Living and Touring in China: Beijing: Hubei: HongHu: Chibi: 3 Gorges: Wuhan:These next two shots were taken at the corner store in Chibi town after we had finished with the museum tour. We had an hour to wait, and this gave the townsfolk the opportunity to gather around. At one point in time, we were surrounded by 36 people, but I must point out that people kept leaving and being replaced by others. This is a photograph of myself standing at the lookout at the Museum park at Chibi town (not PuQi). It shows me pointing to the Barge Landing on the Hong Hu side of the Yangtze River. Xin Di where I live and Teach is only 20 minutes drive from the barge crossing by the main road, and about 10 minutes via the levee road.
(This file compliments the story and photographs found in my column at Magic City Morning News Some of the photographs are duplicated here to provide a larger and better view than are possible at Magic City. Photographs there are a maximum of 400 pix wide.)
My Thanks To Father Timothy of Di Mao De Catholic Church - Puqi
This file commences with PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHS provided by Father Timothy of Di Mao De Catholic in PuQi (Chibi City). The priests were wonderfully kind in offering me these photographs, and while they said there was no need to return them, it has always been my desire to do so. I finally gave them to a student from Puqi (Chibi City) to deliver for me. Hope he Got them!
Father Tian and Father Timothy:
I wrote at Magic City that I did not get a photograph of Father Tian, but amongst Timothy's photographs I came across one of he and Tian, and have taken one frame out of it so that I can introduce you to him. He is the priest on the left.
The following 3 frames (6 photographs) were provided by Father Timothy so that you may have some insight into the realities of Catholicism in China.
This is the original 'pose' photograph I took of Father Joseph which was not included at Magic City.
This is a larger version of the photograph at Magic City showing Father Joseph and Father Timothy on the front steps of the Church.
This photograph was taken in the side street off the main road to Hong Hu, at that point where the bus turns to go down to the Barge Crossing. It is of the corner house (shop in front) and shows that there is a canal running under the building. It is here to give you a better 'behind the scenes' perspective of how people live.
This is a larger version of the Pagoda on the hill beside the bridge at PuQi over which we travelled to get to the Catholic Church.
This is one view from the Bridge. It was a very hazy day and this is a 'zoom' photograph showing the shrine on the hill as you enter town.
Another shot taken from the bridge.
A different view from the bridge (up which boys were climbing from the river).
The next 4 photographs are of the interior of the Roman Catholic Church at PuQi (Chibi City).
Bible Study in progress
Exterior of Di Mao De Catholic Church Chibi
This is a photograph of myself standing at the lookout at the Museum park at Chibi town (not PuQi). It shows me pointing to the Barge Landing on the Hong Hu side of the Yangtze River. Xin Di where I live and Teach is only 20 minutes drive from the barge crossing by the main road, and about 10 minutes via the levee road.
The lookout area is a nice place to relax and take shelter from the hot summer sun. There were 4 young guys hanging around up there, one of which turned out to be a former student of mine. I had taken a group shot as I approached them (turned out blury), and as this guy was fooling around I zoomed in the camera. He walked straight toward me and I clicked the camera right in his face, never expecting the photo to turn out. Personally I think it is the best photo I have ever taken and look forward to finding an opportunity to give him a copy.
This was taken inside the museum and is a collection of 'scrolls' or records or whatever, presented in the traditional form of writing on bamboo slats.
This is a sign at the museum and is reproduced here in a larger format for you to read.
Here I am standing on the bridge leading to a pagoda in a little lake at the now demolished monastery. The Museum admittance entitles you to enter two other areas further into the township. There is not much left at this particular spot these days.
These next two shots were taken at the corner store in Chibi town after we had finished with the museum tour. We had an hour to wait, and this gave the townsfolk the opportunity to gather around. At one point in time, we were surrounded by 36 people, but I must point out that people kept leaving and being replaced by others.
In this second photo, which was taken inside the shop, I had actually chased the girls from outside, into one section of the shop (the home) and into the shop proper just to get their photographs.
I hope you have enjoyed these extra photographs.
This is a young man at Chibi Town Museum park. I was holding the camera as I was walking toward him and his friends and I zoomed in, and didn't actually expect to get a photo. I was just fooling around. This shot however is in my modest opinion, Amazing. Best Wishes to the young man. I hope he comes across this photo some day.
This following photograph I include because it I took it as a joke, without even knowing what it would capture. There were hundreds of people swimming about in their undies and also naked. Two of these boys were obviously naked.
I zoomed up the camera, and called down to the boys, indicating that I had a camera. They indicated for me to take a photo. I did so. As my viewer on the camera no longer works, I had to wait until I got home and put the photographs on the computer, to see what I had.
I couldn't see the boy in the bottom left corner frame, relieving himself. I thought it was hilarious.
Nudity in China (funny enough) is common. I recently discovered that there are no laws in China banning it. There was an article in the newspaper telling how, after 40 years of this one group of men, swimming naked in the river every friday afternoon, some local women have finally complained. Result: No Law! No Charges!
These next two shots were taken at the corner store in Chibi town after we had finished with the museum tour. We had an hour to wait, and this gave the townsfolk the opportunity to gather around. At one point in time, we were surrounded by 36 people, but I must point out that people kept leaving and being replaced by others. This is a photograph of myself standing at the lookout at the Museum park at Chibi town (not PuQi). It shows me pointing to the Barge Landing on the Hong Hu side of the Yangtze River. Xin Di where I live and Teach is only 20 minutes drive from the barge crossing by the main road, and about 10 minutes via the levee road
As I turned in at the gate, I was dismayed to see people leaving. My arrival naturally evoked the expected 'LaoWei! LaoWei!' As I entered the church, the few people that were left rushed to greet me and began to explain in Chinese, whatever it was that they were explaining. My heavy sigh was sufficient to impress upon them my disappointment, and resulted in one man grabbing my overcoat and pulling me outside, whilst the rest pointed off in the distance. Ahah! I was being taken somewhere. We walked for about 15 minutes down the road. Now up to this moment I thought that Chibi consisted only of that part of it that I had already seen, but it actually continues on to a busier and more residential section, which is quite separate from that part next to the Museum/Park
Chibi is 20+ kms east of where I lived in Hong Hu, and I could ride my bicycle, take a taxi or catch a bus to the Barge Crossing. Of course one must then wait for the barge, and that can take some time. On the other side of the river it is just a case of walking a short distance to the museum and lookouts.
I'm none the wiser about the fort but we had a marvelous time wandering the various exhibits including the terra cotta warriors, and wax figures depicting ancient identities. Unfortunately one is not able to use a flash in that room so most of the photos I took are unusable. Zhang Mingxing did however take the opportunity to dress up as an ancient warrior and I have some very interesting photos of him
We were under the impression that the Yangtze River was the longest, but no one seemed to know, because they had never heard of it. So we get on the bus to discover that it is full of people wearing masks to protect against SARS, but of course when they wanted to spit, they just removed the mask and spat on the floor. "S" of Course, who had told 'US' to bring masks, did not herself bring one, and so to stop the SARS virus from infecting her, she held her nose
Mingxing's company had booked him into the upmarket Kempinski Hotel in Wuxi and he organized and paid for one extra day so that we could go sightseeing. There are two photos in Part one that relate to the Kempinski Hotel Room, but this photo is of the lavish foyer of the Hotel as taken from the first floor landing above the coffee shop. Whilst the Big Buddha is the 'centerpiece' so to speak, the real spectacular is to be found in the Cultural Museum. This place is one helluva spectacular place inside. It sits directly opposite the replica of the Potala Palace, and when you enter you are required to put coverings over your shoes. I suspect that the real reason is to cut down on the cleaning bill. This place was crowded and all those people shuffling along wearing shoe protectors gave the marble floor a really high sheen.
This may not be significant to you the reader, but it effectively meant that I had slipped under the security police radar. All foreigners are required to 'report in' to local police stations so that the authorities can keep track of them. Hotels automatically do this for you. By not checking me in, the hotel had allowed me to 'disappear'. I did not object! From town to the 'High Dam' where the lookout above the 5 locks is located, the trip took 50 minutes, and snaked over and through several mountains. I remember that one tunnel was around 3000 metres long.
Photographs of the Paris Gardens and Rome Metropolis in Jiaxing City Zhejiang Province: Arc de Triomphe in Jiaxing: Avenue des Champs-Élysées: The Vatican: Egyptian Obelisks at the Rome Metropolis
Mt. Tai is located in the center of Shandong Province, lying across the cities of Tai'an, Jinan and Zibo. Its main peak, Jade Emperor Summit, which is within Tai'an City, is about 1532.7 meters (5,029 feet) high. The mountain was once called Mt. Daishan, Mt. Daizong or Mt. Taiyue and was renamed Mt. Taishan in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC). It epitomizes splendid Chinese culture and was listed in the World Natural and Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO in 1987
Designed by Lu Yanzhi, a famous architect, the construction of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum began in March 1926 and ended in the spring of 1929. It is 700 meters from the Memorial Archway to the coffin chamber with 10 terraces and 392 steps between them, and the falling head reaches 70 meters. The main buildings of the mausoleum include the memorial archway, the mausoleum gate, the tablet pavilion, the sacrificial hall and the coffin chamber. On June 1, 1929, a grand burial ceremony was held at the mausoleum which is shaped like an alarm bell, symbolizing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's unyileding spirit in fighting to arouse people and salvage the nation. - In the center of this map with the blue roof is Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum. To the right is the Linggu Pagoda and to the left of the Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum is the Ming Tomb area. As you can see there are many other places to see. There is also Purple Mountain at the very top of the picture, access to which can be gained by a cable way
(Originally a 4 part article) On January 14th 2010, I commenced my trip back to Australia. The temperature at that time was varying between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees. It was for this Aussie, despite living in China for 7 years, truly cold. I flew from Baotou in Inner Mongolia to Beijing and stayed one night in the Beijing Aulympic Airportel. The Hotel is located very close to the airport. The fees were very very very low and that suited me fine. I did not expect however, that the hotel would be as nice as it was. Next day I flew to Hong Kong where I connected with a Qantas flight travelling to Brisbane Australia.
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
Moses was Born 1523 BCE - Fled to Midian in 1486 BCE - Commenced the Exodus in 1449 BCE and died in 1413/1412 BCE: In 1514 BCE when Moses was around Nine years old, Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis II had a daughter...the future seemed secure to Hatshepsut when her Daughter Neferure was born, for through marriage to Moses she would have provided Egypt with a New King. Neferure died at the age of Eleven years in 1503 BCE. In 1487 BCE, around the time that Hatshepsutat died, 40 year old Moses fled Egypt. Forty years later he returned to confront Amenhotep II who was far worse by nature than the Biblical Pharaoh. The Exodus took place during Amenhotep II's co-regency during the last two years of the reign of Thothmes III. During this time, Amenhotep left Egypt to campaign in Asia. The administration of Egypt was left to Grandvisier Rekhmire, whose tomb reveals that he met his end with disgrace. The Book of Judges provides an incomplete chronology of the Judges of Ancient Israel, yet still records 450 years of consecutive data. Extra-Biblical records indicate a further 60 to 80 years for Joshua, Samuel and King Saul. Add 40 years for King David's reign and 4 years to the Commencement of the building of Solomon's remple, a total of between 554 and 574 years elapse between the Israelite entrance into Canaan and the 4th year of Solomon. The King's Calendar artificial construct reduces the overall value of the data, and demonstrates that the period of the Judges compactly fits into 480 artificial years, as indicated in the Masoretic version 1 Kings 6:1.
I would go so far as to say that even the certainties of the past are apt to be rewritten to suit political agendas. The worst of the revisionists are those who prefer to rewrite history to suit their own political ideologies. In "PC Mind Control and Rewriting History" I pointed out that there is quite a lot of historical revisionism taking place in the world today, especially as it relates to Israel and the Bible. Discounting deliberate propaganda, people do have personal opinions and viewpoints which are reflected in the content of what they speak or write. The job of archaeologists and historians, is to sift through the hyperbole, and get as close to the facts of history as possible.
As stated by Professor Wiseman in his writings, the records we have of Nebuchadrezzar are quite incomplete. In fact, the actual length of Nebuchadrezzar's reign is determined by a fragment of a business document which refers to the 43rd year of Nebuchadrezzar. The Stated aim of this article is to challenge many false academic assumptions which have been accepted by the general community as academic fact. In short, this article strives to demonstrate where the Academics got it wrong! Miller and Hayes (1986, p.74) offer us insights into some of the less than scientific approaches that are taken by some academics that lead one to speculate that for some, admitting that the scriptural record of history might be right, may be sufficient incentive to ensure that that Scriptural Record be summarily rejected.
