- The Invasion of the Mongol Tartars
The Mongol invasion took place in the fourth year of Kōan [a. d. 1281] - Portrait of St. Francis Xavier, One of the Earliest Missionaries to Japan
In this city Pinto met, apparently for the first time, with Master Francis Xavier, general superior or provincial of the order of the Jesuits in India, in all parts of which occupied by the Portuguese he had already attained a high reputation for self-devotion, sanctity, and miraculous power; and who was then at Malacca, on his return to Goa, from a mission on which he had lately been to the Moluccas - Dial of old clock
The Japanese division of time is peculiar. The day, from the beginning of morning twilight to the end of evening twilight, is divided into six hours, and the night, from the beginning to the end of darkness, into six other hours. Of course the length of these hours is constantly varying. Their names (according to Titsingh) are as follows: Kokonotsu [nine], noon, and midnight; Yatsu [eight], about our two o’clock; Nanatsu [seven], from four to five; Mutsu [six], end of the evening and commencement of morning twilight; Itsutsu [five], eight to nine; Yotsu [four], about ten; and then Kokonotsu again. Each of these hours is also subdivided into four parts, thus: Kokonotsu, noon or midnight; Kokonotsu-han [nine and a half], quarter past; Kokonotsu-han-sugi [past nine and a half], half past; Kokonotsu-han-sugi-maye [before past nine and a half], three quarters past; commencement of second hour: Yatsu-han, etc., and so through all the hours. - A Merchant Ship
- Image of Oda Nobunaga
- Mailed Warrior - 11th Century
- The Expedition against Corea
- Image of Yoritomo
According to the Japanese historical legends, the office of Kubō-Sama, originally limited to the infliction of punishments and the suppression of crimes, was shared, for many ages, between the two families of Genji and Heiji, till about 1180, when a civil war broke out between these families, and the latter, having triumphed, assumed such power that the Dairi commissioned Yoritomo, a member of the defeated family of Genji, to inflict punishment upon him. Yoritomo renewed the war, killed Heiji, and was himself appointed Kubō-Sama, but ended with usurping a greater power than any of his predecessors - Image of Iyeyasu
To secure the succession of his infant son, the expiring emperor established, on his death-bed, a council of regency, composed of nine persons, at the head of which he placed Tokugawa Iyeyasu, king of the Bandō, which, besides the five provinces of the Kwantō, in which were the great cities of Suruga and Yedo, embraced, also, three other kingdoms. Iyeyasu had been king of Mikawa, a more westerly province, which he had lost by adhering to the fortunes of the third son of Nobunaga, he being allied to that family by marriage. But afterwards, by some means, he had recovered the favor of Taikō-Sama, who had even bestowed upon him the newly conquered Bandō, and who, the better to secure his fidelity, had caused his infant son and destined successor to be married to a young granddaughter of Iyeyasu. - The Infallible Remedy
TOOTHACHE is an universal plague. Every country has a special " nostrum " for its cure. China knows the plague, and China has a nostrum, which may well challenge all others for originality and efficacy. The quacks who in this case advance their specific are all women. I speak of them and their doings as I have seen and known them in the province of Chekeang. Whether they are found elsewhere in China I know not. The remedy they employ has never yet, to my knowledge, been published to the world ; and we must not feel sur-prised if, after this paper has once got abroad, a shipload of these charlatans should be sent for, and make their appearance " one fine morning," in the Thames. These female quacks maintain that the usual cause of toothache is a little worm or maggot, which has its nest in the gum under the root, and if this little offender can be driven or coaxed out, the gnawing pain will immediately cease. But how he is to be driven or coaxed out is the secret of their trade, the knowledge of which they confine most rigidly to those of their own profession. We had not been resident many years in the country before we heard talk of these women and their wonderful performances, and as my friend and I took our customary walks together, our con-versation not unfrequently turned their way. My friend stoutly maintained that it was all impos-ture ; it was impossible, he said, that maggots in the gums or teeth should have escaped the obser-vation of our dentists, who had examined hundreds of thousands, not merely of teeth, but of mouths for so many years. - The Barley-Sugar Stall
I have often noticed longing eyes watching the pan of boiling sugar at the corner of some thoroughfare, or under the porch of some well-frequented temple in China ; and as the desired consistency was attained, the sugar-stick drawn out to the proper thickness, the elegant spiral twist given by a dexterous movement of the hand, and as the long scissors snipped the transparent and fast-hardening stick into convenient inches, You notice that the figure in our sketch has two baskets, or rather tubs, the one containing his goods in the form of sweetmeats of various devices, the other the fire-pans and implements necessary for their manufac-ture. When he moves from place to place, that short pole which is resting by his side is laid upon his shoulder, and a tub hangs on a hook at either end. Listen ! He is striking with a flat piece of brass his little sounding gong, which, with its clang, clang, clang, invites customers. Each trade has its own particular cry or call, some vocal, some, as in this case, instrumental. See ! an urchin, whose fingers are evidently so burnt with the money that they can hold it no longer, is running forward to make a purchase. You may tell he is very young, for his tail is not yet grown, his head is entirely shaved, save two little tufts of hair, which are twisted and bound up into a soft horn, and orna-mented with a piece of crimson silk. Though so young, yet he has his own mind about his money, and very likely will prefer giving that funny-look-ing wheel in front of the sweetmeats a turn, to know whether he is to have double the worth of his money in sugar, or none at all. The gambling spirit is even strong in infancy, and though the chances are that the sweetmeat-seller will gain, yet he cannot resist the temptation ; only think, if he should get two pieces of sugar instead of one ! If he loses, he will stand there watching while others take their turn ; if he wins, he will run home delighted with his success. Children are children all the world over, they will have their fun and frolic, the sweet tooth can never be pulled out; if it could, what would become of the poor lollipop-makers ! - The Sho
The instrument called Sho is blown with the mouth, and corresponds to the Chinese Cheng or Mouth Organ. The pipes are made of wood, with reed mouthpieces, and the notes are made by stopping the holes with the fingers. In some ways the construction is like that of a harmonium, but it is much more troublesome to play, and the performer, having to use his own breath to make the sounds, cannot sing at the same time. Unlike a harmonium also, it is difficult to keep in tune, and Miss Bird, a well-known traveller, tells of a concert at which the performer was obliged to be continually warming his instrument at a brazier of coals placed near. Some years ago a Japanese Commission was appointed to consider which of the national instruments were most suitable for use in schools; it rejected the Sho because its manufacture was troublesome and its tuning even worse. - Japanese Birds
- The Queens first council - Kensington Palace June 20 1837
Queen Victorias first council - Kensington Palace June 20 1837 The year 1837, except for the death of the old King and the accession of the young Queen, was a tolerably insignificant year. It was on June 20 that the King died. He was buried on the evening of July 9 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor; on the 10th the Queen dissolved Parliament; on the 13th she went to Buckingham Palace; and on November 9 she visited the City, where they gave her a magnificent banquet, served in Guildhall at half past five, the Lord Mayor and City magnates humbly taking their modest meal at a lower table. - Street Singers
THE original heading of this picture, as given by my Chinese artist, is " striking the flower drum." For the information of those who do not understand the Chinese idiom we must say that flower or flowery (for the position of the word alone determines its genus) is put for anything gay, and frequently means that which is not only gay and pleasing to the eye or senses, but sometimes also that which is dissolute and vicious. Thus " a flower boat " is a boat for a party of pleasure, used fre-quently by the Southern Chinese for an occasion of revelling and vice. A flower chair is the sedan chair used on occasions of a marriage festivity ; flower guns are guns for purposes of amusement, namely, squibs, rockets, and fireworks generally. The meaning of " a flower child " would never be guessed by the English reader ; it signifies nothing more than a beggar, most probably because beggars are usually a vagabond people, leading a wretched abandoned life. The Chinese beggar, like his European brother, notwithstanding all his hardships, greatly prefers his liberty with an occasional feast, frolic, and dance, to the toil of honest industry. I have myself in China clothed, fed, and housed a starving beggar boy, who ran away from me directly he was asked to take a spade and dig for an hour in the garden. The women in our picture are a kind of beggars, and as they play sprightly, exciting music, and sing gay and almost indecent songs, and I fear live frequently a corrupt life, they are called those who " strike the flower drum." The drum is not the only instrument they employ, but this is put generally for all other kinds of music. One of the figures is seen holding a small drum and a little slip of bamboo as drum-stick, the other has a tiny brass gong, and as she strikes her " flower gong," she deadens the sound with the other hand, to pre-vent the prolonged clang of the metal from drown-ing the words of her song. The little child carried on the back shows the ordinary method employed by beggars of stowing away their children when they are too young or too tired to follow their elders on foot. These street singers are not seen all the year round, they only appear on New-year festivities. - Playing stick.
A smaller instrument of the same kind is also used in religious ceremonies, the 'the king,' made of one large block of 'yu,' suspended from an upright. It is played like the real 'king,' by being struck with a special stick or plectrum, and the tone, though less varied than that of the larger instrument, is equally deep and full. - The Collector of refuse hair
To what strange shifts and expedients are many driven by the hard pressures of life to earn the means of barely supporting existence ! Any one, who is acquainted with the lower phases of London life, is well aware that thousands scrape together a living out of the dust-heaps in Pad-dington. Some in rags, some in bones, some in street manure, some in scraps of tin and iron, find support for themselves and their families. Man is not responsible for his natural powers, nor is it any disgrace to be so deficient in intellect as to be obliged to follow a mean employment. No toil debases man save that which injures his moral character. Our picture presents to our notice one of the meanest of Chinese callings ; and in the refuse hair-gatherer, our artist has not failed to give you a specimen of humanity in one of its lowest forms. But even such a case as this is not without its interest. From the maker of wigs, false beards, and moustache, and from the worker in ornamental hair generally, such a calling may justly attract observation. Without the aid of the poor hair-gatherer, how should that fashionable young man, who, Absolom like, prides himself upon his hair, and yet unlike Absolom has but little of his own to boast of, appear in proper guise before his compeers in society ? How, again, shall the coy maiden find, unless by the same help, those magnificent "butter-flies' wings " * of glossy hair, which ornament the back of her head? But I have unwittingly anticipated : by this time the reader surmises the functions of our friend going his wearisome rounds with his light wicker-basket. He is either buying or begging all the refuse combings of the women's long black hair, which others, skilful in their art, make up into tails, either to supply a need which unfortunately may have arisen, or to increase the proportions of that which nature had too sparely bestowed. As you pass down a Chinese street, you will occasionally see a shop where were sold long switchy horse-tails ; such, at least, they long ap-peared to the writer of these sketches ; inquiry at last dissipated the delusion ; appearances answered to their proverbial deceitfulness, and these long-switch tails were formed of the refuse combings collected by our persevering friend, and hung in the shop ready to be braided into the usual queue worn by the men. - Chinese Woman - 11th Century BC
Chinese Woman - 11th Century BC - Chinese Jugglers
Chinese Jugglers - The Buddhist Priest
The bare-legged, bare-footed figure in our sketch has travelled many a weary league in carrying on his work. His province is to beg—not for himself, but for the monastery to which he belongs. Every large establishment of this kind has priests of different ranks and different occupations. Su-preme over all is the abbot, or superior, who has his own private apartments, dines, except on great occasions, at his own table, and enjoys a com-fortable income. His duty is to entertain distinguished visitors of the monastery, to administer its revenues, to watch over the due performance of the services of the sanctuary, and to regulate and enforce its discipline in the priests committed to his authority. In the execution of his duties, he has the benefit of an assistant, as sub-prior, who also has his own private apartments, and who attends to minor matters of detail. Subordinate to the abbot and his assistant are the ordinary priests, the greater part of whom employ their time in lounging about ; some, studiously inclined, frequent the library, and pore over its voluminous contents ; some are engaged in cultivating the fields and tending the forests with which the monastery has been endowed ; some, again, are the cooks of the establishment, and display no mean skill in the preparation of their vegetable cuisine ; others, either singly or in pairs, start forth from time to time on a begging expedition, when money is needed for the repair of the buildings, or when an unusual influx of priests or unpropitious seasons have made the inmates feel the pangs of hunger ; and all, in rotation, take part in the frequent and regular chaunted services before the colossal figures in the central hall. Buddhism in China is not what it once was in power and influence. The monasteries which we now see were the creation of an age which believed in this religion ; some of them are the monuments of imperial zeal. But this faith seems now to be gradually dying out ; its sacred edifices are falling into decay, and no new temples are rising. The priests are generally uneducated men, and held in great contempt by the gentry. Imperial patronage, too, is wanting ; the present sovereign of the country is either unable or unwilling to raise and endow new foundations, or even to restore and maintain those which his forefathers erected. In the many monasteries which I visited, I can call to mind but few which indicated, by the care bestowed on them and the strict observance of the rules, that there was reality in the members, or which contained men of superior intelligence. Priests of earnest mind will often heave a deep sigh over the degeneracy of the present age. In Buddhism there is no distinct order of " beg-ging friars," but, as need arises, a few are chosen to travel through the country and collect subscriptions. In their journeys they are received and lodged by the brethren in other monasteries, who, by a law of the order, are bound to extend to them for a stated time such, hospitality. They visit alike the houses of the rich and of the poor, and usually bring the artillery of their arguments to bear upon the weaker sex. A wallet at their back receives the contributions of the charitable—generally in the form of a little cooked rice, all animal food being prohibited according to the terms of their religious vow. They are the most strict vegetarians in the world. - Young Gentleman Louis XIII period - 1625 - 1640
Young Gentleman Louis XIII period - 1625 - 1640 - The Diviner
The sapient-looking gentleman, is one of the supposed fortune-tellers in China. Their name is legion, and in these sketches a few of the more prominent characters of this class will be introduced. When the mind of man is not enlightened by science and revelation, experience teaches us that it is a prey to various foolish and degrading super-stitions. No wonder, then, that in a country like China, where science has made comparatively so little progress, and where revelation has scarcely yet diffused her faintest beams, superstitions of every kind should be rife. It is a genial cli-mate and a kindly soil, in which they spring up `rank` and luxuriant. The workings of natural laws are at best but partially understood. For example, the thunder, the fire, the earthquake, the eclipse, are supposed to be not so much subject to certain laws, as under the authority and control of some capricious deity. The ancestor or god of thunder, tray-tsoo, is worshipped with peculiar honours in the summer months, when storms are prevalent. Then crowds of earnest devotees besiege his shrine. The spirit of fire has innumerable votaries, who deprecate his wrath in the dry season of autumn. The earthquake is ascribed to the convulsive struggles of a huge tortoise to shift the earth from off his back. The eclipse is said to be caused by a voracious dog, in his attempts to swallow the orb of day. And though, with regard to the eclipse, there are some who know better, and if they cannot themselves explain the true reason, know that it has to do with fixed laws, and occurs at regular periods, noted in the imperial alma-nacks, yet the same excitement still prevails when-ever the phenomenon occurs : gongs are beaten, and crackers are fired from every house to frighten away the hungry beast. - Enamelled Chinese Vase
Enamelled Chinese Vase with animals - Tie-back skirt
Tie-back skirt Late '7o's and Early '8o's The bustle remained an important feature after the panier effect had been discarded. The skirts were made severely plain and were pulled back by strings, so as to fit with extreme snugness in the front. At the back, however, they were drawn out over a bustle of such extent that the fashion plates of the late '70's now have the appearance of caricatures. - Nine-storied Pagoda
Nine-storied Pagoda - Rice Bowl and Chopsticks
Rice Bowl and Chopsticks - Mendicant Priest of Buddha
Mendicant Priest of Buddha - Pilgrim-shaped bottle, enamelled with butterflies
Pilgrim-shaped bottle, enamelled with butterflies - Elephants attacking a granary
A True Anecdote. A traveller, who was making a tour in India some years back, tells us that in his wanderings he arrived at a village on the north border of the British dominions; near this stood a granary, in which was stored a large quantity of rice. The people of the place described to him how the granary had been attacked by a party of elephants which had somehow found out that this granary was full of rice. Early in the morning an elephant appeared at the granary, acting evidently as a scout or spy. When he found that the place was unprotected, he returned to the herd, which was waiting no great distance off. Two men happened to be close by, and they watched the herd approach in almost military order. Getting near the granary, the elephants stopped to examine it. Its walls were of solid brickwork; the entry was in the centre of the terraced roof, which could only be mounted by a ladder. To climb this was not possible, so they stood to consider. The alarmed spectators speedily climbed a banyan-tree, hiding themselves among its leafy branches, thus being out of view while they could watch the doings of the elephants. These animals surveyed the building all round; its thick walls were formidable, but the strength and sagacity of the elephants defied the obstacles. One of the largest of the herd took up a position at a corner of the granary, and pounded upon the wall with his tusks. When he began to feel tired, another took turn at the work, then another, till several of the bricks gave way. An opening once made was soon enlarged. Space being made for an elephant to enter, the herd divided into parties of three or four, since only a few could find room inside. When one party had eaten all they could, their place was taken by another. One of the elephants stood at a distance as sentinel. After all had eaten enough, by a shrill noise he gave the signal to retire, and the herd, flourishing their trunks, rushed off to the jungle. - Chinese Gentleman and Servant
Chinese Gentleman and Servant - The Physician
The Physician - Corean Costumes
Corean Costumes - Founder of Han - 11th Century BC
Founder of Han - 11th Century BC - Corean Costumes
Corean Costumes - Corean Costumes
Corean Costumes - Mailed Warrior
Mailed Warrior - Empress Woo
Empress Woo - The Grecian Bend
The Grecian Bend , a feature of the late 70's - Corean Costumes
Corean Costumes - Druids
ALTHOUGH these Britons did not worship images, they believed that there were many gods and their religion was very different from that which is taught us in the Bible. They had priests who were called DRUIDS, who lived mostly in the forests, and taught the people that the Oak was a sacred tree. They worshipped the mistletoe, a plant which grows on the branches of the oak and on other trees. This mistletoe was cut off every year, with a golden knife, by the chief Druid, amid great rejoicing, and was very carefully preserved. The priests wore white linen robes, and let their beards grow very long to distinguish them from the rest of the people. The savages obeyed them because they knew more than anybody else, and tried to find out medicines to cure those who were ill. They used various means to make the people give them presents. On a certain day, at the beginning of winter, they obliged all persons to put out their fires, and light them again from the fire of the sacred altar, telling them, that by so doing they would have good fortune throughout the year; but if any one did not act as they wished, they would not allow him to enter their temples, and his friends were forbidden to give him any help. - The more practical gown of the Empire Period
The more practical gown of the Empire Period - The Incroyable of the Revolution Period - 1795
The Incroyable of the Revolution Period - 1795 "Incroyable" (incredible) was the sobriquet given to the fops or dandies of the later Revolutionary period. Here is the description of one of these remarkably dressed personages as given by the French writer, Honore de Balzac: The costume of his unknown presented an exact picture of the fashion which at that time called forth the caricatures of the Incroyables. Imagine a person muffled in a coat so short in front that there showed beneath five or six inches of the waistcoat and with skirts so long behind that they resembled a codfish tail, a term then commonly employed to designate them. An immense cravat formed round his neck such innumerable folds that the little head emerging from a labyrinth of muslin almost justified Captain Merle's kitchen simile. [Merle had described the Incroyable as looking "like a duck with its head protruding from a game pie."] The stranger wore tight breeches and boots a la Suwarrow; a huge white and blue cameo was stuck, as a pin, in his shirt. Two watch chains hung in parallel festoons at his waist, and his hair, hanging in corkscrew curls on each side of the face, almost hid his forehead. Finally, as a last touch of decoration, the collars of his shirt and his coat rose so high that his head presented the appearance of a bouquet in its paper wrappings. If there be added to these insignificant details, which formed a mass of disparities with no ensemble, the absurd contrast of his yellow breeches, his red waistcoat, his cinnamon brown coat, a faithful portrait will be given of the height of fashion at which dandies aimed at the beginning of the Consulate Preposterous as the costume was, it seemed to have been invented as a sort of touchstone of elegance to show that nothing can be too absurd for fashion to hallow it. - Women's Costume during the Directory - 1795 - 1800
Women's Costume during the Directory - 1795 - 1800 - The 1840 style
The 1840 style - Morning costume of Dandy of the early Revolutionary period - 1791
Morning costume of Dandy of the early Revolutionary period - 1791 - French Restoration period - 1823
French Restoration period - 1823 - The 1830 Effect
The 1830 Effect - The Extreme of the Crinoline - 1862
NO radical change in womens' costumes occurrred until the early fifties when what are known as the "Second Empire" styles were introduced. A remarkable feature of the fashions set by Eugenie, the consort of Napoleon III, was the enormous crinoline, of which we have more than once in recent years been threatened with a revival. The monstrous dimensions of women's skirts during the period from 1853 to the early seventies afforded an excellent theme for the pencil of the comic artist, and those who care to search the volumes of "Punch" and other illustrated publications of English and French origin, as well as those produced at the time in this country, will find both exact reproductions and caricatures of this style of costume. - Street costume Late Louis XVI period - 1790
Street costume Late Louis XVI period - 1790 - Ball Costume 1825
Ball Costume 1825 - Elizabethan or Marie Stuart Period - 1558 - 1600
Elizabethan or Marie Stuart Period - 1558 - 1600 - Early days of the crinoline - 1855
Early days of the crinoline - 1855 - Marie Antoinette style - Late Louis XVI period - 1790
Marie Antoinette style - Late Louis XVI period - 1790 - Court costume Louis XVI - about 1780
Court costume Louis XVI - about 1780 - Louis XIV Period - about 1700
Louis XIV Period - about 1700 - Louis XIII - about 1640
Louis XIII - about 1640 - Henry IV or early Stuart - 1600 - 1615
Henry IV or early Stuart - 1600 - 1615 - Skaters on the Reservoir at La Villette
- Young Woman's dress - 14th Century
Young Woman's dress - 14th Century - The first Railway Journey in England
It was called the 'Locomotion.' George Stephenson stood ready to drive it as soon as the trucks, which a stationary engine was lowering down the slope by means of a wire rope, had been attached to it. In the first of these trucks came the Directors of the Railway Company and their friends, followed by twenty-one trucks (all open to the sky, like ordinary goods-trucks), loaded with various passengers, and finally six more waggons of coal. Such was the first train. A man on horseback, carrying a flag, having taken up his position in front of the 'Locomotion' to head the procession, the starting word was given, and with a hiss of steam, half drowned in the shouting of the crowd, the first railway journey ever made in England was begun.