Jottings from the Granite Studio

A Qing historian reads the newspaper…

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Victims of human sacrifice discovered in recent Shang tomb excavation

January 30th, 2008 · 6 Comments

A 2,500-year old Shang era tomb discovered last January in eastern Jiangxi province has once again provided reseachers with some fascinating discoveries including the grisly unearthing of a burial chamber containing 47 bodies, victims of human sacrifice. Human sacrifice was a key part of Shang political and religious culture, with Shang kings acting in a [...]

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Tags: Chinese History

The Historical Record for January 30, 2008: An Lushan, Adolph Hitler, and Mahatma Gandhi

January 30th, 2008 · 10 Comments

On this date in 757, An Lushan was assassinated by a group of three conspirators including his own son and heir, An Qingxu. An Lushan was a general of Turkic descent who served in the armies of the Tang Emperor, Xuanzong (r. 712-756). Through his connections, including a rather close relationship with Xuanzong’s favorite [...]

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Tags: this week in history