Tag: Chinese

Analogs of the Christian Bible’s Epic of Noah’s Ark

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In London, England in 2014, Dr. Irving Finkel, one of, if not the worlds most foremost authoritive upon cuneiform writing, published a book entitled “The Ark Before Noah” which states that a 3700 year old Sumerian tablet translated by Finkel depicts the Christian biblical story of Noah and the flood which drowned the world. This tablet is at the very least 1000 years older than that of the Biblical epic. In the Christina Bible, Noah is warned of a cataclysmic flood by God. A similar story exists in ancient Indian Vedic texts in which King Manu was forewarned by Lord Vishnu in the form a fish, of a great flood impending, with Manu constructing a large boat and ultimately surviving. In the Babylonian poem the Epic of Gilgamesh, the protagonist Utnapishtim (pronounced “ut-nah-pish-tim”) is advised of an impending flood by the god Enki (pronounced “en-kee”). In ancient Aztec culture, a sacred male and female couple hide within a hollow tree with corn while holding steady as the deluge of a great flood envelops the Earth. Ancient Celtic, Norse, and Chinese mythology also account similar stories in which a great flood occurs and only some survive. The common denominator between all of these stories is intervention by a force which knew ahead of time of the impending cataclysm

The Development of Japanese Tea Gardens and Tea Houses

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The Japanese tea garden is the antithesis of the Buddhist Zen garden and originated in the 9th century after tea was imported into Japan from China. Buddhist monks would drink Chinese tea to keep themselves awake during long meditation sessions. Over the subsequent centuries, tea drinking became an elaborate practice which was highly ritualized with samurai, geishas, and monks all serving tea using these same concepts. Japanese tea gardens developed during the 16th century with direct influence from the concepts of tea ceremonies, designed and constructed to surround tea houses

The Most Successful Pirate In Human History

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The most successful pirate in human history was Ching Shih (pronounced “ching-she”) colloquially known as “Cheng I Sao” (pronounced “jung-ee-ss-ow”) which means “wife of Cheng I” in Mandarin. During the 19th century, Ching commanded 80,000 sailors, 1500 ships, and was able to talk herself out of imprisonment when finally captured by the Chinese monarchy. After acquiring amnesty from the Chinese state, Ching opened a casino, moving from notorious and infamous pirate, to legitimate business mogul in one swift motion

The Advent of Chinese Moveable Type

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The Chinese developed moveable type around 1040 A.D. during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng. Moveable type were essentially dies which were inked and pressed onto parchment of some kind (e.g. silk or paper). This invention was developed a full 400 years before Johan Gutenberg invented the printing press

Chinese Landscape Painting

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Landscape painting came into itself during the 10th century in China and by the 11th century, the art form had inlaid deep roots into the Song Dynasty and Chinese culture as a whole. Painting academies were established and books were written about the philosophy and practice of landscape art. It was believed by the Chinese that to be Chinese was to be civilized and to be civilized was to paint. While Europe was in the depths of the Dark Ages, and the Mayan civilization in Central America was collapsing, the Chinese were trading in paper money and developing and using advanced technologies like gun powder. Prospective Chinese bureaucrats were expected to demonstrate artistic talent by taking and passing examinations in calligraphy before being able to serve in government roles

Shipping Freighters Flying Flags of Convenience 

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The flags flown atop ships are also known as a “flag of convenience” as the owners of shipping companies and shipping vessels often fly a flag different from that of their own nationality or where their business is headquartered. Nations have 19 kilometers of territorial water which is considered part of their land, 322 kilometers of an exclusive economic zone in which countries can pull in ships for inspection and seize their goods or extract resources from the sea bed, and the high seas which belong to nobody. Ships are subject to the laws of the country of the flag they fly however most Greek, Japanese, Chinese, and German ships are registered in Panama, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, or Mongolia, slipping away from the laws of their country of origin, a move which can be very financially rewarding. Doing so allows companies to dodge taxes, safety standards and requirements, labor codes, and minimum wages. This method can reduce shipping costs by up to 65%. Countries promote the efficacy of flying their flag at large gatherings in an attempt to entice large shipping magnets into utilizing their flag which is a mutually beneficial endeavor as the country on the flag gets to collect taxes for its development and the company using the flag gets to save a lot of money, funds which would have been paid out in higher tax brackets had they used the flag of a wealthier nation. On top of all of these perks, most flags of convenience guarantee anonymity to their clients which helps ensure the entire industry is difficult to track and regulate

Human Remains Within the Great Wall of China

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When the craftspeople who built the Great Wall of China died during construction, their bodies were cremated and ground into a powder so that they could be mixed into the mortar of the bricks. The Chinese sometimes refer to the Great Wall of China as the “Wall of Tears” because of this. Over 400,000 people died during the construction process. Rice was added to the mortar which was placed in between each brick as it helped to bind each brick together so tightly that weeds could not grow through, but was also waterproof and resistant to earthquakes due to the flexibility it provided to the mortar

The Meaning of Comets and Asteroids Throughout History and the Fallacy of Patterns

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Comets and asteroids meant different things to different cultures throughout history. To the Masai of East Africa they meant famine, to the Zulu of South Africa they meant war, to the Ighat* of West Africa they meant disease, to the Jaga of Sier* they meant smallpox, and to their neighbors the Luba, they foretold the death of a leader. The Chinese tracked and cataloged comets and asteroids starting in 1400 B.C. In Chinese mythology, a 3 tailed comet or asteroid meant calamity for the state, and a 4 tailed comet or asteroid signaled an epidemic was coming. The human being ability to recognize patterns can be a double edged sword as it can lead us to believe a pattern exists when really there is no correlation between the before scenario and after event. This phenomena is referred to as “post hoc ergo propter hoc” which is Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”. Post hoc ergo propter hoc explains a logical fallacy which states “since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.” This theory of thought is often shortened to simply “post hoc fallacy”. An example of this incorrect theory of thought would be “the rooster crows immediately before sunrise; therefore the rooster causes the sun to rise”. Oddly enough, the reason roosters crow at sunrise is because they actually believe they are prompting the sun to rise into the sky due to their limited brain capacity and ability to utilize logic and/or reason

*spelling may be slightly inaccurate for the indigenous people listed