Chinasage Diary

Ancient Chinese origin of Computers

When the great European philosopher Gottfried Leibniz discovered binary arithmetic - the basis of all modern day computers - he was convinced he was building his theory on Chinese traditions. Leibniz had discovered a great deal from China by studying the vast amount of information the Jesuits had written about. Support for his '0' and '1' binary arithmetic he believed came from the ancient Yi Jing (I Ching) system that has binary 'split' and 'whole' lines in a complete system of all 64 possible combinations. In this he was probably mistaken, the Yi Jing goes back so far it is lost in the mists of time but it is interesting that all modern computing was a product of mergers of Eastern and Western ideas.
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Ancient Chinese origin of Computers

When the great European philosopher Gottfried Leibniz discovered binary arithmetic - the basis of all modern day computers - he was convinced he was building his theory on Chinese traditions. Leibniz had discovered a great deal from China by studying the vast amount of information the Jesuits had written about. Support for his '0' and '1' binary arithmetic he believed came from the ancient Yi Jing (I Ching) system that has binary 'split' and 'whole' lines in a complete system of all 64 possible combinations. In this he was probably mistaken, the Yi Jing goes back so far it is lost in the mists of time but it is interesting that all modern computing was a product of mergers of Eastern and Western ideas.
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The largest encyclopedia

The largest compilation of human knowledge up until recent times was 'Complete Library of the Four Treasuries'. The project was undertaken by leading scholars from the Hanlin Academy and was begun in 1773. It took 361 scholars nine years to produce the encyclopedia was arranged in 36,381 volumes - about 800 million characters in all.
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On this day

1981 Song Qingling died 1981 (42 years ago)

The largest encyclopedia

The largest compilation of human knowledge up until recent times was 'Complete Library of the Four Treasuries'. The project was undertaken by leading scholars from the Hanlin Academy and was begun in 1773. It took 361 scholars nine years to produce the encyclopedia was arranged in 36,381 volumes - about 800 million characters in all.
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On this day

1981 Song Qingling no longer President PRC 1981 (42 years ago)

The Queue

The queue or 辫子 bianzi was the 'pigtail' that all Chinese men were forced to wear during the Qing dynasty. It was a hated symbol of subjugation under Manchu rule and you see it in films about China during this time. Not wearing the queue was considered treason and received the death penalty. The hair was plaited and never cut and so became very long. As well as the queue Chinese men had to shave off the hair from the front half of the head.The hair style became a fashion for a while in the West, both George Washington and George III had wigs with long tails.
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Tibet's name

Even the name used for Tibet is contentious. The name used in the west - 'Tibet' probably comes from the Arabic 'Tibat' meaning 'the summits'. In China it is known as 西藏 xī zàng meaning 'Western treasury of Buddhist scriptures'. It is the strength of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet that has set it apart from China. The Tibetans themselves use the name Bod or in Sanskrit བོད for their country.
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Spitting

There have been many campaigns to reduce the amount of spitting that goes on. This age old custom was based on the false belief that swallowing spit was bad for you. This led to very unpleasant walking in trains and public areas and has been banned but it is something that you will see much more frequently than in the West.
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Spitting

There have been many campaigns to reduce the amount of spitting that goes on. This age old custom was based on the false belief that swallowing spit was bad for you. This led to very unpleasant walking in trains and public areas and has been banned but it is something that you will see much more frequently than in the West.
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Lacquer

Many fine Chinese goods are made from lacquer. A work is made in wood or papier mache and then carefully coated with many thin layers of lacquer. The result is waterproof and very durable but still lightweight. The lacquer traditionally came from the sap of the lacquer tree. A good piece of lacquer may have a hundred layers and so take years to produce as each layer has to be carefully dried.
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Lacquer

Many fine Chinese goods are made from lacquer. A work is made in wood or papier mache and then carefully coated with many thin layers of lacquer. The result is waterproof and very durable but still lightweight. The lacquer traditionally came from the sap of the lacquer tree. A good piece of lacquer may have a hundred layers and so take years to produce as each layer has to be carefully dried.
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Terracotta Warriors

The chance discovery by a farmer in 1974 of a pit containing 6,000 terracotta figures must go down as one of the biggest ever archaeological discoveries. The Chinese are reluctant to disturb the tombs of the dead and so the vast bulk of the tomb complex of the first Qin Emperor remains untouched. The tomb is located east of the ancient city of Xi'an.
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On this day

1086 Wang Anshi died 1086 (937 years ago)

Tang poems

The Tang dynasty is considered the Golden Age of classic Chinese poetry. Considering the Tang dynasty (618-907) was over a thousand years ago this is quite an achievement. They pre-date the earliest Old English poems but the most extra-ordinary fact about Tang poems is that about 48,000 survive. The great poets Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu lived during this time and a considerable amount is known about them and their lives.
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On this day

1062 Bao Zheng died 1062 (961 years ago)
1948 Chiang Kaishek became President Republic of China 1948 (75 years ago)

Han name

The important Han dynasty is named after the fiefdom of the first Han emperor Liu Bang who initially controlled lands on the headwaters of the Han river to the south of Xi'an. The Han river flows south-east to join the Yangzi river at Wuhan.
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Many writing styles

The Chinese art of calligraphy has many different styles. There are ancient styles such as the Small seal script that dates back 2,000 years and then there is the grass script for faster writing. Calligraphy is considered one of the highest artistic accomplishments; the meaning of a character can be reinforced by the style of strokes used to write it. However, works of calligraphy can be hard to read and so styles that use clearer character outlines are used in books and newspapers. Recently a 1,000 year old piece of calligraphy fetched over $30 million at auction.
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Concubines

In Imperial China a man would marry one woman but he could also take concubines. They acted as a subordinate class of women under the control of the wife. However, if a concubine produced children these were treated just the same as the wife's children. Dowager Empress Cixi is the most famous concubine.
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Pearl of wisdom

The quality of a pearl is somewhat like the moon. It appear cool and translucent for this reason the moon can be referred to as the 'night shining pearl'. It is often shown with dragons chasing it, representing the legendary connection of dragons chasing the moon to cause eclipses and phases of the moon.
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On this day

1981 Song Qingling became President PRC 1981 (42 years ago)

Pearl of wisdom

The quality of a pearl is somewhat like the moon. It appear cool and translucent for this reason the moon can be referred to as the 'night shining pearl'. It is often shown with dragons chasing it, representing the legendary connection of dragons chasing the moon to cause eclipses and phases of the moon.
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Ming philosopher

Most of the well-known philosophers who shaped Chinese philosophy lived over two thousand years ago. Only a few others from later years had a great influence. One of these was Wang Yangming who lived 1472-1529. He developed the leading Neo-Confucian thought and proposed that there is innate knowledge that is not learned - for instance good and evil.
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Sinkiang and Kweichow

In old maps and books you may find place names that are hard to decode. Sir Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles devised a way of writing Chinese sounds that was used extensively between 1859 and 1960 when it was replaced with pinyin. Sinkiang then became Xinjiang and Kweichow became Guizhou. The stark difference is spelling reflects the fact that Chinese sounds are not the same as English ones and some are intermediate between them.
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Sinkiang and Kweichow

In old maps and books you may find place names that are hard to decode. Sir Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles devised a way of writing Chinese sounds that was used extensively between 1859 and 1960 when it was replaced with pinyin. Sinkiang then became Xinjiang and Kweichow became Guizhou. The stark difference is spelling reflects the fact that Chinese sounds are not the same as English ones and some are intermediate between them.
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On this day

907 Tang dynasty ended 907 (1,116 years ago)

Sinkiang and Kweichow

In old maps and books you may find place names that are hard to decode. Sir Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles devised a way of writing Chinese sounds that was used extensively between 1859 and 1960 when it was replaced with pinyin. Sinkiang then became Xinjiang and Kweichow became Guizhou. The stark difference is spelling reflects the fact that Chinese sounds are not the same as English ones and some are intermediate between them.
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On this day

868 Printing of Diamond Sutra 868 (1,155 years ago)
1610 Matteo Ricci SJ died 1610 (413 years ago)
1610 Matteo Ricci died 1610 (413 years ago)

Taiwan's name

The island of Taiwan has had many names over its long history. When the Portuguese conquered the island in 1554 they gave it the name 'Formosa' : 'beautiful island' and you will still see this name in places. It was the Dutch who then gave it the name 'Taiwan' after the port of 'Tayouan'. This name became adopted in China 台湾 tái wān. However with continuing diplomatic tensions the PRC now use the name Chinese Taipei 中华台北 zhōng huá tái běi to indicate its claim on the island. This is the name used by the islanders at the Olympic Games.
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Taiwan's name

The island of Taiwan has had many names over its long history. When the Portuguese conquered the island in 1554 they gave it the name 'Formosa' : 'beautiful island' and you will still see this name in places. It was the Dutch who then gave it the name 'Taiwan' after the port of 'Tayouan'. This name became adopted in China 台湾 tái wān. However with continuing diplomatic tensions the PRC now use the name Chinese Taipei 中华台北 zhōng huá tái běi to indicate its claim on the island. This is the name used by the islanders at the Olympic Games.
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On this day

1421 Lightning strike destroys Forbidden City 1421 (602 years ago)

Taiwan's name

The island of Taiwan has had many names over its long history. When the Portuguese conquered the island in 1554 they gave it the name 'Formosa' : 'beautiful island' and you will still see this name in places. It was the Dutch who then gave it the name 'Taiwan' after the port of 'Tayouan'. This name became adopted in China 台湾 tái wān. However with continuing diplomatic tensions the PRC now use the name Chinese Taipei 中华台北 zhōng huá tái běi to indicate its claim on the island. This is the name used by the islanders at the Olympic Games.
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Tiananmen Square

There have been two major incidents of unrest in Tiananmen Square. The first on 5th April 1976 in called the 'Tiananmen Square Incident' when mourners for Zhou Enlai were seen as signaling their disapproval of the Gang of Four. The second incident was April to June 1989 when a student led occupation of the square was brutally suppressed. The demonstration sought a slowdown of economic reform, crack-down on corruption, more tax on the rich as well as democracy.
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The Chinese Trinity

One of the most common sculptures you will see in shops, restaurants and homes is a set of three figures. These are the good luck gods of the Daoist tradition Fu, Lou (or Lu) and Shou representing respectively wishes for happiness, prosperity and long life.
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Courtyard houses

For at least two thousand years the traditional Chinese house had a standard design of buildings around an enclosed courtyard. The siheyuan had a range of rooms for the extended family, with the grandest one occupied by the head of the family. Each individual building was constructed in a standard way and was connected by covered walkways. The center of the courtyard was often laid out to gardens.
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On this day

1260 Kublai Khan became ruler 1260 (763 years ago)

Courtyard houses

For at least two thousand years the traditional Chinese house had a standard design of buildings around an enclosed courtyard. The siheyuan had a range of rooms for the extended family, with the grandest one occupied by the head of the family. Each individual building was constructed in a standard way and was connected by covered walkways. The center of the courtyard was often laid out to gardens.
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On this day

1421 Burning of Imperial Palace 1421 (602 years ago)
1654 Emperor Kangxi born 1654 (369 years ago)
1919 May 4th Movement founded 1919 (104 years ago)

Learn from Dazhai

One of the slogans heard in Mao's China was ‘In agriculture learn from Dazhai’ 农业学大寨. Many agricultural reforms were trail-blazed at this village in Shanxi. In the fervor of the Cultural Revolution, train-loads of people came to see how the Chinese model of workers' co-operatives could revolutionize farming. Unfortunately many of the impressive claims for dramatic crop yield increases turned out to be false.
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