#Regent Beijing

[chinamarketingblog]

Osterhasen im Hasenjahr

Die Schweizer Schokoladenmarke Läderach trat 2020 in den chinesischen Markt ein. Auf die Eröffnung eines Online-Shops auf Tmall folgten kurz danach stationäre Geschäfte an Luxusstandorten wie Harrods oder in gehobenen Einkaufszentren wie ipam, beide in Shanghai.  Im Westen spielen Schokohasen zu Ostern eine wichtige Rolle. Während dieser Feiertag in Festlandchina kommerziell praktisch irrelevant…

[impossiblesuitcase]

I know this type of fic will seem strange, but do you remember where Cinder in the first book says that everyone will be aware of what Kai does, and that he will forget her, if this happened as an alternate universe, do you really believe that Kai forgot? of it, or remember it as nostalgia for what could have been as couple

Thanks your for your answer

I intended for this to be a five sentence response. Ha.

(Remember?)

He doesn’t remember her.

Granted, he doesn’t even remember what it feels like to take a full, unstrained breath. Kai is a busy teenager, a grieving son, an ill-prepared emperor and then the happiest widower alive. He can’t pretend to not be overjoyed by his wife’s untimely passing after her brief but bloody one-year stint as empress. The Earthen population didn’t seem to mind much either when the evil Lunar queen was assassinated in her bed by a group of revolting malcontents.

Kai only remembers her when the storm takes mercy on them and calms. The girl at the marketplace. Who’d never worn the gloves he’d given her to the ball she hadn’t attended. The brown eyes he’d never seen again. As the New Beijing Market celebrates a new era of peace with streamers and lanterns and sticky buns, Kai is pulling on his grey hoodie and weaving through the crowds to an unmarked booth. Instead he finds the musty, dark store replaced by a coffeé vendor. The nearby sellers tell him the young mechanic skipped town.

(Kai does remember her joking prod in the elevator, offering up that she was planning to run away to Europe. Now, Kai doesn’t think it was all that much of a joke.)

He searches for her, briefly. Her name turns up no more net results than what had been there the first time he’d sought her services. In checking government records he learns that her guardian reported the disappearance, inciting a police investigation. He has his own staff put on the case, who probably interpret this as a conscientious initiative to apprehend a fugitive as any responsible emperor would. 

Reading the conclusions from the fruitless search by his agents, this is where Kai learns that Linh Cinder is a cyborg.

Something blankets him. Not...disgust or revulsion. Thick, encompassing understanding. He’s near laughter when it strikes him precisely between his third and fourth ribs because he knows that it doesn’t matter if he finds her.

The gloves. The obfuscation. A cyborg, an emperor. This is why she rejected him.

After this, the expressed need to find find find her feels vain. Find her and what? Tell her that—although he likes her—a cyborg would never be accepted by the public as his partner? Then he’d be tearing her away from whatever sanctuary she’s found herself in and subjecting her to capture by the authorities. Because she has cut out her ID chip—illegal. Fled the country without a permit—illegal. Disobeyed orders from her guardian—illegal for cyborgs. Whatever Imperial pardon he could try to extend would be nullified by the Cyborg Protection Act.

It doesn’t matter. She hasn’t been found. He’s no luck at searching for things anyway. That’s why he gave up on Selene. What’s one more thing to give up on?

So Kai doesn’t remember her. But he does revise the Cyborg Protection Act. He is appalled to discover that—despite having Levana’s antidote in his tenuous possession—the cyborg draft is still in operation. Luna is not a trustworthy government under regent Sybil Mira, they fearmonger. They might still need to develop an antidote of their own, they reason.

Both Earth and Luna are barely refraining from seeking blood as it is. After Levana was assassinated, Luna declared full-scale war on Earth, killing hundreds of thousands. Earth retaliated by detonating bombs on the craters of the moon, threatening that next time they wouldn’t spare the inhabited domes. The ceasefire went as follows: Luna and Earth would not intermingle. Luna would provide Earth with the Letumosis antidote in exchange for Earth sending Luna their desperately-needed supplies. No one deemed this agreement as trustworthy. No one had better ideas.

His decision to end the draft is met with mixed response. Kai just secretly hopes that Cinder is watching, holed up in her new musty, dark booth in her new European city with a flicker of pride.

Years past. Funnily enough, Kai learns that—at some point—pretending to forget and forgetting are not so dissimilar.

But sometimes he sees a malfunctioning android down a palace hall and remembers her steady gloved hands on Nainsi. Sees a woman with almost the right shade of brown in her hair and eyes and skin but never close enough. Yet each time, he collects himself, shakes his head and doesn’t give in, and when he marries a second time to a woman he actually wants to be with, his wife’s radiant smile expels any romantic thought of any other girl that has ever crossed his mind.

— — — 

Fourteen years. That’s how long it takes for his loose threads to finally fray. Kai is in his office being briefed by Torin for an upcoming public statement by his cabinet. It has taken fourteen years after Levana’s death to fully uncover all the scrupulously concealed records of the atrocities she committed. As former empress, her crimes have to be reported by the Eastern Commonwealth, though no reasonably-minded Earthen would attribute her crimes to anyone but her own wicked self.

This report intrigues him. It’s not the usual analytics of Levana’s sins against the Earthen public, rather a detailed list of all the Lunars she victimised.

“Why are we reporting this?” Kai asks Torin, keeping his daughter from bouncing off his lap with steady hands. “What Levana did to the Lunar citizenry is beyond our scope of responsibility.”

“Not those on Luna, Your Majesty,” Torin informs. “This report refers to the illegal Lunar refugees who were hiding on Earth.”

Kai vaguely recalls Levana screeching once about how she would kill all the Lunars he had insubordinately smuggled into the country. He hadn’t believed that there were any Lunars on Earth at that naïve eighteen, but a thirty-three-year-old Kai is not surprised. He scrolls past the initial pages of exposition and gets right to the list of victims. He wants a number. How many Lunars were there really on Earth? That day on the balcony, when Levana had claimed that there had been a Lunar among those protestors—had it been true?

It’s page eight that he sees her name.

Linh Cinder. Cyborg. Lunar. Licensed mechanic in New Beijing. Records found to be falsified. True age unknown. True name unknown. Date of immigration unknown.

Cyborg. Lunar.

Kai’s hands are shaking. He places his daughter on the ground. “Torin,” he wheezes, “take her to her mother.”

His daughter’s soft, “Daddy? Was wrong?” goes unanswered.

Once they’ve left the room, Kai is alone with the horror lying in his hands. He clicks on her profile and a full page with her name and portrait appears. It’s a mugshot, but without the official stamp of the Earthen Union law enforcement, he knows it was Levana’s own team of minions doing the arresting. Her hair is loose, glossy and slick. Her eyes defiant but sunken into dark sockets. Her cheeks are full. She was not starving, wasting away in poverty. Evidently she did manage to make a life for herself on the run.

The biography is short. Linh was reported missing by her guardian on 28 August 126 T.E. at 08:31. CCTV footage shows her driving a second-era automobile from New Beijing to France over the course of 8 days. Linh hid in Nice for 7 months using a false ID chip and started a small mechanic business. Records of an apartment lease were found under the false identity. She was discovered by Lunar authorities when a mandatory Letumosis blood test identified Lunar genealogy in her genome. She was swiftly sentenced and executed without a trial on an unknown date for crimes of illegal departure from Luna.

That’s it. The only information. It limns a tale of another victim of the tyrant with not a stroke of sympathy. Kai thrusts down the port, clawing his hands through his hair.

Cyborg. Lunar. Executed.

He calls his wife.

The line clicks immediately. “Honey, is everything okay?” asks his wife, concern cooling her timbre. “Torin said you were all out of sorts.”

His words are faint. “Hey, love, do you remember that girl I liked before you?”

He can hear her smile. “The mechanic?”

“Yeah.”

"What about her?" her voice heaves and Kai hears a small giggle; Torin has brought their daughter back to their quarters. His wife is picking up the heavy three-year-old.

He has no strength to censor himself, even with young ears present. “She’s dead. Levana killed her.”

A long silence. The thread being pulled, pulled, pulled as the fraying creeps up to the heart of it. The girl whispers to her mother, “who Mummy? Who’s Daddy talking ‘bout?”

Her mother doesn’t explain. “Oh, love, I’m so sorry,” she consoles plaintively in that genuine lilt he knows is sincere. His superlatively gracious wife has never judged him for his grief over the lost cyborg, for regretting he couldn’t help the troubled young girl from a bad home. Never has she assigned ulterior motives of him mourning ‘the one that got away’ in some jealous plea for validation. 

He says nothing. He had forgotten her brown eyes, her smile and her gloves. The sarcasm and the pessimism. Each detail had slipped away and now a single photo, an unuttered apology, is trying to resuscitate the dead.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

Kai reclaims his port and returns to the cover page. It’s entitled: A Comprehensive Account of the Genocide of Lunar Refugees by Queen Levana Blackburn: Names and Implications.

A name. An implication. That’s all she’d be, immortalised in a forgettable list. After the cover page, a number is bolded.

3,582.

The number of Lunar victims. Miniscule compared to Earth’s population. Cinder was almost certainly the only Lunar Cyborg on the list. An oddity. A friendly statistical anomaly.

Never meant to exist. Always meant to be out of reach.

“Kai?”

“It’ll be fine,” he promises, convincing himself of it. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be fine?” she repeats.

That picture is burnt in his retinas; Cinder, forever sixteen. He, now so much older. He doesn’t mourn a lost love. He didn’t love her; he didn’t know her. He mourns an abandoned child who never even knew that someone was looking for her.

Kai exhales slowly and rests his port on the desk next to his wedding photo and his father's signet ring. 

“I’ll be fine,” he affirms, “You know, I don’t really remember her.”

— — — 

@cindersassasin @hayleblackburn @spherical-empirical @salt-warrior @just2bubbly @gingerale2017 @icarusignite @kaider-is-my-otp @slmkaider @luna-maximoff-22 @cosmicnovaflare @kaixiety @snozkat @mirrorballsss @skinwitch18 @vincentvangothic @bakergirl13 @wassupnye @linh-cindy @therealkaidertrash21

[princesssarisa]

Opera on Youtube 4

L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love)

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 1967 (Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Scotto; conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni; no subtitles)

Metropolitan Opera, 1981 (Luciano Pavarotti, Judith Blegen; conducted by Nicola Rescigno; Spanish subtitles) – Part I, Part II

Metropolitan Opera, 1991 (Luciano Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle; conducted by James Levine; English subtitles) – Part I, Part II

Vienna State Opera, 2005 (Rolando Villazón, Anna Netrebko; conducted by Alfred Eschwé; English subtitles)

Theatro da Paz, Brazil, 2013 (Atalla Ayan, Carmen Monarcha; conducted by Emiliano Patarra; Brazilian Portuguese subtitles)

Teatro Manoel, Malta, 2015 (Cliff Zammit Stevens, Shoushik Barsoumian; conducted by Philip Walsh; English subtitles)

Vienna State Opera, 2017 (Dmitry Korchak, Olga Peretyatko; conducted by Marco Armiliato; no subtitles) – Part I, Part II

Ópera de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 2017 (Ramón Vargas, Olivia Gorra; conducted by Guido Maria Guida; Spanish subtitles)

Vienna State Opera, 2018 (Benjamin Bernheim, Andrea Carroll; conducted by Frédéric Chaslin; no subtitles)

San Francisco Opera, 2023 (Pene Pati, Slávka Zámečníková; conducted by Ramón Tebar; English subtitles)

Hänsel & Gretel

Vittorio Cottafavi studio film, 1957 (Fiorenza Cossotto, Jan Poleri; conducted by Nino Sanzogno; sung in Italian with Italian subtitles)

August Everding studio film, 1981 (Brigitte Fassbaender, Edita Gruberova; conducted by Georg Solti; English subtitles)

Leipzig Opera, 1981 (Annelott Damm, Steffi Ullmann; conducted by Horst Gurgel; no subtitles)

Julliard Opera Center, 1997 (Jennifer Marquette, Sari Gruber; conducted by Randall Behr; English subtitles)

Opera Australia, 1992 (Suzanne Johnston, Christine Douglas; conducted by Johannes Fritzsch; sung in English)

Vienna State Opera, 2015 (Daniel Sindram, Ileana Tonca; conducted by Christian Thielmann; English subtitles)

Pacific Northwest Opera, 2015 (Sylvia Szadovszki, Ksenia Popova; conducted by Clinton Smith; sung in English with English subtitles)

Scottish Opera, 2020 (Kitty Whately, Rhian Lois; conducted by David Parry; sung in English with English subtitles)

Eklund Opera Program, 2020 (Christine Lee, Anna Whiteway; conducted by Nicholas Carthy; sung in English with English subtitles)

Amarillo Opera, 2021 (Sarah Beckham-Turner, Patricia Westley; conducted by Carolyn Watson; English subtitles)

Turandot

Mario Lanfranchi studio film, 1958 (Lucilla Udovick, Franco Corelli; conducted by Fernando Previtali; English subtitles)

Vienna State Opera, 1983 (Eva Marton, José Carreras; conducted by Lorin Maazel; no subtitles)

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1986 (Gwyneth Jones, Franco Bonisolli; conducted by Jacques Delacote; English subtitles)

Forbidden City, Beijing, 1998 (Giovanna Casolla, Sergej Larin; conducted by Zubin Mehta; no subtitles)

Teatro alla Scala; 2001 (Alessandra Marc, Nicola Martinucci; conducted by Georges Prêtre; French subtitles)

Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2009 (Anna Shafajinskaia, Fabio Armiliato; conducted by Giuliano Carella; English subtitles)

Chorégies d'Orange 2012 (Lise Lindstrom, Roberto Alagna; conducted by Michel Plasson; French subtitles)

Wichita Grand Opera, 2015 (Zvetelina Vassileva, Ricardo Tamura; conducted by Martin Mazik; no subtitles)

Teatro de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 2017 (Gabriela Georgieva, Carlos Galván; conducted by Enrique Patrón de Rueda; Spanish subtitles)

Opera Hong Kong, 2018 (Oksana Dyka, Alfred Kim; conducted by Paolo Olmi; English subtitles)

Eugene Onegin

Prince Regent Theatre, Munich, 1965 (Hermann Prey, Ingeborg Bremert; conducted by Joseph Keilberth; sung in German; no subtitles)

Paris Opera, 1982 (Benjamin Luxon, Galina Vishnevskaya; conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich; French subtitles)

Kirov Opera, 1984 (Sergei Leiferkus, Tatiana Novikova; conducted by Yuri Temirkanov; English subtitles)

Chicago Lyric Opera, 1985 (Wolfgang Brendel, Mirella Freni; conducted by Bruno Bartoletti; Spanish subtitles)

Petr Weigl film, 1988 (Michal Docolomanský dubbed by Bernd Weikl, Magda Vásáryová dubbed by Teresa Kubiak; conducted by Georg Solti; English subtitles)

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, 1998 (Vladimir Glushchak, Orla Boylan; conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky; English subtitles) – Act I, Act II, Act III

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 2011 (Artur Rucinski, Kristine Opolais; conducted by Omer Meir Wellber; no subtitles) – Part I, Part II

Teatro Comunale di Bologna, 2014 (Artur Rucinski, Amanda Echalaz; conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov; English subtitles)

Mariinsky Theatre, 2015 (Andrei Bondarenko, Yekaterina Goncharova; conducted by Valery Gergiev; French subtitles)

Livermore Valley Opera, 2019 (Morgan Smith, Antonina Chehovska; conducted by Alex Katsman; English subtitles)

[thejackmeister-mongolhistory]

The fourth and youngest son of Chinggis Khan and Börte Khatun, Tolui acted as regent of the Mongol Empire between his father’s death in 1227 and his brother Ögedei’s enthronement in 1229. During this period he cancelled military campaigns, worked to maintain Mongol control over newly conquered territories (especially around Zhongdu, modern-day Beijing), oversaw the burial ceremonies of his father, and preparations for the quriltai to empower Ögedei. While there is some suggestion that some of the princes wished to enthrone Tolui instead of Ögedei, (partly, it is thought Tolui was seen as the more skilled commander of the two) Tolui did not counter his father’s will and publicly backed his brother. After Ögedei became Great Khan, Tolui served as one of his generals against the Jin Dynasty, before dying, likely due to his excessive alcoholism, in 1232. His death was a major blow to Ögedei. After his death Tolui was known by the title of Yeke Noyan, 'Great Lord," and later his son Khubilai posthumously gave him the title of Ruizong, "Perceptive Ancestor." During this later period when Tolui’s son were rulers in their own right, they appear to have also anachronistically increased Tolui’s importance and power, (especially during the period of Khubilai Khan, where his regency is made a much more formal thing that it probably ever actually was) and made it appear that even Ögedei wanted Tolui to be Great Khan.

Tolui’s four sons with his wife Sorqaqtani Beki —Möngke, Khubilai, Hülegü and Ariq Böke— went on to become some of the most important figures of the later 13th century, each of whom having a profound impact on the Mongol Empire and thereby, world history.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.27 (before 1960)

1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed. 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death. 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland. 1199 – John is crowned King of England. 1257 – Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral. 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing. 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg. 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia. 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland. 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George. 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins the Siege of Palermo, part of the wars of Italian unification. 1863 – American Civil War: The first Union infantry assault of the Siege of Port Hudson occurs. 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria. 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia. 1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10 million in damage. 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins. 1915 – HMS Princess Irene explodes and sinks off Sheerness, Kent, with the loss of 352 lives. 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church. 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight. 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A. 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public. 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission. 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495). 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California. 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive. 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency". 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic, killing almost 2,100 men. 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later. 1950 – The Linnanmäki amusement park is opened for the first time in Helsinki. 1958 – First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.

[myficreadinglist]

Danmei: Peach Blossom Order (桃花令) by 睡芒

Read it here: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=6413760

The MC is a brilliant scholar with an arranged marriage. In a case of mistaken identity, MC ended up married to a man. ML really loves MC. The whole story is quite drama-free in the relationship between the MC and ML.

Author's summary below (It has been google translated):

Copywriting: The year Lin Zikui won the national examination, his father said to him After getting a good marriage, the girl went to the capital with her family.

Three years later, his father passed away. Lin Zikui went to Beijing to take the exam. Thinking of this marriage, he took the marriage certificate to find someone.

Unlike what he imagined, this girl is taller and more handsome than him, her shoulders are wider than him, and her feet are bigger than him.

Lin Zikui said tactfully: "If you don't want to, my Lin family won't force it. You can cancel this marriage. I will tear up the marriage contract and you go find a good family again." The

other party lowered his head and looked at him a few times: "Don't force it. "

Lin Zikui: "...Okay." It

was during the wedding night that Lin Zikui realized something was wrong: "Huh? Madam, why are you a man?"

"I am a man." After saying that, "Madam" turned over. He was pressed down.

Later, Lin Zikui was selected as a tribute scholar. On the day of the imperial examination, the young monarch sat on the throne, with the powerful regent sitting next to him.

Lin Zikui didn't dare to raise his head and look directly at the emperor, but he heard the sound of the regent coughing so familiarly that he couldn't help but raise his head. A familiar person appeared in his blurred vision. He was trembling with fear and couldn't answer a word. Finally, he fainted on the spot -

the regent called the imperial doctor: "When you wake up, send it to my palace."

[strongitsalifestyle]

Thailand & Beijing 10 Day Trip 2011

7/15-7/24

Visas are required for US Citizens and citizens of most other countries for entry into China.

JULY 15 DEPART USA for BEIJING

Non-stop Group Flight from JFK-Beijing

JULY 16 ARRIVE BEIJING

• Meet guide at airport

• Transfer to hotel via coach with guide

• Hotel Check-in Regent Hotel

http://www.regenthotels.com

Day 1 BEIJING FULL DAY SIGHTSEEING

AM Half Day Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City

Beijing Tiananmen Square and and Forbidden City Tour Description: Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world. It has long been a gathering place for locals and visitors alike. On the north side of the square is Tiananmen Gate (the Rostrum). It was from the balcony of the Rostrum on October 1, 1949 where Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China. Mao gazes south from a huge portrait on the south side of the gate onto Tiananmen Square. Behind the Rostrum lies the Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace.

The Forbidden City (Imperial Palace), directly behind the Rostrum, was home to 24 emperors beginning with its creation by Emperor Yongle in 1420 until the last Qing emperor, Puyi, left in 1924. The entire complex consists of 8,706 rooms in which an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people lived including 3,000 eunuchs, as well as maids and concubines, all within 170 acres. Behind walls more than 30 feet high and within the 160-foot moat, complex rules and rituals dictated life in the Imperial Palace. Strictly off-limits to Chinese ordinary people (hence the name) the gates today lead to a fascinating display of Chinese history in what is probably the best-preserved site of Classical Chinese architecture.

Day 2 JULY 18 Beijing Summer Palace and Urban Planning Museum Tour.

Drive to Northwest Beijing to visit The Summer Palace is one of the finest landmarks in Beijing. It has long been a royal garden and was considerably enlarged and embellished by Emperor Qianglong in the 18th century. It was later abandoned. Empress Dowager Cixi began rebuilding in 1888 using money that was supposedly reserved for the construction of a modern navy. Walk along the Long Corridor. This 728-metre long corridor is decorated with 8,000 paintings including many from the emperor-s travels around the country. The Beijing Urban Planning Museum exhibits stunning scale models of Beijing's city planning including its business districts, Olympic Village and on the third floor the entire city of Beijing in miniature and aerial photographs.

Donghuamen Night Market is the most famous street of its kind in Beijing. It is very popular with both local and international tourists.

Day 3 JULY 19 BEIJING FULL DAY GREAT WALL TOUR

We toured the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. In order to get it this section we took a cable car.

The Mutianyu Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier since ancient times, defending against the Huns outside the Great Wall in the north. During the Ming Dynasty, it was an important gateway for guarding the capital and the imperial mausoleums.

After our visit to the Great Wall we enjoyed a Peking Duck dinner at a local restaurant.

DAY 4 JULY 20 BEIJING BUSINESS VISITS /TRANSFER TO BANGKOK

Morning Visit to Google to learn about the business in Beijing.

Afternoon Economy flight from Beijing to Bangkok

Transfer from airport-hotel and Hotel Check-in

JULY 21 Day 4 BANGKOK

Check-in Bangkok: 4 nights Novotel Peace Hotel

JULY 22 BANGKOK CITY TOUR FULL DAY

Morning: Our coach bus took us to the Grand Palace, comprising the Funeral Palace, the Reception Palace, the Throne Hall, the Coronation Hall, the Royal Guest House, and the beautiful Emerald Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Kaew).

We then went on a Klong tour through the canals of Bangkok is the ultimate way to discover Thonburi, the old part of Bangkok. We traveled by long-tail boat through the klongs to see the family homes, temples and way of life, which gives this city the name “Venice of the East”.

We stopped at the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun) whose 79m spire has become a symbol Bangkok.

For the Afternoon portion we visited the Jim Thompson’s magnificent Thai-style house which contains a collection of art objects and antiques. In addition to the Museum, you could relax with a coffee in the stylish café or browse the wonderful collection of silk products. It is a relaxing escape from the bustling streets of Bangkok.

We then headed to the State Tower hotel in a Tuk tuk. In Bangkok,Tuk Tuk is a motorized three-wheeled taxi.

State Tower Bangkok is known for their Lavish suites, breathtaking views, fine dining and iconic rooftop bars - experience the one and only lebua at State Tower, the best luxury hotel in Bangkok. One of the world's highest bars, Sky Bar had a starring role in the Hangover 2 movie.

When we return back to the hotel, we had a group Thai foot massage. A Thai foot massage applies pressure to particular areas of the soles of the feet. Hands, fingers, thumbs, knuckles and a rounded wooden Thai foot massage stick are used to stimulates certain areas of the feet releasing blocked energy within the body's many Sens lines (Thai-based meridians).

JULY 23 Hutchinson Ports & Pattaya

In the morning we headed to Hutchinson Ports Thailand which was 20 mins from our hotel. It is the largest container terminal operator at Laem Chabang Port, Thailand. operating ports and terminals in 25 countries worldwide. We learned about international shipping.

We then headed in the coach bus to our next destination which was 37 mins to Pattaya is located on Thailand's eastern Gulf coast, Pattaya is known as the “Hawaii of the East” for its abundant sunshine, beautiful beaches and delectable seafood. The coastline runs 15 kilometers along crystal clear water, a popular attraction for sunbathers and beach enthusiasts from all over the world.

We returned to Bangkok, to enjoy a Dinner on a boat. The food and dancers were amazing. They dance their native dance.

After dinner we went to a Muay Thai Fight at the Rajadamnern Stadium. This is a sporting arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Along with Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Rajadamnern is one of the two main stadiums for modern muay Thai. It hosts fights every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Our guide was able to get us front row seats to the fight.

JULY 24 Thai massage & Airport

I booked a Thai massage at my hotel, thee session lasts around 90 minutes. Practitioners use their entire bodies, including their hands, elbows, feet, and knees to stand, kneel, or walk on the recipient and create deep pressure. 

Airport transfer Bangkok to Hong Kong 3:20pm

Check next blog post about my 3 Day Trip in Hong Kong!

[xtruss]

Muslims gather to offer Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, India. Eid al-Fitr marks a joyful end to Ramadan, a sacred month of fasting and prayer. The three-day festival is celebrated in many different ways across the world. Photograph By Javed Dar, Xinhua/Getty Images

See How Muslims Celebrate Eid al-Fitr Around The World

From beachside prayers in Senegal to colorful festivals in Pakistan, these pictures show the many ways that Muslims observe the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

— By Gulnaz Khan | April 17, 2023

When the sun sets on April 20, Muslims around the world will look skyward for a crescent of pale white light—the conclusion to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan emblazoned in the night sky.

Beginning and ending with the new moon, Ramadan falls on the ninth month of the Arabic lunar calendar. It is believed by Muslims to be when the first verses of the Koran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than a millennium ago. From sunrise to sunset, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and vices like gossip and lying. Not only is it meant to be a period of self-reflection, but to serve as a reminder to be charitable to the less fortunate.

Eid al-Fitr, Arabic for “festival of breaking fast," is celebrated over three days at the end of Ramadan through prayer, feasts, parades, gifts, and charitable giving. Here's a look at how it is celebrated around the world.

Dakar, Senegal 🇸🇳! Senegalese Muslims are seen before they perform Eid al-Fitr prayer in the backyard and adjacent beach of the Mausoleum Seydina Limamou in Dakar, Senegal, on July 18, 2015. Prayer is an important part of Eid celebrations, and is typically performed in the morning along with other community members in an open space such as this one. Photograph By Cemil Oksuz, Anadulo Agency/Getty Images

Beijing, China 🇨🇳! Chinese Hui Muslim men light incense after Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of Ramadan at the historic Niujie Mosque on July 6, 2016, in Beijing. Of an estimated 23 million Muslims in China, nearly half are Hui, who are ethnically Chinese and speak Mandarin. China's constitution provides for Islam as one of five "approved" religions in the officially atheist country, although the government enforces severe limits. Worship is permitted only at state-sanctioned mosques and proselytizing in public is illegal. During Ramadan, Hui Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. Photograph By Kevin Frayer, Getty Imagrs

West Java, Indonesia 🇮🇩! Indonesian Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers along the banks of the river Cisadane in Bogor, West Java, on May 2, 2022. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world with an estimated 205 million adherents—or roughly 88 percent of its population. Photograph By Adriana Adie, Nurphoto/Getty Images

Karachi, Pakistan 🇵🇰! People enjoy camel riding during an Eid al-Fitr festival in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 5, 2022. In Pakistan, Eid is an important time for families and friends to get together to celebrate the end of the fast—and greet each other with a traditional, "Eid Mubarak." Photograph By Str, Xinhua/Getty Images

London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿! Two ladies, both named Fatima, take a walk through Regent's Park in London to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. The number of Muslims in England and Wales has gone up from 2.7 million in 2011 to 3.9 million in 2021​. ​London hosts an annual festival ​in Trafalgar Square to ​mark the end of Ramadan. Photograph By Elliott Franks, Eyevine/Redux

Beirut, Lebanon 🇱🇧! Lebanese whirling dervishes perform during the holy month of Ramadan in the capital Beirut's Verdun Street on June 8, 2017. The ritual of whirling dervishes is observed by Sufi Muslims in honor of the 13th century poet Rumi. Though commonly associated with Turkey, NPR notes that there "are now many Sufi dervish orders around the world." Photograph By Anwar Amro, AFP/Getty Images

Los Angeles, USA 🇺🇸! Children in south Los Angeles celebrate Eid al-Fitr. An estimated three to four million American Muslims from a diverse swath of races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds represent a growing minority in the U.S. Photograph By Lyndsey Addario, National Geographic Image Collection

Jalalabad, Afghanistan 🇦🇫! An Afghan circus performer rides a motorcycle on the so-called "Wall of Death" at a fair on the second day of Eid al-Fitr in Jalalabad on August 9, 2013. ​ Photograph By Noorullah Shirzada, AFP/Getty Images (Top)

Moscow, Russia 🇷🇺! Muslims gather to offer prayers at the central mosque in Moscow on July 5, 2016. The city is home to about a million Muslims—and the Moscow Times reports that there's limited space at the Cathedral Mosque "so worshippers often spill out onto the surrounding streets." Photograph By Alrxander Utkin, AFP/Getty Images (Bottom)

Gaza City, Occupied Palestine 🇵🇸! A Palestinian performer amuses onlookers with a wire which ignites sparks on the top of debris in front of Gaza City's Italian Tower, on June 22, 2015. ​As documented by the Palestine Chronicle, Eid is typically celebrated in Gaza through outdoor prayers, visits to the graves of dead relatives and, on the lighter side, plenty of festivities. Photograph By Ali Hassan, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

[psitrend]

Capturing China in Nineteenth-century: the Photography of Isabella L. Bird

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2019/08/18/capturing-china-in-nineteenth-century-the-photography-of-isabella-l-bird/

Capturing China in Nineteenth-century: the Photography of Isabella L. Bird

Isabella L. Bird (1831- 1904) was a writer, photographer, and one of the most well-traveled English explorers in the 19th century.

Related: The best old photos of China, amazing old maps of China, eunuchs of Imperial China, Facts, History & Combatants of the Boxer Rebellion, 20 rare pictures of Boxer prisoners during the late Qing Dynasty, The first photographs of Hong Kong, the Second Opium War, and Beijing, Felice Beato in 1860

Publisher: Earnshaw Books

Isabella Lucy Bird

Chinese Pictures was the last book published during her lifetime, and it contains 61 commented photographs.

The subjects of the photographs reflect the life of the writer in China: modes of transportation, city gates, paths, bridges, and waterways. Occasionally, Isabella took photographs and portraits of local people.

Isabella L. Bird was born in the north of England in 1831. She suffered from health problems as a child, and later from insomnia and depression and her doctor recommended that she travel.

At the age of 23, in 1854, she arrived in North America where she remained for several months.

Inspired by this experience, she wrote on her return, The Englishwoman in America.

A Bridge at Wan Hsien of the Single Arch Type

In 1875, after a six-month visit to the Hawaiian Islands, she wrote Six Months in the Sandwich Islands, another best-seller, followed by Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, published in 1879.

Then she arrived in Japan, where she stayed for several months, traveling far and wide around the country working as an interpreter.

THE WEST GATE OF HANGCHOW

In 1870, following this experience, she wrote Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, published in 1880.

After Japan, Bird traveled to Hong Kong, southern China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula.

Back in England, Isabella was famous. Following the death of her husband, a doctor, a few years later, Isabella resumed her travels. In 1888 she arrived in India, where she traveled through Kashmir to western Tibet. From 1894 to 1898 she traveled to Japan, Korea, and China, risking being killed during an anti-foreigner uprising in Chengdu.

The Entrance to the British Legation, Beijing

The experiences lived during this period were told in the book The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, published following the growing interest aroused by the Boxer Uprising of 1900. The photographs shown in the book Chinese Pictures published by Earnshaw Books were all taken during that trip.

The Private Entrance to the Imperial Palace, Peking

Isabella began her journey as a photographer quite late. In 1894 she followed an advanced photography course at Regent Street Polytechnic. She traveled with two cameras and hired some assistants to arrange and transport the bulky photographic equipment of the time.

Isabella died a few years later, in 1904, without being able to return to China because of medical problems.

Returning from her last trip to Morocco, she died in Edinburgh.

Bottle Seller and Hospital Patient

A Small Houseboat on the Yangtze Kiang

A Manchurian Family Travelling

A Boat on the Min River, Used for Running the Rapids

#IsabellaLucyBird, #OldPhotographs, #OldPhotographsOfChina

[historical-babes]

Vladimir Paley (1897-1918).

Russian writer.

.

He was a Russian aristocrat and poet, who was executed by the Bolsheviks when he was 21 years old.

.

His father was Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, the youngest child of Emperor Alexander II. His mother was his father's mistress, Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, who was still married to Erich Gerhard von Pistohlkors at that time.

.

In 1902, Grand Duke Paul—-a widower after his short marriage to Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, with whom he had two children—wed Olga morganatically. In 1904, she was created Countess von Hohenfelsen by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, thus providing Vladimir with the title of Count Vladimir von Hohenfelsen. In 1915, Olga was created Princess Paley by Nicholas II, which allowed Vladimir to use the title of Prince Paley.

He had two full sisters and three half-siblings from his mother's first marriage.

.

He spent his childhood in Paris and later graduated from the Corps des Pages, an aristocratic military school in Saint Petersburg. In December 1914, he entered the regiment of the Emperor’s Hussars and fought with the Russian army in the First World War. He was promoted to lieutenant and decorated as a war hero with the Order of Saint Anne.

.

Even as a teenager, he showed remarkable talent as a poet. He published two volumes of poetry (1916 and 1918) and wrote several plays and essays, as well as a French translation of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovitch's play, The King of the Jews.

.

In the summer of 1917, he and his family were placed for a short time under house arrest by the Provisional Government, because of a poem he wrote about Aleksandr Kerensky. In March 1918, he was arrested by the Bolsheviks and sent to exile in Vyatka, and later in Ekaterinburg and Alapaevsk. He was brutally murdered in a mineshaft near Alapaevsk, together with his cousins Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, Prince Konstantine Konstantinovich of Russia, Prince Igor Konstantinovich of Russia, and other relatives. Their bodies were recovered by the Imperial White Army and placed in coffins, then moved around during fighting with the Red Army. They were brought and buried months later at the Russian Mission Orthodox cemetery in Beijing, China, the site of which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and is now a parking area.

[Submission]

[andydbes089]

Journal Of Architectural Engineering - Asce Library

Structural Engineering Services - Core Design Group

Who remembers what very crucial thing had to happen prior to designers and also engineers could build high skyscrapers? That's appropriate! Steel, which is stronger than wood, had to be invented. This is a terrific example of exactly how a design development enables engineers to realize their vision of astonishingly tall structures. Number 4.

Copyright Beijing Municipal Compensation of Urban Preparation, http://www. bjghw.gov. cn/forNationalStadium/indexeng. asp Engineer: A person whose profession is creating and attracting prepare for buildings, bridges as well as houses, in addition to lots of various other frameworks. Blueprint: A comprehensive plan of a style, typically to scale. Computer-aided style: Layout software application used in style and design to create precision drawings; likewise understood as CAD.

Pre-Lesson Assessment Discussion Questions: Obtain, incorporate, and sum up pupil feedbacks. Does anyone recognize what an engineer does? (Response: A designer is a person that develops and also develops points for the benefit of society. Designers utilize mathematics and science to design as well as develop frameworks, equipment as well as processes.) That can describe what an architect does? (Response: A designer is an individual that establishes the innovative designs for buildings or frameworks.) Can a person consider when these two careers would function with each other? (Solution: in the style and also construction of a high-rise building, an Olympic arena or any type of structure) Besides civil engineers, what other sorts of engineers are involved in making a framework? (Answer: electrical designers, land-development engineers, lighting designers, mechanical designers, etc.) Post-Introduction Evaluation Olympic Layout: As a course, select one Olympic building or site, and afterwards make a list of various jobs that are carried out in designing that Click here for more info structure.

U.p. Engineers & Architects, Inc.

Attempt to figure out if these tasks belong to the architect or the engineer's drawing/design. (Solutions: entrances designer; shower rooms engineer; light buttons engineer; roof covering product engineer.) As trainees call out components, write the various parts in two columns one under "designers" as well as the various other under "designers." Ask the trainees to assist you decide which column the different components of the building need to go under.

( Response: steel) Remind the pupils that building a structure can be fairly complex, so it is very vital that designers and designers work out excellent teamwork to meet the needs as well as desires of the consumer. Special Frameworks Conversation: Go over as a course: What are some different structures that engineers and engineers designed and developed together? (Solution: Practically any structure including bridges, institutions, residences and also services is the outcome of designers as well as engineers collaborating.

The blueprint needs to consist of entrances as well as components of the space, not furniture or accessories unless they are developed into the hotel. Have the trainees label parts designed by an engineer (light buttons, plumbing, and so on). You will likely need to draw an example plan on the board, and also it would also be helpful to discuss what is implied by "top view" of a space or structure.

Structure As Architecture : A Source Book For ... - Routledge

Additionally, have pupils check out a collection and also look into a publication of building blueprints in which they are interested. Have trainees research high-rise buildings and discover other design achievements that were essential to the development of high-rise buildings (i. e., lifts, computer system details displays, telephones, etc.). Beijing Municipal Payment of Urban Preparation, "Presentation of Competation for the Architecture Layout of National Arena (2008 Olympic Main Arena)," 2002.

bjghw.gov. cn/web/static/ catalogs/catalog _ itl/itl. html Accessed November 2, 2006 Bellis, Mary. Around, Inc., Around. com, "The History of Skyscrapers," 2006. http://inventors. about.com/library/inventors/blskyscapers. htm Accessed November 2, 2006 Penn State, Department of Architectural Engineering, F.A.Q. for Prospective Students. www. engr.psu. edu/ae/advising/ prospective_faq. asp Accesed November 2, 2006 Rangaswamy, Aswin, P.E. Structural Engineers Association of Southern The Golden State, "Frequently Asked Question," 2006.

seaint.org/SEAOSC/public/faq. htm Accessed November 2, 2006 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, "Architectural Design," October 31, 2006. www. wikipedia.org Accessed November 2, 2006 Wikimedia Structure, Inc. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, "Skyscraper," www. wikipedia.org Accessed November 2, 2006 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, "Blueprint," www. wikipedia.org Accessed November 2, 2006 2006 by Regents of the University of Colorado.

Architects Fees Include - Architekwiki

Division of Education And Learning and also National Scientific research Structure GK-12 grant no. 0338326. However, these contents do not always stand for the plans of the Division of Education or National Scientific Research Structure, and you should not think endorsement by the federal government. Last modified: January 19, 2021.

Building engineering colleges and colleges in the USA use extensive scholastic programs in the area of building design. These programs are made to prepare people that wish to become architectural engineers or architectural systems developers for the duties those careers entail. While building design is connected to style, building design is a different self-control completely, as well as is extra pertaining to civil design.

[faytrip]

遠眺紫禁城的五星級享受~北京麗晶酒店Regent Beijing(環境客房篇)

此次北京6天5夜入住北京麗晶酒店，酒店位於北京市中心，步行到王府井或幾家知名餐廳都只要10-15分鐘，地理優勢不可言喻。座落於燈市口地鐵站上，從C出口出來10秒鐘就可以進入酒店側門，對於每天在外面都走到斷腿的我們，可以享受"到站即到家"的方便性，這點實在非常重要。

若入住的樓層夠高，面向西邊，在房間內就可直接遠眺一部分的北京故宮(紫禁城)，或許看到的並非全景，但在北京心臟地帶，同時俱備"故宮景觀+地鐵站上"這樣的條件已經相當難能可貴。

北京麗晶酒店｜ Regent Beijing (5星級)

地址： 中國北京市東城區金寶街99號100005

http://www.regenthotels.com/tw/regent-beijing

飯店lobby挑高4層樓，開闊大器，一樓還有現場鋼琴演奏。

房間融合中國風格，內斂而簡約，擁有45平米的寬敞空間，浴室採用大面玻璃隔間，穿透感使空間更開闊。

空間不小的浴室，乾濕分離外加大洗手台和大浴缸，浴室和臥室有電動百葉簾，一個開關就可以關閉。

北京麗晶酒店的招牌

Front desk，可以看到前台立面的龍紋雕花，和後方的立體雕刻壁畫富有傳統的中國風格，但整體輪廓線條上的處理���簡約而俐落的，比如單純方型的燈具，而非複雜造型的宮燈，設計同時融合傳統與現代質感，不會讓人感到過時老氣。

一進門就看到這樣的景色，挑高四層樓的Lobby，整片的落地玻璃，後面是充滿綠色植物的花園，前面有造型石頭與水池。右手邊有平台鋼琴，常駐鋼琴師現場演奏。

一樓Lobby的咖啡廳，從這邊穿到側門出去，10秒鍾就到達燈市口地鐵站C出口，非常方便。6月初的北京比我想像中更熱，高溫都達到30度以上，我們最熱遇到38度高溫，大熱天每天在外面景區走到汗流浹背+斷腿，搭地鐵回到飯店可享受"到站即到家"的感覺真的很棒！

電梯區，現代流線造型的圓型吊燈，底端是方型間照與鏡面，現代化風格，但以中式玄關桌帶出中國風。

上樓後的梯間也是用中式桌椅擺設。

電梯間轉入房間門廊，一樣以中式玄關桌和蘭花點綴。

這次被安排入住13樓。

其實我們原本訂的三間房是豪華間，位於5-10樓，可能因為提早訂房，加上著名希望高樓層，所以被升級到10-19樓的貴賓房。房型規格大小是一樣的，只是樓層較高。

房間大小是45平米，整體頗為寬敞，一進門的右手邊是浴室，乾濕分離，還有大浴缸，和臥室區域以玻璃隔間，但有電動百葉簾可保有隱私。光這浴室的大小大概就跟日本的房間一樣大了。

浴室中的廁所和shower區都是獨立的。

洗手台面設計典雅，連放大鏡的周圍也可開啟燈光。備品採用法國品牌DAMANA，強調環保與有機材質。洗手台有天然橄欖皂，浴缸旁邊放了沐浴鹽、乳液和橄欖皂，shower區放了洗髮精、潤絲精、沐浴乳。其他如牙刷、牙膏、化妝棉、浴帽、刮鬍刀等一應具全。

我覺得橄欖皂非常好用，溫和但��的很乾淨，每天洗手、泡澡區各給一個，給的很大方。但潤絲精和乳液對我來說不夠滋潤，北京較台灣乾燥，乳液我還是用自己的。

臥室的床很大，有四個枕頭，羽絨被和羽絨枕， 床墊和枕頭對我來說稍軟了些 ，兩邊床頭有閱讀燈，若有充電處會更好。

冰箱的飲料免費提供，但不補充，有可樂、啤酒、橙汁和礦泉水，礦泉水每天都會有新的，另外也有4種茶包和即溶咖啡。

所有房間對外都是整片落地窗，雖面對大馬路，但隔音還不錯，書桌區域也還算OK。

這次三間房都朝著故宮，可以遠眺北京故宮(紫禁城)的一部分景色，可惜被建設鋼臂遮擋(怒)。不過地處北京市中心，一樓就接著地鐵站，在房間的躺椅上就可以直接看到故宮，我也滿足了啦~

晚上回到飯店，北京入夜的藍天很美。

Lobby

已經開好夜床。

準備泡澡~

枕頭太軟其實是可以換的，麗晶有枕頭menu，我在最後一天才發現，可選防過敏枕頭、乳膠枕、硬枕頭、蕎麥枕、聚酯纖維枕，我在最後一天換了硬枕頭。另外也提供每天的擦鞋服務。

在酒店的5樓有25米的恆溫游泳池，還有SPA池和烤箱的樣子��據說滿豪華的，可惜每天行程很滿，沒時間使用。北京景點一個比一個大，每天都走到斷腿，更別說健身房了。最終每晚回飯店都只有在大浴缸裡泡澡紓壓而已，哈哈~

[2020ya]

HEIRESS APPARENTLY

by Diana Ma

Daughters of the Dynasty #1

(Amulet, 12/1/20)

9781419749964

Add to Goodreads

Purchase from Indiebound

The first book in an epic and romantic YA series following the fictionalized descendants of the only officially recognized empress regent of China Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.14 (before 1900)

74 BC – A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. 29 BC – Octavian holds the second of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. 1040 – King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland. 1183 – Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan. 1264 – After tricking the Venetian galley fleet into sailing east to the Levant, the Genoese capture an entire Venetian trade convoy at the Battle of Saseno. 1352 – War of the Breton Succession: Anglo-Bretons defeat the French in the Battle of Mauron. 1370 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, grants city privileges to Karlovy Vary. 1385 – Portuguese Crisis of 1383–85: Battle of Aljubarrota: Portuguese forces commanded by John I of Portugal defeat the Castilian army of John I of Castile. 1592 – The first sighting of the Falkland Islands by John Davis. 1598 – Nine Years' War: Battle of the Yellow Ford: Irish forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeat an English expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal. 1720 – The Spanish military Villasur expedition is defeated by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska. 1784 – Russian colonization of North America: Awa’uq Massacre: The Russian fur trader Grigory Shelikhov storms a Kodiak Island Alutiit refuge rock on Sitkalidak Island, killing 500+ Alutiit.[ 1790 – The Treaty of Wereloe ended the 1788–1790 Russo-Swedish War. 1791 – Slaves from plantations in Saint-Domingue hold a Vodou ceremony led by houngan Dutty Boukman at Bois Caïman, marking the start of the Haitian Revolution. 1814 – A cease fire agreement, called the Convention of Moss, ended the Swedish–Norwegian War. 1816 – The United Kingdom formally annexes the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, administering the islands from the Cape Colony in South Africa. 1842 – American Indian Wars: Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida. 1848 – Oregon Territory is organized by act of Congress. 1880 – Construction of Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany, is completed. 1885 – Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint. 1893 – France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration. 1900 – Battle of Peking: The Eight-Nation Alliance occupies Beijing, China, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China.

[empressyang]

[ BASIC INFORMATION ]

FULL NAME 

Li Zhiyi (neé Qian Zhiyi)

MEANING 

name

ZHIYI

—zhi

From Chinese 志 (zhì) meaning "will, purpose, ambition" or 智 (zhì) meaning "wisdom, intellect", as well as other characters that are pronounced similarly.

— yi

From Chinese 宜 (yí) meaning "suitable, proper", 毅 (yì) meaning "resolute, decisive, firm", 义 (yì) meaning "justice, righteousness", 益 (yì) meaning "profit, benefit", 怡 (yí) meaning "joy, harmony" or 仪 (yí) meaning "ceremony, rites"  

surname

LI

From Chinese 理 (lǐ) meaning "reason, logic", 立 (lì) meaning "stand, establish", 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn", 力 (lì) meaning "power, capability, influence" (which is usually only masculine) or 丽 (lì) meaning "beautiful" (usually only feminine).

( QIAN

A common Chinese family name. The name literally means "money". )

MONIKERS / NICKNAMES

YANG (regnant name)

From Chinese 洋 (yáng) meaning "ocean" or 阳 (yáng) meaning "light, sun, male".

The White Viper / the Snake Empress

TITLE 

1. Lady Qian Zhiyi 2. Noble Lady Xiu (sixth rank consort)

— xiu

From Chinese 秀 (xiù) meaning "luxuriant, beautiful, elegant, outstanding"

3. Concubine Xiu (fifth rank consort) 4. Consort Xiu (fourth rank consort) 5. Noble Consort Xiu (third rank consort) 6. Imperial Noble Consort Xiu (second rank consort) 7. Empress Li, formally Empress Xiaoyanwei

— xiao

Xiao is a unisex Chinese name and has many meanings including 'dawn, morning', 'little' or 'respectful, reverent'. 

— yan

From Chinese 艳 (yàn) meaning "beautiful, gorgeous" (which is usually only feminine) or 岩 (yán) meaning "cliff, rocks"

— wei 

From Chinese 威 (wēi) meaning "power, pomp", 巍 (wēi) meaning "high, lofty, towering" or 伟 (wěi) meaning "great, robust, extraordinary"

8. Empress Dowager Yang (current title)

GENDER & PRONOUNS

cisfemale, she/her

ETHNICITY

Chinese.

DATE OF BIRTH & AGE

29 November, 1508.

51 years old.

ZODIAC SIGN

Sagittarius.

ORIENTATION

Bisexual Biromantic.

MARITAL STATUS

Widowed.

OCCUPATION

Empress Dowager.

CURRENT LOCATION

Sasso Corbaro Castle, Switzerland.

[ BACKGROUND ]

PLACE OF BIRTH 

Guiyang, China. 

RESIDENCES 

The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

RELIGIOUS VIEWS

Taoist, with an inclination for Confucian teachings.

EDUCATION

Apart from her education in dance, strict, exacting, and fully self-imposed, her only other education consisted in training to be a wife. As little as the education she received was, she mastered both to their furthest extent. It was only in her time as a concubine that she was able to access learned scholars and eunuchs and vast collections of scrolls. When she was not dancing, seizing the favor of the Emperor, or manipulating her way through the harem, she learned from the scholars and the eunuchs. She educated herself in the Seven Military Classics and other works in warcraft, and from her surroundings in the Forbidden City how to navigate the complex politics of the Empire, honing her political will until she had fully (by the force of her own hand and no one else’s) put herself in the place of master puppeteer. In many other aspects, she is uneducated. 

LANGUAGES SPOKEN

Mandarin Chinese and various dialects of Chinese, Mongolian, Sanskrit, Latin, Arabic, Portuguese — anything else, she has a eunuch translate for her.

ALLEGIANCES 

First and foremost, above everything else, her country. There is no doubt about Yang’s dedication to China, above all allegiances. (Except, of course, that to the power that she wields. She believes none could control the Empire as well as her; and so the fate of China rests with her.)

The Li Clan and the Ming Dynasty.

The Ottoman Coalition and its member countries. 

FAMILY

Xuanzhong Emperor (deceased) — husband.

Crown Prince Yu — son.

Princess of the First Rank Xuanji — daughter. 

[ APPEARANCE ]

FACECLAIM

Lucy Liu.

HAIR COLOUR / STYLE

Long, black hair that goes to her waist. When in public, held up in the traditional style with a bun, threaded with elaborate combs and gems.

EYE COLOUR / SHAPE 

Dark brown, almost black. 

HEIGHT

5′3″

BUILD 

Lean and petite, graceful — honed perfectly and sharply for dance. 

SPEECH STYLE

Yang speaks softly, almost in a whisper, yet imperious. It is incumbent on the room to quiet down and listen to every word that she has to say.

RECOGNIZABLE MARKINGS

None.

BEAUTY HABITS

Keeping up appearances is important for the Empress Dowager. For her entire life, she has complied in toto with the beauty standards of the Empire. Her feet bound, her body stripped from hair, meticulously maintained to be free from odor, even correcting any habits that may be seen as imperfect, such as snoring.

[ PERSONALITY ]

TROPES

Femme Fatale, The Grand Dame, Manipulative Bastard, the Evil Matriarch, My Beloved Smother, Regent for Life, The Man Behind the Man, President Evil, From Nobody to Nightmare, Rags to Royalty, The Vamp, Sleeping Their Way to the Top

INSPIRATIONS

Empress Dowager Cixi (historical), Yang Guifei (historical), Nüwa (Chinese mythology), Gaia (Greek mythology), Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare), Claire Underwood (House of Cards), Empress Chabi (Marco Polo), Petyr Bailish (ASOIAF), Olenna Tyrell (ASOIAF), The Evil Queen (Snow White)

MBTI

ISTJ.

ENNEAGRAM

Type 1 (the Reformer) with 1w9 wing.

ALIGNMENT

Lawful Evil

TEMPERAMENT

 Choleric.

HOGWARTS HOUSE

Slytherin.

POSITIVE TRAITS

conscientious, observant, perfectionistic, politically shrewd, elegant, patriotic

NEGATIVE TRAITS

manipulative, ingenuous, abusive, power hungry

HABITS

She clasps her hands together. Though hidden behind the elaborate sleeves of her garb, they squeeze together often, especially when matters grow pressing.

HOBBIES

Yang likes to play xiangqi. She also reads, although it is less a hobby than a necessity for her goals. She used to dance, though as she has risen through the ranks her public performances have gone down to none. She now dances alone to non-existent tunes, careful not to be seen.

USUAL DEMEANOR

Each and every movement is made with careful precision. Her words carefully measured, even the tilts of her head and the gestures of her hand. She appears imperious and stoic, ever exacting and ready to find fault. Once she speaks, her interlocutor finds that her voice is soft, but they carry behind them a force. 

[ HEALTH ]

PHYSICAL AILMENTS

None so far. 

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION

Neurotypical. 

PHOBIAS

Yang is careful not to show weakness. Wanting to maintain an image of almost inhumanity, she would never falter and show fear of anything. However, when the rain comes and lightning rumbles through the storm, the Empress Dowager is unusually tense.

ALLERGIES

None that are poignant.

SLEEPING HABITS

She sticks to a strict schedule. She sleeps and wakes at the same time every night, save for emergencies and occasions that require the Empress Dowager to think late through the night. A light sleeper and a still sleeper, she makes no sound and is quick to jump at the slightest movement.

SOCIABILITY

Facially sociable, especially when she was a dancer and a concubine rising through the ranks. As the Empress Dowager, she ensures that she has the loyalty of her eunuchs and handmaidens, and remains in good standing with the aristocracy, pleasing them to keep control of the political machinery of the Empire. 

ADDICTIONS

Yang steers clear from vices. She doesn’t decline to indulge for ceremonial purposes, but never to excess. She likes to keep a clear head at all times. 

If addiction to power counts, then there’s that.