Bibliography

Works Cited

Art, Suzanne Strauss. The Story of Ancient China. N.p.: n.p., 2001. Print.

British Museum. Ancient China. the British Museum, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ancientchina.co.uk/​geography/​story/​sto_set.html>.

“Cinderella In China.” Kidipede. Dr. Karen Carr, 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://historyforkids.org/​learn/​china/​literature/​cinderella.htm>.

“What is Bubbhism.” About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://buddhism.about.com/​od/​basicbuddhistteachings/​a/​basicshub.htm>.

Stories Pasted Down Through Generations

Another part of the Chinese culture is telling stories that have been passed down through generations.  One story that popped out to me that I thought was very interesting.  This story almost any girl has seen or at least heard of the story of Cinderella.   But in china a very different story was told:

"Yeh-Shen was a girl who lived during the Chin or Han dynasties of ancient China. Yeh-Shen's father, Wu, had two wives, but one of them died, and that was Yeh-Shen's mother. So Yeh-Shen was raised by Wu's other wife, her stepmother. Yeh-Shen's stepmother didn't like Yeh-Shen, because Yeh-Shen was prettier and kinder than her own daughter, so the stepmother treated Yeh-Shen badly. Yeh-Shen had to do all the hardest work. Her only friend was a fish, a beautiful fish with big gold eyes.
Even though she was hungry, Yeh-Shen shared her food with the fish every day. But when Yeh-Shen's stepmother found out, she killed the fish and served him for dinner. As Yeh-Shen sat crying for her friend, an old man appeared and told her to save the fish's bones and ask them for help when she was in trouble.
Yeh-Shen wanted to go to the Spring Festival, where everyone met to find husbands and wives, but her stepmother wouldn't let her go. So Yeh-Shen asked the bones for help getting clothes to wear to the festival. Right away she found herself wearing beautiful clothes: a cape made of feathers, and gold slippers. The bones made her promise not to lose the slippers.
Yeh-Shen went to the Spring Festival, but when she saw her stepmother and half-sister looking at her, she was scared and ran home, and she lost one of her slippers while she was running. The man who found her slipper sold it to a merchant, who gave the beautiful slipper to the king. The king wanted to find who owned the slipper, so he put it in a little pavilion by the side of the road where any woman could come try it on. All of them came, but their feet were too big for the tiny shoe.
One night Yeh-Shen came and tried to take her slipper back, but the king's servants arrested her and took her to the king. He was very angry that such a poor girl had taken the slipper, but then he noticed her tiny feet. They all went to her house and got the other slipper, and when she put both slippers on, her fine clothes appeared again and the king realized he wanted to marry her. But her mean stepmother and half-sister had to stay in their old house, where they died."


(http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/literature/cinderella.htm)


I enjoyed this story not only because it was so similar to the movie that I watched as a little girl how dreamed of being a princess but also because of how different it ended up being.

Religion/ Culture

The culture in the Tang Dynasty varied but it was mainly Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 26 centuries ago. Buddhism is a belief system that teaches you to look and the peace in yourself and in nature.  One way that Buddhist people try to nature in many ways one being meditation and another is through drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Buddhism is also a very strong and cherished belief system they believe in Buddha meaning the "awakening one."  Buddha (A.K.A.  Siddhartha Gautama) taught his followers through his own experiences hoping to bring joy and enlightenment to his people.  He also taught the people how to find enlightenment thought their experiences.

The religion in the end became the dominant religion through the country of china.

A New Bridge

A new bridge is built over the Yellow river.  In the past any bridge built over these rivers was washed away by the spring floods, because of this trade had to be delayed and spring goods are wasted.  But now the tang dynasty decided to build a permanent bridge that is made so well that it will never have to be rebuilt and trade will not be disrupted.

Xuangzong thought of this idea and thought that it would not only benefit the income of money for the people but also he thought that he could higher taxes because the people would be earning more so hence forth everyone wins.  This bridge was a simple arch that weighed hundreds of pounds.  People today believe that this bridge was built like the pyramids and forced labor may have killed hundreds of men, women, and children. 
The yellow river is called the yellow river because of the sand that lay around the river.  Scientists say that the river turns a yellowish color because the sand around the river gets blown into the river. 

There is also a legend that is always told about the sands around the yellow river; it is said that a woman named Nu Gua was sitting by the river sculpting models of the gods with the sand from the river bank with great care and when she was finished with them they came to life and walked anyway.  But after many years of sculpting, Nu Gua was getting older and much weaker so she took a cane and flung the clay in the air and the gods came to life and walked away just like the others had.  They believed that the people made by the cane were poor and less fortunate than the ones made by Nu Gua's hands.

In all the bridge provided access to the city, money for all the people, and trade that would help keep everyone in Xaugzong’s rule healthy and happy.

Invention of Printing Pages

After ancient china became unified with their characters many people began to write stories and old myths that they wanted to be passed down from generation to generation and wanted it written to be read over and over again.  These stories and writings took a very long time to write up and when they were to be copied it took even longer because you had to make sure all the words and things are correct or the story would no longer make since. 

Also any records that needed to be copied were long and needed to be extremely accurate.  The way that they made all the characters correct were with what the Chinese called printing and what we would callusing stamps to write.  This process was also long but it was a lot faster than rewriting all the characters.

Interview with Empress Wu

Q:  Wu Zhao I understand your relationship with your husband’s first wife was not very good.  In fact I understand that you killed your new born and blamed his first wife for the death.  Is this true? And if so WHY?

A: Yes I did this so that I could become Empress and make a difference in the Tang Dynasty and in my life.

Q: Wu I understand that you believe in Buddhism, how did you incorporate this into your rule in the Tang Dynasty?

A: Yes I was a very large believer in Buddhism throughout my rule.  I incorporated it in my rule a lot because I did believe that I could become the future Maitreya (or the future Buddha).  In fact I remember that in 673 I had a statue of the Maitreya carved.  Its expressions varied from the angle you looked at them from.

Q: Why did you choose the Phoenix as your symbol and what does it look like?  

A: I choose the phoenix as my symbol because it represents the yin, and is also associated with woman.  It is a historical bird and has many different fetchers like the head if the peasant, the peak of a parrot, the body of a duck, and the wings of a mythical bird called a roc the feathers of a peacock, and finally the legs of a crane. 

Q: Why were you so infatuated with the two brothers who paraded around her court in costumes?

A:  I am not sure in think it was the fact that I had to be serious my whole life and I knew I had grown into a very capable ruler but what I had done caught up with me and they were the way I masked the pain I had to go through knowing all that I had done to the other people. 

Tang Dynasty Map

 

 This map shows the empires around the year 700 A.D.  This map includes many other empires that surrounded the tang dynasty.  The tang dynasty looks very weirdly shaped and looks like two separate empire that are connected with a small lane of land.  The tang dynasty is the largest on this map.