Chinese and World History

I’ve been to lots of graduations over the years, daydreamed through countless graduation speeches, and watched endless streams of eager graduates march off into their futures. And I’ve probably forgotten everything I’ve ever seen or heard at all those graduations. Until now. (more…)

Every fall Sias University hosts an International Culture Week featuring a different part of the world each day. Teachers and students from the featured lands set up displays in Italian Square, present talks and workshops, and perform in the Roman Amphitheater in the evening. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/SiasUniversityInternationalCultureWeek#

Nanjing has a long and fascinating history, some of which is showcased in this and several other Nanjing photo albums on my website. When Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Hongwu, 1368-1398) established the Ming Dynasty, he made Nanjing his capital, built the city walls shown here, and built a palace which was later destroyed. The view of Xuanwu Lake Park was taken from the pagoda at Jiming Temple. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingMingCityWallsPalaceRuins#

I stumbled upon this museum by accident, but have always loved dinosaurs and almost majored in paleontology in college. However, I guess I just don’t have enough faith to believe all the macroevolutionary dogma, especially after seeing too many evolutionists get creamed in debates with creationists who raised too many embarrassing questions. Some years ago the evolutionists circulated letters among university faculty advising them to stop debating, which tells me something about the quality of their “science.” Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingMuseumOfPaleontology#

Zijin Shan, or Purple Mountain, lies on the edge of Nanjing. It is the burial place of Sun Quan, the king of Wu during the 3rd century Three Kingdoms Period, and of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Ming Emperor (Hongwu). It houses the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen), founder of the Guomindong and of modern China, and Linggu Temple and Pagoda. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/ZijinShanNanjingTombOfMingHongwuSunQuanSunYatSenLingguTemple#

Hong Xiuquan led perhaps the largest peasant uprising in history, from 1850 to 1864. Claiming to be a younger brother of Jesus, Hong established his Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (Taiping Tianguo) in Nanjing. From there he sent armies to try to conquer the Qing Dynasty and establish himself as emperor. This quasi-Christian rebellion inspired numerous other uprisings, and left an estimated 20 million dead in its wake. Foreigners generally opposed the Taipings, in part because they outlawed opium and interfered with foreign profits. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingTaipingHeavenlyKingdomMuseum#

This memorial commemorates the 300,000 or so victims of a 6-week rampage by invading Japanese troops in Nanjing in 1937. Iris Chang’s, The Rape of Nanking, is an excellent popular account of this forgotten holocaust of WWII. The museum contains many photos which have been published elsewhere, so I did not copy them here. But I have strong sympathies for the Chinese victims of this brutality, as members of my own mother’s family perished in the Nazi holocaust at Auschwitz. As with the Nanjing Massacre, there is a company of fools who try to deny that this mass murder ever happened.  Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/MemorialHallOfThe1937NanjingMassacre#

This is one of four Nanjing Museum photo albums. They include ancient bronze; jade; pottery & porcelain; and lacquerware, outdoor exhibits, and miscellaneous. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingMuseumLacquerwareMiscellaneousArtifacts#

This is one of four Nanjing Museum photo albums. They include ancient bronze; jade; pottery & porcelain; and lacquerware, outdoor exhibits, and miscellaneous. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingMuseumAncientBronze#

This is one of four Nanjing Museum photo albums. They include ancient bronze; jade; pottery & porcelain; and lacquerware, outdoor exhibits, and miscellaneous. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingMuseumJade#