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Southern refuge
When northern China was overrun by Khitans and then Mongols 800 years ago the Imperial Song family moved to Hangzhou . It proved to be a peaceful and prosperous time for 150 years. In memory of this period some scenes of Hangzhou are still to be found in the long corridors of the Summer Palace , Beijing.
Book of Changes - Deciphered
The Yi Jing is the premier ancient classic in China, and yet at the heart of this very strange but important book is a mystery that has remained unsolved for 3,000 years. The ‘Book of Changes - Deciphered’ describes the history and importance of the Yi Jing (I Ching) and proposes a new solution to the ancient mystery. Buying a copy will help support Chinasage . Now also available in Kindle eBook format for just $5.99.
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China's china
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi has been the center of Chinese porcelain manufacture for centuries. It is one of the first places where a production line technique was used to optimize production. Skilled craftsmen specialized in one particular part of the porcelain manufacture process, passing on the end result to the next stage. By 1433 over 500,000 pieces were being made a year. Much of the ‘china’ was sent for export to Europe over the mountains via the port of Guangzhou (Canton) . Read more…
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Gunpowder's explosive development
Gunpowder (Black powder) has three ingredients but for centuries it only had two. It was the addition of saltpeter (Potassium nitrate) that gave the mixture its explosive nature. Previously just carbon (charcoal) and sulfur were mixed to give a substance that burned ferociously but with no 'bang'. Up until 850CE gunpowder it was a curiosity that was used as a medicine (The Chinese name is 'fire medicine') and in alchemist's experiments. With the trade opening into central Asia saltpeter became available along the Silk Road. . The proportion of saltpeter determines how explosive the mixture is. Read more…
Southern refuge
When northern China was overrun by Khitans and then Mongols 800 years ago the Imperial Song family moved to Hangzhou . It proved to be a peaceful and prosperous time for 150 years. In memory of this period some scenes of Hangzhou are still to be found in the long corridors of the Summer Palace , Beijing.
Fri 10th Feb 2023Selfless teacher mourned Song Wenwu was a teacher in one of the poorer parts of Anhui province. It was only when he recently died aged 48 that it was discovered that he had been helping students in financial difficulties over many years. A great many of these grateful students have played their part in mourning his loss by traveling from all over China.
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Mourners for Song Wen who traveled great distances to show their gratitude (source Weibo).Read full story…
Britain and China - 18th century Back in the 17th the British view was of great admiration and respect for Chinese culture and civilization. Over the 18th century that view was to change to one of dismissal and denigration on both sides. Read more…
Chinese Poetry The Chinese language is ideally suited for writing poems. The long history of Chinese has allowed poems written over two thousand years ago to still be appreciated today. The characters provide a concise method for conveying impressions and emotion. Read more…
Proverb
傍人 门 户
Hanging on another's door
Someone dependent on a household without making much contribution. A hanger-on.
Roughly equivalent to: A sponger.
All about Chinese proverbs
Tue 20th Sep 2022Patreon pictures Thanks to the generous donations from Chinasage's Patreon ➚ sponsors we've just added quality photographs to many of our pages.
Although you can get images of all sorts of thing for free you do still have to pay for quality, particularly for specialist subjects. This time we have used 123rf for the new images who claim to have 200 million images to choose from. It takes a long time to make a choice and then they all need editing for usage, tagging and finally putting on the appropriate place on our hundreds of pages. We hope you will agree that they make a significant improvement.
New Year dragon, Shanghai Read more…
Book: Chronicles of the Chinese Emperors Amazon details... ➚
Book: Routledge Grammar:Basic Chinese Amazon details... ➚
Book: Beijing's Long History Amazon details... ➚
Book: Symbols of China Amazon details... ➚
Book: The life of Genghiz Khan Amazon details... ➚
Cracking China book
Your A-Z key to understanding China
We are proud to announce a printed book all about China based loosely on this web site. It is a set of sixty topics in A-Z order covering everything from hair to kiwifruit, clapping to rhubarb, eunuchs to dragons. Buying a copy will help support Chinasage . Now available as a Kindle eBook for just $3.90.
Details... ➚
Book of Changes - Deciphered
The Yi Jing is the premier ancient classic in China, and yet at the heart of this very strange but important book is a mystery that has remained unsolved for 3,000 years. The ‘Book of Changes - Deciphered’ describes the history and importance of the Yi Jing (I Ching) and proposes a new solution to the ancient mystery. Buying a copy will help support Chinasage . Now also available in Kindle eBook format for just $5.99.
Details... ➚
Southern refuge
When northern China was overrun by Khitans and then Mongols 800 years ago the Imperial Song family moved to Hangzhou . It proved to be a peaceful and prosperous time for 150 years. In memory of this period some scenes of Hangzhou are still to be found in the long corridors of the Summer Palace , Beijing.
Southern refuge
When northern China was overrun by Khitans and then Mongols 800 years ago the Imperial Song family moved to Hangzhou . It proved to be a peaceful and prosperous time for 150 years. In memory of this period some scenes of Hangzhou are still to be found in the long corridors of the Summer Palace , Beijing.