The Karla Caves in India were begun approximately 200BC by Buddhist monks. They are a spectacular set of hand-carved temples, dug into the volcanic rock of the Western Ghats mountains. The most
impressive is the principal cave in which is the largest Chaitya among Buddhist cave in the country, being 15meters wide and 16 meters high. The most remarkable feature of the cave is its arched roof supported by wooden beams which have astonishingly survived the onslaught of elements for more than 2,000 years. The Wooden Umbrella above the Chaitya is unique in the Buddhist caves around the world. There is absolutely no sign of any corrosion.
impressive is the principal cave in which is the largest Chaitya among Buddhist cave in the country, being 15meters wide and 16 meters high. The most remarkable feature of the cave is its arched roof supported by wooden beams which have astonishingly survived the onslaught of elements for more than 2,000 years. The Wooden Umbrella above the Chaitya is unique in the Buddhist caves around the world. There is absolutely no sign of any corrosion.
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Chinese-Terra-Cotta-Army-Qin-Dynasty
The Emperor Qin shi huan (or Qin shi huang)
lived from 259BC to 210BC. He was king of the state of Qin (“Chin”) from 246BC to 221BC, when, after many years of bloody conquest, he became the first to unite the country under one Empire. He established standards of government, money, taxation, laws and administrative systems. He built the first version of the Great Wall. For his tomb, he had thousands of life-sized warriors, horses, chariots and entertainers made from terracotta. They were buried around his tomb near Xi’an.
lived from 259BC to 210BC. He was king of the state of Qin (“Chin”) from 246BC to 221BC, when, after many years of bloody conquest, he became the first to unite the country under one Empire. He established standards of government, money, taxation, laws and administrative systems. He built the first version of the Great Wall. For his tomb, he had thousands of life-sized warriors, horses, chariots and entertainers made from terracotta. They were buried around his tomb near Xi’an.
Forgotten for thousands of years, the terracotta armies were re-discovered in 1974 and are still being excavated and restored today. The Chinese have not yet excavated Qinshihuan’s tomb, which stands as a hill about 1 kilometre away from the buried warriors.
Writings from not long after Qinshihuan’s death describe the interior of the tomb as having a miniature map of his empire laid out on the floor, with rivers of mercury and star patterns embedded in the roof with diamonds and pearls. Studies have shown elevated levels of mercury in the soil around the tomb, so this may be true.
Writings from not long after Qinshihuan’s death describe the interior of the tomb as having a miniature map of his empire laid out on the floor, with rivers of mercury and star patterns embedded in the roof with diamonds and pearls. Studies have shown elevated levels of mercury in the soil around the tomb, so this may be true.
The Qing Ming Festival is a Spring festival for the celebration of the renewal of life after winter and lasts for several days. It’s official beginnings date from several centuries after 80AD, but it undoubtedly replaced an earlier festival of similar nature.
The Han family took over China as the ruling clan in 206BC and ruled until 220AD. It is commonly considered to be one of the greatest periods in the history of China. Even today, a large majority of the people refer to themselves as the ‘Han people’.
During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state (following the philosophy and teachings of Confucius) and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached over 56 million people. Meanwhile, the empire extended its political, cultural influence, and territory over much of Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Central Asia before it finally collapsed under a combination of domestic and external pressures.
http//www.wikipedia.org/wiki/han_dynasty
The original site of the Han capital of Chang’an was first located 3 km northwest of modern Xi'an. As the capital of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC- 9AD), it was the political, economic and cultural centre of China. It was also the eastern end of the newly established Silk Road, and a cosmopolitan city comparable with the greatest cities of their contemporaries in the Roman Empire.
After the Western Han period, the Eastern Han government (25AD-220AD) used Luoyang, three hundred kilometres to the east, as the new capital and renamed Chang'an to Xijing (Western Capital).
Emperor Zhang of Han (hàn zhāng dì), (57-88) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 75 to 88. He was the third emperor of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.
Emperor Zhang was a hardworking and diligent ruler. He reduced taxes and paid close attention to all affairs of state. As a result, Han society prospered and its culture flourished during this period.
During his reign, Chinese troops, under the leadership of General Ban Chao, progressed far west beyond the Caspian Sea. These military expeditions into the far west established direct contact with the Parthian Empire and sent an official embassy to Rome.
One of the great Chinese inventions, paper, dates from the Han Dynasty, and is largely attributed to the court eunuch Cai Lun (50 - 121 AD). By the first (1st) century BC, the Chinese had discovered how to forge the highly durable metal of steel, by melting together wrought iron with cast iron. There were great mathematicians, astronomers, statesmen, and technological inventors such as Zhang Heng (78 - 139 AD), who invented the world's first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere. Zhang Heng's most famous invention was a seismometer with a swinging pendulum that signified the direction of earthquakes that struck locations hundreds of kilometres away from the position device. Zhang Heng also argued that light emanating from the moon was merely the reflected light that came originally from the sun, and accurately described the reasons for solar eclipse and lunar eclipse as path obstructions of light by the celestial bodies of the earth, sun, and moon.
A Solar eclipse can only occur during a New moon, when the moon’s orbit brings it into a position to pass between the Sun and the Earth. A total eclipse of the sun can only last a maximum of about 7 minutes.
Grief – Throughout the books, Phoenix has to deal with grief over the loss of his father and various friends. Grief is real and can be broken down into five basic stages. Everyone goes through them, although perhaps not all of them. The feelings also come back over and over, gradually getting less intense as time passes.
Stages include:
* Denial - eg "This can't be happening"
* Anger - eg:"Why him? It's not fair!"
* Bargaining - eg: "I'll do anything to have him back; take me instead!"
* Depression - eg: "I'm so sad, why bother with anything."
* Acceptance - eg: "It'll be ok. I can't change it, so I'll have to live with it."
Eastern Philosophy. Various Eastern/Asian philosophies throughout the ages have produced a number of wise sayings. Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Taoism are just a few of the fascinating Eastern philosophies that influence the world today.
Some of their more famous sayings include: (Those in green were in the books)
Count not what is lost but what is left
Pure gold does not fear the smelter
The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials
The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out
When the mantis hunts the locust, he forgets the shrike that is hunting him
Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire
Only he that has travelled the road knows where the holes are deep
When your horse in on the brink of a precipice, it is too late to pull the reins
It is the beautiful bird which gets caged
Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity.
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same
Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad
He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves
The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure
A man must despise himself before others will
Some roads aren’t meant to be travelled alone
If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow
If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home, If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation, if there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world
Often one finds one’s destiny just where one hides to avoid it
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Great anger is more destructive than the sword
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
Happiness is a journey not a destination
In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher
True words are not always pretty; pretty words are not always true
Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles.
The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right names
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Fall seven times, stand up eight.
One does not have to journey a thousand miles to find the truth within
During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state (following the philosophy and teachings of Confucius) and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached over 56 million people. Meanwhile, the empire extended its political, cultural influence, and territory over much of Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Central Asia before it finally collapsed under a combination of domestic and external pressures.
http//www.wikipedia.org/wiki/han_dynasty
The original site of the Han capital of Chang’an was first located 3 km northwest of modern Xi'an. As the capital of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC- 9AD), it was the political, economic and cultural centre of China. It was also the eastern end of the newly established Silk Road, and a cosmopolitan city comparable with the greatest cities of their contemporaries in the Roman Empire.
After the Western Han period, the Eastern Han government (25AD-220AD) used Luoyang, three hundred kilometres to the east, as the new capital and renamed Chang'an to Xijing (Western Capital).
Emperor Zhang of Han (hàn zhāng dì), (57-88) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 75 to 88. He was the third emperor of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.
Emperor Zhang was a hardworking and diligent ruler. He reduced taxes and paid close attention to all affairs of state. As a result, Han society prospered and its culture flourished during this period.
During his reign, Chinese troops, under the leadership of General Ban Chao, progressed far west beyond the Caspian Sea. These military expeditions into the far west established direct contact with the Parthian Empire and sent an official embassy to Rome.
One of the great Chinese inventions, paper, dates from the Han Dynasty, and is largely attributed to the court eunuch Cai Lun (50 - 121 AD). By the first (1st) century BC, the Chinese had discovered how to forge the highly durable metal of steel, by melting together wrought iron with cast iron. There were great mathematicians, astronomers, statesmen, and technological inventors such as Zhang Heng (78 - 139 AD), who invented the world's first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere. Zhang Heng's most famous invention was a seismometer with a swinging pendulum that signified the direction of earthquakes that struck locations hundreds of kilometres away from the position device. Zhang Heng also argued that light emanating from the moon was merely the reflected light that came originally from the sun, and accurately described the reasons for solar eclipse and lunar eclipse as path obstructions of light by the celestial bodies of the earth, sun, and moon.
A Solar eclipse can only occur during a New moon, when the moon’s orbit brings it into a position to pass between the Sun and the Earth. A total eclipse of the sun can only last a maximum of about 7 minutes.
Grief – Throughout the books, Phoenix has to deal with grief over the loss of his father and various friends. Grief is real and can be broken down into five basic stages. Everyone goes through them, although perhaps not all of them. The feelings also come back over and over, gradually getting less intense as time passes.
Stages include:
* Denial - eg "This can't be happening"
* Anger - eg:"Why him? It's not fair!"
* Bargaining - eg: "I'll do anything to have him back; take me instead!"
* Depression - eg: "I'm so sad, why bother with anything."
* Acceptance - eg: "It'll be ok. I can't change it, so I'll have to live with it."
Eastern Philosophy. Various Eastern/Asian philosophies throughout the ages have produced a number of wise sayings. Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Taoism are just a few of the fascinating Eastern philosophies that influence the world today.
Some of their more famous sayings include: (Those in green were in the books)
Count not what is lost but what is left
Pure gold does not fear the smelter
The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials
The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out
When the mantis hunts the locust, he forgets the shrike that is hunting him
Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire
Only he that has travelled the road knows where the holes are deep
When your horse in on the brink of a precipice, it is too late to pull the reins
It is the beautiful bird which gets caged
Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity.
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same
Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad
He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves
The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure
A man must despise himself before others will
Some roads aren’t meant to be travelled alone
If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow
If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home, If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation, if there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world
Often one finds one’s destiny just where one hides to avoid it
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
Great anger is more destructive than the sword
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
Happiness is a journey not a destination
In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher
True words are not always pretty; pretty words are not always true
Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles.
The beginning of wisdom is calling things by their right names
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Fall seven times, stand up eight.
One does not have to journey a thousand miles to find the truth within