In the 17th century, the Dutch took control of Taiwan. During this time, it was a Dutch colony and it encouraged Chinese people to move there. Few Chinese had lived on Taiwan until this time. As more Chinese moved to Taiwan there was conflict with the Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal people either married with Chinese or moved away from the west of Taiwan. During the time of Dutch control, Spain also briefly held northern Taiwan but the Dutch removed them in 1642.
In 1644, the Qing Dynasty began ruling China, and Ming Dynasty's courtier, Koxinga landed Taiwan, removed the Dutch, and ruled Taiwan. He turned it into a place to resist the Qing Dynasty. This period is called "the period of Ming Zheng", or the Kingdom of Tungning, the Kingdom of Yanping. One year later, the Qing Dynasty ended the Kindom of Tungning. The Qing Dynasty ruled Taiwan for 212 years until 1895.
Japan first showed interest in Taiwan in the 1870s. It tested the strength of the Qing Dynasty's control in 1871. Some ship-wrecked Okinawan fishermen were killed by Aboriginal people in southern Taiwan and Japan demanded compensation. Okinawa had secretly paid tribute to both China and Japan. In this situation Japan claimed Okinawa was part of Japan and it must protect its own people. There was no war but China stated it could not control barbarian people. Japan used this excuse to demand Taiwan after it defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War. Taiwanese people rebelled without the support of China and created the Republic of Formosa that lasted for about one year. Japan crushed Taiwanese resistance, but it was the beginning of Taiwanese nationalism.
In 1945, the Republic of China won the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Allied Powers agreed to divide the territory of the Japanese Empire, and Taiwan would be returned to Chinese control. The Chinese civil war occurred at this time, and in 1949 the Guomindang lost and escaped to Taiwan. Taiwan was ruled by this one party until democratic reforms began in the 1980s.
Katana
A katana is a Japanese long sword used by samurai warriors. It is the most important sword of the three swords worn by samurai: katana, wakizashi, and tanto. The katana was popular from 1400 A.D. until 1876, when the samurai were abolished as a social class.
In Japanese, "katana" means a "long sword" and it represents a blade, which is a little curved, with a single edge and a very sharp point.
There are several types of katanas:
A traditional katana is made of a type of high carbon steel called tamahagane, which is made by smelting a type of Japanese iron ore, called iron sand, in a large furnace called a tatara.
This steel is sent to a smith who breaks it down to small pieces and layers the steel according to carbon content, they smelt this in their forge and repeatedly fold the steel in order to homogenise it. The most important part of the forging is the tempering, when the sword is quench-hardened. In ancient times it was said that the soul of the sword was put into the katana at this point. The sword is sometimes given a rough polish by the smith and then sent to a professional polisher for polishing (usually to a mirror finish). After polishing, the sword to be fitted.
Today katanas are mainly made of carbon steel of different quality. But there are some swords made of zinc and aluminum alloys, which are able to resist some external forces and are only used for decoration or non-tameshigiri practice. To determine the quality of a katana it is enough to check its "resistance" (how much it bends when it is hit), "elasticity" (the ability of katana to return to its original shape), and the "endurance" of the blade after striking (how long it lasts).
Generally, katana is designed for cutting, but it was widely used for stabbing too. This depended mainly on the length of the tang (the handle). The katana could be easily used for cutting if it was made for using with both hands. It was used for stabbing when the katana was made for using with one hand.
As a rule, katana was worn under the belt on the left side of a right-handed man. The sword was in its sheath or scabbard (the cover), with its blade facing up. That way the sword could be drawn and cut the opponent in one movement. Alternatively, the scabbard might be held freely in the left hand: in action the sword would be drawn and the scabbard thrown down. This allows for free movement in battle.
To pull the katana a few inches out of its scabbard was an aggressive move signalling willingness to fight.
The Katana was very important in Japanese society. This sword was thought to be the "soul" of its master. Only a samurai was allowed to have a katana. A simple man with a katana sword could be killed at once.
There was a tradition of wearing, taking care and taking the katana out of its scabbard. Samurai kept their katana on a special stand for swords, called katana-kake. This stand was used for both katana and wakizashi. The blade had to have its point up, just as when wearing the sword; the handle (called the tang) had to be turned to the let. This made katana available for handling any time it was needed.
The art of handling a katana was developed in martial arts like "kenjutsu" and "iaijutsu". Today, this art is practiced in "iaido" and "kendo" martial arts. The last one is the art of dueling with bamboo or wooden sword. Old schools of handling katana swords still exist. The most famous are: "Kashima Shin-ryu, Kashima Shinto-ryu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu".
The most appreciated technique of handling a katana is a school called "Nitto Ryu". This school taught how to use both a katana and a wakizashi during a fight. The most famous samurai who improved this art was "Miyamoto Musashi".
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne (often called Holy Island), is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is connected to the mainland of Northumberland by a causeway and is cut off twice a day by tides – something well described by Sir Walter Scott:
According to the 2001 census it had a usual population of 162.
Large parts of the island, and all of the adjacent inter-tidal area, are protected as Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve to help safeguard the internationally important wintering bird populations.
Grey seals are frequent visitors to the rocky bays at high tide.
The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded by Irish-born Saint Aidan. He was brought from Iona off the west coast of Scotland to Northumbria around AD 635 by King Oswald of Northumbria. It became the base for Christian evangelising in the North of England and also sent a successful mission to Mercia. Monks from the community of Iona settled on the island.
Northumberland's patron saint, Saint Cuthbert, was a monk and later Abbot of the monastery, and his miracles and life are recorded by the Venerable Bede. Cuthbert later became Bishop of Lindisfarne.
In the early 700s the famous illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels (an illustrated Latin copy of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) was made, probably at Lindisfarne.
Later, a monk named Aldred added an Anglo-Saxon translation to the Latin text. This made (late 10th century) the earliest surviving Old English copies of the Gospels.
In 793 a Viking raid on Lindisfarne scared many people throughout the Christian West. The year 793 is often called the beginning of the age of Viking raids. A very famous passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reads:
"In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of Northumbria. There were excessive whirlwinds, lightning storms, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and on January 8th of the same year, the ravaging of heathen men destroyed God's church at Lindesfarne."