Asian Seventeenth Century - Admission/Application Essay Example

Asian Seventeenth Century Asia’s seventeenth century was one of the most memorable and most dramatic periods of the continent’s long history. It was a century characterized by both positive and negative features. China experienced decades characterized by long floods and droughts, peasant uprisings and the collapse of the Chinese imperial dynasty. On the other hand, many attractive features were noted during Asia’s 17th century. If one seeks the knowledge of the Asian continent, a thorough study of the seventeenth century will give much knowledge about the continent. One of the very notable features in this century was the procession of the territorial lord. In their daily travelling, they used an advanced baggage train that had sedan chairs and led by horses. Six to eight strong men lifted the palanquin, on which the lord sat; all of them wearing uniforms, hence this created an attractive and honorary treatment to the lord. The palanquin or norimono was skillfully design and had three valets on either side that assisted the lord in getting in and out the palanquin, an attractive feature also notable in Japan. Further, the valets served another purpose that of making available to the lord whatever he required and all those accompanying him made charming formations. Silence was the rule when you were part of the squad accompanying the lord. The only sounds that were heard came from the transporting horses, the soldiers’ clothes, and their feet. There was also something special about the bodyguards. They were all uniformed and matched all the way to the intended destination in a walking style that posed caution and instilled fear but that was regarded very wonderful and very attractive in display. The Junrei, a group of individuals that visited 33 important temples in the country, was also visible. They walked in threes and twos singing very pitiful songs. It was not easy for them to forget paying a visit to any of the thirty-three most important temples in the country because they carried small boards that were tied around their necks, which contained a list of all the remaining temples that had not been visited. They were either very much spiritual to the extent that a good number of them spend their whole lives paying visitations to the temples or they did nothing to earn a living. Around their chests, they had a linen cloth, and that made them easily identifiable. In addition, during this century, the Asian people had strong beliefs in making vows. For instance, in the winter period, you would come across a strange group of individuals almost full naked with only a bunch of straw covering their private parts. When they wanted to experience a certain favor or need to regain good health in times of illness, they vowed to a certain temple and although, they lived in poverty, they never begged for anything in any single day. The mountain priests were the first notable beggars in Japan. They strictly followed strange behaviors of their founders and adhered to strict rules and guidelines of their first pilgrims. They were either very troublesome for travellers or they shaved their heads and took their young ones together with them to beg causing trouble to everybody who came their way. Further, they liked singing, trumpeting, shouting and preaching hence created a lot of noises such that, people hired them to perform divinations, incantations, prophesies and other superstitious magic but never performed in the temples when they were not hired. The other types of beggars notable in this century were the Kannon beggars, who dressed in either religious robes or ordinary clothes. Their good, silent behaviors and character persuaded travellers to assisting them. Finally, there were roadside beggars who were considered silent beggars who vowed to maintain silence to convey their begging desires to onlookers and travellers through their pitiful expressions (Kaempfer and Engelbert, 1999). Vendors were also all over the place. They were a ready group of porters and lower class servants, with untidy horses, who readied to offer transportation services to the already exhausted travellers at a small fee. They also offered delivery services for letters and luggage between post stations. In addition, petty merchants and sons of farmers would confront you on the streets trying forcing you to buy their wretched wares e.g. biscuits, cakes, etc.in an attempt to make a living from their petty business and on-road transactions. In small and large inns, roadside food and tearooms in the towns, there were many prostitutes during the day and night, staring at the travellers with sexy eyes. They caused a lot of noises since they competed in persuading travellers to their inns. A lot of funny and sexy noises were made at such destinations that acted as a bait to the travellers and this tempted the travellers, hence they spent some of their nights with these prostitutes. Therefore, this is a clear indication that prostitution is not a modern behavior but dates back to old eras like the seventeenth century. In china, there existed educated elite by the name of literati that was solely responsible in the management of the empire’s governmental bureaucracy. They were the most learned Chinese people who had passed rigorous exams in the Chinese history. Great respect was bestowed on them because they were part of china’s most accomplished calligraphers, poets, and painters. For those who interacted with this elite group, they could tell or could have noted distinguishing features from the rest of the Chinese guys because they regarded themselves as special, consequently, they received threats from a number of groups including politicians. There was a also rise of the class of merchants that sought joining the literati class, a class the literati considered their own special social class. In this century, there were Pilgrims to Ise, which were great roads that were ever busy due to the overwhelming number of travellers in Japan, because Japan had the largest number of walking individuals in the world during this era because of either the high levels of poverty, or most travellers were beggars who made their way on foot. This pilgrimage had a number of people with different diversities. Many slippery customers either pretended to be on pilgrimage but spent most of their time begging or joined this pilgrimage only to lure customers through their skillful and theatrical fashion to get their money. In addition, the Indostan was another historical and attractive place in Asia during 17th century, which was the empire of the Great Moghul that was ruled by a lord who received either special treatment or was transported in a similar way as the territorial lord of japan (Bernier François, 2010). Conclusion Asia was characterized by a great diversity among its people in the seventeenth century. Most of the Asian countries like Japan and India were ruled by special lords who received special treatment and respect. Strange beliefs were maintained by the ancient Asian inhabitants which are not the case presently. It all appears to be an appealing environment, which had fewer complications compared to the present dynamic one. Works Cited Kaempfer, Engelbert. Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa culture observed. University of Hawaii Press, 1999.Pdf. Bernier François. The History of the Late Revolutions of the Empire of the Great Mogul. READ BOOKS, 2010.Pdf. Read More