The Compilation Consisting Of Tang And Song Poems History Essay

The Compilation Consisting Of Tang And Song Poems History Essay Firstly, this collection showed the low material standards of the peasants during Tang and Song China. As the empire depended largely on agriculture to prosper, the assumption would be that the status of peasants was high during ancient China. However, the evidences indicated otherwise, as they were described to be living a hard life which revolved around farming of grains for food and also the raising of silkworms for silk. These were the basic materials that peasants had and needed to survive, yet even after having worked hard for them, high taxes exhausted most of their material belongings. The legal documents implied how difficult it was for the peasants to get their hands on even the very basic needs like food and cloth that they resorted to borrowing things from others regardless of the high interest charged, even to the extent of pawning their family members. A poem, Lament of the Farm Wife of Wu provided evidence on how little material possessions the farm families owned, whe re they had to sell their ox to pay taxes and even broke up their roof just to kindle. Tang and Song China were known to be two very wealthy empires; nevertheless, the lives of peasants were depicted to be poor, while governmental officials and perhaps landowners were shown to be rich and therefore led easier lives. Still, the peasants were the ones subjected to high taxes they could not afford. These evidences suggested an unequal distribution of wealth. Moreover, peasant males were required to provide military services resembling another form of tax payment. Serving the military whenever required; was one of the many things peasants needed to worry about in their lives, not knowing when a recruiting officer would arrive at their doorsteps. One poem which described these was Recruiting Officer at Shihao. The family mentioned in the poem, had three sons taken away for garrison duty at Ye, though it was not enough as the recruiting officer came to them one night, wanting to seize the last family man in spite of his old age. In return for her husbands escape, the old wom an left with the officer. This suggested that even females were sometimes recruited for the military in place of their male family members, though merely for cooking duties as they were seen as incapable of fighting battles alongside men. Another example from The Old Man of Xinfeng with the Broken Arm indicated something similar, where the mentioned man broke his arm so that he would be deemed unfit for military service. All these evidences from the document revealed the nature of peasant lives during Tang and Song period. Hierarchies ensured a successful dynasty, though political hierarchy is also a sign of unequal distribution of possessions. The different stages allowed distinction in the types of benefits given. In this sense possibly, this separated the upper class such as the emperor, governmental officials and aristocrats from the lower class peasants and slaves. In addition, people of higher status were portrayed to be at an advantage wealthy and powerful without working as hard. The poem The Old Man of Xinfeng with the Broken Arm briefly mentioned the position of a Prime Minister, probably an indication of a higher status compared to the governmental officials that moved from posting to posting. Likewise, officials of higher status often treated the peasants harshly while they could only do their best to please the officials. Such situations were often seen when officials took on jobs from one place to another for tax collection or army recruit. A recorded observation in the poem Farmers, ta lked about how the peasants served the officers all they had even after being treated unsympathetically. Social hierarchy compared the status of male and female as well as the role they play according to wealth. Monks during Tang dynasty were generally of higher status; hence, they owned more than the peasants. Consequently, peasants borrowed materials they were short of, from monks like what the legal document Fan Huaidong Borrows a Piece of Silk recorded. During ancient China, men were of superior status compared to women. As men worked as farmers outside of their home, women took responsibilities of caring for the children and looking after the house, not to mention cooking for the men as demonstrated in Watching the Wheat-Reapers. Therefore, hierarchies, be it political or social, were very influential of the lives during ancient times. The economy was an important aspect in determining the state in which the empire stood. Though both Tang and Song dynasties were wealthy, there were significant changes in terms of economic transactions. The first major shift which was also the most influential would be the change from paying taxes in the form of grains and silk; during Tang period, to payment in the form of cash throughout Song period as indicated in a Tang poem, Lament of a Woman Acorn-Gatherer and a Song poem, Lament of the Farm Wife of Wu respectively. This transformation was important in shaping the new economy of Song Empire as it led to the widespread use of money and this use of cash to replace trading of goods allowed for easier economic transactions, perhaps simplifying the trade process. One example from Tang legal document, Fan Huaidong Borrows a Piece of Silk, depicted an unfair transaction between a peasant family and a monk where they paid an interest of high value while still having to return the silk cloth within a fixed period of time. If they were unable to return the piece of silk cloth, they would be charged a high monthly interest, while an untitled Song poem mentioned a plan to sell raw silk at the Western Gate. These sustained the idea that unlike Tang period, peasants were no longer required to make silk cloth from raw silk because instead of trading the silk cloth for something that they needed, they were able to sell raw silk for cash. These examples suggested how the innovation of cash might help reduce the incidence of unfair trade because the monetary system would most probably lead to a standardization, which was an improvement seen during Song period. Family ties take away much trouble off families by providing support and helping hands. This was what peasants needed most as family can be a form of social support especially during the hard times when produce was difficult to come by. As peasants depended largely on agriculture to support themselves, they had to put in a lot of effort in producing grains and silk. Therefore, they need the help of family members to lighten their burden. The poem Watching the Wheat-Reapers claimed that as chores doubled up, works were divided among the family members and this ensured efficiency. Often times when waiting for the fields to ripen, the peasant families would camp by the field and look after the field. During this time, peasant families could really use some help from each other. Lament of the Farm Wife of Wu is one poem that showed the cooperation between the husband and wife in lightening their farming tasks. Family members were also bounded to a transaction deal, as shown in a legal do cument. All these come to show the importance of family ties among the peasants in helping each other during desperate times. The set of Tang poems written via observations can serve as examples to demonstrate the accuracy of referring to Tang dynasty as the Golden Age for China. The foremost evidence extracted from the poem, The Old Man of Xinfeng with the Broken Arm maintained the absence of war or strife for a period of time as an indication of peace. It was also during this time, music and poetry flourished. It illustrated the increasing appreciation for music and poetry where people were able to enjoy singing and dancing. This would most likely also point toward the idea that education was more achievable, enabling composition of music and poetry. Another reason could perhaps be the fact that Tang dynasty was a large empire, conquering a lot of places. The same poem supported this assumption, where a lot of names of the areas Tang dynasty was able to exert their influence were brought up. Tang Empire was also shown to be wealthy due to the suggestion in Watching the Wheat-Reapers that governmental offi cials had surpluses of grains to eat. Furthermore, the legal documents cited, was from the caravan city of Dunhuang, which at that time was a prominent rest stop for traveling via the Silk Road. These suggested the frequent use of Silk Road during Tang period which would equate to a more outstanding trade system. Also, the existence of a Buddhist monk Li sustained the proposal that Buddhism was practiced a lot more compared to other dynasties before Tang, though Confucianism was probably still playing a major role. The significance of Buddhism can probably be seen with the higher status of the monk from the legal document, Fan Huaidong Borrows a Piece of Silk. The monk was exemplified to own more possessions compared to peasants. The monk was also able to lend goods to others, charging them an unfairly high value of interest, which also implied the higher status of monks during Tang dynasty. For these reasons, Tang dynasty can therefore be concluded as the Golden Age of China. To sum up, the lives of peasants in rural China were difficult, yet they managed to find ways to survive through all hardships, and contributing to the success of the empires.

The Cardiovascular System: Factors That Affect Blood Pressure

NAME: _ MAP Instructions: Select â€Å"Study Area (myA&P) Select â€Å"Interactive Physiology† (left tab) Select â€Å"Chapter 19: Cardiovascular System – Factors that Affect Blood Pressure† Click â€Å"Topic,† watch the tutorial, and then answer the following questions. 1. What are the three main factors that influence total peripheral resistance (TPR)? a. Turbulence b. Vascular Resistance c. A change in blood viscosity 2. Name three hormones that act as vasoconstrictors. a. Epinephrine b. Angiotensin II c. Antidiuretic Hormone 3.Name two hormones that directly increase blood volume. a. Antidiuretic Hormone b. Aldosterone 4. Track the effect on blood pressure by reducing venous return. Go through all the steps. VR decrease in stroke volume (SV) –> decrease in cardiac output (CO) –> decrease in blood pressure (BP) 5. Categorize the following into: A. Factors which increase blood pressure B. Factors that decrease blood pressure _A___ arterial diameter_A___ total vessel length _B___ vessel elasticity_B___ plasma epinephrine _B___ blood volume_B___ plasma angiotensin _A___ stroke volume_A___ plasma ADH B___ blood viscosity_B___ parasympathetic stimulation _A___ blood volume_A___ sympathetic stimulation Use arrows in the spaces for questions 6 through 10. 6. A in hematocrit will result in ____ blood viscosity and ____ blood pressure. 7. Growth will result in ____ total vessel length and an ____ blood pressure. 8. Arteriosclerosis will result in ____ vessel elasticity and an ____ blood pressure. 9. Excessive sweating will result in a short term ____ in blood volume and a ____ in blood pressure. 10. An in epinephrine will result in ____ vessel diameter and an ____ in blood pressure.

Characteristic and performance of the video game Industry Essay

A detailed analysis of the video games industry, the relationship between the console, the developer and the gamer and the case studies of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft has conclusively proved the hypothesis that a symbiotic relationship exists in the video games industry between the console, developer and the consumer which impacts on the overall growth and performance of the business and will also have an effect on future trends. A survey of data analysis will reveal that there are excellent prospects for growth of the console video gaming industry despite threats from other areas of the same business such as online and mobile gaming. The details of the research outcome and the salient conclusions and recommendations are as per succeeding paragraphs. The overall growth of video and computer games world wide is likely to grow from $ 27,000 million to approximately $ 54, 000 million or double during a period of three years from 2005 to 2008. The console video games industry is set to grow from $ 15,000 million in 2005 to over $ 20, 000 million in 2008. This is a growth of over 30 percent which is likely to surpass the growth in all other segments of entertainment. This growth is driven by the popularity of console games in general as well as certain technological factors such as development of online console gaming facilitated by upgraded consoles and broadband connections which can facilitate easy transfer of images and videos. Apart from this economic factor, there are other profound changes which will come about in society as predicted by Doug Lowenstein who has indicated that it would transform the total social and cultural thinking in the years ahead. (Conference, 2000). The numerous voices raised against the growth of video games and their influence on children in America has decried the growth of this industry. Such protests and developments will certainly affect the growth of the video industry and it is likely to create more benign games in the future. Of greater concern to social scientists is the inculcation of hyper competition and deviant sexual values in children due to games. (Squire, 2002). This issue is likely to place pressure on the gaming industry to ensure that it follows the norms set by bodies such as the industry content regulator, Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in America. Another important facet is content creation and retailing online. This mode will develop at much faster pace than at present. This will enable greater participation of gamers and will consolidate the existing relationship between the console, the developer and the gamer. Technology as the MMOG will further boost the growth of the industry as well as the relationship between the stake holders in its growth. Relationship between console, developer and consumer The research has conclusively established a positive relationship between console, developer and consumer. Video gaming is a highly interactive process in that there has been a total shift in the relationship between the producer of goods, the developers of content and those who are partaking off that content, the gamers. This relationship has become of mutual support rather than of give and take. The mediums used for such an interaction have been consciously developed in some cases as Nintendo which started with a special magazine and has now come up with various other actions to support the developer as well as the consumer in providing the company effective inputs for development of games. A similar trend has been observed in the case of Sony and Microsoft. The growth of the internet has further added to the impetus and this will be supplemented by on line gaming which is providing gamers an opportunity to respond actively to their entertainment requirements. The response of all companies has been active in fostering this relationship. The other aspect is the active involvement of console and developers. While all major console producers have in house developers, they are including the information technology behemoth; Microsoft actively seeking the assistance from external developers. Companies have fostered special programs as Game Play Counselors and Digipen to cultivate the loyalty of the developer community along with community participation program called as NSider forum by Nintendo.

Learn How to Speak About Money in French

When traveling (or doing anything else, for that matter), you need access to money, which means you need to know how to talk about it in the local language. Expand your French vocabulary by learning these words and phrases related to money and banking. After studying and practicing these French words, you will be able to change money, talk about your payment method, manage bank accounts, and more. Note: Many of the words below are linked to .wav files. Simply click on the link to listen to the pronunciation. Forms of Money  (Les formes de largent)   Learning how to say the French words for different types of currency is a good place to begin. These are very simple words that will form the basis for many of the other banking and accounting phrases to come. Money -  de largent  (m)  Currency -  la  monnaie Cash   In your travels, you may choose to pay with cash for many purchases. The following words refer to basic paper money, no matter the currency of the country. A Bill, Note, or Paper Money -  un  billetCash -  des  espà ¨ces  (f), du  liquide  (also refers to liquid)Change -  la  monnaieCoin -  une  pià ¨ce  (de  monnaie) Types of Checks Un  chà ¨que  (check) is the base word used for all types of checks. As you can see, it is easy to add a modifier when discussing a particular check. Checkbook - un  carnet  de  chà ¨quesCertified check -  un  chà ¨que  certifià ©Travelers check -  un  chà ¨que  de  voyage Types of Cards Bank and credit cards are also useful when paying for items and services. Notice that each type builds off of the word  une  carte  (card) to further define the type of card you will be using. Bank / ATM card -  une  carte  bancaireCredit Card -  une  carte  de  crà ©dit Paying for Things (Payer pour des Choses) Now that you have the forms of money down, its time to buy something with it.   To pay... payer... ... cash. ... en espces. ... with a credit card. ... avec une carte de crdit. ... with travelers checks. ... avec des chques de voyage. To write a check -  faire un  chà ¨que To buy (acheter)  or  to spend  (dà ©penser)  will be useful verbs when making purchases as well. And, of course, no matter which country youre in, there is likely to be a tax (un  impà ´t) added to your purchase. Putting a Value on Purchases When youre in the store or talking about a shopping trip with friends, use one of these phrases to talk about the deal you scored or the extravagant price of  an item. Cheap -  bon marchà ©Expensive -  cherThrifty -  Ãƒ ©conomeGood value -  un bon rapport qualità ©-prixIts worth it -  Ãƒâ€¡a vaut le coupIts expensive! -  Cest pas donnà © ! If you hear this phrase, you just received the best deal: Its free, its on the house -  Cest cadeau At the Bank (À la  Banque) The French word for bank is une  banque  and if youre in one, then youre probably doing some banking (bancaire). If you need to use the ATM machine (cash dispenser), you can say  un  guichet automatique de banque  (literally, an automatic bank window)  or simplify it and say  un  GAB. Types of Bank Accounts   Checking and savings accounts build off the word  for an account (un compte) and add the modifier to define which type of account. Checking account - un  compte-chà ¨ques Savings account -  un  compte  dà ©pargne Savings -  Ãƒ ©pargne  (f)To save money -  faire des  Ãƒ ©conomies If you need to take out a loan (un  prà ªt or  un  emprunt), these words will be very useful. To borrow -  emprunterTo sign -  signerInterest rate -  le  taux  dintà ©rà ªt Bank Transactions While you are at the bank, you will no doubt be making some sort of transaction and these three words are essential to ensuring that no money gets lost in translation. Deposit -  un  dà ©pà ´tTransfer -  un  virementWithdrawal -  un  retrait In order to form complete sentences using deposit, transfer, and withdrawal, you will need to use the verb form. To deposit (into an account) -  dà ©poser  (sur un  compte)To transfer -  virerTo withdraw -  retirerTo cash a check -  toucher  un  chà ¨que It is also important to be able to read and speak about receipts, statements, and other paper documents you might receive from the bank. Bank Statement -  un  relevà ©Ã‚  de  compteFees -  les  frais  (m)Receipt -  un  reà §uBalance -  le  bilanSum / Amount / Total -  le  montant Changing Currency If you are traveling, then learning how to speak about changing your money from one countrys currency to another is essential.   Currency exchange -  un  bureau de changeExchange rate -  le  taux  de  changeTo change money (into Euros) -  changer  de largent  (en Euros) Money Management (Gestion de largent) Managing your money in French is actually quite easy because we can relate many of these words to the English translation. Expense - une  dà ©penseDebt -  une  detteBond - une  obligationYield -  le  rendementShare of stock -  une  action You may also be interested in understanding your cost of living (le  coà »t de la vie)  and how that relates to your  standard of living (le  niveau de vie). More Money-Related Verbs As you work with money in French, these verbs are sure to be helpful. To count -  compterTo earn -  gagnerTo need -  avoir  besoin  deTo sell -  vendre Money and Your Job (Largent et votre emploi) How do we make money? We work for it, of course, and some money-related words are naturally tied into your job (un  emploi or the informal  un  boulot). Wages -  le  salaireSalary -  le  traitementRaise -  une  augmentation de salaireMinimum wage -  le  SMICUnemployment -  le  chà ´mageUnemployed -  au chà ´mage French Expressions About Money Money is tied to many proverbs, words of wisdom, and catchy phrases. Learning a few of these common expressions will certainly help out your French vocabulary, help you learn sentence structure, and give you a leg up on other non-native French speakers. To have ones cake and eat it, too. Avoir le beurre et largent du beurre. That costs an arm and a leg. a cote les yeux de la tte. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Il ne sert rien de dshabiller Pierre pour habiller Paul. I got it for a song. Je lai eu pour une bouche de pain. Only the rich get richer. On ne prte quaux riches. The rich man is the one who pays his debts. Qui paie ses dettes senrichit. Every penny counts. Un sou est un sou. Time is money. Le temps, cest de largent All that glitters isnt gold. Tout ce qui brille nest pas or. (proverb)