Pinned Tweet
Happy #ChineseNewYear !🧧🧨
Why is it the Chinese New Year and not the Lunar New Year?
As a traditional festival that has been handed down in China for thousands of years, it makes me feel disrespected that in recent years it has suddenly been forced to change its name to LNY
➠
eva 😼 retweeted
The legendary islands of immortality that China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), desperately searched for 2,200 years ago have suddenly "reappeared" in the very waters where he once sought them!
On October 28, something extraordinary happened off the coast of Penglai (蓬莱), in China's Shandong Province.
Distant islands seemed to break free from the sea, floating mysteriously between the ocean and the sky. Mountain peaks appeared and disappeared in the haze, as if a mythical paradise had suddenly come to life.
Not AI. Not CGI. It was a rare and breathtaking mirage.
But the most astonishing part isn't what appeared.
Qin Shi Huang, China's First Emperor, repeatedly traveled to the coast of Shandong in search of three legendary islands of immortality: Penglai (蓬莱), Fangzhang (方丈), and Yingzhou (瀛洲).
He had almost everything a man could possibly possess in his time. But there was one thing that even absolute power could not buy:
He couldn't order Death to stay away.
So he came up with another idea: searching for a way to defeat death itself.
Determined to obtain the legendary elixir of immortality, he spared no expense, mobilizing enormous resources and sending expeditions into the vast, unknown seas.
The most famous of these voyages was led by a charlatan alchemist named Xu Fu (徐福).
According to historical records, Xu Fu sailed away with thousands of young boys and girls, skilled craftsmen, and seeds of various crops. What happened to them afterward remains one of the enduring mysteries of ancient Chinese history.
For centuries, a theory has persisted: Xu Fu and his fleet may have reached Japan.
Even more intriguingly, modern ancient DNA research has revealed that, around the broad period in which Xu Fu lived, people from the coastal Chinese mainland were migrating into the Japanese archipelago, resulting in the demographic changes that shaped Yayoi-period populations.
Of course, none of this proves that Xu Fu ever reached Japan. But isn't it fascinating that an expedition supposedly launched in pursuit of mythical islands of immortality should have become entangled with one of the great mysteries of Japan's ancient population history?
But Qin Shi Huang's dream of immortality did not die with him.
About a century later, another formidable emperor followed in his footsteps: Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝).
He, too, traveled repeatedly to the coast of Shandong, searching for the same legendary islands of immortality.
Two emperors, each ruling one of the mightiest empires of his age, spent enormous fortunes and sent expeditions across the sea. Neither ever found the mythical paradise he sought.
Apparently, one of history's greatest recurring problems is that every generation believes it can avoid the mistakes of the last.
Fast forward more than 2,200 years.
In these very waters, where emperors once dreamed of discovering immortality, a rare mirage has once again made distant islands appear to float mysteriously above the sea.
Of course, we cannot know whether Qin Shi Huang ever witnessed such a spectacle himself. Nor can we prove that mirages gave rise to the ancient legends of Penglai and the islands of immortality, although I strongly suspect that sights like this were precisely what inspired those legends in the first place.
But just imagine.
You are standing on the coast of Shandong more than 2,200 years ago.
Suddenly, mysterious mountains appear out of nowhere, hovering above the vast ocean. And then, moments later, they vanish without a trace.
Would you really have believed that what you saw was nothing more than a trick of nature? Or would you have wondered whether, somewhere beyond the horizon, there truly existed a paradise beyond the reach of ordinary mortals?
For one fleeting moment, the video enables us to glimpse the world as Qin Shi Huang might have imagined it more than 2,200 years ago.
More than 2,000 years ago, two of the most powerful men in the ancient world were searching for a place that did not exist.
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), China's First Emperor, and Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝) spent enormous fortunes, sent expeditions across the sea, and even traveled in person to the coast of Shandong.
They were searching for three legendary islands where immortals were said to possess the secret of eternal life.
Each commanded one of the mightiest empires of his age. Yet neither could find the legendary paradise they sought.
But an unknown craftsman, whose name has been lost to history, succeeded where they had failed. He had no fleet, no army, and none of the wealth of an empire. All he had were his two hands.
With them, he brought mountains, mythical beasts, hunters, and drifting clouds together inside a bronze incense burner just 26 centimeters tall.
When smoke began to rise between its mountain peaks, something extraordinary happened.
The legendary paradise came to life.
In 1968, a mysterious tomb carved deep into a mountain tip, just over 100 kilometers from Beijing, was discovered.
It belonged to Liu Sheng (刘胜), the elder brother of Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝).
In the rear chamber, where Liu Sheng lay buried in his elaborate jade burial suit, stone slabs enclosed a small room of about three square meters.
And it was here that they discovered an extraordinary bronze incense burner.
Standing just 26 centimeters tall, measuring 15.5 centimeters in diameter, it is one of the finest ancient incense burners ever found in China.
Its entire surface is decorated with intricate gold inlay.
At its base, three dragons rise dramatically from the water, supporting a series of towering, overlapping mountain peaks.
Within these mountains is a miniature world. Mythical beasts roam among the peaks. Monkeys play in mountain streams. Tigers and leopards prowl through the wilderness, while hunters armed with crossbows stalk their prey.
In a space just 26 centimeters tall, this ancient craftsman managed to create an astonishingly rich and vivid world.
Hidden among the peaks were tiny openings.
When incense burned inside, fragrant smoke escaped through these openings, slowly wrapping the mountains in swirling mist.
Drawing on ancient texts dating back more than 2,000 years, scholars identify this type of incense burner as a Bo Mountain (Boshan/博山) incense burner.
But what exactly does "Boshan" mean?
No one knows for certain.
Some believe that "Bo" refers to something vast or boundless.
Others suggest that "Boshan" is a collective name for three legendary mountains of immortality: Penglai (蓬莱), Yingzhou (瀛洲), and Fangzhang (方丈).
These three legendary mountains were already famous during the Warring States period, the age before Qin Shi Huang unified China.
According to legend, they were home to immortals who possessed magical elixirs capable of granting eternal life, or even bringing the dead back to life.
The kings of Yan (燕) in the north and Qi (齐) in the east had both sent expeditions out to sea in search of these mysterious islands.
The true origins of these legends are difficult to trace.
But I suspect they may have been inspired by the coastal waters around present-day Penglai, in Yantai (烟台), Shandong Province.
Several islands lie offshore, and throughout history, mirages have occasionally appeared above the sea, creating the illusion of distant, mysterious lands floating on the horizon.
To ancient observers, these elusive visions may have seemed like glimpses of the legendary mountains of immortality.
Such sightings may have fueled the fascination of the kings of the Warring States.
And even Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of a unified China, was not immune to their allure. He traveled to the coast of Shandong several times and dispatched expeditions across the sea in search of immortals.
According to historical records, a charlatan named Xu Fu (徐福) convinced Qin Shi Huang that he could reach the three sacred islands and bring back the elixir of immortality.
But despite years of searching and enormous expenditures, he returned empty-handed. Desperate to escape the emperor's wrath, he came up with an extraordinary excuse.
Giant sea creatures, he claimed, were blocking the way to the islands of immortality.
And the sea gods demanded an offering of young boys, young girls, and skilled craftsmen in exchange for the elixir.
To remove this supposed obstacle, Qin Shi Huang personally took part in a hunt for a giant fish at sea.
To most people, such an absurd story would have been almost impossible to believe. Yet astonishingly, Qin Shi Huang, a brilliant, calculating, and deeply suspicious ruler, fell for Xu Fu's tale once again.
In 210 BC, months before his death, the First Emperor sponsored Xu Fu on another voyage, accompanied by thousands of young men and women. They carried seeds of various grains and were joined by craftsmen skilled in different trades.
Where Xu Fu and his fleet eventually went remains one of the enduring mysteries of ancient Chinese history.
Many believe that his ships reached Japan, where the voyagers settled and established new communities. Some have even speculated that Xu Fu was none other than Emperor Jimmu (神武天皇), the legendary first emperor of Japan.
There is no reliable historical evidence to support this claim, though. Interestingly, however, ancient DNA research indeed revealed that around the broad period in which Xu Fu lived, Japan was undergoing significant demographic changes.
Migrants from the Chinese mainland were moving into the Japanese archipelago and mixing with the indigenous Jomon (绳纹) population, contributing to the emergence of present day Yayoi (弥生) societies.
Back in China, however, the dream of immortality was far from dead.
You might think the First Emperor's failure would have put an end to this obsession. But a century later, another powerful emperor followed in his footsteps. Emperor Wu of Han.
He, too, traveled repeatedly to the coast of Shandong, visiting places associated with the First Emperor's search for immortals.
The fate of Qin Shi Huang had taught him little.
But both emperors remained helpless before the one enemy neither could conquer: death.
This ordinary man simply made something beautiful. But his little bronze mountain is still with us.
Guess who won.
是的我現在出行更喜歡訂酒店而不是Airbnb，真的不想在退房前還要打掃清潔，自己丟垃圾袋（想象一下垃圾收集地在很遠的地方🌝）而且是在付了“清潔費”的前提下。
之前有一次在意大利某湖邊住了一個表面上很乾淨實際上很髒的公寓，退房之後如實評價結果房東還倒打一耙，還好我有拍照留證🤪
？？？法國人沒有最離譜只有更離譜
🚨 0.77€ de taxe pour regarder un film Netflix !
Ce vendredi, les députés viennent d'adopter un amendement socialiste visant à taxer les données qui circulent sur Internet à hauteur de 5,5 centimes par gigaoctet reçu en France.
Ils ont complètement pété les plombs.
Voici quelques exemples de ce que ça va désormais vous coûter :
🔴 Vous regardez un film Netflix de 2 heures en 4K ? Jusqu'à 0,77 € de taxe brute sur les données transmises.
🔴 Vous téléchargez un jeu vidéo de 150 Go ? 8,25 €.
🔴 Vous récupérez 200 Go de photos personnelles stockées chez Google ? 11 €.
🔴 Vous rapatriez 1 To de vos propres fichiers depuis Google Drive ? 55 €.
🔴 Vous restaurez 2 To de sauvegardes après une panne informatique ? 110 €.
Ces taxes seront facturées aux plateformes américaines, qui vous vous en doutez bien, vous redescendront la facture !
Ils sont en train de construire une fiscalité qui pénalise le simple fait de transmettre de la donnée.
Et ceci alors que nous sommes à l'aube d'une révolution technologique majeure avec l'IA !
Pour rester compétitifs, tous les pays doivent accélérer leur transformation numérique.
Et nous en France, que trouve-t-on comme idée de génie ?
UNE PUTAIN DE TAXE SUR LA DATA !
Et en plus ils ont le culot de nous la présenter comme une mesure écologique qui encouragerait à réduire les volumes de données échangées.
Quelle bande de guignols.
Il faut être totalement déconnecté des réalités économiques pour considérer qu'un pays peut retrouver sa prospérité en multipliant indéfiniment les prélèvements sur les activités productives.
Cet amendement n'est pas encore une loi définitive, mais le simple fait qu'une telle proposition ait été adoptée à l'Assemblée nationale en dit long sur la manière dont nous sommes gouvernés.
Ces fous du bus vont vraiment nous mettre au fond du ravin.
這嘴臉⋯⋯ 他到底是怎麼好意思說出“不公平”的？沒有勤奮努力靠自己雙手致富的華人貢獻各種社會金和稅收，這些懶惰只會生一窩孩子的人怎麼躺平享受便宜的社會住房和各種福利補助？
มีคนสงสัยว่าทำไมเหล่าบรรดาลูกหลานผู้อพยพมุสซี่จากแอฟริกาเหนือในฝรั่งเศสจึงบุกจี้ปล้นทำร้ายเจ้าของร้านค้าที่เป็นของคนจีนในฝรั่งเศสอย่างในคลิปที่เห็น คนพวกนี้มีเหตุผลอะไร?
ดูคลิปนี้แล้วคุณจะเข้าใจเลยว่าทำไมมุสซี่พวกนี้จึงโจมตีเป้าหมายๅร้านค้าคนขาว คนยิว คนเอเชียตะวันออก แต่ไม่แตะร้านค้าของผู้อพยพชาวมุสลิมเลย
คุณดูแล้วสรุปเองแล้วกันว่าคนพวกนี้คิดอะไรในหัว
eva 😼 retweeted
#Cdrama #TheGlory #雁回时
Ming Dynasty Noble Wedding
Similar Reference: Ming Dynasty Portrait of a Couple Seated Side by Side 明代夫妇并坐像
#art #chinese #chineseart #hanfu #漢服 #汉服 #陈都灵 #chenduling
🤖 Made with AI
法國已經開始承受大規模引進移民和無止盡接收難民的後果了。一場學生的訴求演變成現在這樣很離譜。
Do these really look like high schoolers annoyed that their classrooms are too dirty?
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
This image appeared in a July 31, 2021 Swedish report on a gang clash in Hjällbo, Gothenburg—not a school protest. Swedish public broadcaster SVT independently reported the May 28 clash.
samnytt.se/se-hela-klankr…
svt.se/nyheter/lokalt…
eva 😼 retweeted
I once had the privilege of studying the five surviving volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia held at Cornell University.
What struck me most was not even its staggering size.
It was what the project itself represented.
In a sense, the Yongle Encyclopedia was a 15th-century backup of a civilization.
Its compilers copied vast amounts of material from thousands of earlier Chinese works into this enormous collection. Many of those original books later disappeared completely. Some fragments of lost knowledge survive today only because, six centuries ago, the editors chose to preserve them inside the Yongle Encyclopedia.
So every surviving volume is more than just a fragment of the encyclopedia itself.
It can also be a time capsule containing traces of books that no longer exist.
And the fate of the encyclopedia itself is just as mysterious.
In 1562, the Jiajing Emperor ordered a complete new copy of the Yongle Encyclopedia to be made from the original. The painstaking work continued for five years and was completed in 1567.
Then something strange happened.
The original edition disappeared from the historical record.
To this day, not a single page has been conclusively identified as belonging to the original Yongle edition.
Some believe it was destroyed in the wars and upheavals that followed the fall of the Ming dynasty.
Others have proposed a far more intriguing possibility: because the Jiajing Emperor treasured the encyclopedia so highly, the original may ultimately have been buried with him in his imperial tomb.
No one knows.
Every surviving volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia known today actually comes from the 16th-century Jiajing copy.
And even this backup of the backup nearly vanished.
Volumes were gradually lost during the Qing dynasty. By the 19th century, theft and dispersal had become widespread. Then, during the fighting in Beijing in 1900,many of the remaining volumes held at the Imperial Academy were burned, looted, or carried away.
In the 1950s, China considered excavating the mausoleums of Yongle or Jiajing, because they might either contain the draft copy or original copy.
That plan eventually shifted to the excavation of a third
mausoleum.
And after more than four centuries, the most tantalizing
question remains unanswered:
Did the original Yongle Encyclopedia vanish forever in fire and war, or is one of the greatest libraries ever created still lying in the darkness beneath a Ming
emperor's tomb?
eva 😼 retweeted
#Cdrama #TheGlory #雁回时
Ming Dynasty Pleated Skirt
Reference: Qing Dynasty attributed to Niu Zhen Album of Ladies 清钮贞 (传) 仕女 设色绢本 册页十二开
#art #chinese #chineseart #hanfu #漢服 #汉服 #陈都灵 #chenduling
