HuaxiaHuaxia () is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by the various confederations of pre-Qin ethnic ancestors of Han people. The earliest extant authentic attestation of the concept Huáxià 華夏 is in the historical narrative and commentary Zuo zhuan (finished around 300 BCE). In Zuo zhuan, Huaxia refers to the central states (中國 Zhōngguó) in the Yellow River valley, dwelt by the Huaxia people, ethnically equivalent to Han Chinese in pre-imperial discourses.
E (state)The State of E (IPA: /ɤ̂/), whose Middle and Old Chinese name has been reconstructed as Ngak (IPA: /ŋʕak/), was an ancient Chinese state in the area of present-day Henan and Hubei in China from around the 12th century BCE until its overthrow in 863 BCE. It was a vassal of the Shang state and its ruler was one of the Three Ducal Ministers appointed by Dixin of Shang, who is known pejoratively as King Zhou of Shang. E was originally located in the southern part of the modern province of Henan but later moved to Hubei.
MawangduiMawangdui () is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li Cang, his wife Xin Zhui, and a male believed to have been their son. The site was excavated from 1972 to 1974. Most of the artifacts from Mawangdui are displayed at the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Vassal stateA vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to the era of the Egyptian, Hittite and Mitanni conflict, as well as ancient China. The use of vassal states continued through the Middle Ages, with the last empire to use such states being the Ottoman Empire. The relationships between vassal rulers and empires was dependent on the policies and agreements of each empire.
Zou (state)Zou (), originally Zhu () or Zhulou (), was a minor state that existed during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. King Wu of Zhou granted Cao Xie (曹挾) control of the small state of Zhu as a vassal ruler under the State of Lu with the feudal title Viscount (子), but later holding the title Duke of Zhu (邾公). The ancestral surname of the ruling family was Cao (曹). During the reign of Duke Mu of Lu (417–377), Zhu's name was changed to Zou. The state of Zou was located in the southwest of modern-day Shandong Province.
Xu (state)The State of Xu () (also called Xu Rong (徐戎) or Xu Yi (徐夷) by its enemies) was an independent Huaiyi state of the Chinese Bronze Age that was ruled by the Ying family (嬴) and controlled much of the Huai River valley for at least two centuries. It was centered in northern Jiangsu and Anhui. An ancient but originally minor state that already existed during the late Shang dynasty, Xu was subjugated by the Western Zhou dynasty around 1039 BC, and was gradually sinified from then on.
Ju (state)Ju () was a Dongyi state in modern Shandong province during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) of ancient China. The rulers of Ju had the surname of Ji 己. According to the Shuowen Jiezi, "Ju" means taro or a wooden tool. It was weakened by wars with the states of Chu and Qi. Eventually the state was annexed by Qi, and the City of Ju became a major stronghold of Qi.
Chinese ritual bronzesSets and individual examples of ritual bronzes survive from when they were made mainly during the Chinese Bronze Age. Ritual bronzes create quite an impression both due to their sophistication of design and manufacturing process, but also because of their remarkable durability. From around 1650 BCE, these elaborately decorated vessels were deposited as grave goods in the tombs of royalty and the nobility, and were evidently produced in very large numbers, with documented excavations finding over 200 pieces in a single royal tomb.
ZhoukouZhoukou (; postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province, China. It borders Zhumadian to the southwest, Xuchang and Luohe to the west, Kaifeng to the northwest, Shangqiu to the northeast, and the province of Anhui on all other sides. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,026,015 inhabitants. However, as of the 2018 estimation, 1,601,300 lived in the built-up (or metro) made up of Chuanhui district and the northern part of Shangshui county.
Hun and poHun () and po () are types of souls in Chinese philosophy and traditional religion. Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a spiritual, ethereal, yang soul which leaves the body after death, and also a corporeal, substantive, yin soul which remains with the corpse of the deceased. Some controversy exists over the number of souls in a person; for instance, one of the traditions within Daoism proposes a soul structure of 三魂七魄; that is, "three and seven ".
