hangzhou

  • Unyielding Spirits: The Resistance Against the Qing [Ming]

    Brief: This article recounts the Southern Ming resistance against the Qing. The Hongguang regime in Nanjing fell due to internal strife; Shi Kefa died defending Yangzhou. The Qing’s queue order sparked fierce uprisings in Jiangyin and Jiading. Heroes like Xia Wanchun chose martyrdom, yet royal factionalism doomed the loyalist cause.

  • The Melody of Dadu: Culture and Transition in the Yuan Dynasty [Song & Yuan]

    Introduction: This article explores the cultural and social changes under the Yuan Dynasty. Kublai Khan unified China and built Dadu as a global capital. The Grand Canal and advanced astronomy flourished, while Yuan drama emerged as a major art form. Despite ethnic hierarchy, the era saw rich cultural fusion before succession crises weakened the…

  • Spring View in Hangzhou [Tang Poems]

    — Bai Juyi Viewed from the Seaside Tower morning clouds look bright; Along the riverbank I tread on fine sand white. The General’s Temple hears roaring nocturnal tide; Spring dwells in the Beauty’s Bower green willow hide. The red sleeves weave brocade broidered with flowers fine; Blue streamers show amid pear blossoms a shop…

  • A Spring Walk by Qiantang Lake [Tang Poems]

    — Bai Juyi West of Jia Pavilion and north of Lonely Hill, Water brims level with the bank and clouds hang low. Disputing for sunny trees, early orioles trill; Pecking vernal mud in, young swallows come and go. A riot of blooms begins to dazzle the eye; Amid short grass the horse hoofs can…

  • The Chan Master who pocketed his fame

    Chan Master Chongxian (980–1052), also known as Xuedou Chongxian, was a prominent Chinese Chan (Zen) master of the Song Dynasty. He is best known for his “Collection of Gathas on the Blue Cliff Record” (Biyan Lu), a classic Chan text that became one of the most influential works in Zen literature.