#dafang

[herpsandbirds]

Dafang Cascade Frog (Amolops dafangensis), family Ranidae, found in Dafang County, Guizhou Province, China

Newly described (2024).

These frogs are found in mountainous streams filled with moss covered rocks.

Males do not have vocal sacs.

photograph via: Shi-Ze Li, Jing Liu, Xiao-Cong Ke, Gang Cheng & Bin Wang

[evolutionsbedingt]

WIP Wednesday

Have another snippet from the TGCF fic!

★★★

He returned to the camp to find Xie Lian quietly keeping watch over a small fire and the young woman sleeping wrapped in his outer robes on top of her thin blanket.

“Sit,” Xie Lian said quietly, gesturing at the open space next to him and He Xuan obeyed. “The widow?”

“Excited,” He Xuan reported with a small smile. “Thank you for your help, Xie-daoshi.”

Xie Lian inclined his head. “I hadn’t realised how-” he hesitated for just a moment “-pronounced this aspect of He-dafang’s godly duties is.”

“Mn,” He Xuan said, bracing for the judgement, the questions Xie Lian was sure to have. “This lowly scholar ascended while taking his revenge on those who wronged him.”

“Is that why your blade is so resentful?” Xie Lian asked, glancing at the scabbard resting across He Xuan’s lap. “It must be incredibly strong to seep past the dampening spells like this.”

It took him by surprise and He Xuan thought that it shouldn’t have. He knew how powerful Xie Lian was. “It has also accumulated more resentment since then. The Reverend of Empty Words for one.”

Xie Lian made an intrigued noise and He Xuan found himself handing over the blade for his inspection before he knew what he was doing. He felt foolish, giving this incriminating a weapon to another god but- but he trusted Hua Cheng and if the ghost king intended to show his true form to Xie Lian, he must believe that Xie Lian was trustworthy as well.

“A cruel blade,” Xie Lian muttered, inspecting the jagged edge and the pits rust had eaten into the surface long before He Xuan got his hands on it. “That you’re able to keep it in the Upper Court without causing a riot…” he trailed off, his elegant finger hovering just above its edge. “It’s blunt?”

“I kept it more as a deterrent than anything else,” He Xuan said, staring transfixed at the fingers exploring his cursed weapon so gently and delicately. “I hadn’t- I hadn’t ever planned on using it until they came for my life. I couldn’t-” he closed his eyes, shivering under the strange sensation of having his spiritual tool touched like this. “I went mad. I don’t understand- How could I ascend? I should have died and become a resentful spirit.”

Xie Lian sighed and sheathed the blade to He Xuan’s great relief and dismay. “Fate sometimes has other plans for us. Look at me, twice banished and still I ascended a third time. And as far as I can tell, this time it was for collecting scraps, which is probably one of the stranger things to ascend for.”

He Xuan breathed a laugh at the pique audible in Xie Lian’s voice. “What a pair we make, the god of hunger and revenge and the god of scraps and misfortune. And yet most of the heavens are scared of Xie-daoshi because of his second ascension and wary of me because I’m a scholar who carries a blade.”

“They’re sure to be ecstatic about the gossip,” Xie Lian said drily and pressed the blade back into He Xuan’s hands. “As cruel and resentful as that blade is, it’s a good blade. You’re taller than me, so it fits you a little better and I can tell that it has recognised you as its master.”

He Xuan was surprised, looking down at the scruffy scabbard. “It has a spirit?”

“Very faintly, but yes,” Xie Lian said, stoking the flames and pushing more of the thicker branches into the pit. “I think it’s only still there because it became a spiritual tool. It’s also half-buried under the resentment it holds.”

The last bit made He Xuan feel a little scolded and he ducked his head. “Xie-daoshi knows a lot about blades.”

Xie Lian smiled and nodded. “I like them, all kinds of them. Guoshi was always a bit worried about just how much I liked them. Apparently he thought it might make me equally obsessed with using them.” He shook his head and stroked his thumb over the white ribbon clinging to his wrist. “I don’t mind using a blade to maim or kill if it’s needed. But I’d far prefer admiring their beauty unmarred by blood and dust.”

He Xuan thought of the storage room in Paradise Manor, holding all those swords and sabres and knives, and he understood a little better the protectiveness Hua Cheng had displayed when he'd shown it to He Xuan for the first time. He wondered just how much of Hua Cheng’s personality and his opulent home was shaped by his love for Xie Lian and how he could ever have hoped to be able to compete with it.

[journeytothewestresearch]

So, what IS the Samadhi Fire/True Fire of Samadhi? It can't be an average flame if it can take out Sun Wukong himself in JttW and the name sounds like it means something, but I can't find any context when I look it up.

Journey to the West states that Samādhi fire is not like earthly or heavenly flame. It is something more. Part of a poem in chapter 41 reads:

(Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 225)

The general concept of Samādhi (Sk: "concentration"; Ch: sanmei, 三昧) refers to an advanced level of meditation where one can "establish and maintain one-pointedness of mind on a specific object of concentration" (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 743). Some Hindu and Buddhist sources associate it with a spiritually cleansing flame. One example comes from the Gaṇḍavyūha section of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Ch: Dafang guangfo huayan jing, 大方廣佛華嚴經; compiled by the 3rd or 4th-century CE). 

Sudhana (Ch: Shancai tongzi, 善財童子; i.e. Red Boy), the holy work's protagonist, seeks out 53 teachers in the course of his spiritual cultivation. His ninth instructor, a learned Brahmin named Jayoṣmāyatana (Ch: Shengre poluomen, 勝熱婆羅門; lit: "Victorious Heat Brahmin") is said to have achieved "the light of the concentration [i.e. Samādhi] of adamantine flame" (jingang yan sanmei guangming, 金剛焰三昧光明) (Clearly, 1993, p. 1218). The fire that he produces is so powerful that it scares even the gods and demons. Though, the point of the flames appears to be incineration of the ego and desires and illumination of the mind. Sudhana follows his instructions by throwing himself into the fire, thus gaining a higher level of spiritual knowledge.

Here is a translation of that section of the sutra (warning: it is wordy):

(Clearly, 1993, pp. 1217-1222)

A Song or Ming-era Japanese painting of the fire brahmin and Sudhana.

Sources:

Buswell, R. E. , & Lopez, D. S. (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.

Cleary, T. (1993). The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Boston: Shambhala.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

[itsfullofstars]

Milky way and planets over Silk Road of China by Jeff Dai The arc of the Milky Way are captured in this panorama view from Dafang square castle, at Yumen Pass, Gansu province of China. A world heritage site today, Yumen Pass is the name of a pass of the Great Wall located west of Dunhuang. During the Han dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), this was a pass through which the Silk Road passed, and was the one road connecting Central Asia and China, the former called the Western Regions. Bright planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are visible on the right. https://flic.kr/p/25n38Nd

[edtdragon]

For Dafang, AKA https://twitter.com/GenerousPanda (WARNING: NSFW content)

[tetrachromiahedron]

Fuck it we post shit with my fursona in it now

A gift from Rockaway ft. Dafang, Purgs, n Otterly shittin on DKR'd Wizpig, made by the luvvly Doctor Awesome

[josnashak69]

 Colleagues who used to look down on Tik Tok gave up on Amazon

shomepage, all the products are no more than 3 US dollars, and there are also coupons of 100 and 200 US dollars. There are more and more brands on SHEIN . ZARA offered HE Tuber a 40% discount and bought 4 sets of small skirts. "In addition, Zhang Ying even led her colleagues to gather "wool" on Tik Tok, "Buy pots from the ataub official store on Tik Tok, the original price is 150 US dollars, the discount is max 30%, and the shipping fee is free. It only costs $112.50 to get it.”

"Colleagues who used to look down on Tik Tok gave up on Amazon and immediately downloaded Tik Tok," Zhang Ying said with a smile. The Chinese platform's "money-making ability" made friends who were originally loyal Amazon Prime users say "Tik Tok is so delicious." .

While overseas consumers are going on a “Black Friday shopping spree,

” countless merchants are also participating in this battle to “steal away Amazon traffic.”

"The performance of established e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay has declined significantly this year. They used to double every year, but this year's estimated performance of 590,000 yuan was not even half completed by November," said RAY, the owner of eBay's US area. Because he noticed the traffic growth of Tik Tok, he started to open a local store called "leisdeal" on Tik Tok in August. "The traffic of the old platform declined. I analyzed that a lot of traffic was attracted to Tik Tok. As a result, I settled first store on Tik Tok." Sales exceeded 1,000 orders in five days, and all inventory was sold out in less than a week.”

"In order to participate in the Black Friday event

earned less than 2 yuan per order. For Black Friday, I will directly reduce the price by 20% and earn nothing," a SHEIN factory owner told Alphabet. Black Friday is an important event that foreign trade merchants must not miss. Node, "If you don't grab a wave of traffic at this time, when will you grab it? It's worth it to make data."

Picture/Factories busy with orders on Black Friday stay up late to 

Undoubtedly, this year, Chinese platforms going global have firmly surpassed Amazon in terms of traffic.

The day before Black Friday, workers at Temu's Nansha warehouse in Guangzhou had already felt the atmosphere of Black Friday. "The daily inspection volume increased by about 25%, and there were obviously many more Christmas-related decorations." In order to prevent the warehouse from exploding, Temu Manpower reinforcements were urgently deployed from Zhaoqing.

"Black Friday sales have doubled, from an average of 400 orders per day to more than 800 orders. I feel that foreign trade is not so difficult." As a merchant who has just settled in Temu for half a year, Dafang has definitely enjoyed Temu's Black Friday sales. Traffic bonus: Da Fang has never been exposed to overseas markets before, but now, he can "earn US dollars effortlessly" with the help of the platform just by linking domestically. After the huge order, Da Fang said with a smile, "I can make it this year." Have a good New Year.”

[gudmould]

Mold basics

Evolution history of molds When did the earliest molds appear?Facts show that humans began to use molds as early as 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. Without use of molds, it is unimaginable to produce large-scale bronze works such as large standing bronze figure, standing figure of a naked and crowned priest, and Simuwu Dafang Ding. How did ancients make molds to make products?Clay mold casting…

[shopperhill]

Xiaomi Xiaofang Dafang Smart Camera 1S IP Camera New Version T20L Chip 1080P WiFi APP Control Camera For Home Security Review Page: http://shopperhill.com/details/new-version-xiaomi-mijia-xiaofang-dafang-smart-camera-1s-1080p-t20l-chip-app-control-wifi-digital/ Buy From Aliexpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dTYzo6X YouTube: https://youtu.be/ABFC3vimO5Y #xiaomi #xiaofang #dafang #smartcamera #ipamera #newversion #t20lchip #1080pcamera #appcontrolcamera #homesecuritycamera #securitycamera #motioncamera #nightvisioncamera #xiaomicamera #wideanglecamera https://www.instagram.com/p/B91lee2B6pH/?igshid=sgf6jr8kp11t

[evolutionsbedingt]

Belated WIP Wednesday

Have another snippet of the TGCF fic! We've arrived at the case of Mount Yujun and this time it's He Xuan who accompanies Xie Lian.

★★★

Then a woman's voice cut through the ruckus of the men boasting about their supposed courage. He Xuan looked up to find the young woman who they'd saved earlier today squaring up against the leader, even with her shoulders nearly up to her ears in fear.

When He Xuan cast out his mind, as expected, he heard her prayer for strength and sent a little spiritual power into that beizi she was still wearing to make it feel more like an armour.

“What do you mean don't go there? Are you nuts? Don't you know how much money Wang-daren is offering?” the leader of those ruffians asked, crossing his arms and looking down at the woman who didn't falter.

Her voice wasn't very loud, but her conviction was clear. “Posing as a bridal party or trying to comb the mountain for that Ghost Groom, it's going to cost you your lives eventually.”

“Well, if Xiao-niang had agreed to be our fake bride, maybe we wouldn't have to risk our lives over and over again,” the leader growled and He Xuan scrutinised the men behind him.

Indeed, those were the very same men they'd met attacking this Xiao-niangzi just earlier. That she'd still stand up to them now was really commendable.

He Xuan rose from his seat, making Xie Lian follow him hurriedly.

“Who would be your fake bride and risk their life?” Xiao-niangzi asked, a little plaintively. “But you didn't have to rip up my skirt about it!”

“You-!”

Right as the leader of those thugs stepped forward, pointing threateningly at Xiao-niangzi, He Xuan stepped between them and smiled when the man paled, whipping his head around and stumbling back when he saw Xie Lian. “Gongzi, you said you need a fake bride and we came here to hunt this Ghost Groom as well. If my shixiong can lure him out and beat him, let's split the gains. If you beat him on your own, the bounty is yours.”

“En?” Xie Lian sounded shocked at first, but quickly caught up and nodded. “Shidi is right, we can't go around risking innocent women and the Ghost Groom clearly isn't fooled by a puppet.”

The leader looked like he was considering it and then finally nodded. “Fine, let's get this honoured daoshi a wedding dress!”

The crowd gasped, at once scandalised and excited, and He Xuan felt someone tugging at the back of his robes.

“Honoured daoshi, please allow this lowly one to help you with the dress and the makeup,” Xiao-niangzi said quietly. “Those ruffians will have no idea how to find one that fits your honoured shixiong.”

“Thank you, Xiao-niangzi,” Xie Lian said, turning around with a gentle smile. “You're very kind.”

“You saved me twice, it's only right,” she demurred and Xie Lian didn't argue.

“Is there a temple of Ming Guan nearby where we could take shelter and prepare?” Xie Lian asked instead and he looked as surprised as He Xuan felt when the woman shook her head.

“There's a temple of Nan Yang though, I go to pray there often,” she offered but He Xuan saw Xie Lian’s momentary hesitation.

Surely getting dressed as a bride in the temple of his former subordinate and in Nan Yang’s temple in particular, was too much for even his face to bear.

“I saw a He-dafang shrine on our way into town,” He Xuan said, pointing in the direction of the small shrine. “Surely he won't mind us borrowing it if it's in pursuit of justice for these women.”

Xiao-niangzi nodded hesitantly. “If Daoshi says so.”

He Xuan turned back to their temporary allies and relayed the plan, telling them to be at the temple no later than sundown. This left them just barely enough time to find a set of bridal robes that would fit Xie Lian, adjust it and then do his hair and makeup.

Xiao Ying, as it turned out she was called, was a great help with this and a deft hand at both sewing and applying makeup. She said she'd learned the latter to try and make herself look less plain but found that she felt no differently about her face and would rather use the money to help those who have even less than her.

Her kindness moved He Xuan and he found himself speaking a blessing for her, using a touch of his spiritual power and hoping that it would be enough.

[mikesunboxingreviews]

Xiaomi DAFANG camera connection FIX

Xiaomi Dafang camera not connecting? GearBest     :   https://www.gearbest.com/?lkid=11784098 Chances are that one or more of the six steps in this video have been missed out. The Xiaomi Da fang camera is a great WIFI enabled smart IP camera for monitoring your home or office remotely. But it does have a reasonably confusing and sometimes difficult setup routine. If you follow the guide and make sure that all 6 of the points are done right, the camera will give you great performance and reliability.

The main problems we have found are:

WIFI setting needs to be 2.4Ghz WIFI SSID and PASSWORD need to be in plain English characters The Region HAS to be set as MAINLAND CHINA The SD CARD MUST be installed before setup And make sure your power supply is giving out the correct voltage AND amps

Hopefully you have followed these steps and your device is working perfectly? If not let me know in the comments with a description of your issue and i'll try and get you an answer or point you in the right direction!

[sidecharacter-purgatory]

anyone else ship the junior quartet as a polycule or am I in a glass case of emotions all by myself??

[thunderstruck9]

Li Dafang (Chinese, b. 1971), Beneath the T-shaped Wall, 2009. Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm.

[angstymdzsthoughts]

AU engagement between WWX and LWJ. When LWJ break off their engagement after the archery competition, WWX is heartbroken. So when LWJ protected him in Dafang Mountain, WWX is sure LWJ thinks he's MXY. No matter how gentle LWJ treats him, WWX cannot trust him. (1/3)

When LWJ calls him by his true name in Qinghe, WY believes LWJ loves MXY so much that he is willing to tolerate him to protect MXY's body. Even when LXC told him about LWJ's punishment for protecting him in Nightless City, WWX is sure that something possesed LWJ to protect him (why he would do it? He's always despised him) (2/3)

After sealing the coffin in Guanyin temple, in front of the others, WWX took out some talismans to activate a powerful spell to revert back the ritual and give back MXY's body (3/3)

[sheltiechicago]

An abandoned Chinese village is reborn as an interactive art destination

With 1 billion people estimated to be living in Chinese cities in 2050, China is seeing hundreds of thousands of its rural villages abandoned. In a bid to bring renewed life to one of its 102 abandoned villages, the Government of Jinxi tapped Dutch firm NEXT Architects to sustainably revitalize the ancient village of Dafang. Created in collaboration with IVEM (Dutch Institute for Cultural Heritage and Marketing), Smartland (landscape design), Total Design (graphic design) and numerous Dutch and Chinese artists, the recently completed Holland-Dafang Creative Village transformed a dilapidated village into a new hub for the arts.

[huttson-blog]

Abandoned Chinese village transformed into art center — New Atlas

Abandoned Chinese village transformed into art center — New Atlas

Read more at New Atlas

— by Adam Williams: One effect of China’s massive construction boom is the emptying of its villages as people from rural areas rush to the cities to find new opportunities. A recently-completed project aims to address this by giving an abandoned 900-year-old village a new lease of life as an art center…

Image courtesy of NEXT Architects