Ming Dynasty | Wikipedia audio article
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Ming Dynasty
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SUMMARY
=======
The Ming dynasty () was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Great Ming Empire – for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683.
The Hongwu Emperor (ruled 1368–98) attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the court eunuchs and unrelated magnates, enfeoffing his many sons throughout China and attempting to guide these princes through the Huang-Ming Zuxun, a set of published dynastic instructions. This failed spectacularly when his teenage successor, the Jianwen Emperor, attempted to curtail his uncles' power, prompting the Jingnan Campaign, an uprising that placed the Prince of Yan upon the throne as the Yongle Emperor in 1402. The Yongle Emperor established Yan as a secondary capital and renamed it Beijing, constructed the Forbidden City, and restored the Grand Canal and the primacy of the imperial examinations in official appointments. He rewarded his eunuch supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. One, Zheng He, led seven enormous voyages of exploration into the Indian Ocean as far as Arabia and the eastern coasts of Africa.
The rise of new emperors and new factions diminished such extravagances; the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor during the 1449 Tumu Crisis ended them completely. The imperial navy was allowed to fall into disrepair while forced labor constructed the Liaodong palisade and connected and fortified the Great Wall of China into its modern form. Wide-ranging censuses of the entire empire were conducted decennially, but the desire to avoid labor and taxes and the difficulty of storing and reviewing the enormous archives at Nanjing hampered accurate figures. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million, but necessary revenues were squeezed out of smaller and smaller numbers of farmers as more disappeared from the official records or donated their lands to tax-exempt eunuchs or temples. Haijin laws intended to protect the coasts from Japanese pirates instead turned many into smugglers and pirates themselves.
By the 16th century, however, the expansion of European trade – albeit restricted to islands near Guangzhou like Macau – spread the Columbian Exchange of crops, plants, and animals into China, introducing chili peppers to Sichuan cuisine and highly productive corn and potatoes, which diminished famines and spurred population growth. The growth of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch trade created new demand for Chinese products and produced a massive influx of Japanese and American silver. This abundance of specie remonetized the Ming economy, whose paper money had suffered repeated hyperinflation and was no longer trusted. While traditional Confucians opposed such a prominent role for commerce and the newly rich it created, the heterodoxy introduced by Wang Yangming permitted a more accommodating attitude. Zhang Juzheng's initially successful reforms proved devastating when a slowdown in agriculture produced by the Little Ice Age joined changes in Japanese and Spanish policy that quickly cut off the supply of silver now necessary for farmers to be able to pay their taxes. Combined with crop failure, floods, and epidemic, the dynasty collapsed before the rebel leader Li Zicheng, who was defeated by the Manchu-led Eight Banner armi ...
Beijing | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:04:44 1 Etymology
00:06:46 2 History
00:06:55 2.1 Early history
00:08:21 2.2 Early Imperial China
00:12:06 2.3 Ming dynasty
00:15:46 2.4 Qing dynasty
00:17:49 2.5 Republic of China
00:20:10 2.6 People's Republic of China
00:24:34 3 Geography
00:27:50 3.1 Cityscape
00:27:59 3.2 Architecture
00:32:13 3.3 Climate
00:34:43 3.4 Environmental issues
00:36:48 3.4.1 Air quality
00:44:14 3.4.1.1 Readings
00:45:52 3.4.2 Dust storms
00:46:44 4 Politics and government
00:47:57 4.1 Administrative divisions
00:48:40 4.1.1 Towns
00:49:46 4.2 Judiciary and procuracy
00:51:26 4.3 Diplomatic missions
00:52:04 5 Economy
00:53:14 5.1 Sector composition
00:55:41 5.2 Economic zones
00:59:39 6 Demographics
01:04:42 7 Culture
01:08:09 7.1 Places of interest
01:15:07 8 Religion
01:16:36 8.1 Chinese folk religion and Taoism
01:19:16 8.2 Buddhism
01:22:59 8.3 Islam
01:24:32 8.4 Christianity
01:27:52 9 Media
01:28:02 9.1 Television and radio
01:28:58 9.2 Press
01:30:14 10 Sports
01:30:23 10.1 Events
01:33:29 10.2 Venues
01:34:25 10.3 Clubs
01:35:12 11 Transportation
01:35:41 11.1 Rail and high-speed rail
01:38:49 11.2 Roads and expressways
01:42:31 11.3 Air
01:45:42 11.4 Public transit
01:48:41 11.5 Taxi
01:50:57 11.6 Bicycles
01:52:38 12 Defence and aerospace
01:54:57 13 Nature and wildlife
01:58:25 14 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
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Speaking Rate: 0.7022696887090343
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-B
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Beijing (, nonstandard ;
Mandarin pronunciation: [pèi.tɕíŋ] (listen)), formerly romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the world's third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.Beijing is an important world capital and global power city, and one of the world's leading centers for politics, economy and business, finance, education, culture, innovation and technology, architecture, language, and diplomacy. A megacity, Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational center. It is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in the world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions. It is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. The Beijing Capital International Airport has been the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic since 2010, and, as of 2016, the city's subway network is the busiest and second longest in the world.
Combining both modern and traditional architecture, Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a rich history dating back three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries, and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A.D. Encyclopædia Britannica notes that few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural center of an area as immense as China. With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to the old inner and outer city walls, Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be the residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls ...
Beijing | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Beijing
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Beijing (;Mandarin pronunciation: [pèi.tɕíŋ] (listen)), formerly romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the world's third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.Beijing is an important world capital and global power city, and one of the world's leading centers for politics, economy and business, finance, education, culture, innovation and technology, architecture, language, and diplomacy. A megacity, Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational center. It is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in the world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions. It is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. The Beijing Capital International Airport has been the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic since 2010, and, as of 2016, the city's subway network is the busiest and second longest in the world.
Combining both modern and traditional architecture, Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a rich history dating back three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries, and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A.D. Encyclopædia Britannica notes that few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural center of an area as immense as China. With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to the old inner and outer city walls, Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be the residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates. It has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites – the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian, and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal – all popular locations for tourism. Siheyuans, the city's traditional housing style, and hutongs, the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing.
Many of Beijing's 91 universities consistently rank among the best in China, among which Peking University and Tsinghua University are ranked in the top 60 universities of the world. Beijing CBD is a center for Beijing's economic expansion, with the ongoing or recently completed construction of multiple skyscrapers. Beijing's Zhongguancun area is known as China's Silicon Valley and a center of innovation and technology entrepreneurship.
Beijing | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Beijing
00:03:13 1 Etymology
00:04:36 2 History
00:04:44 2.1 Early history
00:05:44 2.2 Early Imperial China
00:08:15 2.3 Ming dynasty
00:10:42 2.4 Qing dynasty
00:12:06 2.5 Republic of China
00:13:41 2.6 People's Republic of China
00:16:38 3 Geography
00:18:49 3.1 Cityscape
00:18:57 3.2 Architecture
00:21:47 3.3 Climate
00:23:29 3.4 Environmental issues
00:24:56 3.4.1 Air quality
00:29:41 3.4.1.1 Readings
00:30:48 3.4.2 Dust storms
00:31:25 4 Politics and government
00:32:17 4.1 Administrative divisions
00:32:48 4.1.1 Towns
00:33:35 4.2 Judiciary and procuracy
00:34:45 4.3 Diplomatic missions
00:35:13 5 Economy
00:36:05 5.1 Sector composition
00:37:46 5.2 Economic zones
00:40:25 6 Demographics
00:43:53 7 Culture
00:46:13 7.1 Places of interest
00:50:55 8 Religion
00:51:57 8.1 Chinese folk religion and Taoism
00:53:46 8.2 Buddhism
00:56:16 8.3 Islam
00:57:11 8.4 Christianity
00:59:27 9 Media
00:59:36 9.1 Television and radio
01:00:16 9.2 Press
01:01:10 10 Sports
01:01:18 10.1 Events
01:03:26 10.2 Venues
01:04:05 10.3 Clubs
01:04:39 11 Transportation
01:05:02 11.1 Rail and high-speed rail
01:07:06 11.2 Roads and expressways
01:09:35 11.3 Air
01:11:43 11.4 Public transit
01:13:44 11.5 Taxi
01:15:18 11.6 Bicycles
01:16:26 12 Defense and aerospace
01:17:59 13 Nature and wildlife
01:20:23 14 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Beijing (;Mandarin pronunciation: [pèi.tɕíŋ] (listen)), formerly romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the world's third most populous city proper, and most populous capital city. The city, located in northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of central government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together the three divisions form the Jingjinji metropolitan region and the national capital region of China.Beijing is an important world capital and global power city, and one of the world's leading centers for politics, economy and business, finance, education, culture, innovation and technology, architecture, language, and diplomacy. A megacity, Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational center. It is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in the world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions. It is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. The Beijing Capital International Airport has been the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic since 2010, and, as of 2016, the city's subway network is the busiest and second longest in the world.
Combining both modern and traditional architecture, Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a rich history dating back three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries, and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A.D. Encyclopædia Britannica notes that few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural center of an area as immense as China. With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to the old inner and outer city walls, Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be the residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates. It has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites – the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian, and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal – all popular locatio ...