China
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On Buddhism: Two men, one Buddha
Two images come to mind when someone mentions a Buddhist Idol, such as a statue or a piece of jewelry; one man is seen as skinny and somber, while the other is depicted as a fat, jolly man. What is less known is who these Idols are and what each one represents, both of whom were prominent men in the Buddhist religion but only one was actually a Buddha. The fat Buddha, or The Laughing Buddha, is known by different names in different regions, Budai in China and Hotei or Qici in Japan, but he was not a Buddha at all. In China, Budai was a monk from Chinese folklore…
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Fireworks
The earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to 7th century China where they were first used to frighten away evil spirits with their loud sound and to pray for happiness and prosperity. They mixed together saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal, sulfur and other ingredients, which brought about an early form of gunpowder. They began stuffing the powder into bamboo shoots that when thrown into a fire would produce a loud blast. They then used paper tubes instead of bamboo stalks which became the start of fireworks. By the 10th century, they began attaching firecrackers to arrows that rained down on their adversaries during military battles. Two hundred years later, they learned…
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Terra-Cotta Rock and Rolla’: Qin Shi Huang
(To the tune of Billy Joel’s classic rock and roll hit: “Christie Lee”:youtube.com/watch?v=ru-gkHHwDb4) Let me tell you a story, About a man who was king! He lorded ancient China, In the dynasty that was Qin! The man was born in two-six zero In the time of BCE. And he conquered all the nations! So they could all be Chinese! He expanded China’s borders, he also affected economy. He standardized the education, by burning books and the scholary… He searched and searched for a death cure, sought to beat mortality. Sent Xu Fu to seek an elixir! But Xu Fu would found the Japanese! Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shi Huang! Qin…
