The Shang Dynasty in China (1523 B.C. – 1128 B.C.)



The Shang Dynasty, located in the Yellow River Valley, was considered to be a myth kingdom before archeologists found the first prove of its existence in the ancient texts of the prayer and legends written on cowry shells and indicating Shang’s most interesting facts and believes.



Oracle Shells

Apparently, the Dynasty made a lot of human sacrifices in order to please their ancestors and gods in order to get their approval for their wishes and decisions. The bronze value was high, only those of nobles or the emperor himself were able to afford this expensive luxury for weapons and especially arts. Bronze artifacts, slaves, numerous oracle shells, horses and literature were usual findings that archeologists would encounter with when going into another tomb of the royal family. Those were things that Chinese thought a person would need after life.



Chinese Bronze Wine Vess

Originally the dynasty was created upon a rebel leader who overthrew the previous Xia Dynasty. The capital was moved six times for safety reasons, when finally it settled in Yin. Their golden age began. The first emperor was Tang, the one who saved people and started Shang Dynasty. But the most famous ruler was Wu Ding who had a wife that led his army and achieved many victories being general and a very respected woman. Wu Ding protected his kingdom and conquered some land of his enemy. He respected ancestors’ traditions and set up a ceremony for the founder of Shang Dynasty. People considered him to be the best emperor of the Shang; during his young age, he used to live in the village, where he learned how people lived and that helped him to understand his own nation. The King was responsible for the people and he was considered to be the follower of the ancient traditions of the dynasty, which includes performing rituals and even making oracle shells.



Memorial to Wu Ding's Wife and General

The Shang Dynasty prospered approximately from 1500 B.C. to 1100 B.C. During 1400 B.C., in Egypt a new Pharaoh came to power, Amenhotep II. He was known for being more political with the neighboring kingdoms than the previous rulers. He distributed to the architecture and art of Egypt. His tomb was found among others where his sarcophagus was originally located.



Amenhotep II

Shang Dynasty was based on agriculture and hunting. The production of bronze vessels and weapons was important as well. The kingdom needed labor force for mining copper, tin and lead. These metals were used in the daily life, for example chariots or tables. Education was stable and the kingdom already developed writing. Astrologists were able to see Mars and comets in space and arts were performed in form of music and dance. Alcohol was also very interesting theme in the Shang Dynasty. It was said that the emperors loved to drink it so much that they would make ponds full of it.



Bronze Gong Ritual Vessel

The Kingdom was located in the North of China and fought many wars with its neighbors and nomadic tribes from the steppes. The Kings also showed some concern about barbarians outside cities that used to cause trouble. The military had weapons made of stones, as well as bronze spears and daggers. But basically, the kingdom depended on the military abilities of the nobility. Horses were used widely with three people chariots for the soldiers. Also, the Dynasty practiced ethnocentrism, meaning they considered themselves to be superior to their neighbours. This increased their patriotic feelings towards their own kind, the Middle Kingdom.



Shang Dnasty's Bronze Battle Axe

Shang Dynasty collapsed when the Zhou people rebelled and the last king who committed suicide.There is also a hint that the dynasty collapsed because of the alcohol. The Emperors drunk it from bronze vessels, which means that the metal was able to go inside their bodies. The present doctors report that this causes brain damage. As the Dynasty became weaker and the rulers drunk more, meaning less effective consultations and decisions were made, the rebels were able to commit their attack towards the King. After the crucial battle, the royal family and some of the nobility of the Shang changed their surnames to Yin and remained aristocrats during Zhou rule. They often offered their help for developing of the new Zhou Dynasty.



Present Yin, Shang Dynasty's Capital

Work cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_Dynasty
http://members.tripod.com/~jonbyrdjonbyrd/shang.html
http://www.chinavoc.com/history/shang.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Ding

Asian Studies

Natural Hazards: A Case Study

North America Ice Storm of 1998

Introduction

Ice storms or freezing rains are common events in Canada. They happen to occur 7-8 times a year and the effects can become really dangerous sometimes.
When rain falls into the cold surface, it freezes almost immediately. This is most fatal, because what is left is thick ice that could be covering everything. For an ice storm to happen it must be very humid with air coming upwards. Also, three layers of air in the atmosphere must form, one really cold on the surface, then above that, a warm one, where the snow actually melts and turns into rain, and finally really cold layer, above the other two, where snow forms and falls. The effects could become deathly. As the water droplets fall into any surface, they freeze, causing the branches of the trees to break, as ice gets heavier. The ground becomes slippery, so it is really hard to walk, and no cars could travel on ice, especially in the cities. All wires, including telephone and electricity become frozen, leaving the city with no connection. Fallen trees could block the roads and houses could end up with no heating at all. The only heat people could get is from the clothes they have and hand made fire.


A street in Elora, Ontario, after an Ice Storm, 1900s

This affects northern part of the world, which includes Canada, Scotland and Russia. MEDC’s could cope with this storm well, if they are prepared, meaning evacuating people and keeping in storage food and warm clothes. LEDC’s could face serious problems especially if the connection with the world and electricity is down. If the city is being badly damaged and many people died, the government would have to find money to afford the rebuild of what is been affected.
People live in the areas where the ice storms could occur because they do not really have any big fear of it. Most of the time this hazard did not go as far as making roads slippery and leaving all trees frozen, people didn’t really think that it could be an worse. But it did become worse back in 1998, when several big cities in Canada, like Elora, Ontario, became affected by the most striking ice storm in years.

Specific disaster: North American Ice Storm, 1998

North American ice storm affected several cities in Canada, to the East-South part of the country. Big cities like Ottawa and Montreal are located there. The causes of this huge ice storm are the high pressures in the air above the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, that couldn’t move away to the west because of the unusual high pressure form the Atlantic Ocean. The wind from Bermuda High Pressures area prevented the high pressure from the lakes to move further, so they stayed, causing unusual heavy rains and snow.


Area that has been affected by the ice storm and freezing rain

The effects of the storm caused deaths, destruction of many wires and power lines, including telephone and electricity, closing of roads, tunnels and bridges, and closing facilities, like offices and schools. The deaths occurred due to poisoning of the carbon monoxide coming from the generators. The electricity was down, and it was really cold and freezing in the buildings, so people tried to remain warm using the generators. Several cities declared the state of emergency as they were almost totally cut out from the world. The power stations were covered in ice, distracting the energy to reach cities. Roads were closed because of the ice that made them slippery. Trees blocked the way as well; the weight of the ice brought them down, destroying many parks and resorts in the area. Vegetation and animals were sadly affected and many industries suffered this damage.


An area affected by the ice storm after the hazard

The storm lasted several days, causing devastated damage in such short time. Although in the affected areas, emergency vehicles could hardly move, slowing down the whole process of the rebuilding and repairing, many organizations helped people to clean the roads, evacuate injured and give shelter to those who needed. Animal rescue crew was also helping, as well as engineers and technicians, who repaired generators, transmission towers and utility poles for further usage. Medical crew help saved many lives, as they worked day and night to help those who needed. It cost about 4-6 billion US dollars to repair the damage.


Emergency crews cleaning up the road


Conclusion

Global warming is a big issue that is going to change the world and apparently some natural elements of the earth itself would come to an end. Ice storms happen at low temperatures and knowing that everything is melting would simply say that no more danger from ice storms and other natural hazards connected with snow would affect people. It becomes a rare event and many countries in the north like Canada, Russia and Kazakhstan noticed how winters became much warmer than they were before. Therefore, ice storms would eventually make less impact on the people and their activities later on, as time passes by. The event of 1998 in north America will be the memory of the most dangerous ice storm that affected people in a long time.



Global Warming would stop ice storms in many areas of the planet


Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_storm
http://windupradio.com/icestorm98/
http://del.icio.us/kaitman/ExtremeWeather
http://www.meteo.mcgill.ca/extreme/ice_storm.GIF
http://www.spiritofmaat.com/announce/ann_dryice.htm

What is propaganda?

Propaganda is when certain believe or idea is needed to spread out by the government, church or organization to the people mostly through the posters. It is not always the truth, it could be what the government, or certain organization want the people to believe in. It is compared to the entertainment and social needs of the people. Studying the propaganda poster can give you tones of information about the purpose, the idea or thought and even the certain conditions of living during the establishment of the poster. Most information is selected and very often "overdrawn" or "over told". During Soviet Times it was used to encourage people to work harder, to admire the leaders, to make them believe in the idea or thought of the government, etc... Russians had to obey the communism and be loyal to it. Even kids had to join special clubs which were all about communism; the others who didn't join them had difficulties in the future. The propaganda posters made people want to be communists, after all they couldn't resist it.

The [Communist] Party - The intellect, honour and conscience of our era! Lenin.

http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/russ1.htm

The message of this poster is that communist party is the best and that it is the future of the Soviet Union. It makes people think that they have to support communism, that communism is good for the prosperous country like Russia. The poster might also say that it will be the "number one" type of government in the world. Red and white picture with the picture of Lenin is a very bright and strong way of advertising communism and Lenin.

We should strive to raise the name and importance of a [communist] party higher, higher and higher... Lenin

http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/russ2.htm

In this poster Lenin encourages people to support communism even more than they do already. It makes people believe that Lenin is fully communist and that he wants to develop the Party. Big picture of red Lenin - Red is a color of communism - on a white background is a very effective picture, which could be seen from far away. But the script is too small that you have to come closer to be able to read it. Lenin holds his hands like a real leader, advising people to follow his ideas.

I hear You, comrades! Lenin
http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/russ2.htm

The message of this picture is that Lenin is always ready to hear what people are trying to say. He is very thoughtful, patient and he cares about people's needs. The poster shows Lenin paying attention to something or somebody. The message is written pretty clear, but the color is not that bright and it doesn't show any sign of communism, except Lenin himself.

Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live...

http://artwork.barewalls.com/artwork/LeninLivedLeninIsAliveLeninWillLive.html?ArtworkID=53735&thumbs=1&productid=27337

This poster tries to say that Lenin and his ideas of communism always were in the world and they will never disappear. He is saying that the Party is the future. Lenin stands in moving pose, which might also mean that he is also developing, moving, becoming better and better. A colorful poster like that grabs everyone's attention with its interesting design and the focus of red color in it.

We are for peace. Stalin

http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/russ5.htm

This is the picture of Stalin and thousands of Russians with a red colored flag in the background, representing communist party, as well as the people. The idea of this poster is that Stalin fully supports peace and compares it with communism. People in the background seem like the army ready to go and fight for the peace. It is very colorful and very clear poster, encouraging people support Stalin.

Every step of Communist Party of Soviet Union is tied with Marx, Engles and Lenin...

http://posters.nce.buttobi.net/russ6.htm

This poster is trying to say that Communism could not have been even existing without Karl Marx, the founder of Communism, Engles and Lenin. It makes people think that communism is a great idea and it needs to be developed in a good way to make people happy, because it was led through years with Marx, Engles and Lenin. The poster is done in probably old fashioned style with with black and white portarits of the leaders.

From what I saw and read about these posters I could say that Russia was in failing stage and communism party with Lenin gave the people hope of surviving. It managed to develop Russia, make it better and stronger. Still, communists had a lot of opponents so they needed to have people to support them. They made lots of propaganda posters to spread their thoughts, ideas and make an ideal leader with Lenin. Even though not all of the posters were telling the truth, people supported them. Communists gained power and ruled the country with communist government.

The 1960s are most famous for the Vietnam War, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Beatles and the First man on the moon. It is obvious that it was one of the most important decades in the history of human being! This decade is an exciting, revolutionory time with pieces of unforgetable music style and arts improvements, amasing fashion, Civil and women rights, tv and film freedom!

The most important events in 1960s

The Vietnam War and the U.S. influence

This is a vietnamese female soldier. Everybody was involved in the vietnam war.

www.casahistoria.net/vietnamwar.htm

The Vietnam War began in 1945, but i'm going to tell you about the most important events during 1960s. President of the U.S. John F. Kennedy believed that America could stop the war by sending the Green Berets ("Special Advisors") to the South Vietnam to train their soldiers. Lyndon B. Johnson (the 36th president of the U.S.) focused on American military effort in Vietnam. It caused more than 1,000 American soldiers deaths per month. In 1960s the U.S. focused on technological innovation and military effects, where Vietnam played as a experimental resource.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vietnam_war#john_f._kennedy_and_vietnam_.281961.e2.80.931963.29

The Second Vatican Council

The concil was organized by Pope John XXIII
www.sspx.ca/.../Dec2004/Is_That_Chair_Vacant.ht

It was organized to make the teachings of the Catholic Church more clear to the modern world, Including the nature of Church, mission of the laity and religious freedom. It took 3 years to cmplete the lection! from 1962 to 1965.
http://colombia.thefreedictionary.com/vatican

The Rise of the Berlin Wall

After the constructing the Berlin Wall, people couldn't leave the country.
http://www.derbyps.org/Irving/history/1960s.htm

The Berlin Wall was built in order not to let the people leave from the East Berlin, ruled by Communists in August 1961. The West Berlin was occupied by British, French and American forces. More than 400 people died trying to escape.
http://www.derbyps.org/Irving/history/1960s.htm

The Important People of 1960s

Marthin Luther King Jr.

King, making his most famous speech "I Have A Dream"
www.harley.com/people/martin-luther-king.html

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929. He was a famous Baptist minister, political activist, leader of the Amerian Civil Rights Movement. He recived the Peace Noble Prize. Thanks for his hard work the American black people were able to vote in 1964. He was tragicly assossinated in1968.
http://nobleprize.org/noble_prizes/peace/laureats/1964/king_bio.html

John F. Kennedy

Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917.
www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/findaids/

Kennedy was the 35th president of the U.S. He came from the rich religios Irish family and he was the first catholic President ever in America. His position as a leader continued from 1961 to 1963, when he was assossinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. He represented American Liberalism. He showed exceptional heroism and bravery, rescuing the sailor in South Pacific during WWII.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jk35.html

Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22,1890
www.dhm.de/.../GaulleCharlesDe/index.html

He was a french military leader and statesment. He inspired the new constituion and he was the 5th republic's first president of France.His political ideology known as Gaullism was major influence in french politics.
http://spartacus.scholnet.co.uk/2wwdegaulle.html

The Important Technological Improvements in 1960s

Heart Transplant

The 1st heart operation was done in 1967.
http://www.cambridgeshire.nhs.uk/nhs-plan/cd-rom/nhs-plan-text-version.html

It was first succesfully performed in 1967 by South African Surgeon Christiaan Bernard, nowadays these opertions are some kind of a "routine". People started to trust medical operations.
http://www.cambridgeshire.nhs.uk/nhs-plan/cd-rom/nhs-plan-text-version.html

Integrated Circuit

This is an example of an Integrated Cicuit. It is also known as microchip or IC.
www.diracdelta.co.uk/.../source.html

An IC as a small electronic curcuit, which has been manufacturedin the surface of thin substrate of semiconducter material. Using this chip you can reduce the size of the electronic devices.
www.diracdelta.co.uk/.../source.html

First Man in Space

Neil Armstrong-1st man on the moon, 1969.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

Apollo 11 launched on the moon on July 16th, 1969 and on July 20th Armstrong and Collins did the 1st step there. The idea of landing on the moon belonged to Kennedy, but he passed away and this contribution was done for his memory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

Famous Musician in 1960s

Jimmy Hendrix

Jimmy, creating a new song
www.rightonradio.com/main.html

James Marshal Carson was born on November 27, 1942. He was a famous musician, singer, songwriter, innovator and cultural icon. Jimmy was the most influential, talented guitarist in rock music. Self-taught, he was a lefthanded musician, who played with his right hand. He died at the age of 27 because of the drug overload.
www.rightonradio.com/main.html

Famous Book in 1960s

"Silent Spring"

This is the famous book cover for the"Silent Spring"
www.manhattanrarebooks-literature.com/carson_...

It was written and published in 1962 by pretty famous critic and environmentalist Rachel Carson. The book was one of the most influential in 20th century and it caused environmental ecology movement.
www.manhattanrarebooks-literature.com/carson_...

The Famous Piece of Art

"The Pink Panther" Movie

This is how the movie poster looked like in 1960s

www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id...

The Pink Panther is a serioe of an American and British comedy direted by Blake Edwarts. It was first performed in 1963. The second part - 1964 annd the third - 1968. The movie took 52 place on "The Funniest Films".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Panther

Overall, in my opinion the most important event was the Vietnam War and the U.S. involvment, because it caused millions of deaths. Martin Luther King fought for the black men rights, which is also valuable thing. What about Jimmy Hendrix? He is the father of the rock'n'roll and people will never forget his music contributions. 1960s are the ages of the leaders.

Hope you enjoyed that! Thank you for your attention!