#Fu Jin Sheng

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Legend of Two Sisters In the Chaos (2020)

Awesome trap, but still kind of funny.😆😉😊😋😎#孟子义 #汪卓成 #李治廷 #浮世双娇传 #shorts

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vQJ-Et4o74I

[reinaka42]

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) Masterpost

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) is a Vocal synth (Vocaloid and SynthV) music project. It consists of songs themed around different figures throughout Chinese history. The project is a collaboration between different artists and creatives, with music and videos featuring prominent traditional Chinese elements. The project's title translates to "The Records of Magnificence of the Wangchuan" - In Chinese mythology, "Wangchuan" (or River of Forgetting) is a river in the Underworld that can rid one of their past life's memories, similar to the river Lethe.

A mobile game adaptation has also been developed by NetEast. Unfortunately, I haven't played it so I can't give much insight on it. However, I assume that its premise is similar to that of the idea behind the project as a whole: all these historical figures meeting each other in the Underworld after they died. Maybe.

You can find all the songs on Bilibili. The official Weibo can be found here. The game's website, which includes all characters appearing so far in the game, can be found here, and its Weibo can be found here.

(If you prefer YouTube, I've also put together a handy playlist. Please know that most of these videos are reposts though, so please watch the original Bilibili MVs if you can!)

This blog is where I will be posting everything I feel like I need to say about the songs in this project. A lot of it is lifted from my Twitter account but will be in much more detail. Note that I probably won't touch collab songs, or songs that don't focus solely on the project's own characters.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Chinese, nor am I an expert on Chinese history. Therefore, I cannot reliably translate the lyrics to these songs, nor my words should be taken as gospel. I am merely a nerd gushing about my hyperfixation.

Playlist

多情岸 【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀 【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀 【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令 【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间 【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰 【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋 【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟 【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山 【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间 【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局 【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风 【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行 【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之 【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道 【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

水叙湖风 【Shui Xu Hu Feng】 (collab) ➼ B link

是非 【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

风起甘露 【Feng Qi Gan Lu】 (collab) ➼ B link

谓剑 【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

万象霜天 【Wan Xiang Shuang Tian】 (New Year event song) ➼ B link

千秋梦 【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安 【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊 【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

高歌破阵 【Gao Ge Po Zhen】 (collab) ➼ B link

不赴 【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行 【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家 【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱 【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国 【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎 【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂 【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

此期盈期 【Ci Qi Ying Qi】 (1st anniversary song) ➼ B link

破云来 【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟 【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋 【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦 【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行 【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间 【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 (2nd anniversary song) ➼ B link

问剑春秋 【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令 【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

人间应又雪 【Ren Jian Ying You Xue】 ➼ B link

旷古回响 【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声 【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

桃源故人 【Tao Yuan Gu Ren】 (3rd anniversary song) ➼ B link

*Note: The anniversary songs are probably for the game's anniversaries, as the project itself is more than 5 years old.

Albums

Vol 1: 溯洄 【Su Hui】 Includes character songs from Duo Qing An to Zhu Lin Jian. Features human vocals.

Vol 2: 踏浪 【Ta Lang】 Includes character songs from Tian Xia Ju to Jing Que.

Vol 3: 数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 Includes character songs from Bu Fu to Wang Yu Ren Jian, an unreleased song titled 燕双归 【Yan Shuang Gui】, and the two anniversary songs.

Visual character guide:

PRE-QIN | QIN | WESTERN CHU | HAN | THREE KINGDOMS | JIN | NORTH & SOUTHERN DYNASTIES | TANG | FIVE DYNASTIES & TEN KINGDOMS | SONG | YUAN | MING | QING | DREAM

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[thisisallthehattersfault]

Free name headcanons, get ‘em while they’re hot!

Note that I do Not speak Chinese and I am Not completely certain about any of these But! I have tried looking to see if other people have made posts about given name headcanons for some of the cast that only have courtesy names and found nothing so if I am Wrong I hope someone will please take pity and correct me. Nie Huaisang -- 涧 Jian, Mountain stream. Nie Mingjue -- 峰 Feng, Mountain peak. Nie Zonghui -- 峥 Zheng, lofty (of a mountain)

You probably noticed the theme! My only justification is “wouldn’t it be neat if it was a naming tradition among the Nie for the actual family to have like, cool environmental names?” and I don’t know enough about the language to come up with something fancy and clever so everybody is literally just getting named for Parts Of The Mountain. As far as I could find Zheng is actually technically a surname but I also didn’t find anything saying it couldn’t be a given name? If I’m wrong plz ups a bomb to my house at your earliest convenience UwU

Ouyang Zizhen -- 胜 Sheng, to defeat/to surpass/to be victorious 

Old man sect leader Ouyang wants to be big and important so bad and he’s fully heaping all those dreams and expectations onto his kid. Sorry Zizhen.

Mo Xuanyu -- 丽 Li, beautiful Mama Mo -- 爱 Ai, love/affection

The only thing we really know about Xuanyu is that he likes to wear makeup. Me being me, I’m gonna stretch that one (1) trivia fact into an entire character trait! Some of the only memories he has of his mother is that she liked pretty things, and whenever she could she would show them to him. Not just finely-crafted jewelry or intricately embroidered robes (although those too) but also beauty in nature, and stories, and music. Naturally, to her, there was nothing in the world more beautiful than her baby, and she told him that every day. And now all of us are sad.

Lan Jingyi --  欣 Xin, happy, joyful, delighted

My personal headcanons for the parents of the most un-Lan Lan are that they were pretty un-Lan Lans themselves; I like to think Jingyi’s father in particular was a loud, cheerful man who smiled a lot and loved to make new friends. Especially since Jingyi was def born during Sunshot, I think happiness is a good thing to hope for for your kid.

Jin Zixuan -- 富 Fu, rich, abundant, wealthy 

This one was actually kind of a fuck you from Guanshan. The Jin have money. As far as he’s concerned, that’s all that really matters? His kid is gonna be Richer Than You and there’s nothing you can do about it. No, he hasn’t put any actual thought into what kind of person his son is going to grow up to be or what hopes he has for his heir’s future, he doesn’t view his son as a person.

[bookofjin]

Account of the Di (WS101)

[I.e. the kingdom of Chouchi. This post covers down to the ascension of Yang Baozong in 429]

The Di are a separate kind of the Western Yi, titled the Baima. At the juncture of the Three Eras, perhaps Bai was a lord or chief, but in that period there was a single court audience. For that reason the Poetry claims:

Since those Di and Qiang, do not dare not to come to the King.

From Qin, Han and onwards, for generation they lived in Qi, Long and southwards, and Hanchuan and westwards, and established themselves as prominent leaders.

In the middle of Han's Jian'an [196 – 220] there was Yang Teng, he was a great leader of the section's family groups. Teng was brave, strong and with many plans and schemes. He was the first to move to Chouchi. Chouchi has an area of a hundred [bai] qing, because of that he used it as a title. [All] four sides are steep and sheer, and are 7 li tall. The road coils like goat intestines for thirty-six rotations. On its top is the source of the Feng river. They cook the earth to achieve salt.

After Teng there was someone named Qianwan. Wei designated him as King of the Baiqing Di. Qianwan's grandson was named Feilong. He gradually grew strong and flourishing, Emperor Wu of Jin made use of him as General who Pacifies the West.

He had no sons, and reared his sister's son Linghu Maosou as his son. Middle of Emperor Hui's Yuankang era [291 – 299], Maosou titled himself General who Supports the State and Worthy King of the Right, the crowd of Di pushed him forward as ruler. Many of the gentlemen Within the Passes who drifted and moved about relied on him. Emperor Min used him as General of Agile Cavalry and Worthy King of Left.

Maosou died, and his son Nandi controlled the position. He and his younger brother Jiantou divided the entourage. Nandi titled himself Worthy King of the Left and stationed at Xiabian. Jiantou titled himself Worthy King of the Right, and stationed at Hechi.

Nandi died, his son Yi was installed. He titled himself Envoy Holding the Tally, Dragon Prancing General, Worthy King of the Left, and Duke of Duke of Xiabian. He used Jiantou's son Pan as Envoy Holding the Tally, General of the Best of the Army, Worthy King of the Right, and Duke of Hechi. He was subject to Jin, and Jin used Yi as General who Conquers the South.

3rd Year [of Xiankang, 337 AD, per Songshu], Yi's senior kinsman Chu assaulted and killed Yi, and also gained his multitudes. He installed himself as Duke of Chouchi and was subject to Shi Hu. Later he claimed to be vassal to Jin. 10th Year of Yonghe [354 AD], changed Chu to be Duke of Tianshui.

11th Year [355 AD], Yi's younger brother Songnu sent his aunt's son Liang Sanwang to take the opportunity of attending to straight away with blade in hand kill Chu. Chu's son Guo led left and right to excute Sanwang and Songnu, and then installed himself as Duke of Chouchi. Huan Wen petitioned for Guo to be Inspector of Qin province, and for Guo's son An to be Grand Warden of Wudu.

12th Year [356 AD], Guo's junior uncle's son Jun killed Guo and installed himself. Guo's son An betrayed Fu Sheng, killed Jun, and then declared himself a vassal to Jin.

An died, his son Shi installed himself as Duke of Chouchi. Jin's 3rd Year of Taihe [368 AD], used Shi as Inspector of Qin province, and his younger brother Tong as Grand Warden of Wudu.

Shi died. Tong deposed Shi's son Zuan and installed himself. Tong was also named De. Zuan assembled a faction, assaulted and killed Tong, and installed himself as Duke of Chouchi. He dispatched envoys to go to Emperor Jianwen, who used Zuan as Inspector of Qin province. Jin's 1st Year of Xian'an [371 Ad], Fu Jian dispatched Yang An to invade Zuan. He overcame him, and moved his people to Within the Passes, and emptied the land of Baiqing.

At the death of Songnu, his two sons Fonu and Fogou escaped and ran to Fu Jian. Jian used [a daughter] as wife to Fonu's son Ding, and designated him as Master of Writing and [General who] Leads the Army. At the defeat of Fu Jian, Guanyou was disturbed and chaotic. Ding exhausted his strength for Jian. When Jian died, he led the multitudes to run to Longyou. He moved to govern Licheng, which is 120 li from Chouchi, and set up granaries and stores at Baiqing. He summoned the barbarians and the Xia, and obtained more than a thousand families. He declared himself Dragon Prancing General and Duke of Chouchi, and declared to be vassal to Jin. Xiaowu promptly used what he had titled himself to make use of him, and later used him as Inspector of Qin province. 4th Year of Dengguo [389 AD], he thereupon had the land of Qin province, and titled himself as King of Longxi. He was later killed by Qifu Qiangui. He had no sons.

Fogou's son Sheng first was overseeing the state, and defended Chouchi. He then controlled affairs, titled himself General who Conquers the West, Inspector of Qin province, and Duke of Chouchi, and conferred posthumous title on Ding as Martial [wu] King. He divided the various Di and Qiang to make twenty sections with Army-Protectors. Each he made a garrison posts, and he did not set up commanderies and counties. Thereupon he had the land of Hanzhong, but continued to declare to be vassal to Jin. Beginning of Tianxing [398 – 404], he dispatched envoys to court [i.e. the Wei court] with tribute. A decree used Sheng as Great General who Conquers the South and King of Chouchi. He was isolated and blocked off by Yao Xing, and did not mange to communicate annually with tribute and envoys. Sheng used his older brother's son Fu as General who Pacifies the South and Inspector of Liang# province, to defend Hanzhong. Middle of Liu Yu's Yongchu [420 – 422], ennobled Sheng as King of Wudu. Sheng died, his private posthumous title was Kind and Civil [huiwen] King. His son Xuan controlled the position.

Xuan, courtesy name Huangmei, was titled Great General who Conquers the West, Opening Office with Ceremony Similar to the Three Ministers, Inspector of Qin province, and King of Wudu. Though he was a declared vassal to Liu Yilong, he continued to defer to the symbol of Jin's Yongxi era. Later he started to use Yilong's Yuanjia calendar.

Earlier, Sheng spoke to Xuan, saying:

I am aged and already old, and will end as a subject of Jin. For you it is good to serve the Song emperor.

For that reason Xuan deferred to him.

Xuan was good at entertaining scholars, and was cherished by migrants and long-time [inhabitants]. 4th Year of Shiguang [427 AD], Shizu dispatched the Great Swan-geese Arranger, Gongsun Gui, to designate Xuan as Great General who Conquers the South, Chief Controller, Inspector of Liang# province, and King of Nanqin. Xuan sent up a petition to request to be aligned with inner vassals. Allowed it. Xuan died, his private posthumous title was Filial and Luminous [xiaozhao] King. His son Baozong controlled the position.

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[gaywatch]

Did you hear about (Epic of Divinity Light)? It is Donghua adaption of bl novel Ding Hai Fu Sheng Lu by author Fei Tian Ye Xiang. Summary: In order to stop a demon outbreak caused by the war between Qin and Jin Kingdoms, Chen Xing, the last surviving Exorcist, travels to Xiangyang City to find Xiangshu, who is destined to become his guardian. You can find it in Youtube if you want to watch it in your own time.

Ooooo haven't heard of that one, added to my list!

[notepadofalexandria]

The Chinese Tattoo Prank

I'm putting this here for posterity - this was originally on the now-defunct ZUG.com, and you can se the original at https://web.archive.org/web/20090605024522/http://www.zug.com/pranks/tattoo/index.html

The joke is a bit cruel, and involves engaging in some stereotypical behavior that does not age well. However, it's too good to let it languish in the wayback machine.

--------

The Chinese Tattoo Prank

by Whistler

PART 1 - THE SETUP

I get easily bored at work. One of the ways I amuse myself is by playing little tricks on my co-workers. The more elaborate the prank, the longer I'm able to remain amused, so I have no qualms about going to extraordinary lengths for a gag with the most minimal payoff. The punch line is not the point; it's the journey there that keeps me going.

My most recent scheme involved tattoos. I noticed how many people were getting tattoos of Chinese characters, and wondered why Americans of European descent think there is some special magical property to all things Asian. Buddhism, acupuncture, kung fu, feng shui: if this crap originated in Germany, no one would care.

"Wan shang an!" I'd shout out when he came in. "Hao chi bao fan jin wan?"

The guy would respond, sometimes in English, I think, but no one can understand him, so sometimes I think he responded in Chinese. Once I think he said, "Crazy," in English, but I can't really be sure.

"Song bie!" I called out as he left. And he never failed to wave.

Naturally, some of the people who work for me asked if I knew how to speak Chinese. "Not really," was my response.

Anyway, we're in the middle of the busiest time of the year at work, and we have about 100 temps working for us. It is out of this group that I pick my mark: a young woman, probably 20 or so, and very pretty, in a kind of higher-class New Jersey trailer-park way. Sort of a skinnier, dirty-blonde version of Jessica Alba. She has a little haze of pot smoke around her, and a Chinese character tattooed on her bicep.

She's working in our bindery, and the first copy of every job off the binding line has to come to my desk for approval. Eventually everyone has to come in here. Finally, my victim arrives.

----

PART 2 - THE PUNCHLINE

My victim, the 20-something girl with the Chinese tattoo, has just walked into my office. "Hao dan!" I start.

"Huhnwha?" she replies.

"Wu zhuang diao?"

"Are you talking to me?"

"Mei yu sheng han?"

She stands there, looking confused.

"You don't speak Chinese?" I ask.

"No, why?"

"Well, I saw the tattoo, and I thought you must."

"No."

So I launch into the questions: what made her decide on a Chinese symbol, who was the artist, were they Chinese, everything except what the symbol stood for. She stammers through the answers, which boil down to no real reason for the Chinese, no real interest in Asian culture or language, just got the tat from some white American dude in a shop in Sayerville. Then she launches into an explanation of what it means: inner peace or some nonsense.

"No," I tell her, "it says 'hao fu,' which means bean curd."

"What?"

"Bean curd. You know, like tofu. Kind of sounds like tofu -- hao fu, tofu, tofu, hao fu. Pleased to meet you!"

"There's no way," she says, "it means inner peace."

"Did you bring the art to him, or did you pick it from a book at his shop?"

"He had a bunch of them on the wall."

"Well, I think the guy is having you on," I tell her. "He probably copied a bunch of symbols from a take-out menu and hung them up on the wall."

"I don't believe it," she says.

"Well, believe what you want, but I spent six years in mainland China teaching English when I first got out of college, and I picked up a little bit of Mandarin while I was there."

"Oh, shit."

"Here, don't believe me, let's look at a menu." I lift up the blotter on my desk, and underneath it is a utili-jac (kind of a glassine envelope) filled with take-out menus. About halfway through the stack is one from The Great Wall.

Note: Not actual menu.

"Here it is, vegetarian meals, bean curd, HAO FU!" I hold out the menu, and there, in black and white, is the exact symbol she has on her arm (well, pretty close).

----------------

PART 3 - THE PAYOFF

Now, you don't have to be trained as a graphic artist, or working for a company on the cutting edge of printing technology, to be able to scan and doctor a take-out menu. But if someone you know is, you might want to be a little wary of any printed documents they show you as proof of something.

"Oh, shit."

"Look," I tell her, sympathetically, "it's not as if anyone will know. Outside of actual Chinese people. And it could still mean the same thing to you that it always did. Wow! I better get back to work. And you better get that sign-off book back out to your operator."

As she left the room, I called out cheerily, "Song bie!"

I looked back and everyone in the room was looking at me, silent.

"You guys think she bought it?" I asked.

"Shit," said my assistant, Sam, "I bought it."

General hilarity ensued, and many congratulations, and much admiration of my mad, leet graphix skillz, and passing around of the phony menu. Only Roberta, one of my project managers, was unimpressed. She thought it was mean. And started making me feel guilty. So I went out to the bindery to 'fess up and apologize.

The poor girl was sitting in a chair, surrounded by four or five of her co-workers, crying hysterically. She started threatening to drive down to Sayerville and stab the tattoo artist, or to just slice the tat off herself. The permanent staff in the bindery had agreed that I was probably fluent in Chinese. It took me nearly three quarters of an hour to convince her that the whole thing was a joke. I had to take her back in the office and show her the original menu, and the doctored version on my computer, and finally to call my mother on the phone and have her verify that I had never been to China.

So the joy of my successful prank has been pretty well dulled, and I'll probably be facing disciplinary action for this, but at least I got an article out of it.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Unexpected Marriage (2024)

Gifs of Intro of cdrama "The Unexpected Marriage"

ENG SUB 【拂玉鞍 The Unexpected Marriage】 EP01 刘长生遇难被吕敬救下，吕敬巧妙化解刘长生的“刁难”（漆昱辰、吴俊霆）

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrKjbUIWkaA

[dreamingsushi]

Till the End of the Moon - Episode 9

Last episode, Lan Yan betrayed Tantai Jin by giving him away to his brother, Tantai Minglang. Before jumping down in the river, he kills her. We’re still at the beginning of the series, so obviously he won’t die yet, neither did Susu when she jumped off the boat earlier, trying to escape. So let’s see what will happen now. I really pity Tantai Jin. No one has ever been truly kind to him. He’s rather awful to be honest, definitely not on my list of people I want to befriend, but he really never got at chance at being a good person. You can’t learn kindness when you were never shown any genuine kindness.

Susu is saved by an ancient artifact, it’s a piece of jade fabricated by a an old witch with thousands of celestial bone. She decides to take it and leave.

Nian Baiyu uses his talents to converse with animals to liberate himself and his guards so they can go find Tantai Jin. He asks his sister to take the girls back home while they go looking for their prince.

Obviously, Susu finds him first. He’s unconscious by the river side and she saves him. I would not recommend using her revival techniques, as they are quite wrong. Once someone is unconscious, don’t go trying to save him from choking. Just stick to proper CPR... I wish they would do things a little more properly. Not like doing actual CPR, because that would hurt the other actor, just... pretend it in the right manner. Anyways. She takes him to a wood cabin where she ties him and promises that she’ll bring him back to Sheng to have him thrown in jail, never to see the sky again, where he won’t be able to hurt anyone else. Also, she’ll always be watching over him. She gives him a beating for killing Lan An, but kind of feels bad when he tells her she betrayed him. They start grilling fish together.

Later on, Tantai Jin starts coughing blood because of the poison they injected through his eye. He doesn’t tell Susu about it. When she urges him to tell him what’s wrong, he feels people are coming and they run away. Those are Tantai Minglang’s soldiers. Susu distracts them, so Tantai Jin could escape. He still sends his crows to save her and catches her back when she’s about to get caught. And then, the prince and his soldiers bumps into Jing soldiers. In their land. So I guess it’s justified that they attack :D They take advantage of the fight to get away. They rest at the bottom of a tree and Tantai Jin coughs more blood. He tells Susu he was poisoned. She leaves him to get a remedy. She must save him.

Tantai Minglang is called back to his capital. So leaves catching Tantai Jin to his magic lady. Fu Yu I think that’s her name. I’m getting of giving up on learning all the character’s names.

While she tends to his wounds, Susu drops the jade she picked up from the river earlier. Tantai Jin wants to absorb it, wondering if it would work like the monster’s core. She tries to convince him not to because he’ll die if he does. But since he might die any time now because of the poison, he isn’t really that scared to try: he doesn’t have much to lose. She promises that she won’t let him die there and takes the jade away. She orders him to get some rest and when she’s asleep, he puts his head on her shoulder. He thinks again about when she said she protected him because she liked him and her answer explaining what it is to like. Poor thing. He’s definitely not done with pain.

The next morning, they bump into that underling that can do magic. Susu wants Tantai Jin to run away, but he says she has nothing to beat that girl and that he’ll take care of it. At first he uses some birds to take the blow for them, but when she throws another spell, he protects Ye Wuxi with his own body. Then she protects him from a spell and she’s now bound to die. He also won’t let her die until they resolve all the hatred between the two of them. So he decides to try and absorb the jade, she can’t prevent him from trying since she’s unconscious. Doing so and fighting Fu Yu or whatever her name is, he coughs even more blood. But it’s still not enough to completely defeat her and before he gets to kill her, she disappears. He’s in a pretty bad state. Before fainting, he tries to lift the curse from Ye Xiwu.

Susu wakes up to notice that he took the jade. So she tries to take it out of him. She meets with the witch that crafted it. She’ll take the curse instead of him. Since the jade took one of Tantai Jin’s eyes, she needs to trade one of hers with him. Even though she’s going to die, she still agrees to do it. The witch tells her where to go look to learn how to destroy the evil bone. Then as soon as the trade is over, she hears Nian Baiyu’s voice. She leaves him out for them to find him, until she can find a way to destroy the evil bone, than she’ll come back for him.

And that’s it for episode 9! Hopefully they won’t be apart for too long, because I actually really enjoy the chemistry between the two of them. I’m still against them becoming a couple though, the guy needs therapy, not a girlfriend. Plus the way he treated was pretty bad, even though he saved her a few times. That doesn’t erase the threats he made her. I need to go to bed, but I so want to watch another episode. This is how addictive this series is to me so far.

[nguyenthiennhuong]

Lời bài hát Thần Thoại Trăng Sao

Lời bài hát Thần Thoại Trăng Sao

jie kai wo zui shen mi de deng dai, xing xing zhui luo feng zai chui dong. Zhong yu zai jiang ni yong ru huai zhong, liang ke xin chan dou. Xiang xin wo bu bian de zhen xin, qian nian deng dai you wo cheng nuo. Wu lun jing guo duo shao de han dong, wo jue bu fang shou. jin jin jiu jiu yu wo qian ban, zhe fu shi zhi kou, deng dao lai sheng ca jian hui mou, zai ci de xiang shou. ku ku tong tong ai…

[drwcn]

How To Name Your Chinese Characters: 

1) LAST NAMES: 

I’ve pasted the Top 100 common last names in alphabetical order, and bolded the ones that appear in CQL:   

B: 白 Bai C: 蔡 Cai ; 曹 Cao ;  常 Chang ; 曾 Ceng ;  陈 Chen ;  程 Cheng ;  崔 Cui ; D: 戴 Dai ; 邓 Deng ; 丁 Ding ; 董 Dong ; 杜 Du ; F: 范 Fan ; 方 Fang ; 冯 Feng ; 付 Fu ; G: 高 Gao ;  葛 Ge  ; 龚 Gong ; 顾 Gu ; 郭 Guo ; H: 韩 Han ; 何 He ; 贺 He 洪 Hong ; 侯 Hou ; 黄 Hua ; 胡 Hu ; J: 贾 Jia ; 蒋 Jiang ; 姜 Jiang ; 江 Jiang ; 金 Jin ; K: 康 Kang ; L:  赖 Lai ; 李 Li ;  黎 Li ; 廖 Liao ; 梁 Liang ; 林 Lin ; 刘 Liu ; 陆 Lu ; 卢 Lu ; 路 Lu ; 吕 Lü ; 罗 Luo ; M: 马 Ma ; 麦 Mai ; 毛 Mao ; 孟 Meng ; N:  倪 Ni  ;  牛 Niu ; P: 潘 Pan ; 彭 Peng ; Q: 钱 Qian ; 秦 Qin ; 邱 Qiu ; R:任 Ren ; S: 邵 Shao ; 沈 Sheng ; 史 Shi ; 石 Shi ; 施 Shi ; 宋 Song ; 苏 Su ; 孙 Sun ; T: 陶 Tao ; 谭 Tan ; 唐 Tang ; 田 Tian ; W: 万 Wan ; 王 Wang ;  汪 Wang ; 魏 Wei ; 吴 Wu ; X: 邢 Xing ; 夏 Xia ;  蕭 Xiao ; 谢 Xie ; 徐 Xu ; 许 Xu ; 薛 Xue ; Y: 阎 Yan ; 严 Yan ; 杨 Yang ; 姚 Yao ; 叶 Ye ;  余 Yu ; 于 Yu ; 袁 Yuan ; Z: 张 Zhang ;  赵 Zhao ; 郑 Zheng ; 钟 Zhong ; 周 Zhou ;  朱 Zhu ;  庄 Zhuang ;  邹 Zou ;

Above are all single character last names, but there are some double character Chinese last names, seen below (list not exhaustive): 

独孤 Du’Gu ;  公孙 Gong’Sun ; 南宫 Nan’Gong    欧阳 Ou’Yang ;  司马 Si’Ma ; 上官 Shang’Guan ; 宇文 Yu’Wen ; 长孙 Zhang’Sun ; 诸葛 Zhu’GE ; 

2) GIVEN NAMES/COURTESY NAMES

《Elements》: 

Light*： 光 (guāng) - light，  亮 liàng - bright / shine， 明 (míng) - bright， 曦 (xī) - early dawn， 昀 (yún) - daylight， 昭 (zhāo) - light, clear，照 (zhào) - to shine upon，

Fire: 焰 (yàn) - flames， 烟 (yān) - smoke，炎 (yán) - heat/burn， 烨 (yè) - dazzling light，  

Water: also see “weather” OR “bodies of water” under nature; note the words below while are related to water have meanings that mean some kind of virtue: 清 (qīng) - clarity / purity， 澄 (chéng) - clarity/quiet， 澈 (chè) - clear/penetrating， 涟 (lián) - ripple， 漪 (yī) - ripple， 泓 (hóng) - vast water， 湛 (zhàn) - clear/crystal， 露 (lù) - dew， 泠 (líng) - cool, cold, 涛 (tāo) - big wave，泽 (zé)，浩 hào - grand/vast (water)，涵 (han) - deep submergence / tolerance / educated

Weather: 雨 (yǔ) - rain， 霖 (lín) - downpouring rain， 冰 (bīng) - ice， 雪 (xuě) - snow，  霜 (shuāng) - frost 

Wind: 风 (fēng) - wind

* some “Light” words overlap in meaning with words that mean “sun/day”

《Nature》:

Season: 春 (chūn) - spring， 夏 (xià) - summer， 秋 (qíu) - aumtum， 冬 (dōng) - winter

Time of Day: 朝 (zhāo) - early morning / toward， 晨 (chén) - morning / dawn， 晓 (xiǎo) - morning， 旭 (xù) - dawn/rising sun，昼 (zhòu) - day，皖 (wǎn) - late evening，夜 (yè) - night 

Star/Sky/Space: 云 (yún) - cloud，天 (tiān) - sky/ heaven，霞 (xiá) - afterglow of a rising or setting sun，月 (yuè) - moon，日 (ri) - day / sun，阳 (yáng) - sun，宇 (yǔ) - space，星 (xīng) - star

Birds: 燕 (yàn) - sparrow， 雁 (yàn) - loon， 莺 (yīng) - oriole， 鸢 (yuān) - kite bird (family Accipitridae)，羽 (yǔ) - feather

Creatures: 龙 (lóng) - dragon/imperial

Plants/Flowers:* 兰 (lán) - orchids，  竹 (zhú) - bamboo， 筠 (yún) - tough exterior of bamboos， 萱 (xuān) - day-lily， 松 (sōng) - pine， 叶 (yè) - leaf， 枫 (fēng) - maple， 柏 bó/bǎi - cedar/cypress， 梅 (méi) - plum， 丹 (dān) - peony

Mountains: 山 (shān)， 峰 (fēng) - summit， 峥 (zhēng)，

Bodies of water: 江 (jiāng) - large river/straits， 河 (hé) - river， 湖 (hú) - lake， 海 (hǎi) - sea， 溪 (xī) - stream， 池 (chí) - pond， 潭 (tán) - larger pond， 洋 (yáng) - ocean

* I didn’t include a lot of flower names because it’s very easy to name a character with flowers that heavily implies she’s a prostitute. 

《Virtues》: 

Astuteness: 睿 ruì - astute / foresight， 智 (zhi)， 慧 (hui)， 哲 (zhé) - wise/philosophy, 

Educated:  博 (bó) - extensively educated， 墨 (mo) - ink， 诗 (shi) - poetry / literature， 文 (wén) - language / gentle / literary， 学 (xue) - study， 彦 (yàn) - accomplished / knowledgeable, 知 (zhi) - to know， 斌 (bīn) - refined， 赋 (fù) - to be endowed with knowledge

Loyalty: 忠 (zhōng) - loyal， 真 (zhēn) - true 

Bravery: 勇 (yǒng) - brave， 杰 (jié) - outstanding, hero

Determination/Perseverance: 毅 (yì) - resolute / brave， 恒 (héng) - everlasting， 衡 (héng) - across, to judge/evaluate，成 (chéng) - to succeed， 志 (zhì) - aspiration / the will

Goodness/Kindness: 嘉 (jiā) - excellent / auspicious，磊 (lěi) - rock / open & honest， 正 (zhèng) - straight / upright / principle，

Elegance: 雅 (yǎ) - elegant， 庄 (zhuāng) - respectful/formal/solemn， 彬 (bīn) - refined / polite， 

Handsome: 俊 jùn - handsome/talented 

Peace: 宁 (níng) - quietness/to pacify, 安 （ān) - peace, safety

Grandness/Excellence：宏 (hóng) - grand，豪 (háo) - grand, heroic，昊 (hào) - limitless / the vast sky，华 (huá) - magnificent， 赫 (hè) - red/famous/great， 隆 (lóng) - magnificent， 伟 (wěi) - greatness / large，轩 (xuān) - pavilion with a view/high，卓 (zhuó) - outstanding

Female Descriptor/Virtues/Beauty: 婉 (wǎn)，惠 (huì)， 妮 (nī)， 娇 (jiāo)， 娥 (é)， 婵 (chán) (I didn’t include specific translations for these because they’re all adjectives for women meaning beauty or virtue) 

《Descriptors》:

Adverbs: 如 (rú) - as，若 (ruò) - as, alike，宛 (wǎn) - like / as though，

Verbs: 飞 (fēi) - to fly，  顾 （gù) - to think/consider， 怀 (huái) - to miss, to possess， 落(luò) - to fall, to leave behind，梦 (mèng) - to dream， 思 (sī) - to consider / to miss (someone)，忆 (yì) - memory， 希 (xī) - yearn / admire

Colours: 红 (hóng) - red， 赤 (chì) - crimson， 黄 (huàng) - yellow， 碧 (bì) - green，青(qīng) - azure，蓝 (lán) - blue， 紫 (zǐ) - violet ，玄 (xuán) - black， 白 (baí) - white

Number：一 (yī), 二 (er) - two, 三 (san) - three,  四 (si) - four,  五 (wu) - five, 六 (liu) - six, 七(qi) - seven, 八 (ba) - eight,  九 (jiu) - nine, 十 (shi) - ten

Direction: 东 (dōng) - east， 西 (xi) - west， 南 (nan) - south， 北 (bei) - north，

Other: 子 (zǐ) - child, 然 (rán) - correct / thusly

《Jade》: *there are SO MANY words that generally mean some kind of jade, bc when ppl put jade in their children’s name they don’t literally mean the rock, it’s used to symbolize purity, goodness, kindness, beauty, virtue etc*  琛 (chen), 瑶 (yao),  玥 (yue),  琪 (qi),  琳 (lin)

《Spirituality》

凡 (fan) - mortality 

色 (se) - colour, beauty. In buddhism, “se” symbolizes everything secular

了 (liao) - finished, done, letting go 

尘 (chen) - dust, I’m not… versed in buddhism enough to explain “chen”, it’s similar to “se”

悟 (wu) - knowing? Cognition? To understand a higher meaning

无 (wu) - nothing, the void, also part of like “letting go” 

戒 (jie) - to “quit”, but not in a bad way. In buddhism, monks are supposed to “quit” their earthly desires.

极 (ji) - greatness, also related to the state of nirvana (? I think?) 

[screaming-apple]

TOP 5 TV DRAMA EACH YEAR WITH THE HIGHEST BAIDU INDEX RANKING

(from 2011 to 2021/known internationally)

🔥2011:

No.1: Scarlet Heart (Bu Bu Jing Xin)

No.2: The Temptation To Go Home (Hui Jia De You Huo)

No.3: The Lock Heart Jade (Gong Suo Xin Yu)

No.4: The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (Qing Shi Huang Fei)

No.5: Palace (Gong)

🔥2012:

No.1: iPartment season 3 (Ai Qing Gong Yu)

No.2: The Magic Blade (Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao)

No.3: Locked Beaded Curtain (Gong Suo Zhu Lian)

No.4: Empresses Of The Palace (Hou Gong Zhen Huan Zhuan)

No.5: Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar Of Sky (Xuan Yuan Jian Zhi Tian Zhi Hen)

🔥2013:

No.1: Little Daddy (Xiao Ba Ba)

No.2: We Get Married (Zan Men Jie Hun Ba)

No.3: Prince Of Lan Ling (Lan Ling Wang)

No.4: Swordsman (Jin Xiao Ao Jiang Hu)

No.5: Legend Of Lu Zhen (Lu Zhen Chuan Qi)

🔥2014:

No.1: iPartment season 4 (Ai Qing Gong Yu)

No.2: My Love From The Star (Byeoreseo On Geudae)*

No.3: Swords Of Legends (Gu Jian Qi Tan)

No.4: Boss & Me (Shan Shan Lai Le)

No.5: The Empress Of China (Wu Meiniang Chuan Qi)

🔥2015:

No.1: The Legend Of Mi Yue (Mi Yue Zhuan)

No.2: My Sunshine (He Yi Sheng Xiao Mo)

No.3: The Journey Of Flower (Hua Qian Gu)

No.4: The Lost Tomb (Dao Mu Bi Ji)

No.5: Nirvana In Fire (Lang Ya Bang)

🔥2016:

No.1: Ode To Joy (Huan Le Song)

No.2: Love O2O (Wei Wei Yi Xiao Hen Qing Cheng)

No.3: The Princess Weiyoung (Jin Xiu Wei Yang)

No.4: Go Princess Go (Tai Zi Fei Sheng Zhi Ji)

No.5: Descendants Of The Sun (Taeyang-ui Huye)*

🔥2017:

No.1: In The Name Of The People (Ren Min De Ming Yi)

No.2: The First Half Of My Life (Wo De Qian Ban Sheng)

No.3: Eternal Love (San Sheng San Shi Shi Li Tao Hua)

No.4: Princess Agents (Chu Qian Zhuan)

No.5: Ode To Joy season 2 (Huan Le Song)

🔥2018:

No.1: Story Of Yanxi Palace (Yan Xi Gong Lue)

No.2: The Story Of Minglan (Zhi Fou? Zhi Fou? Ying Shi Luo Fei Hong Shou)

No.3: Ashes Of Love (Xiang Mi Chen Chen Jin Ru Shuang)

No.4: Legend Of Fuyao (Fuyao)

No.5: Ruyi’s Royal Love In The Palace (Ruyi Zhuan)

🔥2019:

No.1: Joy Of Life (Qing Yu Nian)

No.2: Go Go Squid! (Qin Ai De, Re Ai De)

No.3: Hope All Is Well With Us (Wo Men Dou Yao Hao Hao De)

No.4: The King’s Avatar (Quan Zhi Gao Shou)

No.5: The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling)

🔥2020:

No.1: The Bad Kids (Yin Mi De Jiao Luo)

No.2: Nothing But Thirty (San Shi Er Yi)

No.3: Go Ahead (Yi Jia Ren Zhi Ming)

No.4: Find Yourself (Xia Yi Zhan Shi Xing Fu)

No.5: I Will Find You A Better Home (An Jia)

🔥2021:

No.1: Crime Crackdown (Sao Hei Feng Bao)

No.2: My Heroic Husband (Zhui Xu)

No.3: You Are My Glory (Ni Shi Wo De Rong Yao)

No.4: Word Of Honor (Shan He Ling)

No.5: Rattan (Si Teng)

(*) Korean dramas. I have no idea why there are two of them on this Chinese dramas list but okay, they are still accepted here.

The list in picture form: (You can see the Baidu index of the dramas here - click in to see better)

---

So, what do you think of this ranking? How many of these dramas do you know of/have you watched? Which is your favourite?

(The tags can not cover every drama. So I have tried my best to pick out some I think would be more well-known among international fans.)

[minsugagal]

Like/Reblog if you post any of the following and I’ll check out your blog.

-Katie Chen

-Arata Horii

-Kiriyama Renn

-Baron Chen

-Suppanad Jittaleela (Tina)

-Sushar Manaying (Aom)

-Dilraba Dilmurat

-Zhang Bin Bin

-Peter Sheng

-Song Wen Zuo

-Hu Bing Qing

-Michelle Chen

-Jjang Jin Fu

[arlothia]

MEN IN BLUE

Time to celebrate a beautiful color on beautiful men!

Hu Ge: Mei Chang Su - Nirvana in Fire

'Leo' Wu Lie: Fei Liu - Nirvana in Fire

Jin Dong: Lin Chen - Nirvana in Fire

Chen Long: Meng Zhi - Nirvana in Fire

Sun Chun: Xiao Ting Sheng - Nirvana in Fire 2

'Turbo' Liu Yuan: Xiao Ping Jing - Nirvana in Fire 2

'Jaco' Zhang Bo: Xun Fei Zhan - Nirvana in Fire 2

Huang Xiao Ming: Xiao Ping Zhang - Nirvana in Fire 2

Kanazawa Hao Kim/Kim Jin/Jin Xin: Yue Yin Chuan - Nirvana in Fire 2

Zhou Yi Wei: Xiao Qi - The Rebel Princess

Fu Meng Bo: Sui Zhou - The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty

'Thomas' Tong Meng Shi: Yang Guo - The New Version of the Condor Heroes

'Wallace' Huo Jian Hua: Ling Hu Chong/Yang Lian Ting - Swordsman

Liu Yao Yuan: Wang Zhi - The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty

Wang Kai: Zhao Zhen/Emperor Song Ren Zong - Serenade of Peaceful Joy

'Darren' Chen Kuan Hong: Zhan Yan - No Boundary

Zhang Zhe Han: Zhou Zi Shu/Zhou Xu - Word of Honor

'Andrew' Yin Zheng: Xhang Xi Rui - Winter Begonia

Jang Hyuk: Lee Bang Won - My Country: The New Age

Yoo Ah In: King Suk Jong - Jang Ok Jung

Jo Seong Woo: Baek Gwang Hyun - Horse Doctor

Ji Chang Wook: Lee Choon Bae (young) - The Bros

Woo Do Hwan: Nam Seon Ho - My Country; The New Age

Lee Jun Ho: Heo Saek - Homme Fatale

Yoo Yeon Seok: Gu Dong Mae/Ishida Sho - Mr. Sunshine

So Ji Sub: King Jung Jo - The Throne

Lee Min Ho: Ghoi Yeong - Faith

Liu Hai Kuan: Lan Xichen - The Untamed

Liu Duan Duan: Li Cheng Ze - Joy of Life

Wang Yi Bo: Lan Zhan - The Untamed

'Vardy' Wang Hao Xuan: Yu Ming Ye - Dance of the Phoenix

'James' Huang Zi Teng: Lan Qi Ren - The Untamed

'Marius' Wang Zhuo Cheng: Jiang Shao - Legend of Two Sisters In the Chaos

Zhang Ruo Yun: Fan Xian - Joy of Life

'Sean' Xiao Zhan: Bei Tang Mo Ran - Oh My Emperor

Guo Qi Lin: Fan Xizhe - Joy of Life

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is part of an unofficial series @terribleteej and @smylealong have been having fun with. Check their stuff out here:

Teej's Men in Modern Red

Teej's Men in Traditional Red

Lea's Men in Modern Black

Lea's Men in Traditional Black

[engelspolitics]

History of Chinese Emperors

https://www.grunge.com/199249/the-tragic-history-of-chinese-emperors/

Chinese emperors existed for 4000 years; 49 dynasties, the longest of which lasted 289 years and the shortest lasted less than a year

About half of all emperors died in office/abdicated by choice; the rest was assassinated, forced to abdicate or commit suicide

Some emperors were very powerful absolute rulers; others basically gilded prisoners

Qin became first emperor of unified China in 221 BC through Total War and killing of his enemies, including brothers and sisters

Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) is widely regarded as the greatest of China's dynasties but their system of succession was so unstable that 12 direct heirs to the throne didn't survive long enough

Murdering happened into the last Quing dynasty (1644-1911)

Even unified China fell apart every now and then

As the Jin dynasty collapsed (266-420 CE) in the fourth and fifth centuries, China fragmented into multiple competing kingdoms.

Only one emperor in Chinese history was monogamous (Hongzhi)

Some emperors were insane

Fu Sheng → "one-eyed tyrant," half-blind; forbade the words like "missing" or "without," killing anyone who said them in his presence. He was deposed and killed in just two years for drunkenness, idiocy, and needless cruelty.

Liu Shan, abdicated in 263, was so incompetent his name is now idiom for idiot

Being related to an emperor was dangerous → long-standing Chinese tradition to execute entire generations of your enemy's family

Uprisings and rebellions were usually led by people eager to cull the imperial herd

Not safe in own home; concubines often murdered emperor or family members

Lives of concubines

As early as the Jin dynasty (266-420 CE) concubines were conscripts, chosen according to the particular criteria of that dynasty or emperor. For over fifteen hundred years, women and girls were kidnapped from or given away by their families

Foot binding was mandatory

Harems were full of jealousy and rivalry, and attacks/murders were common

Concubines belonged to emperor, who could kill him if he wanted

As part of the royal household concubines were often subject to purges as well and could be killed by competing sons or warlords

Well-performing concubines could be buried with the emperor upon his death

Four beauties → most beautiful women of ancient China (one may have been fictional)

Their stories come from four different dynasties and epitomized Chinese ideals of beauty

Xi Shi was sent by a rival king as revenge; so beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink below the surface upon seeing her reflection in the water

Bao Si was of surpassing beauty but never smiled apart from when the king repeatedly lighted the signal towers warning the kingdom of invasion. This aggravated his allies and when an invasion did happen he was left to his fate.

Wang Zhaojun sent away on accident

Diaochan so beautiful the moon would shy away when she looked at it

Foreign invaders ended many dynasties.

Qin Shi Huang began construction of the Great Wall to keep out the Xiongnu, who only vanquished after over 200 years of war

It took Genghis and Kublai 60 years to complete invasion and takeover of China

The Yuan dynasty they established lasted over 200 years.

The last Qing Dynasty, ended partially after a century of aggression and meddling by other imperial powers and is now known as the "Century of humiliation."

However also internal powers also brought down dynasties

without even counting events of 20th century, 4of the 10 bloodiest wars in human history were Chinese civil wars.

Most Chinese dynasties dealt with too many rebellions and revolutions to count

Especially uprisings of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE) The Han (206 BCE-220 CE) and Qing (1636-1911 CE) dynasties

Song dynasty (960-1279 CE) is known by historians as economically prosperous and culturally dynamic but not politically stable

Six rebellions occurred in the Song's first 80 years, the country split in two by 1127, and was overwhelmed by internal unrest for decades on end before finally succumbing to the Mongols.

China's emperors were beset by religious and ethnic independence movements simmering for centuries before boiling over

The Han put down the Red Eyebrow rebellion, faced the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion, and was then taken down by the Yellow Turbans.

The White Lotus, a political and religious group started during the Song dynasty, helped weaken the Qing before the anti-foreign, anti-imperialist Boxer rebellion ultimately exposed incompetence and the empire fell forever in 1911.

The Tang dynasty's (618-097 CE) Empress Wu Zetian was the only outright female monarch in Chinese history

Became a royal concubine at 14, finagled her way into the position of first consort, then empress consort, then empress dowager, before ruling openly as emperor.

Accomplished this by murdering her own infant daughter and blaming the emperor's wife who she then had killed too

After China was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War the emperor pursued the Hundred Days of Reform to modernize the country and reshape the government.

The Empress Dowager Cixi disagreed with this and supported a coup against her own son, reversed the reform policies, and took power, ruling from behind a literal screen) until her death in 1908.

Reformist Emperor Wang Bang, only emperor of the ill-fated Xin dynasty (9-23 CE) was killed by a peasant uprising for his efforts.

China's emperors were anointed to lead as the literal Son of Heaven.

Anyone approaching, or approached by, the emperor had to kowtow → prostrate on their knees with their forehead touching the ground.

Emperor had fleet of custom-carriages and personal roads no one else could use

Emperor had own unique first-person pronoun.

The colour yellow had been associated with nobility since the Han but the Ming and Qing made it illegal for anyone else to wear.

Forbidden City consisted of 98 separate buildings, thousands of staff, and was a city functioning on its own

The Mandate of Heaven bestowed on all China's emperors was not a birthright but was earned and could be revoked → if emperors let country fall into poverty and chaos or lose face they were removed by force, frequently by their own generals.

Song dynasty was started by a military coup, then neglected the military and focussed on art but after centuries of fragile peace the empire fell to the Mongols.

There were massive coups involving millions of people and going on for years, like the one led by general An Lushan against the Tang dynasty which lasted eight years and cost up to 36 million lives.

A failed coup against Qin Shi Huang solidified his position as King of Qin, allowing him strength to become the first emperor of a unified China.

Gift-giving (guanxi, meaning relationships/connections) has been widespread in Chinese politics and business

Illicit income in the Ming and Qing dynasties was calculated by University of Missouri to be 14 to 20 times as much as official income.