Monday, April 6th. The Tomb Cleaning Festival is now a national holiday. They are acknowledging this holiday because they want children to remember their ancestry.
Question: Why are there so many lions? Lions represent power in China. The common people use the “dragon” horse. Deferent groups use different colors for the dragon horses. Businessmen men use black for money. Girls use pink for romance and students use white for future and wisdom. They gave Bill Clinton the gate opening ceremony in Shanghai. Michelle Obama made the same trip.
This is Tuesday, April 7th. We spent two hours on the bus I have had a lot of experiences since going “around the block” a couple of times, but last night was a first. We went to a performance at the West Lake Gardens. It was pouring rain and they offered us ponchos. The performance was an hour, maybe an hour and a half. In the pouring rain, it did not make any difference. It was a spectacular performance in spite of the downpour. We spent most of the day driving from one point to another because the traffic was so heavy.
I am not sure what else happened on this day. I will have to look at my notes and itinerary.
The Tang dynasty had a different standard. It is favored by the Chinese. The women were round and not like the other dynasties were women had to wear loose clothing. The Tang dynasty reached its peak time. After 1970, the turning point of the Chinese closed the cultural exchange. Tang was the last dynasty viewed in Xian dynasties. All the dynasties are old. In Beijing, the guide does not give you much information. In Xian, you have to see with your eyes the beauty. Because everything was made of wood and no longer exist, many sites have been rebuilt.
Wednesday, April 8th We just saw a man on a bicycle get hit by a car. It wasn’t fatal, but he didn’t look like he was hurt when he tried to stand up and on the turnpike, a car bumped into our bus and put a dent and scrape marks on the driver’s side. The bus driver got out to inspect our bus, but the driver in fault drove away.
The Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors are there two places you have to go in the world. Two miracles happened in the same dynasty. Before the Qing dynasty, China was divided in to seven states. In 221 AD, China is united into one state and feudalism is introduced. The Chinese history is difficult because of all of the dynasties. Qin in 221 BC was the first dynasty and Qing in 1911 AD was the last. It ended in 1911. From 1911 to 1949 were the years of the Republic of China. Today the People’s Republic of China. The Qin dynasty built the Terracotta Warriors to protect him. This was the superstition believing in the second life. Everyday the tour guides’ grandmother, who is 102 years old, and wants to go back to the country so she won’t have to be buried in a coffin in the city. If she dies in the city, she has to be buried in a coffin. If she dies in the country, she can be buried in the ground. If you reach 80 years old, they don’t allow you to cry, but you must laugh because you are entering the second life. In 1974, the Terracotta solders were discovered for the first time. Farmers found them by accident and found weapons and ceramics. The government recognized the discoveries of the Terracotta warriors.
They found Pit number one, number two, and number three. The are 7,800 solders. There are solders still buried there. The colors of the Terracotta warriors are well preserved. The warriors were reconstructed from the found pieces. It was a big job, and it takes six months for two archeologists to reconstruct one.
Terracotta is the “big clay” is an Italian word. 3000 years ago the mountain was a volcano. Terracotta has a specific color. Between 300 to 500 C is the temperature for ceramics. For the terracotta, they need 900 C. The color is changed from chocolate to black and the touch is changed from a clay touch to a bronze touch. Xian is the hometown of the Terracotta Warriors. There are venders at the museum who exchange the Chinese rmb for fake money.
Good side, he, Qin, unified China: same money, same language, and a good foundation for the Chinese people. On the bad side, Qin showed no mercy. The people who built his dynasty died. There was no religion in his dynasty, only the law. He died at 51 years old. The emperor believed that if he ate mercury, it would keep him alive, but he dies from it. He died at age 51 and his coffin was buried near Beijing. The Qing dynasty had two emperors that ruled for 14 years. The Han dynasty 400 was years, 200 AD to 200 BC was the Han dynasty
There are many Pits. Pits of the concubines, Pit of the warriors, etc.
There are delays in opening the tomb because how do you protect the tomb and there is a mercury river around it. We discovered the Teterricata Warriors in 1974 and did not know how to preserve them. The warriors were left there for 15 years so that they could be protected. The Terracotta Warriors are from Pit number 2 and number 3.
Xian is also know for persimmons, terracotta, and pomegranates. Pomegranate is not a Chinese food, but from Afghanistan. The mountain was a volcano and the dynasty use to bring his concubines there because of the five hot springs. Han people have a fish tail on the top of the roofs of their houses because of the five elements: wood, fire, clay, metal, and one other. The fish tail protects the houses from the fire.
The first tomb of the first Chinese emperor, terracotta warrior, and bronze chariot were considered the three by UNESCO the World of Cultural Heritage. One the museum site are
Pit Number One
Pit Number Two
Pit Number Three
Pit Number Four
We go to the Islamic area of Xian where we will go to the bazaar. Islam is the third largest religion in China. Hui is what the Chinese call them. You cannot tell them from regular Chinese. They came here during the Tang dynasty. The Muslim do not speak Arabic. They speak a local dialect.
(Nat)
Question: Why are there so many lions? Lions represent power in China. The common people use the “dragon” horse. Deferent groups use different colors for the dragon horses. Businessmen men use black for money. Girls use pink for romance and students use white for future and wisdom. They gave Bill Clinton the gate opening ceremony in Shanghai. Michelle Obama made the same trip.
This is Tuesday, April 7th. We spent two hours on the bus I have had a lot of experiences since going “around the block” a couple of times, but last night was a first. We went to a performance at the West Lake Gardens. It was pouring rain and they offered us ponchos. The performance was an hour, maybe an hour and a half. In the pouring rain, it did not make any difference. It was a spectacular performance in spite of the downpour. We spent most of the day driving from one point to another because the traffic was so heavy.
I am not sure what else happened on this day. I will have to look at my notes and itinerary.
The Tang dynasty had a different standard. It is favored by the Chinese. The women were round and not like the other dynasties were women had to wear loose clothing. The Tang dynasty reached its peak time. After 1970, the turning point of the Chinese closed the cultural exchange. Tang was the last dynasty viewed in Xian dynasties. All the dynasties are old. In Beijing, the guide does not give you much information. In Xian, you have to see with your eyes the beauty. Because everything was made of wood and no longer exist, many sites have been rebuilt.
Wednesday, April 8th We just saw a man on a bicycle get hit by a car. It wasn’t fatal, but he didn’t look like he was hurt when he tried to stand up and on the turnpike, a car bumped into our bus and put a dent and scrape marks on the driver’s side. The bus driver got out to inspect our bus, but the driver in fault drove away.
The Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors are there two places you have to go in the world. Two miracles happened in the same dynasty. Before the Qing dynasty, China was divided in to seven states. In 221 AD, China is united into one state and feudalism is introduced. The Chinese history is difficult because of all of the dynasties. Qin in 221 BC was the first dynasty and Qing in 1911 AD was the last. It ended in 1911. From 1911 to 1949 were the years of the Republic of China. Today the People’s Republic of China. The Qin dynasty built the Terracotta Warriors to protect him. This was the superstition believing in the second life. Everyday the tour guides’ grandmother, who is 102 years old, and wants to go back to the country so she won’t have to be buried in a coffin in the city. If she dies in the city, she has to be buried in a coffin. If she dies in the country, she can be buried in the ground. If you reach 80 years old, they don’t allow you to cry, but you must laugh because you are entering the second life. In 1974, the Terracotta solders were discovered for the first time. Farmers found them by accident and found weapons and ceramics. The government recognized the discoveries of the Terracotta warriors.
They found Pit number one, number two, and number three. The are 7,800 solders. There are solders still buried there. The colors of the Terracotta warriors are well preserved. The warriors were reconstructed from the found pieces. It was a big job, and it takes six months for two archeologists to reconstruct one.
Terracotta is the “big clay” is an Italian word. 3000 years ago the mountain was a volcano. Terracotta has a specific color. Between 300 to 500 C is the temperature for ceramics. For the terracotta, they need 900 C. The color is changed from chocolate to black and the touch is changed from a clay touch to a bronze touch. Xian is the hometown of the Terracotta Warriors. There are venders at the museum who exchange the Chinese rmb for fake money.
Good side, he, Qin, unified China: same money, same language, and a good foundation for the Chinese people. On the bad side, Qin showed no mercy. The people who built his dynasty died. There was no religion in his dynasty, only the law. He died at 51 years old. The emperor believed that if he ate mercury, it would keep him alive, but he dies from it. He died at age 51 and his coffin was buried near Beijing. The Qing dynasty had two emperors that ruled for 14 years. The Han dynasty 400 was years, 200 AD to 200 BC was the Han dynasty
There are many Pits. Pits of the concubines, Pit of the warriors, etc.
There are delays in opening the tomb because how do you protect the tomb and there is a mercury river around it. We discovered the Teterricata Warriors in 1974 and did not know how to preserve them. The warriors were left there for 15 years so that they could be protected. The Terracotta Warriors are from Pit number 2 and number 3.
Xian is also know for persimmons, terracotta, and pomegranates. Pomegranate is not a Chinese food, but from Afghanistan. The mountain was a volcano and the dynasty use to bring his concubines there because of the five hot springs. Han people have a fish tail on the top of the roofs of their houses because of the five elements: wood, fire, clay, metal, and one other. The fish tail protects the houses from the fire.
The first tomb of the first Chinese emperor, terracotta warrior, and bronze chariot were considered the three by UNESCO the World of Cultural Heritage. One the museum site are
Pit Number One
Pit Number Two
Pit Number Three
Pit Number Four
We go to the Islamic area of Xian where we will go to the bazaar. Islam is the third largest religion in China. Hui is what the Chinese call them. You cannot tell them from regular Chinese. They came here during the Tang dynasty. The Muslim do not speak Arabic. They speak a local dialect.
(Nat)