Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Nguyen An - The Vietnamese Eunuch Architect Who Rebuilt Beijing
Author: John Walsh -
Published: Mar 21, 2007 -
Nguyen An was taken as tribute from Vietnam to China and became a eunuch in service to the Chinese emperor. He achieved a successful career as an architect.
Nguyen An’s reputation is only beginning to be re-established in recent years, after he had been ignored for several centuries. He is coming to be seen as one of the most remarkable architect of China, despite having been taken from Vietnam as a boy and fated to become a eunuch in the service of five Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty, between the first and the fifth decades of the C15th.
Although Vietnam had established its independence of China by defeating the Mongol conquerors at the Battles of Bac Danh, a tributary system was still in operation. To demonstrate their willingness to enter into trade and alliance with Imperial China, neighbouring countries such as Vietnam would periodically send tribute missions to the Chinese emperor and would then be permitted to conduct trade at officially designated trading cities. It is unfortunate but nevertheless the case that people could be included as tribute goods, which is what happened to Nguyen An. The Chinese court had a long tradition of castrating male servants and, although it sounds barbaric and painful, becoming a court eunuch was regarded by some young men as a desirable career choice. A Eunuch presented no threat to the Emperor’s court of wives and concubines, it was thought, so would be more likely to participate in court and imperial household affairs. It appears that eunuchs had no limit on achievements and could even rise as high as did the great Admiral Zheng He.
Little is known of Nguyen An’s early years in China but he is recorded in Chinese chronicles as being instructed to design an overall plan for Beijing citadel, including numerous offices, houses and palaces, by the Emperor Taizong. Nguyen An had not yet reached the age of thirty. He gained considerable prestige and respect for his ability in managing a workforce of 10,000 soldiers in building the various buildings swiftly and according to budget. An enormous amount and variety of building materials was necessary and opportunities for error must have been enormous. Nguyen An’s reputation was made: his next task was to rebuild three temples and he managed this so successfully that the emperor rewarded him with fifty taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, eight tons of silk and 10,000 yuan in cash. From then onwards, he was kept busy with a dizzying array of architectural projects in Beijing and also along the river and canal system of China, on which cities and countryside alike relied for flows of food and goods, as well as transportation. Repairing and strengthening the dykes of the system was a large-scale undertaking.
Nguyen An achieved a great deal and was obviously a talented and diligent individual. It is impossible to know what he might have achieved had he been left to follow his destiny in his home country.
References and Further Reading
Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals Prior to the 20th Century (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2004).
John Walsh, Shinawatra University, March 2007
For more information, please click on the link listed below:
http://east-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/nguyen_an
Read more in China History Forum:
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9302
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t9302.html
Published: Mar 21, 2007 -
Nguyen An was taken as tribute from Vietnam to China and became a eunuch in service to the Chinese emperor. He achieved a successful career as an architect.
Nguyen An’s reputation is only beginning to be re-established in recent years, after he had been ignored for several centuries. He is coming to be seen as one of the most remarkable architect of China, despite having been taken from Vietnam as a boy and fated to become a eunuch in the service of five Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty, between the first and the fifth decades of the C15th.
Although Vietnam had established its independence of China by defeating the Mongol conquerors at the Battles of Bac Danh, a tributary system was still in operation. To demonstrate their willingness to enter into trade and alliance with Imperial China, neighbouring countries such as Vietnam would periodically send tribute missions to the Chinese emperor and would then be permitted to conduct trade at officially designated trading cities. It is unfortunate but nevertheless the case that people could be included as tribute goods, which is what happened to Nguyen An. The Chinese court had a long tradition of castrating male servants and, although it sounds barbaric and painful, becoming a court eunuch was regarded by some young men as a desirable career choice. A Eunuch presented no threat to the Emperor’s court of wives and concubines, it was thought, so would be more likely to participate in court and imperial household affairs. It appears that eunuchs had no limit on achievements and could even rise as high as did the great Admiral Zheng He.
Little is known of Nguyen An’s early years in China but he is recorded in Chinese chronicles as being instructed to design an overall plan for Beijing citadel, including numerous offices, houses and palaces, by the Emperor Taizong. Nguyen An had not yet reached the age of thirty. He gained considerable prestige and respect for his ability in managing a workforce of 10,000 soldiers in building the various buildings swiftly and according to budget. An enormous amount and variety of building materials was necessary and opportunities for error must have been enormous. Nguyen An’s reputation was made: his next task was to rebuild three temples and he managed this so successfully that the emperor rewarded him with fifty taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, eight tons of silk and 10,000 yuan in cash. From then onwards, he was kept busy with a dizzying array of architectural projects in Beijing and also along the river and canal system of China, on which cities and countryside alike relied for flows of food and goods, as well as transportation. Repairing and strengthening the dykes of the system was a large-scale undertaking.
Nguyen An achieved a great deal and was obviously a talented and diligent individual. It is impossible to know what he might have achieved had he been left to follow his destiny in his home country.
References and Further Reading
Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals Prior to the 20th Century (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2004).
John Walsh, Shinawatra University, March 2007
For more information, please click on the link listed below:
http://east-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/nguyen_an
Read more in China History Forum:
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9302
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t9302.html
Monday, March 3, 2008
Nguyen An - The Vietnamese Eunuch Architect Who Rebuilt Beijing
Author: John Walsh -
Published: Mar 21, 2007 -
Nguyen An was taken as tribute from Vietnam to China and became a eunuch in service to the Chinese emperor. He achieved a successful career as an architect.
Nguyen An’s reputation is only beginning to be re-established in recent years, after he had been ignored for several centuries. He is coming to be seen as one of the most remarkable architect of China, despite having been taken from Vietnam as a boy and fated to become a eunuch in the service of five Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty, between the first and the fifth decades of the C15th.
Although Vietnam had established its independence of China by defeating the Mongol conquerors at the Battles of Bac Danh, a tributary system was still in operation. To demonstrate their willingness to enter into trade and alliance with Imperial China, neighbouring countries such as Vietnam would periodically send tribute missions to the Chinese emperor and would then be permitted to conduct trade at officially designated trading cities. It is unfortunate but nevertheless the case that people could be included as tribute goods, which is what happened to Nguyen An. The Chinese court had a long tradition of castrating male servants and, although it sounds barbaric and painful, becoming a court eunuch was regarded by some young men as a desirable career choice. A Eunuch presented no threat to the Emperor’s court of wives and concubines, it was thought, so would be more likely to participate in court and imperial household affairs. It appears that eunuchs had no limit on achievements and could even rise as high as did the great Admiral Zheng He.
Little is known of Nguyen An’s early years in China but he is recorded in Chinese chronicles as being instructed to design an overall plan for Beijing citadel, including numerous offices, houses and palaces, by the Emperor Taizong. Nguyen An had not yet reached the age of thirty. He gained considerable prestige and respect for his ability in managing a workforce of 10,000 soldiers in building the various buildings swiftly and according to budget. An enormous amount and variety of building materials was necessary and opportunities for error must have been enormous. Nguyen An’s reputation was made: his next task was to rebuild three temples and he managed this so successfully that the emperor rewarded him with fifty taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, eight tons of silk and 10,000 yuan in cash. From then onwards, he was kept busy with a dizzying array of architectural projects in Beijing and also along the river and canal system of China, on which cities and countryside alike relied for flows of food and goods, as well as transportation. Repairing and strengthening the dykes of the system was a large-scale undertaking.
Nguyen An achieved a great deal and was obviously a talented and diligent individual. It is impossible to know what he might have achieved had he been left to follow his destiny in his home country.
References and Further Reading
Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals Prior to the 20th Century (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2004).
John Walsh, Shinawatra University, March 2007
For more information, please click on the link listed below:
http://east-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/nguyen_an
Read more in China History Forum:
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9302
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t9302.html
Published: Mar 21, 2007 -
Nguyen An was taken as tribute from Vietnam to China and became a eunuch in service to the Chinese emperor. He achieved a successful career as an architect.
Nguyen An’s reputation is only beginning to be re-established in recent years, after he had been ignored for several centuries. He is coming to be seen as one of the most remarkable architect of China, despite having been taken from Vietnam as a boy and fated to become a eunuch in the service of five Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty, between the first and the fifth decades of the C15th.
Although Vietnam had established its independence of China by defeating the Mongol conquerors at the Battles of Bac Danh, a tributary system was still in operation. To demonstrate their willingness to enter into trade and alliance with Imperial China, neighbouring countries such as Vietnam would periodically send tribute missions to the Chinese emperor and would then be permitted to conduct trade at officially designated trading cities. It is unfortunate but nevertheless the case that people could be included as tribute goods, which is what happened to Nguyen An. The Chinese court had a long tradition of castrating male servants and, although it sounds barbaric and painful, becoming a court eunuch was regarded by some young men as a desirable career choice. A Eunuch presented no threat to the Emperor’s court of wives and concubines, it was thought, so would be more likely to participate in court and imperial household affairs. It appears that eunuchs had no limit on achievements and could even rise as high as did the great Admiral Zheng He.
Little is known of Nguyen An’s early years in China but he is recorded in Chinese chronicles as being instructed to design an overall plan for Beijing citadel, including numerous offices, houses and palaces, by the Emperor Taizong. Nguyen An had not yet reached the age of thirty. He gained considerable prestige and respect for his ability in managing a workforce of 10,000 soldiers in building the various buildings swiftly and according to budget. An enormous amount and variety of building materials was necessary and opportunities for error must have been enormous. Nguyen An’s reputation was made: his next task was to rebuild three temples and he managed this so successfully that the emperor rewarded him with fifty taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, eight tons of silk and 10,000 yuan in cash. From then onwards, he was kept busy with a dizzying array of architectural projects in Beijing and also along the river and canal system of China, on which cities and countryside alike relied for flows of food and goods, as well as transportation. Repairing and strengthening the dykes of the system was a large-scale undertaking.
Nguyen An achieved a great deal and was obviously a talented and diligent individual. It is impossible to know what he might have achieved had he been left to follow his destiny in his home country.
References and Further Reading
Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals Prior to the 20th Century (Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2004).
John Walsh, Shinawatra University, March 2007
For more information, please click on the link listed below:
http://east-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/nguyen_an
Read more in China History Forum:
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9302
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t9302.html
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Secrets of the Great Wall of China
Secret of Great Wall 1:
Secret of Great Wall 2:
Secret of Great Wall 3:
Secret of Great Wall 4:
Secret of Great Wall 5:
Secrets of Great Wall 6:
Secrets of Great Wall 7:
Secrets of Great Wall 8:
Secrets of Great Wall 9:
Secrets of Great Wall 10:
Secrets of Great Wall 11:
Secrets of Great Wall 12:
Secrets of Great Wall 13:
Secrets of Great Wall 14:
Secrets of Great Wall 15 (end):
HISTORY:
The Great Wall started as earth works thrown up for protection by different States. The individual sections weren't connected until the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). Qin Shihuangdi, First Emperor of Qin began conscripting peasants, enemies, and anyone else who wasn't tied to the land to go to work on the wall. He garrisoned armies at the Wall to stand guard over the workers as well as to defend the northern boundaries. The tradition lasted for centuries. Each dynasty added to the height, breadth, length, and elaborated the design mostly through forced labor.
It was during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) that the Wall took on its present form. The brick and granite work was enlarged and sophisticated designs were added. The watch towers were redesigned and modern canon were mounted in strategic areas. The Portuguese had found a ready market for guns and canon in China, one of the few items of trade that China didn't already have in abundance. The Ming Emperors, having overthrown the Hun dominance and expelled their Mongol rulers of the North devoted large portions of available material and manpower to making sure that they didn't return.
Throughout the centuries, armies were garrisoned along the length of the Wall to provide early warning of invasion and a first line of defense. Great piles of straw and dung used to build signal fires have been found during excavations. There must have been small garrison towns spotted along the length. There weren't many farms or trade towns to provide ease, relaxation and food. The supply trails were over mountains along narrow paths. To bring supplies to the top, ropes were slung over posts set in the Chinese side of the wall and baskets were hauled up hand over hand. Supplies must have always been short and chancy, particularly in the winter.
The Wall served well. Only when a dynasty had weakened from within were invaders from the north able to advance and conquer. Both the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368) and the Manchurians (Qing Dynasty,1644-1911) were able take power, not because of weakness in the Wall but because of weakness in the government and the poverty of the people. They took advantage of rebellion from within and stepped into the void of power without extended wars.
Over the past few centuries, the Great Wall has served as a source of building materials for local farms and villages. Aerial photos show that in sections, only the top battlements show -- the center of the wall has filled with sand and silt. The same brutal isolated conditions which made the Great Wall a triumph of engineering and determined planning make restoration problematic and slow.
For a complete listing of the world wonders, click on the link listed below:
http://wonderclub.com/AllWorldWonders.html
Secret of Great Wall 2:
Secret of Great Wall 3:
Secret of Great Wall 4:
Secret of Great Wall 5:
Secrets of Great Wall 6:
Secrets of Great Wall 7:
Secrets of Great Wall 8:
Secrets of Great Wall 9:
Secrets of Great Wall 10:
Secrets of Great Wall 11:
Secrets of Great Wall 12:
Secrets of Great Wall 13:
Secrets of Great Wall 14:
Secrets of Great Wall 15 (end):
HISTORY:
The Great Wall started as earth works thrown up for protection by different States. The individual sections weren't connected until the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). Qin Shihuangdi, First Emperor of Qin began conscripting peasants, enemies, and anyone else who wasn't tied to the land to go to work on the wall. He garrisoned armies at the Wall to stand guard over the workers as well as to defend the northern boundaries. The tradition lasted for centuries. Each dynasty added to the height, breadth, length, and elaborated the design mostly through forced labor.
It was during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) that the Wall took on its present form. The brick and granite work was enlarged and sophisticated designs were added. The watch towers were redesigned and modern canon were mounted in strategic areas. The Portuguese had found a ready market for guns and canon in China, one of the few items of trade that China didn't already have in abundance. The Ming Emperors, having overthrown the Hun dominance and expelled their Mongol rulers of the North devoted large portions of available material and manpower to making sure that they didn't return.
Throughout the centuries, armies were garrisoned along the length of the Wall to provide early warning of invasion and a first line of defense. Great piles of straw and dung used to build signal fires have been found during excavations. There must have been small garrison towns spotted along the length. There weren't many farms or trade towns to provide ease, relaxation and food. The supply trails were over mountains along narrow paths. To bring supplies to the top, ropes were slung over posts set in the Chinese side of the wall and baskets were hauled up hand over hand. Supplies must have always been short and chancy, particularly in the winter.
The Wall served well. Only when a dynasty had weakened from within were invaders from the north able to advance and conquer. Both the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368) and the Manchurians (Qing Dynasty,1644-1911) were able take power, not because of weakness in the Wall but because of weakness in the government and the poverty of the people. They took advantage of rebellion from within and stepped into the void of power without extended wars.
Over the past few centuries, the Great Wall has served as a source of building materials for local farms and villages. Aerial photos show that in sections, only the top battlements show -- the center of the wall has filled with sand and silt. The same brutal isolated conditions which made the Great Wall a triumph of engineering and determined planning make restoration problematic and slow.
For a complete listing of the world wonders, click on the link listed below:
http://wonderclub.com/AllWorldWonders.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)