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We will rent the costumes at the Melody Costume Gallery. The Melody Costume Gallery is near to Annisaa's house, therefore, we will meet up at her place and head over to the Gallery.

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The Empress

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The Emperor

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                                           Qing Dynasty Clothing 

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                                           Qing Dynasty Clothing 

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The Empress

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The Emperor

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                                      Tang Dynasty  Clothing 

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                                      Tang Dynasty  Clothing 

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We have chosen to focus and showcase the clothing and the wedding ceremony as our culture demo in the Qing Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. It is to show the difference of culture each dynasty had.
To make it not look so tedious, we have decided to dress up as the Emperor and the Empress in both Dynasty and somehow we will reenact the wedding.

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Manchu women combed their hair into a flat chignon at the back with horns supported by a hair board, which was also called ‘double horns hair style.’ Very beautiful and unique, they often decorated hair with big flowers of vivid color or tassels.”

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A biographical film about the tumultuous reign of the Last Emperor, Puyi. After his imprisonment by the Red Army, Puyi reminisces of his lavish youth and luxury in the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, being sheltered within the palace walls made him aloof of the outside world and the complex political situation china was facing.  As the revolution sweeps through China, Puyi's life is dramatically been upended.

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1616 - Nurhaci consolidated Jianzhou region to proclaim himself khan of "Great Jin" in reference to the previous Jurchen dynasty
1618 - Battle of Sarhu
1625 - Nurhaci relocated capital to Shenyang
1626 - Battle of Nigyuan
1626 - Nurhaci died and succeeded by his eighth son, Hung Taji
1635 - Huang Taji officially adopted the name Manchu for all Jurchen people
1636 - Huang Taji renamed the state Jin to great Qing and elevated his position from Khan to emperor
1643 - Huang Taji died suddenly in September without a designated heir.
1644 - Shunzhi took the throne and became the emperor.
1644 - Ming emperor Chongzhen committed suicide when Beijing fell, making the official end of ming dynasty [official beginning of qing dynasty]
1661 - Emperor Shunzhi died. Kangxi took the throne and become the emperor.
1662 to 1723 - Kang Qian golden age
1674 - Revolt of the three Feudatories
1683 - Battle of Penghu
1722 - Emperor Kangxi died. Yongzheng took the throne became the emperor.
1723 - YongZheng Emperor brought the state examination system back to its original standards
1724 - Yong Zheng Emperor cracked down on illegal exchange rates of coins
1735 - Emperor YongZheng died. Qianlong took the throne and became the emperor.
1796 - Emperor Qianlong abdicated and claimed himself the emperor's father. Jiaqing took the throne and became the emperor.
1799 - Qianlong the emperors father died.
1840 - First Opium war
1842 to 1854 - Treaties and war
1850 - Emperor Daeguang died. Xianfeng took the throne and became the emperor.
1856 - Second opium war (Anglo-french war)
1860 - Burning of old summer palace
1862 - Emperor Xian Feng died. Tongzhi took the throne and became the emperor.
1875 - Emperor Tonghi died. Guangxu took the throne and became the emperor.
1898 - Hundred days reform
1900 - Boxer rebellion
1901 - Boxer protocol
7 February 1906 - Aisin-Gioro Puyi was born in Beijing
14 November 1908 - Emperor Gungxu died. Pu Yi took the throne and became the emperor at the age of two.
15 November 1908 - Empress Dowager died.
1911 - Chinese revolution; fall of 4000 years of imperial rule
12 February 1912 - Dowager Empress Longyu stamped the imperial edict of the abdication of the emperor; formally ending Puyis rule
1924 - Pu Yi was forced to leave the forbidden city
1 March 1932 - Japanese agreed to make Pu Yi the emperor of Manchukuo
1950 - Soviets relinquished control of Pui Yi
1958 - Jade Lute divorced Pu Yi and remarried
1959 - Pu Yi released from Prison Camp in China
17 October 1967 - Pu Yi died due to the fact from suffering from cancer of the kidney, uremia and heart disease.

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During the Qing Dynasty,the colour yellow was forbidden to be worn by ordinary people. Only the emperor could wear the colour yellow. The colour yellow was a symbol of high honor/supreme power.

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God of Thunder, He makes thunder with his hammer. He chases away evil spirits and punishes criminals whose crimes have gone undetected.

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Gods Of Mercy & Compassion
A lady dressed in white on a lotus with an infant. She was murdered by her father, she recited the holy books when she arrived in hell,and the ruler of the underworld could not make the souls suffer. Later,she attained a great spiritual insight and was rewarded with immortality by the Buddha

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Gods Of War
The great judge that protects people from injustice  and evil spirits.

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Punishes whoever breaks the law of heaven

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Ch'eng Huang is basically the god moats and walls. Every village there has a ch'eng huang. This god protects the villages from attacks and also make sure that the King Of Death does not take any soul from his jurisdiction without proper authority.

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Opium Pipes

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Men smoking Opium

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Opium comes from the Poppy flower

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-         Opium War happened in the 19th century where the British and French sent in gunboats to bully China into letting the sale of opium to its citizens.

-         The Opium War created a conflict between China and Britain, later on France.

-         This started with the Chinese trying to stop opium being smuggled into their country.

-         Opium is a highly-addictive drug that is extracted from poppies.

-         It can be used as a medicine.

-         By the year 1803, majority of the Chinese were hooked on the opium and this caused a huge impact to the health and productivity of the nation.

-         The First Opium War happened when the Chinese attempted to suppress the opium trade.

-         Foreign traders had been illegally exporting opium mainly from India to China since the 18th century.

-          The addiction of the Chinese caused economic disruption to their country.

-         In March 1839, the Chinese government confiscated and destroyed more than 20,000 chests of opium and some drugs that were warehoused at Canton.

-         The antagonism between the two sides increased a when some drunken British sailors killed a Chinese villager.

-         The British government refused to turn the accused men over to the Chinese courts.

-         Hostilities broke down when British warships destroyed a Chinese blockade of the Pearl River.

-         Peace negotiations proceeded quickly, resulting in the Treaty of Nanjing, signed on August 29.

-         By its provisions, China was needed to pay Britain a large indemnity.

-         The British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue signed October 8, 1843, gave British citizens extraterritoriality and most-favoured nation status.

-         The Second Opium War happened in mid 1850s

-          Qing government was embroiled in trying to quell the Taiping Rebillion, the British, looking to extend their trading rights in China, found excuse to renew hostilities.

-         In the early October 1856 some Chinese Officials boarded the British-registered ship Arrow while it was docked in Canton, arrested several Chinese crew members and allegedly lowered the British flag.

-         The Chinese crew members who were later released.

-         The French decided to join the British military expedition.

-         In April 1858 allied troops in British warships reached Tianjin and forced the Chinese into negotiations.

-         The British withdrew from Tianjin in the summer of 1858, but they returned to the area in June 1859 and were shelled by the Chinese.

-         In August 1860, a considerably larger force of warships and British and French troops destroyed the Dagu batteries.

-         In September, they captured Beijing and plundered and then burned the Yuanming Garden.

-         Later that year the Chinese signed the Beijing Convention, in which they agreed to observe the treaties of Tianjin.

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Masahiko Amakasu
(Ryuichi Sakamoto)
He is a man who is responsible for smuggling the ex-Qing Emperor, Puyi, into the Manchuria where he would become a puppet ruler. He is a spymaster from the Japanese army and he manages the opium's production and smuggling it into China.

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Wenxiu - Consort Shu
(Vivian Wu)
Ideally, Wenxiu was chosen to be the first wife ,however, with much disapproval from the Four Dowager Consort she was downgraded to the Emperor's consort or the Second wife. Living in the shadows of Wanrong, Wenxiu grew restless with the situation she was put on. Wenxiu courageously demanded for a divorce and ran away from the estate they were living in.

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Reginald Johnston
(Peter O'Toole)
Reginald Johnston was a Scottish academic and diplomat who served as a tutor and advisor to Puyi. He and the empress's tutor, Isabel Ingram, was the only foreigners who was allowed to   be inside the inner court. Johnston became a figure of paternal and friend support to Puyi. Johnston is man who believes in justice and cares deeply for Puyi. After the abdication of Puyi, Johnston served as a Secretary to the British China Indemnity Commission and later appointed as a Commissioner at Weihaiwei.

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Empress Xiaokemin - Wanrong
(Joan Chen)
Wanrong, chosen to become the wife and the Empress of China, is an intelligent,witty and remarkably beautiful woman. Although she is married to the Emperor of China, her life and marriage to PuYi was a miserable and lonely one. Despite being favoured by PuYi, they did not consummate the marriage thus childless. Feeling lonely and unhappy, Wanrong had a secret affair with PuYi's servants and bore an illegitimate daughter.  Living under such circumstances, she became addicted to Opium and later on died in a prison due to withdrawal of opium.

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The Last Emperor: Aisin Gioro Puyi
(John Lone)
Born into the Royal Family, Puyi was forced to become the Emperor of China at a tender age of 3 when the Empress Dowager Cixi died. Taken away from his mother, he finds comfort in the arms of his wet nurse, Ar Mo, Wen- Chao Wang. Isolated from the outside world, Puyi became curious of the world beyond the walls of the Forbidden city. Due to his 'imprisonment' in the palace from an early and lack of interaction with children/people, PuYi became naive and easily trusts whomever becomes his friend, therefore, he was an easy target for the Japanese. Hence, why they called him the puppet. He seeks advice from his tutor, Reginald Johnston.

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Qing Dynasty or Manchu Dynasty (1644  - 1911 AD) was the last imperial dynasty in China.

It is known as the Manchu Dynasty because after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the non-Chinese people from the North East which is called Manchus or now as Manchuria, disintegrated into the central government and conquered China.

They ruled for 300 years until the fall due to internal corruption and denial of changing times.

The reigns of the first 3 emperors brought peace and prosperity throughout China.

During this dynasty, culture and science were much more prosperous compared to other periods. The notable book, The Imperial Collection of Four, was edited in that period. Also, a group of scholars and artists such as Cao Xueqin (writer of A Dream of Red Mansions), Wu Jingzi (writer of The Scholars) and Kong Shangren (writer ofThe Peach Blossom Fan) gradually appeared. In the field of science, the achievements in architecture were outstanding.

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Things we noticed about the things related to architecture in the film, "THE LAST EMPEROR OF CHINA"

- The architecture gives the buildings from the inside a low light feeling.
- Plenty of red & gold
- Narrow corridors
- Extremely High walls
- Slanted roofs
- Hierarchy style
- Very rigid/structured strictly
- Large vast empty spaces
- Large high doors
- Designed and handcrafted wood polished walls
- Grand steps
- Many different levels of platforms

"The buildings perhaps makes the emperor emotionless through time because of its high walls and limited spaces to enclosed the emperor and the others.It is as though the emperor is imprisoned in his own home."

ANCIENT CHINESE ARCHITECTURE shows...
- The materials and structures changed a little.
- The ancient Chinese society believes that it is important to have the buildings which gives out a strong closure among nationalities and areas.

QING DYNASTY (1644-1911) -& MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) -- A unified dynasty.
- Great wall, Anji bridge, Simu temple and the forbidden city. The forbidden city is what we will be focusing on as it is focused in the movie.
- The art and architecture is more colourful, the people's concepts of beauty changed a lot through time.
- The architecture turns mature.
- More scenic spots & public places
- Built in regular layout
- Improved in higher level of quality and in art value.
- Used mature techniques

QING DYNASTY ARCHITECTURE IN WORDS...
- GENEROUS
- MAGNIFICENT
- RIGOROUS & CLEAR
- FEELINGS & AFFECTIONS

THE FORBIDDEN CITY...
- Was built as a replica of the purple palace where god was thought to live in heaven.
- Largest ancient palatial structure in the world
- The high point of traditional chinese architectural accomplishment
- Exact centre of Ancient Beijing
- Home to 24 emperors
- 72 hectares (area) & 150,000 square metres (floor space)
- 90 palaces & courtyards
- 8704 rooms
- Built with wood, roofed with yellow glazed tiles, red pigment, columns, green,red and yellow facings and built on blue-white stone foundation.
- Building arrangement is symmetrical and in hierarchy form which creates an extraordinarily harmonious balance between buildings and open space.
- Gives out strong image of wealth and earthly power.

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Battle Gear

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Machine Gun

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Poetry and paintings were highly appreciated by the Manchu emperors.

Calligraphy and painting were also of high interest. Court painters and scholars were often hired to work for political figures and nobles. These two disciplines were considered one of the Chinese “Four Arts,” which were critical elements of cultural identity of that time.

During the Qing Dynasty, most of the poems were written by women and it was highly appreciated by the educated gentlemen. Some of the most well-known Chinese pieces of literature were written during the Qing dynasty rule.

In the Qing Dynasty, men plaited their hair on the left side and shaved off the hair around their foreheads. Women wore hair pins, earrings and a once piece dress, the Qipao.

Traditional cuisine also rose during that time and managed to stir a cultural pride. The male chefs of that time started to adopt various techniques to improve the aesthetic standards of the traditional dishes.

Tea drinking became more common and made its way into everyday life.

For good luck, the Royal Family used the terms yong shan (use the meal), Chuan shan (pass the meal), or jin shan (advance the meal) instead of chi fan (eat the meal) when they ate. They did this because the Chinese character shan (meaning meal) has the same pronunciation as another character for Shan (meaning kindness) and they wanted to imply a close friendship with the people. The word “fan” has the same sound as another Chinese character that means “rebellion,” so it was considered unlucky. Moreover, the Royal Family wanted to stress their difference from the common people, their supreme authority, and their extravagant lifestyle.

Several cultural personalities also lived in this period. They developed new thoughts and teachings for Neo-Confucian apprentices.

In the cases of Qing Dynasty officials, the important part of their clothing was the Mandarin Square, which was worn on the upper part of their robes. These squares, often beautifully embroidered, let someone know the person’s rank.Officials also wore different headwear depending on their rank.

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Modernized version of "Strange Stories from Chinese Studio by Pu Songling"

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Summer Palace

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Copper Lion in Summer Palace

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Construction
Mainly followed the Ming Dynasty architecture style, but were further refined.

Qing Dynasty constructed many large-scale emperor gardens.

Winter Palace (known as Beihai Park).

Located at the northwest of the Forbidden City.

It was said to be built according to a traditional Chinese legend (about three magic mountains - Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang).

It was a former residence for the royals.

Summer Palace

The Chinese called it Yihe Yuan (Garden of Restful Peace).

Built by Emperor Qianglong in 1750.

It was listed as the world cultural heritage in 1998.

Size of the area: 70 thousand square meters, holds over 3000 houses.

Landscaped gardens, temples and pavilions were designed to achieve harmony with nature.

Literature

Best-known novels in the vernarcular:

-      Romance of the Three Kingdoms

-      Water Margin

-      Pilgrimage to the West

-      The Scholars

-      Dream of the Red Mansions

In the early period of the Qing Dynasty there appeared an anthology of short mythical stories -- Strange Stories from Chinese Studio by Pu Songling.

It is written in the classical style.

It was a most popular book, praised and liked by many people.

After Pu, Ji Yun, who presided over the compilation of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Collection of Written Works Divided into Four Stores) wrote a book entitled Notes from a Thatched House.

It includes anecdotes, rumors and tales about gods, foxes and ghosts.

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Annisaa Nuraina binti Ahmad Rashdy             (0324532)

Darren Tang                                                         (0325941)

Charlotte Liew                                                     (0325180)
Elaine Chin                                                           (0325642)
Jihan Fakhirah binti Rahman                            (0325430)
Nur Aina binti Hadi                                            (0323569)
Nur Alleysa Khan                                                (0325929)
Nursara binti Riad                                              (0324438)
Lai Ke Yie                                                             (0324435) Chow Zher Yang                                                 (0325276)

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The Last Emperor [1987] Official Trailer

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During the Qing Dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1912, Confucianism was the most dominant and official religion in China. All emperors had adopted the religion and have went to the sacred altars to offer sacrifice. The emperor had to make sacrifices to Heaven at the Beijing's Altar of Heaven , the Earth and the ancestors of the Emperor. Apart from Confucianism, there were two official recognized faiths, Buddhism and Daoism ( Taoism).  In the public policy, the Qing or the Manchus are strong supporters of Confucianism, whereas in their private lives, the rulers were devoted to the the Tibetan Buddhism.

1.  Confucianism

- a religion followed by Chinese and up to 2 millennial until nowadays.

2.   Taoism

- Popular religion since the advent of Buddhism

- The Tao (Ying Yang) Yin represent unseen and feminine. The dark part of the symbol and is associated with shadows or darkness. Yang represent seen and masculine. Yang is a white part of the symbol and is associated light or sun.

3.   Buddhism

- The way we can find peace within oneself

- helps us find the happiness and contentment that we seek for
- follow the teachings of Buddha

4.  Chinese folk religion

- can be called as Shenism (Religion of God) and is the religion tradition of Han Chinese.

- This religion is experiencing a major revival in both China and Taiwan nowadays.

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Social strata is a system where society categorizes people according to hierarchy.

1- Emperor and His Advisers:  Highest social ranking during the Qing dynasty. They had multiple wives and concubines. He is considered as the "Son of Heaven", which mean he is the ruler of the whole world. Under the Emperor, there are advisers. The advisers are the next in line in the Qing social status, it was higher than the nobles, soldiers and officials. They had the power to become the Emperor is the Emperor himself is absent. Being so close to the top of the command chain, it leads to the abuses and plots to take down the Emperor.

2- Generals, Nobles, and workers: It is the most accessible social status for an average citizen, thus, many parents tried to give their offspring higher education to have a status of a Scholar (one of the most prosperous profession or official at the time).

3- Artists and Peasants: Artists were one of the most reputable and fortunate status as they were favoured and highly respected in the Qing dynasty. Nobles would often enjoy the presence of the artists or pay for their services, whereas. The peasants, on the other hand, is the lowest of the hierarchy; they would often be the object of violence and abuse of the government officials and soldiers.

4- Slaves and Servitudes: They serve the higher social classes. For those wealthy family, their slaves have their own slaves.

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Machine Gun

First machine gun was invented during the Qing Dynasty, invented by a man named Da Zi. His machine gun was able to hold up to 28 bullets.

Printing Production

The aim of the invention is to promote and distribute their work especially for scholars and artists during the dynasty. During the period, China experience great growth in terms of literature and poetry.

Battle Gear

They make their armor lighter to help soldiers move faster during the wars and battles. They also innovate the swords with longer blades to stab enemy easier. This innovation helps them to increase the power of soldiers and win more wars.

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We have selected The Last Emperor of China as our Assignment 2. For the topics given to us, we have divided it among our group members. Each will team up and choose a topic of their interest. Here is the list of partners that'll be working together:

Architecture - Jihan and Sara
Culture - Nur Aina and Elaine
Religion - Annisaa and Alleysa
Technology - Darren and Zher Yang
Government - Charlotte and Keyie