#Eastern Han dynasty

[theancientwayoflife]

東漢（鮮卑文化） 鎏金翼馬紋銅飾板

~ Plaque with a Winged Horse.

Period: Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), Xianbei culture

Date: 1st century

Culture: North China

Medium: Gilt bronze

[artifacts-archive]

Pigsty with Tower

China, Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25–220)

[chinesehanfu]

【Reference Artifacts】

Chinese Western Han Dynasty-Eastern Han Dynasty(202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD) Murals and Stone Carvings

the court dress of Civil Officials during the Eastern Han(25-220)dynasty.

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 A.D.) Hanfu-Civil Officials Based On Han Dynasty Relics

【History Note】

 In the Eastern Han Dynasty, officials were divided into civil officials(文官) and military officials (武官),and civil officials usually wore black robes and a cloth crown called "Jinxian Crown/進賢冠" on their heads.

The military officer (武官) is different from the civilian officer. They wear red robes and wear a crown call” Wubian DaGuan/Huben crown(武弁大冠 or 虎贲冠)”,These crown is characterized by always having two feathers on it

Refer to the picture below to distinguish between civil officials and military officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty

pic from Romance of the Three Kingdoms (TV series in 1994)

During the Three Kingdoms period(220–280 AD) in China (the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty), Zhuge Liang(諸葛亮), a well-known Chinese military engineer, strategist, statesman, and writer should wear the above civil official clothes when meet the emperor instead of wearing the clothes like below:

・↑Portrait of Zhuge Liang in the China Ming Dynasty(1368-1644 AD).

・↑The image of Zhuge Liang produced by a Japanese game company

----

The above image is the image of Zhuge Liang imagined by later generations combine with the actual costumes at the Song Dynasty(960–1279 AD) in China.

The Three Kingdoms game, including those made by the Japanese, is also based on the image of Zhuge Liang imagined and drawn by people after the Song Dynasty(960–1279 AD).

Which is not conform to the clothing that Zhuge Liang should have worn in  Three Kingdoms period(220–280 AD,the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty)

________________

🙋‍♂️Model & Recreation Work：@柿子菌stargazer

📸Photo： @张宇莹-小花

🎨Painting Artist:@白人阿又

🔗Weibo：https://weibo.com/1812652835/N1w7AClHo & https://weibo.com/6137313995/Msbxt7ynG

________________

[247reader]

Day 11: Yin Lihua!

Yin Lihua was born during the troubled end of China's Western Han Dynasty. She met her future husband, Liu Xiu, a farmer and distant relative of the royal house, when both were young; he supposedly remarked after their first meeting that "If I were to be an offical, I want to be Mayor of the Capital; if I were to marry, I want to marry Yin Lihua."

Soon after their marriage, her husband joined the rebellion against the usurper Wang Mang; he would be separated from Lihua for years, only reuiniting with her after he had declared himself Emperor... and after he had made a second, political marriage to a powerful general's niece, who had born him a son. Despite this, he still wanted to name Lihua his empress - it was she who refused, as she and her husband had no children together. She became Consort Yin, while Lady Guo took the throne of empress.

This, however, put the three in an awkward situation. Yin Lihua and Emperor Guangwu were, despite everything, still very much in love, and over the ensuing years had not one but five sons. This was a situation that some women would, historically, solve with murder, but Lihua instead seems to have tried to keep the peace - a situation the (understandably) frustrated Empress Guo made increasingly difficult.

In 41 AD, the Emperor deposed Empress Guo in favor of Yin Lihua, though he continued to treat her family with great favor and gave her the unique title of Princess Dowager by promoting her son. Lihua was a modest, circumspect empress, determined to promote harmony and not to over-promote her family. Her son Liu Zhuang succeeded his father as Emperor Ming; he would begin the Eastern Han Dynasty's golden age.

[niteshade925]

As a Three Kingdoms fan, finally......recreation of Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era military officials' attire, by 柿子菌Stargazer

Bgm is a xiao cover of "The Skies of History" (ED theme of 1994 TV show Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

“吾剑也未尝不利！”😀

[beehunni62]

The Advisors Alliance Translation Post 2: “Husband, don’t cross the river. Husband, nonetheless, crossed the river.”

The Advisors Alliance 大军师司马懿之军师联盟 is a 2017 two-part Chinese TV series depicting the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military strategist who lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty 东汉 (25 CE - 220 CE) and the Three Kingdoms Period 三国時代 (220 CE - 280 CE). [Wikipedia of the show’s first season]

The second part is titled Growling Tiger Hidden Dragon 虎啸龙吟 and keeps following Sima Yi’s life as he matures and becomes wiser [Link to the show’s second season’s MyDramaList page].

The Weibo account [Link] of the show made a series of posts in the style of small encyclopedias explaining different historical and cultural facts that where included in the series. The user @moononmyfloor compiled the 50 posts and asked me to translate them. This will be an ongoing series where I will do just that.

The posts are not in order of the episodes but I will provide the episode and season number to avoid confusion. If there are any mistakes in translation, do let me know in the comments or privately message me and I will do my best to fix them. Although I tried to stay as close as possible to the original text, I had to take some liberties in some posts to get the meaning across better. On the side, I have included extra information from personal research that explains certain things better.

If it is difficult to read the letters, tap or click on the image to expand it. Without more preamble, here you go.

Extra information:

Yuefu (乐府), literally Music Bureau, are a genre of ancient Chinese folk songs that, either imitate the style of, or are from the Imperial Music Bureau. The latter was an institution in charge of collecting and writing lyrics to folk songs. Yuefu are known for having strict syllabic rules that change from dynasty to dynasty.

《公无渡河》 is also known as Kong Hou Yin (箜篌引). Konghou is an ancient Chinese stringed instrument similar to a harp. A Yin (引), in this context, is another type of ancient music poetry that has a freer syllabic structure and is characterized by long syllables that go well with the melody of the konghou. Below is a picture of the instrument:

Vertical konghou 箜篌 in exhibit at the Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, China. Taken on May 10, 2013 by Gary Todd [image source].

Allow me to clarify something. The folk song 《公无渡河》 was recorded by Cui Bao in "Notes on Ancient and Modern Times" to be of Gojoseon origin. As such, Koreans consider it to be their oldest surviving folk song.

The Chinese consider it a Chinese Han Dynasty song on account of the tale being set and song created in the Lelang Commandery [108 B.C.E. - 313 C.E.] which is one of the four regions Gojoseon was split into while under Han rule. Koreans consider the residents of Lelang, and the other commandaries, to be Gojosen Koreans who retained a separate culture to the Han Chinese. If you wish to conduct further research into the song, don’t get surprised if you read different names for the characters that appear in the story.

Koreans call the song "Gongmudohaga (공무도하가)” and the ferryman Gwaklijago (곽리자고). The Korean folk tale differs from the Chinese retelling in that the Korean name of Gwaklijago wife, who is credited with creating the actual song, according to certain Chinese and Korean retellings, is Yeo-ok (여옥) rather than Li Yu (丽玉). In Cao Yong and Cui Bao’s retellings, the wife of the drowned drunk man created the song while, in the Korean version, it was the wife of the ferryman who, upon learning about what had transpired from her husband once he came home, created the song on her harp, called in Korean gonghu (공후).

Many Chinese poets have retold the story in their own ways and added, omitted, or reinterpreted content. Some of said poets are Li Bai and Chen Shou of Shu Han. On top is Li Bai's version which lacks strict syllabic structure, a signature of his style and, on the bottom, Chen Shou's more structured one:

This expression 《公无渡河, 公竟渡河》 is often used as an allegory to satirize someone who is heading into clear danger but is too stubborn or obsessed to listen. If this person doesn't listen, then they are sure to run into trouble.

Catalogue (find the rest of the posts):

[yebreed]

A stuffed toy made in the likeness of the bronze horse artifact from the Eastern Han dynasty (Gansu Provincial Museum).

[angstandhappiness]

NEAT

historical chinese fashion for men by 老八捌

[artifacts-archive]

Pair of Braziers (Lu) with Eared Cups (Erbei)

China, late Western Han or early Eastern Han, 1st century B.C./1st century A.D.

Eared cups with warming stands were probably used to heat sauces for meat. Each side of these warming stands is cast with one of the Animals of the Four Directions (si shen)—the Green Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Black Warrior (tortoise and snake) of the North, and the Red Bird of the South. In Han art, the pervasive appearance of these symbolic animals reflects a desire to center the owner within the favorable influences of the universe.

[chinesehanfu]

【Historical Artifact Reference】:

Wei and Jin Dynasties Relics：<“Mulberry picking portrait brick/采桑画像砖>

[Hanfu・漢服]Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty--Wei and Jin Dynasties Traditional Clothing Hanfu & Hairstyls

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Recreation Work & Hanfu： @乔织原创汉服设计

🔗Taobao：

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[beehunni62]

Advisors Alliance Mini Encyclopedia Translation Post 19: Dogwood

The Advisors Alliance 大军师司马懿之军师联盟 is a 2017 two-part Chinese TV series depicting the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military strategist who lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty 东汉 (25 CE - 220 CE) and the Three Kingdoms Period 三国時代 (220 CE - 280 CE). [Wikipedia of the show’s first season]

The second part is titled Growling Tiger Roaring Dragon 虎啸龙吟 and keeps following Sima Yi’s life as he matures and becomes wiser [Link to the show’s second season’s MyDramaList page].

The Weibo account [Link] of the show made a series of posts in the style of small encyclopedias explaining different historical and cultural facts that where included in the series. The user @moononmyfloor compiled the 50 posts and asked me to translate them. This will be an ongoing series where I will do just that. Although I tried to stay as close as possible to the original text, I had to take some liberties in some posts to get the meaning across better. On the side, I have included extra information from personal research that explains certain things better.

The posts are not in order of the episodes but I will provide the episode and season number to avoid confusion. If there are any mistakes in translation, do let me know in the comments or privately message me and I will do my best to fix them.

If it is difficult to read the letters, tap or click on the image to expand it. Without more preamble, here you go.

There’s a typo. I meant “Ming Dynasty” not “Mind Dynasty”.

Extra information:

Double Ninth Festival, also known as Double Yang Festival and Chongyang Festival, is a Chinese holiday celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month in the traditional Chinese calendar. It’s called the Double Yang Festival 重阳节 [Trad. 重陽節] because nine, in Chinese culture, was regarded to be a Yang number (6 was Yin). As such, the ninth day of the nine month was considered to have very strong Yang energy and, thus, was auspicious. People celebrated it by climbing high places such as mountains (from there the festival also came to be known as the Height Ascending Festival 登高节), drinking chrysanthemum wine, eating chrysanthemum cakes, appreciating chrysanthemum flowers, wearing dogwood branches on the hair, and visiting the graves of ancestors to leave food, drinks, and gifts. The tradition of climbing mountains likely came from the worship of mountains as ancient Chinese people climbed them to pray and receive blessings from the gods and/or ancestors. The Double Ninth Festival predates the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Like all other traditional Chinese holidays, poets wrote poems dedicated to celebrating the auspicious days. The fragment of the poem that is mentioned at the beginning of the post is one taught to children in China in elementary school. It’s by the Tang poet Wang Wei 王维 and it’s titled 《九月九日忆山东兄弟》 [Trad. 《九月九日憶山東兄弟》]. Below is the poem in both simplified and traditional Chinese. I will leave a translation made by American Poet Witter Bynner below.

Traditional:

獨在異鄉為異客，

每逢佳節倍思親。

遙知兄弟登高處，

遍插茱萸少一人。

Simplified:

独在异乡为异客，

每逢佳节倍思亲。

遥知兄弟登高处，

遍插茱萸少一人。

Translation (On the Mountain Holiday Thinking of my Brothers in Shandong)

All alone in a foreign land,

I am twice as homesick on this day.

When brothers carry dogwood up the mountain,

Each of them a branch -- and my branch missing.

The three sacrificial animals 三牲 changed depending on the dynasty. For instance, nowadays, people associate the three sacrificial animals with chicken, pork, and fish. However, in the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty, people referred to the three sacrificial animals as cow, sheep, and pig. Variations also include chicken, duck (or geese), and fish. Another variation involves five animals instead of three: chicken, duck, pork, fish, and squid. The purpose of animal sacrifice was to ask the gods and ancestors for protection and/or blessings.

Picture showcasing the five animal sacrifices 五牲 of chicken, pork, fish, duck, and squid [image source].

Catalogue (find the rest of the posts):

[ziseviolet]

Chinese hanfu for men.

復興華夏風貌—— 東漢（Eastern Han）、盛唐（Tang）、晚明（Late Ming）

[blueiscoool]

A tortoise-form pottery inkstone and cover Eastern Han dynasty/Six Dynasties

The base cleverly modelled in reptile form, the animal standing four square with its head raised, the incised domed shell forming the removable cover. Length 14 cm, 5½ in.

[consortmadness]

Imperial Chinese Harem Systems part 3

Western Han

Empress (皇后 ; huáng hòu)

Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)

Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú), created by Emperor Wu

Lady of Graceful Beauty (娙娥; xíng é), created by Emperor Wu

Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá), created by Emperor Wu

Lady of Complete Deportment (充衣; chōng yī), created by Emperor Wu

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Virtuous Lady (良人; liáng rén)

Consort (八子; bā zi)

Lady (七子; qī zi)

Senior Palace Woman (長使; zhǎng shǐ)

Junior Palace Woman (少使; shǎo shǐ)

Lady for Miscellaneous Uses (五官; wǔ guān)

Lady of Complaisant Constancy (順常; shùn cháng)

Lady Without Impurity (舞涓; wǔ juān), Lady of Reverent Gentleness (共和; gòng hé), Lady who Pleases the Spirit (娛靈; yú líng), Lady who Could Comfort a Multitude (保林; bǎo lín), Lady of Excellent Employment (良使; liáng shǐ), Lady for Night Attendance (夜者; yè zhě)

The principal wife of the Crown Prince was called (妃; fēi). There also exists a sub-ranking system for concubines; they were called Ladies of Excellence (良���; liáng dì) and (孺人; rú rén). For grandchildren of the Emperor, their principal wives were called Madame (夫人; fū rén). Concubines for these people have no titles, and were simple called (家人子; jiā rén zǐ).

Eastern Han

Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Courtier (宮人; gōng rén)

Talented Lady (才女; cǎi nǚ

No limits were set for these consorts. This later created situations when more than 20,000 women were living in the palace during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling.

Three Kingdoms

Cao Wei

During the reign of Cao Cao (who was not an emperor but a king):

Queen (王后; wáng hòu)

Madame (夫人; fū rén)

Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)

Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)

Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

During the reign of Emperor Wen:

Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

Madame (夫人; fū rén)

Noble Imperial Concubines (貴嬪; guì pín)

Lady of Pure Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn)

Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)

Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng)

Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)

Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá)

Lady of Humble Capability (順成; shùn chéng)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Virtuous Lady (良人; liáng rén)

During the reign of Emperor Ming:

Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

Madame (夫人; fū rén)

Noble Imperial Concubines (貴嬪; guì pín)

Pure Consort (淑妃; shū fēi)

Lady of Pure Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn)

Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)

Lady of Bright Magnificence (昭華; zhāo huá)

Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng)

Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiū yí)

Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)

Lady of Lovely Countenance (傛華; rǒng huá)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Virtuous Lady (良人; liáng rén)

Northern & Southern Dynasties

Liu Song

1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

3 Madames (夫人; fū rén) Noble Imperial Concubines (貴嬪; guì pín), Consort (夫人; fū rén), and Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)

9 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín) Pure Consort (淑妃; shū fēi), Lady of Pure Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn), Lady of Warm Ceremony (淑儀; shū yí), Lady of Cultivated Splendidness (修華; xiū huá), Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng), Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiū yí), Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú), Lady of Everlasting Splendidness (傛華; yǒng huá), and Lady of Sufficient Splendidness (充華; chōng huá)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

From 456, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu:

1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

3 Madames (夫人; fū rén) Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi), Noble Imperial Concubines (貴嬪; guì pín), and Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)

9 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín) Pure Consort (淑妃; shū fēi), Lady of Pure Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn), Lady of Warm Ceremony (淑儀; shū yí), Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí), Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; zhāo róng), Lady of Bright Splendidness (昭華; zhāo huá), Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú), Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá), and Lady of Sufficient Splendidness (充華; chōng huá)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Lady of Regular Talents (中才人; zhōng cái rén)

Lady of Complete Deportment (充衣; chōng yī)

From the reign of Emperor Ming:

1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)

3 Madames (夫人; fū rén) Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi), Noble Imperial Concubines (貴嬪; guì pín), and Noble Concubine (貴姬; guì jī)

9 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín) Lady of Pure Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn), Lady of Pure Deportment (淑儀; shū yí), Lady of Pure Countenance (淑容; shū róng), Lady of Bright Splendidness (昭華; zhāo huá), Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí), Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; zhāo róng), Lady of Cultivated Splendidness (修華; xiū huá), Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiū yí), and Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng)

5 (職; zhí)

Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)

Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá)

Lady of Sufficient Countenance (充華; chōng huá)

Lady of Inherit Honor (承徽; chéng huī)

Lady of Kind Honor (列榮; liè róng)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Lady of Regular Talents (中才人; zhōng cái rén)

Lady of Talents (才人; cái rén)

Lady of Virtue (良人; liáng rén)

Lady of Complete Deportment (充衣; chōng yī)) Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)Lady of Lovely Countenance (容華; róng huá), Lady of Sufficient Countenance (充華; chōng huá), Lady of Inherit Honor (承徽; chéng huī), and Lady of Kind Honor (列榮; liè róng)

Beauty (美人; měi rén)

Lady of Regular Talents (中才人; zhōng cái rén)

Lady of Talents (才人; cái rén)

Lady of Virtue (良人; liáng rén)

Lady of Complete Deportment (充衣; chōng yī)

[ttoca]

Liu Yao’s Army ‘The Yang Alliance’

(Left to Right)

Top Row

Xu Gong, Taishi Ci, Ze Rong

Upper Middle Row

Lu Kang, Yan Baihu, Yan Yu

Lower Middle Row

Liu Xun, Zhou Xin, Zhu Hao, Sheng Xian

Bottom Row

Hua Xin, Liu Yao, Wang Lang

A motley collection of scholars, warriors, eccentrics and opportunists.

Ze Rong was a treat to design. I’m surprised he doesn’t get more attention in 3K-related media.

[angstandhappiness]

NEAT

dramas we finished and liked in the 2010s

secret of the three kingdoms / 三国机密 (2018)

The series is set in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Consort Wang, a concubine of Emperor Ling, has just given birth to a pair of twin boys – Liu Xie and Liu Ping – when she is poisoned to death by the jealous Empress He. While Liu Xie is raised by his grandmother Empress Dowager Dong and becomes emperor (as Emperor Xian) later, Liu Ping is secretly taken out of the palace and raised as a commoner. 

Eighteen years later, chaos have broken out throughout China as various warlords fight for power and control over territories. Emperor Xian has been reduced to the status of a puppet emperor under the control of a powerful warlord, Cao Cao. During this time, he learns that he has a secret twin brother, Liu Ping, so he summons his brother to the palace to help him save the Eastern Han dynasty from collapse. Throughout these years, Liu Ping has grown up with Sima Yi and never knew about his true origins until now.