Genshin Impact introduced Chinese Opera and culture elements in new char Yun Jin. But did you know her story of Shenhe was based on real Chinese legend?
I will do a thread on ancient legend of 李寄斩蛇 little girl who kills giant snake 🧵
Story of little girl Li Ji 李寄 killing giant snake was 1st recorded in East Jin Dynasty book Soushen Ji (In Search of the Supernatural 搜神记) written around 350 AD
It’s said there lived a giant snake in the mountains of Min (Fujian). It kills and maims people. Villagers offered cows and sheeps as sacrifice to appease it but to no avail
The giant snake visited dreams of local shaman demanding to eat 12-13 yr old girl every harvest time. Local officials would collect criminals’ daughters and raise them til harvest to feed the snake
Aft 9 yrs, 9 girls have lost their lives. Many family w daughters fled. Li family has 6 daughters no son. Youngest Li Ji 李寄 wants to volunteer herself. Her parents wouldn’t allow it.
Li Ji snuck out and went to volunteer herself as human sacrifice to the giant snake at local gov office. She demanded a sharp sword and snake hunting dog.
She took w her a sword, a hunting dog and rice balls 🍙 that she mixed w honey to lure the giant snake out
She waited inside the temple dedicated to the giant snake. The giant snake lured out by honey rice balls. She set the dog on the snake and slashed the snake’s body w her sword
The giant snake crawls to the back of the temple and die frm its injuries.
Li Ji followed and retrieved skulls of 9 girls who had been eaten in previous yrs. She sighed “Beacuse you’re weak and timid, you’re eaten by snake. Such a pity” She then went home to her family
After Communist victory in 1949, Chinese gov organized artists to produce illustrated comics to popularize traditional stories to the masses. I grew up reading them in 1980s. Images drawn by 项维仁 for the 1984 Manhua version of 李寄斩蛇
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In this history thread, I will talk about how the direct ancestor of Miss Russia 2011 Natalia Gantimurova led to the 1st China Russia border war and Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689.
Her ancestor Gantimur was a Tungus tribal chief who got caught up in Russian and Qing expansion 🧵
Russian Cossacks' pursuit of fur brought them deep into Siberia Taiga in 17th century. Like Viking before them, they expanded their control via navigable rivers. They're also looking a trade route to China. Oriat Mongols they encountered told them of a Bogda Khagan (Heaven Khan)
Cossacks crossed Lake Baikal into Dauria or the land of Daur (people). Mongol Tüsheet Khan ruled Dauria. But Dzungar ruler Galdan Boshugtu Khan defeated Tüsheet Khan along w other Khans of Outer Mongolia, driven them to Inner Mongolia to seek protection of Qing Empire
188cm Ukrainian cosplayer Karina at Hangzhou ad02 animation expo. Her fanbase mostly young Chinese women.
She became a cosplayer aft moving to China w her Chinese husband, gained 3.5million Douyin fans. Her husband cheated on her then drowned in Bali's Kuta Beach last Nov on his birthday during their vacation together. Her fans are glad that she seems to be doing ok now.
Karina actually became famous for cosplaying male characters. She towers over her now dead husband who's only 183cm.
Her hubby had responded to how they did photoshoot in which he appeared taller.
He cheated on her while she was pregnant. They made up just before Bali vacation and his drowning death. Karina said she tried to save him but the wave was too strong
Karina actually became famous for cosplaying male characters. She towers over her now dead husband who's only 183cm.
Her hubby had responded to how they did photoshoot in which he appeared taller.
He cheated on her while she was pregnant. They made up just before Bali vacation and his drowning death. Karina said she tried to save him but the wave was too strong
Ethiopian Chinese baby. Father works for a shoe factory.
Many Chinese textile and shoe factories moved to Africa to go around the US imposed quota on Chinese manufactured goods and take advantage of The African Growth and Opportunity Act which provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries (SSAs)
Chinese comments on the Douyin video: "Does your shoe factories still need people?"
Many thirsty single men in China
Salary day at a Chinese textile factory in Ethiopia.
Chinese factories off-shored to Africa employ mostly local African workers with a small managerial staff send from China.
Made in Ethiopian goods will sell to the US and EU market without facing restrictions on Chinese goods
Emperor Yongzheng (1722-1735) cosplaying as a French nobleman hunting tiger with traditional Chinese trident.
Yongzheng had commissioned many painting of him dressing variously as Han literati, Mongol/Turkic prince, Tibetan lama. They are collectively called 雍正行乐图 literally Yongzheng's fun pictures.
Yongzheng as a Turkic (Uyghur) prince. The robe is made from atlas silk produced in Xinjiang
Immediately after Opium War, Chinese tried to reverse-engineer Western technologies. They build models of steam engines. But they couldn't reproduce in industrial scale because China didn't have developed technical drawings. so work couldn't be quickly replicated.
Chinese illustration of steam locomotive in 1843, right after First Opium War
Lack of developed technical drawing tradition had been a problem back in 1600s when Chinese tried to reverse-engineer European machinery.
side by side comparison between European illustration from 1607 with Chinese illustration of the same in 1627.
Result is that while Chinese could reverse-engineer European machinery at small scale in workshops but couldn't scale the production because the drawing not detailed enough for others to replicate the machine
The larger issue is systematic adoption of science and scientific education in Europe that was missing in China. So while Europe didn't surpass China in living standards til after 1750s, roots of the First Industrial Revolution and Great Divergence was much deeper.