498 replies to this topic

[Yun]

Did the game Polo originate from china?? I have always wondered about that.......

It is believed to have originated in Persia, and spread to China and India from there.

[Yun]

Question : Why did earlier emperors change era names so often but later emperors used only one during their reign?

E.g., Emperor Wu of Han had 11 era names! Admittedly, he ruled for a very long time (about 53 years).

But Qing emperors KangXi and QianLong ruled even longer, and used only one era name each.

Even during the Ming Dynasty, emperors used only one era name (except for Emperor Yingzong whose rule was interrupted by his capture by the Oirats).

But the Song dynasty emperors (except the short-lived ones) had multiple era names, a custom adopted by the Yuan Mongol rulers.

Hence, there seemed to have been a change in fashion when the Ming dynasty was founded.

Anyone knows why?

Even Zhu Yuanzhang's rival warlords Xu Shouhui and Chen Youliang during the Yuan-Ming transition used more than one reign era name. Xu had four era names from 1351 to 1360, and Chen (who murdered Xu and took over his position in 1360) used two reign era names before dying in the Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363. So it would seem that the decision to use only one reign era per emperor was a conscious one made by the early Ming emperors, and then inherited by the Qing dynasty. Who made the decision, and why, is unknown to me however.

[snowybeagle]

Eunuchs were given the job of being male servants for the imperial harem.

Besides the imperial family and royalties, did other wealthy figures such as nobilities or plutocrats also keep eunuchs on the staff?

[WangEnlai]

why do some chinese in china consider baby fetus delicacy? its creepy~

Some people believe it makes the skin more softer/fairer since babies have extremely smooth skin. Or see what mawguy wrote.

[Kimchee]

Oh c**p how could I forget that question.

Did chinese have toilet paper?

In AD 1391, Imperial Supplies produced 720,000 peices of toilet paper a year (each sheet was about 2 1/2 feet long) and was only for the Emperor. Chinese were first to invent toilet paper.

What about the general public? (Hopefully it was not the Left-hand = wipe, Right-hand = eat system they had in some parts of Africa & Middle East. )
Interesting information (no china though) pasted from: http://www.toiletpap...on/funfacts.htm

What did people use before toilet paper was invented?

*Newsprint, paper catalogue pages in early US
*Hayballs, Scraper/gompf stick kept in container by the privy in the Middle Ages
*Discarded sheep's wool in the Viking Age, England
*Frayed end of an old anchor cable was used by sailing crews from Spain and Portugal *Medieval Europe- Straw, hay, grass, gompf stick
*Corn cobs, Sears Roebuck catalog, mussel shell, newspaper, leaves, sand- United States
*Water and your left hand, India
*Pages from a book, British Lords
*Coconut shells in early Hawaii
*Lace was used by French Royalty
*Public Restrooms in Ancient Rome- A sponge soaked in salt water, on the end of a stick
*The Wealthy in Ancient Rome-Wool and Rosewater
*French Royalty-lace, hemp
*Hemp & wool were used by the elite citizens of the world
*Defecating in the river was very common internationally
*Bidet, France
*Snow and Tundra Moss were used by early Eskimos

Strangest was corncobs & scraper sticks. Even worst is defecating in rivers, which is very common worldwide. Yellow River anyone?

OWWWW!

-K

[snowybeagle]

What is the lowest rank an official must attain in order to attend the morning court sessions with the emperor?

[Inuyasha-sama]

Why did 食 change into 吃?

[Suren911]

Are Chinese people from mars? I heard they are. Please, serious answers only.

[Mok]

Greece = Grecian or Greeks? I've heard both terms used interchangeably.

[Centaur]

Greece = Grecian or Greeks? I've heard both terms used interchangeably.

Yes, the terms are normally interchangeable. Both "Grecian" and "Greek" mean the same thing, although "Grecian" is obsolescent. "Grecian" is pretty much only used nowadays in relation to architectural style. "Greek" is from the noun, which is from the Old English "Crecas," which in turn is from the Latin.

[lanjingling]

Are Chinese people from mars? I heard they are. Please, serious answers only.

Isn't Mars called the red planet ?

[Kimchee]

Was Lei Feng a real person, or was he just a symbol of what values Chinese people should emulate?

[orchid_dreams]

Was Lei Feng a real person, or was he just a symbol of what values Chinese people should emulate?

yes he's real. you can find out more about him if you searched "lei feng" or "雷锋" on the internet.

[WangEnlai]

What did the ancient chinese do about their nails?

Hello Enlai,

Most of the time women and men left it long, some cut their nails but Taoists say you can get disease if you cut too often.

It's the same as cutting hair in Confucianism; you don't lop off something your parents gave you.

[Rong Qin Wang]

Question : Why did earlier emperors change era names so often but later emperors used only one during their reign?

E.g., Emperor Wu of Han had 11 era names! Admittedly, he ruled for a very long time (about 53 years).

But Qing emperors KangXi and QianLong ruled even longer, and used only one era name each.

Even during the Ming Dynasty, emperors used only one era name (except for Emperor Yingzong whose rule was interrupted by his capture by the Oirats).

But the Song dynasty emperors (except the short-lived ones) had multiple era names, a custom adopted by the Yuan Mongol rulers.

Hence, there seemed to have been a change in fashion when the Ming dynasty was founded.

Anyone knows why?

Zunjing de Si Fu Snowybeagle,

First of all, I think that this is a very good question that I have been wondering myself. So, it should definitely be posted as a “General Discussion” topic, not as “Silly Questions.”

I am not really sure of the answer myself, but I have read in the book called “History of China” that Emperors prior to Ming Tai Zu changed era names to mark the beginning or the end of significant events. However, Ming Tai Zu believed in the Confucian unchanging principles; hence, using one era name during his entire reign. Of course, this was a custom adopted by the Qing Emperors after entering Beijing . This is almost a direct quote from the book, and there was nothing else mentioned about this issue ever again in the book.

Since earlier Emperors can have quite a few era names, people referred to them by their temple or posthumous names. With just one era name, Ming and Qing Emperors are usually regarded by their era names.

I really don’t know how reliable you think this is?

Xie Xie,