V.I.P Jiu 8 Baijiu Blog

China enjoys a rich and illustrious history that has enjoyed a number of twists and turns. One of the most fascinating elements of Chinese history is the nation’s Imperial dynasties. Emperors ruled over China since before records were kept, right up until 1912.

For many, the greatest Chinese ruler of all time was the Kangxi Emperor. Kangxi (which loosely translates as, “peaceful harmony”) was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and ruled over China for 61 years.

The nation was recoiling from a period of unrest and chaos when Kangxi took the throne, but he managed to turn China’s fortunes around. Many historians refer to this reign as, “the prosperous era of Kangxi and Qianlong.”

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As we write this in the year 2019, China is likely to step into a position of global leadership. The nation finds itself buoyed by an increasingly strong economy and impressive military structure.

In many respects, this is a reflection of a proud and illustrious history. For centuries, China was the dominant force throughout Asia. Emperors of several dynasties ruled over a flourishing land. Perhaps more importantly, China was considered vast and unknowable to foreign visitors. Very few outsiders were permitted to enter China. If access was granted, it was by invitation of the ruling Emperor.

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I was inspired to take little snippets from the book “Self-portrait of Kang-hsi” by Jonathan D Spence. In the hope it would encourage people to read the book.

A must for anyone wanting to better know the greatest Emperor China ever had.

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Britains Forgotten Heroes – The Chinese Labour Corps: They served under British colours, they served under British command and many never returned home. Britain owes them a debt a huge debt.

The centenary of World War I has been and gone, but the scars of this conflict live on in the psyche of countless nations.

One country that is rarely mentioned when discussing casualties of The Great War is China. This is a gross injustice. Almost 100,000 brave young men from China left their home country to work on behalf of Britain and France during the war, and many never returned home.

History may have forgotten the loss of these souls, but their sacrifice must be celebrated in the future. Perhaps more importantly, the appropriate gratitude must be shared. To quote Laurence Binyon’s celebrated poem For the Fallen, “we will remember them.”

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How and why the name Peking changed to Beijing is a source of sleepless nights to many modern, western thinkers. Actually, it didn’t change. It is just “spelled” differently. I say “spelled” because Chinese isn’t actually alphabetized, but is phonetically rendered into “English” script in a way that represents its sounds.

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In the last couple of decades there has been an increasing interest in Fengshui in the West. Fengshui is often translated into English as Chinese geomancy, which means something like “earth divination.” The Chinese word consists of two characters, meaning “wind and water.” It is a form of science or magic that is concerned with the layout of the terrain and archicture, and its influences on human life.

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This is an often debated question that interests both Chinese and non-Chinese people. Some say, it is 3,000 years old, others say it is twice as much. The answer really depends on the understanding of the word “writing.” Without a clear understanding what writing is, there is no point in arguing over time periods.

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One of the great mysteries of ancient China is the origin and meaning of the terrifying animal faces on Shang ritual vessels. These faces look down on us from the distance of 3,000 years but are just as awe and terror-inspiring as they were during the Shang period. Although the pattern occurs on virtually all bronze vessels, almost nothing is known today about them, except their name: Taotie (Chinese: 饕餮). A later source reveals that the taotie is man-eating beast that harms people. The ferocious look of the face would seem to confirm this hypothesis.

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Much has been said about the meaning and explanation of decoration on the Shang ritual bronzes. There is a distinct disagreement among the researchers of ancient China whether the design on the vessels has any meaning at all. Some scholars, like S. Allen and K.C. Chang, believe that the decorations are directly related to mythology and are representing the religious ideology of Shang people; other scholars argue that the design is purely decorative and has no religious connotation.

Robert W. Bagley’s article on the meaning of Shang bronze art raises the same problem: do the Shang bronze decoration motifs have a meaning at all or are simply of decorative value? Bagley insists that the design of ritual utensils is ornamental and cannot be traced back to Shang religion or mythology.

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Chinese Herbal Medicine is the oldest practiced medicine which goes back more than 5,000 years. The discovery of herbal medicine is ascribed to the legendary emperor Shen Nong (3494 BC). He introduced agriculture to his people and became enchanted by the medicinal properties of various plants. The discoveries of the Shen Nong era were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, since there were no written records at this time. Myths and facts are therefore hard to distinguish.

It took approximately 2,000 years until the discoveries of Shen Nong and his followers were committed to writing. Many remedies and concepts could stand the test of time and their effectiveness has been proven by modern science as well.

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