Archive for December, 2005

Paper Currency of China (Part 01)

Thursday, December 15th, 2005

The paper currencies of China are among the most beautiful in the world and they come in denominations of:

  • 1 Jiao (10c in China Currency)
  • 2 Jiao (20c in China Currency)
  • 5 Jiao (50c in China Currency)
  • 1 Yuan ($1 in China Currency)
  • 2 Yuan ($2 in China Currency)
  • 5 Yuan ($5 in China Currency)
  • 10 Yuan ($10 in China Currency)
  • 20 Yuan ($20 in China Currency)
  • 50 Yuan ($50 in China Currency)
  • 100 Yuan ($100 in China Currency)

Honestly, my favourite happens to be the “old” paper currencies of China which depicted the different minority races of China (in their traditional costumes) on the front. In today’s post, I am featuring the 3 smallest denomination of China’s “old” paper currency:

This is the “1 Jiao” (10c in China Currency):

China Currency 1 Jiao

This is the “2 Jiao” (20c in China Currency):

China Currency 2 Jiao

This is the “5 Jiao” (50c in China Currency):

China Currency 5 Jiao

These bank notes are very beautiful and definitely a collector’s item. Unfortunately they are slowly being replaced with the “new” paper currencies of China, which no longer depict the very colourful different ethnic minority races of China for the different denominations. Instead, the new currencies of all denominations will only carry the picture of Mao Zedong.

In future posts on the paper currency of China, I will feature the other denominations in BOTH the “old” and “new” bank notes.

ps. article taken with permission from ILuvChina.BlogSpot.Com. the url for the original article can be found here.

Posted in About China | No Comments »

China’s History (Part 01) : Dynasties of China (Overview)

Tuesday, December 6th, 2005

History of China (Part 01) : A Brief Overview of the Dynasties of China

* Xia Dynasty (Hsia Dynasty)
“Xia4 Chao2″
Circa 2100 BC - 1600 BC

* Shang Dynasty
“Shang Chao2″
Circa 1600 BC - 1100 BC

* Zhou Dynasty (Chou Dynasty)
“Zhou Chao2″
Circa 1100 BC - 221 BC
- Western Zhou Dynasty : “Xi Zhou” : Circa 1100 BC - 771 BC
- Eastern Zhou Dynasty : “Dong Zhou” : Circa 770 BC - 256 BC
- Spring And Autumn Period : “Chun Qiu” : Circa 770 BC - 476 BC
- Warring States Period : “Zhan4 Guo2″ : Circa 475 BC - 221 BC

* Qin Dynasty (Ch’in Dynasty)
“Qin2 Chao2″
Circa 221 BC - 207 BC

* Han Dynasty
“Han4 Chao2″
Circa 206 BC - 220 AD
- Western Han : “Xi Han4″ : Circa 206 BC - 24 AD
- Eastern Han : “Dong Han4″ : 25 AD - 220 AD

* 3 Kingdoms
“San Guo2″
220 AD - 280 AD
- Wei Kingdom : “Wie4 Guo2″ : 220AD - 265 AD
- Shu (or Shu Han) Kingdom : “Shu3 Guo2″ : 221 AD - 263 AD
- Wu Kingdom : “Wu2 Guo2″ : 222 AD - 280 AD

* Western Jin Dynasty (Western Chin Dynasty)
“Xi Jin4″
265 AD - 316 AD

* Eastern Jin Dynasty (Eastern Chin Dynasty)
“Dong Jin4″
317 AD - 420 AD

* Northern & Southern Dynasties
“Nan2 Bei3 Chao2″
420 AD - 581 AD
Southern Dynasties:
- Song : “Song4″ : 420 AD - 479 AD
- Qi : “Qi2″ : 479 AD - 502 AD
- Liang : “Liang2″ : 502 AD - 557 AD
- Chen : “Chen2″ : 557 AD - 589 AD
Northern Dynasties:
- Northern Wei : “Bei3 Wei4″ : 386 AD - 534 AD
- Eastern Wei : “Dong Wei4″ : 534 AD - 550 AD
- Northern Qi : “Bei3 Qi2″ : 550 AD - 577 AD
- Western Wei : “Xi Wei4″ : 535 AD - 556 AD
- Northern Zhou : “Bei3 Zhou” : 557 AD - 581 AD

* Sui Dynasty
“Sui2 Chao2″
581 AD - 618 AD

* Tang Dynasty (T’ang Dynasty)
“Tang2 Chao2″
618 AD - 907 AD

* 5 Dynasties
“Wu3 Dai4″
907 AD - 960 AD
- Later Liang : “Hou4 Liang2″ : 907 AD - 923 AD
- Later Tang : “Hou4 Tang2″ : 923 AD - 936 AD
- Later Jin : “Hou4 Jin” : 936 AD - 946 AD
- Later Han : “Hou4 Han4″ : 947 AD - 950 AD
- Later Zhou : “Hou4 Zhou” : 951 AD - 960 AD

* Song Dynasty (Sung Dynasty)
“Song Chao2″
960 AD - 1279 AD
- Northern Song : “Bei3 Song4″ : 960 AD - 1127 AD
- Southern Song : “Nan2 Song4″ : 1127 AD - 1279 AD

* Liao Dynasty
“Liao2 Chao2″
916 AD - 1125 AD

* Jin Dynasty (Chin Dynasty)
“Jin Chao2″
1115 AD - 1234 AD

* Yuan Dynasty (Yuan Dynasty)
“Yuan2 Chao2″
1271 AD - 1368 AD

* Ming Dynasty
“Ming2 Chao2″
1368 AD- 1644 AD

* Qing Dynasty (Ch’ing Dynasty)
“Qing Chao2″
1644 AD - 1911 AD

* Republic of China
“Zhong Hua2 Min2 Guo2″
1912 AD - 1949 AD

* People’s Republic of China
“Zhong Hua2 Ren2 Min2 Gong4 He2 Guo2″
Since 1949

The above is only a brief overview on the rulers (dynasties, kingdoms, governments, etc.) of China the last 3000-4000 years. It is in no way comprehensive. More related informations will be added later.

If you happened to notice any error, please do not hesitate to email me or leave behind a comment here. Xie4 Xie4. Thank you :)

Reference Guide:
The wordings in green colour is the Wade-Giles romanization spelling for the name of the dynasty.
The wordings in red colour is the HanYuPinYin romanization for the name of the dynasty in Chinese.

ps. article taken with permission from ILuvChina.BlogSpot.Com. the url for the original article can be found here.

Posted in China History | No Comments »

The 4 Books & 5 Classics (Si Shu Wu Jing)

Thursday, December 1st, 2005

The 4 books of Confucianism (”Si4 Shu”):

  • “Da4 Xue2″ - The Great Learning;
  • “Zhong Yong” - The Doctrine of the Mean;
  • “Lun2 Yu3″ - The Analects of Confucius;
  • “Meng4 Zi3″ - The Mencius.

    And the 5 Classics (”Wu3 Jing”):

      • “Shi Jing” - The Book of Songs / Poems;
      • “Shang4 Shu” - The Book of History;
      • “Li3 Ji4″ - The Book of Rites;
      • “Zhou Yi4″ - The Book of Changes (The Yi-Jing / I-Ching);
      • “Chun Qiu Zuo3 Zhuan4″ - The Spring & Autumn Annals.

        The “SiShu WuJing” are considered among the most important works of literature of “Zhong Guo2″ (the “Middle Kingdom” - China) and the Chinese. For thousands of years, they are compulsory study for scholars sitting for the imperial examinations.

        ps. article taken with permission from ILuvChina.BlogSpot.Com. the url for the original article can be found here.

        Posted in Chinese Literature | No Comments »