahmûd al-Wâsitî was a 13th-century Arab Islamic artist. Al-Wasiti was born in Wasit in southern Iraq. He was noted for his illustrations of the Maqam of al-Hariri.<br/><br/> 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.
Auguste Pavie (1847 - 1925) was the founding father of French influence in Laos. After a long career in Cambodia and Cochinchina, Pavie became the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885, eventually becoming the first Governor-General and plenipotentiary minister of the newly formed French colony of Laos.
Begum Nur Jahan (Persian/Urdu: نور جہاں ) (alternative spelling Noor Jahan, Nur Jehan, Nor Jahan, etc.) (1577–1645), also known as Mehr-un-Nisaa, was an Empress of the Mughal Dynasty that ruled much of the Indian subcontinent. She was an aunt of Empress Mumtaz Mahal, Emperor Shah Jahan's wife for whom the Taj Mahal was constructed.<br/><br/> Begum Nur Jahan was the twentieth and favourite wife of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who was her second husband - and the most famous Empress of the Mughal Empire. The story of the couple's infatuation for each other and the relationship that abided between them is the stuff of many (often apocryphal) legends.<br/><br/> She remains historically significant for the sheer amount of imperial authority she wielded - the true 'power behind the throne', as Jehangir was battling serious addictions to alcohol and opium throughout his reign - and is known as one of the most powerful women who ruled India.
Little is known about Shim Deuk-gyeong (1629-1710) except that he passed the lower civil service examination in 1693, the 19th year of King Sukjong. In this portrait he is wearing a Confucian scholar's overcoat and a tiered black horsehair hat and seated on a stool, in a three-quarter view from left.<br/><br/> The two colophons, both composed by Yi Seo (1662-1723), reveal that the portrait was painted by Yun Du-seo (1668-1715) in the 11th month of 1710, the 36th year of Sukjong, four months after Shim's death.
The little prince would most likely have been a relation of King Preah Bat Sisowath who ruled Cambodia from 1904, when King Norodom died, until his death in 1927 when he was succeeded by his son and crown prince, Prince Sisowath Monivong.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
A ‘harem’ is not a bordello, seraglio or brothel, but refers to the women’s quarters, usually in a polygynous household, which are forbidden to men. It originated in the Near East and is typically associated in the Western world with the Ottoman Empire.<br/><br/> Female seclusion in Islam is emphasized to the extent that any unlawful breaking into that privacy is ḥarām ie, 'forbidden'. A Muslim harem does not necessarily consist solely of women with whom the head of the household has sexual relations (wives and concubines), but also their young offspring, other female relatives or odalisques, which are the concubines’ servants. The harem may either be a palatial complex, as in Romantic tales, in which case it includes staff (women and eunuchs), or simply their quarters, in the Ottoman tradition separated from the men's selamlık.<br/><br/> A hammam is a common bath house.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Hanoi is the capital and second-largest city in Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political center in the country, but was eclipsed by Hue during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954, and from 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
The clothing of Muslims, Christians, Jews, clergy, tradesmen, state and military officials was strictly regulated during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566). Political crises of the 17th century were reflected as chaos in fashion. The excessively luxurious compulsion of consumption and pretentiousness in the 'Period of Tulips' lasted until the 19th century. While the 'sarık' was replaced by the 'fez', many people also began to wear trousers, 'setre' and 'potin'.<br/><br/> During the 'Tanzimat' and 'Meşrutiyet' periods of the 19th century, common people of Ottoman Turkey kept to their traditional clothing styles, presenting a great contrast with the wealthy who wore 'redingot', jackets, waistcoats, boyunbağı (ties), 'mintan', sharp-pointed and high-heeled shoes.
The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then as now used for political prisoners.<br/><br/>Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Drawing shows a male servant, full-length, standing, facing left, holding a small table with dishes for dining.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Charles Thomas Scowen (11 March 1852 - 24 November 1948) was a British photographer active during the late nineteenth century, primarily from 1871-1890. He worked out of Sri Lanka and British India with his own established studio, Scowen & Co. His first studio was in Kandy, but he had opened a second in Colombo by the 1890s. His photos were famed for their lighting, strong compositional qualities and technically superior printing.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Although Vietnam has for centuries vigorously resisted any form of direct Chinese control, its traditional form of government has been almost a carbon copy of China, being based on Confucianism, the Imperial system, and a highly literate mandarinate.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Joseon (Korean: 조선; Hanja: 朝鮮; also Chosŏn, Choson, Chosun, Cho-sen), was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries, from July 1392 to October 1897. It was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo Dynasty in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the Amnok and Duman rivers through the subjugation of the Jurchens. Joseon was the last dynasty of Korean history and the longest-ruling Confucian dynasty.<br/><br/>During its reign, Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea, encouraged the entrenchment of Korean Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society, imported and adapted Chinese culture, and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology. However, the dynasty was severely weakened during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when invasions by the neighboring states of Japan and Qing nearly overran the peninsula, leading to an increasingly harsh isolationist policy for which the country became known as the Hermit Kingdom. After the end of invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace.<br/><br/>However, whatever power the kingdom recovered during its isolation further waned as the 18th century came to a close, and faced with internal strife, power struggles, international pressure and rebellions at home, the Joseon Dynasty declined rapidly in the late 19th century.<br/><br/>The Joseon period has left a substantial legacy to modern Korea; much of modern Korean etiquette, cultural norms, societal attitudes towards current issues, and the modern Korean language and its dialects derive from the culture and traditions of Joseon.
Scenes of Service from a small album known as 'Chinese Drawings: Court and Society', showing contemporaneous style and fashion at the Qing Court.<br/><br/> The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912. Qing rulers were of the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a nomadic tribe that originated northeast of the Great Wall in contemporary Northeastern China.<br/><br/> Over the course of its reign, the Qing became highly integrated with Chinese culture, learning Chinese and participating in rituals. The imperial examinations continued and Han civil servants administered the empire alongside Manchu ones.
Da Nang (occasionally Danang; in Vietnamese: Đà Nẵng) is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of National Route 1A and the North-South Railway make it a hub for transportation.<br/><br/> It is located within 100 km of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Huế, the Old Town of Hội An, and the Cham ruins at Mỹ Sơn. The city was previously known as Cửa Hàn during early Đại Việt settlement, and as Tourane (or Turon) during the period of French colonization.
Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut (1804 –68), was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, and ruled from 1851 to his death in 1868. He was one of the most revered monarchs of the country. Outside of Thailand, he is best-known as the King in the 1951 play and 1956 film The King and I. During his reign, the pressure of Western expansionism was felt for the first time in Siam. Mongkut embraced Western innovations and initiated the modernization of Siam, both in technology and culture—earning him the nickname "The Father of Science and Technology" in Siam.
Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut (1804 –68), was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, and ruled from 1851 to his death in 1868. He was one of the most revered monarchs of the country. Outside of Thailand, he is best-known as the King in the 1951 play and 1956 film The King and I. During his reign, the pressure of Western expansionism was felt for the first time in Siam. Mongkut embraced Western innovations and initiated the modernization of Siam, both in technology and culture—earning him the nickname "The Father of Science and Technology" in Siam.
The áo ngũ thân had a loose fit and sometimes had wide sleeves. Wearers could display their prosperity by putting on multiple layers of fabric, which at that time was costly.<br/><br/> The áo ngũ thân had two flaps sewn together in the back, two flaps sewn together in the front, and a "baby flap" hidden underneath the main front flap. The gown appeared to have two-flaps with slits on both sides, features preserved in the later ao dai. Compared to a modern ao dai, the front and back flaps were much broader and the fit looser. It had a high collar and was buttoned in the same fashion as a modern ao dai.