In 1602, when he created the first Chinese map to name the Americas, Matteo Ricci was a Jesuit missionary living in Bejing. His map is currently on display at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. (photo)

A newly-discovered section of China's Great Wall shows that the structure was actually at least 11 kilometers longer than previously believed. The new section was found in the northeastern Jilin province.

The Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art has acquired a rare 13th-14th century tea jar "widely revered as an icon of Japanese tea culture." The jar, originally made in China, has been used to store tea for over five centuries. (photo)

From paintings, researchers know about the armor worn by Silla Dynasty cavalrymen, but now they will be able to study it first hand. The remains of a set of armor, dating from sometime between the fourth and sixth centuries, has been discovered in an ancient tomb in the Jjoksaem District of Hwango-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. (photos, diagrams)

Marco Polo, in his travel notes, wrote of Kublai Khan's massive capital, Xanadu. Now Chinese archaeologists believe they can reconstruct a layout of the city. The basis for their claim is a three-month long excavation of Yuan Shangdu, which they think is the historic Xanadu.

In the 13th century, Kublai Khan, grandson of the great Genghis Khan, moved the ruling city of China to Beijing, but prior to the time, the Mongolian capital, Khara Khorum, was an international city of great renown. Now archaeologists believe they know the whereabouts of the Palace of the Great Khan.

Many of China's historic buildings have been torn down, and others are scheduled for demolition, in an effort to provide room for a growing economy. Some citizens, like hospice administrator Li Songtang, are trying to save what little is left.

A new report by researchers from the University of Minnesota and Lanzhou University in China in the journal Science has linked climate change, especially lack of rainfall, to the rise and fall of dynasties in China.

800 years after his death, scientists at the University of California San Diego's Center for Interdisciplinary Science in Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) are using advanced visualization technologies to try to find the long-lost grave of the emperor Genghis Khan.

The remains of a Chinese ship carrying earthenware jars, painted bowls and gold cups dating to the 7th - 10th centuries, has been discovered off the southeast coast of Sumatra. The lavishness of the artifacts leads experts to speculate that the items might have been gifts from the Tang Emperor.

A new virtual tour of Beijing's Forbidden City allows visitors to step into the silk slippers of an imperial eunuch for a behind-the-scenes virtual tour of the cultural treasure.

Looking for a new period game - or an interesting A&S project? How about Tangut Chess, a game popular by the end of the Northern Song (960-1127) dynasty. The 32-piece set can be made from bronze or pottery.

description:
Good friends, on this day in the fall of 1274 on the island of Tsushima (off the coast of Japan), we are about to witness historic events. The Mongols are prepared to invade Japan, and the negotiations and banquet today are an attempt to forestall the invasion. A wealthy Japanese lord has laid on an amazing day of festivities, highlighted by a feast guaranteed to delight all guests!

In honor of the attendees, the feast will feature courses of Mongol and Chinese cuisine, in addition to Japanese. Unfortunately, these important negotiations are destined to be marred by murder(s) most foul! But this is more than a stage play, and you dear friends are more than honored guests. We are counting on you to answer the age old questions “Whodunit?” and “why”? At the end of the afternoon, each guest will be asked to fill out a sheet of paper describing their interpretation of the mystery, and who the culprit(s) is(are). After evaluating the detectives’ work, the murderer(s) will be hauled off in chains to face the Emperor’s Justice, and the detective who solved the crime most correctly will win a prize. Location:
Barony of Sacred Stone (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

Patrick McGovern, a molecular archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, does not hesitate to chat about the history of alcoholic beverages, and has even re-created a "9,000-year-old Chinese drink we call Jiahu."

Historic Chinese buildings, some dating to the 13th century, are being lost to progress as an explosion of construction overcomes Beijing's old neighborhoods. Especially at risk are the classic hutongs, narrow alleyways created by Mongols during the Yuan dynasty.

Gavin Menzies, who in 2002 theorized that the Chinese reached the America's 7 decades before Columbus, has a new theory: Leonardo da Vinci's drawings were based on scientific encyclopedias brought to Italy in 1430 by a Chinese fleet.

Researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia are hoping to shed new light on the 13th century battle between ships from the fleet of China’s emperor Kublai Khan and the Vietnamese general Tran Hung Dao, who defended the Bach Dang River near Hanoi.

“A sophisticated Chinese delegation visited Italy in 1434, sparked the Renaissance and forever changed the course of Western civilization." This is the premise of a controversial new book by Gavin Menzies 1421: The Year China Discovered the World.

The devastating earthquake in China's southwestern Sichuan Province has spared the world's tallest statue of Buddha. The 71-meter tall Buddha, which is a world heritage site, draws millions of visitors to the province each year.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will host Tibetan Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection through fall 2009 in the Arms and Armor Galleries, 1st floor, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gallery.

New research from the University of Haifa shows that a healthy trade existed between the eastern Mediterranean and China during the 12th and 13th centuries. The trade consisted mainly of ceramics and pottery.

Soon a new exhibition will be on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna: Treasures from the national Palace Museum, Taiwan begins at February 26, 2008 and runs until May 13, 2008.

Raoul, St. Florian de la Riviere, of the Kingdom of Lochac, has posted instruction on how to build a yurt or gher.

Work is underway to hoist a ship from the Song Dynasty (1127-1279) from the South China Sea in October 2007. The largest Song Dynasty cargo ship ever discovered, researchers expect to find between 60,000 and 80,000 artifacts on board.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered the 1,400-year-old remains of a European man in a tomb in central China. The burial proves that cultural mixing was farther east than experts previously believed.

Liu Xiao Mei Furen shares the discovery of online versions of several Chinese maps including one which shows the locations of places discussed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Yang Fuxi, a crafter of traditional bows and arrows in Beijing, China, is the last of his countrymen to use the ancient methods. "I feel a responsibility towards history. A huge responsibility," he said in a Yahoo interview.

Archaeologists at the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, Taiwan, have discovered what they believe to be the country's oldest sword.

Chinese archaeologists are confounded by a group 10 huge rings at the site of the tomb of the country's only empress, Wu Zetian. The rings, ranging from 30 to 40 meters in diameter, were discovered when aerial photos were taken.

description:
Greetings and salutations unto the populace of An Tir from the Shire of Coeur du Val! We cordially invite you to join in our celebration of the harvest season as we honor the Moon in the traditions of our Khan and Khatun of the Summits. It is a time to reflect on the year and to see your loved ones in the shining moon. There will be wondrous foods of lands far to the East, beyond the rising sun. Classes will be held, so that all may be scholars of the arts. Location:
Shire of Coeur du Val (Corvallis, Oregon)