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	Imperial Calendar in the Third Year of Emperor Jia Jing’s Reign in the Ming Dynasty The Da Ming Jiajing san nian datong li (Imperial calendar, or great universal system of calculating astronomy) is based upon the system of calendrical astronomy developed by the astronomer Guo Shoujin during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). It was officially adapted by the Ming Bureau of Astronomy in 1384. It specified the phases of the moon and contained predictions of when lunar and solar eclipses would occur. The great Chinese navigator Zheng He used Guo Shoujing's methods to determine latitude and longitude on his voyages to the Pacific and Indian ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Map of Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands This map is a panoramic view of the island of Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands, with relief shown pictorially as if viewed from east to west so that the mountain peaks shown converge from opposite directions along the north–south axial line. The map is oriented with north to the right. The coastline of Taiwan is remarkably accurate. The map shows two prefect cities, Taiwan and Taipei, and 12 county seats with text describing distances between important settlements, the general geography of the islands, and proposed measures for effective defense ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Comprehensive Map of Vietnam’s Provinces This undated brush and ink manuscript map of Vietnam during the 19th century combines features of the traditional cartography practiced in both China and Vietnam with some Western elements. The place names and a text block in the lower right-hand corner are in classical Chinese calligraphy, the writing system used by both Chinese and Vietnamese scholar-officials. Traditional elements include its pictorial style (mountains, trees, and structures such as the border gate between Vietnam and China), lack of precise scale, and emphasis on mountains and water. A large number of mountains ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Chronicle of Foreign Lands The Zhifang waiji (Chronicle of foreign lands) is a concise geography of the world, the first of its kind written in Chinese. The Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci produced a map of the world in Chinese in 1584. The map, which followed Western principles of cartography then unknown in China, underwent several revisions between 1584 and 1602. Ricci’s fellow priests Diego de Pantoja and Sabatino de Ursis were instructed by imperial order to compose a book explaining the map. Pantoja died in 1618 and the work eventually was completed ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Zhu Category D: Romance and Love-Related Ceremonies - Ji Feng The Naxi language spoken by the Naxi people of Yunnan Province, China, is the only pictographic writing system in the world still in use. A member of the Tibetan-Burman language family, Naxi has many of the tonal and symbolic aspects of Chinese. The Naxi language has four tones; each sound complex has many different meanings based on its tone. The Naxi Dongba script is used exclusively by the dongba (shamans/priests) as an aid to the recitation of ritual texts during religious ceremonies and shamanistic rituals. Many of the individual ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Atlas of the World The Ch’ŏnha chido (Atlas of the world) is a 19th century copy of the traditional Korean atlas produced in the early Chosŏn dynasty (1392-1910). One of the maps in the atlas, "Ch’ŏnhado" (Map of the world), is a unique and popular China-centered world map seen in Korean perspective. The typical contents of the traditional Korean atlases during this period consist of the following: a world map bearing the title Ch’ŏnhado, a map of Korea, maps of the eight provinces of Korea, and maps of neighboring countries--China, Japan ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Su Ruolan The portrait is of Su Hui, a gifted fourth-century female scholar and poet who had the courtesy name of Ruolan (“like an orchid”). She is famous for a palindromic poem that she embroidered in several colors of silk to express her love for her husband, who had been exiled to a distant point on the trade routes to Central Asia. Different versions of the poem exist. One has 112 characters arranged in eight rows of 14 characters. They make no sense unless the reader starts with the character "husband" in ... Contributed by National Central Library
	Chart of the Organs Revealed by Inward Illumination This medical text shows the five major organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys) and six minor organs (gall bladder, stomach, small intestines, large intestine, bladder, and triple heater meridian) of the human body, as defined in Chinese traditional medicine. The triple heater meridian is one of 12 basic meridians used in Chinese medicine to understand the functioning of the body. Also shown are other concepts from Chinese medicine, for example, the cinnabar field. In Taoist thought, the cinnabar field is the root of the human being, the place in ... Contributed by National Central Library
	The Plum Blossom The plum blossom and bamboo sometimes are paired as friends in Chinese culture. Both are symbols of purity and steadfastness. This pairing is reflected in this late 17th-early 18th century painting and the accompanying poem. He Shikun was a Ming-dynasty figure who is identified in two local gazetteers as being from Xinhui, in Guangdong. The inscription here, however, identifies him as being from Wuyang, an old name for Guangzhou, to the north of Xinhui. In 1646, in the chaotic weeks before Xinhui surrendered to the Qing dynasty forces that had ... Contributed by National Central Library
	Nine-Headed Phoenix This Qing-dynasty (1644-1911) print shows the nine-headed phoenix, a being from Chinese mythology with a bird's body and nine heads with human faces. It is one of several hybrid creatures mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing), where it is said to dwell in the Great Wilds to the North at the mountain called Celestial-Coffer-at-the-Northern-Extremity. This entry is in what may be the most recent section of this work, which may have been composed at any time between the third or fourth century B.C. and ... Contributed by National Central Library
	Two Illustrations from "Selected Arias of the Yuan Dynasty" These prints from around 1615 show two figures from Yuan-dynasty (1279-1368) poetry. The right-hand picture illustrates a play about Zheng Kongmu, a law clerk, and Song Bin, a young man who accidentally killed a man. Zheng recognizes Song Bin as an honorable man and convinces the judge not to execute him. Instead, he is exiled to a penal colony where he has many adventures, including meeting up with and helping Zheng Kongmu when he himself runs afoul of the law by killing a woman who mistreated his children. The other ... Contributed by National Central Library
	The People of Taiwan Parading to a Ritual Sacrifice (for Generals Fan and Xie) The annual ritual sacrifices for General Fan and Xie at the temple to the city gods in Taipei were especially important to the people of Taiwan during the period of Japanese occupation, which lasted from 1895 to 1945. Extra trains in and out of Taipei were scheduled to accommodate the crowds that came to this event from all over Taiwan. Contributed by National Central Library
	Raising Ducks in Taipei Province Traditionally, raising ducks has been an important enterprise in Taiwan, especially in the northern region. Wherever there is water, families have raised ducks for food. Contributed by National Central Library
	The Magnificent Longshan Temple in Taipei The Longshan Temple is the most famous ancient temple in Taipei. Built in 1738 by settlers from the Chinese mainland who founded a trading post at the site 15 years previously, the temple was where local residents worshipped the Guanyin Bodhisattva and looked to it for protection and the resolution of disputes. In the Sino-French War of 1884-85, the temple became a rallying point for the successful defense of Taiwan against French troops. Earthquakes, storms, and a major termite assault obliged the community to rebuild the temple at various times ... Contributed by National Central Library
	View of the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan Under Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945, the chief authority in Taiwan was the governor-general, an official appointed by, and sent from, Tokyo. The governor-general wielded supreme executive, legislative, and judicial power. This 1920s photograph shows the office of the governor general, which included bureaus for military and home affairs. Construction of this building, by workers imported from Japan, began in 1912 and was completed in 1919. Contributed by National Central Library
	Illustrated Guide of Tilling and Weaving: Rural Life in China This book is comprised of 23 illustrations of tilling and 23 illustrations of weaving, each of which is accompanied by a poem. According to the "Preface to the imperially commissioned illustrations of tilling and weaving" and the formal memorandum of presentation by Yan Yudun, the poems were inscribed by the Kangxi Emperor. The painter, Jiao Bingzhen, for the most part draws on the “Tilling and Weaving Illustrations" by the early Southern Song painter Lou Shou, making adjustments to produce these pictures, which are masterpieces of art, notable for their vivacity ... Contributed by Library of Congress
	Winds of the Four Directions This oracle bone from around 1200 B.C. contains 24 characters in four groups in a vigorous and strong style, typical of the Bin group of diviners in the reign of Wu Ding (circa 1200-1189 B.C.). It records the gods of the four directions and of the four winds. The winds of the four directions reflect the spring and autumn equinoxes, the summer and winter solstices, and the changes of the four seasons. The four winds are the east wind, called Xie; the south wind, called Wei; the west ... Contributed by National Library of China
	Kangxi Dictionary This book was compiled by Zhang Yushu, Chen Tingjing, and other famous philologists and linguists from all over China in response to an edict from Emperor Shengzu in the 49th year of the Kangxi era. The work was completed in the 55th year of the Kangxi era. Through diplomats, missionaries, and the 1904 Saint Louis World Exposition, the Library of Congress acquired editions of the Kangxi Dictionary published in 1716, 1780, 1827, and 1878. Contributed by Library of Congress
	Lotus Sutra This printed edition of this work from the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) is the sole copy in existence. It was originally in the collection of Fu Zengxiang, and was acquired by the Library of Congress in 1941. Contributed by Library of Congress
	One Million Small Wooden Pagodas and Dharani Prayers Hyakumanto Darani (The one million pagodas and Dharani prayers) is the oldest traceable publication in the world whose production date is clearly identified. In 764, the Empress Shōtoku (718-770) ordered the donation of Hyakumanto Darani, each containing a small scroll printed with four Buddhist Dharani sutras, to ten major temples. The National Diet Library holds several of the scrolls that were donated to the Hōryūji Temple in Nara prefecture in western Japan. These three-tiered pagodas were painted with white clay. It is unclear whether the printing blocks were of wood ... Contributed by National Diet Library
	Life and Activities of Shakyamuni Buddha Incarnate The vivid colors in this Chinese book are reminiscent of the pictures in medieval European manuscripts. Liu Ruoyu (Ming dynasty) records this edition in his Neiban jingshu jilue (Outline record of imperial editions): “Life and Activities of Shakyamuni Incarnate: Four volumes, 440 pages.” The original book, by the Ming monk Baocheng, is in six juan (sections) and is titled Shijia rulai yinghua lu (Record of the teachings of the thus-come Śākyamuni Buddha), which indicates that the book was revised and combined with other texts before the printing blocks for it ... Contributed by Library of Congress

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