Granting the Seasons

Granting the Seasons PDF Author: Nathan Sivin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387789561
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 663

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Book Description
China’s most sophisticated system of computational astronomy was created for a Mongol emperor who could neither read nor write Chinese, to celebrate victory over China after forty years of devastating war. This book explains how and why, and reconstructs the observatory and the science that made it possible. For two thousand years, a fundamental ritual of government was the emperor’s “granting the seasons” to his people at the New Year by issuing an almanac containing an accurate lunisolar calendar. The high point of this tradition was the “Season-granting system” (Shou-shih li, 1280). Its treatise records detailed instructions for computing eclipses of the sun and moon and motions of the planets, based on a rich archive of observations, some ancient and some new. Sivin, the West’s leading scholar of the Chinese sciences, not only recreates the project’s cultural, political, bureaucratic, and personal dimensions, but translates the extensive treatise and explains every procedure in minimally technical language. The book contains many tables, illustrations, and aids to reference. It is clearly written for anyone who wants to understand the fundamental role of science in Chinese history. There is no comparable study of state science in any other early civilization.

Granting the Seasons

Granting the Seasons PDF Author: Nathan Sivin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387789561
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 663

Get Book Here

Book Description
China’s most sophisticated system of computational astronomy was created for a Mongol emperor who could neither read nor write Chinese, to celebrate victory over China after forty years of devastating war. This book explains how and why, and reconstructs the observatory and the science that made it possible. For two thousand years, a fundamental ritual of government was the emperor’s “granting the seasons” to his people at the New Year by issuing an almanac containing an accurate lunisolar calendar. The high point of this tradition was the “Season-granting system” (Shou-shih li, 1280). Its treatise records detailed instructions for computing eclipses of the sun and moon and motions of the planets, based on a rich archive of observations, some ancient and some new. Sivin, the West’s leading scholar of the Chinese sciences, not only recreates the project’s cultural, political, bureaucratic, and personal dimensions, but translates the extensive treatise and explains every procedure in minimally technical language. The book contains many tables, illustrations, and aids to reference. It is clearly written for anyone who wants to understand the fundamental role of science in Chinese history. There is no comparable study of state science in any other early civilization.

Nightmare Seasons

Nightmare Seasons PDF Author: Charles L. Grant
Publisher: Crossroad Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
A new season, and the Grim Reaper smiles in anticipation of the harvest to come. No one is safe, no one can be trusted. The lovestruck office boy, the beautiful little girl clutching a posy of violets, the faceless motorcycle gang all seem harmless enough, and yet. Nameless fears stir uneasily, terror bubbles to the surface. and the nightmare is unleashed. Enter the world of Oxrun Station, where evil lurks in unexpected corners, where nerves are stretched to breaking point, where every season brings a nightmare more blood-curdling than the last. Four novellas, each taking as its theme one of the seasons of the year, recount the weird happenings that take place in the fantasy town of Oxrun Station.

Seasons of Heaven

Seasons of Heaven PDF Author: Nicolas Augusto
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781975893262
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
In the year 2047 on a devastated planet earth, only a handful of humans and the strongest of the animals still survive. Despite the hunger that gnaws at their bellies however, these humans have learned to co-exist with the animals, respecting their own basic right to survive. Confused about this, one little girl turns to her father for answers. The story he shares begins with a tragic death, but it won't end there. It will take us on a fascinating and sometimes terrifying journey through the aftermath of death and the emotions of those left behind as they grieve and strive to understand and come to terms with their loss. In the center of the story is a special little boy named Yann Northman. Yann was born with Asperger's syndrome which made things difficult for him at times, most especially his ability to interact socially with other humans. Yann's best friend, a little French bulldog named Ani has medical issues of his own. We'll discover many things through the love and respect that is forged between these two, but most importantly they'll leave us believing that true love and friendship are capable of persevering time, distance and even states of being. The story will also introduce James, a brilliant man who became a doctor because he wanted to save people. Ironically, James was unable to save the two people that meant most to him in the world. As that knowledge slowly sends him spiraling into the dark abyss of alcoholism and depression the nightmares of his youth resurface and a group that calls themselves "The Banished," will force him to question his own sanity, as well as the sanctity of his own troubled soul. If you've ever asked yourself the questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? And: Where are we going? Then this series is a must read for you. It will make you think, and question everything you thought you ever knew to be true about life, death, and everything in between.

Out of Joint

Out of Joint PDF Author: Nomi Claire Lazar
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300245173
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
How constructions of time shape political beliefs about what is possible—and what is inevitable To secure power in a crisis, leaders must sell deep change as a means to future good. But how could we know the future? Nomi Claire Lazar draws on stories across a range of cultures and contexts, ancient and modern, to show how leaders use constructions of time to frame events. These frames carry an implicit promise to secure or subvert an expected future, shaping belief in what is possible—and what is inevitable. “Ranging imaginatively across history and geography, this elegant book probes temporal sources of order and transformation. Its analytical wisdom discloses how calendars and representations of time shape political legitimacy, dispositions, and action.”—Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time “Great political leaders, for good or ill, seek to shape our daily lives by playing with time itself. That is the central insight of this elegant, erudite volume, one that means I will henceforth listen to speeches and manifestos with new ears and new tools to rebut them.”—Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America “Nomi Lazar gives us a fascinating exploration of the political construction of time itself, as structured by calendars, dating systems, and other mechanisms used for legitimation, revolution, and a myriad of other political purposes. A memorable and endlessly interesting book.”—Adrian Vermeule, Harvard Law School

Seasons Coloring Book

Seasons Coloring Book PDF Author:
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
ISBN: 1423648080
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The fourth coloring book collection from Sweden’s coloring book sensation. Introducing the newest addition to Hanna Karlzon’s beloved coloring book collection: Seasons. This hardbound volume boasts 96 pages of Karlzon’s intricate designs, season by season. Dripping icicles segue to blossoming gardens; summer nights give way to strawberries, mushrooms, and playful frogs, waterside. Autumn winds bring fall fog, pumpkins and rain. Lanterns, evergreens, and beautiful ornaments bring us ‘round to winter once again.

Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons

Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons PDF Author: Haruo Shirane
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231526520
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Elegant representations of nature and the four seasons populate a wide range of Japanese genres and media—from poetry and screen painting to tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, and annual observances. In Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons, Haruo Shirane shows how, when, and why this practice developed and explicates the richly encoded social, religious, and political meanings of this imagery. Refuting the belief that this tradition reflects Japan's agrarian origins and supposedly mild climate, Shirane traces the establishment of seasonal topics to the poetry composed by the urban nobility in the eighth century. After becoming highly codified and influencing visual arts in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the seasonal topics and their cultural associations evolved and spread to other genres, eventually settling in the popular culture of the early modern period. Contrasted with the elegant images of nature derived from court poetry was the agrarian view of nature based on rural life. The two landscapes began to intersect in the medieval period, creating a complex, layered web of competing associations. Shirane discusses a wide array of representations of nature and the four seasons in many genres, originating in both the urban and rural perspective: textual (poetry, chronicles, tales), cultivated (gardens, flower arrangement), material (kimonos, screens), performative (noh, festivals), and gastronomic (tea ceremony, food rituals). He reveals how this kind of "secondary nature," which flourished in Japan's urban architecture and gardens, fostered and idealized a sense of harmony with the natural world just at the moment it was disappearing. Illuminating the deeper meaning behind Japanese aesthetics and artifacts, Shirane clarifies the use of natural images and seasonal topics and the changes in their cultural associations and function across history, genre, and community over more than a millennium. In this fascinating book, the four seasons are revealed to be as much a cultural construction as a reflection of the physical world.

The Seasons on Henry's Farm

The Seasons on Henry's Farm PDF Author: Terra Brockman
Publisher: Agate Publishing
ISBN: 1572846569
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
“[A] lyrical portrait of a central Illinois sustainable farm . . . Brockman covers her subject with hard-earned expertise and organic passion.” —Publishers Weekly Henry’s Farm, run by Henry Brockman, is in central Illinois—some of the richest farming land in the world. There, he and his family—five generations of farmers, including sister Terra, the author—have bucked the traditional agribusiness conventional wisdom by farming in a way that’s sensible, sustainable, and focused on producing healthy, nutritious food in ways that don’t despoil the land. Terra Brockman tells the story of her family and their life on the farm in the form of a year-long memoir (with recipes) that takes readers through each season. Studded with vignettes, digressions, photographs, family stories, and illustrations of the farm’s vivid plant life, the book is a one-of-a-kind treasure that will appeal to readers of Michael Pollan, E. B. White, Gretel Ehrlich, and Sandra Steingraber. “Here’s what you get when the farmer’s sister turns out to be a masterful writer: a compelling argument for rebuilding our nation’s food security that is threaded within a lyrical, funny, suspenseful narrative of life on her brother’s Illinois farm.” —Sandra Steingraber, author of Having Faith “Terra Brockman's new book is such a delightful synergy of poetic inspiration and realistic descriptions of life on a farm. Here is everything from the joy and satisfaction of growing garlic and raising turkeys, to tending fruit trees and growing vegetables . . . Given the recent renewed interest in gardening and urban farming, the appearance of this inspiring book could not be more timely.” —Frederick Kirschenmann, president, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Seasons Change

Seasons Change PDF Author: Jaxon Grant
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781651552803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
It's Christmas time, so 'tis the season to be jolly, right? Well, Zach and Dwight beg to differ. As autumn turns into winter, this couple is in for the fight of their lives. This season will challenge them to their core. While Zach is preparing for a major change to his family, Dwight is trying to grasp the severity of his personal situation. As the happy couple travels up to mountains to spend the Christmas holiday, tensions will rise. Quite frankly, all hell breaks loose. Someone is holding on to a secret that can affect the rest of their lives. And once that secret is revealed, bombs will explode. Join us in the twelfth edition to the Life of a College Bandsman series as Jaxon Grant brings two of his top fan-favorite characters back to life as they embark on another unforgettable journey. Old flings will resurface. New life will form. However, when it's all said and done, will Zach and Dwight stand this new test, or will this union go up in flames?

A Man For All Seasons

A Man For All Seasons PDF Author: Robert Bolt
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408176335
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
A Man for All Seasons dramatises the conflict between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More. It depicts the confrontation between church and state, theology and politics, absolute power and individual freedom. Throughout the play Sir Thomas More's eloquence and endurance, his purity, saintliness and tenacity in the face of ever-growing threats to his beliefs and family, earn him status as one of modern drama's greatest tragic heroes. The play was first staged in 1960 at the Globe Theatre in London and was voted New York's Best Foreign Play in 1962. In 1966 it was made into an Academy Award-winning film by Fred Zinneman starring Paul Scofield."A Man for All Seasons is a stark play, sparse in its narrative, sinewy in its writing, which confirms Mr Bolt as a genuine and solid playwright, a force in our awakening theatre." (Daily Mail)

Prairie City, Iowa

Prairie City, Iowa PDF Author: Douglas Bauer
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description