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Back to the Imperial Punishment System?
China's Response to Tire Tariff
Japanese SuperHero Ultraman has Chinese Ancestor?
 Thanks to Danwei for the picCute: The sun god from the neolithic Hong Shan culture has big eyes, a tapering head, pokerface mouth. We can only wonder what mystical powers the Hong Shan sun god may have been capable of, besides harnessing the sun. I'm guessing it won't be called a god if its powers aren't ehmm.. awesome. The Hong Shan culture is dated 4,700 BC 2,900 BC and artifacts from that culture have been found in Inner Mongolia to Liaobei and Hebei. Most notable from this era are the jade carvings produced then, the most popular being the jade pig dragon and the C-dragon amulets. However, there are also other interesting pieces unearthed from the Hong Shan time such as clay figures of pregnant women, copper rings, altars with mural paintings...please do read more about these, it's all very interesting. Fast forward to 1970s in Japan : Here is a silver colored guy named Ultraman - with big eyes, tapering head and pokerface mouth as well. This silver dude also has powers, also super, as it frequently saves the world from big (!) bad monsters. Wonder if they are distant relatives... both look alike and have special powers. Next time your son or daughter tunes in to Ultraman, you can point out that there's this really cool being who looks like Ultraman, also Chinese and waaaaaaaaaaay older than the monster bashing superhero! (that's also your cue to insert some Chinese history in without your kid noticing it ;-) Labels: Chinese History
Ruins of "Great Leap Forward" Discovered
Backyard furnaces in Sunan, Gansu
Photo from Danwei.orgRead from Danwei that 159 backyard iron furnaces from the Great Leap Forward were recently discovered in Sunan County. Some were in ruins, about 50 were still intact. The smelters stand 8 meters high and upto 14 meters around. The county government has named the ruins a protected cultural site. In 1958 a law called on the Party and the People to strive to produce 10.7 million tons of steel. Wu Zuolai, a cultural critic and president of the journal "Theory and Criticism of Art and Literature," noted that this mass movement to produce steel also had some serious effects on the environment and culture. Whole forests were torn down to accommodate furnaces. Historical sites, such as the 2 towers of Hangu Pass that had 2000 year old inscriptions were torn down. Areas that couldn't produce sufficient steel had its people melting their own cooking pots. The result was a huge amount of unusable iron. Ah, sacrifices "for the sake of progress." Wu Zuolai asks readers to learn from history. It was stressed that the ruins be preserved, and not repeat the mistakes done (that is, tearing down historical artifacts) when these furnaces were constructed. Most importantly, it is recommended that the recollections of the people involved with the Great Leap Forward then be recorded, so that the current generation may learn from history. Labels: Chinese History
Historical Chinese Pictures to See with your Child
Here's an interesting site that you and your family might like to browse over for everybody to see how China was in the olden years. It also has other photographs that show old Taiwan, Chinese in San Francisco and many more treasures. The impressive collection is offered by Thomas H. Hahn. He is a lecturer at Cornell, author and undoubtedly very passionate about the Chinese culture. Here is a sample photo I borrowed from his site : 
1892 pic of Chinese in San Francisco
from Thomas H.Hahn Docu-ImagesThomas says he has more pictures that are not featured in the site, so you can just email him to ask if has any that you are interested to see. You can also share if you have old, treasured photos you want others to see. Here is the url of his website: http://hahn.zenfolio.com/f240852810
Please also check out our Chinese history books for kids too. Hope you have fun looking at the pictures. :-) Labels: Chinese Culture, Chinese History
China tries to stop Paris auction
China tries to stop Paris auction - BBC News. When my wife was in London on a foreign exchange semester, while we were engaged, an older gentleman offered to show her some stuff his family had gotten in China during one of the many interventions by foreign troops. Not sure if it was the Boxer Rebellion, Opium Wars, or ? Labels: Chinese History
Angel Island - the Chinese Ellis Island
Chinese History
I bought a series of DVD's called from Yao to Mao from by the Teaching Company, and today I watched the first 2 episodes of the 36 episode series. The lecturer, Ken Hammond, did a pretty good job. My parents, who I invited over for lunch and to watch the DVD's, commented they did the very good job with an area that is usually pretty boring. Minor points they would have liked to have seen more the bronzes (what do you expect from people to whom history is a hobby, and have Master's in it). The background of Ken Hammond is amazing what he has gone through. Someday I would like to take one of the tours his wife offers of China through the Smithsonian. OK, may be I use google a bit to much when I get curious on a subject... The first two lectures were on the area of history I usually don't find very interesting, pre-historic and to me general background and were very well done. My plan is to watch two episodes every week. Chinese history as I mentioned before is an area I have not formally studied, but I would like to learn more about. Some books I carry about Chinese History:  |  | | | | | The Great Voyage of Zheng He, Bilingual Book | Our Price: $16.95
Sale Price: $14.95
You Save $2.00!   |
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Bilingual in English & Traditional Chinese
- Zheng He is the famous Chinese Admiral that lead seven naval expeditions for the Emperor.
- His expeditions stunned the world with its daring exploration, immense wealth, and military might.
Great introduction book for children to learn about Chinese history
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Labels: Chinese History
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