Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Emperors of Chinas Xia Dynasty

Emperors of Chinas Xia Dynasty According to legend, the Xia Dynasty ruled China beginning more than four thousand years ago. Although no firm documentary evidence has yet been found for this period, it is possible that some form of evidence exists, like the  oracle bones  that have proved the existence of the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BCE). The Xia Kingdom supposedly grew up along the Yellow River, and its first leader was a sort of community organizer named Yu who got all of the people to cooperate in creating dams and canals to control the annual river floods. As a result, their agricultural production and their population increased, and they selected him to become their leader under the name of Emperor Yu the Great. We know about these legends thanks to much later Chinese historical chronicles such as the  Classic of History  or  Book of Documents.  Some scholars believed that this work was compiled from earlier documents by Confucius himself, but that seems unlikely. Xia history is also recorded in the  Bamboo Annals, another ancient book of unknown authorship, as well as in Sima Qians  Records of the Grand Historian  from 92 BCE. There is often more truth than we might guess in ancient myths and legends. That certainly has proved true in the case of the dynasty that came after the Xia, the Shang, which was long thought to be mythical until archaeologists discovered the above-mentioned oracle bones bearing the names of some of the mythical Shang emperors. Archaeology may one day prove the doubters wrong about the Xia Dynasty as well. Indeed, archaeological work in the Henan and Shanxi provinces, along the ancient course of the Yellow River, has turned up evidence of a complex early Bronze Age culture from the correct time period. Most Chinese scholars are quick to identify this complex, called the Erlitou culture, with the Xia Dynasty, although some foreign scholars are more skeptical. The Erlitou digs reveal an urban civilization with bronze foundries, palatial buildings, and straight, paved roads. Finds from the Erlitou sites also include elaborate tombs. Within those tombs are grave goods including the famous  ding tripod  vessels, one of a class of artifacts known as ritual bronzes. Other finds include bronze wine jugs and jeweled masks, as well as ceramic mugs and jade implements. Unfortunately, the one type of artifact not discovered so far is any trace of writing that conclusively states that the Erlitou site is one and the same with the Xia Dynasty. China’s Xia Dynasty Yu the Great, c. 2205 – c. 2197 BCEEmperor Qi, c. 2146 – c. 2117 BCETai Kang, c. 2117 – c. 2088 BCEZhong Kang, c. 2088 – c. 2075 BCEXiang, c. 2075 – c. 2008 BCEShao Kang, c. 2007 – c. 1985 BCEZhu, c. 1985 – c. 1968 BCEHuai, c. 1968 – c. 1924 BCEMang, c. 1924 – c. 1906 BCEXie, c. 1906 – c. 1890 BCEBu Jiang, c. 1890 – c. 1831 BCEJiong, c. 1831 – c. 1810 BCEJin, c. 1810 – c. 1789 BCEKong Jia, c. 1789 – c. 1758 BCEGao, c. 1758 – c. 1747 BCEFa, c. 1747 – c. 1728 BCEJie, c. 1728 – c. 1675 BCE To learn more, go to the list of China’s Dynasties.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Three Google Searches That Will Help You Get Paid to Write Now

Three Google Searches That Will Help You Get Paid to Write Now I confess, I am a Google junkie. I have built a solid reputation for knowing a lot of obscure, but helpful, information about a lot of random topics. Much of this I can attribute to an unhealthy amount of time spent searching Google to satisfy my curiosity, so I may have an unfair advantage. Yet, while reading several of the articles saturating the web right now about How To Get Your First Writing Client, I can’t help but wonder, â€Å"Why are they overlooking the obvious?† Skip sites like Freelancer.com and oDesk.com, which advertise low paying freelance writing jobs that you have to spend valuable time bidding for (and where you run the risk of being scammed). Opt out of writing on demand sites like Scripted.com that require you to go through a lengthy application process, where you must submit writing samples for approval despite having a portfolio, to compete for jobs averaging under $30. Spend less time perusing job boards and cut through the middleman Locate client websites directly, using Google to gain an opportunity to address your application to a specific contact and have a fair chance of your response actually being read. Do so ‘Write For Us’ How many times have you followed the links from an aggregated job board, to a Craigslist ad, to an actual website link leading the advertisement on the clients website which reads: ‘Write For Us’? Exactly. ‘Be A Contributor’ In my experience, this search term is often helpful for leading you directly to client sites that you will not find on a job board because they have such a large following that they do not need to advertise anywhere else. ‘Submission Guidelines’ Whether it is a large or small publication, you are likely to end up on this page of the clients website as a potential hire or a hired writer. Cut to the chase Do your own Google search using these exact search terms and see how many results you come up with. Narrow your search results