Wu Zetian Chinas Only Female Emperor

In the history of China, only one woman has ever sat in the imperial throne, and that was Wu Zetian (æ ­ ¦Ã¥Ë†â„¢Ã¥ ¤ ©). Zetian ruled the self-proclaimed â€Å"Zhou Dynasty† from 690 C.E. until her death in 705 C.E., in what ultimately became an interlude during the much lengthier Tang dynasty that preceded and followed it. Heres a brief overview of the life of the infamous female emperor, and the legacy she left behind. A Brief Biography of Wu Zetian Wu Zetian was born into a well-to-do merchant family in the waning days of the reign of the first Tang emperor. Historians say she was a stubborn child who reportedly spurned traditional womens pursuits, instead preferring to read and learn about politics. As a teenager, she became a consort to the emperor, but she did not bear him any sons. As a result, she was confined to a convent upon his death, as was the tradition for the consorts of dead emperors. But somehow—how exactly isn’t clear, though her methods appear to have been quite ruthless—Zetian made it out of the convent and became a consort of the next emperor. She gave birth to a daughter, who was then killed by strangulation, and Zetian accused the empress of murder. However, many historians believe that Wu actually killed her daughter herself to frame the empress. The empress was ultimately deposed, which paved the way for Zetian to become the emperor’s empress consort. Rise to Power Zetian later gave birth to a son, and began working to eliminate rivals. Eventually, her son was named heir to the throne, and when the emperor began to fall ill (some historians have accused Wu of poisoning him) Zetian was increasingly put in charge of making political decisions in his place. This angered many, and a series of struggles ensued in which Wu and her rivals attempted to eliminate each other. Ultimately, Wu won out, and although her first son was exiled, Zetian was named regent after the emperors death and another of her sons ultimately took the throne. This son, however, failed to follow Zetians wishes, and she had him quickly deposed and replaced with another son, Li Dan. But Li Dan was young, and Zetian essentially began to rule as emperor herself; Li Dan never even made an appearance at official functions. In 690 C.E., Zetian forced Li Dan to abdicate the throne to her, and declared herself the founding empress of the Zhou dynasty. Wu’s rise to power was ruthless and her reign no less so, as she continued to eliminate rivals and opponents using tactics that were sometimes brutal. However, she also broadened the system of civil service exams, elevated the status of Buddhism in Chinese society, and waged a series of wars that saw China’s empire expand further West than ever before. In the early 8th century, Zetian fell ill, and shortly before her death in 705 C.E., political maneuvering and fighting amongst her rivals forced her to abdicate the throne to Li Xian, thus ending her Zhou dynasty and restoring the Tang. She died soon after. The Legacy of Wu Zetian Like that of most brutal-but-successful emperors, Zetian’s historical legacy is mixed, and she is generally viewed as having been an effective governor, but also as having been overly ambitious and ruthless in attaining her power. Needless to say, her character has certainly captured China’s imagination. In the modern era, she has been the subject of a wide variety of books, films, and television shows. She also produced a fair amount of literature herself, some of which is still studied. Zetian also appears in earlier Chinese literature and art. In fact, the face of the largest Buddha statue at the world-famous Longmen Grottoes is supposedly based on her face, so if you want to gaze into the giant stone eyes of China’s only empress, all you have to do is take a trip to Luoyang in Henan province.

What Are Oncolytic Viruses - 1225 Words

What are Oncolytic Viruses? Oncolytic viruses are viruses that are either genetically manufactured or naturally made, that can kill cancer cells without affecting normal cells. The virus rapidly multiplies until the cancerous cell explodes. This releases the virus, tumor specific agents, and GM-CSF. This causes the immune system to recognize cancerous cells and fight them with the help of the virus. Who/When Was it Developed? The uses of viruses to treat cancer have been talked about since the 1900’, but only due to the recent advances in microbiology, immunology, and virology, have we been able to understand how it reduces the size of cancerous tumors. One of the earliest recorded cases of viruses killing cancer was in 1896. A 42-year-old woman just recovering from influenza, when the doctors realized that her cancer was going into remission. â€Å"Dock described a 42-year-old woman with myelogenous leukemia that went into remission after a presumed influenza infection. The report was made in 1896; 37 years before it was determined that influenza was a virus infection. The woman had a greatly enlarged liver and spleen, which shrank to nearly normal size, and a grossly elevated leukocyte count, which dropped more than 70-fold after the infection.† (Elizabeth Kelly and Stephen J Russell, 13 February 2007) Since then other cases like this one have been reported but due to the limited knowledge of virology at the time, no one understood why this was happening. In another caseShow MoreRelatedGenetic Engineering And Its Effects On Cancer Essay1818 Words   |  8 Pagescells has been documented as early as the 1900s. Recently scientists have been able to manipulate the genetic structure of viruses so we can use them to treat cancer safely. This recent breakthrough is known as genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is a new technology that allows scientists to reprogram viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells. 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Becoming a Human and the Transformative Power of Grace Free Essays

Becoming a human has both a philosophical and theological inclination. For Hegel, becoming is the unity of being and nothing. It means that being exist out of nothing and this being undergone a process of development which made the being a becoming. We will write a custom essay sample on Becoming a Human and the Transformative Power of Grace or any similar topic only for you Order Now So becoming means the being in transit, or in the coming to be. Theologically however, becoming means more than the existence of being out of nothing. Becoming means not only transformation; it is a movement from one condition to another (Wawrykow, p.  22). Becoming involves change and development. Applying becoming to human being therefore speaks of the origination of the human beings, which was simply nothing as being come out of nothing and what men will be is still a becoming. In theology and religion, becoming a human usually apply to Jesus Christ as God who became man. In Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians chapter two, verse. 7 referring to Jesus, Paul says â€Å"but made himself nothing,† Here the essence of becoming is clearly manifested. It was from this situation that Jesus became human and Paul goes on to say that when Jesus became nothing he was becoming a human â€Å"taking the very nature of a servant† verse 7. Jesus previous condition according to Paul is that he was â€Å"in the very nature of God† Verse 6 in which he has moved to a different condition of becoming a human being. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the human condition in Chapter 3 verse 23, as being lost in sin and had fallen short of God’s Glory. Paul categorically said that all have sin and God will punish everyone with sure death because of the sins committed. The gravity of man’s sins according to Saint Paul is that even men knew God â€Å"they neither glorified him as God, nor gave him thanks† Chapter 1 verse 21. Thus, Jesus becoming a human is an act of grace made available by God to human being. This is clearly explained by Paul in chapter 6 verse 23, which says, â€Å"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord† (NIV). Here there are two theological discussions involve about the condition of human being. First, all human beings according to Paul have fall into sin and deserved God’s punishment. Andrew Purves and Charles Partee call this fallen condition as depravity. Although depravity for them does not mean of total abandonment of God of the human being, they pointed out that human depravity means, â€Å"nothing about us is beyond the reach of sin. In other words, all the human faculties are exposed to sin and are indeed contaminated by sin. Paul admits this in Romans Chapter 7: 14-25, in his confession of his condition with sin contaminating all his being. Paul confessed that he wants to good but he cannot do the good he wants but the evil the he do not want to do. In verse 23 Paul explained that the reason of his struggle is that there is another law at work in him. Paul said, â€Å"But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me prisoner of the law of sin at work within the members of my body† Romans 7: 23. Because of this condition of the human being, Paul emphasized that there is an extreme need for human being to be rescued from the fallen condition. Theologians call this as redemption. This was exactly the purpose of Christ’s human becoming which Paul explained in his letter in Philippians chapter 2. G. M. Newlands contends that Jesus life, death, and resurrection were in relation to humanity in order to be reconciled to God. Newlands pointed out, â€Å"It is through the transformative humanity of Jesus Christ that we recognized the divinity within him† (p. 107). He meant that God is not only compassionate on the human being’s predicament but also the source of effective transformation. The nature of God’s grace according to William B. Arnold, there are two important manifestations of God’s grace. According to him, God’s grace Comes to us â€Å"freely and without dependence on our asking† (p. 30). Paul in Romans Chapter 5 verse 8 explains this, Paul says â€Å"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. † Arnold pointed out that God’s transformative grace is God’s initiative. The implication of God’ transformative grace in human being is that it reconciled man to God, in a way that his fallen nature has been restored to its former condition prior to his fall in to sin. Paul stated in Romans chapter 11 verses 30 that gentile people had been at one time disobedient to God â€Å"have now received mercy as result of their disobedience. † Conclusion Human becoming must be seen in the context of Jesus intension of taking human dorm and live a human life, and die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and for the redemption of humanity from the fall to sin. The transformative grace of God has been the God’s initiative and the proof of God’s love for his creation, as he did not totally leave humans just by them selves despite of their sins. The transformative grace is the grace of God that enables human to able to be united with God, through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is also the saving grace of God given to human being through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, John 3: 16. He be then a new creation and his old fallen nature is gone I Corinthians 6:17. Work Cited Arnold, Williams. Introduction to Pastoral Care. Pennsylvania, USA: The Westminster Press, 1982. Newlands, George M. Christ and Human Rights: The Transformative Engagement. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006. Purves, Andrew and Partee, Charles. Encountering God: Christian Faith in the Turbulent Times. USA: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000. Wawrykow, Joseph Peter. The SCM A-Z of Thomas Aquinas. London: SCM Press, 2005. John 3: 16 Romans 1:21 Romans 3:23 Romans 5:8 Romans 6:23 Romans 7:14-25 Romans 11:30 I Corinthians 6:17 How to cite Becoming a Human and the Transformative Power of Grace, Papers

Compare the two poems First Love and Shall I compare Thee to a Summers day Download this essay Example For Students

Compare the two poems First Love and Shall I compare Thee to a Summers day Download this essay First Love and Shall I compare thee to a Summers day are two poems written before the 1900s by John Clare and William Shakespeare. The poems share similar language and imagery mainly about love but vary in structure. The poems allow the reader to see Clares experience as he has lost his heart and Shakespeares emphasis that his loves beauty is immortal. The two poems both comprise of love and physical relationships and are both written in the first person to portray a personal view intended for the reader to see the effects of being in love and how you see a person differently when you are in love. The poem by Clare is a love lyric written in the first person about a woman in contrast to Shakespeares which is written also in the first person but addresses his love where she is apostrophised. This creates a more powerful and effective approach to the reader as Shakespeare intelligently conveys his love as exasperating and uncontrollable. Clare uses the symptoms of love and relates to recognizable or understandable feelings to cleverly interact with the readers reactions by describing blood and sight as blushing and rendered. Combined with the lost sense of time in lines 11 and 12 Clare produces the idea of great sadness and ache to the reader and gains sympathy by doing this. Shakespeare on the other hand chooses to rely heavily upon the notion of Nature and connects the idea of Summer being too hot sometimes and can be interrupted by winds to the undeclared love of an anonymous person. The two methods of engaging the reader are both effective but I believe Shakespeare delivers a much more suited and successful view due to the mixture of feelings and Nature. Both poems also contain many rhetorical questions Shall I compare thee to a summers day and Why is love so physically cruel? these rhetorical questions not only keep the reader thinking but show the writers intent and their own opinions on the forthcoming feelings and actions. The paradoxes in lines 17 and 18 suggest Clare seems to extend the involvement of the reader in that we have to think further beyond the answer of a rhetorical question to the actual correction and analysis of the paradox. Clares poem is longer containing more discursive language and uses simple repetitions such as pale as deadly pale to suggest confusion and the idea of death through love causing death-like symptoms. These symptoms are again reinforced in the next line as Clare continues with the idea that the power of love is disabling him My legs refused. The romantic imagery used by both poets is intensified in Shakespeares as he uses the seasons for his central image to enlighten the reader through the darling buds of Maie. This creates a calm and relaxed atmosphere whilst promoting Shakespeares comparison of a lady to a day in summer. This comfortable atmosphere of Nature and summer invites the reader to read on and digest the various ideas that are implemented with love. Shakespeares sonnet is written in iambic pentameter containing three quatrains of four lines and a final rhyming couplet. The structure of the sonnet is intelligently constructed with Shakespeare introducing the summers advantages and disadvantages in the first quatrain. The second quatrain advances on the idea of summers limitations and connects the feeling of disturbance to the inconsistency of being in love with a partner. The last quatrain lengthens the idea of the summers day and the love being eternal, eternal Sommer. The final couplet at the end of the sonnet tells the reader why Shakespeare admires his love, as well as how her beauty is nurtured by the admiring glances of men. .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .postImageUrl , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:hover , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:visited , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:active { border:0!important; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:active , .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u798de37ccc2473e50cfd93044815f2da:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe EssayClares poem is much more varied containing three stanzas written in iambic tetrameter. In comparison to Shakespeares sonnet Clares lyric poem is much less specific and much more physical. This is demonstrated in the first stanza where Clare describes physical symptoms and shows how the power of love is destructive. The second stanza shows the emotional aspect on being in love and how it can affect the senses and feelings of a person. The third stanza shows the reaction to his love and how he then accepts that he has fallen fully in love. The two poems share the similar intent about romantic love but use different methods in order to show their view. Shakespeares sonnet is effective in captivating the reader and exploring the likeness of his love to a summers day whereas Clare manages to be more open and less restricted in his writing and still intrigue the reader. I find Shakespeares sonnet to be well-structured and balanced in his descriptions and comparisons which create a more intelligent and favourable sonnet to Clares lyric.