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Posthumous portrait
Du Fu (Chinese: 杜甫; pinyin: Dù Fǔ; Wade–Giles: Tu Fu; 712–770) was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Together with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, Du is often considered one of the greatest Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but Du proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like all of China, was devastated by the An Lushan rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest.
Although initially he was little-known to other writers, his works came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages. He has been called the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage" by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire". (Full article...)
Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, indigo milky, indigo lactarius, blue lactarius, or blue milk mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Russulaceae.
The fruit body color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue-gray in older ones. The milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken (a feature common to all members of the genus Lactarius) is also indigo blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The cap has a diameter of 4–15 cm (2–6 in), and the stem is 2–8 cm (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 in) tall and 1–2.5 cm (3⁄8–1 in) thick. (Full article...)
From 1643 to 1650, political power lay mostly in the hands of the prince regent Dorgon. Under his leadership, the Qing conquered most of the territory of the fallen Ming dynasty, chased Ming loyalist regimes deep into the southwestern provinces, and established the basis of Qing rule over China proper despite highly unpopular policies such as the "hair cutting command" of 1645, which forced all Qing male subjects to shave their forehead and braid their remaining hair into a queue resembling that of the Manchus. After Dorgon's death on the last day of 1650, the young Shunzhi Emperor started to rule personally. He tried, with mixed success, to fight corruption and to reduce the political influence of the Manchu nobility. In the 1650s, he faced a resurgence of Ming loyalist resistance, but by 1661 his armies had defeated the Qing's last enemies, Koxinga and the Prince of Gui, both of whom would succumb the following year. (Full article...)
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Publicity photo of Anna May Wong from Stars of the Photoplay, 1930
Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio.
Born in Los Angeles to second-generation Taishanese Chinese American parents, Wong became engrossed in films and decided at the age of 11 that she would become an actress. Her first role was as an extra in the movie The Red Lantern (1919). During the silent film era, she acted in The Toll of the Sea (1922), one of the first films made in color, and in Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924). Wong became a fashion icon and had achieved international stardom in 1924. Wong had been one of the first to embrace the flapper look. In 1934, the Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York voted her the "world's best dressed woman." In the 1920s and 1930s, Wong was acclaimed as one of the top fashion icons. (Full article...)
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Rioters besieging a bus in Tianshan, Ürümqi, attacking escaping Han passengers with sticks.
A series of violent riots over several days broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000 Uyghurs, began as a protest, but escalated into violent attacks that mainly targeted Han people. According to Chinese state media, a total of 197 people died, most of whom were Han people or non-Muslim minorities, with 1,721 others injured and many vehicles and buildings destroyed. Many Uyghurs disappeared during wide-scale police sweeps in the days following the riots; Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented 43 cases and said figures for real disappearances were likely to be much higher.
Rioting began following the Shaoguan incident, where false accusations of rape of a Han woman by Uyghur men led to a brawl between ethnic Han and Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, resulting in the deaths of two Uyghurs who were both from Xinjiang. The Chinese government claimed that the riots were planned from abroad by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and its leader Rebiya Kadeer. Kadeer denies fomenting the violence. (Full article...)
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The empire in 661, when it reached its greatest extent
The Li family founded the dynasty after taking advantage of a period of Sui decline and precipitating their final collapse, in turn inaugurating a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty was formally interrupted during 690–705 when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Wu Zhou dynasty and becoming the only legitimate Chinese empress regnant. The An Lushan rebellion (755–763) led to devastation and the decline of central authority during the latter half of the dynasty. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang maintained a civil-service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardised examinations and recommendations to office. The rise of regional military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century undermined this civil order. The dynasty and central government went into decline by the latter half of the 9th century; agrarian rebellions resulted in mass population loss and displacement, widespread poverty, and further government dysfunction that ultimately ended the dynasty in 907. (Full article...)
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The 2001 Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident took place in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, on the eve of Chinese New Year on 23 January 2001. There is controversy over the incident; Chinese government sources say that five members of Falun Gong, a religious movement that is banned in mainland China, set themselves on fire in the square. Falun Gong sources disputed the accuracy of these portrayals, and claimed that their teachings explicitly forbid violence or suicide. Some journalists have claimed that the self-immolations were staged.
According to Chinese state media, a group of seven people had travelled to Beijing from Henan province, and five set themselves on fire on Tiananmen Square. In the Chinese press, the event was used as proof of the dangers of Falun Gong, and was used to legitimise the government's campaign against the group. (Full article...)
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The field shortly after the start.
The men's road race, a part of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics, took place on August 9 at the Urban Road Cycling Course in Beijing. It started at 11:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8), and was scheduled to last until 17:30 later that day. The 245.4-kilometre (152.5 mi) course ran north across the heart of the Beijing metropolitan area, passing such landmarks as the Temple of Heaven, the Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square and the Beijing National Stadium. After rolling over relatively flat terrain for 78.8 km (49.0 mi) north of the Beijing city center, the route entered a decisive circuit encompassing seven loops on a 23.8 km (14.8 mi) section up and down the Badaling Pass, including ramps as steep as a 10 percent gradient.
The race was won by the Spanish rider Samuel Sánchez in 6 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds, after a six-man breakaway group contested a sprint finish. It was the first medal in the men's individual road race for Spain. Davide Rebellin of Italy and Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, finishing second and third place with the same time as Sánchez, received silver and bronze medals respectively for the event. The hot and humid conditions were in sharp contrast to the heavy rain weathered in the women's road race the following day. (Full article...)
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A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during the late 19th century. Cannons vary in gauge, effective range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. A cannon is a type of heavy artillery weapon. The word cannon is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane, or reed.
The earliest known depiction of cannons may have appeared in Song dynasty China as early as the 12th century; however, solid archaeological and documentary evidence of cannons do not appear until the 13th century. In 1288, Yuan dynasty troops are recorded to have used hand cannons in combat, and the earliest extant cannon bearing a date of production comes from the same period. By the end of the 14th century, cannons were widespread throughout Eurasia. (Full article...)
Cai Lun (Chinese: 蔡伦; courtesy name: Jingzhong (敬仲); c. 50–62 – 121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He occupies a pivotal place in the history of paper due to his addition of pulp via tree bark and hemp ends which resulted in the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper. Although traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper, earlier forms of paper have existed since the 3rd century BCE, so Cai's contributions are limited to innovation, rather than invention.
Born in Guiyang Commandery [zh] (in what is now Leiyang), Cai arrived at the imperial court in Luoyang by 75 CE, where he served as a chamberlain for Emperor Ming, and then as Xiao Huangmen, an imperial messenger for Emperor Zhang. To assist Lady Dou in securing her adopted son as designated heir, he interrogated Consort Song and her sister, who then killed themselves. When Emperor He ascended the throne in 88 CE, Dou awarded Cai with two positions: Zhongchang shi [zh], a political counselor to the emperor that was the highest position for eunuchs of the time, and also as Shangfang Ling, where Cai oversaw the production of instruments and weapons at the Palace Workshop. (Full article...)
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Holotype skull shown from above (A), the right side (B), and below (C)
Xixiasaurus (/ˌʃiːʃiəˈsɔːrəs/) is a genus of troodontiddinosaur that lived during the Late CretaceousPeriod in what is now China. The only known specimen was discovered in Xixia County, Henan Province, in central China, and became the holotype of the new genus and speciesXixiasaurus henanensis in 2010. The names refer to the areas of discovery, and can be translated as "Henan Xixia lizard". The specimen consists of an almost complete skull (except for the hindmost portion), part of the lower jaw, and teeth, as well as a partial right forelimb.
Xixiasaurus is estimated to have been 1.5 metres (5 ft) long and to have weighed 8 kilograms (18 lb). As a troodontid, it would have been bird-like and lightly built, with grasping hands and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. Its skull was long, with a long, low snout that formed a tapering U-shape when seen from below. The frontal bone of the forehead was dome-like in side view, which indicates it had an enlarged braincase. It differed from other troodontids in that the front of the dentary bone of the lower jaw was down-turned. Unlike in most troodontids, the teeth of Xixiasaurus did not have serrations; instead, their carinae (front and back edges) were smooth and sharp. It was distinct among troodontids in having 22 teeth in each maxilla (in other genera the maxillary tooth count was either higher or lower). (Full article...)
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Zhou Tong stroking his beard
Zhou Tong (Chinese: 周同 and 周侗; pinyin: Zhōu Tóng; died late 1121) was the archery teacher and second military arts tutor of famous Song dynasty general Yue Fei. Originally a local hero from Henan, he was hired to continue Yue Fei's military training in archery after the boy had rapidly mastered spearplay under his first teacher. In addition to the future general, Zhou accepted other children as archery pupils. During his tutelage, Zhou taught the children all of his skills and even rewarded Yue with his two favorite bows because he was his best pupil. After Zhou's death, Yue would regularly visit his tomb twice a month and perform unorthodox sacrifices that far surpassed that done for even beloved tutors. Yue later taught what he had learned from Zhou to his soldiers and they were successful in battle.
With the publishing of Yue Fei's 17th folklore biography, The Story of Yue Fei (1684), a new, fictional Zhou Tong emerged, who differed greatly from his historical persona. Not only was he now from Shaanxi, but he was Yue's adopted father, a learned scholar with knowledge of the eighteen weapons of war, and his personal name was spelled with a different, yet related, Chinese character. The novel's author portrayed him as an elderly widower and military arts tutor who counted Lin Chong and Lu Junyi, two of the fictional 108 outlaws on which the Water Margin is based, among his former pupils. A later republican erafolktale by noted Yangzhou storyteller Wang Shaotang not only adds Wu Song to this list, but represents Zhou as a knight-errant with supreme swordsmanship. The tale also gives him the nickname "Iron Arm", which he shares with the executioner-turned-outlaw Cai Fu, and makes the outlaw Lu Zhishen his sworn brother. Because of his association with the outlaws, he is often confused with the similarly named outlaw Zhou Tong. (Full article...)
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Rob-B-Hood (traditional Chinese: 寶貝計劃; simplified Chinese: 宝贝计划, also known as Robin-B-Hood, literally: Baby Project) is a 2006 Hong Kong actioncomedydrama film written, produced and directed by Benny Chan, feature an ensemble cast include Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Yuen Biao, Michael Hui, Gao Yuanyuan, Charlene Choi, Chen Baoguo and Matthew Medvedev. It tells the story of a kidnapping gone wrong in Hong Kong; a trio of burglars consisting of Thongs (Chan), Octopus (Koo) and the Landlord (Hui) kidnap a baby from a wealthy family on behalf of triads. With the Landlord arrested, Thongs and Octopus take care of the baby for a short time, developing strong bonds with him. Reluctant to hand the baby over, the two are forced to protect him from the triads who hired them in the first place.
Originally announced in 2005, the film marked Benny Chan's third collaboration with Jackie Chan, following Who Am I? and New Police Story. It was produced with a budget of HK$16.8 million and filming took place in Hong Kong between December 2005 and January 2006. Rob-B-Hood is the first film in over 30 years in which Jackie Chan plays as a thief. (Full article...)
... that Chinese scholar Liang Tingnan suggested that China should emulate the United States to avoid the upheavals of dynastic change?
... that Russian money, known as qiang tie by locals, was used as legal currency in some regions of China for decades?
... that René Vallon achieved the first aeroplane flight, and was the first aeroplane-related death, in China?
... that the New York City-based fashion label Sandy Liang is inspired by grandmothers in Chinatown, and often features Liang's own grandmother as a model?
... that between 2006 and 2007, Stacy Hollowell worked for basketball teams in Qatar, China, Bahrain and Lithuania?
This is a good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
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The 1461 Rebellion of Cao Qin, which broke out within the Inner City of Beijing, threatened the gates of the Imperial City, which contained the imperial family's residence of the Forbidden City (shown here) at its center.
The Rebellion of Cao Qin (simplified Chinese: 曹钦之变; traditional Chinese: 曹欽之變; pinyin: Cáoshí Zhī Biàn) was a day-long uprising in the Ming dynasty capital of Beijing on August7, 1461, staged by Chinese general Cao Qin (曹欽; died 1461) and his Ming troops of Mongol and Han descent against the Tianshun Emperor (r. 1457–1464). Cao and his officers launched the insurrection out of fear of being persecuted by Tianshun. Tianshun had just gained back the throne from his half-brother the Jingtai Emperor, who rose to power during the 1449 Tumu Crisis.
The rebellion was a failure: three of Cao's brothers were killed during the ensuing battle, and Cao Qin was forced to commit suicide during a last stand against imperial troops storming his Beijing residential compound. The rebellion marked the high point in political tension over allowing Mongols to be employed in the Ming military command structure. Ming Chinese officials often made recompense with Mongol subordinates for military merits while at the same time strategically relocating their troops and families away from the capital. (Full article...)
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Gui Minhai (Chinese: 桂民海; pinyin: Guì Mínhǎi, formerly 桂敏海; Guì Mǐnhǎi; born 5 May 1964), also known as Michael Gui, is a Hong Kong-Swedish book publisher and writer. He is an author of many books related to Chinese politics and Chinese political figures; Gui authored around 200 books during his ten-year career under the pen-name Ah Hai (阿海) and is one of three shareholders of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong.
Gui went missing in Thailand in late 2015, one of five men who vanished in a string of incidents known as the Causeway Bay Books disappearances. The case ignited fears locally and in Britain over the collapse of "one country, two systems", over the possibility that people could be subject to rendition from Hong Kong and from other countries by Chinese law enforcement. The Chinese government had been silent about holding him in custody for three months, at which point a controversial video confession was broadcast on mainland media. In it, Gui said that he had returned to mainland China and surrendered to the authorities of his own volition; he appeared to indicate that he was prepared to follow the course of justice in China, while waiving protection as a Swedish citizen. Gui's case has severely strained the relations between Sweden and China. (Full article...)
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Laozi, one of the most important gods in Lingbao Daoism The Lingbao School (simplified Chinese: 灵宝派; traditional Chinese: 靈寶派; pinyin: Líng Bǎo Pài), also known as the School of the Sacred Jewel or the School of Numinous Treasure, was an important Daoist school that emerged in China in between the Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty in the early fifth century CE. It lasted for about two hundred years until it was absorbed into the Shangqing and Zhengyi currents during the Tang dynasty. The Lingbao School is a synthesis of religious ideas based on Shangqing texts, the rituals of the Celestial Masters, and Buddhist practices.
The Lingbao School borrowed many concepts from Buddhism, including the concept of reincarnation, and also some cosmological elements. Although reincarnation was an important concept in the Lingbao School, the earlier Daoist belief in attaining immortality remained. The school's pantheon is similar to Shangqing and Celestial Master Daoism, with one of its most important gods being the deified form of Laozi. Other gods also existed, some of whom were in charge of preparing spirits for reincarnation. Lingbao ritual was initially in individual practice, but later went through a transformation that put more emphasis on collective rites. The most important scripture in the Lingbao School is known as the Five Talismans (Wufujing), which was compiled by Ge Chaofu and based on Ge Hong's earlier alchemical works. (Full article...)
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1342 tomb of Katarina Vilioni, member of an Italian trading family, in Yangzhou. Given textual and archaeological evidence, it is thought that thousands of Europeans lived in Imperial China during the Yuan dynasty. These were people from countries traditionally belonging to the lands of Christendom during the High to Late Middle Ages who visited, traded, performed Christian missionary work, or lived in China. This occurred primarily during the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, coinciding with the rule of the Mongol Empire, which ruled over a large part of Eurasia and connected Europe with their Chinese dominion of the Yuan dynasty. Whereas the Byzantine Empire centered in Greece and Anatolia maintained rare incidences of correspondence with the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties of China, the Holy See sent several missionaries and embassies to the early Mongol Empire as well as to Khanbaliq (modern Beijing), the capital of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. These contacts with the West were preceded by rare interactions between the Han dynasty and Hellenistic Greeks and Romans.
Mainly located in places such as the Yuan capital of Karakorum, European missionaries and merchants traveled around various parts of the Yuan dynasty and other Mongol-ruled khanates during a period of time referred to by historians as the "Pax Mongolica". Perhaps the most important political consequence of this movement of peoples and intensified trade was the Franco-Mongol alliance, although the latter never fully materialized, at least not in a consistent manner. The establishment of the Ming dynasty in 1368 and reestablishment of ethnic Han rule led to the cessation of European merchants and Roman Catholic missionaries living in China. Direct contact with Europeans was not renewed until Portuguese explorers and Jesuitmissionaries arrived on Ming China's southern shores in the 1510s, during the Age of Discovery. (Full article...)
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Typhoon Sarika approaching the Philippines on October 15
Typhoon Sarika, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Karen, was a powerful tropical cyclone which affected the Philippines, South China, and Vietnam in mid-October 2016. The twenty-first named storm and the tenth typhoon of the annual Pacific typhoon season, Sarika developed from a tropical disturbance east of the Philippines on October 13. The system steadily strengthened as it traveled westwards, becoming a tropical storm later that day and then a typhoon on October 15. Rapid intensification commenced as Sarika turned to the west-northwest towards Luzon, reaching its peak intensity just before making landfall in Aurora early on October 16. Sarika weakened significantly as it crossed land, emerging over the South China Sea as a minimal typhoon, then weakening further to a severe tropical storm on October 17. Sarika maintained its strength for the rest of the day and made landfall in Hainan province in China on October 18. Turning to the northwest, Sarika weakened quickly as it emerged into the Gulf of Tonkin, before moving onshore once again in Guangxi province on October 19. The system dissipated shortly after.
Sarika produced significant impacts in the Philippines as a strong typhoon. Strong winds and flooding rainfall caused landslides, power outages, and disruptions of telecommunications services. Nearly 13,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and more than 200,000 people were displaced. Agricultural damage in the Philippines was severe, totaling ₱3.63 billion (US$76.4 million). Damage to infrastructure was valued at ₱226 million (US$4.76 million). No fatalities occurred, though several mountaineers and sailors were rescued. While not as strong at subsequent landfalls in China, Sarika combined with the northeast monsoon to produce heavy rains across South China and northeast Vietnam. Hong Kong saw its October hourly rainfall record broken by thunderstorms from Sarika on October 19. A person went missing after a boat capsized near Wang Chau Island. Gusty winds and torrential rains affected Hainan, Guangxi, and Guangdong. In particular, Sarika was the strongest October typhoon to hit Hainan since 1971, where nearly 6,000 houses were damaged, 130,000 people lost access to telecommunications services, and almost 381,000 hectares (940,000 acres) of banana, cassava, papaya, and rubber crops were impacted. Direct economic losses in the province reached ¥4.56 billion (US$686 million). Another 165,000 hectares (410,000 acres) of crops were damaged in Guangxi and Guangdong. In total, Sarika killed at least one person and caused economic losses reaching US$894 million. (Full article...)
The fortifications of Xi'an (Chinese: 西安城墙), also known as Xi'an City Wall, in Xi'an, represent one of the oldest, largest and best preserved Chinese city walls. It was built under the rule of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang as a military defense system. It exhibits the "complete features of the rampart architecture of feudal society". It has been refurbished many times since it was built in the 14th century, thrice at intervals of about 200 years in the later half of the 1500s and 1700s, and in recent years in 1983. The wall encloses an area of about 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi).
The Xi'an City Wall is on the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Site under the title "City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties". Since 2008, it is also on the list of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of the People's Republic of China. Since March 1961, the Xi'an City Wall is a heritage National Historical and Cultural Unit. (Full article...)
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Clockwise from top-left: Chiang inspecting soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army; NRA troops marching north; an NRA artillery unit in combat; civilians showing support for the NRA; peasants volunteering to join the expedition; NRA soldiers preparing to launch an attack.
The second phase of the Expedition began in January 1928, when Chiang resumed command. By April 1928, the nationalist forces had advanced to the Yellow River. With the assistance of allied warlords, including Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, nationalist forces secured a series of decisive victories against the Beiyang Army. As they approached Beijing, Zhang Zuolin, leader of the Manchuria-based Fengtian clique, was forced to flee, and was assassinated shortly thereafter by the Japanese. His son, Zhang Xueliang, took over as the leader of the Fengtian clique, and in December 1928, announced that Manchuria would accept the authority of the nationalist government in Nanjing. With the final piece of China under KMT control, the Northern Expedition concluded successfully and China was reunified, heralding the start of the Nanjing decade. (Full article...)
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Red yeast rice or red rice koji is a bright reddish purple fermented rice, which acquires its color from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus. Red yeast rice is what is referred to as a kōji in Japanese, meaning "grain or bean overgrown with a mold culture", a food preparation tradition going back to ca. 300 BC.
Foguang Temple (Chinese: 佛光寺) is a Buddhist temple located five kilometres from Doucun, Wutai County, Shanxi Province of China. The major hall of the temple is the Great East Hall, built in 857 AD, during the Tang dynasty (618–907). According to architectural records, it is the third earliest preserved timber structure in China. It was rediscovered by the 20th-century architectural historian Liang Sicheng (1901–1972) in 1937, while an older hall at Nanchan Temple was discovered by the same team a year later. The temple also contains another significant hall dating from 1137 called the Manjusri Hall. In addition, the second oldest existing pagoda in China (after the Songyue Pagoda), dating from the 6th century, is located in the temple grounds. Today the temple is part of a UNESCOWorld Heritage site and is undergoing restoration. (Full article...)
The Esing Bakery incident, also known as the Ah Lum affair, was a food contamination scandal in the early history of British Hong Kong. On 15 January 1857, during the Second Opium War, several hundred European residents were poisoned non-lethally by arsenic, found in bread produced by a Chinese-owned store, the Esing Bakery. The proprietor of the bakery, Cheong Ah-lum, was accused of plotting the poisoning but was acquitted in a trial by jury. Nonetheless, Cheong was successfully sued for damages and was banished from the colony. The true responsibility for the incident and its intention—whether it was an individual act of terrorism, commercial sabotage, a war crime orchestrated by the Qing government, or purely accidental—both remain matters of debate.
In Britain, the incident became a political issue during the 1857 general election, helping to mobilise support for the war and the incumbent prime minister, Lord Palmerston. In Hong Kong, it sowed panic and insecurity among the local colonists, highlighting the precariousness of imperial rule in the colony. The incident contributed to growing tensions between Hong Kong's European and Chinese residents, as well as within the European community itself. The scale and potential consequences of the poisoning make it an unprecedented event in the history of the British Empire, the colonists believing at the time that its success could have wiped out their community. (Full article...)
Sun Yang (Chinese: 孙杨; Mandarin pronunciation:[swə́n.jǎŋ]; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and former world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and eleven-time world champion, he is the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. In 2017, NBC Sports described him as "very arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time".
In September 2018, Sun was involved in a controversial incident during an out-of-competition doping test at his home. The doping control assistant (DCA) lacked proper accreditation and took photos of Sun without his permission, leading him to refuse the blood sample collection. A security guard broke open the container to prevent the testers from taking the vials. The DCA later admitted to unprofessional conduct. FINA ruled that Sun did not violate anti-doping rules due to the DCA's actions. However, on 28 February 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned FINA's decision, banning Sun for eight years for tampering with the doping control process. Some analysts opined that the trial was marred by severe translation problems, conflict of interest, bias and an "absence of evidence" around doping activity. Despite this, CAS found no evidence of doping, so Sun retained his medals. On 22 June 2021, after a retrial, the CAS upheld the ban but reduced it to four years and three months. (Full article...)
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Illustration from Xiangzhu liaozhai zhiyi tuyong (Liaozhai Zhiyi with commentary and illustrations; 1886)
The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420, and was the imperial palace and winter residence of the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty (since the Yongle Emperor) to the end of the Qing dynasty, between 1420 and 1924. The Forbidden City served as the home of Chinese emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government for over 500 years. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts was built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. (Full article...)
Hon Chio Leong of Smart Life Racing Team won the Grand Prix from pole position after winning the qualification race the day before. Leong was the first Macau driver to win the Macau Grand Prix since André Couto in the 2000 race, and the third overall. Wing Chung Chang of the Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit Team finished second, and the podium was completed by the highest-placed Chinese driver, Li Sicheng of the LEO Geeke Team, who finished third. The race results earned He Zijian the Drivers' Championship and the LEO Geeke Team the Teams' Cup. (Full article...)
Image 7Red lanterns are hung from the trees during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Ditan Park (Temple of Earth) in Beijing. (from Chinese culture)
Image 18Photo showing serving chopsticks (gongkuai) on the far right, personal chopsticks (putongkuai) in the middle, and a spoon. Serving chopsticks are usually more ornate than the personal ones. (from Chinese culture)
Image 21Gilin with the head and scaly body of a dragon, tail of a lion and cloven hoofs like a deer. Its body enveloped in sacred flames. Detail from Entrance of General Zu Dashou Tomb (Ming Tomb). (from Chinese culture)
Image 44Birthplaces of notable Chinese philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thoughts in the Zhou dynasty. (from Chinese culture)
Image 45Relief of a fenghuang in Fuxi Temple (Tianshui). They are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. (from Chinese culture)
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The President of the Republic of China is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC).
The Constitution names the president as head of state and commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces (formerly known as the National Revolutionary Army). The president is responsible for conducting foreign relations, such as concluding treaties, declaring war, and making peace. The president must promulgate all laws and has no right to veto. Other powers of the president include granting amnesty, pardon or clemency, declaring martial law, and conferring honors and decorations.
The current President is Lai Ching-te(pictured), since May 20, 2024. Lai is a Taiwanese politician and former physician, who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China under the 1947 Constitution and the third president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
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