Arms and Armor-Common Misconceptions and Frequently Asked Questions Parrying dagger (pugnale bolognese), ca. 1550–75 Italian Partly gilt steel, brass, and wood; Wt. 15 oz. (425 g) Gift of Jean Jacques Reubell, in memory of his mother, Julia C. Coster, and of his wife, Adeline E. Post, both of New York City, 1926 (26.145.94) The field of arms and armor is beset with romantic legends, gory myths, and widely held misconceptions. Their origins usually are to be found in a lack of knowledge of, and experience with, genuine objects and their historical background. Perhaps the most infamous example is the notion that "knights had to be hoisted into their saddles with a crane," which is as absurd as it is persistent even among many historians. The following text will attempt to correct some of the most popular misconceptions, and to answer some of the questions most frequently asked by the public during guided tours of the Museum's arms and armor galleries. Misconceptions and Related Questions Relating Armor 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ancient China - The Ancient Chinese Civilization Chinese Historical Accounts the Forbidden City, the home of the Chinese emperors until the last dynasty was overthrown in the 20th century Chinese history, until the twentieth century, was written mostly by members of the ruling scholar-official class and was meant to provide the ruler with precedents to guide or justify his policies. These accounts focused on dynastic politics and colorful court histories and included developments among the commoners only as backdrops. The historians described a Chinese political pattern of dynasties, one following another in a cycle of ascent, achievement, decay, and rebirth under a new family. Of the consistent traits identified by independent historians, a salient one has been the capacity of the Chinese to absorb the people of surrounding areas into their own civilization. Sun-Tzu, the realist writer of the the influential "Art of War" The first prehistoric dynasty is said to be Xia , from about the twenty-first to the sixteenth century B.C.
The History and Geography of Inventions [Home Page][Other Page] [Search Inventions] [Before 10,000 BC][10,000 BC to 4000 BC][4000 BC to 3000 BC][3000 BC to 2000 BC][2000 BC to 1000 BC][1000 BC to 1 BC][1 AD to 1000 AD][1000 to 1500][1500 to 1700][1700 to 1800][1800 to 1850][1850 to 1900][1900 to 1950][Since 1950] [Inventions][Biographies][Religions of the World][Bible Contradictions][Rain][Countries of the World][Cookery][Music][Composers (Opera)] [Readers' Feedback (Religion)] [Language][Travel][Eclipses][London][Astronomy][Mathematics][Physics][Chemistry][Biology][Football][Television][Other] Sponsored Link History of China Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations.[1] The written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1700–1046 BC),[2] although ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian (ca. 100 BC) and Bamboo Annals assert the existence of a Xia Dynasty before the Shang.[2][3] Much of Chinese culture, literature and philosophy further developed during the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 BC). The Zhou Dynasty began to bow to external and internal pressures in the 8th century BC, and the kingdom eventually broke apart into smaller states, beginning in the Spring and Autumn Period and reaching full expression in the Warring States period. Prehistory Paleolithic Neolithic Ancient China Capital: Yin, near Anyang
King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table | History, Legend and Everything in Between - StumbleUpon Entymology Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire - Joseph R. Peden [This is a transcript of Professor Joseph Peden's 50-minute lecture "Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire," given at the Seminar on Money and Government in Houston, Texas, on October 27, 1984. The original audio recording is available as a free MP3 download.] Two centuries ago, in 1776, there were two books published in England, both of which are read avidly today. One of them was Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and the other was Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon, in looking at this phenomenon, commented that the wonder was not that the Roman Empire had fallen, but rather that it had lasted so long. I've been asked to speak on the theme of Roman history, particularly the problem of inflation and its impact. Monetary, fiscal, military, political, and economic issues are all very much intertwined. Monetary policy therefore always serves, even if it serves badly, the perceived needs of the rulers of the state. Caracalla was assassinated in 217.
Chinese prehistory Revisionism and the Historical Blackout - Harry Elmer Barnes [Chapter 1 of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, 1953] The First World War and American intervention therein marked an ominous turning point in the history of the United States and of the world. Those who can remember "the good old days" before 1914 inevitably look back to those times with a very definite and justifiable feeling of nostalgia. There was no income tax before 1913, and that levied in the early days after the amendment was adopted was little more than nominal. Ours was a libertarian country in which there was little or no witch-hunting and few of the symptoms and operations of the police state which have been developing here so drastically during the last decade. Libertarianism was also dominant in Western Europe. Enlightened citizens of the Western world were then filled with buoyant hope for a bright future for humanity. In this optimism in regard to the future no item was more evident and potent than the assumption that war was an outmoded nightmare. Sidney B. Notes
Outline of China The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to China: The People's Republic of China is the most extensive country in East Asia and the third or fourth most extensive country in the world.[1][2] With a population of over 1,300,000,000, it is the most populous country in the world. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a single-party system since the state's establishment in 1949. The PRC is involved in a dispute over the political status of Taiwan. China plays a major role in international trade. General reference[edit] Geography of China[edit] Mongolia 4,677 km Russia 3,645 km India (excluding the territorial border disputes; McMahon Line is 3,380 km Myanmar 2,185 km Kazakhstan 1,533 km North Korea 1,416 km Vietnam 1,281 km Nepal 1,236 km Kyrgyzstan 858 km Pakistan 523 km Bhutan 470 km Laos 423 km Tajikistan 414 km Afghanistan 76 km Coastline: 14,500 km Environment of China[edit] Natural geographic features of China[edit] Regions of China[edit] See also[edit]