http://www.garyleetodd.com From the beginnings of civilization to the present Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:47:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en When Liu Bang (Han Gaozu) founded the Han Dynasty he established commanderies to govern part of his empire, and kingdoms for his relatives and loyal supporters. Mangdang Mountain near Shangqui is the site of tombs belonging to the Han royal family which ruled the Liang Kingdom. Original tomb furnishing were looted in ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/chinese-historic-sites/shangqui-ancient-shang-site-han-tombs-ming-wall/ Luoyang was the capital of the Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, and secondary capital of the Tang Dynasties. It is a rich source of ancient artifacts from myriads of tombs found in the area. The city museum displays artifacts from a long period of Chinese history. Photos by Gary L. Todd, ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/chinese-museums-online/luoyang-museum/ From 770 to 256 BC Luoyang was capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, although the Zhou king was little more than a figurehead or ceremonial leader. This royal tomb was discovered during excavation for a building project. It contains the first 6-horse chariot ever found in China, almost certainly the ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/chinese-museums-online/luoyang-chariot-burial-museum/ White Horse Temple (Baima si) is where tradition says Buddhism first took root in China in the first century with sacred texts brought from India on two white horses. At that time Luoyang was capital of the Eastern or Latter Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, the pagoda was under repair when I visited ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/chinese-historic-sites/white-horse-temple-luoyang/                 Xinzheng, in Henan Province, is best known as the birthplace of Huangdi, the “Yellow Emperor.” I am going to attempt to make some sense of the Huangdi legends. However, I should point out that what we actually know about Huangdi is approximately nothing, so anything I say may be ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/iv-essays-and-blogs/huangdi-first-ancestor-of-the-chinese-people/                 I have friends who tell me about how bad things are in China in the area of human rights. Most of them have never been to China, but they have read a book or heard something from someone, or just generally remember how bad communists have always been. Here ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/iv-essays-and-blogs/reflections-on-human-rights-abuses-in-china/ I have taught for over 30 years, mostly history, but also courses in philosophy, government & political science, psychology, English, and a few other things. I have taught in public and private high schools, public community colleges, a private sectarian college I helped to found, maximum and medium security penitentiaries, ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/iv-essays-and-blogs/my-philosophy-and-practice-of-grading/                 One thing I frequently hear foreign teachers in China complain about is cheating. It’s almost as if they were totally unfamiliar with this concept before they came to China. Let me put things into perspective here.                 Chinese students cheat. Apparently they have been doing this for quite some time, ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/iv-essays-and-blogs/reflections-on-the-problem-of-cheating/                 The idea for this website has evolved over the last few years. Initially, all I wanted to do was to send photos of China back to friends and family in America and the world. I simply attached the photos to my emails until Yahoo abandoned this option several years ... http://www.garyleetodd.com/iv-essays-and-blogs/origin-and-purpose-of-this-website-with-a-note-about-my-photography/ I took these just after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Olympic displays were on Tiananmen Square, except for the two at the entrance to the tomb of Emperor Wanli. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/BeijingOlympics2008# http://www.garyleetodd.com/chinese-historic-sites/beijing-olympics-2008/