Calliope articles from February 2009

Calliope archives from February 2009

The forbidden city: be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still--ancient Chinese proverb.(MUSINGS)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A FORBIDDEN CITY! "How can that be?" you might ask. While the two words seem unlikely companions, for decades they perfectly described the sites (and yes, there was more than one) where the emperor and a select...

Beijing's beginnings.
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The golden tile roofs of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing glistened as Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries gathered beneath them on February 2, 1421. They had come to offer New Year's greetings to Zhu Di,...

Word search activity.(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Look diagonally, backward, forward, vertically, and horizontally for the words listed below in this word maze. Happy searching! Beijing ceramics China conscripts Dragon Throne emperor empress fengshui Forbidden City Giraffe Grand Canal...

When color and direction matter.(Forbidden City)
February 1, 2009... When looking south from the top of the hill at the back of the imperial palaces, the Forbidden City appears like a sea of yellow roofs and red walls. Why are most of the palace halls decorated yellow and red? And why do they face south? Could...

Life in the forbidden city.
February 1, 2009... Hongli, the Qianlong emperor, spent relatively little time in the Forbidden City. After the court audiences and banquets that marked the New Year were completed, he moved to Yuanmingyuan, his villa about five miles northwest of Beijing. Except...

Hundered days of sorrow: meet Qianlong.(Hongli, the Qianlong emperor)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Traditional Chinese historians referred to him as Gaozong, the temple name given him after his death. Many Western historians identify him by his reign name, the Qianlong emperor. No one, however, was allowed to use...

The emperor's day.(Qianlong emperor)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Qianlong emperor adhered to a taxing daily schedule. Almost every morning, he arose before dawn to meet with officials. The exceptions to the early audiences were the days on which he participated in ceremonies...

Word origins.(FUN WITH WORDS)("shih tzu" and "kumquat")(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... WORD ORIGINS Shih Tzu This small dog gets its name from the Chinese word shizigou--a combination of shi ("lion"), zi ("son"), and gou ("dog")--certainly a name that connotes The breed is thought, greatness. to have originated in Tibet and...

Word stories. (FUN WITH WORDS).(tea)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Tea The next time you take a taste of this drink, think of China. Legend says that an ancient Chinese emperor was drinking a bowl of boiling water when a breeze blew some leaves of a nearby tree into the water. The color of the water changed...

Made in China. (FUN WITH WORDS).(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The following foods, all native to China, are now enjoyed throughout the world: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bok Choy: A leafy vegetable, bok choy is related to turnip and the cabbage commonly grown in the United States. Lychee: This...

Faces of power.(The Yongle emperor)(portrait of Zhu Di)
February 1, 2009... The portrait of Zhu Di (right), who ruled as the Yongle emperor, measures more than seven feet high and is nearly five feet wide. The emperor sits in a stately, three-quarter pose on a dragon chair adorned with jewels cascading from dragon...

Unscramble the royals activities.(word puzzle on Chinese historical figures)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Use the clues to figure out who's who among six Chinese personalities. After unscrambling each name, place the numbered letter on its corresponding blank below for an imperial villa northwest of Beijing. 1. He moved the Ming capital north...

The royal wardrobe.(Manchu clothing)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Manchus were a horse-raising and herding people who lived in the forests and grasslands north of the Great Wall. When they arrived in China, therefore, they had a limited wardrobe. They wore, basically, two types...

The empress' bedroom.(Empress Dowager Cixi)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Empress Dowager Cixi had her own palace within the Forbidden City. For almost half a century, from 1861 to 1908, she was the effective ruler of the Middle Kingdom, the name for her land. As her royal position...

Make a seal fit for an emperor.(ACTIVITY)
February 1, 2009... If you were born in China, you would have two signatures: one you would sign by hand and the other you would stamp in red ink paste using a personal seal. Seals are stamps that have characters carved on the bottom and a knob for grasping on...

Imperial Shenyang.
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Beijing's Forbidden City was not the only imperial city in China. In the early 17th century, a Manchu named Nurhachi formed a confederation of Manchu tribes. Desiring to rule in the manner of a Chinese emperor,...

Last becomes first.(ACTIVITY)(Chinese history and culture)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Here's a word teaser that will get your brain thinking! Use the clues below to fill in the boxes, going from left to right, right to left, left to right, and so on. Hint: The last letter of each word is the first letter of the next word. ...

Summer palaces.(Chengde)
February 1, 2009... Some 155 miles northeast of Beijing lies Chengde, site of the most extraordinary pleasure palace built by Qing emperors for summer enjoyment. Its name was "Mountain Resort for Escaping the Heat," and Manchu rulers went there just for that...

The long march.(protection and relocation of China's imperial art collection)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The year was 1933, and the Chinese knew that war with Japan was imminent. They also knew that war would endanger the imperial art collection housed in BEIJING's Forbidden City. The City had been considered the proper...

Spot the difference.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Copying is a respected practice in China. Look closely at the two photos of a bronze lion near the entrance to the emperor's Garden in the Forbidden City. The one at left is a photo of the lion in the City. The one at right is a copy. Can you...

Elephants and Golden Thrones: Inside China's Forbidden City.(OFF THE SHELF)(Book review)(Brief review)
February 1, 2009... Elephants and Golden Thrones: Inside China's Forbidden City by Trish Marx (Abrams, 2008, www.hnabooks.com) offers a delightfully informative view of the entire complex, with stunning photos and fascinating, detailed descriptions of events and...

Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself.(OFF THE SHELF)(Book review)(Brief review)
February 1, 2009... Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself by Lance Kramer (Nomad, 2008, www.nomadpress.net) combines well-researched text with clear, concise directions and complementary explanatory drawings. The 25 hands-on projects are sure to...

Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong.(OFF THE SHELF)(Book review)(Brief review)
February 1, 2009... Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong by Chumei Ho and Bennet Bronson (Merrell Publishers, 2004, www.merrellpublishers.com) offers readers an accurate and detailed view of one of the world's most sumptuous...

Forbidden City: The Great Within.(OFF THE SHELF)(Book review)(Brief review)
February 1, 2009... Forbidden City: The Great Within by May Holdsworth and Caroline Courtauld (Odyssey, 2008, www.odysseypublications.com) is a must-read for anyone interested in this home of emperors. It offers a historical record, anecdotes, biographical...

Cobblestone resources.(Cobblestone Publshing)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Materials that complement this issue's theme," China's Forbidden City," and are available from Cobblestone Publshing include: Made in China (CAL0702) Qing Dynasty (CAL0412) Tang Dynasty (CAL0311) Song Dynasty (CAL0212) ...

Ask Calliope.(Dead Sea)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ? What can you tell me about the Dead Sea? And where is it? --Carl, Web post ! The Dead Sea is in Israel, about 13 miles east of Jerusalem, in the Judean Desert. It lies about 1,325 feet below sea level--the...

From our readers.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2009... Dear Editor I found your article "Meet the Master" (March 2006, Volume 16, Number 7) to be very interesting. I was interested in your article because I am part Dutch and want to learn everything I can about Holland and its people. I...

The end of an era.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)(Qing Dynasty)
February 1, 2009... Puyi, the last emperor of China, was not quite three years old when he first visited the Forbidden City. Although he was not the direct heir to the throne, the Empress Dowager Cixi had summoned him to the City. Cixi had chosen him to succeed...